JUMP!

I am never afraid of what I know. Anna Sewell

Lately I have become obsessed with jumping out of a plane. It started off with I need to conquer things that I am afraid to do and moved to what is the scariest thing I can think to do. For me jumping out of a plane is it, I can not think of a single thing that is more insane and fear provoking for me than jumping out of a plane. All of the small things have started to fall into place, starting a new career, traveling, making new friends (I can be painfully shy or just so damn blunt it's shocking), starting a PhD program, being free to live where ever I need to in the next year, etc. All of those steps are starting to seem easy, jumping out of a plane will have fewer ramifications for my life yet I am scared to death of scheduling the time for my jump.
Today I decided that I needed to just schedule the time to do this alone. If I talk about it I get nervous. I think that maybe I am just pushing life too far, then I realize that this jump signifies everything that changed for me. It is my commencement ceremony for some permeant and positive changes for moving forward and knowing that whatever I am afraid of is less scary the second time around.

The Grands

I was told today that updating my blog might make it a more interesting read; my family is ridiculously picky.
I forgot my camera so the pictures from Thanksgiving will have to wait until someone sends me a few...that's a hint for my follower.
I love visiting my Grands, it has to be one of my favorite vacation spots. I loved it in Chicago and I love it in Colorado. Their house has a constancy and a comfort that is lovely to return to time and time again no matter the location. I love the greeting when arriving, Grandfather clock, the smell, the wool blankets on the bed, the dolls from my childhood, and just the general feel of the house. There is a special calmness/stillness in their house that always makes me feel peaceful.
Odd as it may seem my family has a few special quirks. One showed up promptly tonight when I arrived. We like to talk (that's not the quirk) and are all horrible at watching TV (that's the quirk). Tonight I sat down to eat a late dinner after arriving and the rest of the family was trying to program a new TV device for my Grands. As we were switching channels and trying to program the device a movie came on that was action packed, my G'pa in true Zander fashion gave commentary to the movie, we talked about what movie it might be what could be happening, about 15 minutes into it we slowly realized it was dubbed over in Spanish, no problem the very loud Zander voices continued to create their own scenarios and outcomes. No lack of creativity here.

Judgement

Judgement is a funny thing. This last week I was thinking about all of the different ways we judge people or different situations and how off we usually are about whatever we are judging. Very few people are really ever overly concerned with anyone else's life. Most people really will pull through for their friends no matter what they may have claimed their previous judgements may be on certain situations. In fact the world as a whole is just pretty nice.

Pura Vida

I am going to miss Costa Rica! It was so difficult saying good bye to everyone today and leaving Jaco. I hadn't realized just how use to it I was getting, I really think I could stay a few more months. I really felt like I was just starting to get into it this week. The moments of being homesick had started to pass and I was starting to explore different things to do in Jaco.
I am enjoying the cool air in San Jose and a warm shower was nice. I like that I don't smell like bug spray and sunscreen right now, that I was able to do my hair, I get to go home and cook what I want, my internet will work regularly again, and I can flush my toilet paper. I however had become use to feeling hot and sweaty all of the time and taking cool showers. I really like being surprised with what I was going to eat. One morning this week I woke up to find out that Anne and I got to learn how to make tortillas. The family we stayed with was absolutly wonderful! I the soup that Anna made for me every time I got sick was amazing and they way they interacted with Anne and I was so warm and welcoming.

Funny Family

The host family I am staying with is hysterical, now granted no family is as funny as my family (just ask, they will let you know), but this family at times could rival them for humors moments. Last Sunday they took Anne (the other girls staying with them) and I into the mountains. The father felt it was very important that we see the mountains because they are so beautiful! So they packed us up for a day picnicking, hiking, and entertainment.
We started the day at a beautiful waterfall where we played around with kids. The mother, Anna, told Anne that there were snakes everywhere and loved that Anne was afraid of the snakes. She would pick up sticks and rub them on Anne's leg when Anne was not looking. They found shrimp and were delighted when Anne screamed when it was put in her hand, I did not have the adequate reaction to many of these shenanigans, it's like I had practice dealing with this behavior.
They then took us to eat lunch where they gave us quite an education in slang specific to Costa Rica. Non of which I can remember but the hand signals for some of it was so funny that it left everyone shrieking with laughter!
They picked new fruits for us to try, took us to visit friends of the family, took us to cool off in an amazing river when we couldn't take the heat anymore, and feed us in the river.
They day was really wonderful. They ended it by taking us to an over look of Jaco that has to be one of the most majestic views I have ever witnessed. We were there at sunsets and it was one of the days were the sunset was almost blue! So amazing to see both the mountains and the beach in the horizon as the sunset.

Mucho Lluvia

I think I might loose my mind with all of the rain down here! I have been stuck in the same location for 4 hours now because it started down pouring while I was walking around this morning. I have my computer with me and no water proof bag!!!! So I am currently missing surfing and hoping that it stops raining in time for me to go to yoga.

This week it started pouring for hours straight! Clearly I need to find a place at the school to leave my computer so that I do not feel impeded by the weather when I am walking around town. This is the second time that I have stopped and thought that I could wait out the rain, a down fall of growing up in the desert. On the upside I can discuss the weather pretty accurately now...my two Spanish topics food and weather. Aside from mucho lluvia it is mucho calor!

I brought a rain jacket with me, helpful. I also brought 5 pairs of pants, not as helpful when you are close to the equator. I brought a zip up and a light beach sweater, completely unnecessary in this location! An umbrella might prove to be useful and a worth while purchase if I ever get to leave this restaurant that I am currently in.

lost and found

I was recently told that it must be nice that I am so unattached to material possessions. This comment was made because I tend to leave a lot behind (think keys, phones, shoes), really I just spread the wealth of my stuff (which multiplies miraculously, that is a whole different topic). It has been discussed in great depth a few times at the dinner bar at the school because of whatever I seem to be missing at the moment. There is a lot of joking about how calm I am as I am looking for something that I clearly need to say get home and get into the room I am staying in.
While I have been in Costa Rica I have managed to leave my computer charger at the Taco Bar so many times that they now recognize me and just hand it to me when I return to retrieve the charger. I have yet to keep a towel for more than 3 days, my great quick dry backpacking towel, gone. I quit buying/borrowing towels about a week ago, I am just not meant to have one here. My clothing is currently cleverly dispersed between different rooms at the school, the house I am staying at, and different drying racks in-between. I only have partial parts of my swim suites today. As for my rash guards I am sure that I will find all of them when it stops raining. Basically if I blessed the room with a shower it has been blessed with my crap. Today is one of those days where I need to retrieve a few positions. I just picked up my computer charger to find that I had also left my credit card at the Taco Bar. Now I am waiting out the rain wondering what else I have left behind in various places. I woke up very aware that I should go and hunt down some of my stuff today.
Now here is what amazes me, when people begin to realize that I regularly leave my crap everywhere they are first extremely concerned about it being stolen and offer a plethora of suggestions to help with my organizations skills. I think my organizational skills are fine, I get done what I need and want to get done and I can find what I want or a substitute for what I want most of the time. What I have found is that most of the time my stuff comes back to me, I think it's because most people where ever you happen to be in the world get that someone would say be grateful to return to their car keys or computer charger. Humans are pretty kind and in general willing to not steal. If someone wants to steal something they seem to seek out the opportunity and not stumble upon it, when presented the opportunity to do the "right thing" most people will.
Leaving my stuff everywhere just gives me the chance to meet new people and practice my Spanish. Here are two of places I frequently leave my stuff in Costa Rica, the beach and the school.