Spin to Win

With 2 weeks of Spanish school under my belt, my head hurts. Every day of Spanish school was easily more difficult than any one day of school I ever had at UPS. My daily schedule was strictly regimented to keep me from going completely nuts. As follows:

(Early morning hours, maybe roused by the occasional earthquake, four in two weeks)
7:30- Wakeup with Mama Tica knocking on my door
7:40- breakfast (1st cup of coffee)
7:50- Walk 5 minutes to school (2nd cup as entering building)
8:00- Class starts with conversation and new topic of the day (3rd cup as the bell rings)
10:00- Descanso (10 minute break for minisnack and more coffee)
10:20- Return to class with head spinning (on to 4th or 5th cup)
12:00- Break for lunch, discuss with friends how difficult Spanish school is at our favorite lunch spot, Soda Olivia. Soda Olivia is owned by a crazy woman named Tommy who speaks at least 5 languages, and is fluent in English with a strong NY accent. Her husband Carlos runs the place where they serve the best Casado (CR cuisine at its finest, rice, beans, meat, and salad) in Costa Rica for less than $2US. After lunch, I have 2 hours of conversation class where all of the head hurting and learning seems to pay off, and I continue to discover how much I don't know in the language.

3:00- Class is over. I usually lay in a hammock for a good 15 minutes to decompress before heading home to do homework and cook with my family. Although I've been sitting all day, I am tired like I've just worked a full day on the river.

After a week of classes I was having a hard time sleeping, and was feeling really tired all the time. I decided, on a whim, to check out the exercise options in San Joaquin de Flores. It turns out spinning is the workout craze in Costa Rica. Spinning involves a group of people working out together on stationary bicycles. Its like any group exercise, except the trainer is constantly changing the music, lights, and pace of the workout. I was instantly hooked. During my second week of classes, I never missed a workout. Every day at 5pm, I'd head down to Spin City for an hour session. The workout is especially interesting in a language you don't know. All of the encouragement and enthusiasm of the instructor becomes whatever you imagine it to be. Mind mind often wandered to crew, or the girls spinning next to me.

My family in San Joaquin was fabulous! My parents were Nidia (pron=Kneedeeahh) & Miquel, and their two kids Jimmy (16) and Jason (21). They were very welcoming from the first day to the last day, and always made sure I had enough to eat. Nidia lives at home, and the family hosts students mostly because she enjoys the company. They spoke virtually no English which made coming home both interesting and difficult. They invited me to come back to their house for Christmas and tamales (the CR Christmas specialty). I am sure I will.