Blogging Saves.

First I must apoligize for the shower post. I am told that it came across as being miserable here and I am not. It was a pathetic moment and I was tired. I would like to go on by saying that having blogging as an outlet has allowed me to appreciate challenging situations with a sense of humor. For example: This morning when we arrived at the university where I am teaching, I had to use the bathroom. Ready to leave the stall, I tried to unlock the door. No luck. I tried again and turned the lock several times. Trying one direction and then another. I thought to call Fio, the coordiantor who had taken me to my first day of class but realized there was little she could do from the outside. Knowing that I could write about my great escape that involved climbing up and over the toilet and into another stall made me crack up. Thank you readers!
The trip to Puntarenas was great. Josh and I caught the 11:30 bus and arrived an hour and a half later. It cost about $1.50. They have a great transportation system here. We could feel the weather getting warmer as we descended. We had platos casados (married plates -they have beans, rice, some sort of salad and a meat - at a soda. We then laid on the beach for a couple hours and took dips in the amazingly warm water. I can't describe the sense of freedom I felt driving into Puntarenas while listening to Offspring. Shut up, I like Offspring.
The most exciting thing I can say about the days is that I'm sure I got a sign from God. While Josh and I were in the water I noticed a single guy loking at our belongings. I was prepared to run out of the water and hunt him down if necessary. He left but came back with a friend. I didn't really notice until a big waved tried to wash me away and I had to get out to protect my ear. They were definitely shady.
The return trip was uneventful with the exception of an obnoxious family who had an uncle who kept singing songs really loud. Really off key.
This morning I woke up to a prepared breakfast waiting for me. Pinto Gallo. Yum. Fio came to pick me up and we met up with the wife of one of the UVolunteer people. She was in the class and she brought along another student for the walk.
After the bathroom incident I arrived in the classroom to stares and whispering. I was obviously the American Gringa. Ole!
The program is for free for all students and had the goal of placing them al in jobs. A trade school of sorts. They range from 18- 35 with most of them being about 22. They are all very interested and eager as they have chosen to be there. It is exactly what I wanted to be doing.
I spoke a bit about what it is like in California. While they may all be on the same level in terms of grammar, they are definitely some stand out students when it come to speaking in class. Like many classes, it has all the stereotypes. The quiet group of girls that all stick together, the flirty girl who gets attention by breaking boys pencils, the rambunctious boys who like to be the center of attention, the smarty boy who talks as much as possible and all the people who get by saying th minimum.
The topics today were fast food and tipping.
Everyone had to write a sentance about fast food. Almost everyone said,¨I think fast food is delicious but it is not very healthy.¨
The 'culture' of tipping freaked them out. Their book outlined what the standard percentages are. They were overwhelmed when they read that a haircut cost $30.00. When I asked thm how much they paid the answer was $2-6. I am sure they all think I must be a milionaire as I told them that my last haircut cost $60.00 not including tip.
I need help coming up with a menu to cook for my host family when I leave. Do I have any sort of specialty?