Third time's a charm, and that makes me a charmer. - Alicia

Day 9, Monday, July 9 – Day 11, Wednesday, July 11

Bang bang, Maxwell’s silver hammer came down upon my head.

Gentle reader, I am tired. And so, in order to quickly catch you up on a rather uneventful week, we are going to attempt a different type of post. Ready? I know I am. ;)

What I have studied this week:
The subjunctive (what else is new)
More specifically:
1. Using the present subjunctive to indicate the future
2. The imperfect subjunctive. Y’know, the fun stuff.
My sentence for the week: No importa lo que diga (regular subj.), nunca creeré (future) que él haya dicho (see number 1) la verdad. It literally means: No matter what he says, I will never believe that he has told the truth.

Essays written and ideas discussed:
1. Genome project
2. Advances in science (you try writing about back surgeries and c-sections. Es un poco difícil.)
3. Poverty – due to too many people in too small a space. Costa Ricans have the same problem with Nicaraguans as we have with Mexicans. The only difference is that Costa Rica is about half the size of Arkansas... and has twice as many people. So, it is a little crowded. It is a big problem.
4. Things I was and was not allowed to do as a child (350 palabras exactly man!). We only had to write two essays this week. Does Ronny know? I thought we had to write four for the University rules...
5. Harry Potter – it is a big deal in our class. :)

Games played:
1. Dominoes con palabras! I have to say that I really enjoyed this game. I did not grow up playing dominoes, but I know how. But okay, I am a dork, and anything where you have to put together words and sentences is muy divertido para mi. I guess that’s why I love scrabble.
2. Scrabble! It was totally una sorpresa! Ronny told us earlier in the morning that we would never play another game (some people complained about dominoes (everyone but me) and taboo (only me)). But we begged and said we’d be good! And he changed his mind apparently. I love love love scrabble. It is my favorite board game, and that is because I have patience. We play at my Granny’s house all the time, and my brothers and cousins get angry at how long I take to take my turn. But my words are always good. It is worth the wait. I don’t think I have ever lost. I won in Spanish too. Okay, Hannah would say Ronny won... I was just on his team. I would say... yeah, she’s right. ;) Okay by me!
3. Boggle. I like boggle, but we played for two hours this morning! I’m really just bitter because I was really off today and could see very few words in the little square. But Hannah was on fire. She was in the boggle zone.

Things that have made me happy this week:
1. Talking with my family. I have really upped the conversation level in my house this week. After dinner we have started sitting around and talking, and it is mutual. They are not just talking at me; they are talking with me. It is so cool.
2. Ben Lee sings “Catch My Disease.” How I didn’t know this before is beyond me. I’m not the quickest dog in the pack.
3. Dance class. I love dancing. I do.
4. Reading A Clash of Kings. Thanks Sean for letting me borrow it!
5. My friends. I am really thankful for Beth and Hannah and Alicia and the others. They make everyday an adventure and every story more wonderful to tell. I appreciate them so much.
6. Talking to my daddy. I cannot say how much hearing his voice put me at ease. I miss my family so very much (more than I thought I could, especially Alex!), and talking to him was just what I needed.

Important words:
1. I wonder = supongo or pienso
2. Squirrel = ardilla
3. Fogata = little fire
4. atropellar = to run over
5. charquito = puddle
6. caca = poo (apparently, I was supposed to already know this)

Quote for the week:
“¡¿Dónde está mi supertraje?!”

Stories!
1. When I told my padres ticas of my plans for the weekend, they had different reactions. My papa tica thinks I am hilarious. He says rafting will be beautiful, and he commends my sorpresa decision. My mama tica just shook her head. She asked me if my parents knew what I was doing. I said yes... but they’d rather not know. She laughed and said “Well, we’re your family now, and I say you can’t go!” It was great.
3. This was on the news last week and again last night: There is a “doctor” in CR who has been parading around offering a cure for headaches: drilling holes in the skull to release pressure. But he isn’t licensed. So he went to jail. And yesterday, he got out. My mama tica was way disgusted – she is not a fan of the justice system here.
4. Our electricity went out yesterday... halfway through my shower. I was so cold! So I just washed my hair. A clean body is not worth freezing water.
5. Speaking of water, Alicia told me that while we were in Monteverde, a family died when water from the mountains came over a trickling waterfall and engulfed them. Only the five year old survived. What horrible news this week.
6. And a funny story: We played boggle, and I was losing, big time. So I just decided to make a joke and wrote down Trogdor as one of my words. It broke the rules, so I explained that before I told them the word. It was just supposed to be funny. But no one knew Trogdor. So they just looked at me. Then Marissa said: “But you can’t do that.” Oh boy.

What has been on my mind all week:
- People should not be at school if they don’t want to work. I have more to say, but my battery is almost dead. I will explain tomorrow.

My most important accomplishment this week:
- I got those postcards in the mail! Yay!

What I want to do right now: watch a movie. I have wanted to for days, but it never works out! Tomorrow the plan is to go see Harry Potter (after Cartago! Yay!). Fingers crossed.