...Why did we buy return tickets??

Hola muchachos!

It's Tuesday and all is well! Today, I bought things! I went to the Mega Super all by myself and purchased a couple of items for very cheap. Success! MOM they have bon bons!! I will buy some for you! Hehe. Bon bons were our favorite chocolate thing from Mexico.

Last night I was supposed to meet up with a Tico friend, which means a local friend, and I took advantge of Tico time a little too much... you can be 30 minutes late, but not an hour, apparently! Oops! I feel like I'm on Tico time at home so I shouldn't try to change my ways too much or I'll keep losing all my local friends! Haha!

Host family update: PERFECT. My host mom is an amazing chef and we eat fried bananas, empanadas, and rice, beans, salad, and tons of fresh fruit all the time. The fruit is so much better here, it's very sweet and juicy. My host mom also makes the best smoothies ever. She is so laid back and doesn't care what we do, but she encourages us to make Tico friends and enjoy everything that Costa Rica has to offer, and she wants us to travel on the weekends which we planned for anyway, but it's great that we're on the same page! My host sister is very sweet, she is 25 and she works full time at a local bank. She speaks much slower than our host mom, who speaks VERY quickly, but I am slowly understanding more of what she says rather than nodding my head and saying "si!".

Life in Puntarenas: WOW! Everyone is laid back to an extreme that I can't describe. I haven't been stressed out at all since I've gotten here. I go to the beach every day and either talk to USAC kids or Ticos, or both. It's amazing. In fact, I'm headed there very soon!

Cultural Event: It was my host mom's brother in law's birthday the other night, so we went to a family party. It was similar to those in the US! We just sat there and everyone interacted in seats and ate pringles and rice. There were some definite differences. Oh, people here generally get married around age 30. Fun fact! I think I should probably just live here.

School update: We started classes yesterday and they are great. The professors speak very quickly too so it's little hard to understand, but getting easier. I love them so far. My schedule has lots and lots of free time because I had to change one class to an independent study so I only have it every other week since I'm the only one who signed up for it. Wednesday, as Kristin said, is beach day!!! We have a few USAC friends who also have Wednesdays off so we're gonna explore beaches every Wednesday. I can't wait! I don't have classes Friday afternoons or Monday mornings ever, so I can travel lots and lots. OH MAN we have a dance class and learned the salsa y bachata yesterday and it was sooo much fun. It was a great way to make friends with the USAC students and we all had a blast. Our midterm is at a local bar called Happy Days and we just have to dance with locals or our classmates. It's great, and our instructor is adorable, and very forgiving considering we're all pretty clumsy!

So much happens that I can't even remember what's going on ever or what I've already talked about. And the USAC computers are iffy so I'm sorry for the typos! The Spanish keyboard is tricky, too.

Last night after salsa class, I was planning on taking a taxi to my house because it was getting dark and I live on the opposite end of the peninsula, and taxis are cheap and it's a little dangerous in my area at night, but instead I learned how to ride a bike Tico style! I have a bike, but I didn't bring it yesterday because I was walking to class with a Tico friend. So a guy from class had his bike and offered to bring me back to my house- it's so fun! you just drape yourself between the seat and the handle bars, and then the other person pedals. It's hilarious, I will try to get a picture and share. I had never seen it before, but apparently it happens all the time.

Okay, the beach is calling me! I'm slowly tanning, but it's hard because I use sunscreen, so I need lots of beach time. Then we have a fiesta with some USACers tonight. Oh, how difficult my life is. ;)

Bottom line: the culture is amazing, the people are incredible, the scenery is ridiculously beautiful, the weather is perfect, the sun shines every day, and every day I wake up and can't wait to see what comes next.

We miss you all! If you can visit ever, please do! You will absolutely love it.