So Check Me Out!

Eventful.

Being sick is no fun. Being away from home, speaking a different language, AND being sick is less fun. Don´t worry, Mom, Dad, everyone else, I´m doing okay :) But, I procured myself a nasty cold that I´m famous for acquiring. Through this, I discovered how pharmacies in Costa Rica work: you visit a "doctor" where you tell them your problem, they "prescribe" you medication, you take it to a different counter in the same building, they give it to you, you pay at a different place. Basically, besides just basic vitamins, you can´t get any medicine without telling someone what exactly your problem is. So try, to tell someone in broken spanish that you´ve had a sore throat for the last day and that you´re stuffy and this is how your colds always start...

But things are getting better. Whatever it was they gave me, I think it´s working. I´ve been trying to rest as much as I can, provided all of the work that we currently have going on. Tonight will be interesting, to say the least.

I dare say that I´m pretty much accustomed to life here. There are little quirks, no doubt, but so far so good. We have a weekend trip for class this weekend, so that will be a good experience.

My biggest "project" right now is trying to figure out what language class I could be in. Out of 10 groups, I was placed in group number 8 (10 being highest). I soon found out it was going too slow and my teacher suggested I move (which is no problem), so today I moved to group 9, where I discovered they were moving slower than we were in group 8, and there´s no room in group 10 for me. So, I´m not exactly sure what I´m going to do about that. We have about two and a half weeks of language school left and I don´t want to feel like that time was wasted with stuff I already know. So, tomorrow I´ll be talking to teachers again and trying to get a feel for what I should do...

So, let me repeat: (especially for Mom, Dad, and all other concerned ones): I´m okay. I´m dealing with being sick. You don´t need to call the National Guard to come get me ;) That´s our running joke here in Costa Rica, because some people worry a lot.

Okay. As always, I hope you´re doing well. If you go to Dordt and want my snailmail address, it´s on DENIS. If not, you can always ask my parents - they know it, I don´t know it off hand because it goes to LASP and I pick it up. Mail will take up to 2 weeks to get here, so I also readily welcome e-mails.

Dios los Bendiga