Coffee

So today at about 11 AM my uncle comes over to our house (he lives next door) and asks me if i want to see the coffee fields. Oh keep in mind these fields arent really fields, they are hills. They grow the coffee on the sides of hills. So we take his 1970-something toyota 4x4 up to the hills. On the way, we run across a couple hitchhiking. He pulls over and asks me to ask them where they are going. They are from france, it was easier for them to talk in english so we did. We ended up giving them a ride for a little but they were goin a lot further than we were so we dropped em of where the road split. Then my uncle turns on the extreme 4 wheel drive. We drive up a slope about 75 degrees. Not an exageration. The first one was the steepest but noy by much. We drove for 10 minutes before we stopped at a shack where a kid hopped in the back. He couldnt have been older than 16 or 17. We then slow down in front of a creek. I thought we were turning around but in fact he was adjusting my mirror before we plow STRAIGHT through the creek. In 10 minutes we reach a couple of guys who had sacks of what i thoguht must be coffee. Did you guys know that when coffee is freshly picked, it looks like berries? they arent beans they look like fruit. This was new to me. There were shades of yellow, red, and purple. It was kinda beautiful. We take all the coffee back with us to the factory in town which is a couple blocks from my house. THey measure it and dump in onto a MOUNTAIN of coffee. It must have been 30 feeet high. Just from today i think and it was midday.

Next time i go up I will brign my camera because that area is the most beautiful area i have seen thusfar.

I just finished a book titled PEAK (i think)
that brings my total for my trip up to a whopping 3 books and I have officially emptied the Mother-Librarian Bank. But the three books I brought are the three best books I have read in a really long time.
Watchmen- Its a graphic novel. It was really good but I think Cole and Marcus raised my expectations a little too much. :) thats not to say I didnt like it. I loved it!
People of the Book- All about a haggadah in Eastern Europe. SOOOO intriguing!
Peak (i think thats the title)- all about a boy has been raised climbing mountains and his trip to everest. also amazing!

I had school today. the days here are soooo long and it takes all my energy to keep up with the teachers. there is an upside to this whole "emersion(sp?)" thing though and that is i can tell that i am understanding more every class period.

im gonna go get something to eat i think.

Wow. Well I have gone to school. They are very long days. With the help of my two mothers, I have decided to make my specialty Tourism. It was between that and agriculture. I spent the morning with agrocultura and the afternoon with Turismo. The morning was quite....eyeopening. I dont feel comfortable posting in in a public space, but if you want to know more about it I am sure Marcus and Sasha and my mom would be happy to fill you in in between their fits of laughter.

It is saturday! I went to the Icelandics house but she wasnt there.

I now realize why they say Pura Vida, it seems like the only way to properly explain life here. Everyone is warm, people stop by our house all the time jus to talk and hang out. Also, i sometimes feel a tad homesick (never for more than a second or two mind you). As soon as i look around though, i reember how lucky i am. i should really post pictures for yuou guys, but it truely wouldnt do this place justice.

SANTA MARÍA DE DOTA

Hey Everyone!

I have met my family! Yesterday I arrived in Santa María de Dota with an Icelandic girl who is in the same town as me. It is good to have someone near you to be able to talk to because I am not going to lie, it´s really tough. I am getting my point across to my family, Carmen (my mom) says I speak very well but I know she´s just being nice. Jeaustin just walked into the internetcafe. He is my 7 year old brother. Our other brother, David, might be the cutest thing Ihave ever seen. He is three years old reminds me quite a bit of Hank except maybe a few less tantrums. :) Though it was a little surprising. A month ago my dad got in an accident at the coffee factory and they had to amputate almost to the knee! He is now staying with his mother about 2 blocks away, But I have already seen him twice.

I am in almost a center of town and I am 5 minutes away from the school. On the way to school is the house of the icelandic girl. She doesnt speak quite well, but she is already bilingual as Icelandic is her native language and English is taught to 5 year olds. I visited the school today but I did not attend. I saw my class and gave a little presentation upon the profesor´s request, but I left after because I do not have a uniform or supplies. I am not gonna lie to you guys, the school kids are crazy disrespectful to the teacher. They do not give a shittt. Well, most of them.

I gotta go. Jeaustin wants to play with me.

¡Adios!

Gabriel

Estoy en la ciudad de Tres Rios. Just Kidding. I will do this in english. I have been in Costa Rica for about 5 hours and am now at a camp with all the AFS Kids from around the world. Already, my thoughts have changed. One of the reasons I went on foreign exchange is because I feel like the rest of the world stoops to our language when in reality we should be able to speak in their native tongue as well. Already, here at camp the AFSers from around the world are speaking english. They know AT LEAST their own language, english, and now working on spanish. I feel so guilty even though us Americans can speak spanish, everyone decides to speak english. I now need to become multilingual but I for now I will just work on my spanish.

The flights from LA to miami were amazing. I met the most amazing woman in the world. A fifty year old with such a youthful perspective on life, but in a philosophical way because of an accident she had 18 years ago that comepletely wiped her memory. We talked allll the way from Kansas City to Miami, nonstop for 3 and a half hours. In miami, I met up with the rest of the AFS USA-ers. It is an amazing group and we have really become close and I now know them as well as one could possiibly know anyone after only a day and a half with them. I really wish I could share with all of you, what it is like here but it is IMPOSSIBLE to put into words. Trust that I am having an amazing time and am so excited to meet my family. I really want to tell you every detail that has occured so far because i havent stopped laughing since I met the guys I am hanging with. The girls are funny, kinda but the guys are f-ing crazyy.

I have to go because people want to use the computer!

Adios!

Sponsor Letter

Dear Sponsor,

I am proud that you have chosen me to represent AFS as a "Global Leaders Scholar." It gives me great pleasure to accept your scholarship and use it to help finance my life-changing experience in Costa Rica. 

I have always strove for exceptional grades in order to keep my options open while I try to find what I want to do with my life. Specifically, I set my standards high in order to get into a good college. When I applied for this scholarship and got accepted, I realized that my grades and labor paid off earlier than expected. The idea that my hard work has helped me earn something now, two and a half years before college applications, is revitalizing.

In addition to the obvious academic advancement that is associated with a foreign exchange program, I look forward to immersing myself in one of the most beautiful countries with some of the most friendly, easygoing people in the world. I have no doubt that I will learn from them, as they will from me.  I hope that the five months that I will spend there will bring me new lifelong friendships, a vast knowledge of the spanish language, and amazing stories to tell my friends and family at home. I want to thank you again for making all of this possible.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Kahn

Leaving

Today I went downtown on the bus to get gifts for my host family. I got my parents a couple of Los Angeles t-shirts. I got my 7 year old brother a lakers outfit and a superman doll for the 3-year old. I leave in six days for Miami. I am SO excited!