In about one week I will have been here for four months, which marks the half way point of my Costa Rican adventure. I seriously have no idea how I got here. Sometimes when I think of all the things I’ve done here already it feels like I’ve been here for ages. Then I think about being in Ottawa getting ready to leave, and it feels like just yesterday.

I’ve already gotten so much out of this experience it’s amazing. I really feel a lot more independent now, much more confident in my ability to put myself in new situations, far more outgoing. I’m in much better shape then when I left, and I can speak a new language! (To a limited extent that is)

I’ve developed my technical skills a bit as well. I am definitely much more confident with Object Oriented PHP programming. My ActionScripting abilities have significantly improved as well. I do wish I had more of an opportunity to further develop my design abilities, but I am sure I’ll have the opportunity to do that in the coming months if I really want to.

My music has been going great since I’ve been here. I’ve written about 6 new songs and recorded most of them. I’ve performed in front of many people and have gotten more confident in my singing and playing. I am looking forward to coming back to Canada and performing more.

Soon I’ll have to start my Co-Op work term report for Carleton. I am seriously dreading this. This is the worst part of the Co-Op experience. It is essentially describing in detail what exactly I did here. Although I’m sure it is an important part of the process, I just hate writing essays. I haven’t had to do much writing since I started studying Interactive Multimedia, which has been nice. But it also means I am not used to having to write long papers.

Last weekend we went to an all inclusive resort at Playa Langosta which is close to Tamarindo. The resort was really nice, and we got great food and drinks included in the cost of the room which we fully took advantage of. Unfortunately the weather didn’t come through for us, so it rained most of the time. But this didn’t stop us from hanging out on the beach, running, surfing and hanging out in the pool.

I’m going back to Cartago this weekend to see Alejandra again. On Monday our friends Natalie and Emilio are heading to the states so we are going to have a going away party for them. Greg and I are going to show our movie trailer to the rest of the Bagaces crew who haven’t seen it yet. One of these days I’m going to make a “Day in the Life” picture set showcasing what one day is like living here in Costa Rica. There are so many subtle differences that you forget about after a while. Keep an eye out for that. Take it easy!