Cows at school, scorpions in the closet, snake on the road

Well...I suppose the title pretty well sums it up.
Today at school, there were about six cows wandering around in the recess yard. One left the group and wandered over to the classrooms, sticking her head inside the kindergarten room. Much excitement insued. Our office manager, Marlene, a Tica woman, said to me, "Only in Monteverde, ha-ha!" I was surprised that this event was amusing even to those who have lived here for many years.
Later in the day, I was looking through the shelves in what is called the "bodega" (the word for storage unit here. Not "store" as New Yorkers use it) for some dice to use in a lesson on probability. I was reaching back through some cards and papers, when something rushed across my fingers. I leapt up and saw the tail of a scorpion skittering away.
That certainly never happened when looking for school supplies in our storage closet in Philadelphia.
Incidently, this is my second Close Encounter With A Scorpion that has not resulted in a sting. The other morning I was happily showering (happy, in particular, because we have lately been without water for much of the day) when I felt a little tickle as something crossed my foot. Yes, a scorpion. I squealed and jumped out of the shower- managing to quickily clear the side of the top and have both feet land squarly on the floor. An impressive little jump. Fear, I suppose, makes us capable of stunning feats.
And yet ANOTHER wild creature encounter...while running on Sunday with Erica and Gina, we came upon a surprising little critter. I didn't see it at first- but I did notice Gina and Erica stop suddenly, and gasp. I had already run past the offending little bugger without even noticing. It was a small, skinny snake-- possibly a baby viper, we're not sure. By the pictures we have in the house, I think it is probably a viper, since they have the right coloring and are often found on the ground. Good thing we didn't get too close...they are quite venemous.
On a completly different note, I made an actual joke in Spanish today to a taxi driver. He was taking me back from Santa Elena, where i had gone to get some groceries. He was struggling to drive up the very bumpy and ridiculously difficult "driveway" to our house from the main road. I apologized, saying, "Lo siento. Es un mal camino." (I'm sorry! It's a bad road). Then, after a moment I said, "No es un camino. Es un sendero! Ha-ha!" (It's not a road, it's a trail!) Implying, of course, that it's more akin to a hiking trail than a road. He laughed. I was pleased.