Dusty and rainy

Yesterday little Dusty came home. Our landlords are Suzy and Arlen (who by name sound American but are Costa Rican), and Dusty is the new addition to their family. They also have a six-year old son named Dylan. Suzy came home mid-afternoon, and Arlen came and invited us over to see her and the baby. He has been very kind to us. He has come over a few times to chat, and doesn't seem to be bothered by our inability to talk as much as he does. He likes to talk, and we are just happy that people will talk to us!

It makes a big difference knowing a bit of the language already. Every time I've gone to another country where the first language isn't English, I haven't spoken a word before arriving. Then I spend the first few months struggling to convey basic needs and greetings. This time, Alistair and I have the basics down, and can convey ideas in the more simple tenses. Now we just have to work on vocabulary, fluency, and those trickier tenses.

It's nice being able to talk to people on the street, and in shops. I am surprised by how friendly people here truly are. Lots of people say hello as we walk down the street, and it's really easy to have a random conversation with someone - just start talking! In this respect it is the polar opposite of Japan. People there are friendly, too, but they are more shy and reserved.

Yesterday afternoon I took a little walk down the University for Peace (UPEACE) road, and was again surprised at how stunningly beautiful it is. I guess I wasn't expecting the area to be so lush. Dense vegetation, rugged cliffs, steep hills, countless butterflies, interesting birds - they make for a fun walk. And a healthy one - if we keep walking (and Alistair, running) these hills, we will be in really great shape!

I didn't walk all the way to the university, which is 6.5 km. I am going to try to do that in the next few days.

Any outdoor activities should be executed in the morning, because it without a doubt rains every afternoon. Yesterday I was quite lucky, as I went out between noon and 1:30. Shortly after I came back, it started pouring, as though the sky had been holding back the rain for years and was just dumping it out. Definitely torrential.

Last night we had a little insect visitor. He looked almost like a grasshopper, but his body looked exactly like a leaf, as though he could have been picked right off the tree. He had very skinny legs, and he was bright green. We found him in our kitchen, and figured he didn't really want to be there, so we found a jar and managed to get him in and put him outside.

No plans for today yet. I'm sure it'll be interesting!