Week in Samara

I must apologize for the week plus in which I had no new posts. The Friday before last, me and five friends set out on our own across CR towards the small Pacific coast town of Playa Samara. We visited Tortugia Island, where we snorkeled and hiked, and the town of Montezuma, where we partied with some others from our group who had arrived on a charter bus on the same day. From there, we hired a driver to take us the last leg to Samara where I took a homestay with a poor family outside of town. I actually enjoyed showering with a spigot and bucket and riding an old bicycle into town each day passed cows and horses to arrive at school for the last week of Spanish classes. I must admit that it is really difficult to concentrate on school when it is 90 degrees and the school is buttressed against a beach full of beautiful Ticas. None the less, I managed to pass the class and I have now returned to Heredia where this week we are starting our classes on migration and history. The presidential elections are this weekend and I am happy to report that the Libertarians are doing extremely well and stand to make big gains in the congress and will narrowly miss becoming the official opposition party. The Super Bowl is also that day and I am having all the UW'ers over to my house for a big Super Bowl and election returns party. Today we are going to the Aries Center for International Peace. Oscar Aries, who is going to win the presidency on Sunday, won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end the civil wars in Nicaragua and Guatemala. I continue to thoroughly enjoy my time here, the people and the freedom that us estadounidenses (people of the United States) only dream of.

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Please note the new links added today and don't forget that you can view larger versions of the pictures by simply clicking on them.