Day Nine – Welcome to CPI – Monteverde!

I really like our new host family’s home for a few different reasons. One - the couple are funny and encouraging Kelly’s and my learning. Two – the house is far enough off the main road so we are not getting woken up by busses and trucks speeding by. Three – we have our own room with our own bathroom; the privacy is nice and I don’t feel like I’m intruding as much. And last and certainly not least, the home is filled with the most interesting knick-knacks and antiques. Everything from old school irons to fake parrots hang from the walls and even the ceilings. Each item has a story behind it and Tomas and Ana Patricia are always willing to share the story behind it.

After breakfast, Ana Patricia walked us to our bus stop. The campus is about a 20-25 minute walk away, but it’s all uphill. I’m glad that there is a bus, but Kelly is already pushing me to walk the hill with her. Maybe all those times walking up Bascom Hill in Madison weren’t for nothing. The hill aside, there was a very cute moment this morning. It seems, every day, Ana Patricia brings Tomas breakfast at his work across the street. They are a super fun couple and I really hope we get to learn as much as possible from them in the next two weeks.

Week two of classes started today. My class in Monteverde this week is made up of only one other student so there is a lot of one on one time. It’s great for asking questions and working on vocabulary. To make things even better, we are starting class EXACTLY where the other student and I left off in our other campuses. You definitely can not say CPI doesn’t have their act together with class agendas across the three campuses.

Tonight after classes, Kelly and I headed back to Santa Elena, where our host family’s home is located and decided to walk about the town. I tentatively say town because there is about 2000 Ticos who live here; however, since this is the high season for tourism, there is a lot more non-Ticos about. You can definitely tell that the Santa Elenans are doing their best to support and gain from the massive eco-tourism economy.

In the town, Kelly and I visited a few different shops, but our favorite definitely was the heladeria – the ice cream shop. In Monteverde, just down the road from where we were, there is a dairy factory, and this ice cream shop sells their products. I had coffee ice cream and Kelly had a mixture of macadamia and chocolate ice creams. Both were quite delicious, but I don’t think they compare to the ice cream from the Wisconsin Union…What can I say, I’m a Badger for life.

Dinner was great – a mixture of eggs and green beans served with rice and fried plantains. Yes, my friends, this is the life. Ana Patricia and Tomas are making Monteverde out to be an amazing place, and we can not thank them enough for that.

More to come soon – including photos!

Paz,
Casey