Since I only have class during the morning, I try to fill up my afternoons with something other than homework, especially on Fridays.
This Friday I met up with the Grupo de Kansas girls for lunch at a cafe called Ohana that specializes in egg waffles, milkshakes, and acai bowls. I was missing Kansas Barbecue so I got the Barbacoa egg waffle. One of my favorite drinks here is Passionfruit Juice, so I got one of those too.
After lunch walked walked a few blocks from campus to the Mall San Pedro and did some casual shopping. I got some cute new pants which I’m pretty excited to wear this week.
For dinner one of my host moms made chicharrón and chips with bean dip.
After dinner I met up with some classmates from one of my film classes to work on an assignment and flesh out our short film. We’re hoping to make it into a musical, which is so exciting and I’m really looking forward to it.
From there I made my way across town to meet my UCR buddy and some of her friends at a restaurant called Bo FastGood_RealFood. It has a bunch of fancy drinks and its signature dish is a sausage in a bun.
Although it was sometimes hard to understand the conversation over the noise of the bar and a live jazz band, the atmosphere was really nice and I had a great time.
Saturday morning we headed to Alajuela, a province about 45 minutes from San José where one of the Grupo de Kansas girls had invited us to stay with her family and lounge out by the pool.
We were greeted by six dogs, a few chickens and their little chicks.
We got there around lunchtime and ordered delivery. I’d had a craving for Taco Bell for the past month, so I took advantage of this opportunity and treated myself to it. It was delicious.
After lunch we lounged around the pool for a while, playing music, talking and sunbathing. More guests arrived and we started tossing around a huge beach ball. Right when we had all jumped in the pool, it started to drizzle. The rain made it more fun and I had a great time. When we heard thunder, though, we knew it was time to quickly get out.
We rinsed off the pool water and got dressed, just in time to see an incredible view. When the rain died down the sun began to set, turning the sky into a beautiful mix of pink, purple, orange and blue.
When the sky was completely dark it was time for dinner, after which we made our way to our beds and knocked out, exhausted.
Our original plan had been to hike the Poás volcano the next morning, but we didn’t plan the trip well enough so it didn’t quite work out. Instead, we had a quick yoga lesson taught by our lovely host and then made our way back to San José.
This week I am feeling very grateful for the friends I’ve made here and for everyone who has been kind to me, even in passing. Living in a new country can be really scary and lonely sometimes. This week was mostly a reprieve from homesickness, and I’m very grateful for it.
Pura Vida 