Wowza, dear readers, so much is happening here all the time that I never know when it is a ‘good’ time to write.

I've been in Costa Rica a little more than 2 months, which seems to be such a long time and also such a tiny instant in the greater scheme of things... I feel like I've done so much, on the one hand, and on the other hand like I've only barely just begun.

I think this would be a good time to mix it up and just jot down a few things that have happened recently.

First of all:
-I got to the bottom of the biggest waterfall here in Boruca yesterday! It’s an almost vertical climb, extremely nerve-wracking, but I went with a group and we all made it in one piece. Here’s evidence of our success:

-My computer died dramatically on Friday, but after a marathon two days of bussing back and forth between Boruca and Buenos Aires, I now have it back in decent health with Windows reinstalled.

-Classes are going well. Some American college students were in Boruca this past week and one of them, Emilie, helped me out at school. She was amazing and interested in asking the kids about their futures, so we ran with that instead of doing traditional lesson plans, and it went awesomely!

-That said, exams are coming up, and I’m a tad nervous. I know, as with everything here with my job, that one way or another I will muddle through it and figure out, but it is still nerve-wracking at times. There is just SO MUCH TO DO and it really does just keep hitting me over and over again...

-I get to go to a Costa Rican baby shower this afternoon! I’m pretty excited about it.

-I’m hiking or running most days, which has become a crucial part of maintaining both my physical and mental well-being. I need that time to myself, and I need to move my body. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a good alternative to the deep-fried, starch-based diet here. My stomach and my skin are still suffering from it, not to mention my mental health, a bit. But I’m working on it, and I know I’ll be ok.

-In a decidedly Edward Goreyian turn of events, someone stole the letter K from my classroom. Bewilderingly enough, everything else seemed to be in its right place—only the letter K was missing from the alphabet I have hung on the wall, and the word SMILE on the door had been rearranged into MELIS. When I returned the following day, the K had been returned.

Classroom ghosts? Who knows...

:)

And in more exciting news....

-TWO PACKAGES GOT THROUGH FROM THE STATES!!!! While it's still unfortunately true that several have been stopped at the border, two boxes of supplies did indeed reach me in Boruca, meaning that I have a few more books and some other awesome stuff. SO what this means for any of you such-minded folk is that it might not be such a futile endeavor to try and send me things. I can't guarantee I'll get it... but I can guarantee that I will appreciate the effort, and if I do get it it will have me dancing with joy!

ANYWAY, that's probably enough for today. I'll try to write again before too much time has passed.

...It just keeps hitting me again and again how much work there is here, how important it is to take this all seriously and yet also be tranquila, how much I miss people in the States and Germany and Austria but also how lucky I am to be here, how thankful I am, and how grateful I am.

Thank you to all of you. For reading this, for caring, for helping, for thinking anything supportive in my direction.

Besos!
Raquelita

Oh and PS: Here are two more pictures:

the first one is of me playing guitar in the houses of one of my students. That's Gary at my elbow... he's in... 2nd grade? or something like that.

the second picture was taken yesterday by Graceann. It's of me and Sara riding in the back of a pickup truck up the mountain after our bus broke down... I'm uploading mainly so you all can see the awesome miniature mask (what Boruca is famous for) that one of my students gifted me with this week. I'm wearing it around my neck and I love it!!

...alright, for real this time.
Besos y abrazos!
R