poco a poco. . last weekend

ooohhhh k.

it's been a while, no?

so secure your tray tables, position your buttocks comfortably and keep your seatbelts fastened, cause oh me oh my we've got a week and then some to cover.

first, last wednesday: ladie's night, round two. i met a charming young man from a nearby town (more about him later) and had my first dancing lessons. not too shabby - i never thought i'd be able to follow (this partner-dance business has always been a little ridiculous for me) but i surprised myself.

thursday, the school offered a $2 bus to tamarindo, a near-ish, larger touristy town, so i went for the day. i rented a surfboard for 10 bucks and tried my damndest... amazingly, the danceing was more of a success. however, this is not for lack of effort - the waves were not especially good that day, and the beach was crowded. it was fun, though, and i hope to try again. got some pointers from a friend, so i saved some cash on an unecesary lesson. i think.

that night, was (as i was reminded on the bus ride back) thanksgiving... me : oh? oh. huhm. ok... didn't do much in the way of fancy dinner, but had some interesting conversations (in spanish of course) about the holiday. hope everyone had wonderful food and family times.

friday, i had my final dives . . they were easy, fun, and safe. being on the boat was great all on it's own . . i have been wanting to rent a little boat but the only tings available are 900dollar sport fishing excursions. i've put that on my list of things to consider if i ever completely lose my mind. no, thank you.
we didn't see any 'big' animals - we went all the places the sharks (nice ones, ma - don't worry) play, but no luck. lots of fish, however and there were a pair of purple and white urchins doing some kind of matey dance, we think.

my camera usually functions underwater, but aparently this time around the seal was on vacation and it no longer funcions at all. that has been the only bad news of my trip, and i am not discouraged anymore as i have purchased a 27 exposure disposable for the present. i also borrowed a camera from a fellow student, as my memory card is compatable with hers. . went on a picture spree and now feel much less worried.
finding a replacement for the remaining three months (it's almost been 1 month already!) is proving a little difficult but i will manage. i am kind og enjoying the little plastic thing in this age of hand-held-phone-cam-computer-gameboy-madness.


ahhm. and so, on saturay morning, 6 other students and i rented cars and drove north to playa hermosa. excluding me, the ages ranged from late 40s to late 20s, but that was of little importance and we had a good time. howver, it rained almost the entire time. i was not bothered much (surprise..) but some of our party had their hearts set on sunbathing.. some of us ladies adventured farther north to find the 'amazing vistas' in the area and were sucessful. onthe way, we encountered a driveway to a hotel that had been shut down by the ministry of health three months ago. i guessed correctly - something went wrong with their water treatment; it was the only thing i could think of that would affect the sprawling apartments and common spaces plastered down the hill. we got to drive in and cehck it out, which was a top notch excursion. i am reading a book (thanks, aunt karen) called the world without us, which describes a hypothetical future after an immediate disappearance of humans. a verbal time-lapse of cities, geography, etc- changes in flora, fauna, and the things we¿ve left behind. anyhow, it was like walking through the first stages of what the author describes for most buildings - after only 3 months the plants were taking back much of the the grounds and parts of the buldings, and despite their hopes of reopending, it looked like the buildlings wer starting to go (cracks in floors, roofs.. ) the pools were gnarly with a capital g - they didn't drain the water, and they looked rather like spinach/kale soup.

one woman is in the travel industry, and tried to pull some stings to get us a deal at the hilton. . we could have stayed there for 99 dollars a person, for one niht, 3 meals and drinks included. i realize that this would have been a 'great deal' but i voted no becuase. . well. seriously? good deal or no, i don't need to spend 99 dollars get drunk and bathe in a swanky tourist den. the 'no swimming' sign at eh beach affirmed my veto. it was fun to check out, though - we got entry bracelets and wandered around a bit.

we spent the night at an extremely inexpenise but adorable bed and breakfast (in reality, just bed) and explored the little town. we split up for dinner, and a few of us took a taxi to nearby coco beach and hit up some clubs. the club scene here is a little ridiculous (ah, wait. . clubs. right. always so.) but it was fun nonetheless. much flashier than ladie's night in potrero, but no cleaner.



we returned on sunday and made guacamole in one oe the student apartments, and settled in for a movie through more of the relentless rain. there really is not much to do here besides go to the beach, which is not a problem when it's clear out. when there's rain, it's either your house (usually too small to have many people over) or a bar. thank goodness i don't tire of reading.


i can't stand another minute in the computer lab so i will write more later. much, much more. . .