today (august?!)

today was different.

there was a party. a dance. i didnt dance, but i stood by as a
wallflower. i have really heavy feet. i see people dancing, and i dont
think about the rythm or remembernig the steps so much, but i wonder
how do people pick up their feet like that. mine just weigh a ton. and
if you want a different view on it, read Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close, by Jonathon Safran Foer. it is my favorite book.

at that dance, i tried chicha, which is a native corn liquor. it
tastes (and this one if for you tim) like orange juice and sprite.
everyone asked me if i thought it was strong. i said, no, i drank this
as a child. i of course did not drink corn liquor when i was young.
but it tastes the exact same.

that dance was started by a four year old wearing baggy faded jeans, a
crisp white undershirt, a gold necklace and a beanie dancing to
reggaeton. i would love to build up the fact that i live on an
indigenous reserve, but that image will always live in my mind. it was
more brooklyn than costa rica. except he was dancing on a dirt floor
under a thatch roof.

im nervous my spelling is horrible right now.

at the same dance, i talked to a really drunk 15 year old who was so
relieved to finally talk to someone who knows all about the great rock
bands like iron maiden and metallica. he asked me 4 times if i know
the german band rammstein. i said each time that yes, i have heard
their music, but i dont like it. oh, he would say, then he would
rattle off a list of american 70's -90's rock bands to see if i had
heard of them. nirvana, jimi hendrix, ozzy osbourne, queen, rammstein,
alannis morrisette. WHAT? alannis morrisette? how in the world did she
make it big internationally, and why does this kid group her with jimi
hendrix? beyond belief.

at the same dance, i saw a guy wearing a shirt that said "caalboys". strange.

it was a long day. we woke up early to go watch a little community
soccer tournament that was tied into the same celebration that the
dance was a part of. the first game was between two women's teams. the
fat chicks vs the skinny chicks. no joke. the skinny chicks won in
sudden death overtime. the game might have lasted 3 hours, with time
beyond that spent searching for the game ball when someone would kick
it over the cliff. after that, 4 of the neighborhoods put together
under 20 guys' teams for a little lightning tournament. i was asked to
referee, but realized after watching my host dad ref the first game,
that i just dont have enough focus to referee a game. i never know the
score, and obviously could never remember who kicked the ball out of
bounds, or be able to point in a direction to signal which team gets
to throw it back in. who raised me? i can barely keep my eyes on a
soccer game? you should see the rest of my life. its embarrassing.

anyway, within the first five minutes of the first game, a crazy
downpour started. they were playing on a big red dirt field which
quickly turned to mud. then, minutes later, the sun came out and
shined so hard that everyone just kept their umbrellas out. my arms of
course got terribly burned, but my face was fine.

so i did not referee or play. it was funny because i was kind of
joking around with some of the guys who were playing, and they would
ask me why i wasnt playing. i had to explain, well, im older than 20,
but thanks. also, it turns out my host mom is the loudest fan ever at
any sporting event anywhere. and costa rican culture allows for fans
to yell about how bad a player is. there is no problem with that. she
is an amazing trash talker. she lost her voice.

Jeffcoach, i have two stories for you: 1. imagine a piñata filled with
plastic bottles of liquor, cigarettes, spiders and scorpions. my host
dad said they had one last year, and i thought of you. 2. i just read
your blog and thought of it when my 96 year old host grandpa walked in
today wearing an argyle LA dodgers baseball hat.

unfortunately i did not bring my camera today. there were some amazing
photo opportunities, and i completely dropped the ball. sorry, world.
you will just have to come and visit.

to wrap up, today i felt pretty homesick. ive been in my site now for
2 months. im finishing my 5th month here in costa rica. and as much as
things are about to get started, im missing home and all the comfort.

we'll talk soon.

i love you.

josh
--
joshuahardester.blogspot.com
Everything!