It's Begining To Look Nothing Like Christmas....

Well, things have slowed way down here. Hard to believe but there is really nothing going on. The school is closed. The PANI office is closed. And I am just about ready to get things started. I guess it can all wait til February. :)

I went to the Kindergarten and 6th grade graduation at my school. It was very much like our graduations, long and tedious and long. I think the fact that every kid here has four names may have had something to do with it. It was nice though. Two of the girls graduating from the 6th grade were pregnant. So, I guess that gives me something to focus on for next year.

I have been trying to get something set up to do in the schools for next year, but have been having a rough time. There just really isn't a whole lot of motivation to do anything toward the end of the year. Not very different than the states except that the attendance the last two weeks of school was riding at about 25%. That is pretty low. Hopefully, it will be better when we start school again in February. Who knows, maybe by then I will actually have an idea of what is going on. Wishful thinking? Quite possibly....

I thought I would give you a couple of culture details that will hopefully paint a clearly picture of Costa Rica. The first is the extremely laid back attitude that prevails here. More than once I have been on a bus when the driver deviates from the route to swing by his house so his wife or child can run out of the house with a cup of coffee or lunch. No one seems to mind so I guess that's fine.

Food is also a big issue here. The main course of every meal is rice. You have Gallo Pinto (rice and beans mix) for breakfast. At dinner you have rice with something and at dinner you have rice with something else. The next morning the rice is back in the Gallo Pinto. What is the perfect accompaniment to spaghetti? Yup... rice. The other day, I was packing a lunch to share with Andre and Scott and I was explaining to my host mom that we were all going to bring something. I was bringing salsa, Scott was bringing avocados and Andre was on chips. She looked at me the way you would look with great pitty at a poor little kitten stuck in the rain and asked me, "But who is going to bring the rice?"

Well... It is the 21st and it is raging hot and looking to get hotter. I got a little red at the beach the other day but it seems to be clearing up. It's a pretty rough life. I will keep you posted. I am headed to Jaco for Christmas. My friend Lynette and her friends from Columbia will be here to partake in Tico Navidad. Then I am headed to San Jose to hang with El Cinco for a night. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!