Quieres Bailar?

Well, I'm not actually doing that well today. Usually when I write these posts I'm really excited about the week... And while most of the week was great, I am currently sick. I was very sick to my stomach this morning but am doing better now. I think my stomach had just finally had enough of the food that I'm not totally accustomed to. Especially in the last few days my host family has fed me a lot, so I guess my stomach decided it wasn't having it! So that's unfortunate. But enough of the bad stuff, what about the rest of my week? 

I finished up my Spanish class with a 98% overall, so I'd call that successful! I am now officially done with Spanish classes and will have four extra hours every day! On Thursday we took a class field trip to the Hospital Clinica Biblica. It's a private hospital and it's actually beautiful! Also, it's just great to have these experiences of visiting different clinics to get an idea of what healthcare is like here. My other classes were also fine this week. My two elective classes barely have any homework so I am going to have a lot of time on my hands starting Monday! 

One of the prettiest parts of the hospital.

The view from the helicopter landing on the roof of the hospital. 

One thing I'm going to do to fill up the time is read! I got the first Harry Potter book in Spanish from my school's library and I'm thirty pages in and understanding most everything! Side note, I haven't read the Harry Potter books since my dad used to read them to me in Elementary school. That's one of my favorite memories with my Dad; he would always do the best voices for the characters (especially Dobby). 

I've also been spending a lot of time drawing quotes. Here's a look! I really enjoy trying different hand writing. 

In my free time I also plan on exploring Zapote (my neighborhood) more on my own since most of my friends have another Spanish class unfortunately. So don't worry, I won't be stuck inside reading and drawing all day! I'm here to explore the culture!

Friday night we were supposed to leave for Turrialba, Costa Rica which is about an hour and a half from our house where my "host abuela" lives! Unfortunately we had some car trouble so we couldn't leave until Saturday morning. Therefore, my Friday night was pretty lame because I didn't do much! Most of my friends went to Jaco Friday afternoon so I was on my own! But we made it to Turrialba Saturday morning and it was really pretty! I loved it! She is surrounded by forest and has a big river just behind her backyard so I enjoyed exploring. During the day I also played some soccer with my host sisters which was really fun. However, Saturday night was the best experience of the week for sure. I went out dancing with my host abuela and some of her friends! I was actually really nervous. We went to a Discotech where I was literally the only non-Latina. Talk about intimidating!! But such an awesome experience. When will I ever again get to be the only American dancing traditional Latin dances in the middle of Costa Rica?? Oh, with a live band too! On top of being the only American, I am okay at dancing but these people were clearly practiced, I am only okay at Spanish and anyway I could barely hear with the music. I have been out dancing a couple of other times but it's been to places where there are a lot of Americans and usually have more American music. I was smiling the whole night because it was just such a unique experience. I danced actually quite a bit! The first two people who asked me to dance I told "No estoy muy bien", but then I thought, they don't need to know that, I'll just go for it. So that's what I did the rest of the night, just kept my mouth shut and went for it! I danced mostly Merengue and Cumbia. I really appreciated that the people I danced with were all very respectful. They ask you for a dance, you dance, they say "Gracias" at the end and you both go sit back down. I was concerned that people might be rude or too forward, but I was pleasantly surprised. I do have to say though, that I missed my dance partner, Jeremiah, last night for sure! I was really tired at the end of the night, but my host abuela seemed like she could've gone all night! She and her friends were around 50 years old and had more energy than me! 

So that's pretty much been my week! It was a little bit slower, but still had some really unique opportunities. Let's just hope I get over this sickness quickly so I can enjoy the beginning of this next week more!

There is a river just behind my host abuela's house.

Bad lighting, but finally have a picture with Marcello!

Pura Vida and a very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone this week! Stay safe if you are traveling and enjoy the time off with friends and family!