less sheltered pastures

i'm on my second night couchsurfing with a lovely couple, Sarah Joy and Julio, in a 12 acre coffee plantation just out of San Juan. I've met spiders the size of my fist, leaf cutter ants, some sort of mating cicada like things, a squirrel, a toucan like bird, and many many angry dogs, luckily most were behind locked gates, as everything seems to be around here. we've been eating beautiful food, many blended beans and fried platanos or plantains, yum yum yum. but perhaps i've already mentioned them?
We're heading to a spanish school/ volunteering in an organic garden tomorrow. it would have been good to get some more vocabulary in me before the tutoring begins, but i guess i have a few buses on which to cram before i get there.
on the topic of transport, we FINALLY were promised a refund from the airline that made us buy onward tickets at the gate to get into costa rica. despite assurance from the sales person in LA, we weren't able to 'just go into one of our offices', and ended up having to call the states from beside 'one of their offices'. SO should you ever find yourself in a similar situation and need to refund a TACA ticket bought in the US, save yourself many hours and dial 8774284477. probably as fruitless as my plastic bags mission, but we've all got to do our bit, right?
coolio.