And the rest is still unwritten...

Costa Rica Day 23

I’m caught back up with today’s post. However, there is nothing special or exciting to report on for today. Another typical day in Heredia. However, it’s another day marked off the calendar so in a sense, every day here is a special day.

I assume that the battery in my alarm clock is starting to go bad... this morning… I slept late because I didn’t hear it when it went off… It was only a few minutes late this morning so I guess it wasn’t a big deal. I changed the battery this morning though so maybe I’ll have better luck in the morning. So needless to say, I had another hurried morning of a quick shower and the least amount of time getting ready as possible. I headed downstairs for another delicious breakfast. I wrapped part of my sandwich up to take to class, so I ate the rest of it during the first break today.

Class today was super fun. I love my new class and the people in it. I like how this week, class isn’t so structured. Lesson for lesson by the book… yuck! I like things to be steady, but I am not one for structure. I like doing my own thing… doing things differently from day to day… I guess that’s one of the reasons that Public Relations/Marketing appealed to me as a major… Everyday would be spent doing something different… never the same old, same old routine. It took a long time for me to realize… but there is already a plan for my life. So no matter how hard I try to make my life follow a neatly constructed path, life is going to always intervene.

After class, I sat around and talked with the North Carolina friends for a while, and then headed to lunch with some friends from UWG. Some more “delicious” chicken and rice for lunch. And then, I headed towards the house. Today, was not a pretty day in Heredia. It started raining about 10am this morning and never really stopped. We had some bad thunderstorms this afternoon and I even lost internet signal for a long time. I didn’t mind though, I spent the majority of the afternoon reading my new book and taking a much needed nap J I have never been one for naps, even when I was a kid… nap time was boring to me.. naps typically make me more tired throughout the day, so I just prefer to not take them. But today, the thunder storms got the best of me and I fell asleep to the sound of rain. Which generally always does the trick for me.

At dinner tonight, my mamatica asked me if I missed home and I almost got teary eyed. She then cheered me right up and told me that she didn’t want me to leave and that she loved having me here. She even asked me to stay longer, but I quickly told her that I have class back at home starting Monday morning. Which definitely put a smile on my face. I’m so lucky and thankful to have gotten an amazing host family. This month would not have been as easy without a loving and welcoming family. I’m going to miss this place and the wonderful people I’ve met here.

And now for a medical update. I guess I didn’t really expect to live in Costa Rica for a month and not contact some sort of sickness. 4 of our students from UWG have gotten an extremely contagious virus. They have all been to doctor here and received medication. I luckily haven’t contacted that yet, knock on wood, however I have been blessed with something else. After the beach on Saturday, I noticed that I had quite a few bug bites. Nothing out of the ordinary though… I was hiking a rainforest and even the strongest bug spray doesn’t repel all of them… so I didn’t really think much about it. So yesterday morning, when I woke up and my leg was hurting I starting checking for the source of the pain. The “bug bite” that I had gotten had gotten bigger overnight and now, didn’t look like a bug bite at all. It went from being a small spot on my leg to about the size of a quarter. It doesn’t itch like a bug bite, but instead, it hurts and has the surrounding part of my leg hurting as well. I put some benodryl cream on it and went about my day… but of course I checked it throughout the day yesterday and it never got better. It even hurt when I laid down last night. So this morning, when I got to school, I asked a lady that works there what she thought about it. She told me that she didn’t think I should see a doctor just yet… but she did give me another cream to put on it.

So before dinner, I looked up a few words in Spanish, and showed my mamatica to see what she thought. Her initial reaction scared me even more… but then as she looked at it closer, she didn’t seem to think that it was a big deal. She did tell me, however, that if it wasn’t better in the morning then I should go to the pharmacy and they should be able to give me something to clear it up instead of seeing a doctor. I asked her if I needed to be worried about it, and she told me that she didn’t think so. But because I obviously got bit at the beach by something, it would be better to have it checked if it doesn’t decrease in size tonight. Yikes! Seriously? I should of known I couldn’t come away clean and healthy! I would post a picture, but it looks rather gross. So I’ll spare you all the images for now.

So say an extra little prayer for me. I am not looking forward to walking into a Spanish speaking pharmacy and communicating that I need something to prevent my leg from falling off!!

Well I’m off to do some homework now. I'm currently listening to a bar across the street play Wonderwall... and yes, in English! What a throw back to the States... ahhh :) We’re almost to the half-way point of the week… and the countdown has officially reached one hand… only 5 days left and then...

“Well I’m going home, back to the place where I belong
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I’m not running from, no, I think you got me all wrong
I don’t regret this life I chose for me
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I’m going home…”

-Home by Chris Daughtry

Good night everyone! Much love from Heredia, Costa Rica!