This past week flew by, which seems not to happen quite often here in Costa Rica.  I had a minor problem with my laptop that, at the time, seemed not so minor. I was listening to all the people around me saying "tranquila muchacha" which basically means "chillout." It was then that I realized, there isnt much to stress out about in Costa Rica. Every day is as peaceful as the last, and for me, each day I spend in Picagres, the more I realize how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place. I keep telling people, my camera does not do the scenery justice. I try and take a walk around town each day, if the rain holds up, and each day I see something even more beautiful or exotic than the day before, take a picture, look at the picture, and think what a shame this camera can't capture it more accurately.

School is a blast, the children are so eager to learn! I am taking advantage of this because in the United States, students are never quite this excited to learn English, or any subject for that matter. I taught my older students different types of foods this week and we made a menu and practiced ordering foods at "our resturant", they got a kick out of it. We also played WAR and GO FISH with cards. On Tuesday, my day was interrupted. I was bummed until I realized it was because the women in the town were holding a surprise baby shower for the kindergarten teacher at the school. They invited me to play all the baby games with them. Not only was this my first baby shower, but I had no idea what any of them were saying! It was still so much fun, and there was a lot of food. We played baby bingo, baby word search, and some pop the balloon game. Then, the best part, presents. Baby clothes are adorable in any language, that is for sure. 

Picagres is home to about 300 people, I thought that was alot, until I realized that each family consists of no less than six people, and practically everyone is related to someone else! Anyways, they are all aware that I am from the United States, and I knew that would come with some stereotypes, but I did not expect to be asked if I knew Paris Hilton, and, what would I do if I were her for a day. Great I thought, out of all the great people the USA has produced, the one person they know is her, gross. Someone also asked me if I could buy them a car when I get home and ship it to them in Costa Rica, since they heard cars are so much cheaper in the states. I giggled.

I am getting used to the ever-present rice and beans, all day long. However, it was a nice surprise when my host mom took me for pizza this week in town. We rode the bus and ran some errands and then sat down and ate pizza. I ate 4 pieces, and "ate" is probably an understatement, I more like inhaled 4 pieces! It was delicious!!

Pura Vida!