Ready for Home

There has been a lot of drama within the ACM building this week, so it has sort of been lame. I think everyone is just ready to go home... at least I am. I am really looking forward to this weekend though. I will be spending 4 beautiful days on the beaches of Guanacaste...hopefully this will distract me from my strong desire to get home!

Nothing too thrilling has happened since my last post, so I figured I could update you guys with some pictures. We went on a trip to Heredia last Friday to check out some water and discuss the topic of water problems. We went on a nice long hike. Here are the most important images from the hike...

I don't really know what to say about this man. He was really funny, though...
Here is the stream "purification" process the people are currently drinking from. Don't worry, they just throw some chlorine in there and pretend the cow farm up the way won't have any effect on the water quality.

Beautiful view of the trail.

This is how real hikers hold their water bottles.

Some of the beautiful mountaintop view we saw throughout the hike.

On Saturday, as I mentioned previously, we had our family picnic. Here are some pictures from the soccer game.

Both teams. Gringos vs. Ticos.

Right before the cross into my second goal.

First half as goalkeeper. Getting the team pumped (obviously).

Pregame "GRINGO" chant.

That basically sums up the weekend. On this day before Thanksgiving, I am really missing home. As most of my readers know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I wish I could be home to share it with the family, fiance, and friends that mean so much to me. I wish I could eat some of grandpa's turkey and then fall asleep on the couch for a couple of hours. I miss everyone so much and can't wait to get home!

This trip has really helped me grow and mature in my appreciation for the little things. I had always had these big dreams of that giant, cookie-cutter house, the family vacations all over the world, and the biggest wedding with every little detail just perfect. Being on this trip, away from those that I love, but at the same time learning a different lifestyle, has changed my mindset so much. I now see and understand that the things I had previously dreamed of have very little importance in the success of my life. I see that family and friends are what leads to love and happiness; these are the most important riches in the world. Sure, I used to say that money did not matter, but I had never changed my "dreams" to demonstrate this. These things were so easily accessable to me that I took them for granted. I feel that now I will have a much happier, more stress-free life with this more developed understanding of what's important.

Until next time... =)