Summer so far!

First of all thank you to everyone who made it to our little celebration on Saturday! It was great to see all of you as we celebrated my birthday/"graduation" from community college, my Mom and Tony's 5th anniversary, and being alive! Thanks for the very generous gifts as well... totally not necessary but appreciated.

It took me a while, but it seems I've finally gotten over the school "withdrawal symptoms" (I sincerely miss being held accountable for assignments, learning, and having a regular routine) and I've been able to relax and enjoy summer. I've spent a lot of time catching up with old friends from high school and childhood and new friends I've made in college. I've also been able to revert back to my night-owl habits... staying up late and sleeping in - love it.

Since I only have a couple months left to enjoy San Diego, I've been taking advantage of beautiful San Diego beaches - discussing politics at a cafe overlooking La Jolla, hiking near Torrey Pines, and exploring the shops of Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach. Vacation rocks!

Earlier this week my friends and I went to the San Diego Fair, which was marginal. The mostly amateur art made us crave some professional paintings, so we took a mini roadtrip up to Los Angeles and went to the Getty Museum. My Mom took me when I was younger, but I hadn't been since. I really enjoyed the beautiful architecture and European paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance. On the way back home, we stopped at a crowded little Mexican cafe and ordered a giant, delicious burrito packed with guacamole, chicken, rice, and beans - in that order.

I've also been studying Spanish grammar and reviewing my vocabulary. One of my favorite ways to spend a few hours is to enjoy a cup of Starbucks coffee while studying and listening to music. This Friday (July 1st, my birthday) I leave for Costa Rica already! I will be staying with a retired couple in Heredia for three weeks, then in Monteverde with another family for a week. Last week my Mom and I went thrift store shopping and picked up some cool clothing, so I'm ready. I'll be with a group of about 40 students of all ages, all with varying degrees of Spanish fluency. Once in the country, my home-stay will be within walking distance of the school, and my class won't have more than 5 other students.

The day I return from Central America I choose classes for the fall quarter. Because of budget cuts, there are fewer classes than ever and all the psychology classes I need are already full. Hopefully some emailing will take care of that, because I need those classes in order to declare my major. Budget cuts are stressful for everyone; I'm just thankful that I'm still in school, not trying to find a job (yet.) The good news is I have been guaranteed a spot in University housing. I will be living in a 'community' (euphemism for dorm) on campus with fellow transfer students.

Pura vida! Thanks for reading.

Comments

Tony said…
Hey Michelle........looking forward to the regular updates from that vast Central American frontier.....and do post some images.........

Tony
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Switzerland!

Image
I was able to see quite a bit of this beautiful country! Need to return for more of the Swiss alps (Zermatt area). View of Lake Zurich. This summer, I finally made it to Switzerland! For years, my mom and I have promised our former foreign exchange students we would come visit them.  In June, I met my mom in Zurich (she was "on the way" home from a vacation to South Africa) where we were greeted by Silvia, one of our former students and friends.  We went up to the top of a hill in Zurich, overlooking the lake and city.  Turned out this was just the beginning of our adventures with her - Silvia was an excellent tour guide, and she found some spectacular places to take us hiking and exploring. We also met her sweet boyfriend Iwan , who loved telling us the history behind a lot of the architecture and churches we drove by. They even cooked us a traditional Swiss meal called Raclette , which we devoured in their home in front of their HUGE aquarium. Toward the end...
Read more

Mariposas: A metaphor for human transformation

Image
Yesterday morning we went to the butterfly farm in town... I'll let the pictures do the talking for this one. It was one of the most amazing things I've EVER seen, seriously. My new friend :) In flight Halloween Butterfly Butterflies have a very short lifespan: 5 days to 2 weeks, at most. From this... To this! At different stages... The ones just hanging there are drying their wings, getting ready for flight. They like banana and mango just as much as we do! These guys can cost up to $5 each if you wanted to buy them as cocoons. Soo... next time you go to a zoo and see some butterflies like these, keep in mind they were probably imported! Anyway, everything else has been going well for the most part. The food is s till super delicious (a sundae I had at a local cafe on the right!) but it does give me quite a stomach ache. Class is really fun. Yesterday we played "Taboo" in Spanish and talked about whatever. Our teacher is very lenient and mostly lets us talk ab...
Read more