Black out!

Hey guys!

So, in a surprising turn of events, it was raining and thunder storming all day today. I know, huge surprise right? Rain in Costa Rica? How strange!

Obviously the rain isn't what threw me off. The unusual part of today was the 5 1/2 hour long blackout. Usually the power is pretty sturdy when it comes to storms. There's the 5 minute or so power outage, but today from 6:30 to 12 we lost power. There was no internet, no operating fans (it wasn't that bad since the rain cooled everything down, but still), and no working outlets. I planned on working on a paper Profe Moro and I discussed but my laptop died about an hour into the power outage. Basically I sat around in my room writing stuff down and playing music on my phone waiting for the power to come back on. Eventually it came back on and I got most of my work done on paper, so I decided to go to lunch.

Today there was a EARTH University special event that was being celebrated during lunch. We were celebrating the annexation of the Guanacaste campus on the pacific side of the country. There was a buffet, there were tablecloths, centerpieces, and even a mariachi band! I was a little confused because I originally thought that we were celebrating the actual annexation of the town Guanacaste, but one of the cafeteria ladies (we call her Madre) filled me in. God bless these cafeteria ladies, they always explain what the food is to me and they're so nice. We laugh about my horrible accent and I always ask them how their days are. They're basically the guidance counselors of the school. The food was great, as always, and I sat with a few Ecuadorian friends of mine. It was a lot of fun!

After lunch I watched some youtube videos on artificially inseminating cows (which is not something to watch if you get queasy). Tomorrow's the day you guys! I'm really excited but at the same time I'm really nervous. What if I hurt the cow? What if I break my arm (it's happened to people before)? What if? Luckily Profe Moro will be there to help me and the other students, but I'm still worried about screwing this up. Most veterinarians do AI often and it's an important skill to know. It's my first time so I know I'll learn from my mistakes, I just hope I don't screw up monumentally.

Once dinner came around I ate with a few of the girls from my hall and one of their friends from Mexico. I was helping them with their English and they helped me with my Spanish during most of our conversation, so it was really helpful. Everyone's been telling me that I'm improving, and I would hope that after a month here I would improve somewhat, so hopefully by the time I leave I'll be somewhat fluent (or at least more competent). We talked about Lord of the Rings (I had my copy with me), cultural differences, and dancing.

Oh, speaking of dancing, I went to Bachata club with them afterwards! I'm certainly no ballroom dancer like half the people here, but I'm getting better.  Bachata is pretty simple and the steps are easy to follow, I just get thrown off because I focus too much or I lose track of the beat. I always feel bad for the person I'm dancing with. I danced with a few of my friends, Jhoselyn and Estefany, and they helped me more than anyone else. Well, Wladamir (one of the guys) does his best to help me out, but in the end he's just far too advanced for me. The guys here really dance which is extremely weird for me! I'm used to guys just kinda standing there and swaying to the beat. Here they do the fancy twirls and dips, which is intimidating. I had a lot of fun though! Dancing here is a big part of the culture and I think it's a lot of fun, even though I am really bad at it.

That was my day! Wish me luck with tomorrow's AI! I'm gonna need it!

-Allie