Costa Rica was amazing. I really loved it. I wish I had written some stuff down while I was there, but I was too busy having fun. The best part is that we all got along perfectly, with the exception of the last few days. The last few days we had some "issues" with the fourth friend that I mentioned. However, some of the fears that we had about her being bossy did not happen at all. For the most part she was laid back and went with the flow the whole time. Olivia and Scarlett and I all got along perfectly and bonded even closer together. The fourth friend was easy to get along with, but I didn't really bond with her, which is kind of sad. Basically she showed on this trip what her true objective is--hooking up with boys. The issues we had on the last few days all surrounded her ditching us to try to follow these boys all around Costa Rica. It was fine though.
Our resort was great. It was all-inclusive. It wasn't like a big-name resort, but it still had everything that we needed including all- you-can-eat food and alcohol. I literally gained six pounds on the trip because for some reason I felt it was necessary to eat dessert at every meal, aside from just eating massive quantities of food. Luckily most of that came off when I came home and starting eating like a normal person again (although I have only exercised ONCE, when I was going five times a week before I left). Anyway, the food wasn't great, but usually there was something good at every meal. We ate almost all our meals at the resort because it was easy and right there. Most of the ten days were spent as follows: wake up around nine, go down to the pool, lay out and swim, go to the beach (it was right on the beach, so it was just a step away from the pool), have lunch, lay out by the pool, have dinner, go to see the live music show at the resort, have some drinks at the bar at our resort, and then go out to clubs in Tamarindo. So it was very relaxing. Unfortunately, I got a bad sunburn on part of me the very first day, despite using a ton of sun block. So I spent the rest of the time trying to avoid getting too much worse. I did get a tiny bit of a tan, but it is all uneven and weird looking. Oh well.
The resort was really fun because everyone was so nice, and there was an entertainment group called Mini Disco there (the fact that their name was Mini Disco makes me laugh and laugh). They were super friendly and funny. Basically they did activities throughout the day and then put on a show at night. My favorite show was this "International Music Cabaret" that included dances to songs such as "My Heart Will Go On", "Men in Black" and "Thriller." I was like, "Is this really happening?" when they started the "Men in Black" routine. Anyway, the guys in Mini Disco were really nice and befriended us right away. They wanted to go out to clubs with us, so we hung out with them a lot over the ten days. It was cool being about to hang out with locals and learn more about them, and it was all very friendly. The fourth friend hooked up with one of them, as well as with this guy from Spain, but other than that it was very friends-only. Well, on the last night another one of the guys was hitting on me...
Aside from hanging out with them, we also made up nicknames for other people who were staying at the resort. We hung out with some people who were all there for a wedding, as well as some other guys from Spain, and some of the waiters from our resort. We had so many inside jokes and quotes while we were there that will probably annoy and confuse all of our friends now, but it was really fun at the time. Two of my favorites include when we were waiting for some of the guys so that we could go out and Olivia said, "Where the FUCK is Mini Disco?" My other favorite quote was when one of the guys we met looked at Olivia and said, "Damn, girl. You're tan as fuck!"
One disturbing thing happened the first night. Scarlett and I were exhausted, but fourth friend and Olivia went out. Olivia almost got raped by this guy while fourth friend was hanging out with one of the members of Mini Disco. I guess they were at the beach and he was trying to force himself on her. She shoved him off and told him to leave, which he did. That made Scarlett and I very afraid to go out on the town because they also said that guys were all over them the whole time and that people kept offering them drugs. Those things happened when we went out, but it was easy to avoid if you stayed fairly sober and stuck together. We did run into the rapist, though, and he went up and started trying to talk to Olivia like nothing happened. She said hi and walked away from him, but then later we were hanging out and he came up again. I went off on him and told him to go away. He tried to say he knew her, and I said I knew that he did and that she didn't want to talk to him. He kept trying to argue with me but I wouldn't listen. He ended up walking away looking like a puppy who has been scolded, and Olivia said I was her hero. I felt good that I defended my friend. It takes a lot of nerve to try to force yourself on someone and then try to chat them up the next time you see them!
We all made jokes about how we had Costa Rican boyfriends...Olivia had this bisexual waiter Jorge who became totally enchanted with her and constantly came up and asked her in Spanish if she was going out dancing. Fourth friend had Mini Disco. Scarlett and I had one of the members of the wedding party, Myles, who was this 23-year-old who made us laugh so hard. We told him he was our Costa Rican boyfriend and he thought it was the funniest thing ever. He constantly wanted to get "pollo on a stick" which we liked to call "street meat." They sell it outside the clubs and it is the best thing ever when you have been drinking. Anyway, I liked it how we made so many new friends but didn't have to worry about them hitting on us. The bartender at our resort was completely fun and adorable, too, and he even went out with us on our final night in Costa Rica. He was really shy and sweet.
Aside from that, we went on two day trips. One was a boat ride out to do snorkeling. It was really nice except that I realized I get sea sick on boats. I felt sick the whole time, but it was a beautiful view. I forgot to mention the weather. I loved the weather--humid and about 80-90 degrees, but then at around 4 or 5 it might start raining and have thunder and lightening. It was the rainy season there. It usually cleared up by the time we went out in the evening. The weather was also so good for my skin--my skin was clear and soft the whole time. I thought it was doing weird things to my hair, but what actually happened was that I thought that I was using leave-in conditioner in my hair and it was actually hair spray. I was wondering why it felt so weird and sticky, and I just read the label here at home...what a dork. The other thing we did was the mega combo tour. It started at 6:40 AM. We took the bus to Buena Vista Hot Springs where we did zip lining first. It was a little scary, but I actually really loved it. We went from platform to platform (10 in all) by zip line. I felt really proud of myself for doing something like that, because normally I don't do anything dangerous. Every time I did it I was smiling so much (I got a few pictures of it). It felt amazing. We didn't really see any cool animals up above the forest, but we did see two wild boar while waiting for the first zip line. It freaked me out at first, but then I realized it was tame and I touched its nose! It wasn't one with the crazy teeth or anything. I forgot to mention that we also saw monkeys and iguanas at our resort! Well, after zip lining we did this huge water slide, which was really fun. Then we had lunch. Then we went horse back riding and then went in a mud bath and then hot springs. We took pictures covered in mud that were pretty funny. We got back in time for dinner, but it was a really amazing day.
I realize that our trip was pretty touristy, but it was nice anyway because we saw a lot of beautiful places and we got to hang out with local people and practice Spanish. Everyone was so friendly and sweet there and made us feel so comfortable. We also could use US money the whole time, so that made it really convenient. I would love to go back and explore other areas of Costa Rica and see less touristy things, too. We do want to go on a trip again next year together because we got along so well.
While we were on our trip, I did get on the internet a few times. I was nervous about being apart from P so early in our dating time because a few years ago when I went on a trip at the beginning of dating Ben, I came back and that seemed like when the problems started (maybe he met someone else while I was on the trip?) But when I got on, P had already emailed to say he was thinking about me. I emailed him, and he ended up emailing me a few more times while I was there. I thought it was very sweet that he did that. He was also going on a trip home to the midwest, so I knew I wouldn't be able to see him right when I got back. I got back late Thursday night and he wouldn't be back until Monday evening from his trip, but we had made plans before I left that we would see each other that night for dinner and I would call him when I got back from my trip. Anyway, I called him on Friday while he was on his trip, and then even though he was on his trip he called me every day that weekend. I really liked that.
What especially made me happy was that he wanted me to pick the restaurant we would go to since he had chosen the last few times. Well, I asked him on the phone on Saturday if he liked Pambiche, this Cuban restaurant I loved, and he said he had hoped maybe I would back out of picking the restaurant because he really wanted to go to Pambiche! I was so excited that we thought of the same restaurant. So anyway, Monday night as soon as he got home from the airport we met there. On his way in, he ran into his friend from work and his friend's date and asked if they wanted to join us. It was a little awkward for me, but they were really nice. After they left he said he thought it was cool because he had wanted me to meet his friends soon anyway. :) The food was really good and we got dessert. P is so sweet because he knows I love dessert so he always encourages me to get it--unlike Chad who always gives me a hard time because he thinks I am a sugar addict and it is so bad, blah blah. We shared a dessert that was like German chocolate cake, but with peanut butter. It was delicious. After that I invited him to my house to watch a movie. He had never been to my house before and I felt a little self-conscious because his house is so nice, but it was fun anyway. My TV is better than his, too, so that was nice. We watched High Fidelity because it is one of our favorite movies. Again, it ended up being fun watching a movie we had both seen. We made out during the movie again...:) He was totally like, "I don't want to do anything you are uncomfortable with, just let me know." It was really sweet. We didn't do much more than make out because I do want to take things slow.
Anyway, he had the next few days off of work and said he wanted to see me the next day again (Tuesday). I had to work doing some planning at school, but we made plans for me to come over and he would fix dinner again. He made grilled steak, and I helped make this grilled potato and arugula salad. It was really good--he is an AMAZING cook. Then we started watching the movie Number 23, but we got a little distracted.
He asked me if I would stay the night at his house, and we talked about how we are not ready to have sex yet. So I spent the night, but we didn't have sex. It was really nice. I really, really like him. He is so sweet and fun and makes me feel so good. I am still cautious and having a hard time opening myself up to someone new, but this feels exactly how it is supposed to. He does everything he says he will do, he remembers things that I say, he never hurts my feelings or makes me feel like I am too clingy or emotional or too anything...I love it. He's thoughtful but not over the top about being into me. I just am having the best time with him.
Anyway, he asked me on Tuesday at dinner if he could see me Wednesday, too, because his friend from Chicago would be in town this weekend and so he wanted to maximize his time with me. So on Wednesday we ended up going to happy hour and walking around the 23rd area. There was a show he wanted to see at the Doug Fir (Pela and Cloud Cult) on Friday and he asked if I would come over for a bbq to meet his friends, and then go to the show with them. So that's what I did last night. I warned him beforehand that I might be shy around his friends since I am shy around new people. He said, "That's fine if you're shy. That's who you are!" I loved that, because it seems like a few times Chad has made me feel bad as if I am being rude when I meet his friends and don't talk much. I just feel so accepted as I am by P.
Anyway, the bbq was fun. I had already met two of them at Pambiche, and everyone else seemed really nice, too. I especially had fun with his friend who was from out of town. The two of them were really goofy together. The show was actually pretty amazing. The group Cloud Cult sounds decent on CD, but live they were incredible. They have this whole thing where there are two people painting paintings on stage and then they have a screen going in the background. It's hard to explain, but it was really cool and went well with the music. Pela was also really good, and P was SO EXCITED over it. He was super sweet the whole time holding my hand or rubbing my back while we listened. I really am not used to someone being so affectionate in public, but I like it. He asked me to spend the night at his house again, so I did last night. I left early this morning so he could spend more one-on-one time with his friend from out of town.
We haven't really had any conversations about whether we are in a relationship or what, but I feel like we kind of are. I feel like we don't even really need to talk about it, even though maybe I do since I am just that kind of person. I can tell that I am the only person he is dating since he calls me every day and sees me all the time. Also the girl his friend is dating (they met on myspace!) was asking us how long we had been seeing each other, and he immediately knew how long and said how many dates we had been on. I thought that was really cute, because isn't it a girl thing to keep track of that? :) The other thing that I like about him so much is that he gives so many compliments...according to him I am so hot, beautiful, have an amazing body, smart, sweet, etc. Yeah, it's not hard to be around someone who thinks of you that way. I really like him because he is outgoing and funny but he also seems really sensitive and sweet, too. I don't know, I really feel like I am falling for him. I'm trying to be careful but open...I know I deserve this.
In other crazy news...Scarlett, who has been having problems with her husband all summer, went to lunch with me the other day and told me--guess? She and Nathan have been secretly seeing each other, she is separating from her husband and moving out, and she is all mixed up. I'm really frustrated about the situation for obvious reasons. She knew all about me and Nathan and how things went down, so I am frustrated that she let herself fall for him, too. I am angry that he pursued her despite her being MARRIED, and how he always goes for girls who are unavailable. I am hurt that she knew that I had feelings for him still as recently as February and still got together with him. As you know, I am on the same team with them at work, so that is hard...and in the same friend group. Olivia has been gone for a week so doesn't know yet, and so I have just had to think about it myself. Anyway, who knows what will happen. I talked to him about it for about two hours a few nights ago and he says he is head over heels in love with her, wants her to move in with him and get married. He didn't quite understand why I was hesitant and worried about the situation, but that's Nathan for you. He is so impulsive and crazy and immoral. I knew that Scarlett's marriage would probably end with the way things have been going, and there has been a flirtation between the two of them for a while, but I thought she knew better. However, I have been there so it is hard for me to judge her. She made some bad choices, but how can I blame her for how she feels? Honestly, I feel like she is doing what I did--grasping on to someone who will get her out of her unhappy relationship. That role could be filled by anyone, but unfortunately it is him. It has been tearing her up the last few months being afraid how I would react. She was trying to work on things with her husband (going to counseling, etc.) and I guess she thought she might just stop the thing with Nathan and it would all blow over. Now it doesn't look like that will happen and it seems they are going to be in a full-on relationship. I gave her the advice not to move in with him because she has NEVER been alone (she was with her husband since high school). I think she should get her own apartment and be independent, but we'll see what happens. I am trying my best to be supportive, but I did tell her how I felt about everything. We'll see how things work out. I hope that he doesn't hurt her the way he hurt me. It kind of makes me feel sick inside, but I'll get over it. She is one of my best friends, and I don't want to let Nathan get in the way of that.
I only have another week before I go back to school. Not excited!!! I guess it will be nice to be in a more regular routine, but this year is going to be difficult for a number of reasons. I hope it will be a great year, though!
