We are certainly in the RAINforest!

Last weekend I didn’t end up going to the bars. Rather, I stayed home and hung out with my family, which was a nice and relaxing change of pace. On Friday, I watched the Costa Rica vs. Brazil game with my host brother (Esteban) my host mom, and a family friend (I think his name was Zorro). Even though Costa Rica lost 1-0, it was super fun staying in and watching the game, eating popcorn, and getting in trouble for playing soccer in the house. OOPS!

Saturday was PERFECT! After breakfast most of the group went to a waterfall near Monteverde. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was simply splendid! We took a taxi to the entrance and then hiked about 45 minutes in. The water was super cold, but I swam a little anyway. We spent the morning relaxing and hanging out by the water.

When I got home that day I went to the study center to do a little homework and Skype with my parents.  It was wonderful seeing and talking to them. It had been way too long since we last caught up.

On Sunday I slept in a little, did some homework, and played some soccer with my Esteban and my “primo Tico”, Coco.  Afterwards I went for a nice long run, which is when it started raining. It started on Sunday and it hasn’t stopped raining since. It is now Saturday.

So this week has been pretty dark and dreary and wet. Not only has it rained non-stop, but we also had 3 exams this week. On Monday I had a Spanish exam, which was pretty easy. We are reading a book about conservation called La Loca de Gandoca. After the test we all went to the kitchen at CPI and cooked dinner, which was a super fun stress reliever. And I have to admit we are fabulous cooks! We made rice, re-fried beans, salad, plantains, and tortillas. It was delightful!

On Tuesday we had our CRNH exam, which was also fairly easy compared to our SEES exam. Tuesday night we had a cultural night. All the studies and our host families went to the study center to watch a cultural dance and eat food and socialize. It was super fun and a nice change of pace.

Wednesday was somewhat of a normal day. Internships in the morning and then we had the afternoon free to study. I stayed at the study center pretty late (until 8ish, which is when it closes) studying for the TCB exam. Thursday after working on my internship we had our TCB exam, which was okay. Not too hard, but certainly not easy. Also on Thursday there was a mini-disaster in the kitchen. One or more of the sinks was leaking, so the greywater system was backed up and it reeked! I avoided that room for the majority of the day.

During my internship this week I have been making lots of progress on the solar heater. On Thursday I put most of it together and made a good amount of progress towards making the space that it will heat. The space is essentially a bunch of PVC rods connected into a 1x1x2 meter rectangle with black plastic “walls” and a bar across it for hanging clothes. I’m feeling pretty good about my progress. Yesterday (Friday) I finished building the physical structures and painted the solar collector all nice and pretty. The next step is to work on the educational materials, which we will do most of next week. 

the "space" that will be heated for drying clothes

this is what happens when I try to paint

the solar heater: cold air enters through the blue side,
snakes up the black piping and exits as warm air

Last night we had dinner at the biological center and then had a lecture for CRNH on arthropods. Karen is a super fun teacher and made the material really interesting and engaging! After the lecture we went tarantula hunting and I held a giant tarantula! It was WILD! Today we’re headed back to the biological center for part II of our arthropod lesson.

Afterwards Julia and Carrie came over to my house to get ready to go out, and the whole group met at Monte Cañas, where they were selling shots for a dollar as part of some event because they will be   closing for a while. It was tons of fun hanging out and dancing with everyone!

yes, that is a giant tarantula and yes, I did hold it

I can’t believe the internships are almost over. One more week of internships and then we go on our second field trip for two weeks and then there’s three weeks left of the program, one week of fun in the sun, and then I go home. The time here is flying by!

Oh I forgot to mention in my last entry, but last week Karen took us to a local farm where we got to hold chicks, ride horses, milk cows, and see the pigs, bulls, and other fun animals!