Why, hello again! So, last week I had a lot to talk about because I was off doing so many fun and exciting things. For this week’s blog, I think that it might be a light entry because I really haven’t been doing much of anything.
Since the schools had been on vacation, I decided to also take a break from work. To be honest, it is almost impossible to concentrate at the house anyway when all the kids are home screaming, the TV is blaring. So, why not take a break? I’ve got a whole 2 years to work anyway. Oh, because I have a diagnostic of my community due in a month. Well, that’s what this week is for.
Then what have I been doing? I’ve been reading books like crazy. Nothing new, but in 2 weeks I’ve devoured 3 books. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider Great Expectations was on that list, I think that it was a pretty hefty amount of pages turned. Also, I’ve been writing a bunch of letters. Sadly, I’ve been receiving not so many letters back. Sad face. You know who you are!! I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about a handwritten letter that makes my day. It’s like the handwriting reflects the writer’s personality and the time taken to think about me and write it all down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely grateful to have Internet too. I think I would be in a much worse position if I couldn’t be in regular contact with everyone back home.
The past week, I was following the Women’s World Cup. I’ve been a fan of the women’s national team for a while now, but it’s been quite a while since the team was this exciting. Seriously, I had been missing the days of Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy and the rest of the gang. They were so fun to watch and look up to. There weren’t that many women superstars, so it was nice to be exposed to females in a world of athletics dominated by men. After they retired, the team just wasn’t as dynamic. I mean, they still had Abby Wambach kicking ass, but it just didn’t have that same spark. All of a sudden, this year the team is on fire again! It’s been so fun watching them play hard and kick butt…except when they are not, like in the final, but I’ll return to that in a second. I contemplated getting a Carli Lloyd jersey, hopefully the reason is obvious, but their jerseys really suck this year. Really, who designed those hideous uniforms? They should be fired. Anyway, it was fun rooting them on with the rest of the country, even though I’m far away. I gotta say though, being the only American for miles who cares about the outcome of a soccer game is very strange and not quite as fun. Watching them lose in the final was really sad. I really almost wanted to cry. They could’ve won, there were so many chances, but they just couldn’t execute. It was a close game though, and it was really fun to watch. Also, if we had to lose to any country, Japan needs those uplifting moments more than any of us. So, while incredibly disappointing, it is kind of cool to think about the fairy tale ending for the Japanese team. They were such underdogs, yet they went for it and made out with gold.
Besides reading and watching some soccer, a lot of focus was put on the rodent problem in the house. I mean, it was a really big problem. They were everywhere and I could not sleep well knowing that they come out at night and roam around in my room. So, my host-family tried everything. They bought rat poison and that worked. The rodents ate it up. Yet, more came. They decided to put a mousetrap under my bed. Well, it killed one. I guess that’s something. Finally, they decided to get a cat…yet when the cat came, all the kids decided to chase it and it ran away scared. I seriously thought that the cat was gone forever. I mean, why would it come back? It’s not like it considers that place home. It was severely traumatized by the crazy kids. To be fair, half of the time I feel severely traumatized by those crazy kids. I think that it was even more traumatized by being brought to the house in a black plastic bag. Oh yes, that’s right. One of my host sister decided to bring it over in a plastic bag. She came over and says, “We got you a cat.” I say, “Where?” She points at the bag. I think, “Um, is it alive?” Somehow it survived. Yet despite all those things, a few days later it came back. Well, I’m not sure how many mice and rats it will be chasing since my host-mom prefers that it stay outside. OK… So, now we don’t have hoards of rodents coming out after the sun sets, but I’m fairly certain we still have one or two roaming around. I know this because I’ve seen them. However, since the trap failed to catch another rodent the other night, my host-mom considers the problem controlled and I think is halting further efforts. Like many things, I’m not sure how I feel about that.
So yesterday, at the local high school, there was a school shooting. There are many versions of what happened and why, but nothing is certain and the police are currently investigating what happened. From what I’ve gathered, a boy who doesn’t attend the school went there and shot another boy. He then shot himself. There is a lot of speculation as to why he did this. I’ve heard that drugs were involved. I’ve heard that it was about a girl. The most recent story is that they were formerly boyfriends and the victim broke up with the shooter to be with a girl and the shooter obviously had bad feelings over it. I’m not sure what to believe, but I do know that it is HUGE news. I didn’t realize, but it’s news all over the country. When it first happened, I obviously heard about it fairly quickly because I was in the middle of interviews and kids from the high school were calling their families to let them know what happened. Because our town doesn’t have a high school, the kids have to go the bigger town to that high school. I didn’t realize at the time that it was a national event. It makes sense though. School shootings are not common in Costa Rica. I keep hearing, “This is the kind of thing that happens in America.” Well, angry teenagers aren’t exclusive to America.
Anyway, I know this will probably freak people out back home, but let me assure you that all is well here. I am safe and the town is safe. In relation to where the school is, I’m about a 15-20 minute bus ride away. Also, as of yet, I haven’t stepped foot in the high school since it technically isn’t part of my assignment and I hear is a pain to get to, but in the future it is likely that I’ll work with high school students, but in my town doing workshops and other projects in our local salon comunal. Again, I just want to assure friends and family that I am safe and there is no need to worry. It could’ve happened anywhere. (Why take the chance?! Nothing to lose! Hahaha. Inside joke.)
Well, that’s all for now. Does anyone else feel like I’m living in a TV show? Seriously, I feel like my life is extremely abnormal. OK, gotta get to work so that I have more to write about later. !Hasta luego!
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