life is too short to eat fake cheese

so recently i made the decision that life is too short to eat fake cheese. cheese is not something most costa ricans are really into (along with blueberries). but real cheese is expensive. now, i'm a person who is willing to pay $8-$9 for a delicious hunk of gruyere. but what i consider to be "regular" cheeses - cheddar, mozzarella - should not cost the same. but no more will i buy queso tipo de cheddar or queso tipo de mozzarella - i'm buying the real thing, no matter what it costs.

in other news, i read a little article from la nacion about this year's rainy season - el 2008 es el más lluvioso de los últimos 64 años, según el IMN. basically the national weather service has said that this year has been the rainiest for 64 years. so far we have had 2100 milliliters of rain per square meter (or something, the math is confusing) and the normal annual average is 1860mm. good times.

so i'll actually be heading back to new england a just a few days (!) where i was hoping to escape the rain, but i've heard rumors it's raining there too. c'est la vie.

first of the lasts

so last week i had my first "last"... it was our last parent conferences of the year! and i couldn't be happier. i mean, it's not that i mind talking with people... but i don't know. part of it is the language thing - most of my parents speak english, but either way we struggle. i've also been given the impression that it is required that i defend my grades to parents. there is sort of a culture of just getting A's without having to work too hard - so the fact that not all my kids get A's (not even most of them) is kind of a shock to some of the parents. so parent meetings kind of suck. in theory, next time i have to do parent meetings there shouldn't be a language barrier and they're kids might not have been getting straight A's since kindergarten.

so i went to the beach last weekend to "freshen up" my tan for danielle's wedding. i'm a little pink. but it should be fine by the wedding. it'll be a whirlwind trip home, so i make no promises about seeing people who are not living with my parents or attending the wedding. but those are the places i'll be...

well, i'm about to settle in with a bag of popcorn to watch dancing with the stars... :)