Burps in Spanish Sound the Same.

Of all the profound situations I have encountered in my time in Costa Rica (By the way, I am in Costa Rica and have been for the last 2.5 weeks) I have learned first and foremost that burps in Spanish sound the same. NAHHH just kidding.

I have learned...that monkeys are evil. I spent one night in a villa in Manuel Antonio fearing for my life as I heard repeated banging on my door. It had been raining and I was in a hut/villa right off the beach. My friend and I spent the entire night praying to God for rescue. Nobody at the front desk was answering the phone and we had no way out. We woke the next morning to tons of monkey's jumping, playing, and LAUGHING around our villa. We asked the hotel manager and she nodded as if it was common knowledge. Maybe they don't have fine print in Spanish. *Note: may be kept up all night by patronizing monkeys.

Next, I have learned that the best soccer games are played in the backwoods of Costa Rica. I spent one Sunday in the back hills of Guanacaste watching a small CR football league. It was great. All of the locals gathered to watch soccer, drink beer, and sing karaoke. Yep karaoke is a fad here in CR. I haven't jumped in quite yet, I want to brush up on my Spanish a bit more. I also took a quick shot of a dominoes game in Quepos.

I have spent the last 2.5 weeks in my own version of "Fast and the Furious" The cars here drive like crazies. The rule of the road in Costa Rica is to over correct or exaggerate any movement that might be necessary while driving. Oh and if you are ever driving in CR remember to honk, bark, yelp, whistle, or any other creative gesture at any person walking or running in the street. The good news is that there are tons of awesome cars here.

The people here are amazing, so sweet and patient. My Tico family is fun and they help me with my homework every night. I love my school more than anything. I have pretty much had one-on-one classes the entire time that I have been here. Everyday there is an endless amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. I have also grown much accustomed to drinking my coffee black because it is just so good.

Finally the best word/phrase I have learned since I have been here is: tranquila "Calm Down"

(I took these pics in Manuel Antonio a beautiful beach in Puntarenas)

Pura Vida from CR!!

Hello...

Hello...

Yep I am here, I have just been hiding in a dark corner for the last month. I was scared the TAKS man was going to get me.


So here are all of the things that have happened...

PAST

January:
Denver. I love Denver and Denver loves me. I shall return.


February:
Tyler. Saw a friend in "Moving Out". I was almost sucked up by a tornado, and I called a sheriff a jerk. Then I called the jerk sheriff's boss and told his boss about the jerk being a jerk.

March:
Destin. I went on a spring break trip with 12 awesome people. We had a blast. I learned that Louisiana needs a new highway and never to wear cheap swimsuits.

Mexia. Was hit on in a McDonald's.


April:
Dallas. I hung out with a long time friend. It was great!
Los Angeles. Saw my brother along with Jessica Alba, Zach Braff, and Barron Davis.

PRESENT

May:
College Station. Wrapping up school, packing up my room and trying to prepare kids for another TAKS test.


FUTURE

June:
Costa Rica...

July:
Costa Rica...
Bastrop...

More to come later! I miss blogging.

Fake Foning (or Phoning)

A couple of years ago I was meeting a group of friends at Wings n More. I pulled into the parking a bit early so I knew I would be the first there. Well I quickly noticed that another one of the guys was pulling into the parking lot at the same time. Call me a jerk, but I didn't really want to talk to him. I knew it would be an awkward conversation and I didn't want to go there. Thanks to my quick witted nature, I devised a plan. I decided to pick up my phone and pretend to talk on it. That way I would just smile and wave from my car...I could even pretend that I was annoyed that the "person" on the other end wouldn't stop talking. I thought I was golden. Until. The guy walks up to my car window and taps on the glass and says "I can hear your music from 10 feet away." Ahh! Rebecca! Stupid! Turn the music off before you fake fone. My cover was blown.

So I told this story to my bible study girls and we really got to talking. Apparently I am not the only fake foner. Some of the girls fake fone while walking in the mall, waiting for somebody, or to look when walking or driving.

So do you fake fone? If so, when and why????

The line FORMS here.

We have officially entered into “form” season and until that faithful Mid-April day when the Bryan Post office shuts down part of William J. Bryan to alleviate the post office traffic, America will be bogged down in thousands of endless tax FORMS.

(That’s just my intro)

So really this FORM business all started when I asked about getting snack passes for my kids. My boss responded “You will need a form for that” What is with all these forms anyway? So I started brainstorming some other form happenings…

a. I am dying! I need to see a doctor…”Oh just fill out this form”
b. I would like to order a … “Oh just fill out this form”
c. I would like to join this church. “Oh just fill out this form”
d. I would like to breathe the air in this building. “Oh just fill out this form”


So here’s to all the form requesters of the world. I am now requesting forms for all of the following reasons:

a. If you want me to take out the trash.
b. If you want to email me.
c. If you want me to pay my bills.
d. If you want me to let you out to use the restroom (that’s for you Dean…you have to fill out forms too)

If you have any concerns about any of these matters…please fill out this form ;)

This blog is dedicated to all teachers that work tirelessly to educate the youth of America.

A watched pot never boils

I can long remember my mother and even her mother using various "old sayings" on me. Yes, using them on me like laser beams to shoot down all of my child hood wanderings.

"It ain't over till the fat lady sings"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it"
“Six to one, half dozen to another”

…and so on.

I would always ask them "Why are you saying that?!?" They would simply respond, "It's an old saying" as if that qualified as the justification of the statement.

Well as usual I was contemplating life, and the old saying "A watched pot never boils" crept into my mind. And I really do me CREEPY crept, because when ever my mother’s (or grandmother’s) voice comes into my head it is laced with a screeching Brooklyn accent. You guys that know my mom have all heard it. Now picture her mother...10 times worse! So why this old saying now, why was it in my head?

Here is my thought: We all catch ourselves wondering from time to time about the “next step”. When will it happen? What will it be? Will I be snowboarding in Canada next weekend or sitting on the beach in Florida? This week I caught myself staring at a pot of water waiting for it to boil (not literally). I realized that nothing good comes from pot staring.

1. You get fat, because you are just looking at a pot of water and not working out.
2. You get bored, and stir crazy.
3. You forget about the importance of all else that is going on.

SO in conclusion no pot staring! Just living life, loving my friends, family and everyday as it comes. Such a simple bit of life knowledge yet I still needed the friendly reminder. I guess I appreciate my mother’s voice terrorizing me to this day.

Please share the "Old Sayings” that you heard as a child. You can even add in the anecdotal accents that made you crazy or pictorial representations like below.

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Some others have decided to share their pot watching stories with us...

dun da da dahhhhh!!!

A couple people have gotten on to me for not introducing my Dean to the blogger world, but like any parent I wanted to wait until the time was right. So here he is, my precious pup Dean.

His first day home!!

His first walk!!

Hanging in front of the house!!

First time in the snow!!!

After his first haircut!!

To-Do List

Most of us use "to-do" lists.

Some to-do lists are short term: Go to the post office, swing by HEB after the gym, feed dog...you get the picture.
Other to-do lists are life long : Spend a year learning Spanish in South America, have family, get Doctorate...

This to-do list falls in the 6 month to 1 year range...

1. Organize my ipod. When I was a freshmen in college I downloaded a lot of weird songs to my ipod (yes I stole songs). After that year I was convicted and promised to never steal music again. Now I still have all those songs on my ipod and I hate them all. Time to delete.

2. Organize sock drawer. I want to have all of the same socks so if I mismatch it doesn't matter. I will create two categories work/boot socks and athletic socks. Specialty socks like my snowboarding socks will be stored with my snowboarding gear. No problem.

3. Match all of my plastic cups and coffee mugs. I can't stand having a mishmash of plastic cups from old football games and candy filled Christmas gifts from work friends. (Sorry guys, but really what did you expect?) Note to self...send apology note-strike that- EMAIL to work friends.

4. Categorize and order all of my pictures on IPhoto. I love digital photo albums because I don't like having to store photo albums in my house.
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5. Go see my doctor about my OCD.