Quick update as I struggle to stay awake:
Orientation ended today, and we all loaded our bags onto the bus and left Orosi for the "real world." But since school doesn't start until the 16th (mas o menos... classes tend to fully start when everyone "feels" ready), we have a bit of extra time. I'm spending tonight in San Jose, and the dreamworld of cheap food that was Orosi is officially gone: three other volunteers and myself ordered two pizzas from Pizza Hut... for $40.
I'm heading to Boruca for tomorrow night. My family there doesn't quite know this yet, as I haven't called them. Nor do I know exactly how I'm getting there. I'm doing the trek with a few other volunteers for the sake of having people to talk with over the 6-7 hours, but getting up my mountain is going to be a bit of a crapshoot since I'm taking a different bus. At the very worst, I'll learn where the other, quicker road up my mountain is, and hopefully find a nice person to hitch a ride with. I'm hoping to meet my director and take a look at my classroom, as well as drop off the rest of my stuff. After a night in Boruca, about 8 of us are heading to the beaches of Manuel Antonio for 36 hours. Hopefully the sun stays out this weekend; our weekend trip to Cahuita last week had all of two hours of sun.
After heading back to San Jose, most of us will be heading to the province of Limon for a week to build houses for the poor. Pretty much a Habitat For Humanity type deal, and since we'll likely be the only gringos in our group of 60, it should be a chance to brush up on my Spanish.
So I'll likely be away from the computer for at least the next week, and potentially more depending on when I head back to Boruca.
Oh, and just because posts without pictures are boring:
Staring match w/bird. Bird won.
On the trip back from Cahuita, the door to our bus fell off, almost smacking me in the face as I was gazing out on the scenery. This seemed like old hat to our bus driver, who was able to snap the thing back on and get us going within a few minutes. Hooray for sketchy travel!Once again, thanks for all the messages and e-mails. Keep 'em coming. Until next time...
All the best,
DP
