June 17, 2011

Today started off poorly. I got up early, and was anxious to get to work so I could complete my test. I walked to the bus stop, like I always do, and upon arriving at the bus stop, I waited 10 minutes for my bus. It approached and I threw my hand up, the signal for the driver to pull over, but he just kept going. The bus that I catch runs approximately every 15 minutes, so I waited for the next bus. As the second bus approached, I leaned in toward the street, and threw my hand up again. The bus pulled into the stop, let one passenger out, and then the driver looked at me and signaled "no" as in, he was full, I couldn't catch the bus. I then reached into my backpack and pulled out my cell phone and called Demian and told him what was going on, and that I would be late to work. His response? "Welcome to Costa Rican public transportation". Two buses later, I was finally able to catch the bus to work, which put me at work almost one hour late. Not only was I anxious about my test, I was now one hour late. Upon my arrival, I noticed there was a new employee, Philipe. Guess what he was doing? Cutting fish for Ceviche! Nice that the crap job was not mine for the day. My work consisted of cryovacing the final product from the other workers in the plant. I kept waiting for Demian to come and take me out for my test, but no, I ended up working the entire shift. Everyone was helpful trying to quiz me on the names of the fish, and sight recognition. At 2 pm, when the plant was cleaned and shut down, Rey-nods called me back into the plant, and Demian was there.

My test consisted of a verbal quiz regarding three species of fish, that were lying on the cutting board. After that, I had to fabricate the fish, and then package it for sale. I was a bit nervous for the verbal part, but felt confident on the practical. Demian told me that I did a great job, and awarded me a 90 out of 100!

I now know why Costa Rica is referred to as the Rain Forest. It has rained every day since I have been here. In the mornings, the sun is bright and beautiful, and then around 1:30 or 2 pm, it starts raining, and it is still raining when I go to bed. My days off are Sunday and Monday, so I am hopefully going to catch a little of the sunshine.