Kiss me au revoir!

Day 16, Thursday, July 19^th

Reflection. How far have I come in these four eventful weeks? I remember the bus ride to meet my family. I was as nervous as a blushing bride. But now, well, let’s not make that simile.

Needless to say, when I awake this morning, I am muy triste about this final day. This is my last real morning with my family, my last hoorah so to speak. And I have come to love them, and with this love I will miss them greatly. I eat breakfast with my abuela, and we talk about what I’ve learned: a lot. Too soon it is time to make the last walk to la parada.

I notice everything about my neighborhood today; everything I have come to enjoy and expect. There is the creepy house with overgrown ivy where an irritable dog always announces my presence. There is the waterfall that has broken the sidewalk and deluges down to an overgrown stream, making one of two paths I must break to enter the street. There is the security guard at the top of the big hill who always wishes me “Buenas Dias,” no matter the time of day. There is the daycare not too far from my house, the one where I only started seeing kids three days ago, until which time I was not sure it was open at all. All these places and people have burned themselves in my memory. They are Sabanilla to me, as much as my bus and my experience. And I will miss them accordingly.

As today is the last day of class, and I know I have no homework due (¡que extraño para mi!), I pull out my knitting. I’ve been making a mess of it, but it is coming along. I decide after Hannah’s suggestion to turn my super wide headband into a thin scarf. After all, this gives more opportunity to knit *and* pearl. So I am getting a lot of practice... even if it will be an ugly scarf.

Finally the bell rings and it is time for THE TEST. Okay, I’m not nervous, but everyone around me is, and that is bad for my nerves. Still, I enter the test without trepidation. I am so ready. Ronny informs us that the oral part will be last, much to my great relief. So after the listening exercise, I dig into my thick packet. It is a long test but not hard: I have this grammar in the bag. And better, it is fun. There are no less than four duendes mentioned, as well as a murder plot. Basically, I can’t stop grinning. I work longer than most people, but I always do. I’m an expert at double guessing myself. When I am positive I have done my best, I turn to the writing portion. We have written on most of these topics already, but I am still at a loss. One choice (and the one I choose) is to discuss religion in CR. After a bit of thought, I start to describe my views on religion and how the US and CR differ. Though I am the second to last person done with my exam, I am thoroughly pleased with my essay. And that is what counts.

When we are finished, Ronny tells us to go to the computer lounge to wait for our oral. By the time he gets to me, we have but five minutes until lunch. Nonetheless, I am prepared, and I whip through those questions. One is whether you would rather live in Greenland or the Sahara, and what would you do there to survive. I choose Greenland and say I would fish and try to befriend some indigenous peoples. And then I quip, “Actually, if I were to live in Greenland, I would probably just watch Man Vs. Wild for a few weeks before I leave.” He laughs. It is my proudest Spanish moment. John would be proud. Bear!

Our graduation is a small affair; simply a handing out of certificates by our teachers. But still... I tape the whole thing. ;) Some queque and a quick lunch later, and it is over. We are done. Nevertheless, we have to stay at school ‘til 3, so Ronny pulls out a movie. I am elated – the film we are to watch is Spirited Away! It seems Ronny is a Miyazaki fan, and his favorite is Howl’s Moving Castle – like me! I am so excited to watch it, but there is a problem. Hannah and I didn’t bring our computers today as we are leaving after school... and work Hannah’s computer hardly has any battery. Even so, we start the movie. It is dubbed over and subtitled in Spanish, which is very interesting. I actually think the dubbing is done better, which is even odder. We watch for oh... about an hour before la computadora gives out. I’ve been knitting through the whole thing, but now we have nothing to do. Pooh. I like Miyazaki. Sean, you’ve rubbed off (and Whit – see, I mentioned you!).

We spend the rest of the afternoon discussing our experiences here, and what our plans for the future are. Everyone is going on and on about being ready to go home, and though I am glad to be staying, their enthusiasm is making me miss my friends and family. Oh well, only a week and a half left! Ronny starts telling us what he thinks of us by complementing Allison’s sarcastic wit. He then says that work Hannah is crazy, and he is fairly certain Marissa hates him. We all get a big laugh out of this. But what about Hannah and me? Well, he says, Hannah’s pretty normal and always happy. A few minutes of conversation pass on that account. Then: And Sarah’s usually happy. That’s all the description I get. I’m usually happy. Hey, guess what? I’m usually alive too. Oh the things I usually am.

After class, Ronny hurriedly goes through my story with me. He tells me my mistakes but says that overall it is a good story. Well, I’m proud of it. So proud in fact, that should you ask me to tell it to you some day, I may just act it out. ;)

Hannah and I have some time to kill before heading to town, so we walk around the school cataloguing our favorite places. Or, at least we try. But by the third picture, I see a horrible trend: my flash is refusing to work. In fact, my camera is acting as if the flash is a trick it will not deign to use. In short, my camera is broken.

I try to shake it off and vow to try again later, and instead I spend the next few minutes chatting with people while we wait on Alicia’s teacher to grade her test. I kinda wish Ronny would grade ours... I am curious... but no. It’s probably better I don’t know.

Once Alicia gets her grade (an A of course – she’s so smart, and pretty, and nice... love ya Alicia!), we walk down to the mall. We have to eat surprisingly quickly, so the choice of restaurant is super easy. I’ve never experienced fast food as the Wendy’s in the mall does it. I’ve never seen a crowd there, and it literally takes thirty seconds to get your food. I suppose that time is the price you pay for freshness... but right now time is what we don’t have.

Sooner than later we have our food and begin chomping down. We have a lively conversation about TV (one Beth happily jumps into) and begin our show wish lists for the next year. I’m actually excited about the upcoming season. What is happening to me? ;)

Food barely digested, we disrupt our thrilling talk and hail a couple of taxis to the Coca-Cola station. Our taxi driver’s good enough, but his radio is super creepy. We listen to ten minutes of eerie Dracula laughs before we are finally dropped off at the station. I may not love busses, but I’ll take them over crazy cab drivers.

And then, another bus ride. I can’t really make these anymore interesting than they are – they never consist of much more than reading, knitting, talking, and listening to music. But today’s conversation is good: Beth and I talk about quite a few things in our lives that have been bothering us, and it sparks me to try and contact some old friends.

The constant flickering on and off of lights in the bus makes sleeping rather impossible, so I am relieved to arrive in Manuel Antonio. Alicia wants to go out tonight, but I think I just want to sleep. Who am I kidding? I’m not a partier and perhaps never will be. I’d rather hang out with my friends and type up my blogs. It constantly surprises me how seriously I have taken this task. I want you, dear readers, as few as you may be, to live through me, so I must write, and I must write well. And I must shove as many commas as possible into a single sentence. :)

Our hotel is called Hotel del Mar and is well-known, at least according to my guide book, for being gay friendly. Whew, glad that’s out in the open. Since we’re all gay men, we should fit right in. How silly. The hotel is nice, and I am ready to collapse. It’s too late tonight to hit the beach, but tomorrow!

Alicia, Marissa, and Laura (our new Canadian friend) decide to go out, while Beth, Hannah, Jackie, and I stay in. Not that I mind. We stay up and talk, and after Jackie goes to bed, the three of us start the random word game. Once again, I am struck by the desire to have known Hannah better when we lived together. She is a really fun girl. And there we pass the night, me knitting and pearling, the girls being silly. Yay for CR.