Pura vida, continued at last

Since Shelly has neglected numerous times now to complete the annals of our voyage to Costa Rica, I have thus commandeered the task, being slightly more amenable to procrastinating during finals than she is, apparently. However, to make this easier for me, I have simply decided to copy from our "travel log" (this term should be used loosely) written throughout our trip. I shall indicate the writer in brackets, [thusly], though all was written under the all-seeing eye of Ms. Shelly, who was after all the one behind its dutiful recording for posterity. I am well aware that these notes most likely make no sense, but I think their ambiguity -- like Confucius' philosophy -- is what makes it beautiful.

And so, I shall start on the day after we had reached Montezuma:

[Shelly] Slept. S itchy, woke up to spray self w/ bug spray outside. Ran into German boy. J woke up @ 6 to eat almonds. People talked outside door.

Thursday. Accidentally called Jenn.
-woke up 9:30ish. S took pix of A. A looked like mermaid. A ate almonds. S ate almonds. S took picture of J. J kicked up mattress.
-dog [illegible] in front of bathroom door. All 3 had difficulty passing.
-restaurant: hippie/banana. S reminded of Jack Johnson banana pancakes (song). A got veggie burger. S buddha burrito w/ ranchero sauce [Alison] not enlightened. [Shelly] J mahi mahi sandwich.
-walk to waterfall. S umbrella. [Alison] Started along stream -- quickly realized flip flops not ideal shoes for this trip. Journeyed for [illegible] w/ 3 Canadians w/ a baby -- S & A feared for child's life.
-1st waterfall no jumping; swimming pool too crowded. Continued along "well marked" trail (according to Lonely Plts) which was NOT. v. steep. Scary. Black tube marked trail. Continued for a bit. After steep descent/slide (blue rope) arrived at top of 2nd wfall. Watched ppl jump off. J jumped. All swam in pool. Tried rop-thingy tied to tree: J couldn't get rope to S; A "shelly-flopped". A jumped off cliff. Water rushed up butt. Watched crazy guy dive in head first. S jumped, spread-eagled. V. painful. Swam more. Watched crazy guy climb rope and sit in tree. S tried to reenact Herbal Essences commercial/Monkey King w/ small waterfall. Water v. hot. J jumped again. All pruny. Cute dog. Man in underwear (S didn't believe A at first). J disappeared -- went further up mtn for bathroom break. [Shelly] Asked J to take pictures and J went all the way across to get camera.
-[Alison] Somehow made it down the mtn. A's flipflop broke; repaired.
-Walked along beach, feet dirty. Went to use internet, made floor filthy. S couldn't find symbols for her password -- went to Wikipedia to copy & paste. Looked up constellations for star-gazing. J & A went to supermarket for drinks, chips & oreos. S bought cheese. Gross.
-Went to horse place. A successfully booked tour in Spanish.
-Went to beach again. Ate more. J swam; S & A watched. All swam ([Shelly] A peer pressured) [Alison] S almost drowned by waves -- washed up on beach like dead whale. ([Shelly] untrue) [Alison] Moved further down to avoid rocks.
-Started building sand castle. Architectural triumph. Didn't finish before sundown, took forever. Exquisite detail. Code orange/red/blue. (First attempt flooded, moved back 5ft.)
-returned to hotel, showered. ([Shelly] Yay. Read an outdated Elle, looked @ pictures. Dog still sleeping) [Alison] Dinner @ La Naranja. J: 2 banana/mango milkshakes & casada w/ beef. A: passion fruit con leche, cansada w/ chicken. S: coke in a glass bottle, some pasta thing. ([Shelly] chicken + mushroom). [Alison] No coffee :(
-[Shelly] Chicos bar. A: cosmo. S: Long Island iced tea. J: coke + whiskey.
-tried to look @ stars but no towel.
-back to room (on the way back argued about beds), slept.

Friday
-woke up, went to supermarket. All got buns + water.
-horse place. Stood around. Got on horses. A: Chancho. S: Dominga. J: Polleito. + 2 other women.
-started on trail. J's horse started running. S's horse followed. [Jim writes something illegible in margin]. Scary for S, scratched arm, ripped shirt.
-trails/along beach. Very pretty (waves, rocks, sun).
-reached waterfall. Climbed on rocks. Went thru waterfall like Monkey King. S umbrella but didn't really help. Rested & looked @ crabs. Roasted under sun.
-back. Slightly different trail. Horses slightly faster. Canadian woman screamed a lot, "despatchio"
-[Alison] on way back A held extended convo w/ Oscár, the tour guide, in broken Spanish. Topics covered: whether A has ridden a horse before, where we were from, wheter A was single or had a husband, A's age, Oscár's brother in Houston, the details of our length of time in Costa Rica/Montezuma, the shade, if A likes the playa or not (sí, me gusta), the fact that it's good to learn Spanish & English, the names of the horses, A's brothers, and an entire conversation topic that A didn't understand but kept responding "Uh... sí" to
also: A's horse really liked S's
-ate lunch @ Organico (pure food w/ love). A: veggie burger. S: hummus/avocado sandwich. J: organic burrito thing. Talked a lot about Doug
-[Shelly] Jim fell asleep while S & A read US Weekly, then said "I'm going to take a nap.
-s & A read outside room, S feel asleep. Guy locked loudly on door. A studied Chinese & watched white-faced monkeys. A made friends w/ Chris (Québécois film).
-all went for walk. A & S got coffee. J bought water & chips.
-walked on beach, collected shells, saw lots of small crabs. Sandcastle not there.
-Walked around town, then went to Montezuma restaurant. Sat upstairs, got bad fruit milk drinks. A couldn't get sandwich. S got fish filet. J got chicken catalan. Orange soda & mojito. Listended to reggae covers of Pink Floyd.
-walked back, played Monopoly. J was bank. A had own construction company. S went broke, mortgaged all homes. All were in jail together at some point. J awkwardly paid German guy. Dog went to sleep. freaked out at raccoon (they were eating dog's food.)

Saturday
-Woke up 7ish (A & J). S a bit later.
-bus stop. Saw Caroline (headed to San José).
-S read/slept. A & J looked at trees.
-another bus.
-ferry. Everyone rushed to buy tickets. Two ppl cut in front of A.
-all got (nasty) pizza. Bar guy laughed @ A & S b/c we were counting change (v. poor).
-Gtown kid (Sam) talked to J. They were group of 4 and live in LXR
-all read except A (studied Chinese). Arrived
-took cab to bus stop. A asked bus driver and he said [Alison] dose vente (12:20), A (confusing French & Spanish per usual) heard dos et vente (2:20), so missed 1st bus while sitting in café drinking cokes [Shelly] (and orange soda). Played cards in café. Guy not amused by us not being able to figure out money.
-sat at bus terminal.
S & J went to ATM. S got colones. J did not get money.
-S & A went to look for food. Bought hats (2 for $9). Walked entire boardwalk. Bought coconut cookies (100 colones). Went to market next to bus terminal (bought water + chips).
-V. windy/dusty. S's hat blew into a fence.
J talked to American girl w/ nose ring who lives in San José. Awkward but not as awkward as Gtown convo.
-ate cookies/chips.

And the rest is history, my friends. We made it back to Liberia, wandered aimlessly through the town before heading to bed. We then woke up on Sunday for our flight to Newark -- at the airport we stood in line for the length of time for a Chinese dynasty to arise and fall, and were smacked with a $70-plus airport tax. Our flight from Newark to DC was unpleasantly delayed, making us arrive finally back at campus after 1:00 that morning. Then I went to classes the next morning, thought wistfully of waterfalls and beaches and volcanoes, and bemoaned my existence.

Much like I am doing now, in the middle of finals.

Spring Break: Awkward Begining

You wanted some notion of what I did during my break here it is.
Oh, frack, I have an awkward story to start it out with.

So my break begins on Thursday like the 13th of March and instead of packing, I decide to go out with friends, and friends of friends, assuring myself that I will be going home at like 10 pm so I can pack. We went to two pubs I'd never been in before. I believe I had one pint in the first one, and none in the second as it was quickly approaching 10pm. Then, as I am having a good time, I decide I will stay out for 30 minutes more as they are all heading over to this very seedy pub called the Blue Eyed Maid. We enter to find the paradigm of awkwardness-karaoke night. Imagine if you will a room full of a dispropotinate number of men all having gotten off work 5 hours ago, and have all probably been consuming alcohol in a steady stream since then. Let me add some of the cast of characters. *Most names are not real, and were invented so as to be able to refer to these people while we were there*

There is Socrates, a man who stands in the corner near the bar and whom we think has some affiliation with the establishment. Late 40s wearing a vest, and staring awkwardly at my friend Sarah throughout the night. He will also later chat up a british woman a good 15 years his junior, and I think makes out with her at some point.

Aristotle- african american man of around 30 who asks another male friend to do karaoke with him.

Girl 1- We assume has just broken up with her boyfriend as her mood tends to fluctute from 'having a really great time' to sullen looks at her frined.

Girl 2- Girl 1's bff who tries to console her and usullly looks like an idiot as she dances like a person with ADD.

So, we are sitting in said pub for about an hour, ok this gets really awkard i just cringed, when two british guys about my age come up and being talking to me, even though I am clearly in conversation with legit friends.

Guy whose name I can't remember-"My friend really wants to talk to you."

Me- "Um..."

R-"I think I know you from somewhere"

Me (I of course conclude this is a line of some sort, and as I'm not really into the whole chat people up in bars thing, I respond...) "I don't think so. I remember every person I've ever met" (Please take the hint and go away)

R-"No, really, I think we've met before"

Me-"I really don't think so"

However, we talk slightly about school, and then there is an attempt to get me to sing karaoke made, which I refuse, because, as Alison can tell you, I SUCK AT SINGING.

Anyway, I am requested to applaud for them which I do, and then I go back to talking to my friends and try to fend R off when he comes back. Later, when we are leaving I use a newly developed hand signal to get one of my male friends to drag me out when R is speaking to me.

Ok, ready for the really awkard part. Flash Forward to the Present.

So yesterday I go to Borough market, where I go every week usually on Thursdays to buy apples and a sandwich with Sarah, and then sometimes on Saturdays to buy Mushroom Pate, because it is awesome, except that I haven't gone in ages because the only sell it on FRI/SAT. Anyway, I go and I'm handing the guy my money, and I look up and realize that it is R, the guy from the Blue Eyed Maid, and I feel like an idiot, because I have in fact met him, pretty much every week for multiple months. And now I have lots of Catholic guilt about this.

Frack, I need to be less awkward.
Love to you all,
Eleanor

SHELLY ZHAO. I WANT AN EMAIL OR SOMETHING FROM YOU. POSTHASTE. RIGHT FACKING NOW. ARG.

Wales finished

We sat back on the bus, for an hour, and then drove to Oxford, where per the wonderfully stringent EU reguations, our bus driver had a break for 30 minutes, instead of pressing on and getting us to London in 45 minutes. However, this does not leave very much time to get food as 1, it is late on Sunday night in Oxford, so there isn't that much open, and 2.) we are 5 minutes from the nearest open place. Leaving 20 minutes to order, have food arrive, and eat. We found this very random New Orleans/Mexican place, somehow, this is a combination that makes sense in England. It was the only open/non-croweded place our weary eyes could spot, so we entered, ordered a plate of nacos and something else, and a pitcher of a rather nice alcoholic drink called a Hurricane from the rather awkward/shy bartender. Our food arrived very promptly, i mean in about 5 minutes, which was in marked contrast with our Welsh experiences, so we were rather overjoyed. We proceeded to eat all of our food, drink all of our drinks and then dash back to the bus, arriving 2 minutes late. This was of no consequence as the bus driver decided that he wanted to wash some of the windows during his break, and then got blocked in by another truck or large vehicle of some sort, and was thus 15 minutes late in fetching us. We were all rather grouch and cold and stormed back on the bus and arrived in London appox. 45 minutes later, having played some sort of a drinking game on the bus evolving screwdrivers made in cups I think we appropriated from the breakfast buffet during our journey.
The End.