Que Verguenza!

Some fun things that have been happening lately:

1) THERE IS HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE IN THE STORE AROUND THE CORNER FROM USAC. I repeat, HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE!! I mean normally with supporting Fair Trade and all, I'm not really into this kind of thing but WOW it is amazing to get some good chocolate in my blood! The stuff here just isn't as flavorful usually, and I had just been talking to Danger the other night about how I wish we had really good chocolate... and then Costa Rica made it magically appear. This country is fantastic and magical! I ask for fireworks, I get fireworks, I ask for thunderstorms, I get them, and I ask for chocolate, and it LIVES NEXT DOOR. For cheap, too! Sigh!

2) We finally had a rainy day in our sunny little land. It was strange. Smelling the rain here is an incredible experience, especially when you haven't smelled a good summer rain in so long. That scent of earth right before it comes is the best thing in the world. It was so weird, we even got a little the other weekend on the way to Dominical and we all stopped talking and looked confused, and then rejoiced because we had no idea what that scent was, but when it came to us after a few minutes, it was so exciting. Lidiette waters her garden outside late at night sometimes and me and Peligro just wait for the moment that it hits our noses. It's really a treat.

3) We performed a skit in Spanish for our Ticos in their English class on Thursday. The assignment was to make a skit about anything, so of course we prepared a series of twisted, bizarre skits that all ended in "que verguenza!" which mas o menos means "what shame" or "how embarassing". Michelle, Hunter, and I prepared it all in their cooking class with only 2 hours to go, but it somehow all worked out and the Ticos actually laughed a lot, which is great considering we were exoecting some serious awkward silence. We weren't sure how well creepiness would translate from Spanish to English, but I guess it was all fine!

4) Apretados- I am one step closer to making them. I made an ice cream sandwich apretado and it was so delicious. Apretados are delicious ice cream mixtures in bags sold for 50 cents out of a woman's house. I've also been discovering all kinds of delicious foods. Over the course of the semester, the best have been: Trits, Recreo, Cremas, Apretados, Granizados con leche, Ollitos (SIGH a new mega-favorite), and horchata. There's more, but these are the most frequent to enjoy.

5) MegaVenture is totally happening! I got my plane ticket home from Cancun- May 29th, direct flight to Boston. I'm hoping that we'll get the bus pass this week. Traveling with Michelle and Zak and Peligro will be such a blast. I can't wait at alllll at all at all! :) I've been dreaming of this since last summer, and it's actually real now, and with the best company ever! Dang, I couldn't have asked for a better semester.

6) Spanish is the coolest.