Cansada.

Just finished my 15th hour of Spanish classes this week. My brain is dangerously close to losing its ability to function properly.

In the past few days, our schedule has become increasingly busy. We leave every morning around 8 to be at Spanish school by 9. Lessons go until noon, when we have a one hour lunch break. Then ACI talks to us about safety/host families/expectations etc. for an hour or two. After this we usually have a social event planned.

On Wednesday night, we had a dance class at the ACI office where we were taught the basic steps of salsa, merengue, and cumbia. Many a foot was stepped on due to space limitations and the dancing ability of most of the German boys... or lack thereof. Nevertheless, we're all looking forward to part 2 next week.

After dance class, I went with a few girls to el cine (the movie theater) to see El Origen, the Spanish version of Inception. The movie itself was in English with Spanish subtitles, which is how you will find most movies shown in Costa Rica. The real shock came when we only had to pay 1,000 colones per ticket - about $1.98 USD.

Yesterday after class, we took a trip to the police station to start our visa applications and got police reports so that they could make sure we hadn't committed crimes since we entered the country. Today we will go back to have our fingerprints taken. As Guillermo, one of the program coordinators for ACI, would say: This country is centered around stupid paperwork.

Last night, we went to a going away party for Isaac, a Costa Rican who is going abroad through ACI. It was held at a bar called Caccio on Calle de la Amargura in San Pedro. It was a pretty late night, so we're all going to a nearby cafe for cappuccino before the afternoon starts.