Catching Everyone Up

 Christine and classmate Steve.
 I'm doing the Beyonce dance.
 Being silly!
 Ummm... don't remember names.
 Mira and me.
Hi everyone! This is Kate.

Sorry I have been busy lately and haven't written in the blog. The last time I wrote was over a week ago. Since then, we had a party, got some new roommates, and sort of lost our original one.

The Party Friday, Jan. 16:

So, the party was really fun! Steve and I went shopping during the day since Eric and Nicole were in school. We bought crackers, cookies, stuff to make dips, chicken, sausages, eggplant, etc. It was going to be good! I also got some beer and 2 bottles of wine. Steve was going to provide a bottle of rum. We got home early so I hung out and did some homework before preparing. I am not as deft at throwing dinner parties as Amanda is, so I forgot to take a picture of the spread. However, I can describe it. I made bean & corn dip, guacamole, had a variety of crackers, chips, and cookies out. We grilled the chicken, sausages, and eggplant. It was delish! Eric and Nicole's classmates came over in groups. By 9pm everyone was there. I would say we had at least 15 people here. Everyone brought a variety of drinks... from box wine, to vodka with orange juice, the ticos made something in a pot... it was just craziness. I had made a party playlist for my Ipod earlier in the day, so we had that on all night. I showed off what little I know of the Beyonce dance. lol. Overall, it was a fun time. Eric and Steve both told me that everyone said I was a great hostess and lots of fun!

 Drinking out of the pot!
 Eric, Steve, and Karen. 
 Christine and me. 
 Cheers!
 Sittin on a bench. 

After the party, both Eric and I had lots of homework to do. He had to prepare for his third week of TEFL school, which was going to be his hardest week. I am trying to keep up with my graduate class which seems to be giving me surprises constantly and work on my TEFL certification online. 

I am not sure if it was Monday or Tuesday that we acquired 4 new roommates. It was a day that Eric didn't get home until 7:30 or 8pm. I had warned him via walkie talkie earlier that day that there were more people living here. The two that came first were Michon and Ruben. Michon is from San Francisco and Ruben is a tico. They met on one of the first occasions she came to Costa Rica (she's been here several times) and kept in touch via email. Now they are traveling together. The second couple  that arrived are Justin and Ashli. Justin graduated from ECU last May and is now pursuing an online master's degree from them just like I am. Ashli graduated from UNCW in December. They have been dating for a couple years and decided to celebrate graduating by taking a trip down here! One of Ashli's majors was Spanish and she has spent time in Chile & Argentina as well. 

 Michon.
 Ruben. 
 Ashli. 
 Justin. 

Anyways, when Eric got home that night, we had all been having a few beers or wine on the little porch outside all of our rooms. Of course, he had a long day, so went straight inside the room. Eventually, I went up and made a big pot of pasta mixed with seasons refried beans and sauce for everyone. That got everyone away from being out in front of our door. After that I also asked them if they would hang out on the terrace because Eric was tired. Everyone was cool with that and he did hang out a bit eventually. That week was very hard for both Eric and I. I had been starved for people to talk to or hang out with as our roommate Nicole tended to spend most of her time away from the villa (hanging out with people her age who are single), so I was happy that people were here and that they were couples. Eric on the other hand, was having a rough time with school and appreciated the quietness he used to come home to. So, he was not so happy people were here. I think he has gotten used to it by now though.

Eric finished up school for the third week on Thursday around 1:30pm. We got to hang out and just chill because he didn't have to worry about school again until Monday. Yay! On Friday we had quite an adventure going down to Playa Del Rey. Eric wrote a blog about that, so I will let it come from him. 

Pura Vida!