Corn syrup or corn oil?

This is the gorgeous view at the bottom of the hill from my house.
That's a futbol field in front, San Jose and mountains in the back.

Kristin and I have been busy busy busy, but somehow we've been able to enjoy ourselves and meet up with friends, go out, play volleyball, and eat out! T.G.I.F, you know.

Hard at work!

Friday my students did a science lab with soap, water, and corn oil. They were supposed to see how a popcorn kernel goes through each layer, representing the layers of Earth and how earthquakes change direction and speed through certain layers. The thing is, when I bought the ingredients I was supposed to get corn syrup (which is thicker and more appropriate for the lab), but alas, I didn't know how to say that in Spanish so I resorted to just guessing and grabbing whatever. Moral of the story: when in doubt ask, even if you don't know the words to ask looking like a mumbling idiot and trying is better than just guessing and not even being close. So my students had a good laugh at me when I told them what happened. So we went through the lab uncertain what was going to actually happen. I think it went well still, they enjoyed it and saw the effects of different layers on the kernel. That's not the first time my Spanish has failed me.

The gym really surprised me; it was really nice! I'm on the sidelines
taking a breather while another 6 people from our team plays

After school, we all went over to the gym in Lindora and played volleyball with our "staff" team. Apparently there is a league for those who want to get a group together and play (an adult league). It was like 50 lighthouse players verses about 10 players from a local bank. Kristin was a faithful fan on the sidelines, while I played in a few games--warm-ups alone were killer. It was so much fun! I miss playing volleyball (and with good people). I'm super sore today though, working muscles I haven't in a long time or just didn't know I had. After the game we went to our friend's place in her little town, Belen, and walked to the local pizzaria. We were so hungry we shared the biggest pizza they had and downed a 2 liter bottle of Fresca. Best part was after all that we got frozen cappucinos at Autopops down the street. Pops is a chain ice cream shop, something like a Baskin Robins where you can pick your own flavors. Later that night we went out with friends, basically exploring Heredia and meeting new people. The next morning we woke up to SUN! It was so nice. Everyone keeps saying, oh this is Christmas weather--warm, sunny, and windy. Can you imagine if that was Christmas for us in Washington State? That's wild to me. So Kristin, Daniella, and I took a couple busses from Belen to Escazu that morning. It was a beautiful day and drive, took a while but still nice. The rest of the day I slept! I think the entire week just hit me and I was out....super groggy, sore, sleepy. I think it's just what my body needed.
Weekend fun is now coming to an end as I look over to my right and see a huge pile of teacher edition books that I have to do some planning/prepping with. Neverending...neverending...neverending story? Until next time,
Paz,


Allie