Panama = Thanksgiving break!

This was my first out of the country trip that wasn't pre-planned for me! Very exciting. I left on a Monday with Megan and we headed to Puerto Viejo in Limon where we met up with Ben and his buddy Kevin (who came to visit for the week). We played on the beach for a bit and then Tuesday left fairly early for Panama. It was about a 2hr trip to the border, and then we had to wait in line to get our passports stamped. We had to cross this long, hole filled bridge to get to the Panama side, where we then had to follow this man's directions to buy a return ticket, get a $5 visa and our passport stamped again. Then we took a van to a place where we got on a boat to take us to Boca del Toro. Boca del Toro is a collection of islands and is probably one of the most touristy places in Panama, but it was super relaxing. We stayed in a hostel called Gran Kahuna, and it was awesome. The downstairs lounge areas had couches, hammocks and a big screen TV. The 1st day we just explored the area. Wednesday we took a $15 boat tour from 9:30 am to 5pm, which included dolphin watching, snorkeling, and a trip to Red Frog Beach. We saw a dolphin naturally when we were 1st heading into Bocas, so going to search for them seemed a little strange. There was one, but it was kind of weird because whenever he'd surface, the boat would like chase it and it'd disappear again. Then the boat driver started moving in a circle and the dolphin would follow it and do flips and other tricks. Snorkeling was pretty cool and after a while I got more use to it and relaxed without hyperventilating. It was nice because the water was warm. Also, the beach was beautiful with white sand and blue blue water. the waves were gigantic and super strong but it was pretty to watch them break because they created white foam. Red Frog Beach is named that way because there are tiny red frogs there. Everyone else from my school arrived Wednesday day and so we went out to this place called Aqua Lounge for Christina's birthday that night. Our group of people was the one that got everyone up and dancing at the club, and Will was dancing like crazy and of course he ended up taking his shirt off (very typical of him). Ben and some other people jumped off the diving board into the water, and then some other people were jumping on a water trampoline. It was pretty fun. Thursday we went to a beach called Starfish Beach, and it was the coolest one I've ever seen! There were starfish as big as my face all over the bottom of the water, which was crystal clear. We were wading among them and decided they couldn't be dangerous, so we opted to pick them up. They are super hard and we could see them sucking their little tentacle thing that they must move with back inside. Very neat! That night I didn't go out and Friday Megan, Ben and I literally didn't do anything the next day. Ben said we were on and eat, sleep and poo schedule!!! haha Not too far from the truth. It was relaxing though. That night we went to a club/bar that was build on top of a shipwreck. It was pretty cool. Megan Ben and I left on Saturday and man what a long day on the bus. We left Panama at 7:30 in the morning and didn't get back into San Jose until 5pm. It was a great break from classes!!

Turrialba & Arenal...I'm very behind on the blogging bussiness!

November 15th I traveled to Turrialba, which is world renowned for Rio Pacuare. There I met up with my raft guide buddy, Kyle, who is down here for a few weeks working as a guide. Our trip was pretty cool because in the raft was our guide, 2 girls from Sweden, 3 guys from France, Miguel and me. So we had a ton of different languages going on, but what was really cool was that we used English to communicate. Kyle was our safety kayaker, and there was one point I thought he was going to drown because he flipped over in a hole, and couldn't get his boat flipped back over. He was fighting with the water for probably a good two minutes and finally had to pull the string on his spray skirt and let himself out of the kayak and swim. It was pretty scary.

Speaking of scary, I've never been rafting in water so HUGE! The river was gigantic, with huge drops where at some points it seemed like our boat was going to get swallowed. I fell out, along with the whole rest of my side, but I was only in the water for a few seconds before the guide pulled me back in the boat. It was super super fun, but I do have to say that I was a little nervous at times! The following weekend API took a trip to Arenal where we stayed in La Fortuna (a town). This is totally where I want my parents to come sometime for an anniversary! What a pretty place! Friday after we arrived we had the option to go on one of two hikes. A super hard one up (literally up) a mountain or an easier one to some waterfalls. I chose the waterfall trail. We had to climb down some intense stairs to get to them, but it was worth it. The 1st one was HUGE and super powerful. The 2nd waterfall was broken up by rocks, so to me it looked more elegant. We could go underneath that one, but I didn't because it was like ice water cold.

The next day we went for another hike to get a better look at Volcan Arenal, but it was pretty rainy and cloudy the whole time. Our hiking trail seemed like one big mud puddle, but we hiked that way so we could stop and see the gigantic tree that probably is older than my oldest ancestors. It was massive! And smelled like rotting fish for some reason. It was pretty amusing because when we got to the top to see the volcano another group of people came up from the other side and had literally NO mud on them at all, while we were covered in it. That night we went to a natural hot springs resort called Baldi that has like 25 different pools of water that get hotter as you make your way up. This is where I want my mom and dad to visit because it was SO pretty and relaxing. There are little waterfalls of hot water that you can go under and let give you a water massage, so nice. Also, one of the pools has three huge waterslides. They seemed sketchy because no one was really keeping an eye on them and they appeared really old and rickety (janky for Lena). I went down the slower one 1st and literally stopped moving in the middle of the slide. I was worried that someone would hit me, so I pushed myself so I'd move again. Then, all of a sudden I flew out of the tube into the water where I couldn't reach the bottom...The 2nd slide was similar, but it was faster.

Close to the end the water pushed me into a laying down position and I couldn't sit back up. Then I got shot out on my back which wasn't the most comfortable thing. Some of the pools higher up were even more awesome with like lounging chairs in the water. The next morning Lena, Becca, Francy, Megan, Julie, Rachna and I got up super early to go rafting on el Rio Toro. The rapids weren't nearly as gigantic as Pacuare, but it was still exciting. We split up into 2 different boats and I was the only one who'd ever been rafting before in my boat. I paddled in the front for the 1st time, which wasn't too too bad like I had always thought it would be. The only one that fell out of our raft was Rachna, but that's because she was "riding the bull." Meaning the guide had her go sit on the very front of the raft, and hand all for all her worth as we went straight into a rapid. Everyone fell out of the other boat though and even though I know it is dangerous it was super funny to watch. Megan got tangled in the rope and once she was pulled back into the raft she was flailing around trying to get to an upright position. I feel like being a raft guide would be so stressful sometimes!

Oh..And I have a joke that I find rather clever...

que es el animal más perezoso en el mundo?

un pez. que hace un pez? nada. Get it?!

All the Way back to Rafting the Pacuare on Nov 15th

As you can see I am yet again very behind on my blogging, so here is me trying to catch up! A few weeks ago I traveled to Turrialba where rafting is excellent! I met up with Kyle JOhan, a raft guide buddy from the U.S. who got a job as a guide here in Costa Rica. Rafting was incredible!!! I've never been in water so big. The drops seemed so huge, and I was soaking wet from the beginning. It was great fun, but at the same time I'll admit to being a little scared. I posted pictures on facebook if you'd like to check them out! (even though by now you all probably seen them!) It was a good weekend!

From Cine y Video Costarricense to Tortuguero, and all the stuff in between!

Once again I am behind on my blogging! Go figure, haha. The homework has gradually been growing here, yet at the same time my weekend are becoming fewer and fewer, which makes for a busy life! I would like to start this blog out by just saying that my family is amazing, and thank you to my mom (real mom)! She sent me the best package in the mail, which I received a few weeks ago. It was really comforting, and delicious due to the amount of sugary things included.

Last week I took one night out of my week to head to San Jose where I went to a demonstration of short films made in Costa Rica. It was pretty cool and interesting, and a good language warm-up for the next night. The next day we went to the movie theater to seen a Costa Rican movie called "Gestacion." The plot is similar to Juno, where a young girl gets pregnant and her and her boyfriend have to figure out how to deal with the situation. It was really cool though because, since it is Costa Rica with Costa Rican actors, the language was really easy to follow because it is what I live with everyday. I could pick up on the slang, and it was amusing because the actors spoke just like the everyday Ticos speak. I was really proud of myself. Also, it was cool to see places that I've been on the big screen. It was a great experience! Que Chiba!! (How cool!)

I also haven't blogged about my trip to Puerto Viejo. I'll make a few quick pointers: Miguel telling me he'd cut off his rat tale for me (gross, and extra extra corny) a beautiful beach w/crystal clear water, finding shells that Miguel made into earrings for me, ganja brownies (no I didn't buy any, but if is definitely present in the area), and going out at night to listen to the old American hippies that looked like they'd gotten lost in Costa Rica for the past 20-yrs sing Tom Petty songs. I know, random details, but I'm planning on going back there...so I'll just write more about it then!

This past weekend I went with an ecotourism class to Tortuguero, which is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It is like an islet, and instead of driving cars people drive boats around the canals. The place where we stayed was almost like we had our own private beach...which is where I spent most of my time. Saturday morning we got up early and went for a hike. I had to wear long pants and my rain boots (because I didn't want to get my tennis shoes muddy). Speaking of mud, that's what we hiked in...lots and lots of mud. It was actually pretty fun, we just had to be cautious of our footing. It was pretty humid and hot there, and I didn't realize how bad I was sweating until people started taking pictures! We were all sweaty and muddy by the end of the hike. Also, the bugs were AWFUL there! I had to reapply by bug spray several times throughout the day and I still ended up with bites. I'm pretty sure I must of had either an ant or a mosquito in my pants at one point because I ended up with a line of bites starting on the bottom of my bottom, all the way up to my lower back. Terrible right? (not that you all wanted to know that!)

I'm really starting to feel like my time is becoming limited here, and it's kind of weird knowing that I'll be leaving soon, but not completely. I feel like a part of my heart is going to be left behind, and I know that the transition back to the U.S. lifestyle is going to be tough. I'll guess I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it...but for now it's all Pura Vida!!!

Gira a Nicaragua

Yet again I'm behind on my blogs! Oops! Things just get so busy here. I am going to tell you all a little bit about my trip to Nicaragua. The relationship between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is pretty interesting, because it actually is somewhat similar to the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. Costa Rica is better off, and so many people come here to find work. Anyways, back to our trip.

We left on a Thursday at 3am and rode on the bus for about 8hrs. Pretty exciting day really, if I do say so. Thank goodness the bus had a bathroom! Immediately after we got off the bus we had people standing right outside begging for money, mostly children, and street vendors trying to sell us anything and everything. We got to our hotel in Granada (which is actually pretty similar building-wise to Spain) and dropped our stuff of in our rooms, then went out to lunch. One of the first things that I noticed was all the people riding bikes, and usually there were two people on a bike. The norm seemed to be that a lady would sit on the bar in front of the seat in a side-saddle fashion while the guy pedaled. The streets also seemed wider and better taken care of than in Costa Rica (at least in Granada anyway).

Later, after lunch we went to a market named El Mercado de Masayo where we had free time to shop around and try our best at bargaining. (Let's just say I'm not the best at it...where's my grandpa when you need him?!) We stayed in the market for dinner because there was a traditional dance performance. It was pretty incredible. My favorite part was the dresses because they were full of colors. On Friday we went to the Cathedral in Leon, where we were able to go on top of the church. So neat! We could walk around the domes and the bells. Also interesting is that Ruben Dario's body is buried in the church. It was cool to go to his museum later, because I had just finished writing a literature paper about him for class. He is one of the most famous Nicaraguan poets because he started the Modernist movement there.

Saturday we went to "las isletas" (the little islands), which was my least favorite/most relaxing part of the trip. Weird right? Well, it was my least favorite because on more or less each island some rich person has a gigantic house built. It was like we were taking a real estate tour of houses people shouldn't be able to afford, while back in town there are people begging on the streets. As you can tell, I wasn't a fan, but at the same time, riding around in a little boat and feeling the current was really relaxing. It felt great to take my shoes off and drape them over the side of the boat.

After the boating we went to the Voncento de San Franscico, el fuente de la Polvora, and last la Catarina. La Catarina was the coolest part because it is a huge, crystal blue lagoon that use to be a volcano. Once we got back to Granada I went to dinner with Lena and Meri. At first I was getting kind of annoyed because we were seated outside and people continuously came up to us asking for food or money or trying to sell us things. It turned out to be alright though, because a couple boys (around the age of 10) sat down at our table with us at first wanting food (and when I say wanting food, these kids didn't look starved, just needing someway to pass their time), but later just to talk with us. They kept making jokes about who was who's girlfriend out of the three of us. It was pretty cute That night we all went out to a karaoke bar, and Profesor Naranjo (my history of Central America teacher) went with us! It was pretty awesome!! I didn't get to sing because they got tired of us picking American songs, but some of the other students did.

We left Sunday fairly early to head back to Costa Rica. The four days felt really jam-packed with activities, but overall it was a good, interesting experience.

Monteverde

October 9th through the 11th I traveled with API to Monteverde, and I have to say, so far it was my favorite trip! Monteverde is beautiful, and the climate is different from San Joaquin. It was a little cooler temperature wise there, and there was a lot more rain. To get there we had to drive through mountainous, windy roads, but to be honest, I slept most of the way! Our hotel, named Hotel Montana Monteverde was incredible!! The rooms were huge and our beds could have fit 2 or 3 people in them. The best part was the bathtub! It was huge and green and absolutely perfect for a bubble bath. Speaking of which, our group of girls did just that later that night.

This may sound odd, but the girls got together in their bathing suits, with a little wine and some candles and hung out in the huge bathtub. Good times eh? Before that though we went to a Serpentario ( like a snake zoo) and took a tour, learning about the different dangerous, deadly snakes in Costa Rica. My brother would have loved this! It was pretty interesting, but the coolest part was when I got to hold a gigantic toad! After holding the toad I held a snake for the first time. What an odd sensation. It was blue, and not very wide, but very long. It wasn't slimy or anything, it reminded me a little of rubber. The weirdest part was when it wrapped itself around my arms and moved all over my shoulder area, smelling me with its tongue. I always thought it would feel gross, but actually it was really neat!

The next day, Saturday, we went to a biological forest reserve/ cloud forest. It was absolutely gorgeous! We got rained on of course, but it was worth it. We hiked around for a few hours to a waterfall, and by the time we came back down my legs were shaky and my calf muscles were burning. Good workout, hiking around. That night we went to a delicious pizza restaurant and watched a soccer game. Sunday was by far my favorite day. Sadly my camera died, so I have to borrow pictures from other people, but that'd ok. Megan got some pretty good videos, which she'll eventually upload onto youtube. You can take a look at these videos, and others from my trip at http://www.youtube.com/clarkmeg06

Sunday we took a Canopy Tour, which entailed zip lining and a "Tarzan swing." The first cable was so nerve racking! I had no idea how fast I would be flying down the line, all I knew was to cross my feet, tuck my legs in, right hand behind, left hand in front and to pull down on the cable if I wanted to slow down. It was amazing to fly down the cable with the wind rushing through my face, and feeling so high up in the air above the forest of trees. When I arrived at the other platform I had to laugh because Caitlin informed me that I had mud all over my face, as did she. I guessed that my face probably looked something like gallo pinto, which made our guide laugh. There were 13 zip lines in total, with the last one being 1 mile long. That one we had to do in partners because it required more weight, and I went with the guide named Pocahontas. Literally, that was his name. He was awesome and full of energy, and well..we all decided our 3 guides were all pretty cute :)

The most adrenaline rush of the day though was definitely the Tarzan swing. We stood on a platform that was probably 15 to 20 feet off of the ground, and our guide attached our harness to a rope, which was tied to a super tall tree. Basically we let ourselves fall off the platform and swung back and forth with two of the guides below trying to grab our feet to slow us down to a stop. When it was my turn, Pocahontas helped me into position to "fall" (because we had a rope attached to us to keep us from falling too soon that he had to undo) but instead of letting me go at three he kept hanging onto me for a few seconds afterward. That drove me crazy! I didn't know when he was going to let go and so when he finally did I screamed SO loud!! I'm not a fan of the falling feeling and it definitely was that feeling, but it only lasted for a second, and afterward it just felt like I was on a playground swing (of course much bigger). When they brought me to a stop my body was all shaky because I'd had so many butterflies escape from my stomach at once! So much fun!! Great weekend :) Do check out the videos on youtube!!! They're amusing fosho...

Museos en San Jose, and some other thoughts

Classes here are gradually starting to become more work, but still manageable. I think I've watched the most movies more here than ever in my college career. I must say, I'm a fan. Also, it's great because we get to take a few class trips, like to the Gold Museum (Museo de Oro) and to the Jade Museum (Museo de Jade) in San Jose.

For my Central American History class we ventured with our awesome professor to these two neat museums. I'm usually not a fan of tours, but he made it fun. My brother would have loved the gold museum because it also had a section with old money and coins, and he collects coins. Pretty neat! It was also neat because I've always learned about various cultures and their art, and in the Jade museum I got to see pieces made by the Olmecas, and I could recognize them on my own! Guess I did learn something after all in those art history classes!

Some other things that I have been up to are mostly just the usual daily life in Costa Rica. Although, I always manage to find a few unusual things to take note of. For example, I went to Hipermas (literally Walmart) the other day and low and behold they were giving samples of alcohol. Sample various shots while sampling crackers, hm... Not something you'd see everyday, well at least not in the U.S. Of course, I am in Costa Rica, and the drinking age is 18 here, so things are done differently.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that I knew I'd have to deal with bugs when I got here, but I never knew that I'd end up hating ants more than say, mosquitoes. Ants are quite literally everywhere, including my in peanut butter jar, the oven, and occasional my retainer case (I panicked less the second time). GROSS! I don't know how they do it, but they can get into anything it seems, whether or not there is a lid. I think I get enough protein, I don't need the extra ants. That's a tropical country for ya...

Speaking of ants, last night mama tica asked me if I'd watch Matias for her. So, playing babysitter I decided it's be fun to cook brownies with him. Lena came over and he "helped" us prepare the batter. We made one batch from scratch and the second from a box. Upon opening the oven, I freaked out, discovering what looked like maggots squirming around in the corner. Obviously the oven is never used in this household. This caused Lena and I both to scream MIGUEL!! yuck, yuck, yuck. So Miguel came to the rescue with a vacuum, to vacuum out the oven. Quite a site. Turns out they were just big ants, not maggots..thank goodness? Debatable.

So, after getting that taken care of we baked the brownies. Turns out that when one heats up suger and then lets it cool it gets hard. Hm, something isn't quite right with that, because brownies aren't suppose to turn out like rocks. Well ours did, go figure. The homemade brownies were hard as a rock, and stuck in mama tica's pan. This caused me to freak out again because I thought I'd ruin her pain. Again Lena and I yelled for Miguel to come to the rescue, which he did. Looks like we created a new recipe for brownie brittle...not too too bad.

As we finished up I got to experience the ultimate Tico drama when Natalia (my tica sister) and mama started yelling. They do this quite often, but I actually felt kind of scared this time. Natalia isn't the nicest person, and she definitely has no respect for her mom. Ana (mama tica) only puts up with her because of Matias, but this time Natalia went too far and Ana kicked her out of the house. She came in today to give me a hug and showed me scratches all over her arm from Natalia. She said that Natalia and Matias are moving out by Saturday, but I'll still get to see Matias a couple days a week. How sad, I'll miss seeing him every day. On top of that, the guy that rents from Ana can no longer pay his rent, so Ana is going to let him move into Natalia's room. He's nice enough, but not someone that I want to live next door. Awesome, gotta love the tico drama. Yet another adventure is heading my way ...I'll try and keep you all updated.

Hope the U.S. is treating everyone well! I must say despite all the stuff going on I love Costa Rica and more than likely am not going to want to leave come December, but I miss you all! Much Love,

~R

Manuel Antonio

My oh my I am behind on my blog! I'm going to try and catch it up real quick today. This entry goes back to September 20th, and my trip to Manuel Antonio, which is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! Part of it is also a National Park, which we visited.

The water there is the definition of blue. Cristal blue, and much more calm than the water in Jaco. To say the least it was a lot more pleasant to swim in the ocean at Manuel Antonio, minus my sunglasses got swept away. Typical Riley move to wear them into the ocean. I also spoke to a lot more people here (in Spanish of course :)) than in Jaco. Life felt really calm, and peaceful there...the life of a surfer dude. One funny story from this trip that ended with my face turning bright red from embarressment happened like this:

So...we were playing in the water of course, and there was one point where I decided to sit down along the shoreline. I didn't realize until later that my bathing suit bottoms were FULL of sand. A couple of us decided to go into a store to get some juice and as I was walking I noted that my butt felt funny, like it was awkward to walk. I patted my bottom and realized that it was entirely filled with sand, which I'm sure to anyone else looked like I'd crapped my pants. haha gross imagery I know. Anyways, from that point I decided that I would back into a corner by the building and nonchalantly empty it out. I checked to see if anyone was watching, didn't see anyone and so went ahead with my plan. Right as the sand started to hit the floor I happened to look across the road at this construction worker laughing hysterically at me. Seriously, he had such a big grin on his face, and I'm absolutely positive that mine was bright red. I shrugged my shoulders at him, and so he laughed some more and jokingly covered his eyes. Another typical Riley moment. Pretty embarressing to say the least.

The rest of the trip was great...filled up on PB&J's to avoid spending money, and then that night we went out to a club since it was "lady's night." The next morning we got up early and went into the National Park to hike around. I got to see a bunch of monkeys there. Awesome!! They're so cute! The beach adventures just keep getting better and better; I can't wait for the next one!

Orphanage and Volcan Poas

Saturday September 12th, the API group traveled to an orphanage to throw a party for the kids there for Dia de Nino. The orphanage was started by an American couple, and its purpose is to remove kids from bad home situations where there is extreme neglect or abuse. Most of the kids were around 4 years old, but there we some infants and older kids too. We got there pretty early in the morning and decorated a pavillion area. The kids were super excited to have us there, and even more excited for the clown who helped us figure out games to play with the kids.

We blew up balloons and played games like hot potato and something about a gigante, touching the floor and dancing (I'm not quite sure what was going on!) but it reminded me of Simon Says a little bit. Later the kids got this like banana bread cake for a snack, we played some more, ate some lunch and then gave them their presents that we bought. I think they really had a good time.

Sunday Lena, Becca, James, Caitlin, Miguel and I adventured to Volcan Poas, which is the closest one to San Joaquin. It as quite the adventure. The bus dropped us off about 5km from the entrance to the volcano, so we had to walk that distance, which was literally uphill the whole way. My legs were on fire! Also, it was kind of creepy because everything was all foggy and we could bairly see in front of ourselves. Finally after the long walk, we made it to the entrance where Miguel was laughing at us because "los gringos" have to pay $10 whereas locals only have to pay $1. I was like how awful, so instead of just paying that we asked if there was a student discount. I think because we could speak spanish he let us use our student cards as a discount and we got to pay the local price.

We walked uphill some more to the crator, which norally is coverd in clouds and smoke, but luckily for us was visible. It smelled stinky, like sulfer. After taking some picutures there and admiring the gigantic hole in the earth we hiked some more to a lake. It was cristal blue, and very peaceful. I made friends with a squirrel there. It was super hungry and apparently I looked like someone that might have some food.

This entire time Miguel was sure that there was going to be a bus going down from the volcano at 4, but when we were ready to leave the people working at the gate told us that the bus left at 2 and that there wouldn't be anymore buses. Oops! So...I guess to balance things out we were destined to walk downhill since we'd done so much uphill walking. This time the walk was even longer! We had to go back the 5km and then even further into town to where the bus stop was. We hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck (which I would never have done if Miguel hadn't been there) but that lasted for only 2km or so. Let's just say that by the time I got to the bus stop my butt was so sore and my calf muscles were burning. It was a good workout if I do say so myself. Who knew that I could walk around 20km in a day!

Eventful nightlife with hermano tico

The past week I have been really busy with school, and also feeling like my tico brother Miguel/ neighbors never let me sleep at night! I went out with Lena (my neighbor) and Miguel and his friends on a Wednesday night to play pool. It turned out to be a great time, even though normally I'm terrible at pool! Miguel's friend Jose taught me some pointers (he's amazing at pool) and helped me get better. Once they helped me see the angles and stuff I was actually not that bad.

Then the next day was Megan's birthday, so quite literally all the people from the institute + Miguel went out to a place in San Jose called El Pueblo. It's basically a cluster of pueblo style houses that are discotecs, clubs and bars. It was pretty fun because we could move from one place to the other, and since Miguel has all the hook ups it seems like, I could request certain music. Lena, Miguel, and I got back home at 5am! Crazy.

What's amazing is that this isn't even close to my usual lifestyle during the school year, but so far I've been able to pull it off. Belive it or not, I went out the following night too because it was one of Miguel's friends birthdays. We went to this restaurant place up in the mountains where the food was free and the beer (aka Imperial here) was extra cheap. Not that Lena and I would actually ever know how much stuff costs because Miguel ALWAYS pays for us! I feel so so spoiled.

The next day (Friday) I didn't have school, so Lena and I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies for my mama tica, because she absolutely loves them. They turned out amazing, but I was a little skeptical at first because, well let's just say that there are bugs everywhere here. We opened up the sugar jar only to find a bunch of small ants inside! (The live all over my desk too, stupid bugs). I was kind of like, well we could call them chocolate chip and ant cookies, but Lena decided to try and filter them out. It wasn't that big of deal though because they'd die when we cooked them anyways, and now the cookies would have a little more protein! haha. They were delicious, and now my next mission is to make chocolate chip pancakes! Yum.

"Dia de Nino"

I am a little behind on my blogging! Sorry!! I get so caught up in doing other things, but I'll try and give a quick update. This goes all the way back to September 9th, which was Kids Day (kind of like our mother's day). The kids all receive gifts and there are parades and stuff. The day before, I was treated like a princess, and felt more or less like a little kid being taken care of by my mom again.

Mama tica gave me a full out manicure and pedicure, french tips included! She really like to paint my nails, because since then she keeps offering to do it. Also, she likes to pig tail french braid my hair for me, which my actually mom use to do all the time for me when I was younger. Now that I've gotten past the awkward feeling of having to put my gross feet in her lap so she can paint them, it's rather comforting.

On Kids Day mama tica left me a note next to a plate full of candy. I glued the note into my journal because it's so cute! She said "Feliz dia del nina Riley, hehe no olvides ser nina, aunque tu cuerpo te diga que ya eres grande, tu mama tica" Basically it says don't forget to be a kid even though your body tells you that you are big. Very cute. I think we should celebrate this holiday in the U.S. :)

Living with a two-year old little boy=I'm not having kids for a long time.

I think I am going to enjoy my classes here! I am taking an Introduction to Latin American Literature, Business Spanish, Central American History and Culture, and also another Literature class. If I think this isn't enough work I may try taking another class at the university in Heredia. Also, I'd really really like to do some volunteer work in a school while I'm here! Then again, I don't know how I feel about being around kids after spending last night and today with Matias.

Wow, he's driving me kind of crazy. I was trying to do homework last night and he would not stop coming in and out of my room. For a two year old he talks very very well, and he's a pretty smart little guy. I think he's been watching too many movies though because now he's got it in he's head that he wants to be a bad guy (he says soy malo) and hits and throws things and yells, and I'm just not a fan. Plus, I have no idea really how to get after a little kid in Spanish. Oh the experiences!

Feeling like I have 2 left feet

While being here I'm starting to note some big cultural differences. Is this what they call culture shock?! We went dancing the other night, and let me just say...where is my coordination?! It seems that people grow up learning to dance, either that or the Costa Ricans are simply born with it. Who knows, but I certainly felt a little out of place. It was a ton of fun pretending to know what I was doing though!

On Saturday August 29th Lena and I adventured to San Jose all by ourselves. We figured out the bus system and everything. I was so proud of us! We visited the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (Modern Art), where I saw a pretty interesting exhibision. I think I'd actually like to try to do something similar to what the artist had going on. He had created what looked like city scenes with the buildings being made from cardboard, and then he had also made people cutouts. The artist also had a pile of old furniture and carpets and stuff.

Last Sunday Lena and I went with Miguel and his buddies to play paintball at this place higher up in the mountains. Let me just say, that was an intense experience! All the guys are pretty dedicated to the game, and I am lacking in the ability to aim. It definitely stings to get hit! There was one point at the end where we were playing until you ran out of bullets, no matter if you got hit or not. I was "defending" the tower and everyone on the other team kept shooting at it. The paintballs were flying everywhere and bouncing off the walls inside the tower. I was just like ahh!!! and one of my team mates kept laughing at me. We also played in a field of coffee trees, wich was actually kind of terrifying because you can't see anyone;you just can hear the bushes rustling.

It was fun...but then school started! Teachers give homework here after all, even if it is Costa Rica.

Cartago

August 27th, the entire group from el Instituto (my school) and I went to Cartago. It is quite a bit colder (nowhere is actually very cold though because it's tropical) than in San Joaquin. Cartago was the first capital of Costa Rica, but since the city was build in the basin of a volcano it wasn't the safest place to have the capital city. We visited the ruins of the first church ever built in Costa Rica. That was pretty neat. Also, we visited two different churches, both of which were holding mass. Later, when we returned to San Joaquin we had to listen to two different presentations about health and the other about safety. Both were very informative, but by that point my brain didn't want to absorb more information in Spanish.

Later that night, my neighbor Lena and I went out with Miguel (my mama tica's son). He's 28 years old, so I have been spending a lot of time with older people. I tried my first Imperial, which is Costa Rica's signature beer. It tasted just like any other beer to me. The part I like the most about it is the logo, which reminds me of the logo for Neversummer snowboards. I have come to find that I'm so busy so far that it is hard to finish a journal entry, or to find time to myself. I think things will start to mellow out once school starts, and I'll start to miss all the action.

Meeting my family and becoming la hija gringa

On Tuesday August 25th I felt I suprised myself by how calm my nerves were. I wasn't worried about meeting my "mama tica" or my Costa Rica family in the least. Maybe that was because we were able to breath fresh air in the Lankester Gardens in Cartago before driving to San Joaquin de Flores. What an awesome botanic garden! It was a little rainy, but that was fine because the rain just enhanced the scent of all the sweet smelling flowers. After spending the morning there, we rode in a bus to San Joaquin. I know now why it is so rare to find it on a map. San Joaquin is tiny, and according to Ana, another program director, a good map of the town doesn't exist. People here don't needs maps to find places; they just know.

El instituto de San Joaquin de Flores is beautiful! It's like a butterfly garden, mixed with the secret garden. There is always fresh fruit and coffee sitting out on a table for us to help ourselves to. The fruit comes right off the trees in the garden; banana and mango. I waited next to this table eating a piece of mango when my mama arrived. My first impression of her was that she looked really young and stylish for being 52 years old. My second impression was that she was extra expressive and talks very quickly and very loudly. I rode in a car home with her, her boyfriend, and Matias (her adorable 2-year-old grandson) where I got my first plate of Gallo Pinto, chicken, and a salad. Yum!

It turned out that her birthday was the day before, so she was having a birthday party that night. She loves to dance, and so for her birthday she wanted to buy a new pair of high heels. Her boyfriend drove us to a mall nearby where I helped her pick out a black pair of shoes I would never be able to walk in! I was kind of taken aback by the malls here. They are just like the ones in the United States, with a Payless Shoes and all the fast food restaurants one could ever need.

Mama tica's birthday party was a lot of fun, but definitely a Spanish overload for one night. I slept like a rock.

Arriving in San José

I am not entirely sure how this blog will turn out (everything on my web pages here are in Spanish) but I'll give it a try anyways. I am going to back up about a week or so and write a little bit about my experiences. My first major one occured in the Denver airport, before I'd even gotten started. You see, Costa Rican government has some sort of law that requires foreigners visiting their country to have proof that they will be leaving before 90 days. Well, since I won't be leaving until the end of December (more than 90 days) the airline gave me a little trouble concerning whether or not they could let me on the plane. It seemed like it could end up to be quite a disastre, but luckily API (my study abroad company) sent me a "very important document enclosed" letter, which was my ticket to being able to enter Costa Rica. Basically, since I will be traveling to Nicaragua I will be leaving Costa Rica before 90 days is up and then re-entering. Tricky huh?

Once that little stressful moment (more like 10 minutes) was over, everything else was smooth sailing. The plane wasn't very full; I had a whole row to myself. Perfect! I was able to lay down and go to sleep for about five and a half hours. I thought that I was going to have to wait in the airport until the next girl in my group arrived at 10am, but a man holding a sign with my name on it was waiting for me. I road in a van to el Hotel Balmoral, and let's just say that the drivers here are absolutely crazy. Driving is about the only fast paced part of Costa Rican life it seems. Otherwise everything else is "pura vida" and based on "tico time".

San Jose is an interesting city capital because at night (which comes very very early here) the city seems to turn into a ghost town. People work in the center of the city, but most everyone lives in outside suburbs. There wasn't a whole lot to do at night, which was fun because I got a good nights rest. Monday, August 24th the API group and I met Esteban, one of program directors and then went on a tour of San Jose. One of the first things to note about Costa Rica, besides pedestrians having to avoid crazy driving, is that there are no street signs. If a person were to ask a tico (local Costa Rican) how to find a certain place, they would not receive specific directions, but landmarks instead. For example, if I asked how to find the hotel I stayed at, a person may reply by saying two blocks from where the Calle Central and Avenida Central intersect, expecting you to already know where the two unnamed streets are. However, even though directions are difficult, the people are quite friendly and approachable. We walked around a huge majority of the city center, visiting a couple parks, plazas, el Teatro Nacional, and el Mercado Central. El Teatro Nacional has a floor with seats that can be removed, and that can be lifted up to be level with the stage. It was used for dances or celebrations, but because the floor was made from wood, it has warped with time. It is no longer raised up, unless an important occassion comes up.

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant higher up in the mountains that overlooks all of San Jose. A huge plate full of food was given to me, which I knew right away I would love but wouldn't be able to finish. I really am a fan of rice and beans, or aka casada (literally "married"), which is the stable food of Costa Rica. I would come to find later that week that I'd be eating it nearly everyday.