Okay, so I have some praises to sing.

first and foremost, to the wonder and divinity that is fresh fruit in Costa Rica. instead of going to the corner store and buying a soda, you pay tres mil colones (about 50 cents) and get a coconut, with it's top chopped off with a machete, and a straw inserted. who needs artificial beverages when you can sip on coconut juice?! then, there the fresh pineapples, bananas, and mangoes. Ai Dios! the mangoes literally grow on threes here, and if you are so lucky, you may live in a house where monkeys drop the ones they have deemed not to be ripe on your rooftop. i have simply never tasted fruit this fresh or cheap before (well, not tropical fruit which is usually an exotic import). it just heavenly, especially when they combine it with handmade ice cream...mmmmm. can you tell i just finished a heaping fruit platter?

the other praises i really must sing, are those of my amazing host family, Gladys and David Costillo. they're just fantastic. they are such warm, friendly people, and you can feel it the second you walk in their front door. the puppy Pepito is one of the cutest little dogs i have ever met, very soft and friendly, and very committed to protecting his front yard, which is incredibly comical given the amount of large un-neutered dogs that tend to roam freely around here. i actually adopted a pair of them (no worries, i wont bring them home, someone belongs to them) they like to hang out at the school, and i have a tendency to feed them coconut (which they go mad over) so anytime i see them and whistle they come running over for a belly rub. anyways, my family. i have already mentioned that Gladys (my mama Tica) is attempting to kill me with the bounty of her amazing food, but really, we're talking a plate full of fresh fruit in the morning AND eggs, AND gallo pinto, which is black beans and rice and onion together, the staple food for any and every meal in costa rica. and no I'm not sick of it yet, it tasted good and it give you energy to go for HOURS which between latin dance, yoga, soccer, surfing and swimming, not to mention all of my classes you need a lot of (energy that is). in a nutshell, my family is amazing. I have another woman who is about mum's age in my homestay with my, Kathy who is a teacher in Sonoma county, and she's another mother, between her and Gladys, I've been very thoroughly mommied. it's pretty funny (don't forget your bug spray jean!)

and as a grand finale to my week, I scored somewhere between 8-10 goals last night playing soccer. It felt good, I'm getting my touch back, and apparently I'm a wicked forward, which is a first for me. Although I now remember why I haven't played goalie since I was eight. I like to run out of the goal too much, and I'm a little to small to have an effective span. but I made up for the shots I let go by by putting them back in the other goal, so I don't feel too bad.

alright, well i'm gonna head out to help plan a trip to nicaragua for next weekend.

chau, besos.