The sun oh so rises

I woke up bright and early with the sunrise this morning. When I got out of bed I thought it was already close to 8 o'clock – rather, it was barely past 6. The sun rises much earlier here with the passing of the equinox and no DST, plus it shines more brightly and more directly.

I sauntered downstairs and took my first shower in Costa Rica. Yes, we do have hot water here, but it's not centralized. Instead, the water heater is built right into the showerhead. That's right – inside the showerhead is a small electric heating element that powers up as soon as you start the water. To make sure the heater is working, you have to turn up the water until the unit buzzes. To us Yanks, a buzzing electrical appliance is usually cause for alarm, but here it's just another everyday thing that makes Latin American life so interesting.

We're nearing the end of the rainy season here. The pattern each day has been true to what I've read. It's bright and sunny in the morning, then the clouds roll in and it rains for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Typically it's only heavy for about half and hour, and light the rest of the time. Ken, Ellie and I walked around downtown for a little bit to grab a late lunch and pick up some last-minute school supplies. We didn't eat too much since it was about 3 in the afternoon and we'd be having some of Zeneida's home cooking in a few hours. Her food has been delicious! She always slices up plates of fresh guava and pineapples for breakfast. Tonight we had a tasty soup called crema de ayote. The ayote is a gourd similar to a pumpkin, so the soup was something like a pumpkin bisque.

Tomorrow I wake up bright and early to take my oral placement exam at 7:30. The school is about a ten-minute walk from here, and I'm looking forward to getting some nominal exercise since there's not a lot of open space around here to run. I can't wait to see what the class is like and what activities the school has in store.