For Everything Else, There's Mastercard

Reader, I have a confession. I passed up on a very blogworthy experience today in the name of responsibility. There's this National festival going on called Palmares and it's apparently a huge party that lasts a couple weeks and it culminates in a day of live music, food, drink and general mayhem. Well, today is the last day of the festival and I had planned on going, but at the last minute I decided not to go. I'm not really a fan of huge crowds of people, but I would have sacrificed my general comfort for the experience and the resulting blog post. Basically, I was going to go for you Reader, but I just couldn't justify spending that much money. Things are surprisingly expensive down here. Food is almost the same price as it is at home, with a few exceptions (bananas, beans and coffee). I got paid a little bit last week, enough to get me through until my next paycheck if I budget wisely, so that's what I'm doing. I do have money in my American account, but I really don't want to revert back to that. I have to learn how to live off what I make here and it's unfortunate that you, Reader, are the one that will suffer the most. It's pretty common knowledge that I have just as much fun staying in as I do going out, sometimes much more fun. But I know reading about my misanthropic lifestyle is way less entertaining than reading about crazy social exploits with the local culture. So for this, I apologize and promise to make it up to you...or at least try and make my antisocial lifestyle sound more interesting when I write about it.

So, while doing exciting things usually involves money, there are certain experiences I can have that are, for lack of a better cliche, priceless. For example, having perfect weather everyday...priceless. I mean, it's January and I can go outside in shorts and a t-shirt, how awesome is that?! Also, finally solving a logic games problem set within a respectable time frame...priceless.

LSAT update: I finished the chapters dealing with basic and advanced linear games and today I moved onto grouping games. I've worked through a bunch of actual LSAT logic games and I usually get all of the questions right. The hard part is answering the whole problem set within 8 minutes and 45 seconds, which is the recommended time allotted to each logic game on the LSAT. Getting them all correct doesn't really matter if it takes you 15 minutes and you don't have time to finish the rest of the questions.

In other news, I did finally get to a beach on Friday. I went to one of the Pacific beaches that's about an hour and a half away with my housemates. It was a small local beach, nothing breathtaking, but it was definitely nice to get out of the city and see the ocean. The water is really warm and the sand is black, I think because of the volcanoes (I either slept through or didn't go to the geology class that talked about different kinds of sand). It was pretty cool to see black sand, definitely a first, but sadly not priceless. It cost me 3 bucks to get into the beach. Most of the beaches are also National Parks, so there's usually an entrance fee. It is really nice being close enough to take a day trip to a beach, especially since I don't have consecutive days off.

Speaking of, my job is still going well. I love most of my classes/students and I'm now up to 18 hours of class a week. I did have a little run in with the Present Perfect this week in my intermediate class. Most people couldn't tell the Present Perfect from the Simple Past without a Google search, but having taught English for over a year, I have developed (example of the PP) a decent understanding of this rather difficult tense. Well, I had just introduced the tense to my class on Tuesday and on Thursday I had one student refuse to do any of the activities because she did not completely understand why/when you use the Present Perfect. It was an incredibly frustrating experience for both of us. It's definitely not her fault though, the PP is just really hard to understand, especially when it's being explained to you in a language you have just started learning. Other than that, things have been pretty smooth sailing in class.

Here's some other random information you may or may not be interested in...
Currently reading: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (I needed something to lift my spirits after the Hunger Games)
Recently watched: Roman Holiday, Iron man, The Waitress and Raiders of the Lost Ark
About to watch: Boardwalk Empire
Most played artist on my iPod recently: Alicia Keys
Most anticipated moment of this upcoming week: Monday night's Castle...it looks awesome

I'll leave you with my favorite Dove chocolate quote from last week:
"Always bring your own sunshine."

P.S. The inspiration for this post comes from the fact that I got a bank account setup here and a Mastercard debit card to go with it. So when I get paid at the end of the month, I will be able to experience some of the "everything else."

P.P.S. I had some requests for more pictures with my posts and I want you to know that I'm not ignoring that request, although this picture-lacking-post may lead you to believe that. I have something special planned for my next post that will involve a lot of pictures. So check back in a couple days for a visually stimulating experience.

For the Cool Use of Logic in the Face of Fire

Today was a monumental day for me. Why you ask? Because today I started a journey that will inevitably shape my entire future. In some ways, I've been on this journey for a while, but now it's much more real. Before today I was floating unwittingly along, hoping that I would stumble onto the right path. Well, as luck would have it, I discovered that path a few weeks ago and today I took the proverbial first step that often proves to be the hardest.

Today, I started studying for the LSAT.

Yep. Law School. That's my future. And the fact that I'm making such a public announcement should tell you how certain I am about this decision. Hopefully after a few minutes of reflection you will realize, as I did, that this path is perfect for me. So perfect in fact that I have an unusual confession to make: I honestly enjoyed the hours I spent studying for the LSAT today. I know, I know...I'm weird. I'm in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, I'm an hour away from the beach and I actually enjoyed spending today studying for one of the hardest standardized tests ever conceived. I feel the need to justify this, so here goes.

It's recommended to start with the Analytical Reasoning section of the LSAT, which is more commonly referred to as the Logic Games section. So, what exactly is a logic game? Remember near the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when Hermione and Harry are faced with Snape's obstacle? I'll refresh your memory. There's a line of 7 potions and a list of rules imposing conditional relationships between the variables. For example:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onwards neither is your friend...

Hermione mentions that figuring this out has nothing to do with magic, but logic. Fortunately, Hermione is awesome and has no trouble solving it so Harry can save the day. Well, Snape's obstacle is an example of a linear logic game and is actually what I spent all day learning how to solve in the most efficient way possible. (Hermione and I have always been kindred spirits and as I'm sure you know, she ended up pursuing a career in Magical Law Enforcement. Yet another reason this is clearly the right path for me. I wonder if the wizarding world has the equivalent of the LSAT...) Anyway, we used to do logic games in Target in elementary school and I always loved solving them. They were like fun brain workouts. And they still are. I'm not sure if that explanation makes me more or less weird...oh well.

I know the studying process is going to get a lot more tedious and the questions are going to get much harder, but I will probably still enjoy it. So you can now look forward to updates on my studying progress in addition to my abroad experiences. I'll leave you with a random bit of wisdom from one of the many Dove chocolates I ate today.

"Believe in yourself and everyone else will do the same."

As Time Goes By

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! It really means a lot (what would we do without Facebook?). I'm going to backtrack a bit and tell you about work before I get to what I did on my birthday.

I started work on Monday and I love this job. Seriously. So far, I have 1 class on Monday and Wednesday nights, 1 class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 2 classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights and 1 class on Saturday mornings. Classes during the week are 1.5 hours long and Saturday classes are 3 hours. It's kind of like having a college schedule again, which I have to admit, I really like. A few hours of work each day is way better than having full workdays. The classes are all really small and my students are awesome. Most of them are around my age or a little older, which makes it easy to relate.

On a completely unrelated note, I finished reading the Hunger Games this week and I definitely recommend it to everyone. It's a very powerful series and just a great reading experience.

I went to San Jose today (it's a 30 minute bus ride away) to meet up with one of the teachers I met at orientation. She and I bonded over a love for Science Fiction and she offered to show me this English bookstore she found in town. We wandered around the bookstore for a bit and then got some pizza at a local restaurant. I also spent some time at this awesome cafe in the National Theater. It's definitely the most beautiful building in San Jose. My students never really have anything good to say about San Jose, but the theater is usually mentioned as the best place. So that's pretty much how spent my day and I'm sure most of you know that it was full of a lot of my favorite things.

While in some ways my life is kind of similar to what it was this time last year...living in a foreign country, teaching English, not really knowing a lot of people...it feels very different. It's been way easier to get settled here than in China. The environment, people and pace here are way more suited for me. It also helps that I know I'm going to be here for a while. I've moved around so much since graduating (6 months at home, 1 month in Cambodia, 3 months in Xian, 6 months in Jinan, 3 months at home and now CR), I haven't really given myself a chance to get comfortable anywhere. I definitely think I've chosen a perfect place to call home for a year.

I meant to write more, but my day off has worn me out. Thanks again for the birthday wishes, I love you all and hope you are doing well wherever you are.

A Room with a View

Hola Reader! I meant to write a post yesterday, but I got a little distracted by The Hunger Games. I started/finished the first book yesterday. Take comfort in knowing that you were neglected in the name of literary enjoyment. So, here's what you missed...

I had orientation at work on Thursday and Friday, which was pretty standard. I met my fellow teachers, got a tour of the school, played lots of get-to-know-you games and found out my schedule. I think I'm really going to like working for this school. All of the people seem great and the school is very student focused. There are also a lot of great resources at the school and they give you a lot of freedom to be creative, which I will definitely be taking advantage of.

Yesterday, I moved into my condo, so I'm no longer living in a hostel. Yay! I have two house mates, Anne and John, who are both great. They're older than me, which is nice because we all know I'm kind of old inside. Anne is currently writing her master's thesis, something about international human rights. John was an archaeology/anthropology professor at the University of Colorado and now he's traveling and teaching English.

I've included a picture of my room and the view outside of my window. You can kind of see the mountains in the background. I took a few pictures of the mountains as I was walking around today, but they just don't look as awesome as they do in person. I'll try and get some better pictures to show you, but you might just have to come visit in order to get the full effect.

I start teaching tomorrow and I'm still working on getting settled. As you know, there are a lot of little random things you have to do and buy whenever you move somewhere new. So I should be pretty busy this week. And by busy, I mean relative to what my life has been for the past month. I only have 15 hours of class a week so far, plus a few random administration hours, but the first week of class is always a little stressful for me. I never really know what to expect from students, so it makes lesson planning a lot harder, but I'm definitely more excited than stressed about getting started. I might jot down a few lesson ideas today, but my books are at school and the school is locked down because apparently everything in Costa Rica comes to a standstill on Sundays. Almost every shop/restaurant in town is closed. So I will most likely spend the rest of today finishing the next Hunger Games book (I'm already 100 pages in).

I'll leave you with a random bit of trivia: Bruce Wayne in Spanish versions of Batman is changed to Bruno Diaz. The things you learn by watching TV in Spanish...

A Whole New World...Again

I made it to Costa Rica! And it was probably the easiest travel experience of my life. 1.5 hours to Fort Lauderdale and then about 2.5 from there to Costa Rica. Easy. I stayed in a hostel near the airport last night and then caught a bus this morning to Heredia (the city I will be calling home for the foreseeable future). The bus ride was about twenty minutes and when I got off I took a taxi for about 5 minutes to my hostel. There were a few minor confusions along the way, but that's expected.

Okay, this might not need to be said, but I'm going to anyway...Costa Rica is beautiful. I've only been here 24 hours, but I'm going to call that a fact. Heredia is surrounded by these gorgeous mountains and today the weather was perfect. I explored for a couple hours this afternoon and I think I saw most of the city. It's not really that big, which is a nice change from China. I visited my school (Intercultura) and met one of the other new teachers, who actually spent the past year in China teaching English...crazy right?! We walked around for a bit, chatted and checked out the Hipermas (Costa Rican Walmart). I definitely won't be lacking any comforts from home like I was in China. The local food is quite tasty as well. I enjoyed a delicious coffee this afternoon with lunch and had a beef casado (set meal) for dinner that had beef, fried plantains, rice, black beans and some kind of salad. It was awesome, cheap and filling.

It was definitely a great first day. Although, I did forget about all the little things you have to adjust to when you get to a new country, like the money. New money is always a little confusing at first. I have a lot to do to get settled and I start orientation the day after tomorrow so I'm going to be pretty busy for a while. But since I'm in Costa Rica, all of it will be an adventure!