You can listen to it while you read the rest of this blog!
Last weekend was amazing, even though I was sick through most of it. I'm mostly speaking of the family party ACM hosted on Saturday. It was very cool to meet the families of all the students I have heard about so much. There weren't that many dads there though, including mine. Most of the families consisted of moms, grandmas, children, and siblings. I'm not really sure what to make of the fact that mostly women were there....maybe a cultural thing? It started off with some snacks and meeting everyone. The food there was very delicious, I ate a delicious tuna sandwich in a fancy bread with lentils I think? It was very healthy and delicious, it can't get any better than that? After that, the students put on jerseys that stated ACM because we played soccer against the fathers that were there. There had to be some boy children though (interesting that none of the girls wanted to play) since again, there weren't that many dads. I was starting to feel sick by then so I didn't play...also because I don't know how. We ended up losing around 10-3. But it was to be expected since soccer is what all Costa Ricans do in their free-time here and only about four of the nine ACM students actually have played soccer before. After, some of us went in the pool at the place we were at, some sunbathed, and some ate delicious lunches with their families. Afterwards, I played pool with my sister and her cousin - which happens to be another ACM student - and his model brother. There was a professional Latin American style dance couple that performed for us and also taught us some salsa, meringue, bachata...etc. Overall, the day was very fun and even the hard-pouring rain midway through couldn't get our spirits down.
As you all know, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I'm used to not really celebrating it with my family, so you would think that being away wouldn't be so bad. However, I really miss my mom and wish I could celebrate it with her this year (it's probably because I have been living with a different family for the past three months). But I'm so grateful that ACM is preparing a special Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow with dinner plates that are usually at Thanksgiving in the United States. As you can imagine - Costa Ricans don't celebrate Thanksgiving the same way we do. They do have a Día de Gracias (Day of Thanks) here though. We will be having the awesome cook Ivette doing most of the cooking. But, some of us (and when I say us I mean others :P) will be making desserts. So it really is the next best Thanksgiving ACM could give us in a foreign country. I'm so excited to eat all the food!
I am really striving for all As in my classes. The fact that I may possibly do so in two classes that are almost 95% of the time in Spanish just shows how much I have progressed throughout this program. This weekend I am determined to talk a lot with my host mom and practice my speaking fluency for my oral exam on Tuesday. It's going to be videotaped so the head of the Spanish department at Ripon College can distribute it to my Spanish professors for them to see how much I have improved...therefore, I am nervous as heck.
My experience here has been very difficult, but extremely rewarding at the same time. I'm a little sad to see it end soon. I'm really going the group here, they're so awesome! We are all so different, yet all of us have remained friends throughout almost four months. It's going to be so different to go back to the United States and not spend every day with them in the ACM building....seeing Sarah and Mateo and Kallie cooking up a storm in the kitchen, seeing Anya doing breakdance moves, hearing Amanda speak Spanish everywhere, going to gym everyday for kickboxing and conditioning with Christina and Carmelita...etc. I'm wanting to tear up just thinking about it! But, life consists of many changes...this is just another block of my life about to end! It has been such a hard, amazing, frustrating, rewarding, tearful, loving one. :]
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