On Saturday Dory and I took the bus from Alajuela to San José. In San Jose I ditched Dory and caught a bus to Cartago then to Orosi. Dory headed off to visit his brother in Mastatal. I got to Orosi at about 2 in the afternoon, very thirsty and a little tired from being nervous about traveling by myself. Orosi is a small town, about 8,000 people in the Orosi Valley. It is one of the few remaining areas that produces a lot of coffee. You can see coffee growing everywhere on the hills and on the road sides. The clouds hover just under the peaks in the near distance. My favorite part is that it doesn´t rain as much here as the other places we have been in the country. It rains for an hour or two every day around one O´clock.
Anyway, I got here on Saturday and signed up for a week of Spanish classes with the
Montaña Linda Spanish School. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to stay with a local family, they picked me up at noon on Sunday. Luis, Amana, Luis (13) and Aarón (8) were incredibly welcoming. We went to their house, ate lunch and then went on a walk around the area and they treated me to ice cream. I played Memoria (memory) with Aarón.
The house, me and Aaron in front and Amana by the door
I started my Spanish classes at 8 AM Monday, and boy have I learned a lot fast... thought I´ve been studying 3-4 hours a day in addition to my three hour classes, which is something I didn´t know I´m capable of. That is pretty much the routine I´ve had all week. I wake up a little be for seven, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to class, come back and study a little, eat lunch, do my homework and study, then we drink coffee and have a snack, then I study a little more, hang out with the kids until supper. After supper I hang out with the kids more and study/finish my homework before bed. Aarón has school from 7 to 12, it is a block away. Little Luis has high school in Cartago starting at 7, I´m not sure what time he leaves and he gets back around 2 or 3 everyday. Big Luis works all the way in San Jose at a print shop. He leaves well before I wake up and doesn´t get back until after 5:30 everynight. I think he ends up riding the bus for over 3 hours everyday. Amana, the lady of the house holds down the fort.
Aarón and Me Playing "Chica Fea" (Ugly Girl), A game we made up
Luis, Aaron and I
