French Student Party

Thursday, the Alliance Française in Costa Rica threw a year-end party for all the French students - what a blast!  Everyone was "encouraged" (we weren't *actually* threatened) to dress up as something that started with either "A" or "F" - in French, bien sûr! 

Then the students had a little "show" and contest - the "artichoke / artichaut" won for the "A's"

The "cheese / fromage" won for the "F's"

And the "Black Angel / Ange Noir" won for (darned if I know what the third group was!)

I went as "l'Abondance," and carried a jazzed-up cornucopia, wore a harvest crown, and (of course!) carried a glass of wine! :-)

My teacher and her fiancé came as a flower and martial artist...

I found some friends from previous classes too!

And caught some candids...

Oh yes!  One other thing - there was a raffle, and I won a gift certificate to a *very* nice French restaurant - Le Monastère.  Sounds like I'd better pass my finals...

Trial Run

I start my new French class Monday (yeah, Memorial Day - gasp! Not a holiday here...). My new class is 3 days per week, for 3 hours each day. AND it is all the way on the other side of town! Shades of work in the Bay Area - it will take me about an hour to get there. I am quite sure that I will have a few bouts of "cranky" before it is over.

Yesterday, I made a trial run of the trip:
- 7:55 left my house, walked to the Escalante bus stop. Waited. Waited some more. Discussed w/ my fellow waiter how long a wait it was. Waited some more.
- 8:15 got on the bus! Driver drove like he was late (he was. very.).
- 8:30 bus is at the downtown San Jose terminus. Walked back 1/2 block to the Sabana Cementerio bus.
- 8:33 Sabana Cementerio bus left (with me on it, of course). Noticed that the next Escalante bus was already at the terminus.
- 8:54 SC bus is at Yamuni stop in Sabana West. Walked back 1/2 block, and South 2 1/2 blocks. Made sure to not walk fast, since I'm measuring "normal."
- 9:01 walked into the Alliance Française in Sabana Sur. If I had had class, I would have been a touch late.

The very lovely Amalia gave me a tour and explained where the class information would be posted on Monday. This branch of the Alliance Française is a bit different than the one downtown. It has 3 floors of classrooms (~8), a gathering place w/ tables, and a snack machine. But there is no coffee (ack!), no cafeteria, and no library. Why do I feel another cranky session coming on?

Mini-vacation

I had a week and a half off between French classes - what to do, what to do...

First and foremost, I *relaxed!* Then I made a list. Then I ignored the list. Except the "relax" part.

I did do a few things here and there - saw the dentist, kept my "French Story-hour" with Ann-Marie on Skype, and went to the Feria.

On Monday, Rick and I ventured into downtown San Jose for lunch. I wanted to see if my grades had been posted, and we wanted to pick up some tickets in advance for Tuesday's Mediodia concert. Well, no grades yet, so I couldn't sign up for the next class, but we got pretty good seats for the concert! I usually go about half an hour before the concert, and get nose-bleed seats (still definitely worth it)!

Tuesday was a big day for relaxing :-). Our friend Linda was checking out the bus system from her house near Grecia into San Jose, so I met her on the West side of town. Her bus took much less time than expected, and mine took much more - so she waited quite a while :-(. But, then we toured San Jose by bus - Sabana Cementerio bus from Sabana park to the Caja, then walked from the National Theatre to Lehman's. We spend a nice chunk of time browsing through the art supplies - got all excited by the glass staining paint, water color choices, art paper... Had time to notice that the first floor has a *lot* of books. Saw that there was a very decent selection of staples, paper, drawing tools, and other school and computer supplies. We left Lehman's just in time to make it back to our seats at the National Theatre. We met Rick there, the lights dimmed, and the jazz music burst forth! Afterwards, we decided to have lunch at a soda near the Alliance Française. It's a good one - convenient, good food, and a good deal (lunch is half the price of the place next to the Jade museum) - hard to find downtown...

After lunch, I checked again for my grades - they are posted! and I PASSED! So, I immediately signed up for the next session :-).

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at our place having an early cafecito. Then Linda and I headed back to the Alajuela bus terminal, stopping for peanut butter on the way. After all kinds of discussions about which bus is good for what destination, I zoned on the wrong bus - ended up 4 blocks in the wrong direction!

My Weekend in Puerto Viejo (French)

And now, in French! (corrections to be made (Canadian), I'm sure and additions...)

Mon Week-end (Stilted English Version here)

J'ai eu un long week-end long.

Ce jeudi, mon frère, Karl, et moi avons pris le bus pour à Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Dans le bus, il y avait des gens de beaucoup de pays. Nos voisins, autour de nous, parlaient ont parlé l'anglais, le français, l'éspagnol, et l'allemand. Après 4 heures de route, quand nous sommes étions presque arrivés, un homme est sortisali - j'ai remarqué, avec surprise, que je l'ai connu le connaissais! Malheureusement, nous avons eu seulement le temps pour une salutation rapide.

Ce soir-là, nous avons dîné au restaurant "Café Ivan." Pendant que nous avons parlé avec la propriétaire, j'ai pensé "j'ai déjà écouté cette histoire." Donc, j'ai dit "Est ce que sa mère habite ici aussi?" Alors, j'ai fait la connaissance de sa famille électroniquement (seulement par les blogs)! Que le monde est petit!

Le jour suivant, nous sommes allés à pied à Playa Cocles, en suivant la piste de la plage. J'ai demandé aux gens de la plage s'ils ont connu connaissaient un bon professeur de du surf. Deux hommes nous ont présentés à Santiago; lui et Karl ont fixé une leçon. Karl a appris faire du surf, et je leurs les ai regardés. Karl a fait du surf, et il est tombé. Mais les femmes lui l'ont regardé. Donc, il ai fait du surf plusieurs fois. Il est devenu fatigué, et il a eu mal partout.

Cet après-midi-là, je suis restée à la piscine. J'ai jeté un coup d'œil vers le haut, et j'ai vu... Joe! Mon ami! Il a pris des vacances aussi! Que le monde est très petit!

Samedi, Karl et moi avons loué des vélos et des tubes respiratoires, masques, et nageoires palmes. Nous avons acheté des provisions au supermarché, et nous avons fait du vélo à Punta Uva. Nous avons trouvé un lieu dans endroit à la plage, et nous avons fait de la plongée avec tuba. Karl n'a pas eu de problème, mais mon tube respiratoire s'a s'est mis à fuir. Donc, j'ai fait de la plongée seulement quelques fois. Heureusement, je me suis détendue.

Samedi après-midi, Karl a dit à nos voisins français es à l'hôtel que j'ai appris un peu de français. J'ai rougi, et j'ai buté sur les phrases, mais j'ai parlé! Pendant que je lui leur ai parlé, un très bel homme m'a regardé, et il a retenu sa respiration jusqu'à ce que j'ai fini. (jusqu'a j'ai fini je finisse)

Dimanche, mon week-end a fini. Parce qu'il a décidé rester, mon frère m'a mis dans le bus, avec un grand sourire...