President Elections!

Hey!

So I’ve officially been here over one month! Ahh craziness. Overall this week was pretty decent. Classes are falling more into a rhythm and I’m actually starting to have to study and do homework some nights. My 21^st birthday was fun…nothing too exciting since it was on Monday (which is the only night the bars are closed here in Costa Rica haha) but I got sung “Happy Birthday” three different times in Spanish haha.

It’s been SOOO hot here. Ugh…it’s been over 100 degrees for the past three days. I guess what I found out? That March and April are the two hottest months here! I think I might be doing a lot of weekend trips to San Jose and northern Costa Rica where it is like 20-30 degrees cooler haha. I think I’m getting used to the heat though, it just sucks sweating like 24/7.

Umm nothing else too exciting is happening right now. Carnival starts this Thursday. Carnival is basically a 2 week-long celebration that Puntarenas is known for. People from all over Costa Rica, thousands of people, come to Puntarenas (which is only 2 miles long) and camp and get drunk and dance and sleep outside on the beach and it’s basically constant mayhem and partying for 2 weeks. So it shall be interesting. I’m not really sure what to expect.

So here are some interesting things that I have discovered about Costa Rica:

- The pets here (cats and dogs) are not domesticated at all. People consider them pets but they wonder around the streets and eat trash and snip at passerby’s ankles and are mean and growl and dislike runners and bikers a lot

- Cockroaches and 100’s of ants are daily occurrences.

- Rice and Beans are a side dish for every meal, including breakfast.

- Breakfast does not require specific breakfast foods- I’ve had such things as Pork Fried Rice and hot dogs earlier than 8am in the morning.

- They go on Tico Time here…which basically means everything starts 15-20 min later than they say it will.

- They don’t have drying machines.

- They don’t have hot water- which is nice since I would never ever want to take a hot shower here.

- The Ticos sure love the Gringas (American women). A white girl cannot walk 3 blocks without getting cat called or shouted out to or a least a smile and wave.

Oh! The presidential election is today! We will all know by 8pm tonight who the new president is going to be for Costa Rica. Everything in my house is rooting for Laura Chinchilla who would be the first women Costa Rican President (and she has the same name as me!)