pura vida

Thursday

The library is really coming together. I feel like I'm on HGTV or something. The carpenters have started putting the bookshelves in and the walls are all finished. Raquel (my host mom's daughter) even stopped by to help touch up some of the already painted walls outside of the library. We also started working on the bathroom as a sort of bonus side project. We bought a blue toilet to fit the color scheme!! I love it. For lunch, Jamie's mom invited us to her house for avocado, tomato, cheese, and bacon (not for me!) sandwiches while Megan gave us a briefing on the intensive Junior Achievement course we are going to facilitate tomorrow. After our late lunch we went horseback riding...on the beach...and watched the sun set. It was breathtaking to watch that brilliant orange orb dip into the nearly perfect, watery horizon. The sea just engulfed the sun and soon it was time head back to the village. Tonight we are having a slumber party with Megan. We invited her over to watch 'The Office'. Marvin showed up randomly. He ate dinner with us and is now watching tv with us (with Spanish subtitles even though he is fluent in English) . Well, tomorrow is our last full day in Costa Rica because we'll be spending all of Saturday just traveling. Uggg...I don't want to go :(

Raquel helping out

I forgot my horse's name

absolutely incredible

the owners of the pulperia

stocking up for our slumber party

Wednesday

I painted the ceiling (well, 85% of it)

This morning I decided to work at the front desk with Hector for a while after breakfast. Then I decided to take a nice leisurely stroll into the village. I was really just prolonging the beginning of 'renovation day two'. You haven't felt pain unless you painted a ceiling in 100 degree weather. It was so hot, my iPhone, which was providing the musical entertainment for us, suddenly stopped because it had overheated. And yet I soldiered on. I was determined to finish painting this room today. I had to wear sunglasses to keep the paint from splattering into my eyes (painted with a roller). My clothes were literally drenched in sweat. It is the grossest feeling in the world when you're sweating so much, it trickles down you're legs. Sorry for that imagery; I am just trying to justify what we did after the long, hard, painful, tiring day of work I had. We went to the spa for massages! I never really go to spas, but it was just what I needed. I picked the passion fruit oil massage and it smelled heavenly. It was the best hour ever. Off the record, there were so many candles in the dressing/bath room! I accidentally set my band tee too close to one of them and now I have these really rad looking holes in it.

lookin good

aren't these gorgeous. they smell amazing too.

gpoy in my robe

Tuesday

post garbage removal / pre-renovation

I have never had so much sweat dripping from my body as I did today. Day one of the 'world library' renovation went well. The hotel staff moved out all of the junk furniture and we started cleaning and painting the room. There was the biggest termite hive (or whatever you call it) on the wall. We thought all the termites were dead, but when we started scraping it off, they crawled out of the wall like bats out of hell. We all freaked out. I needed a break. I went with Megan to the Casa Museo computer lab to help facilitate a Nave Computacional mission. This week the kids learned how to use the Paint application on the computer and draw with it. My Spanish is getting better. I could answer all the kids' questions which is a miracle in itself. Plus, I could even help them through the mission and tell them what to do. Success. Also, you know how there are guacamole Doritos in the states. Well, here we have Ranchitas and they are so much better. I shall be eating these for the rest of my time here (plus, they are most vibrant color green!). yum.

gettin fancy with it

great detailing

expert leaf weaver right here

I PAINTED THIS!! I'm so proud of myself.

Monday

Party Party. We drove about 2 hours to the city of Santa Cruz for the Black Christ festival. We arrived with the notion that it would be a religious festival. It was the farthest thing from it. All day we walked up and down the heavily endowed streets gushing with people. Vendors at every corner. The wildly confusing aroma of churros and other street food mixed with beer and sweaty ticos. There were horses and guys playing marimbas and some guy passionately playing the pan flute. The funny thing about this festival was that it was like any other day walking up and down the streets of New York. Oh, except from the huge bull fighting arena in the middle of the city!! (Ok, they don't fight bulls. It's more like people try to see how long they can ride one and then run away from it while it's charging. I honestly felt like Ernest Hemingway.) After a bit of appliance shopping for the new library in Islita, trying the more normal looking street food, and catching a few glimpses of the bull fight, it was time to head home. Tomorrow we start renovating this gross room in the back of the Centro Creativo to turn it into a library!