In Canoas, once again... but what comes next?

The rains are coming back to Costa Rica. I can't tell you how happy I am that they are - I was beginning to fear that I wouldn't get to see the rain forest again before I leave. Of course, this means that I now have to wear boots again (and live through a couple weeks of blisters) and it really means that I have to stay on top of my laundry - no more slacking off and then doing it all in one day because my clothes will dry in a couple of hours of sun. No, back to every day laundry that might take days to dry. But, with the bad comes the good: beauty. With the rain comes the colors. I have never seen such blues and greens as I see here. The sunrises are absolutely spectacular. As I walk down the mountain at 5 in the morning I have to simply stop and take it all in at least 7 times before I reach the bottom. Across the valleys the mist passes through. Over the bay there are dark storms, that sometimes come our way, but sometimes just let us know they're there with the sound of distant thunder. I love this weather.

There are, I admit, times it goes a little too far. For instance, a couple weeks ago, lightning struck a tree about 2 meters away from the girls house. It practically exploded. The bark flew off the tree, the tree itself split and it was smoking - literally for seconds it was on fire. I, personally, was a bit "asustado" and I ran out of my house without my shoes, in the rain, getting my book wet and my feet very muddy. I saw the bright lightening, the smoking tree, heard the popping of the tree and I was not positive that it wasn't going to fall over and crush my house right then and there. I realize now that it will take a while for the tree to actually die and fall but at that moment I wanted to get to as low ground as possible.

Even so, I am really looking forward to sharing it all with Casey and Alex and Greg. I am so glad they get to experience it. Can you believe it's only a little over a month away? By that time both Linda and Laura will have gone. I will be alone, thinking continuously that I have only a few weeks left, and then they will come and cheer me up! I will forget that I soon will go back home and need to search out the world and find a new place for me in it. Of course, I know that for a few weeks my place will be home (perhaps even months!) and it will feel completely right. I am so excited to see everyone in Huntsville again - my family and friends have been missed (I'll probably realize just how much when I get there again). I do fear that in this current economic situation I will not have quite as many opportunities to choose from as I might otherwise have hoped, nevertheless I am hopeful and really interested to see where life takes me next and what great things I'll get to do. After all, it's an interesting question: what comes next?