feliz . . .

yeah, you know the rest.
but seriously i hope everyone's enjoying their winter, their families, etc. .

christmas here was.. a hoot?

remarkably similar (in organization, or rather, dis- ) to my mom's side of the family:
the tica family all gathered at my house ( my 'parents' here have 4 children, 3 of whom have at least 2 kids) for a potluck lunch around 2pm. they had drawn names among the children and adults, for a secret-friend gift exchange. (the campbells do this, but through the mail as we are relatively scattered)

the children, before presenting their gift or giving their present had to describe their secret buddy, and the adults went a bit further by acting out/mimicking theirs. after the exchange (i received some mango/mandarin lotion and gave some fancy chocolates [plus a disabetic-friendly version for my papa tico] ) we played various embarassing games and all ate too much dessert.

yes, there were tamales, and all of them made of pork. there were tamales in flamingo at the school, tamales in my home here, tamales at the school as well.. and all of them. every one. pork.
excellent.
my mama tica here is a great sport and the dad is constantly offering me food so i was in no danger of going hungry - they're slightly amused by my semi-vegetarianism but are both equally picky in other ways so we are getting along famously.
their youngest daughter is still at home - she's 22 and attending university in cartago, a 2hour ish commute from san joaquin.

i believe i sweated more yesterday than all other christmases combined.
p.s. no one i've met here pays any attention to solstice/equinox - their light change is almost nonexistent and their holidays thoroughly catholicized.


a favorite moment of the day:
after all 15plus had returned to their respective homes, we noticed that the mirror on the stairs (taller than i am and about 5 feet wide) had been decorated at the 2 foot mark with chocolate smears. the two youngest had been given treats ealier, and while we had all admired their chocolatey faces, we were unaware that they had been practicing their makeout skills with their reflections.



Also:
i learned to make that pineapple postre, but i am 99% sure my newfound knowledge will go unexercised, as the three (total) ingredients are:

1 whole pñna
1 lata (can) condensed milk
2 packets of gelatin sheets

gelatin sheets? translucent squares of animal product? seeeeeehhhhriously, i think not. it was an interesting cooking lesson, however, and i will not soon forget it.


fast forward to the future and you will find that today, the 26th of december 2008 , fue mi ultimo dia de clases. que triste, verdad?

that's right, i have completed 7 weeks of spanish study and graduated from book 1 of three.

i most recently studied the differences between 4 kinds of preterite, and can express things along the lines of 'i have been' vs 'i had been' , 'i have yet to' 'i had never __ before now' as well as ' if __ i would__', 'there will be' on top of the basic ' going to---'

the had/have/would've/haven't/will have (<--- both future and past) differences are fascinating to learn when their uses are explained only in spanish. and of course by 'fascinating' i mean 'frustrating', but i think i've got it down?

meh. what's important is that i can get around, and even discuss interesting things, and that's enough for now. i am considering minoring in spanish because i know i need to continue some kind of formal study, and that clear goal would be helpful in more ways than one. i am also fairly certain that i will be returning to fairhaven in the spring, so it looks like some things are coming together. i had hoped to gain some directional perspective during my 'time away', and while i am of course learning about what it is i want to learn, i still feel rather foggy as to what degree path i will be following. leaning towards a basic 'human ecology' title with dashes of food localiztion, alternative medicine, international trade (??) creative writing and biology. [this is why i attend fairhaven.]


and, something i don't feel i have sufficient time to explore at the moment, but has been on my mind quite often lately:

discrimination/racism. here - much more common than i had expected. i had some idea of the tico-nica spat involving guanacaste and the economic differences, but i have expereienced many more surprisingly blatant comments than i was prepared for. not only between nicaragua and costa rica, but vicioulsy racist conversations about asian residents, and generally anyone foreign. more on this later - i feel i can better explain the experiences that have prompted this at some other time.


in other news:

toady i am wearing my hair a certain way for the first time. and i mean ever, which is exciting - side ponytail and exaggerated bangs is the best way i can describe it, but what's important is my hair is making longitudinal progress, and i get to experiment with long hair once again.

i ironed a skirt yesterday, which was strange fun, as i haven't needed to use an iron in quite some time . (my mother and some of you may disagreee, but the ultimate truth is that it hasn't happened, necesary or no). anyhow i enjoyed it and looked as respectable as i can here with two facial rings and sandals.

i picked up my camera from the shippnig place on the 24th, so i have resumed taking photos and am getting to know my new electronic.


there's more, i know, but i'm expected at home and need to meet some new mexican chicas later to plan our weekend outings. more dancing practice, perhaps.

love to home,
until the weekend---