OK, here it is for your own personal enjoyment: the top five moments which made me want to beat myself with a blunt implement...

(5) As has been revealed earlier, the zipper incident in Zarcero. Notsomuch for having my zipper down, but more for being a bonehead and thinking that the teenagers were being tools.

(4) The following things will not be returning to the U.S.: my water bottle (RIP Nalgene #4322 in my short life), my favorite fleece (oh, where are you?), my swim trunks. Almost on the list... my camera charger, which was recovered this week.

And remember, I am offering these to you, so please don't judge me too harshly.

(3) Singing along in my head to Bryan Adams' songs... TWICE! I mean, really now, how desparate must I have been for a bit of familiarity... Baby, it's hard to believe/ we're in heaven...

(2) I went on a wonderful night hike in Boruca with two volunteers. We walked a blackened road that was only lit by the stars and the planets... totally peaceful. As we rounded a corner, I spotted the lights of the Inter American Highway maybe 10 miles away. And for some sick reason, the street lights gave me a warm, familiar feeling inside! It's amazing what culture does to our brain...

And here it is... number one. Have you ever wished that you could immediately take back your words, realizing that there is absolutely nothing you could say to climb out of the hole you've dug?

(1) After I had been in Boruca for about four or five days, I sat down for lunch. At every meal I've had in Costa Rica, I've been served a fresco - usually fruit juice mixed with water and sugar. Picture a healthier Kool Aid in flavors such as melon, lemon, orange, pineapple... Well for this meal I had a fresco that my mind guessed to be tangerine, mandarin, or another similar fruit... I turned to my host mother and said with conviction... No a tomido un fresco mas mejor en Costa Rica! (I haven't had a better fresco in Costa Rica!) Que es? (What is it?). She told me to wait and went to the kitchen. I waited in grand anticipation for...
TANG!

I'm sure others will arise... but there they are for now.