Day Ten – Sloth or no sloth, we’re going to have a good time!

It’s interesting how quickly you can get into a routine, time and time again. We’ve only been attending classes in Monteverde for two days, and I already feel like I have my routine down. True enough, the routine hasn’t changed much from Heredia to Monteverde, but I didn’t expect it to come this quickly.

Class is going pretty well. That old adage about it being easier to learn a language is young is being illustrated quite well in my class. My other classmate is a  50 something pastor from Texas, and although he is doing a really good job in class, I am moving a bit faster than him. That being said, it has been nice to take the time to help teach and reteach the class. They say once you’re able to reteach something, you’ve mastered it. I don’t know if I’ve mastered all my lesson so far; however, I know that I am helping my classmate and teacher move through the lessons.

Kelly and I decided to try lunch outside CPI today. Usually, a cook from or near the CPI campus prepares meals for the students for about 2000 colones, or 4 bucks. In Heredia, it was the same routine of beans, rice, and salad for us vegetarians, but they would drop the price around 500 colones, but in Monteverde, the cook charges 2500 colones, or 5 bucks, no matter if the dish is with meat or without. Wanting something a tad bit different, Kelly and I found a little café close to the school for our almuerzo. The place was cute and served a killer egg, cheese, and tomato sandwich – the spices were to die for.

After lunch, we headed back to CPI and I was able to chat with mi madre for a bit and get my homework done while Kelly finished up her extra classes. We were going to see a movie at CPI with some other students, but they moved the movie to Wednesday. Nevertheless, Kelly and I found a good use of our time – a night walk in the rain forest. Like I said earlier, Monteverde is located directly in one of the world’s largest rain/cloud forests.

Wild life abound and flashlights ready, we began our adventure. For the most part, it was a hike through some trails in the dark chasing a sloth that didn’t want to be seen. However, our guide had grown up on the property and knew so much about the wild life there. From the strangling fig tree that grows only by suffocating its host tree to the numerous facts about the different types of insects in the forest, our guide made our adventure not only fun, but informative. In our group, there was a couple from England who were delighted to see for the first time raccoons and possums in the flesh. The guy from New York said, “Big deal, these guys get in my garbage all the time!” and Kelly and I just smiled and appreciated the nature around us.

One cool fact from the trip, banana trees aren’t really trees - they’re weeds. Also, they repopulate by sending shoots out from underground like other weeds do. However, this fact causes a bit of confusion for scientists. Banana “trees” produce a fruit and flower, but they don’t use them to spread their seed. They are still trying to figure out why this is…Interesting ,no?

Tomorrow brings more classes, including a cooking class for lunch, and watching a film a CPI. We’re doing it the Tico way and emphasizing the Pura Vida.

Keep in touch and leave comments!

Casey