The Final Full Week Begins

We are finally in presentation production mode...

Have been working hard to make sure that everything is in order for dropping images into our group pamphlet layout for tomorrow to be printed. Have also been trying to not to get too stressed that our landscapers are once again not able to help out because of their own major project, the MVI garden. I started our final site plans today for the schemes. Linsey has done most of hers and it looks incredible! Hopefully I can pick up some drawing tips from her.

Other than that nothing is new. I can't upload pictures from the weekend yet because I left my camera case and connector with Dan when we were out this weekend so I didn't have to carry it around.

Got home and thought I was locked out this evening...sat outside with Cosita for a good half hour before looking in my bag and realizing my keys were there all along. Yeaaaaa...no worries. It was nice to just sit and not talk and be outside and relaxed and not rushing.

I'm definitely avoiding anything outside of my house and school and whatever is in between this week. I can already tell. Amber and I did go to CASEM today to check out their merchandise and to see Daisy. Marlen showed up with the kids, too, so it was a little family gathering!

I ate dinner before Daisy got home so when Raul and Daisy's husband, ex husband? Came over for dinner I didn't feel too rude going into my room. It's really strange to me because I make an effort to say hello and to make conversation but I feel like after an initial greeting I am dropped from conversation when other people are around. It's cool, though. I just finished working on a few things and while my computer says it's around midnight, and it FEELS like midnight, it is only 10 and that means lots of sleep ahead :)

Six-Hour Sunday

Must have been exhausted from the past week or so because I got home this morning and passed out until noon. Woke up and wasn't walking around for more than 5 minutes when Daisy informed me that the phone was for me. I was so groggy. I knew it was a guy speaking Spanish but that was pretty much the extent of it. It was Jairo, duh, and we talked somehow for 5 or 10 minutes while he was on his way to work I think. I'm not realy sure, like I said I had just woken up and my brain can only process the basic, "good morning, how did you sleep?" spanish conversation that quickly. I thought he said he was going to call back, so I bummed around for an hour or so, ate breakfast and painted my nails. Around 1:15 I told Daisy to let him know I'd gone out to watch the game if he called...he didn't. Apparently my spanish really WAS that terrible this morning. haha.

Headed to Johnny's with my "uncle" on his 4-wheeler. It was beautiful this afternoon. Going so fast from one place to another here was a very new concept for me. Usually moving like that is only done in a bus and I'm already passed out OR bouncing around in the back seat of the shockless institute van...either way it was cool.

Got to Johnny's, put on my US jersey to support the home team in the Gold Cup finals against Mexico. We played really well the first half and then rolled over and died in the second after a penalty kick was given to Mexico. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty sure that the penalty should have been against Mexico on that play, if anything, but the truth is, after that the US team sucked it up and lost in a big-time blowout 5-0. Go team. So that was sad, but it was nice to just sit and be alone for a bit, plus the occasional conversation with Luis or Nacho. Josh showed up and changed the pace of the day a bit. I invited Katia out this coming Saturday since I didn't talk to her the other night.

Ran down to Jandro's to say hello but he wasn't in so Josh and I headed back up toward MV where I split off to go home and he kept straight to the institute. I ate dinner, chatted a bit with the little ones.

Went to sleep around 6-something not really sure what my intention was in doing that. Passed out until 2 am. Back to sleep to the howling wind...

The Reserve...Finally.

So about that thinking I should go home to talk to Daisy...yeah. Momma' Daisy was not too happy with me today when I showed up at 7:30 am telling her that I'd slept over at Tuona's. She scolded me for not telling her that I wasn't coming home for dinner and I told her I was sorry. I didn't bother explaining myself. It didn't matter. She was mad, and I should have told her, and that was that. She offered to make breakfast but I told her I was about to leave for the reserve and when she insisted I told her I wasn't hungry. She offered to make lunch, too, but I have pizza left over and I didn't have time to wait because I needed to meet the girls to get to the institute by 8 for the reserve.

Headed to the reserve and split into two groups, one with Anibal's bro, and the other was my group with Danilo, which is ironically what I call Dan. We learned that the plants here create cyanide and about how poisonous animals use that to make their venom while non-venomous creatures take small bites from different leaves because with every bite, the plant naturally sends more toxic chemicals to the place where they're eaten to protect themselves. Pretty incredible how living creatures defend themselves through natural means.

We saw a snake and hummingbirds, butterflies, spiders, lots of different trees and plants and bugs, a few flowers, and the highlight for me, which was a porcupine eating little fruits. Our guide said that it's extremely rare to see them during the day, so that was neat. After our tour, Sam found a coati up on the roof. To me, they look like a mix between monkeys, anteaters, and raccoons.

After the reserve, we stopped at the institute then headed to the Argentine Cafe for lunch. I had a burger and fries...how argentinian of me...and then Linsey and I split a brownie which was really scrumptious. Go us.

Back at the institute I did the typical online thing for a bit then helped out on the trail system that our landscape architects have been designing all summer. Wielding a machete was not nearly as empowering as I had originally hoped, but it was better than nothing, so I went with it for a while before switching off to clear what had been chopped, then changing to lining the path with wooden slats and a shovel.

Tonight, we're going out or something. In the meantime I'm going to go get all of the dirt off of me from the strangler at the reserve and the trail work, then maybe eat if I get any appetite in the next little while, then maybe go chill with Jandro for a bit. Last week, gotta' make it good.

Panic Attack, Anyone?

Woke up early this morning so I could go to studio and get a bunch of stuff done for my team before our presentation. Cosita was so cute waiting outside the door that I just had to take a few pictures of her.

At school I spent my time finishing up the rest of the existing site sections and preparing drawings for the presentation as well as considering a trip to Samara for the weekend and trying to figure out the logistics of it. The girls from the library left at 1:30 and couldn't wait and there weren't any other cheap options. Most people seemed to be telling me to stick around anyhow.

When we got into our presentation at 3, we pinned up our drawings and I sat down to start. When Kevin told me I could begin, all of the sudden the tightness in my chest from today turned into panic. I didn't know how to start. Not only did I not know how to start, but even when he said to focus on te guidelines I got more upset. I had to leave the room, at which point I just broke down crying for no reason and had to tell myself to calm down and breathe until Kevin came up to get me and helped me chill out a bit. Once we got back to the room everything went fine. I can't explain what happened, just that I really had no control for a few minutes. It was embarrassing.

When we finished with that it was almost 5. I sat down in the kitchen to talk to Sam for a good hour I think and then with Amber who came in, later. Finally called Jairo from the MVI phone and had a tough conversation while he waited for a taxi to work down at the beach. Tough.

After that I was feeling really low and just wanted to go home but a bunch of people were heading to Johnny's so I jumped on the bandwagon. More talking with T and Amber on the walk was good. Once there we just had a drink and ended up being there so long that we decided to have dinner. The whole time I felt like I should have stopped home to tell Daisy I was going out and stopped at Jandro's because we were originally going to hang out tonight. I'm not up to it. After eating and chilling for a bit, Linsey and Tuona invited me to Tuona's for a sleepover. We stopped at Linsey's where Yenaro informed us that it's called a Pijamada...except I don't have PJs...I'm not going to lie, I probably won't make it through a movie, but I guess it was better to come out than to have gone to bed.

Yay friends.

The Monteverde Waterfall and Gold Cup Playoffs

So today we finally got the heck away from the Institute for an hour mid-day to see the Monteverde waterfall. Definitely not the San Luis falls, but whatever. We all agree that this walk was the sort of thing we should have been doing every day this summer as part of our program.

Dan, Amber, Keith, Tuona, Josh at the start of the trail:

Dan, pointing out a cutter ant who seemed to have a different food source in mind than the rest of the workers...

Little seat, little Tarzan root....no big thang.

Dan...this is the cloud forest. Check out that density.

Tuona, Amber, and Keith...getting closerrrrr!

We finally were down by the water on the makeshift bridges...which were super-rickety. I'm not going to lie, the danger-factor made the short walk a lot more fun and exciting.

I mean...THIS could happen to YOU...doesn't that give you a rush??

This was another way of helping people to navigate the tough terrain to the falls...ropes over rocks. Dan, then Amber, then Keith, then Tuona.

The falls! We FINALLY made it...ok, so it was only a kilometer.

J$, Dan, and Keith. Giving you an idea of the difficulty of the waterfall rock passageway. Note: the land owner/path builder, Simon, is in the background. I don't know that the walk was worth $4 that it cost for students, but it was definitely worth it to get out of studio, and he gave us a deal since we didn't have enough money for all 6 of us...so that was cool.

Will and me...working something out under the watchful eye of Anibal, apparently.

I stayed late to work at studio tonight because we have a practice presentation tomorrow and we have a lot of stuff due before we get into final presentation materials next week. I missed the US vs. Honduras semi-final game for the Gold Cup at 5, but a bunch of us made plans to meet up to watch the Costa Rica/Mexico game at 8. While Sam, Clara and I waited for Tuona to finish dinner, we witnessed CR soccer fans in action...a housefull of dudes gathered together to watch a game. Now, this is probably comparable to a superbowl party, except that it happens much more than once a year.

Tuona walking to Bar Amigos for the game.

After a really close game, Mexico finally scored with just minutes left in the second half. With less than 30 seconds on the clock in extra stoppage time, Costa Rica scored to tie up the game. The place went nuts. It was awesome. I thought of my team and our game against York when Sara Cooke scored with 1 second on the clock...it was really cool to be part of. The 2, 15-minute, overtimes came and went without any goals and it came down to PKs. Mexico scored, CR scored, Mexico scored, CR scored, Mexico scored, the Mexico goalie came up with a huge save, and the rest was history as the remaining Mexico players to shoot made their shots. It was a sad ending to such a good game. I hate when team games end in such individualistic ways...they should just play til they drop, or til someone scores. haha.

After the game, DJ Toni jumped on his high horse and got the crowd going a bit with Calle 8, One Two Three Four, Uno Dos, Tres, Cuatro...a few of us decided to stay for a bit. Diego and Amy showed up to dance as did Jose, so it was cool to get to hang out with them for a bit.

Clara, Diego, Amy, Me, Jose

Jose loved Sam :)

Jose and Me

After waiting a good deal of time for the boys to finish their "one beer" Sam and I decided to head out since we have so much to do tomorrow still. I'm glad I came out and chilled for a bit but I'm exhausted now. It's been a long week. Can't wait for the weekend so we can get a break.

I'm not ready to go home yet...I don't think it's because I want to be here, but I don't know where I want to be, so it seems easier to stay where I am than to make another change without any more direction than I had before.

Mid-week Potluck Dinner

Soooo...we didn't see it last time when we came for dinner with the Connors fam but there is a little loft...and I mean little...and now I want one.

Amber in my loft.

I brought cheese and crackers again. Sharp Cheddar and Goat cheeses with the costa rican version of Ritz called Bokitos...sooooo gooooood. PS--that's my platter: Be impressed.

Sam chopping up veggies for the veggies and dip plate she made.

Josh brought Bon Bon Bums...aka lollipops.

"DJ ANI": said in the electronified voice that only Bar Amigos Dj, Toni, can really master with enough obnoxiousness to make people leave the dance floor.

Fernando and Josh being bros.

and then, mid-party, there was a party-crasher also known as a big friggin beetle bug. Linsey was ready to take it out with the broom.

Yeah, it was pretty big, but dumb, as per usual with these big, slow-moving bugs.

We let it stay since it was in shock and wasn't moving after the paparazzi went to work on him...and we turned our attention to the cake that Pam baked for our summer birthday kids. It is worth noting that 4 of them were incapable of putting out two candles with one attempt...

Keith tried to scare Linsey by bringing the beetle bug back into the picture.

Kevin, Dan, Amber, and Keith shared the last Imperial beer in the tiny teacup set that Pam had at her cabin. Cheers.

Linsey entertained everyone with her gymnastics skills and even played teacher so I could learn the techniques.

And the night ended with Dan talking to a little bug, something about us and bugs today...it was like we were strangely attracted and amused.

So now it's late, again, and we have class tomorrow, because it was a mid-week dinner, but I'm glad we alll went. After getting out early, and having a fun time as a group, I think it's safe to say today was a good day.

Nublar=To Cloud...word copywritten by Futuros 09

Today was more production. At lunch we followed our traditional activities which include sunbathing on the steps of the barn, chilling with Pretty Girl (check out those blue eyes!), and eating without being mauled by our beloved dogs.
Sam, Pretty Girl, Amber, & The Minstrel:

Keith was talking to the bug about his eating of brown leaves instead of green ones:

This was my project for the morning...creating an existing conditions site plan for our final. As you can see, the North side of the site is a cliff (the brown line) and our site includes the recreational pool and pool house to the North of the existing building. The brown to the west side is an area where the soil is eroding into the creek. The tan is for dirt roads. Yay team!

Josh decided to make himself small since he was playing the small guitar (guitarita!)

And then it began nublar-ing.

Keith 1:

Keith 2:

Keith 3:

Keith 4:

The best part of the day, other than our productivity (which was slightly deterred by heated group discussion on the re-designing of the already re-designed existing building), was that we got out at 4pm because we needed time to get to Santa Elena for ingredients to bring to the pot luck dinner at Pam's cabin. Kevin and I took off running into the cloud.

You know that overlook by the rock where we always look for the sunset?? Here it is when it's clouding...

Mira-Mirraaaa...the Linsey-mira-voice

Working toward our site presentation for Friday for the rest of this week. That includes getting existing site conditions plan and sections done as well as plans and sections for each of the two schemes that we have. I believe we are also supposed to be showing some vignettes...Not sure how that's going to work out. Hoping that we can get everything done...the longer my team takes to produce, the more work I have to cram into a shorter period of time for our final next week.

This is our beautiful friend that we found in the breezeway this morning.


His green tongue matched the stripes on his belly.



And this is Snaggles...cutest ugly dog ever...

Definitely is the winner of the worst-teeth award!

He's afraid of the camera flash :(

So cuuuute! This dog always has a wagging tail and a big, mess--up toothy grin...and an unfortunately terrible smell to him!

After class today I stayed to use the internet and talked for a while to Vik before heading home for dinner. Got a call from Jairo and he talked to Marlen for a bit which was funny. Around 8 I called Keith and Amber and couldn't get hold of Keith when I called him back so I had to head down there and knock...was a little nervous that it would disturb his family, but it didn't at all. We walked down to Amber's and then the three of us headed to La Salvadita to the right of the Santa Elena triangle where Keith, Amber, and I played foosball for free with the people who work there or own it. Marlo, Karin, Victor, and Roiner. Started raining on the way back and my jeans are soaked. Boo that. Drying out and bed.

Productivity...GO

So today we started off a little bit behind as our professors thought we didn't quite get our two schemes ironed out enough to start developing. We spent the first part of the morning getting that straightened out before splitting up into our two groups (Will and Tyler-working on the new construction with the dorms scheme) and Keith and Me working on the existing building with re-programmed space. We reconvened later in the day and I'm really happy with the progress that we made. I have to work on splitting up the criteria for each of the schemes now.

Keith and I got a chance to run down to Santa Elena and Cerro Plano to check out Hotel Poco a Poco's covered pool. They are a really great example of what we are doing here. They focus not only on being sustainable but also teaching about it. They also construct in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and interesting. I really like the way that they cover their walkways because it lets in light and air, sheds water, and is still dynamic.

We also checked out the pool cover at El Establo, one of the most famous hotels in Monteverde, for sure, and possibly even throughout Costa Rica. I have to note that I wasn't all too impressed with their pool. The view was great (on a day as clear as today, at least) but the pool was fairly dull in shape and the covering was a simple grid. The thing I liked most was the retaining wall at the back and how they closed off that side from wind but maintained an aesthetic with a terrace of plantings.

We were entertained for a bit this afternoon by a hummingbird who flew into the breezeway where we're set up our studio workspace.

Met with Kevin and Pam and they like our stuff and gave us some direction. Tomorrow morning we'll start right away, Keith and I will develop our scheme which relocates the building entry to be more accessible and identifiable while Will and Tyler merge their two schemes into one.

The walk home was a bit rushed as it was actually clear and we knew the sunset would be beautiful if we could get to the rock...which is a well-known location by now for its overlook to the Gulf of Nicoya. These things just never come out on the camera...but I always feel like I have to try.

Today is Will's Bday, so we met up at Chimera for drinks for a bit. I had a Kiwi Caipirinha (I think that's the spelling?) which was absolutely awesome! Will had to leave to get home for dinner so a few of us went down to Johnny's to hang for a bit. Anibal's cousin Emmanuel was working because Randall is sick (and still hasn't gone to the doctor over the past month of it). Heyner was there so I got to talk with him a bit. I told all of them about going out the night before we leave.

My Kiwi Caip. and Sam's Strawberry Caip.

I felt good about how much we got done today and I'm really glad to be home before midnight for the first time in days. Here's hoping this helps out with my cold which I still have...lame.