Last Day!

Today was my last day as a student in Costa Rica! How Sad!

I went to animal nutrition class this morning. The 2.5 hour class only lasted 30 minutes. Not bad!

Next, we went to the university farm to do a couple of things for a project that the class has going on. We had to wait a while, so I asked if there was a dairy. They said their was, so we wandered up to see it. On our way we saw sheep, and a goat dairy. When we arrived to the dairy, there were a few Jersey heifers. Come to find out, there are about 50 Jerseys at this dairy, and they are all just a 30 minute walk from my house! Why didn't someone tell me about this four months ago?!

The sheep.

The dairy goats.

The methane digester for the dairy goats.

The Jersey heifers!

Force feeding the rooster...not fun.

This evening, my host mom took me to a restaurant up on the mountain that has a view of the entire Central Valley. It was a beautiful night, and bittersweet as I look to leave Costa Rica tomorrow (Thursday, have to be at the airport at 4:15am!) to go home.

It has been a great ride. I'm anxious to see everyone upon my return. Thank you for following my blog. Please keep checking in, as I am hoping to update it with happenings over the next few weeks and during graduation. Eventually I hope to turn it into an agricultural advocacy blog to share info about the importance agriculture plays in our lives.

For the last time from Costa Rica,

Pura Vida,

Billy

Officially Done!

Today I took my last exam in Costa Rica (although I don't think it was my best exam in Costa Rica...we'll find out tomorrow!)! The rest of the day was mine to pack and get my things in order. Tomorrow I have a long day, including animal nutrition class, making last minute purchases, and finishing packing. I can't believe my time has come to an end...everyone is sad to say goodbye.

I have included a photo of a couple of baby doves (paloma in Spanish) outside of my window here at the house. They were hatched in a hanging basket, and have fled the nest, but still hang out in the backyard all day (including when it rains...they look miserable!). They have been fun to watch.

Pura Vida,

Billy

Final Dance Class

The 'finals' have finally come. Today we had our final dance class, I said a few final goodbye's to friends that I probably won't see before I fly out Thursday. What a strange feeling.

Today we had a 'final' in dance, which included us trying to remember the dances in front of the teacher (who, by the way, didn't even bother to watch us...I'll mark that up as an automatic 'A'). I hadn't been to dance in three weeks, so needless to say I was just a little bit rusty. I have included a couple pictures of one of the girls and I doing the merengue.

Pura Vida,

Billy

Saprissa

This evening I headed to another soccer game at a different stadium. The game was held at the team's stadium called Saprissa. Very similar to the last game, minus getting drenched. It was an extremely unexciting game with a final outcome of a tie 0-0. Saprissa has the same colors as K-State, so I naturally had to buy a jersey.

The view from the stadium of the mountains.

The field with the game in progress.

The cheering section.

The view out the other end of the stadium after sunset.

Pura Vida,

Billy

Alejandro's Birthday Party

Today, Alejandro (my host sister's son, I guess that makes him my host nephew!) celebrated his 5th birthday with a party. About 20 munchkins attended the event at his mother's house.

Having a go at the Dinosaur piñata (Alejandro is obsessed with dinosaurs).

His Aunt Raquel dressed up as a payaso, or clown, for the event. It was pretty funny, because I thought when she came down stairs she looked like a pretty scary clown. Not long after that I heard children screaming and running...guess there is such a thing as a scary clown! They warmed up to her after a while, though.

Alejandro opening his mountain of presents.

Alejandro playing with his mountain of presents.

Before the party, Mabel had been invited to a meeting, which was similar to a city council meeting, to represent the school she works for. She said we would go to this event for a little bit, and I didn't think anything of it. While I have never crashed a wedding, I did a pretty good job of crashing this important meeting! I walked in wearing shorts and sandals while everyone else was in suites. And then we were the first ones to eat lunch and the first to leave! After telling Mabel that I was embarassed afterwards, she laughed and told me not to worry. Didn't bother her since she didn't even want to be there!

Pura Vida,

Billy

Futbol - Soccer

Here are some pics from the futbol (soccer) game from Wednesday. We went to Alajuela to watch the team called La Liga play. Enjoy!

While waiting on the bus we saw a couple of guide dogs fighting off the rainy season with their very own rain coats! They even had flaps for their ears.

Getting warmed up for the game. On my side of the stadium we had a roof over us so we weren't in the rain the entire time, or sun during the dry season.

This group of energetic folks sat in the far end of the field. They are a group that attends all of the games, and they beat on drums and cheer and dance the entire time. The ENTIRE time, all 1.5+ hours! They definately made the atmosphere more fun (not that it wasn't entertaining enough to learn all sorts of new words from the disgruntled fans, even if they were words I wouldn't use around my grandmother!).

Pura Vida,

Billy

Lo Siento

Lo Siento, or I am sorry for the lack of posts lately. Internet at home has not been working.

Highlights from the last few days include:

Went to a soccer game Wednesday night. Had a great time. Got absolutely drenched getting there. My umbrella started getting leaks, and I had to walk through a river that appeared in less than 5 minutes. Shoes still aren´t dry.

Got my other pair of shoes completely wet today.

Raining season is now on my list of things I officially DO NOT LIKE!!!!

I hope to get internet going again soon. Look for pictures then, and my smiling face back in the states on Thursday night!

Pura Vida,

Billy