Cliff Notes

I keep thinking that I'll have time to catch up on everything extensively, but whenever I feel up to catching up, that means I feel up to going out and doing other fun things. And when I don't feel up to going out, well, I don't feel up to catching up.

But I'm leaving tomorrow morning, so I figured I better catch up before I leave and forget the whole thing ever happened. (Which is what tends to happen, odly). SO, I'm giving you the cliff notes version of this past week, except for what I did today. THAT will be in more detail, only because I'm copy and pasting it from an e-mail. So here we go:

Saturday 7/16
Finished my final paper in the morning in a cafe in Ciudad Colon. Then I bussed into San Jose, bought bus tickets for the next mroning, and I chose a hostel that I suspected my best-Upeace friend would pick for her overnight in San Jose. Then I went to a museum. When I got back, my UPeace friend Natalie was at the hostel (I was right!). We at dinner. Then I met up with a friend that I had met in Costa Rica, and we went "Jazz Club," which is a bar/show place that in no way reflects jazz. The singer of the band reminded me of Stuart. It was a super fun night. Slept at the hostel.

Sunday 7/17
Early (6:00am) bus to the Carribean side of Costa Rica. The bus let me out at the SLOTH SANCUTARY! Saw grown up sloths and baby sloths, took a small boat tour, bought a corny t-shirt, and I was very happy. Then waved down another bus and it stopped on the side of the road to pick me up. Super awkward because I had my backpack, which usually isn't a big deal for busses because you just throw it in the under-compartment, but I couldn't do that because I wasn't a real stop, so I brought it on with me, and then I was that obnoxious tourist with their huge back pack on a crowded bus. So that was embarrassing. I got off at the next stop: Chauita, population 600.

Wandered around Chautia, chose a hostel, and went to the beach for what I thought was like 3 hours, but in ended up only being a little over an hour and a half. Then I came home and went to sleep (at about 4:15pm) and slept 'till morning.

Monday 7/18
Woke up, went to the beach all day, almost got attacked by crabs (seriously!!!), got sunburnt out of my mind despite my (albeit hastily applied) sunblock, rented a bike and rode it all around for an hour, $2.00 hamburger for din-din, Sleep.

Tuesday 7/19
Woke up, bus to Sixatola, walked across the bridge to Panama, weird visa nonsense, bus to random town I can't remember the name of, water taxi to Las Bocas Islands, found a hostel, rented a bike, rode a lot, jumped in the water (in my clothes), rode back to town, met friends, explored, went to dinner with new friends, drinks with friends, sleep.

Wednesday 7/20
Woke up, packed, stored my stuff, bought boat/bus ticket for later, water taxi to Isla Bastilmientos (I don't think that's really the name. . . but I'm forgetting it), hiked a giant hill, went to this really cool organic coffee & chocolate shop/cafe on top of the hill, played go-fish and uno with a 6 year old and a traveler from South Carolina for an hour (the 6 year old won every game), hiked down to Wizzard beach, went swimming, discovered riptides, ate a pb&j, hiked back over the hill/mountain (why do I keep hiking??!!), water taxi back, ate some food, bought a hat, picked up my stuff, water taxi, real taxi, and then got on a night bus.

Thursday 7/21
Night bus dropped me off in Panama City at 4:00, which is exactly the time I didn't want. Taxi to Luna's Castle (hostel), they squeezed me in (even though there was a loooooooong wait list. Hurray for taking pity on me!!), and I went to sleep. Then I woke up. Then I did the stuff that I wrote to Stuart about in the below e-mail:

This morning I wandered around Panama city for a looooooong time, feeling increasingly more uncomfortable. I dunno why. But I think it was a combination of me being tired, taking a night bus last night and not sleeping well, feeling done with stupid small talk, and being SO SICK of men/guys/boys/whatever yelling at me and whisteling at me. And I didn't want to talk to anyone or do anything. Super exciting, I know. But I was (am!) tired.

So I went to the Panama Canal, which was incredibly boring. EXCEPT that there were TWO football (football = soccer) teams there! TWO! One from Nigeria, and I didn't know where the other one was from because they were all super stuck up and had their own room and ice tea and such. (A guy just walked by with a tattoo that I'm sure would be cool if he lifted up his arm, but right now just makes it look like he has exceptionally hairy pits. Don't do that). Anyways, OBVIOUSLY I wasn't going to miss my chance to meet Nigerian football players, so when they were doing that awkward camera trade off where someone is taking the picture and then they all shuffle around so someone else is taking the picture with someone else's camera stuff, trying to make it so they all got pictures with themselves in it, I walked up and asked if they wanted me to take a picture of all of them. They said yes, and then they all wanted pictures with ME! I was like a celebertity! I don't even CARE if it's the blonde hair and blue(ish) eyes, it was awesome! So we parted ways, but then a little later there was the movie thing about the dumb canal, and I was sitting by myself, and then they all came and sat with me! So that was fun. And they all wanted my facebook and for me to come to Nigeria, and when we were talking things came up like, "Oh ya, my sister got married in the states last year, but I couldn't go because I was in South Africa." And I was like, "oh" but in my head I was like, "FOR THE WORLD CUP!!!" Needless to say, it was pretty cool. But at the end, I was glad to leave because they were still guys and I have lots all my tolerance for guys hitting on me. Even if it's a entire soccer team of very beautiful people.

Then I went to the mall and watched Harry Potter. . . twice.

I would call today a SUCCESS! And I'm tired and taking it easy for the rest of the night. (You: But it's your last night! You should go out! Me: No, I don't want to.) I'm very happy chilling here on the couch. Maybe I'll go grab a beer. But that would require me getting up. . .so maybe not.

Conclusion
So, that's it. I'm tired. It's 8:30, is that too early to go to sleep? Maybe I'll shower. Either way, my computer is going to die, so I have to stop writing this. NIGHT! See you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooon.

(Future Plans: Sleep in Luna's Castle, tomorrow flight to texas to los angeles to fresno, conference in fresno, drive to sc, chill/sleep in sc, drive to berkeley.)