Ay Que Rico El Sueño

Today I will not be able to speak spanish. Why? Because I am so freaking tired. This weekend I thought I would be able to get away a little bit. I worked really hard all this past week on spanish, and needed just a little break. Well, now my sleep pattern is all messed up. I am tired, and wanting to sleep right now. I think after this entry I will.

I have a test tomorrow. El lunes. I am just so tired.

Mary's abueito came down to visit for this weekend. He's 81 years old... and he gets around so well. We took him to the mall with us. I couldn't believe how well he kept up with us. We went to a bookstore and I wanted to buy some spanish books so I could practice, Mary got one too and he baught them for us. It was really nice of him.

We went to un parque de diversiones yetserday. That was pretty fun. The lines for the juegos weren't too long and some of them we were able to just get on as soon as we got off. The first half of the day it was beautiful and sunny, then after we ate lunch it started raining and we got sooo wet and cold. It was nearly miserable.

Friday night we went to this restaurant called, "Lebnan." It's a lebanese place and the service there was exceptional. The food should've been much more expensive than what it was... the food was absolutely amazing. I haven't eaten something that good in such a long time. I love Costa Rican food but this was just so rich and delicious. Ohmi. We are definately going back again. And one of our server's name was Lloyd. HAHA! He's from Costa Rica and all that, but he doesn't even look like he's tican. He spoke really good spanish too.

Well, I'm gonna go take a nap.

Mejorando

SO, things are getting a lot better. I feel great, my spanish is improving a lot. I feel that everything is going to be fine. I've been here in Costa for over a month now. It is just so wierd to me to think that, and to think that there is life beyond Costa Rica and that there is really school and classes going on in the US... it's just so wierd.

There's some crazy stuff going on at home. There was a shooting at a Cleveland school. That really freaked me out. Last night I came home and my mama asked me if I lived in Ohio and I told her yea and then she told me there was a shooting in a Cleveland school. It got me worried because my sister works in Cleveland. Oh dear.

I'm really excited. A week ago the mothers of the students had a meeting and Grettel had a meeting with us afterwards telling us that we need to spend more time with our mothers. This week I haven't gone out at all really, and I am amazed at the improvement I have made in just one week. SO stoked.

Sick

I'm feeling sick in a few different ways... let me list them!

Reasons Trevor is sick:

- Misses the United States
- Misses his dog even more
- Doesn't miss the United States
- Misses his dog a lot
- Is entirely too deeply into High School Musical 1 and 2
- Wants to study abroad another semester
- Hasn't knitted anything in five months

Obviously I'm not really sick, but these are the things that have been making me feel wierd since being here. Some of them are funny other's are real. Like, I don't understand my emotions toward home... there's "I wanna go home," and then at the same time I'm enjoying this experiance so much I couldn't dare even think about going home. And I have been thinking about studying abroad another semester. Rotary Club is the key...

That's another blog entry... until then!

An Amazing Day

I had to get up at five o'clock this morning to go to La Paz. I was late but was not the last person there, thank God, because then I would've felt really stupid... So we headed out at 6:15 and ate breakfast and then went to this place where we rode a boat around this river. I saw a crocodile, iguanas, lizards, and some really cool birds. That was a fun trip. Then we went to lunch at La Paz... let me just say that the food was amazing! It was a buffet... and the food was great. This place is worth keeping in mind for a future honey moon. The dinning hall was beautiful... then off of the dinning hall you can go see monkeys and they had a butterfly garden where these butterflies actually come up and land on your hand! We put one on Claudia's face! Haha! Then the waterfalls were beautiful!

Then when we got back we went to this place called La Carabena... dancing, and fun!

Keeping Up

I'm trying hard to keep up with this. Now that my tico brother is letting me use his computer whenever he's not useing it and whenever I need it this will be a little bit easier. This morning I did not have to get up really early... but I didn't want to have to make my mama make breakfast and lunch right after the other so I got up at 8 and ate breakfast. But I don't feel like gettingup at 8 is early anyway. Since I've been here I have been going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. I think it is a mix of how I adapted to the jet lag and the culture here.

Today we are going to San Jose to visit the museums. It's a part of the culture weekends we have to have. We leave at 12:30.

I'm really really pleased with the Tico familia that I was placed with. It means a lot to me that my tica mama and I have a great relationship. We always sit down and talk to each other. One time we were sitting down and I was eating lunch or dinner, and we were talking about something which led into divorce... and she started talking about her husband and how he cheated on her and how they got divorced and she started crying! I can't see people cry, if I do I cry too... so there she is crying and then I start crying... we were a mess! Haha! But, it was just nice to think that this family has accepted me in as one of their own. I really try to be home to spend time with them too to practice.

Yesterday I came home to find my mama and a neighbour lady sitting on the front steps to the house talking. So, I said hello introduced myself and sat down to talk. And then another lady from across the street came over and we were all talking. When the three of them were all talking I had a hard time understanding a lot what they were saying but for the most part I felt like I was right there along with the conversation.

I had a dream last night that it was the end of our Costa Rica trip and I wasn't fluent. I keep on having these dreams that I go home not fluent! I was walking into a store with Jenny saying that I didn't come back to the States as fluent as I thought I would have. I think that is my biggest fear being here, that I will come home not as fluent as I was hoping... but I know that I will. I have progressed so much already!

Fearless

When we first arrived here in Costa Rica we had a orientation week. Needless to say I was really bored about the whole week. I just couldn't wait until classes would finally start and I wouldn't have to deal with sitting and listening to things I pretty much already knew from our first meeting with Grettel. But in the material of the orientation they talked about rip tides and how dangerous they are and how to get out of them if you do end up getting caught in one.

This past weekend we went on one of our paseos to Manuel Antonio... I suppose this playa is extremely well known for it's force and strength of waves and rip tides... So, the first day we were at the beach we went to this little cove area... the beach was absolutely beautiful it looked like a scene out of Pirates of the Caribean... it was nice. So, the first day was fun. The second day we went to the public beach (the first was in the nation park there in Manuel Antonio). The waves were amazing and we were way out there in the ocean body surfing and having fun. Then after one big wave came and pushed us Ryan (thank God he was with us) was like, "Okay guys we have to swim that way because we are in a Rip Tide." The wierd thing was I didn't believe him because I just didn't feel like we were in any kind of current. So, we started swimming... and I had been out in the ocean for a while so I was already tired as it was. So, I flipped over on my back and started swimming like that... and I just didn't feel like I was going anywhere... So I flipped back over and tried to touch the ocean floor and I couldn't. So, I flip back over onto my back and start going... My breathing was really heavy... the wierd thing was I was extremely calm... I actually had the thought that I might die at that moment... but I was okay with it... Anyway, I flip back over and there are these two surfer guys. The one helped Amanda on his board and the other got me on his. He kept on telling me to relax and it was funny becuase I truely was relaxed that was not the problem at all. So he started pulling me in the direction to get out of the rip tide and I was paddling too... but there came a point where I just couldn't anymore. All this time I was completly fine, I was not worried, or panicing, I was perfectly calm.. but I think the time when I saw the surfers helping us was when I realized that our situation was really serious... And when I got on the board and I was looking to the shore we were just so far out... I didn't realize how far out we were either. The rip tide really pulled us out and fast. So, finally we got to a point where I was able to touch and out of the rip tide and the guy was like, "Go ahead and get off, you can touch here and just walk up to the beach..." oh, and he was speaking in English... so I get of the board and was just like, "Gracious..." I mean what do you say to somebody who pretty much just saved your life?!?! So, I get up on shore... everyone was freaking out... because there were actually five of us that were caught in the rip tide. So, I dont' really remember anything from the time I got off the board til the time I got to my towel... I laid down... couldn't stand the sun... tried drinking... yelled at Laura for trying to spray me with sunscreen because I could NOT breath! I was exhausted, scared, and mortified all at once... So, Jen and Claudia started to go towards all the little shops along the beach and I wanted to go with them... but when I was walking I just felt like I needed to throwup... so I sat underneath this tree like a bum... for fifteen minutes... then I got up and went to this resturant and threw up six times in there bathroom. I have never thrown up for the fact of being so scared... It was bad...

So, my life was spared thank God... and the thing is while I was laying on my towel when I first got out I was thinking to myself... If I start feeling better I'm going right back out...

Illness

So, I'm still ill. I have been ill for a week now... and I'm just pissed about it. I have had diarrea all of this time. One day I had some solidifying crap but then the very next day it was the same ole' same ole'. I'm sick of being sick. But, I know it's just me getting used to the food and water here. I can not wait until I am better.

Last night I went over to Mary's house and watched a christian movie... at first we were like, "What the heck are we watching?" But then it turned out to be a really good movie! I thought it was really good! Some of the acting did suck but all together I didn't think it was bad. It actually got me to read my bible last night and I am going to try to read it regularly.

Basically all we do here is watch movies... it's the truth. Everyday we go over someone else's house and watch a movie... and usually on Wednesdays we go to the Mulitplaza del Este and see a movie for super cheap!