Somebody Told Me There Were Cherry Blue Skies

Greeting again from the Pura Vida. Chances are over the next month you won’t be hearing much from me because I move to my site this weekend. Granted, I might find myself desperately bored in the Internet café a couple of times a week, so who knows. I have lost all track of time and space. I can’t believe that I have been here for less than a month. I have begun to truly adjust to the Pura Vida. I don’t mind that it takes 2 hours to eat lunch because the service is so slow. I am beginning to find hour long bus rides short if not pleasant. I still miss the comforts of home and am desperate for new music and my The Office DVD’s, but everything has fallen into place. Now, it’s time to pick up and start something entirely new. My town is still almost a joke to me. I can’t believe that there is no public phone. Luckily my host brother has a cell so I can receive phone calls from all of you fine people out there. I don’t understand how a town of 100 people can have 60 students in the 1st through 6th grades, but I am sure I will figure it out when I get there. I am going to be really sad to leave my group when the time comes. I really enjoy spending time with everyone. Having a built in social network is like being in college and I love it. We all went to the Caribbean this weekend. We got a flat tire on our private bus in the middle of the night on the way there, which felt considerably less than safe, but I don’t know that I have ever seen a sky so beautiful or so filled with stars. I experienced the Gulf of Mexico for the first time; I saw my first black sand beach and my first wild monkey. So, that was pretty cool. I also spent about 10 hours of the weekend in a hammock listening to my IPod and living the dream. If that’s how I get to spend my free time in Costa Rica over the next 11 months, I will never complain. I have been writing the books a lot, which is great. I think that that will continue as my free time increases exponentially.
I met this guy named Jim on Monday who was a volunteer here last year. He was one of the volunteer at Manuel Antonio, which is Jack and Kristi’s site. I thought he was very cool. He grew up in Colorado and went to Boulder for engineering. He lived in Philadelphia, Taos, San Diego, Australia and of course Costa Rica. Also, a couple years ago, he and one of his friends bought a van in Paris and drove down to Morocco with a guitar a surfboard, skis, a couple changes of clothes and basically nothing else. I’m definitely not enough of a hippy to pull that off, but I have a lot of respect for him. I like being at the point of my life where I am constantly meeting people who can change my perspective. Here is a guy who had never traveled before he was 17 and now is completely unafraid of experiencing new things. He has headed back to the states so I don’t get to pick his brain anymore, but I’m sure that being the super volunteer he was I could get in touch with him if I really needed.
I am beginning to struggle with my diet here. I am one of the few kids who hasn’t been sick, but I am generally hungry after all meals, even if I clear my plate. I am getting pretty desperate for animal protein. I keep sneaking away for snacks of grilled chicken in between meals. I have no idea what I am going to do in El Vergel with Rice and Beans three times a day. I think that there are going to be a lot of Luna Bars and Tuna Sandwiches in my future. I do however, love gallopinto which is rice and beans mixed together, most regularly seen at breakfast. I like mine coupled with scrambled eggs and bread. That is a breakfast that I am probably going to keep making upon my return. It really fills you up for the day. El Vergel is a big fruit town and so I will be able to get a lot more vitamins in my diet once I arrive there, which should be good. I can’t wait for mangoes and pineapple.
Our group had salsa lessons a couple of days ago, which was entertaining as I am sure you can imagine. I am not nearly as good of a dancer as I would like to think, but that doesn’t actually surprise me. It was a good time and now I have the basic steps for the festival a town away from me next weekend. Not much has been going on in these parts. The weather is perfect everyday and I haven’t been followed by any crazy dogs in about a week. I am going to compile a list of things that I need from the states once I get into El Vergel. Then I will post it here along with my mailing address and information on how to send me packages. (There are no streets or real addresses here so it can get to be complicated.) Okay guys. I love you all. Thanks for reading. Shoot me an email and think of me if you read good books. I am going to need a lot of personal reading material over the next 11 months.

Man it takes a lonely girl to wish that she had never dreamt at all

Greetings and Salutations Don't be alarmed by the blog title, I just really like that Lyric From Dashboard, what can I say: I love music.

Sorry about my temporary absence. Times are crazy. There's no really easy way to sum everything up, but I'll do my best. I went to meet my host family this weekend. It was a 5 hour bus ride from San Jose, but it was actually nice. I slept, I hung out with Mikki (pronounced Mikey) and just generally psyched myself up for the family I am going to live with for a year. My town is a joke. If you sneeze while you are driving, you will probably miss it. No Joke. There is one House on one side of the road with a makeshift bus stop and on the other side sit 4 houses and the school. Its wild. Apparently the whole town consists of 100 people but I don't understand where they all live. There is a beautiful river that I will be taking advantage of at some point. The volunteer from last year was a big biker and suggested a lot of rides that exceed 4 hours. I don't so much see myself doing that for a year, but I should be able to run a fair amount, which will be good for me. My site is relatively hot. It was in the high 80's and everyone asked me whether or not I was hot. I told them that I was fine because California is warm most of the year. That answer seemed to satisfy them. My family is huge I think 9 people live in my house, but I'm not sure how. Also the next door neighbors on either side of our house are relatives. My classroom has NOTHING in it, so I am going to need you fine people to help me with some books and other classroom products.

If anyone wants to buy Bearstein Bear Books, Dr Seuss Books or a copy of Aesop's Fables to send to me, I will be eternally grateful. Also any markers, crayons, colored pencils or posters would definitely be appreciated. Shoot me an email if you want to help the supply and I will give you a more complete list of things I need so you can pick and choose. (radford.lathan@gmail.com)

In other news I taught my first class today and it went well. I taught sixth graders verbs. Would you believe it? Last night I was mistaken for a spice girl. (My hair has made me a local celebrity. Jealous?) I am sick of Rice and Beans, I had some fantastic grilled chicken yesterday and I felt like a million bucks. I actually really like Imperial, the Costa Rican Beer. Granted, its cheaper than water, so what's not to like, but I actually do love the taste and wish I could get some Thai Food to go with it.
Mmm Thai Food, or Indian Food, I miss Los Angeles and You. Write soon, Thanks for reading!

More from the Pura Vida

So yesterday I went hiking, played in a waterfall pool, went horseback riding, sat out in the sun, hung out with my new friends and ate an entire loaf of bread by myself. It was pretty sweet.

I woke up early to the sounds of dishes being cleaned at 4:30 but I eased back into sleep until about 7. As I left my door a crazy and possibly rabid dog snapped at me which scared the begeezez out of me. I went on Nano’s famous hike, he’s this crazy homey who lives up in the mountain and just climbs around like a crazy person. We saw a waterfall and I jumped in with Shauna and the boys. It’s been good to be so outgoing on this trip. I like the challenge and hanging with the guys has definitely kept everything interesting. The woodsy trek was significantly less than safe and I was concerned for my safety a couple of times, but it was a nice hike and there were fantastic views. Paul, Kristi and I decided to end our day early and climb on down the mountain to hang out. We stopped at the bakery on our way and I picked up a loaf of bread and a couple of pastries. All of which were delicious. I unfortunately ate the entire loaf of bread in about 6 minutes. I think that Paul and Kristi were a little shocked but they were very kind in my fat kid ness. We sat at Otiac (our school) and talked about movies and books, which was lovely. Then I went home to take a shower and returned to Otiac to do my homework. I ended up just taking a nap while reading the Norman Conquests. I woke up to Jack saying “Hey Rad” So yeah, basically I was busted. Then he Kevin and Kristi were going to go on a horseback ride. I decided at the last moment that I thought that It might be fun and so I decided to join in on the fun. It was FANTASTIC. Really, just a blast, Kevin apparently rode a lot over the summer and I have spent enough time on horses in the past to feel pretty natural in the seat. I had a lot of fun gallivanting around the mountain side. The whole excursion ended up taking a couple of hours, but there were great views, which was very nice. My horse and Kevin’s horse were a little bit competitive and towards the end I had a lot of trouble controlling mine. I think that he tried to throw me a couple of times, which was scary, but nothing happened so it’s completely fine. I’m definitely going to get along well with Kevin, which is great since we only live about an hour away from each other this year. He's a photographer and was an art teacher for a couple of years before this. He also spent the summer in Africa teaching. Talk about a change maker. Jack was very funny as well. He apparently generally prefers to Freeball than to wear underwear. However, the whole denim, horse and balls combination did not work out in his favor. He is such a nerd. Now That's a bad decision. The rest of the ride went well and I was totally exhausted from the days events. I slept extremely well and was pumped for class today. Well, I'm hungry again so I guess I'll go grab a snack if i can find one.

Rice and Beans

Guess what everyone? I am alive and well, would you believe it? What can i say about Costa Rica? Its lovely, and my group is fantastic. Its not more beautiful than Santa Barbara, but I am a little bit biased. I am going to be very sad when we have to split up to our host sites in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately a couple of the people I have really bonded with are 5+ hours away, but apparently thats nothing here. The roads are very poorly paved if at all. Also, the water is safe to drink, but they tell me it takes some adjusting to. I have been going half and half. Our directors are pretty great. I am having trouble breaking through with one of them, but I'm sure i just need to get to know her. We got in on Monday night, I was the only person to travel alone, I arrived about two hours before the rest of my group because they were delayed, but I got some one on one time with John, our orientation advisor. That first night, we stayed in a hostel. The following day was jam packed in San Jose. We went to the American Embassy, our in country medical clinic and lord knows what else. Then we made our way out to Orosi, the town where I am currently staying for 3 weeks. Orosi has a lot of tourism despite its small size and it is located in a very green valley between the mountains. Actually, I can see an active volcano from my house. There is a language school here and we are doing morning sessions in Spanish with afternoon sessions on teaching and such. This year is definitely going to be an adventure. I am in one of the intermediate classes and I am actually shocked by how good my Spanish is. I really thought that it was going to be terrible, but I seem to be getting by relatively well.
Other than that, last night we had a pool party which was nice and we all got to hang out. I had some really fantastic conversation, which I needed. I will get an "address" as soon as i can so that you guys can send me things like kleenex, towels pillows and teaching supplies. If you do, try to send things in big envelopes instead of boxes because then i guess it doesn't have to go through customs. It looks like I may not be able to get a cell phone here, but I will have calling cards and promise to do my best to call you on birthdays and so on and so forth.
The Rainy season starts in May and goes through November, so if you want to visit, February-June is probably the best time, though, I want to have people visiting all year, obviously.
My host family is nice here, but the house kind of smells like chemicals and I think it has been causing a little bit of a head cold for me. If you know me, you know I never get sick, so I am having trouble handling that particular aspect of the adventure. The little kids in my family keep coming into my room and going through my things which is less than ideal, but is nothing that I can't handle.
There are several marathoners in the group so we have been able to run together, which is really nice and has been helping to pass the time and to have something calming to take me back home, so to speak.

Things I have learned since my arrival:
GalloPinto- Is when rice and beans are mixed together other wise you just call it rice and beans. Some variation appears at most meals.
Not only are there no addresses in Costa Rica, mail can take 1-3 weeks to arrive so if you send me something, be patient for a response from me.
Ticas (Costa Ricans) shower every day, but the water is cold most of the time.
They don't save food here.
The electrical wiring here is so bad that if you iron barefoot on a tile floor you can get shocked/electrecuted.
I am going through serious culture shock: Translation, I miss you more than I can say.
More as soon as something happens or I can get to a computer.