The end of my third week at Intercultura has come to an end. It was bittersweet today--I was happy that it was Friday and I got an A on my exam, but the time here is passing so quickly. Mayela has been our professor for the past two weeks, and I've enjoyed her class just as much as I enjoyed Monica's, but Mayela informed us that we will have a different teacher next week. It's good to switch, I guess, because each teacher has her own strengths and we can adjust to variances in pronunciation and accents.
This is our last weekend in Heredia, because next weekend we will be en route to Samara. Because of this, we are not taking a trip this weekend; just staying here and relaxing. This makes Mama Tica happy that we are staying here. So after our classes got out at 12:30, the rest of the day was ours. Rumor was that there was an artesan market in Heredia which is supposedly similar to the one in San Jose. Mama Tica had told us to go past Pops, but I couldnt remember if we were to turn at Pops or to keep going straight. Well Lindsay, Amanda, and I explored some parts of Heredia we hadn't seen before, since we usually don't go past Parque Central. We wandered and wandered and then we realized we had made a HUGE circle and were almost back to Intercultura. All of the "directions" we were given, had led us nowhere. I suggested we go back to Pops and take a right, and if it wasnt on that street, just call it quits. Well we found it. The things were handmade, for the majority, but I wouldn't consider it a "market." Let's just say we enjoyed the hunt more than the find!
We all came to where Lindsay and I live and decided to watch a movie on Lindsay's computer. We turned the lights of so we could see the screen better, you know the deal. Anyways, I started to get a bit warm, and when I looked up the fan appeared to be slowing to a halt. I tried to turn the light on without success. This was 4:30. On Wednesday the power came back quicker than I expected, but no such luck today. Mama Tica brought us a candle to our room. Time continued to pass. The sky grew darker and so did the house.
Obviously Mama Tica couldn't cook without power, so she had Chinese delivered to the house. (I don't know why, but I find it funny that I was eating Chinese food in Costa Rica!). We had a nice candle light dinner and after dinner we all headed into the living room, because the large windows allowed for slightly more light. Molly, the perro, ended up curling up against me and falling asleep, and both cats also joined us. Tonight was a neat experience, because we usually retreat to our room to do homework after dinner; however, tonight provided the opportunity for family bonding with my Costa Rican family. I really enjoyed the time spent together.
On the other hand, it is a bit disheartening to see how much we rely on electricity. The power didn't come back on until 7:30, and the first thing I did was turn on my laptop. Before it had even booted up, Mama Tica asked me if I had an internet connection.
It is times like tonight that make me realize where I need to place my values. So maybe I couldn't see everyone, but the darkness allowed for a time of conversation and bonding that we usually don't have after dinner. Why did our "family bonding time" end after the power came back on? I don't know, but I am thankful for the opportunity that arose out of the darkness (literally).
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