What to do?

Since my daily, 4 hour Spanish class ended in January, I've had a lot of free time. I would have killed for this kind of time at Drake, but now that I have it I don't ever know what to do. So far, I've done a pretty good job at keeping busy, but two months of no morning plans, is going to get to me.

Luckily, my program director plans group outings for those of us not in Spanish, to keep us busy. So far, I've gone to the zoo, Gold Museum, National Museum of Costa Rica and Artisan Street with my program. It's fun being able to leave the house for the morning and see a new parts of San Jose. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of San Jose, I've found the city does have a lot to offer--they have several museums, cultural centers, shops, restaurants, parks and historical monuments. A random tidbit of information: every museum that I've visited has offered a discounted entry price for ticos. I think that's such a great idea! It's a way to make things affordable and accessible by the locals, so they are able to enjoy their own culture.

Anyways, other than going to places with my group, I've been trying to think of ways to keep myself busy at home. Today I started reading Alice in Wonderland in Spanish (Alicia en el País de las Maravillas), it's challenging and will keep me busy for awhile. I asked my tica mom a few weeks ago, if I could borrow some of her easier books, so I could keep up my Spanish while not in class. I've also set a goal to learn 10 new Spanish words a day...so far it hasn't been too successful, but I'm going to try to pick it back up again.

Other than trying to practice Spanish, I'm trying to go on walks everyday. Since I have the time, I want to stay as active as possible. I even want to try running outside, I'm just really afraid of falling in a hole (no joke) or hurting myself in a crack on the road. So far I'm going to wait on the running and continue with the walking. I feel like daily walks, will become my new thing--as grandma-like as it is, I don't care.

CNN is my new go-to when I get bored. I have an app on my iPod, it's my homepage on my laptop and I even get the tv channel in English. It's great. I feel so update to the happenings of the world. Staying up to date on current events is something I missed while at Drake--I felt like I didn't have time to sit down and watch the news or read more than just the headlines.

Anyways back to Alicia en el País de las Maravillas! My goal is to finish chapter 1 today. 4 pages left!

¡Pura Vida!