Feelin' Kinda Sunday

Hola Compañeros!

Today is my third full day in the Spanish school's other campus, located in Sámara, a gorgeous little beach town on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. I am writing from a hammock about 4 feet from the sand and I have the incredible ocean view on one side and the school on the other (hopefully these pictures will warm you up a little bit!) I got here late on Sunday after a great day of white water rafting with Marni on the Pacuare river which, apparently, is one of the top five rafting rivers in the world. Unfortunately, since we're in the middle of the dry season right now the water level was a lot lower than usual and, thus, the rapids were a bit tame. Still, we had a great time and walked away with some funny stories and awkward sunburns. 

Sámara, as I mentioned, is wonderful! It's the complete opposite of Heredia - the town is safe, people don't really lock their houses at night, the food is expensive (relatively) and the weather is HOT! There is a ton of sand everywhere and it seems like I'm never more than a 2 minute walk from the beach. Life here is very slow and very relaxing - lots of hammocking, beach volleyball, Spanish and beer. As they say, Pura Vida. I also think the Spanish lessons are doing their job because I am having a pretty hard time coming up with the right words in English. I am living in a homestay here as well and there, perhaps, is where the contrast is most evident. They, as opposed to my Heredia family, are informal, crazy and a lot of fun! They are easy to hang out with, laugh with and get close to, especially their 7 year old son, Justin, who was kind of enough to take some time out of his busy schedule last night to teach me and my roommate a few very important vulgarities in Spanish. All told, while there isn't much to do here and there's a lot of just hanging around, it will be pretty tough for me to leave here next week.  

Speaking of which, one more (hopefully not final) shoutout to my Steelers. I am now flying home next Thursday which means I'll be able to watch the Superbowl with my dear Grandparents in Naples! I can't wait to see everybody (or whoever is lucky enough to see me while I'm in The States) and I miss you all!

Pura Vida!