IST and Cinthya's Quinces

Tico 21 TEFL Team after completing IST and a quick dip

In service training was 10 days spent in San Jose with all of my Tico 21 friends in a four star hotel relaxing, going to the gym and in training from 8 am-5 with only Sunday off.  It made me actually work through all of the issues I have had in my site and come up with resolutions.  We had tons of training on how to best work with our counterpart teachers and what best ways to start projects.  It was so nice to be with my friends again and have a warm shower!

Thursday we checked out at the very last minute and made our way to the nearest beach - Jaco.  We hadn't made reservations anywhere so we bummed someone's Lonely Planet and wound up just following a local tourist catcher to an inexpensive hostel.  We went straight to the closest fish tacos place.  It was like Chipotle, but better.  They had so many options of different kinds of fish, tacos, burritos, sauces, grilled or fried, oh wait... and an incredible salad bar for you to create your own taco/burrito/salad or whatever you bought.  Needless to say we ate here for dinner Thursday and lunch Friday.  Incredible food for a semi-decent price on a PC budget and we got to sit on swings.  I was in heaven.

It was night as we finally made our way to the beach.  Three of the ten of us stayed in the water for over an hour body-surfing in the crazy waves.  The water was so strong.  The undercurrent wiping us off our feet and the waves appearing in the dark at the last second pounding us.  Several times I dove under waves I got thrown about.  The sand was all around to the point that my eyes were so agitated my contacts fell out.  We sat on the beach taking in the site of the hanging cliffs on either side enjoying the salty air.

Cinthya the Quincenera and her parents

We went to the calm pool at the hostel and played around like kids in the pool, so much fun.  We did holding your breath distance races, hold your ankles race, hand stands competitions, and who can make the best wig.  The we proceeded to celebrate our own Tico 21 Spring Break 2011 by having a college party and drinking excessively. I was lame and went to bed super early, but the main thing I went to the beach for was to swim and I was pooped.

Friday we had pb&j/banana and coffee for breakfast and hit the beach again.  Mojito for mid-morning cool off and back into the water before I had to head to shower and catch my bus.  Ernesto picked me up from San Ignacio and we had dinner. 

Mariano and I

The next morning all of his cousins came into town for my host-cousins quinces.  There were people from all over the country. It's kind of sad that this party is the biggest event in my town for these several months, and the bingo a bit back was such a fluke.  I helped serve food and danced with everyone.  I also made it my personal duty to take pictures of everyone there so please excuse the pictures of a bunch of people you won't recognize on facebook. We went out to a bar with some of the cousins afterward and got home pretty late for small town life.  Sunday all of the out of towners made their rounds at all the families' houses and I finally got to really relax for the first time in weeks in my town.

I'm really happy to be back.  My report was stressing me out a lot right during the time I moved into a new home.  I'm working to get a recycling project going, environmental education programs and youth community service projects going in the next few months.  I met with the School Board (five of my neighbors) on Tuesday and they were really supportive, so I'm off to do that.  Hope you're all well!