Embassies, volcanoes, and the circus. Oh, my!

I have done a fantastic job of neglecting my blog the past two weeks. A lot has happened in that time, so I will give you a short update:

• I wrote a paper about the problems of Limón and their causes and solutions. I would upload it to my blog, but I don't think many of the people in my audience are Spanish speakers/readers.

• A man who is working to become one of Costa Rica's next presidential candidates gave a presentation to our class about the Latin American perspective on the United States. It was hard to hear, but also a very healthy part of the process of shaping our own perspectives on the United States and the way our native country plays the power game in a worldly context.

• One week ago, I attended a festival that was entirely devoted to a fruit that I absolutely detest: pejibaye. My friends Amy and Jamie love pejibaye and were eager to attend the festival. Wanting to take advantage of every cultural opportunity I could find, I went with those two and their parents to another province of Costa Rica, Cartago, to attend the festival. We tried all sorts of pejibaye-based foods (including ice cream) and danced and shopped explored the community.  

This is the group that went to the pejibaye festival.

• On Tuesday of this week, my class took a trip to the U.S. Embassy in San José to learn about the United States perspective on U.S.-Latin American relations. As you could probably guess, it was very different than what we had heard from the Costa Rican speaker. Our time at the embassy was both eye opening and frustrating. Again, it's part of the learning process, and I'm still working through it.

This is the embassy. We felt at home walking in and seeing pictures of American flags and famous U.S. sites.

• On a lighter note, I went to a Costa Rican circus yesterday! We had a blast. It seemed to be a combination of a circus, a play, and a live concert. There was a lot of talent in that big top! Watching the clowns unicycle and juggle made me miss my talented family even more.

• Today, I went to the tallest volcano in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Supposedly, on a clear day, you can see both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans from the top. It wasn't a clear day, but we still had some amazing views!

As Patty said on my Facebook today, it was a "lava"ly experience.

I have some big projects due this week. On Wednesday, I will give my final oral presentation for my Spanish classes. Then I will be done working with that program. I will miss having class here:

Then on Thursday, I will be presenting a group project about the War on Drugs to finish up the seminar class that I am taking through LASP. Then we will celebrate being done with these projects with a long weekend before heading to Nicaragua!

I hope all is well back home. I hear it's a bit chilly. This is hard for me to imagine when I walk around here in a short-sleeve shirt or a tank top every day! Thinking of you.

Summary: Just look at the pictures, they explain almost everything. I'm finishing my two classes this week and then leaving for Nicaragua at the beginning of next week!