You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December, 2008.
today (technically) is the downhill rush, and nothing can stop me now. I just hope all the studying helped as much as it could have. I really would like to do very well on this test. We’ll see what happens, it won’t be easy. Anywho, last day of spanish class, photography class, and taekwondo. I hope to have a yellow belt by the end of the night.
I saw The Day The Earth Stood Still tonight in a movie theater with comfortable chairs, however, they didn’t accent the movie. In fact, the movie is garbage, do not even bother. Any who, I had fun being with friends.
I’ll update more later I’m sure.
Upon spending time here this weekend working on homework, watching a movie, and other things; my brother bought me a new set of video games to play. 2 will not work for my EEEPC, however, the one that did is called: Space Rangers 2 (Complete). The game has many different aspects of gameplay like: trading, fighting, negotiation, and others. It’s a great game, and a wonderful solution for filling in some of the empty time until I return. It’s really hard to see my New York roommate play video games without me being able to. However, I’m sure time will be limited for playing this anyways.
This next week is going to be very busy up until Thursday night when I am done with it all. So, I won’t have much time that I know of to play this or do much of anything else. I finished 5 out of 6 of my digitally manipulated photographs, and now I’m going to try and finish my Chinese papers to get them out of the way. Next, I will work on my Spanish homework.
So little time, so much to do, but so glad it is this way at the same time, sort of.
When you thought everything couldn’t get crazier before you leave Costa Rica, yes, it does. I just found out today that I have a presentation tomorrow. This is following: an interview tonight, 3 pages of homework, an outline for our next presentation due on Friday, and more other work that I have to do for other classes.
It is simply crazy how much work I will have to do before I leave. Not only is this going to happen, but I will have another test in my photography class over Adobe Photoshop, turn in my final project for photography class, another test in my Spanish class along with a presentation practicing all my forms I’ve learned thus far (a díos mio), my china papers due, and practing for my taekwondo test for my yellow belt next Thursday. Yes, it couldn’t possibly get any crazier than now.
I really wish I had more time for all this, so therefore, sleep will most likely be sacrificed. However, on a bright note, I completed my china papers today. Now, all I have to do is review them and send them in. It’s coming together, slow and steady.
I just don’t want to let my group down, I need to know 10 sentences for tomorrow for my presentation memorized. Not to mention, do the other 3 pages. Alright, time to get back to work. I will feel much better once this presentation is over tomorrow.
Bueno, yo voy a preparar para mi presentación.
So I found out a bit of good news. I scored a 92% on my Spanish test. This was tied for the highest score with a fellow colleague of mine. I couldn’t believe it. The teacher congratulated both of us too. I couldn’t feel more relaxed about the end of this semester, now that I have some buffer room for mistakes. It’s always easier starting out high and ending up a little lower than the other way around. Furthermore, we’re learning subjunctive. I believe this could be the last tense we learn. However, I am not entirely sure. We will have to wait and see.
In other news, I went to a fair with Carlos and Ana this weekend, I had an absolute blast. I danced with Ana to some Costa Rica music, and she loved it. We also got to see where a bull fight is, experience some fair food, and see a mall called: “plaza del oeste” a mall on our way home. It played wonderful x-mas music by a high school band (more than likely), meanwhile we enjoyed some tiny hamburgers. The only REAL reason we stopped there in the first place was because I had to go to the bathroom REALLLLLLLLYYY bad. However, it was really cool to stop there.
Well, the sun is out, it’s an absolute gorgeous day outside. I really couldn’t ask for more. It is actually making it harder for me to see myself leaving now. I mean, we have less than two weeks now, 13 days to be exact. After all the rain, we deserve some nice days!
Well, I heard it’s not going well for everyone else, and don’t you worry, I’ll be home soon enough to share the blistering cold with you.
I’m off to do something, maybe homework, maybe a nap, I don’t know.
Love.
As the title has eluded to, I have little time remaining here in Costa Rica. What little is left, I have used to spend with friends, study, work-out, and hang out with my costa rican family. It’s a strange feeling to be leaving here in a matter of a few weeks. I haven’t even had much time to maintain this blog.
I’ve prioritized my time to be concerned with staying in contact with people. Although, even that has been hard to do. Managing relationships here and far, is not as simple as it sounds. People have times, places to be, things to do, and you can’t win. You can’t call every day, you can’t always talk for an hour to them, and you couldn’t enjoy anything in the place you’re in if you did. More importantly, I’m working my tail end off trying to finish strong in Spanish. I am profoundly interested in learning spanish as a language. I’ve come so far, that turning back seems impossible. I have to spent hours, sacrificed sleep, used dictionaries constantly, and I have asked questions. Questions are like thorns, a few small scrapes and no one notices. When pricks occur, people start getting uneasy. You just can’t ask questions about everything… In a lot of ways, it forces your mind to reconcile the unanswered word. In other ways, it can drive you straight up a wall. It’s crucial though in learning, you espose yourself to this.
But enough of spanish, what about everything else. Well, my parents came down this last week. I was able to spend lots of time with them eating at a nice restaurant, staying at their hotel, and translating things for them as well. I enjoyed being able to be the “go-to guy” for questions on any word or something a person would say. It was gratifying being able to translate and demonstrate everything I’ve learned thus far. I can see why people could really like knowing two languages and using them both in work. It’s quite an awesome feeling to know something no one knows and be so depended on. It gives a feeling of importance and need to a person.
The only bad part of the whole entire stay of my parents was the fact that I couldn’t do more with them. It was their anniversary on thanksgiving and I had too much homework to even spend that with them. I feel better now talking with them about it. However, it did not feel so easy at the time, and it was really difficult saying good-bye like that.
Besides that, before I went to the Tortuguero which is a place in the north-western part of guanacaste where baby turtles are hatched, eagles perch, crocodiles swim, and everything else inbetween. It was for my photography class, and I’m really glad I had the opportunity to go there and take pictures and be with some amazing people. It’s few times where you have a great chemistry of people who work in harmony to make the best out of classes, tease the teacher, and enjoy the class. I can’t say that I really like my teacher, but atleast he feeds us cannon fodder for us to project back at him. I have a test in this class today (technically) eventhough it feels like the night still. I should probably get some sleep because it will come early.
In other news, I will be competing for a taekwondo belt at the end of this stay because it has been started back up, somehow. The doctor at the university had been teaching the class to us at the university for free, but it fell apart when people stop showing. So, my attendance dwindle in sync with this as well. Now, he is starting it up again at a gymnasium close by, even though I believe it’s probably for his own benefit more than ours’. I was one of the most dedicated, so he has constantly harassed me about going, to the point where I don’t know if I even want to anymore. At the end of the day though, it may be worth it.
I really dislike people who constantly annoy me to do something eventhough it’s obvious whatever they are trying to do is not working. Some people are like that, and I think it’s made me not like him as much anymore. However, if I come out with a belt out of this. Maybe it’ll be a great thing to take with me too. I just don’t want this to get in the way of enjoying my last weeks here.
Oh, lastly, our team is done in the “champions league” at our university. We forfeitted our last match because not enough people showed, and it has completely fallen apart for us americans playing in the league. We couldn’t compete with people who had never played, but atleast I enjoyed playing most of the time. It became too much in the end, and I’m glad it is stopping when it is. However, I would really like to have a pickup game in the future.
Okay, I’m done talking and done with my rambling. Not much time left, if I don’t get back to you about more. I’m sure I will when I get home, sometime after x-mas or whenever I am able.
I just need to enjoy the rest of this while I can.
