Happy Forth of July

Hello everyone, I'm sorry it's been so long. Now obviously it is not the forth of July, but it is the Costa Rican Independence day. It's a tradition in Costa Rica that the children make lanterns and have a small parade with them the night before independence day. Though I am not a child, I did make a lantern, but instead of having a parade, I spent the night in the hospital with a friend. He'll be fine.
Last Saturday, we went to Orosi and Cartago. While there, we visited a beautiful cathedral. I love seeing difference in cathedrals in different parts of the world. Instead of stone, they used a lot of wood, and everything was painted. We also went to the ruins of the first church in Costa Rica. It was surrounded by trees and there were plants growing on the walls. Normally I try not to think things like "We're both under the same moon." But it's hard not to be in a place like that and not think that people sat here 500 years ago, or that when they looked out, they saw the same mountain that I saw. It was incredible.
I feel bad that I haven't mentioned food yet. Before I left, I would laugh when my dad would say "you're going to eat rice and beans for the next three months." I shouldn't have laughed. I am lucky though, because I love rice and beans, but they eat it with everything. One night, my family got Pollo Campero for dinner, and they served it with rice and beans. They've made pasta, and though I didn't eat it like this, they eat it with rice and beans, all mixed together. Just a big plate of pasta, tomato sauce, rice and beans. On Sunday night, I tried civiche for the first time. For those of you who don't know, it's white fish that's prepared by pickling/fermenting (I don't know which term to use, probably pickle) the fish in lemon juice. There is also red and green pepper and cilantro. I don't think it's taken over as my favorite food, but it's certainly been added to the list.

I can't add pictures right now, but I will as soon as I can.