peanut butter and jelly.

With extreme beauty comes extreme weather. I just rushed inside from a slanting rain that my small umbrella could only manage to protect my head from. I've just returned from the market where I planned to get ingredients for what I have been craving the past few days: peanut butter and jelly.. but, they DON'T HAVE peanut butter! So, that craving will have to pass. But, I was sure to indulge in my next craving which was chocolate. I had a dream about chocolate cake (I know pretty sad), and so now I am happily munching on a chocolate donut from the bakery. It's no Krispy Kreme- but it's chocolate!! So now that I sound like I've gone off the deep end and only crave really rich foods, I'll tell you what I've began to delight in here. Avacados; with a dash of salt, they go great with about any meal! Apples; the Gala apples here are some of the best I've ever had. And last but not least, the coffee. I have found a steakhouse that serves coffee to go any way you like it, but the best part is their drip coffee is great! Costa Rica is known for its coffee plantations and my goal is to be able to tour one named "Cafe Britt" in a couple of weeks.
These past few days have been tougher on me as I have become more homesick and for some reason more tired.. I'm going to blame it on the heat (even though technically it is winter here). I am just trying to adjust with as little difficulty as possible. I am still not used to the men here and their attempt to charm the ladies, I'm definitely not used to the heat, nor to the flash rain storms.. a little stray Dachshund broke my heart today as she huddled against the gate of my family's home trying to stay out of the rain. It looked at me with begging eyes, and my heart melted. It would be tempting to take in these little guys but there are SO MANY of them here. They just chill on the sidewalks all day long. I have to admit though, I do like the storms.
The other day, my host dad, Bernal, taught me how to make coffee the old fashioned way. It simply involves pouring boiling water over the coffee in the gunny sack filter and vua-lah! It was quite enjoyable. Also, he made a Costa Rican snack--corn tortillas and sour cream, and it wasn't too bad..
The girls keep me entertained too. Paula the 18 month old throughly enjoys being in mischief, I can tell by the look of joy on her face when she knows she's doing something bad. However, her older sister Pia loves to tote her around and keep her as her personal source of entertainment, even if that means bossing her around or hiding her toys. They are adorable though and I feel so blessed to have this family!