"Almost" Got to See the Soccer Team!

Today was full of ups and downs. I had a delicious breakfast that was too big for me to finish. My family likes to give us a lot of food and so we have to say "po quito" or "meinos" (a little bit or less) all the time. My Spanish class went well even though the professor only speaks in Spanish. She probably said less than 50 words in English. After my class ended at noon, I was supposed to be home at one to go with my family to downtown San Jose to see the soccer team come back from Brazil. I ended up ordering lunch with another girl who had class at one and our food took forever to come so we had it packed in to-go containers. On my way walking home, I dropped my iced tea cup, and it spilled everywhere which was disappointing. I got home exactly at one to find out that the team's flight was delayed two hours. We decided to leave at three to head downtown. Nearly three hours later, we were still waiting for the team and had to leave so I could make it back to my class that started at seven. I left with my host mom and one of her daughters who also had class. It was such a neat cultural experience to be downtown with so many people who are so patriotic for their country. They were celebrating Costa Rica as well as their performances that led to the quarter final in the world cup. Even though they had lost, they still wanted to celebrate.

With Mama Tica in San Jose waiting for the futbol players!

Riding a public bus here was a different experience. The bus was so full that people were standing jammed up to the front door. I don't know if I have mentioned it but all automobiles including buses here are manual transmissions. That made the bus ride even jerkier than in would be in the U.S. Just in the short amount of time that I was downtown, I was able to see what often happens with crowds of people. There were urine puddles along some sidewalks, and I saw multiple people get arrested and taken away in handcuffs. By the time the bus brought us to my home it was five to seven and I needed to hurry to class. I arrived about five or six minutes late and was super worried because it was the first day. If we have more than one or two absences, we fail the class. (Three tardies count as a absence.) My professor saw the Costa Rican flag painted on my face and knew where I had been so she didn't care. She poked fun saying she liked my mama tica because she took me to see the futbol players. After my Human Rights in Latin America class ended, I was able to sneak into a dance class for the last half hour. It was surprisingly fun and easy. If you know me, I'm sure you know I don't dance much and don't really like it. This post is probably a day late because I've been running all day and it's after midnight. The day turned out better than what I had expected.

Only part of the giant crowd in attendance

Until later. Pura Vida.