A Donkey in a Boat

Imagine this, but with a donkey.

"It's as boring as a donkey in a boat." This, my friends, is the Costa Rican equivalent to "watching paint dry" or "watching grass grow." I mean, how boring would that be? A donkey. In a boat. In the water. Or out of the water, I don't know. Needless to say, it means that something is boring. My point here is not that I'm bored, but rather that I've been learning many cute little phrases from Costa Rica and then pondering them for hours during long car and bus rides. Often, I can't get past the donkey in a boat. 
In the past five days I have been to 4 different cities and two different countries, all by car and bus. This leaves lots of time to zone out and imagine a donkey in a boat (of course, until I get bored and then start pondering the meaning of life, and all those other mind-boggling questions). 
Friday we took the bus to Coronado to have a VBS at the Wesleyan church there. It was RJ's first time on public transportation, and I'm pleased to say that he survived and is alive and well. Going to Coronado requires going to San Jose (the capital) and navigating the city. I would like to say I accomplished this on my own, but I didn't. Jazmin was there with us the entire time, translating and keeping us alive. Without her, we'd probably be lost somewhere in the mountains, eating our arms to stay alive.
We had a blast. Well, kind of. After arriving in Coronado, we ate lunch and set up for the VBS. We had about 20 kids attend, which was less than we were hoping for, but still an excellent number. That night we slept in a house that loved pets. Not just dogs or cats, but snakes and birds. Three birds. That chirped ALL NIGHT LONG. Guess who's never going to own a bird or a snake? Me.

View of San Jose from the house.

Jazmin and RJ looking at something intriguing.

Inside of the church.

Prayer board inside the church.

After Saturday's VBS we took the bus back to Grecia so Jazmin could be here for her friend's wedding. RJ and I decided not to go to the wedding, but rather go with Sussan and her friends to La Fabricca Pizzeria in Alajuela, about a 30 minute drive from Grecia. Nothing too special there, except that I got to meet some new people and eat some insanely good pizza :)
Alrighty. This brings us to Sunday, which is the beginning of our Golfito/Panama adventure. In the 57 hours we were gone, we spent approximately 31 of them in a car or sleeping. That leaves 26 hours of adventure and TV watching (which, depending on which channels you watch, can be quite adventurous). 
The main reason for our Golfito adventure was a pastor switch at the Wesleyan Church in Golfito. Pastor Luis is a pretty important guy here in Costa Rica, so he travels a lot, and we tag along. So we left Sunday after church to drive the 5 hours and make it there by 5 pm. Mission: Accomplished. After the party, we retreated to what RJ likes to refer to as the "Parasidic Paradise." Actually, it was a few guest rooms in the former pastor's house. But for this, I have to agree with RJ. And guess what? My room had a TV! With Grey's Anatomy in English! And the best part? My mother wasn't there to tell me how unreal all the action was :)  (Just kidding, mom.)
Monday we went to Panama. Whoo hoo! There are two insanely exciting parts of this trip. One: We got four stamps on our passports. Two: We ate McDonalds for dinner. Needless to say, the Americans were happy. Other than that, there's nothing very exciting about Panama. They use American Dollars, and everything is dirt cheap. We were only there for about 2 hours while Zulay did some shopping. I got a dress for my Citation ceremony in Chicago and an I heart Panama coffee mug. Oh yeah, and a McFlurry :)

The view from the back of the church.

On the left are the new pastors, in the middle are Zulay and Luis, and on the right are the old pastors.

Crossing the border.

The city of David.

Don't mess with our McFlurries...

Before we left on Tuesday we did some sight seeing around Golfito. Golfito means "little gulf," so we took a boat ride around the gulf and went to the mountain top to see a view of the city. Here are some pictures:

When we're not traveling around the country, we stay in Grecia and help the maintenence guys, Heraldo and Lionel. And then we teach English, learn Spanish, watch TV, go on Facebook, go running, and eat Chikys and ice cream. And sometimes RJ does his schoolwork. Last week we went to see True Grit in theaters. I can't even begin to describe it, it was that good. I sincerely hope it wins big at the Oscars. But for the most part, life is pretty good down here. Costa Rica is a marvelous place for many reasons. Here's my list of love:
1) Every car has a defective car alarm.
2) It's warm, but not too hot. And right now, during the summer, it doesn't rain.
3) Everyone is super nice and friendly, except the guys who broke in and stole Sharon's computer and the Wii. 
4) Every Sunday is a party. I LOVE church here, and would be completely content never darkening the door of an American church ever again (because I would be living here, of course). 
5) Plans change every 12 minutes. For example, if someone tells you they're going to the beach on Tuesday, when you wake up on Tuesday you put on your bathing suit, sunscreen, bring your towel, camera, water bottle, wallet, etc., because there's a good chance you're not actually going to go to the beach. Same with going to the store or town. I've found that it's much more fun to not ask questions and just see where we end up. RJ, on the other hand, likes to know every detail of our journey. He'll just have to learn to look out the window and imagine a donkey in a boat...
6) There's no need for amusement parks- the driving here is thrilling enough. Roller coasters are nothing once you've ridden with Pastor Luis.
7) America is taking over the world. Costa Rica is part of the world, and is therefore becoming Americanized. While RJ and I were eating at the McDonalds (which was inside a Super Walmart-like store), we saw the shopping carts of the people next to us. They contained: Coke, Lays, Oreos, Pillsbury cans, and many other American foods. I came to the realization that America is not only fat, but we are also determined to make other countries fat, too. (As long as I keep running and stay fit, I have no problem with this). 
8) People still spend unfathomable amounts of time on Facebook, and they still love Two and a Half Men.
9) Costa Rica has the best Ugly Betty series EVER. Actually, it's based in Columbia, but it still rocks.
Alrighty. I'm going to lunch. Tomorrow we leave for Manahaim, a place near the Carribean, and then sometime next week we'll go to the Indian Zone. At least, that's today's plan. If it happens, and if I'm not too lazy, I just might blog about it. 
Until next time,
Gabbie

Oh yeah, and they sold bongs in the City Mall (which is like a Super Walmart) right next to the shampoo.

On the way back we stopped at Jaco Beach to see the sunset. I'm proud of my camera for capturing the moment without making it look stupid.