hello december

I am cold.
Today I am wearing a cardigan and a swetshirt, and I am still shivering. Oh I also have a scarf. The wind bites!
This is typical Monteverde weather...windy and chilly. But its come about 2 months too early! Still sleeping with socks every night. I have to say though, that I much prefer wind over rain. Up until the last three days, our front door was so swollen with water and saturated that it would not completely close. So stressful leaving the house with the dorr partially open. One morning after slamming it shut, I had to climb out the kitchen window to force it open from the outside. What an adventure..but now I know how to get out if there is ever an emergency, haha!

I also have a story about my closet. It is small, with a shelf at waist level and a smaller compartment above, built into the wall. I have my things folded and organized on the shelf, and some things leaning against the wall in the back. Below the shelf is a large space on the floor, where I have my shoes organized and two bags, one filled with socks and the other with underwear. Two night ago I opened the door and bent down to retrieve a pair of socks before going to bed...when I spotted something big and black on the wall in the corner. Yes, there was TARANTULA IN MY CLOSET. I screamed, and Grettel came in and stared. I have never seen a spider so big in my life...and the most unsettling thing was its proximity to my underwear. I took immediate action and removed everything from the closet floor except my chaco sandals, which are heavy and plastic...I then braced myself and wacked as hard as I could with my one chaco...the result was a leggy and squishy mess, which I cleaned with a paper towel, grimacing. I have been checking my sheets every night, and moved my bed further away from the wall. Daddy-long-legs are one thing...tarantulas are another. I understand that my environment invites itself to bug encounters, but this was by far the most unpleasant one I have had. Mosquitoes do not bother me. I am not unnerved by cockroaches. But tarantulas! That was crazy.

I hope this December weather keeps up; its better being cold and dry than cold and wet. Grettel and I have been eating oatmeal, toast and eggs for breakfast, and soups and hot rice dishes for dinner.

Some new words and phrases I have learned:
pegajoso= sticky
pelo de gato= drizzling rain.

If someone asks me if I am fluent or bilingual, I say no. Because truly, there is so much I have yet to learn. Eyes and ears open...all the time!

Pura Vida