Day 33.

Observations:

-This blog was meant to be something that my supporters would check in on from time to time to see where their money is going. More and more though, some one new tells me that they keep up with what I write daily. Not was I was expecting.
-Yesterday I had a meeting out in Carpio until around 8 pm. I've never been there that late (I was in a tica missionary's car, don't worry).
-After the meeting, as we were dropping off one of the girls who lives in Carpio, I saw Gretel -- another girl who I knew from six years ago. She's doing well and asked about my mom. Like so many girls in Carpio, she's pregnant.
-I also saw a drunk man loose control of his motorcycle, fall off, and lay unconscious in one of the grotesque ditches I've talked about. Immediately people from all around flocked to the scene and pulled him out, blood seeping from his forehead. No ambulance was called.
-Small town safety is something that's taken for granted.
-Street vendors here hawk like none other, shouting their goods until they sound like they've been smoking since exiting the womb. Yesterday though, I heard a woman singing. "Guaya bites!" she sang in almost a folkish lullaby, "Guaya bites! 100 colones for delicious guaya bites!" The city life is for me.
-Stores called "Ropa Americana y Italiana", literally translated "Italian and American clothes", are actually thrift stores.
-Another store I see every day is called "B*KUL <-- Pronto!" At first I was confused by this. "B. Kul <-- Quickly"? Then I realized something..."Be Cool Pronto!" Nice.
-When I was here as a twelve-year-old, unless the food in front of me was bread or fruit, I wouldn't eat it. After spending two weeks in Japan though, I've learned to try everything. As it turns out, I've fallen in love with almost every food I've taken a bite of. This may seem as a blessing, but I think I eat the equivalent of about five meals a day here. I need to work on that.
-Today I spent time with Melisa, the woman I ran into last week who was one of our dear friends who we had lots of trouble finding. She's doing very well and next week I'm going to her house for her aunt's birthday. -My parentals also wanted some pics of me with the people I work with. While I have been very hesitant about letting other people use my D90, one of my students, Griselda, got some good shots of me with Maria, the 3-year-old sister of another one of my students, Carla (the girl who wrote me the note).

-Yes. That is permanent marker on her teeth.

-Hannah