Atinale El Precio

Well so what can I have to write about in two days, one of which I spent about 5 hours on the beach? Actually, quite a bit. I had a rather fitful night sleeping on Saturday night since I was on my own -- every little sound made me jump -- and so on Sunday I really had to motivate myself to go do something. Once again, I walked down into Bucerias and one of the first things I decided to do was find some food. I ended up at an overpriced restaurant, but on the bright side, I got to sit under a palapa, feet from the beach, eating ceviche (shrimp and octupus on a tostado mixed with tomato and cucumber) and sipping a corona. Not bad at all, right? The rest of the day I spent just sitting on the beach, reading and people watching, and then I moved to the plaza in the shade to do some more people watching. After that, I made it back up the hot, sweaty hill and relaxed some more. Actually I probably spent about 3 hours facebook chatting with my friend who is going through the same thing I am only in Ecuador. It was with that chat and a lot of soul- searching that I gave in and moved my flight up to June 28th. That still gives me a good solid 3 weeks of research and will also save me money in the long run. Plus maybe I can actually find a way to make money this summer instead of spend it...hmm, novel idea.

So, hmmm, what about today? Oh yeah, well I took the bus up to Punta Mita again to spend some time at the office. Plus, I was supposed to meet with one of the directors of the artisan store/ microcredit program to get a quick overview. Unfortunately, 1 o'clock rolled around without Ana... then 2... and finally at 3, I just walked down the street for lunch and took the bus home. I guess that's one of the problems. Everyone here is so busy now that I kind of feel more like a burdern. But on the plus side, lunch was incredible: enchiladas verdes with a strawberry milkshake (see Mom, I told you I would keep my calcium intake up)and I got like 4 hours of reading on microcredit done.

My bus ride back home was an adventure. For some reason, my bus driver felt like scaring me. He would accelerate around sharp turns, pass every car on the road and when people would try to flag him down, he'd speed up even though there were plenty of empty seats left on the bus. Just when I was having images of him taking all of us hostage on his crazy suicidal drive, he stopped. Right outside of a furniture store name IQEA. It's funny how some things just pop up and surprise you, like the Walmart and Costco nearby or the Mexican version of "The Price is Right" playing on the TV with 3500 pesos (less than $350) up for grabs.

I'm hoping to get going on my actual interviews this week, so we'll see how that ends up... I'll keep ya posted. Hasta entonces!