Top Ten and Not Top Ten

I am stealing this next post from Sports Center. Growing up with two brothers Sports Center was always on over and over again so I have come to know the line up. So here it is, my Top Ten of Costa Rica and my Not Top Ten of Costa Rica.

Top Ten

1. Traveling on the weekends. I don’t think there will ever be another time in my life where I will be deciding if I want to zip line through the rainforest or lay on the beach.
2. My Host Family. Maricruz has been nothing but wonderful to us. She has cooked, cleaned and loved us like her own daughters.
3. The Students. I think I had some of the greatest students and I had so much fun with them. Every day I came home with stories of how they made me laugh or something funny they did. I am REALLY going to miss them.
4. The Teachers. We have gotten to know some really amazing people here and I am going to miss seeing them every day.
5. Wednesday Movies. Almost every Wednesday we went to the Multiplaza and watched a movie for the low price of 1300 colones ($2.50). Movies here are about a month behind the US, but they were all new to us and that is where we learned bad words in Spanish because of the subtitles. It actually came in handy at school, because the kids mostly speak in Spanish and they don’t think we can understand them.
6. The Easy Going Lifestyle. These past three months I have definitely learned how to take it easy. Some might call it lazy, but I prefer the term easy going. The people here live such simple lives and even when things go wrong it is no big deal. I just love that no one is uptight or worried about anything.
7. Getting Tan. Although I have probably significantly raised my chances of skin cancer since being here, I at least look a little better than the pale girl who arrived here.
8. My Favorite Stores.
1. La Bruja-Our one stop convenience store that is conveniently located right by our house. When we need a coke, ice cream or snacks we always head there and it quickly became one of our favorite places here.
2. Hiper Mas-It is literally a Costa Rican Wal-Mart. Right when you get inside you see those smiley faces with the roll back prices, it makes me feel like I am back in Stillwater.
9. The Weather. Every day I wake up to sunshine and about 80-degree weather. I hate the cold, so I was glad to have escaped all the snow and ice storms back home this winter.
10. Our New Friend, The Barber. Every day when I walk home from the gym, I see a very nice 70-year-old man that runs the local barber. Seriously, the cutest man that always says hello and have a good day. I look forward to seeing him after every workout and knowing that he is the only man that will not whistle, yell or awkwardly stare at me.

There are many more things that I could say I love about Costa Rica, but those are my Top Ten. I am sure right after I post this I will think of 10 better things that I could have put, but for now this is what I have.

Not Top Ten

1. Public Transportation. If I never get on another bus again, it will be too soon. On the long trips where we had assigned seats, we almost always got the Rosa Parks treatment where we were on the very back of the bus. Mix that with no air conditioning, bumpy roads and you have a very sick Kristen.
2. Pancakes. I once considered them a treat when I finished running a race, but now I have them every other day for breakfast. Some mornings I just choke them down to hold me over until lunch. What I wouldn’t do for a little Special K in the morning.
3. San Jose. What a dump that city is. I thought parts of Dallas were bad, but you haven’t seen bad until you have been to San Jose. Everyone looks like they want to kill you, people beg you for money and there is trash everywhere.
4. The Language Barrier. I have learned a lot of Spanish since being here, but there are still times when it is hard. I can’t wait to come home and be able to understand everyone around me.
5. Food Prices. A lot of things here are exported from the US, which just means it is really expensive. We made the mistake of going to Applebees once and spent too much on food that was not worth it. It is sad but I have spent more money on food than anything, but then again food is one of my favorite things in this world, so I am not too upset.
6. Dog and Cat Fights. Every day I hear at least one catfight or dogfight outside my window. I thought I was a dog person, but I am realizing I only like my dogs. There are so many stray animals here and it’s sad to see how skinny they are and pitiful looking. Obviously, Bob Barker’s controlling the pet population message has not gotten to Costa Rica.
7. Barbed Wire and Fences. Although I know it’s normal to have barbed wire around your house so people don’t come in is normal here, I still find it very sad. It is sad that to feel safe you have to put barbed wire around your house and huge iron gates. Every where I go I have to have the mind set that I could potentially get robbed, definitely something I have taken for granted on the mean streets of Flower Mound and Stillwater.
8. Crazy Tico Drivers-I have never in my life seen such crazy drivers. Every street sign is more of a suggestion than a law. You don’t have to stop if it’s not necessary even though the light is red. I know I could never survive driving here, but hopefully I will remember how to drive when I get home.
9. Ants. The house I live in is infested with ants, along with every other house in Costa Rica. Ants in my bed, in my closet, in my food, in my water…Ants everywhere. As I sit here and type there are ants crawling on my legs. Apparently, Raid is unheard of here.
10. Personal Space. There is no such thing as a personal bubble in Costa Rica. This is not necessarily a bad thing; I just don’t care for close talkers, I have probably become one now.

There it is, the Top Ten and the Not Top Ten. And for those of you keeping count, I will be home THIS SATURDAY!! I can't wait to see everyone!!