Wednesday 11/5/08

This morning I went on my first run in La Virgen. It was a little difficult because the only decently paved road is the main road that runs through town and is a main route for truckers, making it difficult to run (since I have to get off the paved road every minute or so). After my run and a quick shower, I ate a huge breakfast of gallo pinto, eggs, a pancake and some fruit (I’m still not quite sure how I’m going to get my point across to feed me a little less). On Mondays and Wednesdays the English teachers have to go to a class/training and so we’re still trying to figure out what I’m going to be doing on Mondays and Wednesdays. Today worked out perfect because a 6th grade class was going on a field trip and invited me to go along and get to see another part of the Sarapiqui region. We went to Tirimbina (which is a touristy rainforest conservation). It was awesome because I got to see a touristy type place from a much different perspective. Words cannot explain the rainforest. It’s absolutely beautiful. We spent the first half of the morning learning all about photosynthesis and plants before making our way out to explore the rainforest. In order to get into the rainforest you have to cross a huge and ridiculously long suspension bridge. Suspension bridges are held by cables and a rather rockety. The first suspension bridge we crossed was about 200 feet over a river. When you look down you can see the river below your feet as you are rocking back and forth (especially with a wild group of sixth graders). After the long long bridge we journeyed through the rainforest, saw toucans, bats, and millions of unique plants and trees. We finally headed back to the main center for a nice lunch (again, this was all free since we were locals! Things are so much better when you’re not a tourist!). After lunch the kids finished up their worksheets, played futbol and we jumped on the bus to make our 5 minute drive back (it’s amazing how close I am to such beautiful creation!) When I came home, I worked on some homework. Around 4, Maria informed me that a former teacher of the school had died in a motorcycle accident and invited me to come to Puerto Viejo (another part of this region) with her and some of her work friends. Before we left she made me banana pancakes (for some reason she thinks these are like my comfort food that make me think of home or something because she’s made them so many times for me) After pancakes Maria, the other lunch ladies and I headed off to Puerto Viejo for the evening. They said my presence made them feel young and free again. We went to the house and the women spent time at the open casket. This is the second time I’ve had to go to an open casket visitation (as I did this with the other Maria in Nicaragua). Maria suggested she and I go down to the river to chat while the other ladies spent time with the family and friends. Maria and I had a nice time chatting on the dock at the river and we met a nice chatterbox of a man who told us all about the beauties of this region. He thought that I was Maria’s real daughter (I love when people mistake me for a Tican). We headed back to the man’s home, picked up the other ladies and headed back to La Virgen.
We did what we seem to do every night which is eat and watch the news. After dinner we watched CSI Miami (first time we watched something other than the news) which is Maria’s favorite show. After Maria’s “date with Horatio” (that’s what she calls CSI: Miami. Horatio being the main character she likes) we headed to bed around 9. Something I love about not having ceilings in each individual room is that we can continue to talk even after we’ve climbed in bed. So last night, even though we were already in bed, we talked about the plan for tomorrow and said our goodnights once again without moving an inch.