Quick Update

¡Hola!

I´m back in the Spanish speaking world, which means I´ve crossed the Pacific again (staying true to the url of the blog) and have changed my blog´s title. How is it? First the bad:

The ¨y¨ sound is a j, like in Argentina. So ¨pollo¨ sounds like ¨po-joe¨. And it´s more expensive. I mean, a large meal is a whole $4 (sometimes $6!).

Okay, the good:

Before I even had a cell phone, I was standing on top of Volcán Irazú. I´ve already eaten at the Central Market in San Jose (seems so clean for a market!), as well as in a few ¨sodas¨, little food shops where they serve great beans and rice. I´ve seen a lot of the country, which involves lots of mountains, jungles, and rain. My host here just outside Turrialba lives on a farm with some jungle, so we´ve seen flowers, insects, birds, and coffee plants. Pictures to come, when I´m not at an internet cafe. And I think I´ve got a job interview tomorrow, so I´ll keep posted on that.

So basically, Costa Rica is exciting and beautiful. I feel pretty comfortable here, and could see myself being here a long time. I´m happy with the choice I´ve made.

Promised Pictures

It's true- I really did go to Angkor Wat. It was one of those "Oh no, I'm leaving the country and haven't seen the most famous thing there" kind of trips, but I did remember to take lots of photos. Also, I made friends with Brandy (see below), mostly because Eric and Mom went back to the hotel fairly early due to illness. So the first day I met her, I spent about 10 hours straight with Brandy. I'm surprised she didn't kill me. And with no further ado....This is a carving of Apsaras.
These are two real Apsaras, Mom and Brandy, posing in Bayon.
This is me in a similar window in the same temple. Whacha thinkin' 'bout? Temples.
This is a little tiny temple called Preah Palilay. It was short walk away, but there was no one there but the centipedes. Also, it was kind of falling down. This photo is taken from the room, looking out what used to be the front door (where there is now a tree growing out of the rocks).
Angkor Wat. A good place to reflect upon the famous silhouette.
Ta Prohm. AKA the Tomb Raider temple. Notice I'm in this photo, to give you a sense of scale. ("Sense of scale" here means "Wow, that tree's huge!")
Brandy hiding. Banteay K'dei?
This spider made my day. And ruined Brandy's.
Not a temple, but the cutest darn kid in Cambodia. Notice the pig tails and the porridge on her face.
Brandy climbing the sketchy, sketchy stairs. I can't believe some of the Chinese tourists climbed these in heels.
Anyway, that's the gist of it. I'll post more photos on Facebook. I can email the link of that album to anyone who hasn't given in to that particular evil.
In other news, I'm in the Denver airport, waiting to fly to San Jose, Costa Rica. I'll probably be there by the time you read this. Next step: trying to find someone to hire me. Also, I think I'm exploring a volcano tomorrow. Life is hard, eh?