turn around, bright eyes...

Well hello there my fellow gringos.

Kristen and I are using the internet, cooking up some traveling goodness... more details when we're set in our plans.

This morning was an adventure. I went after breakfast with Rafa (and older Tico that works on the farm) to cut grass for the goats. We drove in an old truck with 'Toyota' spray painted on the back, up and down these crazy, winding, moutain dirt roads. It was beautiful though and I liked the wind blowing in my face. We took the load of grass back in time for the break and then after that we left again with Vinny to get 'estrella' which means star but is just a different kind of grass.

So there I was, sitting in a pick up truck between two Ticos, driving through the mountains, listening to music on the radio such as Michael Jackson, Will Smith and Total Eclipse of the Heart. So good. While we were cutting and loading the grass, a guy named Juan who works at the farm sometimes was there too. He called me and Rafa over to his truck and pulls out this tiny bottle of Bailey's. What? So he offers me some and so many things are running through my mind but the one that wins is Trevor talking about 'confianza'... so I took a sip (don't worry Mom, I was the first to drink out of it, so no germs... besides, I shovel animal poop all the time, etc.). It was the funniest thing to me at the time, to look around where I was and what I was doing and then having this guy give us shots of Baileys. Then he gave us these fruits that looked like brain when you peeled them and was what I would imagine to be the illegitimate child of an orange, corn and polmagranite. It was good and sour.

Anyway... we headed back to the farm for a quick lunch and then Kristen and I took off (smelly selves and all) for the bus and are now in Paraiso. Tonight we're having a dance party at the finca and I'm pretty stoked about it. Vinny is going to teach me Cumbia dancing too which I'm also excited about.

There are always volunteers coming and going from all over. It's interesting to meet such travelers. I don't know what more to say about this, but I just thought I should mention it.

The Spanish thing gets frustrating at times. Sometimes I feel like I'm understanding a lot and have a little confidence, but then I realize that when I talk to people who are accustomed to non-Spanish speakers, they know how to 'dumb it down'... so anyway... slow and steady wins the race, right? I did have a great talk with Mari yesterday while working in the garden, picking worms out of the corn and killing them and putting a fence around a tomato patch. We talked about politics, love and feelings which I think are three of the hardest topics to cover in a language you can't speak, but she was patient and helpful. It's been really awesome to get to know a Tica on a personal level. I'm glad we're friends. Oh I also got to wash the back end and underside of a baby goat yesterday... Kristen said 'You always get all the good jobs.'

So that's that.
I hope you are all well. I appreciate the messages, comments and emails.
Con mucho amor,
La Gatita