san joaquin, costa rica - yo estoy cansada

i had my first-ever conversation in spanish with fernando my driver lastnight at 1:00 AM while we were waiting for this 19 year-old jeancharles character to get through customs. it´s much easier than russian -- i doubt i could have managed a conversation in moscow so early out of the gate. jc finally emerged at about 1:40 (turns out he´s belgian and his whole family is in one way or another connectedto the U.N) and we were driven to our respective homestays.

the family i´m staying with, mama and papa arroyo reyes´ and their three kids (though i´ve only met two and at the crack of dawn this morning which is when the whole brood seems to come alive) have been hospitable and the room and house are comfortable. the first thingmaria elena asked me in the morning was if i wanted some cafe con or sin lecho -- i wanted to hug her.

san joaquin de flores, the town i´m staying may be san jose´s equivalent of a rich dc suburb - except with 2000 people or less it´s a lot smaller. you can count the restaurants on one, maybe two hands. one of the school administrators explained to me that many of the towns in Costa Rica are centered around three of the most important things to life down here -- the church, the football green and theschool. Everything grows out from this epicenter.

The language classes through centro panamericano de idiomas (CPI) are ok. the teacher is 23 (i´m the oldest in the class) and not so professional, but i´m inclined to think that the lessons are secondary to being here and getting around (and knowing me, getting lost), so i´m happy. the school´smotto is carpe diem and that´s just what i´m doing.

i´ll add some photos as soon as i figure out how to say usb cable in spanish and where to get my hands on one. i´ve already got a few photos of some of the flora - purple, white, red, funky little flowers abound -- the local destaprimachatelnosti (landmarks), and the school´s courtyard. can´t wait to post.