It's starting to sink in

I have been pounding so many new words into my head lately. I am trying to make the most of my final 15 days in Costa Rica. Every day lately I have been making a list of the words I don't know from class (which there are a lot of) and trying to memorize them at night. I should have been doing this from the very beginning, obviously, but it is never too late to start.

My nights have been pretty busy, too, because I spend most of them cooking for groups of students from the U.S. But it's all good, because I get to practice a lot of Spanish and get free cooking lessons to boot.

Yesterday I stopped by Victor's house to chat with my other Costa Rican family. I thought they would have fallen apart without me, the they were in surprisingly high spirits. They had a new student arrive the day before from Germany. Lisa (her name) is going to be in Costa Rica studying Spanish for ONE YEAR! If that wasn't enough to make you angry, she already speaks German (por supuesto), English and French. But I think the worst part is she is only 17.

Tomorrow I head for Guanacaste, another province in the north of Costa Rica, solo. I am going to stay with Odie's family for a few days and work with her nephew, who is a graphic designer. Guanacaste is supposed to be one of the more rural areas of the country, with a lot of beaches and national parks. Let's hope so!