Volcano Weekend and Speaking Spanish

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 We couldn't have had a better weekend. After getting off the bus in La Fortuna, we tooled around the little town and ate lunch, then took a van up to our lodge, a 30 minute drive from town on the opposite side of the volcano. It was pouring rain when we arrived, but our rooms weren't ready, so we decided to go for a short hike. That hike ended up including not only a waterfall, hanging bridge, and snakes jumping out at us, but also a 3 hour climb up the side of a neighboring mountain for an excellent view of a high altitude lake. I was so exhausted but so proud that we'd made it. I haven't had a workout like that in a long time.  After all that exertion we treated ourselves to a buffet dinner at a neighboring hotel and tried out the "hot springs." it was quite a bit more touristy and less natural than I was hoping for, but it was very relaxing and a great evening activity. Apparently one doesn't leave Arenal without having visited the hot springs. I've never been able to legally order anything from a bar before, but equally cool is that I've never been able to swim up to a bar mermaid style and order a drink from the bar! What a novelty! On Sunday morning we got up for the free morning tour and got a closer look at some of the things we'd seen the day before. Our guide explained about the birds we'd seen, Costa Rican Orioles, who build large hanging tube-like nests and have a most unique call. I finally was able to get a decent photo of the volcano! We spent most of the day traveling back to San Jose, and due to a lack of sleep I chose to go to bed at 9:00 :) A scary thing happened that day, though. Five of us went to the bathroom in Taco Bell on the way back to the house, and it was absolutely packed, very crowded for a Sunday night. Of boy of a group of three guys dropped a couple coins on the ground as Tracy passed, and naturally she bent down and picked it up. I was standing behind her and didn't see anything, but as she left she told us that the guy had tried to pickpocket her; she'd felt it. But she'd locked the pockets of her bag, so nothing was taken. But I was RIGHT behind her! I don't understand how I didn't see anything but the stupid up-to-no-good grins on their stupid faces. This has renewed my resolve to always lock the small pocket of my bookbag whenever I'm out. I had heard of that scam before, and I still can't believe I didn't recognize it when I saw it. Constant vigilance.  Yesterday was my day of preparation for my presentation on the Oxygen Concentrator; the assignment was to explain (in 100% Spanish, of course) the function and how to repair the chosen machine. After school the girls and I went to a fancy pastry cafe and completed our homework during the worst of rush hour and got home closer to 7, or about the same time had we left an hour earlier. I then stayed up half the night collecting nouns and verbs, writing a script, and practicing for the presentation. The presentation went well today, accordingly. There were awkward long pauses as I tried to remember what I was supposed to say, and I'm sure I made up quite a few words, but I was able to communicate to my teacher, who only speaks Spanish, about an oxygen concentrator, Nd we both consider that a success. Now I have the night free! I think I'll take the night off to use the Internet for he first time since Sunday.  Successfully completing the presentation has taught me a few things. To communicate effectively in a foreign language, I think it's helpful to build a small core vocabulary of action verbs, basic nouns, and a bit of syntax. If you've got that mastered you can describe other things you don't know the word for and learn more vocabulary naturally. And you can't be afraid to communicate. That's a bit of advice I wholeheartedly agree with from my Spanish phrase book. You must speak. You must accept that you won't know all the words you'll want to say, so you have to be flexible and form it with the words you know. And with your actions. Flory is masterful at communicating with body language and hand gestures. Without them I'm not sure anyone would understand me in Spanish :) Since I'm all done with stuff we may all go out :) Hasta luego!