Finishing up the trimester at work -- Getting ready to come home for Christmas!!

 Reminiscing about last Christmas. We had so much snow!
We were snowed in for a few days, if I remember right!
Unfortunately, my brother and sister-in-law didn't make it into this adorable family photo. By the time they did get home, I had thrown out my back for the first time in my life (glad it hasn't happened again since!) and was on the floor for the rest of the vacation.
Looking forward to seeing everyone and the snow again! :D
Happy Holidays everyone!
See you soon!

 This photo isn't mine, a friend from work, Jessy, took it. Every week the kids have Surf Club after school. Those who aren't surfing have fun in the sand. Such a beautiful photo, I had to share it!

 I got to see the baby turtles from the arrivada come out! There were 99 little babies that came from this nest! The little girl is a child from work, it was her birthday! What a great day! :D

 Dani and some friends came from San Jose and bought the biggest fish know to man! The guy fed 9 people for dinner, made several servings of ceviche and soup. (maybe tacos too, I don't know, it's one big fishy-fog)
It was kinda creepy, it stared at me, wherever I went. So, I left the room during the prep process.
BEST thing I've ever eaten though!

 This week I saw my first scorpion (thankfully, someone had nicely chopped off the stinger and it was dead)
I'm deciding to take it as a compliment. They could have left me a live one with a stinger! So, someone out there likes me, but shows it in an odd way!

 There's this lovely little restaurant called La Luna, that has the best view of the sunset! We went  out after work to enjoy the view. Had some great drinks and amazing desserts!

 Joey, got up, and lost his spot on the couch. That's what happens when you don't quack Joey.

 We went for a long, beautiful bike ride today! It couldn't have been any nicer! Blue skies, slight breeze to keep you cool. I love Costa Rica! They said that the Nicoya Peninsula is one of the happiest places on Earth. You can understand why, right!?

This is yet another shot of Ostional.
I love the beach! I can't get enough of seeing the ocean!

We're estimating it was about 23 km round trip (~14 miles), it was really nice, just  few hills; and I was glad to make it home!

Sorry, I've gotten bad at writing on here! I'll try to post more!

Thank you US Government

I got a warning email from the US Embassy office last night, warning me about flooding in the country of Costa Rica.
......
......
Um, I have noticed, thanks!
They also asked that I let everyone know how I am. Well, I'm blogging right now, so I think I've made it through! :)
Thankfully, my home is not near the river, so my house and I are safe. I was out with a coworker last night and she got a phone call around 9:30 that the school's playground was underwater. So, we headed over (as our classrooms are next in line to be underwater!) I never thought that the river would make it all of the way to the school! We have a boat on the playground for the kids to play on, and it was floating away! So Manuel and Inky waded in and tied the boat to a few things so that it will be there on Monday morning still.
I heard one of the super markets is underwater too. But, I see sunshine this morning! So, hopefully everything will dry up and the dry season can begin!

Hope everyone is safe where you are! Keep Costa Ricans in your thoughts this week, there are a lot of people not as fortunate as us, and have lost their homes, food, clothes, appliances, everything!
Love!
Sarah

Rainy Days

We've had a big week of rain here! The schools all over the country were shut down (aka. Rain Day!! No work today :D )
So, I get a three day weekend.....unfortunately, I can't go anywhere, bridges on all sides are down. The only place to go is the beach! (If only the sun would come out).
Today I made an early trip to the grocery store (got a jump in front of all of the people stocking up on food), made it to a yoga class, cleaned a bit and am now avoiding work! :)


Last weekend I got out of town and went to San Jose with my coworker, Aidi. It was so great to get out of Nosara. I went to a huge mall filled with people! It was heaven! (But also helped me appreciate Nosara). I was in awe. If I wanted to by something --- I could! It was a great feeling!
It was a productive shopping weekend, I got a lot of things for the classroom, a watch for myself and a very very beautiful bici -- I'm calling her Roxy. She's spunky and sporty! (Pictures to follow soon).

So, it's another rainy day in paradise! But I'm thankful to have the internet!

Tamales!!!!

I had an amazing experience tonight!
I got to go and help a local woman make tamales! You can't imagine how cool it was!
We literally went out into the jungle and cut down leaves from banana trees, then cleaned the leaves. Carolina already cooked the meat and the corn masa.
(Btw, I have never even eaten a tamale in my life...so I'm not quite sure why they let me help!)
Then we put them together, rolled it up, and steamed the tamale over a fire.
Super cool experience!

Also, the sheep at work today had lambs!!! She is the proud mommy of new little cuties, and as  you can imagine, we are having a hard time focusing on anything but these guys!

Ostional Arribada

Love it!

Hello Weekend!

Felicidades! Happy Friday everyone! We had a long week at school, filled with meetings anad whatnot. Monday, we will finally have kids in the classrooms! I'm ready to teach again! It's been an extraordinarily long break for me, since I finished last June in the States, and won't start until October 4th (aka, Bill's Birthday! Happy early Bday Dad!)

Today there was a butterfly that didn't want to leave the classroom, no matter how hard I tried, it just like my window, looking out to the playground! We are busy finishing up the prep. of the classroom, getting ready for the kids!

There is also a photo of my walk to school. It isn't far, but I can't really guess as to how far it is....maybe a 10 minute walk? Probably less, I didn't bring a watch with me, so I'm completely lost on time! But, it's pretty much a dirt road that goes through the jungle on the way to school.

I thought you might like to see a few photos for the place I will be working this year. It is super beautiful, but my pictures do it no justice!

We ended the day with a HH, turned into Supper (or Dinner for you non-Iowans) at Rancho Tico. Happy Weekend everyone! I'm hoping for a sunny day tomorrow so that we can go to the beach! :D