Monteverde

Hola! I realize it has been a few days since I´ve updated but computers are scarce and we´ve been pretty busy. To begin, we had our first day of classes on Monday. So far so good. My instructor, Rita, is this incredibly nice tica whose father owns a finca de cafe (coffee farm). She speaks very little english so all of the teaching is done in Spanish. We were tested the first day we arrived on our abilities and Katie and I ended up in the same class. I have one more semester of Spanish under my belt so that should tell you about our excellent school system (or my inability to actually learn the language). Monday night we met up with some other students for dinner at the treehouse. It´s a restaurant with a tree right in the middle and it goes out the roof. Pretty cool stuff. We then went to Amigos, a huge discoteca and had a few beers. Nothing too exciting but the whole experience was pretty interesting. Tuesday night, some friends who go to ole miss had a party at their casa, so we had a chance to hang out with a bunch of the students.
Overall, I think the town is pretty safe. It seems like a secluded mountain town and we´ve seen other students walking alone to their homestays. Which is the reason I decided to venture out alone this afternoon. I walked to the neighboring town of Santa Elena while everyone did a canopy tour, something I did with my family in March. But don´t worry mom, I stayed on the main roads! It was a walk down the mountain, therefore unless I want to have a heart attack, I think I´ll take a taxi back.
We´re taking salsa lessons tonight, but what I´m really looking forward to is our trip this weekend. About 12 of us went to a travel agency and booked a weekend in Arenal. Saturday morning we are going white water rafting ( and in the rainy season... very brave!), followed by an afternoon in the hot springs. We will also be taking a tour of the active volcano. Our hotel has three pools so it might be the first time I actually get any sun! The weather is extremely weird here. It´s usually very sunny in the morning, when we´re in class, and the clouds and rain begin moving in between 12 and 1. However, the clouds are incredibly neat. It´s similiar to the most dense fog I´ve ever seen, and because we are so high, I can sometimes look down the mountain and only see clouds. I was sitting in the kitchen the other day when they rolled in and I could see the clouds actually coming in our window. It was pretty phenominal.
Anyways, I better wrap up this novel. I´m having an amazing time and miss everyone lots!