El FInal

So my time is coming to an end... it's insane how fast the 4 months went by. I feel like it was yesterday that I arrived all scared and intimidated to my host family and now this place has become my home. It's definitely a bittersweet moment. I'm so excited to go back to the states and have american food and see all my family and friends and have a job and use my cell phone! But I also am going to miss this place a ton. I'm bringing parts of it back with me definitely but it will never be the same as these 4 months have been. There have been some great memories and friends and I'll miss everything (except the cockroaches, ticos hissing and whistling, and mice in my room) haha.

So this past week or so has been pretty relaxing. We've stayed in Puntarenas partially because everyone is broke and has no money to travel anymore and partially cuz we just want to chill together and enjoy our last weeks here relaxing and not being stressed traveling or whatnot. We've done some day trips though which are fun. I went to San Ramon with Reinier and my friend Jackie from Wisconsin for the day and we say a movie and ate dinner. Then Lauren and I went to San Jose for the mall for a day. I got a "Pura Vida" tattoo on my wrist. It's pretty sweet. I like it a lot. "Pura Vida" is the country's motto basically. It translates to "pure life" and people say it all the time here. When you say hello, they'll respond "pura vida" when you ask how theyre doing "pura vida" when you answer the phone "pura vida." its everywhere and it really does describe the feel and culture here.

I completed by 10K on the sand which was really fun but a lot harder than I thought it would be haha. There was over 5 thousand runners in it which was really awesome to see and experience. I'm not sure if it was hard cuz I'm not in that great of shape or cuz it was all on the sand. Probably a little bit of both.

Other than that, nothing too exciting has been happening. I leave Thursday morning early at 8am. Thanks everyone for reading my blog. Sorry I havent been as great updating it as in the beginning. I'll prob post one more blog when I get home in the states.

pura vida amigos.

Pictures!

view of the orosi valley near san jose

surfer dude teaching his surfer dude son! about 5 of us decided that we're going to have sufer kids when we're older!

beautiful butterfly in the butterfly garden in monteverde

arenal volcano! it turned red from the sunset!

mom and me in front of arenal lake!

Ahh less than a month

Okay, sorry I'm getting pretty bad at keeping this updated but there's just so much happening, and I've actually had a substantial amount of schoolwork (which is weird) and haven't had much free time.

So this past weekend a group of like 11 USACers went to Santa Theresa which is this beautiful beach town on the nicoya peinsula. I think it was the nicest beach I've been to so far in Costa RIca. It went on for miles and the waves were HUGE and the sand was so WHITE and it was practically empty so we had an area of like half a mile all to ourselves. The town was kinda spread out so it was hard to get around for eating and going out but it was fun. we walked sooo much. And there was a real live surf competition! It was really awesome. Surfing looks really scary though. The current was so strong that it was hard just to swim to cool off.

What else? last week and this week has mostly consisted of going to school and just hanging out. USually every night a group of us just ride around on our bicycles with music and hang out by the beach on in the parks.

I'm still meeting with Reinier (my conversation partner) one or two times a week. We (me, lauren, and crystal) actually went to his english oral communication class last night at his university. It was really fun. We sat in the front and answered a lot of questions about New York and education in the states and then split up into smaller groups and they asked us more personal questions. We didnt really talk in spanish much but its cool to get to know more ticos and see them in class to learn more about their culture and we asked them questions and its just fun to observe. we're going to go back next week and we might even meet up with a few of them outside of the class. oh! and this sunday we're going to San Ramon with Reinier and some of his friends which is a city like 40 minutes by bus here that has a movie theater and mall and is cooler so we're just gonna hang out there for the day.

alrighty, that's basically my life lately. I'm kinda homesick and miss the states a lot but at the same time I know I'm gonna miss it here a ton and i dont think ive been this relaxed and stress free in my entire life haha.

Spring Vacation #2

Alrighty, it’s been awhile since my last post so this one might be kinda long. This week is Semana Santa here is Costa Rica which in English is “Holy Week.” Like 98% of the country is catholic and therefore Easter is a big deal. But instead of just celebrating Good Friday and Easter they celebrate it all week and have it’s nothing like the Easter in the States. No Easter bunny or eggs or baskets filled with candy in the morning. Anyhow, so yeah this week everyone has off work and school and go to the beach or family’s houses all week. We got off of classes also so my mom came to visit!

She got here last Friday and we went straight to Tamarindo which is this beach town farther up on the Pacific Coast in Guanacaste. It was really nice. Really hot (which my mom wasn’t too thrilled with) but our hotel was really nice with a clean big pool and we had a little kitcheneete in our room. We spent most of the three days there relaxing by the pool, soaking up the sun, and just talking which was really relaxing and fun. We went to the beach a few times. Unfortuantely I caught some kind of stomach bug… which made it so we couldn’t walk around and whatnot as much…but still a great three days. Oh the bus to tamarindo took 6 hours! It was awful. I can’t even imagine how antsy my mom was after the 7 hour flight and waking up at 2am! And then once we got to the town we couldn’t find our hotel and we walked around lugging our suitcases and backpacks for like 20 minutes until we realized we had walked right by our hotel!

After Tamarindo we went to Arenal/La Fortuna! We got to see a real, live, active volcano! At first we just hung around the hotel, there was another pool, explored the little town of La Fortuna…then I was like “there’s a volcano! Like within 3 miles of here! We have to go see it!” So we went on this expensive, but organized and guided walking hike to the observatory point of the volcano. It was basically the closest you could get without dying from the volcanic gases haha! We saw some cool wildlife and flowers on the 35 min hike up and then we were standing on lava that had hardened from the volcano in 1992. We saw some parrots and toucans and we could hear the rumble of the volcano and watch as lava (turned into rock from the cold air) fell down the side of the volcano! It was really cool to learn all about the volcano and the last eruption it had in 1968 when 87 people died from falling rocks and the gases.

Then mom and I headed to San Jose the next day to make sure we would be all set for her departure on Thursday. We checked into our cute little bed and breakfast and then walked to eat dinner and we came across a casino! I played the slot machines for my first time! They were fun…we lost like $40 together which isn’t bad my mom said haha.

Overall it was a great trip and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my spring break any other way! Now I’m back in Puntarenas…which is deathly hot. It’s disgusting. It’s crazy that we can only be two hours from san jose but like 40 degrees hotter! I took a 3 hour nap today and woke up at least 3 or 4 times with sweat dripping down my face and my back stuck to my bed…gross. My family definitely told me that April was supposed to be the rainy season.

So anyhow, it’s kinda hitting me that I only have a month let here. It’s crazy how fast time is flying by. I’m not gonna wanna leave. Yeah, I miss the US. The food. My family. My friends. But it’s a different world here. I’m gonna have to wake up and go back to reality and find a job and not travel every weekend and not meet new interesting people every day. I definitely want to come back here though. It’s like a second home to me already. I feel like I belong and I’m not some white gringa stranger walking down the street :)

100 degrees

It's been sooo hot here lately, it's insane. The ticos say that it's usually not THIS hot. But I'm definitely getting used to it and it makes great beach weather and the A/C in the classrooms makes it bearable.

So nothing too exciting has been happening here. Classes, talking with my family, meeting with my speaking partner Reinier... So I'm just gonna comment on some more things about Costa Rica that are so totally different than the US.

- ANTS. My house is FULL of them. It's starting to really gross me out. Like I'm sitting at the table and there's at least 30 of them crawling around while I'm trying to eat or do homework. Then I open up the sugar container to put some in my coffee and there's at least 10 ants crawling around in there. and my family doesn't even care haha.

- THE GUYS. the guys here are definitely different in respect to how they treat the ladies. they will always hold doors and hold their hands if they're trying to go down stairs. they will order them drinks and wait on them hand on foot. and it's not even like they like the girl or anything. it's just how they grew up learning how to treat women.

- THE FOOD. So I ate soup a couple weeks ago that had a pig's snout in it. YUP a full pig's snout. With bone and little hairs and pink. I almost puked. But I ate it... not the actually snout. but the soup. I had to try sooo hard not to think about it. I mean, the soup tasted good. I think the snout was just for flavoring... but really? did they have to put it in my bowl.

- Everyone says HI to everyone on the streets. Probably because everyone knows everyone in Puntarenas but it's really nice just getting smiles and waves and buenos dias all the time

AND there's more to come...but I can't think of all of them right now!

Oh, I love it when I'm talking or writing in English and random words in Spanish will come out! It shows that I'm thinking more in Spanish! Oh and the other night I had a dream in Spanish! It was crazy I was talking and thinking and communicating all in Spanish in my dream! You know what the worst thing is though? When you look up a word that you don't know in Spanish and then the English translation is also a word you don't know in English haha. It's the worst. So then you have to go to a regular English dictionary and look that word up.

San Jose Mayhem

Ahh this weekend was sooo tiring but so much fun. My mom’s coming to Costa Rica to visit me! In less than 2 weeks she will be here!

So this weekend we went to San José with the Latin American Cultures class. We had 3 field trips for the class and this was the one overnight (actually spent two nights). It was really fun. I like San José. I definitely wouldn’t want to leave there, a little too crazy, but it was fun to experience it. We went to el teatro nacional (national theater) which had some really cool architecture and paintings then we went to the national museum which again was cool but a little boring (you know me and how much I love history). Then we had the night free so we went to a mall and had subs from quiznos and frostys from wendys and we went to the movies! Lauren and I saw shutter island with Leonardo dicaprio. It was good. A little freaky, like sixth sense freaky, but good. Messed up at times haha. Then we just hung out at our hotel (which we had all to ourselves, like 30 USAC students) because we rented out all the rooms. Then Saturday we went to a church and another museum and another church and then drove to this really pretty view of the Orosi Valley. It was probably one, if not the prettiest view, I’ve seen in Costa Rica so far. Then we went to the mall again and had taco bell! And shopped and I got the indrustial piering in my ear! It actually didn’t hurt that bad. It hurts more now haha. Then we went out to “El Pueblo” which means “town” in English but it was CRAZY. Its basically like 3 blocks (a little town) of bars and clubs and mayhem. It was one of the USAC student’s birthday so we all went out to celebrate. Haha. It was really funnn. Tequila shots are 2 for $1.75 and the clubs have like dancers on stages and let girls in for free. It was crazy but really fun. I hung out with some USACers that I haven’t spent much time with and talked and hungout with some ticos and some people from Colombia too! Then Sunday (today!) we went to another church and walked around san jose stopping at places like parks and important places and ended up at this hippie market where I bought some cool presents for people!

Overall, san jose was really fun. Definitely and experience but fun and I wouldn’t mind going back there for a weekend possibly. Oh and movie tickets were only $3!

Montezuma Pictures

Montezuma!

So this past weekend we went to Montezuma which is an hour ferry ride and then a 2 hour bus ride away. It was really fun. It's like this hippie beach town with a ton of cute bars and restaurants and stores. There were a little too many gringos (white americans and foreigners) since it's a big touristy spot... but it was still fun. I went to Jackie and Lauren and our friend Matt and then there were other USACers there that we met up with a few times but kinda did our own thing.

On Saturday we hiked about 30 minutes to these beautiful waterfalls (pictures soon) and I jumped off about a 15 foot job into the pool at the bottom. It was scary but really fun cuz I was shaking afterwards from the adrenaline! We hung out there for a bit just relaxing and then we realized that there were other BIGGER and BETTER waterfalls like another 45 min hike away. So Lauren and I set out on that trail..what we didn't realize was that we had to climb a mountain to get there! IT was insane. We had to hold on to branches to keep up and at one point there was only a rope for us to hold on to while going down a steep hill. It was quite the adventure. So we get to the top and theres this 40 foot jump that everyone is doing. I was contemplating doing or not until we saw this kid go and he got hurt! Lauren thinks he broke his arm cuz he couldnt move it and couldn't get out of the pool at the bottom...I think maybe he just dislocated it... who knows. but after that I was like nooo way am I jumping off that. Then we found a different path done (more on the road) after taking a few wrong turns and getting lost for a little while... but eventually found our way back to Matt and Jackie after about 2 hours haha.

This week is actually kinda busy with a 10pg paper, an exam, and a quiz for me. I'm meeting with Reinier (my conversation partner) and one of his friends tonight. We're all going to go to San Ramon this weekend to go to the movies! I'm so excited! I haven't seen a movie in months! Oh and guess what I ate while in Montezuma?? A BAGEL! It was sooo delicious! My first bagel in over 2 months and it was homemade!

Pura Vida!

March Already!

I can't believe it's March already! Craziness! Yesterday was my half-way point of being here. I can't believe I've already been here 2 months and only have 2 more months to go!!

This week has been pretty relaxing. Classes are getting harder...well not really harder. More like just more homework. I had a 20 minute presentation all in spanish! my topic was education in costa rica and the US and the differences and similarities. It was kinda interesting. Next week is crazy busy with school work again too. I have one exam, one quiz, a ten page paper (in spanish!) due, and i have to read 130 page spanish book... this should be a fun weekend of homework haha.

This weekend we're going to Montezuma! I'm wicked excited! I'm not even exactly sure who is going haha...but I know me, Lauren, Jackie, and Crystal all definitely are and Montezuma is supposed to be really fun with little markets and beautiful waterfalls.

So I fell again this week...that equals 4 falls in the 2 months that I have been here. I think I need a bubble sometimes haha.

fall#1- shopping. woman was cleaning the floor with a hose. I thought i would just walk carefully and slowly over the wet floor...failed. feel on my side. got extremely wet and had a lady nearby see everything and ask if i was okay. injuries: none. just embarrassment and a wet butt.

fall#2- one night i was just talking, hanging out with a group of people and someone goes "look jupiter!" So i look up to see Jupiter but move to fast and end up falling flat on my back. injuries: cut on shoulder and knee. (not really sure how the cut got on my knee since I fell backwards on to my back...)

fall #3- attempting to ride tico style (2 people on one bike where one person sits on the bike's bar in front of the other person) with Lauren. I was the person in the front. Didn't quite work out as we had hoped and me and the bike fell tumbling to the ground. injuries: hugggeee bruise on the side of my leg. bleeding hand. bruises on elbow and back.

fall #4- this week. while running. I dont know how it happened. I was just running at a pretty good pace, listening to my tunes, then all of a sudden I'm going down and theres no way to stop myself. Scrapped by my shoulder, my knee, my hands...

yup, same old Laura. It's alright. I'll come out with a few battle scars...maybe they'll help me remember Costa Rica more when I'm old.

Nicaragua Pics

this is me, becky, and lauren all ready to go canopying (my favorite part of the trip so far!)

we got volcanic mud baths!

gorgeous sunset on the boat ride back to san juan del sur

massaya volcano...we couldnt see the bottom cuz of the sulfur smoke that was coming out of it

at the top of the church tower in granada, me lauren and jack attack

Nicaragua/Northern CR!!

Whoa this has been one crazy but amazing week!

We had a week vacation off of school and there was an optional organized trip with USAC to Nicaragua and Northern Costa so I chose to do that. We left at 6am on Saturday of last week and headed to Granada, Nicaragua. We got to the border at 9:30am and waited for over 4 hours!! to get our passports stamped (just to leave Costa Rica). 4 hours waiting in line. It was ridiculous. It wasn’t even that there was a ton of people. It was more that the system was wicked unorganized and they would just stop letting people in for like 20 minutes at a time because they didn’t have enough workers or something. So we got to Granada at 5 and got our free “lunch” at this delicious pizza place. I think it may have been the best pizza I’ve tasted in my life. No exaggeration. Then we went out for a bit. A few of us shared a pitcher of sangria then I got a mojito (which I think is officially my favorite alcoholic beverage at this point and time).

The next day we went for a horse carriage ride around the city, a boat tour of small islands that people bought and built huge houses, a trip to Massaya National Park to see the volcano and then shopping at the Massaya Market (got lots of presents for people!). It was quite a busy day but extremely fun! Oh, and then I went for a little run around the Nicaragua Lake (the 2nd largest lake in all the Americas!) it was beautiful near sunset.

The next day we traveled to San Juan del Sur which is a small fishing city near the border of Costa Rica we went on another boat tour but this time they took us to this really exclusive white sanded, clear water beach and we just hung out and explored for an hour or so. Then I ate lobster for dinner! It was delicious! Not the best lobster I’ve ever had… but still, lobster.

The next day we headed back to the border (waited only 2 hours this time) and ended up at this absolutely amazing, exclusive, secluded, resort type hotel called Buena Vista (Great View in English). It was like a place where old retired people go on vacation or honeymooners go. It was crazy beautiful and quiet and I can’t even describe it. There was no city or noise or homeless people or stranded dogs or trash everywhere. It was almost like paradise I guess you could say, even if that sounds wicked cliché and cheesy. That night we just relaxed, walked up to the sunset bar to see the sunset (absolutely amazing), danced a little, hiked a little on these hanging bridges, it was great.

The next day we went horse back riding! It was so much fun! Haha, definitely not like horse back riding in the states. There were people who had never been riding before in their lives, and people like me who’ve only been like once or twice and these horses trotted, they cantered, they went really fast haha. It was scary but really fun at the same time! We horse back rode to this spa where we went into a steam room, then gave ourselves mud baths, then swam in hot springs swimming pools for a few hours. it was insane. It was like a 5 star resort or something. I ordered a $6 drink because it was vacation and I decided to splurge. It was called El Orgasmo (the orgasm) and it was almost orgasmic haha. It had bailey’s irish cream and amaretto and I’m not sure what else haha. That afternoon we went canopying (which I had never heard of I didn’t know what to expect). It was by far the best part of the trip!!! we hike up a mountain for about 20-30 minutes. And then got down by ziplining 10 different lines. It was amazing!! Such an adrenaline rush. One of the times of the canopy guys asked me if I wanted to “superchica” and I was like “uhh sure” not knowing what I was getting myself into. Turns out that “superchica” means “superwoman” and it basically when you go down the zipline with someone else and you put your legs around them and you don’t hold on to anything (they’re just holding on to your legs and the harness it connected to the line) and you basically fly! It was crazyyy. So I did that twice. And then went once upside. I’m definitely doing canopying again. I think we’re doing it in 3 weekends actually when we go to Monteverde for our last school trip.

The next day we went to a waterslide in the morning. It was alright. It was actually more scary then fun. We had to wear helmets (which were really thin and wouldn’t have saved us if we hit our heads on something) and we had to wear these leather diapers so our butts wouldn’t get scraped up. Haha we looked pretty ridiculous. It was scary cuz we were going to fast it felt like we were going to fly over the edge of the slide sometimes and./or hit our heads on the side haha.

Then we just had some free time and hung out by the pool, played some game, and packed up our stuff. Then 4 hour bus ride back to Puntarenas.

Overall, it was an amazing trip. Canopying was definitely my favorite part of my time here in Costa Rica so far! Pictures will be coming soon :)

Carnavales=Craziness

Ahh Carnavales is crazy!! I can’t describe it really in words, it’s more something that a person needs to experience to really understand what it is like. But basically, it’s 100s of people all on one street, starting to drink around 10am and drinking until 4 or 5am in the morning. For 11 days. There’s makeshift bars that they built on the beach. People are drunk and dancing and singing karaoke and eating and just walking around and talking. There was a parade on Saturday that was supposed to start at 3pm… it’s tico time so we didn’t go to the area til around 3:30…the parade didn’t start until after 5:30 haha. And then it turned out that it was just 100s of people on horses. Haha it was funny because people were really excited for it because it’s something that happens every year and we were all like yeah! A parade of horses! Then it actually happened after we waited for 2 hours and it wasn’t quite what we were expecting haha.

It’s sp dangerous though. Everyone has told me, at least 5 different times to not walk alone and to not bring ANYTHING with you at all. Like if you need money they say put it in your bra or shoe because it will be stolen. Just last night I was with like 10 USAC students and one girl had $60 taken from her pocket without even feeling it (don’t know why she had $60 with her to begin with) another student, Andrew, had his digital camera taken out of his buttoned pant’s pocket without feeling anything, and one of our tico friends got his cell phone stolen! All in one night! The pick pocketers must be real good here.

Ehh and its so dirty and smelly already. And it’s only the 3rd day! 1) there is horse poop everywhere. It’s basically engraved in the pavement (which they paved the road new the day before carnavales started). 2) ticos don’t know what trashcans are, especially when they’re drunk, so they just throw everything on the ground 3) people don’t shower here because it costs money and you just start sweating a minute after the shower so I suppose they find it useless

So, despite the smell, the danger, and the drunk people carnavales is amazing haha. A bunch of us went dancing and had a great time and it’s fun to just watch people and experience something completely different than our culture in the US.

Carnivales

Hey everyone!

So I haven´t posted in a little while... but nothing too exciting has been happening here lately.

Carnivales starts today...actually it started this morning at 5am with fireworks. haha. they built all these makeshift bars and restaurants and stages on the beach. Supposedly thousands of people from all over Costa Rica will be here for the next 11 days haha.

This week was good so far. Classes are going well and are getting more into full swing. My bike broke so I had to spend $20 bucks to get it fixed but I talked to my family and they have decided to just let me borrow the bike instead of paying $60 to use it for 4 months which is a relief.

Tomorrow I´m going to La Isla de Los Pajaros (Island of the Birds) with my cultures class. we´re going to hike through mud and then go fishing all day on a tiny boat and then eat a delicious meal of fish.

Ummm what else. I´m starting to really like the food here. I´m definitely going to miss it once I leave. I´m going to ask my family for some recipes so I can cook Costa Rican food back in the states.

Oh man I tried this delicious ice cream treat called an apretado (which means tight or crammed) it´s basically ice cream in a plastic baggie that you bite a hole in the corner and kinda just suck it out. You buy them from this lady´s house which is made sketchy in the back part of the town but it´s so creamy and delicious. SO now when I get back to the states I´m going to start my very own Apretado and Granizado (the shaved ice treats I talked about before) and I will make millions.

adios mis amigos.

President Elections!

Hey!

So I’ve officially been here over one month! Ahh craziness. Overall this week was pretty decent. Classes are falling more into a rhythm and I’m actually starting to have to study and do homework some nights. My 21^st birthday was fun…nothing too exciting since it was on Monday (which is the only night the bars are closed here in Costa Rica haha) but I got sung “Happy Birthday” three different times in Spanish haha.

It’s been SOOO hot here. Ugh…it’s been over 100 degrees for the past three days. I guess what I found out? That March and April are the two hottest months here! I think I might be doing a lot of weekend trips to San Jose and northern Costa Rica where it is like 20-30 degrees cooler haha. I think I’m getting used to the heat though, it just sucks sweating like 24/7.

Umm nothing else too exciting is happening right now. Carnival starts this Thursday. Carnival is basically a 2 week-long celebration that Puntarenas is known for. People from all over Costa Rica, thousands of people, come to Puntarenas (which is only 2 miles long) and camp and get drunk and dance and sleep outside on the beach and it’s basically constant mayhem and partying for 2 weeks. So it shall be interesting. I’m not really sure what to expect.

So here are some interesting things that I have discovered about Costa Rica:

- The pets here (cats and dogs) are not domesticated at all. People consider them pets but they wonder around the streets and eat trash and snip at passerby’s ankles and are mean and growl and dislike runners and bikers a lot

- Cockroaches and 100’s of ants are daily occurrences.

- Rice and Beans are a side dish for every meal, including breakfast.

- Breakfast does not require specific breakfast foods- I’ve had such things as Pork Fried Rice and hot dogs earlier than 8am in the morning.

- They go on Tico Time here…which basically means everything starts 15-20 min later than they say it will.

- They don’t have drying machines.

- They don’t have hot water- which is nice since I would never ever want to take a hot shower here.

- The Ticos sure love the Gringas (American women). A white girl cannot walk 3 blocks without getting cat called or shouted out to or a least a smile and wave.

Oh! The presidential election is today! We will all know by 8pm tonight who the new president is going to be for Costa Rica. Everything in my house is rooting for Laura Chinchilla who would be the first women Costa Rican President (and she has the same name as me!)

Volcano Pics and More

this is the view of san jose from the bus. we were literally in the clouds for half of the bus ride.

this is me at the highest point of the volcano! over 9000 feet above sea level. i was surrounded by clouds.

this is me at the top of the crater. it was so pretty with the lake in the bottom.

this is a volcano that we could see from the bus so they stopped and let us get out and take pictures. this isn't Irazu the volcano I went to... it's turrialba.

this is me in the pool of coffee beans haha

these are the sugar guys pouring the wicked hot sugar into molds.

Volcano!!

Wow I can’t believe I’ve been here over 3 weeks! And I’m 21! Ahhh it’s crazy, but it’s also amazing.

My Spanish is definitely coming along. It’s becoming more natural for me to speak in Spanish and have a real conversation. Meeting with Reinier and hanging out with the ticos help a lot…and I am also attempting to spend more time everyday just looking up words I don’t know and keeping a long list of useful words.

This weekend was AMAZING. Friday I went on a field trip with my cultures of latin America class. First we went to a sugar mill. It was awesome but the tours of places here are definitely a lot different than in the US. Our professor knew a guy that worked there so we basically just walked around right where the workers were making the sugar and the guy just talked about the process a little. I got to taste raw sugarcane which was delicious actually. You just suck the juice out of the cane and it’s like candy. We also got to taste the sugar after they cooked it and that was delicious too… really rich but it tasted totally different than the sugar we eat because it’s not processed or anything at all. After the sugar mill we went to a coffee plantation which was also kinda behind the scene and not officially a tour haha. It was really cool. We say all the steps to make the coffee beans and it’s way more intricate and the beans originally look different than I ever imagined. Then we got to jump into a pool of coffee beans! It was like this giant tank full of beans and we got to play around in it for awhile!

Then 7 of the girls from the field trip took a bus to San Jose and met up with 6 other USAC girls at this Hostel called Hostel Pangea. One word to describe Pangea…insane. I wouldn’t describe as myself as a hostel person I guess haha. There were tons of people there, mostly foreigners… I was in a room with a guy from Austrailia and a girl from Finland. The hostel was wicked nice for a hostel though. We paid like fifteen bucks. They had internet and a bar and a restaurant and a movie theater/room and a pool table and it was actually really clean. But I think I got like 3 hours of sleep the whole night. You could hear anything and everything that happened in the hallway all night. And I had 6 roommates that all came in and left at different times throughout the night. Haha…it was definitely an experience. I give Ben credit for doing that basically every night for a month.

Then Saturday we woke up early and took a 2 hour bus ride to Irazú Volanco! It was amazing! The biggest crater was over 900 feet deep and over 3000 feet wide! Then we climbed this trail up and up and up and reached the highest point on the volcano which wasover 9200 feet above sea level. By the time we got there the clouds had come in and we couldn’t see the volcano anymore. But the clouds were really cool too. It was so cloudy. We were basically standing in the clouds haha. It was a lot colder and the altitude made it a little harder to breathe 9200 feet above sea level!

Then we took the 2 hour bus ride back. Then another 2 hour bus ride back to Puntarenas. Overall, it was an amazing 2 days!

Stolen bike!!

Well, my bike got stolen! From inside my house! Ughhh so this is what happened: Woke up. Ate breakfast. Went to go to the school and my bike is gone. I thought maybe the 16 year old who lives in my house might have taken it, but nope, he was still sleeping. So I tell Ceci who automatically says it was stolen and ahh I felt wicked bad. I guess someone (not me) didn’t lock the door when they left that morning (somewhere between 6am and 8am) and the robber had come into our house in the front entrance way and just took my bike. It was a crappy bike anyways. I was planning on tell Ceci. The seat was falling off and the tires needed air and the chain needed grease or something cuz it was wicked hard to peddle. So now… they gave me a different bike haha. I feel bad but I think I’m going to have to pay to use this one. But this one is wicked nice and they gave me a padlock and chain for it haha.

What else…ahh my tico partner! Reinier. We met again today. He’s funny haha… he tells me the most pointless stories that sometimes don’t make sense but he’s nice and it’s cool to get to know some ticos. It’s funny when he has trouble pronouncing some of the easiest words to us in English. For instance, haha when he says beach, it comes out like “bitch” because of his accent and I tried helping him… but they both just sound like “bitch” haha. And he also has trouble pronouncing the differences between “bird” and “beard” and “beer” and “bear.” It’s funny how simple things seem to us.

I’m actually learning a lot in my Business Spanish class. It’s pretty cool because I’m learning Spanish (tons of new vocabulary) while also learning about the business world. The professor is a lawyer and notary here in Costa Rica so therefore he knows his stuff.
And I’m learning a lot in my other classes too. We’re learning about the Mayans, Incas and Axtecs in Cultures class. And then my grammar class and conversation are both definitely helping with mi español!

Oh and they definitely love their hot dogs here! I´ve had hot dogs with like every combination possible. Hot dogs with eggs. Hot dogs with beans and rice. Hot dogs in soup. haha good times.

miss you all lots! post comments if you have any questions :)

Pura Vida!

Pura Vida! that's what anyone and everyone says here in Costa Rica. They say it in response to a hello or a goodbye or just when you're passing by on the street or when as a thank you. haha it's pretty cool. It translates to "Pure Life" and basically describes the attitude and lifestyle of a tico.

Life here is good. This morning I did my own laundry (haha they make us do our own underwear since its personal) and let's just say the laundry machines are a little different here. First, I had to wash the underwear by hand in a bucket of water and detergent. Then you put them in this confriger thing for one minutes which spins all the water out. then you just hang them up outside and let them dry haha. They don't have dryers here.

I met my Companero (partner) yesterday. We were each given a speaking partner from the Costa Rica College in town who are learning english and we're supposed to help each other learn the other language. His name is Reiner and he is super nice and energetic haha. He loves to talk. And he is really good at English but says some funny phrases and messes up a few times and it makes me laugh haha. And he helps me with my spanish I already learned some frases that will be helpful and we're meeting again on thursday. He seems pretty cool like he might be a good way to meet some more ticos so I can make some friends and really learn the language and hangout with other people besides the americans.

besides that, classes are good, the food is good, the beach is good, and puntarenas overall is good.

pura vida my friends :)

Puntarenas and Playa Tambor

Hola!

Time is definitely starting to fly by and Costa Rica is kinda, sorta, almost feeling like home haha. My host mom (Ceci) has come back from the US so she is here for good now. She’s super nice and is a great cook so I’m excited.

Today I had the best run I’ve had here in Costa Rica yet. It was on the beach while the sun was setting, the temperature was perfect, and I didn’t get tired at all but was at a pretty decent pace. I think I’m going to get up early (5:30am!)… well not early for Sarah or Elissa… and go aqua jogging with a few other USAC girls.

This weekend was fun. Not too eventful… but still fun. Thursday Lauren and I decided to have some fun and go dancing with people. We went to this bar called Happy Days. At first it was just gringos (white guys) and gringas (white girls) and we were all just dancing and having fun on the dance floor… but then later all the ticos (Costa Rican guys) and a few ticas (Costa Rican girls) showed up. Haha the ticos are so funny. They just stand on the sides of the bars and watch us gringos make fools of ourselves dancing. It was super fun and I learned how to do the meringue! Well… kinda… I mean it mostly depends on if your partner knows what he is doing because he basically controls if you look good or not haha.

Then Friday we tried to go to this beach called Caldera…which is like 30 minutes away from Puntarenas. We showed up at the bus stop at 11:30 with 5 other girls… but we had missed the bus. So we waited til the 12:30… but it never came….so we waited til like 12:55 then gave up and decided to just hang out in Puntarenas and shop on the Tourist Walk with a bunch of cute stands for the tourists from the cruise ships that stop here. We found out after asking a person near the bus station that we were standing at the wrong bus station for 2 hours waiting for the Caldera bus hahaha. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Then Saturday we were planning on going to Montezuma but last minute decided to change our plans cuz we want more than a day at Montezuma so we ended up at Playa Tambor (Beach Tambor) which is a ferry ride and 30 min bus ride away. It was lame. Super lame. Nothing to do in the own of tambor at all. We ate lunch at a cute soda and sat on the beach… but other than that let’s just say we won’t be going back to Playa Tambor haha.

Then today I went to the Puntarenas verse Alajuela professional soccer game! It was SOOOO hot… I sweated more than I have ever sweated in my entire life. It was disgusting. It was literally dripping down every inch of my body… BUT we paid for seats in the shade. But when we got there there wasn’t any seats left in the shade. But at half time we went up and stole some so the second half was a lot more enjoyable than the first. And Puntarenas won! No offense to America… but I would say the soccer teams are way better here… at least than the games I used to watch like the New England Revolution.

That’s pretty much my life the past few days. I’m still loving the Costa Rica food… I’m not sick of the rice and beans yet. Oh! Today I ate the most delicious dessert ever. I have decided that I’m going to start up a business in America and make a fortune! It’s called Granizado con leche. (Shaved Ice with milk) but it’s more than the name gives it credit for. Its shaved ice with this delicious red flavor (indescribable in words not anything fruity like strawberry or cherry but something way better!) then powdered milk that ends up melting into the ice. Then more shaved ice with flavor. Then condensed milk poured spilling over the top. Delicioso!

Grosss

Yesterday I woke up to 3 dead cockroaches right outside my room being eaten by ants... then I walked into the bathroom and found a trail of about 100 ants going from the door to the trashcan...then later in the day I was in the kitchen and saw a mouse! great dayyyy haha. Definitely going to take some getting used to. :)

More Pics :)

this is one of the tortuga islands! clear blue ocean :)

Tortuga Island. Tortuga is "turtle" in Spanish...hence the island is shaped like a turtle.

Whitefaced Monkey in the tree. He was posing for us haha.

this was crazy. the current from the pacific ocean hit the current from the gulf of nicoya and created this in the middle of the ocean.

this is me on the ferry to Paquera before the bus and boat to torutga island.

Almost 2 weeks...

Why hello everyone! so it's almost been two whole weeks since I've been in Costa Rica! It's crazy... I think it's finally hitting me that I'm here, in a totally different country, with totally different people, and am not going home for another 3 and 1/2 months! ahhh haha... but it's not scary. it's also totally thrilling and amazing and fun too.

I'm been getting kind of frustrated lately with the whole Spanish thing... I thought I would be able to understand my family more... but I'm having some difficulty... I can understand my professors and can hold conversations with other students in Spanish... but I think that's because the vocabulary is easier than how my host family talks. So it's been frustrating but I'm trying to not let it bother me too much... I mean I still have a long time here so I hope that I'll improve...but it's hard and I'm going to start trying harder to pay more attention and tell them when I don't understand and ask for explanations and hopefully learn a lot of new vocabulary. We will see...

hmm what else... this Friday we're going to a Sugar Mill and a Coffee Plantation! It should be pretty awesome! We get to jump into a pool of coffee beans! I'm pretty psyched.

Then Saturday I think we're going to Jaco Beach or Palmera or Caldera to go to a different beach and possibly try surfing!

I'm starting to adjust to Costa Rican life... I'm getting more used to the heat and the calmness of the people.

kk Gotta Go.

Miss everybody!

Laura :)

Mas Fotos!

This is the view from the balcony at my school.

This is the beach at Puntarenas. Cruise ships come in a few times a week.

this is my bike haha. little different than my road bike.

this is the sunset in puntarenas! I get to see it everyday and run on the beach when its setting. its gorgeous!

Cúru and Tortuga Island! Clear Blue Ocean!

Hola!

So these past few days have flown by! I don’t have classes on Fridays so this past Friday I went to Jaco Beach with a bunch of the Americans from my USAC group. It was really fun. The beach was totally different than the one here in Puntarenas. It was a lot more touristy and cleaner. We took the 8am bus ride and I decided to go with this one girl to a surf shop because she wanted to get her board painted. We asked some ticos (costa Ricans) where the shop was and they said it was far away and that we would need a taxi. So we said okay and were about to call a taxi when one of the guys came up and offered to give us a ride. We were a little hesitant cuz no one is that nice in the states haha, but we had a guy, Andrew, from our group with us so we felt safe. He took us to the surf shop, waited until we were done, and then we asked him to take us to the prettiest part of the beach. He dropped us off and it was gorgeous. I will have pictures soon! The 3 of us climbed on rocks near the ocean and went swimming and had a blast. We caught up with the rest of the group a little after lunch and then hung out on the beach/in the waves/in the shade for the rest of the days. The waves were crazy! They were so strong and the current too! I’m definitely going to try surfing soon though! Jaco is the place to do it and its pretty cheap to rent a board for the day.

Then Saturday was another great day! The school organized a trip to us o Cúru Wildlife Refuge and Tortuga Island. We took the 9am ferry to Paquera (like an hour and half ride) which was fun just to see the ocean and the islands then took a bus to Cúru. We saw a ton of monkeys (whiteface and howler monkeys) who are so cute. We had a guide and I learned a ton of information! For example, whiteface monkeys are omnivores which means they eat meat so they eat the other monkeys babies if they’re not careful. And Howler monkeys do 2 things when they get scared: 1) howl! It’s so freaky. They did it while we were there cuz this loud tractor went by and the howl echoed through the whole forest. 2) throw their yellow poop at you haha. Oh! And I saw my very first mangroves! They were really cool! After the wildlife refuge and lunch we took a small boat that fit about 10 people each to Tortuga island! It was beautiful! The water was so blue and practically clear! And the main island is shaped like a turtle! The pictures don’t even show half of the true beauty! Sorry guys, guess you’ll have to come visit me to see it yourselves! We snorked near one of the islands and I saw a lot of cool fish! Snorkleing made me kinda nauseous actually, it was weird. I dove deep a few times to try and touch the coral reef and the air pressure made me light headed I suppose. anyhow, besides that it was a great day!

Now… Sunday was just a relaxing day. Went to the beach. The market. Bought some fresh delicious pineapple. Went to the internet café. Lauren and I are going to go out for dinner tonight for something different. I’m excited.

Oh, by the way, it’s SO hot here. Almost unbearable. I go through like 3 shirts a day just from sweating so much! I guess it’s better than snow and below zero weather like you guys have (especially for running)… but constantly being sticky and sweaty isn’t always fun haha. But the nights are cooler and because we’re right next to the ocean there’s usually a nice breeze. J

Oh and p.s. I am going to have to learn how to whistle. Everyone here whistles. To catch the bus. So say hello. So get someone´s attention. To stop the bus. Everyone haha.