Half Way

I'm staying in a place of two seasons: rainy and dry.

That's a little different than back home, where we have all four seasons. A bit of a nuisance, if you ask me, that requires changing of tires, wardrobes and recreational activities.

Mostly I do like having four seasons, but for vacation summer all the time is alright with me.

I've had the chance to dust off my mostly forgotten Spanish skills. Years ago (and I can actually say that now, how old!) I was decently proficient at the language, which was understandable considering I took five years of it, 8th-12th grade.

Now I remember the basics but have trouble keeping up with the rapid fire speech of locals. Phrases learned long ago like "donde esta el bano" and "donde esta la biblioteca" (as if anyone uses that) only get you so far.

I do find myself wanting to intersperse my everyday English speech with snippits of Spanish. Claro.

Luckily my friends here are both fairly fluent (could be the total immersion) and are able to help me when I get the "no entiendo" face.

The return from the beach has found my days filled with relaxation broken by moments of activity. Some recent activities:

• Harry Potter VI - venture to the the cine (theater) for the English version with Spanish subtitles for less than $3.
• Cafe Britt coffee tour - now I know everything there is to know about the coffee making process. Just ask. Also, they weren't impressed with anyone from the Northwest (a.k.a. Coffee land) but luckily I figured that out thanks to another woman in the tour group. I identified myself as from el estado de Washington. Much safer. Also, I spent my life savings (joking, kinda) on souvenirs.
  
• Sushi - that's right. In Costa Rica. It was delicious even if the service was a little on the slow side.
• Wandering through the streets of Heredia. This included a couple parks and a good number of Catholic churches.
• I've also enjoyed sleeping in (which ends tomorrow), laying in the hammock, and more movie watching (Twilight - I gave in - and Angels and Demons).

Today I am headed with my hostess with the mostest for downtown San Jose via autobus.

Life as a tourist is rough. It really makes me want to go back to work.

Or not.