Chances to write here on the internet come few and far between, but I have had plenty of time to write in my journal while here in Costa Rica. In fact, I have had plenty of time to do many things which I hardly ever do in the United States; playing, for example. Here I play almost every day with my host brothers (Cesar 15, Marco 12, Pablo 8) and my host parents (Julio and Grissel) whether in fútbol, frisbee, or fútbol americano (football). I write, read, talk and think in Spanish. I eat Spanish food (with the exception of corn flakes at breakfast) and I walk and I walk and I walk. Here people walk miles a day and I am one of them. The institute is about forty minutes from my house, up and down hills, and then it is about ten minutes from the bus which can take you into the town of Alajuela. Riding in a bus and walking are like past-times here, but I won´t hear me complaining.
Doing all of these things gives me a lot of time to think; sometimes in English, but mostly in Spanish. I think about realidad (reality), personas (people), los estados unidos (the USA), virtuosidad (virtues and principles), vecindarios (neighborhoods) y sobre mi (myself). I wonder about what life is all about and if people here in Costa Rica have it figured out more than people in the United States have. We have a lot more things, stuff, cosas, in the United States than they have here, but the important things like love, affection, family and kindness are here in a plenty.
I know those things are in me, and in people back home too, but sometimes I think we lose it beneath all the other stuff. Henry David Thoreau said "Simplify, simplify, simplify," and I think I agree. I think people here understand that and I hope I can bring that back with me to the United States.
Doing all of these things gives me a lot of time to think; sometimes in English, but mostly in Spanish. I think about realidad (reality), personas (people), los estados unidos (the USA), virtuosidad (virtues and principles), vecindarios (neighborhoods) y sobre mi (myself). I wonder about what life is all about and if people here in Costa Rica have it figured out more than people in the United States have. We have a lot more things, stuff, cosas, in the United States than they have here, but the important things like love, affection, family and kindness are here in a plenty.
I know those things are in me, and in people back home too, but sometimes I think we lose it beneath all the other stuff. Henry David Thoreau said "Simplify, simplify, simplify," and I think I agree. I think people here understand that and I hope I can bring that back with me to the United States.
