Summer!

Aguas termales with the Scouts

Girly drinks with José

Preparing for the late night dance party with Porter, Chamisa and Jacqueline

I remember when I received my Peace Corps invitation in December 2008 and the end date said May 2011, which seemed inconceivably far away. Now I am closing in on my last four months, and it is hard to believe that I am almost there. Nonetheless, there is LOTS to do between now and then, both fun and work-wise, so it still doesn’t feel like the end is near.
I had a really fun birthday celebration that began with a hike in Quebradas with Porter, who was visiting after leaving the country a year and a half ago. It was really fun to show him all my projects and how Quebradas has changed since he was a volunteer here, which in many ways is not at all, but I did have some visual proof of my work and relationships since he was last here.
That night was the Festival of Lights (nothing to do with Chanukah) in San Isidro, so I went with a big group of friends, gringos and Ticos, and it was actually the most impressive and highly attended of the various parades I have witnessed or participated in since I’ve been here. There were high school and college bands from all over the country, floats with Disney princesses and Rugrats characters, and my personal favorite, a bank-sponsored group of elderly people who performed baile típico and looked like they were having the most fun of anyone.
The night continued with a group going out for dinner and drinks and then the remaining few going dancing, which is much more action than a typical Saturday in Quebradas. Great fun, though I was in a lot of pain when I had to wake up at 4:30 the next morning to catch the bus for our ALL DAY Scouts trip to the hot springs in San Gerardo. The kids had a great time, and fortunately entertained themselves for the most part, since all of the leaders had been out the night before. I taught them Marco Polo in the first half hour, and they were still contentedly playing six hours later…
The next day I had to lead a strategic planning session for the Scouts, but they surprised me with a birthday cake and we ate chicharrones and they took shots of whiskey, which made the whole activity much more entertaining. Then it was off to San José to meet up with Chamisa and Adrienne and begin the first leg of our Nicaraguan adventure, which merits a blogpost in itself, so stay tuned...