Buenas Dias!

I've heard before that Costa Rica is one of the happiest places on earth. And although I have been very few places in my life time, I can't say I'd disagree. People here are (for the most part) friendly, outgoing, and happy to talk with you. Whether it's the host mom of one of my amigos or the ice cream lady, everyone is generally willing to help you with your spanish and speak english as well. It's almost a little to easy to get by without speaking spanish fluently.

Another thing I've observed about Costa Rica, it seems as though there is always some reason to celebrate. Monday, September 9th is "Día de los niños", or "Childrens day". This monday my classmates and I were excused from out daily classes and given the opportunity to volunteer at a local elementary school. The school was going all out in celebration. We helped assemble a trampoline, scoop ice cream and jello, blow up balloons, (lots of balloons), and escort scared kids through the fairly frightening haunted house they had set up in one class room. It was a very cool day for us, because not only did we learn some interesting new spanish vocabulary, we also learned a little bit about what it would be like to grow up in Costa Rica. The school was adorable, bright blue and open air, all the classroom doors opening up to a courtyard. Out back was a metal playground and a decent size field. The kids at this school were characters to say the least. They didn't really grasp the fact that we don't speak spanish fluently, but I actually really enjoyed it. They would talk and talk and ask me all sorts of questions! My favorite had to be the little boy who asked me if I watched the Costa Rica vs USA soccer game, (I had, and that is a whole different story in itself!). He preceded to mock me and tell my why Costa Rica is much better at soccer, and asked if I wanted to play soccer against him. I am very excited because I get to return to this school once a week for the remainder of the semester to assist in english classes. I absolutely love working with children. Two of my girlfriends here in Costa Rica are studying to be teachers, and when I work with these kids, I feel as though I could see myself doing something like that in the future, too. But I have the rest of this semester to contemplate I suppose.

Another holiday I got to spend in Costa Rica was this past sunday, La Día de la Independencía, Costa Rica's very own fourth of July. Although there were no fireworks or hotdogs, Costa Rica knows how to do independence day right. On friday we learned how to make "falores" which are kinda of like lanterns that kids make for a big parade at night. Generally kids make houses, but they also make more creative ones too. One saturday, I went with my friend Erika and her host family to their daughter's elementary school for their big independence day performance and celebration. Here they sang multiple songs about Costa Rica and preformed cultural dances. All of the girls wore traditional costa rican dresses, and let me tell you, I would have LOVED to dress up like that when I was in grade school. All the kids carried around their falores and we saw some pretty creative ones! We saw a parrot, big flowers, and a lot of red white and blue ones. Towards the end of the performance a group of sweaty and panting kids ran in the gym carrying a torch, and they were followed by five 6/7 foot tall men with huge creepy devil masks on, well 4 were devils, and one was a coyote. These masked figures were followed by a latin band that proceeded to play dance music. At this point I started to feel like I was hallucinating or something because there were six foot devils dancing around a catholic school with nuns and a bunch of terrified screaming children. It was a very interesting cultural experience to say the least. Although I must say, being a kid in Costa Rica doesn't seem half bad.

Everyday in Costa Rica has been an adventure in itself. I am going into my fourth week here, and although the honeymoon phase has seemed to have passed, I am still excited and grateful for every day I get to spend in the country.

Hasta luego,

Kaysie