Weather, running, and some assorted other things

It is 8:23 a.m on Wednesday, and I am writing this entry in the teachers´ lounge at my school. The weather is sunny and windy. A cool breeze is blowing making the trees dance and the temperature ideal. We are now officially in the ¨rainy season,¨ although one might find that hard to believe, given the glorious sunny days we´ve had. It does rain some in the afternoon and evening, typically a strong downpour with thunder. Here in Monteverde, though, they say the rain is a gift; without it, our precious Cloud Forest jungle wouldn´t survive.
Yesterday I ran 5Km with my friend Gina during one of my teaching breaks during the day. It was great. Hilly, but great.
Started taking Spanish classes on Monday here at the school, taught by one of my co-workers. I was quite thrilled that they placed me in the ¨intermediate¨class. I did, however, muddle through the test the teacher gave us on the first day. I was able to understand the questions, but as my spelling is so terrible, my responses are occasionally unintellegible (Did I spell that wrong?). I also keep throwing Italian words into my Spanish. And the odd French word as well. So my language is a big jumbled mess of some sense and some complete nonsense. Somehow folks seem to understand anyway. It helps that everyone here is so helpful and patient.
Saw a cool lizard yesterday on Gina´s porch. It was a vibrant green- almost flourescent.
Also saw a troop of capuchin monkeys out the window of the school during a staff meeting. We had to stop the meeting for the moment to watch them scamper through the tree tops. (There is an unspoken rule here in Monteverde: You always stop whatever you are doing if a monkey viewing opportunity presents itself).
Michael saw a snake while hiking yesterday, only the second one we´ve seen since coming here. Apparently there are many snakes, they just choose to not be visible.