Hamburger was a bad choice.

After work on Friday, I had plans to relax at home and pack for our weekend trip...but that didn't happen. Juanca and Patri invited us to go out dancing with them! How could I turn down a proposal like that?

Amy, Natalie, David and I packed into Juanca's car. We drove up into the mountains and picked up Patri's two cousins, Katya and Karen. They are...the equivalent of Latin cougars. Katya and Karen are both divorced. They wear clothes that are tighter than any clothing I have ever seen. The bar was filled with locals. Crazy Ticans were singing karaoke. Amy, Natalie and I sang Madonna's "Like A Virgin." Don't judge; it was the only English song they had. We stayed out until 2am (mistake). Katya and Karen sure know how to party. We dropped them off at another bar after we left! Crazy.

Our group embarked on our first weekend getaway early Saturday morning. The three and a half hour drive was absolutely breathtaking. The United States is so annoying. Costa Rica has acres and acres of untouched land. Everything was green. The bus was a nice perk, too. Air conditioning is a precious commodity these days.

Once we settled into our hotel, we ate lunch at a local restaurant. I was so happy to see an American hamburger on the menu. In retrospect, hamburger was a bad choice. After lunch, we went to the hot springs near the volcano. It was a major tourist trap, but there were about 20 pools of different temperatures. The afternoon was supposed to be relaxing, but after a couple hours, I became extremely ill. I won't go into detail (I don't feel it is necessary, as I am sure the horrible memories will stay with me for years to come), but it was awful. Karol, one of the directors, had to take me to an emergency clinic. I had a rough night, but I woke up feeling much better.

Because I was sick, I had to miss out on the hike to Volcan Arenal today. The volcano is beautiful (at least from a distance). It is still active. Smoke billows out of the peak regularly. I'm really upset about missing the hike, but I needed the extra time to recuperate. I had a little soup for lunch, and bought my first apple juice on our way home. I love apple juice, and I finally found it here! It cheered me up. Oh, the little things.

When Amy, Natalie and I returned home, Patri and Juan Carlos told us that their pet fish, Dory, had a baby over the weekend. I couldn't believe it. All of a sudden there was a baby fish swimming in the tank! I had no idea Dory was pregnant, and Patri had told us that she killed all of the other fish by accident. I was so confused! I kept asking them how it happened. After a solid five minutes, they finally told me they were kidding. They bought a new fish over the weekend. It was quite the scene. "No es posible!" We want to name the fish "Dorito," as in Little Dory. Get it?

Patri made me chicken noodle soup for dinner, and her daughter took me to the local pharmacy to get anti-nausea medication. In Costa Rica, every pharmacy has a doctor present. You don't need a prescription for drugs, and they provide whatever you need right on the spot. It's much more convenient than the United States. Don't get me started on health care here - another post for another day.

Long weekend + under the weather + work tomorrow = bedtime.