Wow, just to start off with I have realized how horrible I have been at blogging this summer. I feel like that's ok though, because I don't think many people really read blogs (there are way too many other things to keep up with). At least I know I am a failure at it (sorry for all of you who have blogs, I probably haven't been great about reading them!).
Anyway, what I really want to talk about is living with joy to the point of abandon. Isn't it amazing what children do? I watched a group of kids have fun dancing on stage for 45 minutes tonight, without any embarrassment. They danced with so much joy and creativity - they just let loose and lived. Why can't we all live like that? There is something to be said of living like a child: loving with a heart wide open, ignoring what society sees as "cool" and just putting everything out on the line every day. Jesus calls us to be childlike in our faith: living with reckless abandon and joy, heedless of any naysayers and without any reason of embarrassment.
Another beautiful thing about children is how they love with their whole heart. They don't understand heartbreak and death, they have never truly been let down and had to face heartbreak. It's hard, but how amazing would it be if we could push all the negative "what if's" to the back recesses of our minds and just love like nothing bad will ever happen? Like we are all truly family and will spend eternity together in heaven because, my friends, that's what will happen. Every person that we meet is on the same journey and we will meet many again someday and what glorious reunion it will be!! That's what gets me through goodbyes each week here on ASP. I know that one day I will see these volunteers again and we will have the opportunity to truly know each other and live together, joyful and loving as children.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A Day in the Life
Okay, so here is a little bit more about my job this summer since a lot of people don't actually know what it is I do with my summers. Basically, 4 college students are in charge of a massive amount of people and money. We have anywhere from 50-90 volunteers that pass through our center each week and we are in charge of feeding them, housing them, catering to their needs (physical, mental, and spiritual), entertaining them, making sure they follow the rules, teaching them construction, and being their friends/role models. So kind of like a camp counselor except we actually RUN the camp as well. PLUS we have to manage all of our construction projects (9-12 per week usually) and that includes planning the projects, ordering materials, keeping track of what happens there everyday, visiting everyday, getting all needed permits, keeping the family, getting to know the family, and helping the volunteers get a lot out of their worksite time. PLUS we all have individual jobs that make things work. The CD is the king and in charge of everything in reality - the homes budget and all required paperwork are his main jobs, as well as running staff meetings and heading up the staff. The finance coordinator is in charge of paying off all of our accounts and managing a million different budgets (like materials, tools, food (for volunteers), room and board (for staffers), evening gathering, office supplies, etc.). The operations coordinator (my job last year) is in charge of planning the menu, ordering food, overseeing the cooks, making sure chores get done, inventorying cleaning supplies and ordering more if needed, planning and overseeing the picnic, and meeting with the facility manager to make sure everything is up to par. The volunteer coordinator (my job this year) is in charge of contacting all volunteer groups by phone (once 2 weeks before they come and again 3 days before they come) with alot of info, turning in paperwork, submitting stories and work updates to ASP's online database, making sure pictures get taken and uploaded, running that center's ASPConnect page (like facebook), making sure evening gatherings get done, planning culture night, and taking care of any issues the volunteers have. PLUS one first year is in charge of doing checks twice a week on our cars and the other is in charge of keeping track of dump on each worksite and requesting a truck when needed (me last year). The returner (me!) is in charge of organizing and inventorying the supply room.
A Day in the Life of a Staffer
Around 6:30 or 7: One staffer goes to the hardware store. Last year mine was 25 minutes away, this year it's 5. Sometimes its 40, it just depends on the county.
7: Someone wakes up the volunteers by blasting music, makes sure devotions get done, does morning announcements, and passes back folders with any updates from the staff meeting the night before.
8: One staffer is in the supply room helping volunteers find everything
9: One staffer does border patrol to make sure everyone has EVERYTHING they need or they know that its loaded in a staff vehicle and is coming to their site (if it won't fit).
During this time, other staffers are doing paperwork, making calls, etc.
10: Staff leaves to visit worksites!! Every worksite must be visited every day. In addition, errands will be run (post office, bank, grocery store, etc.)
12: Staff maybe eats with volunteers on the worksite, maybe not. It's a day by day guessing game.
3 or so: Staff returns and does more paperwork/phone calls/project planning. Maybe takes a break? Just depends.
4: Volunteers return! Sometimes staffers get to hang out with them yay!! Sometimes this is still paperwork time.
6: Dinner!
7:30 Evening gatherings are run by the staff members. These are either culturally or spiritually based and include songs, games, activities, discussions, staff shares, etc. They go for an hour and include all the volunteers.
9 or 9:30 staff meeting starts! We start with happies and crappies (goods and bads for the day) then move on to discuss every single house and what happened there that day (aka: what went wrong?) Each person is in charge of a few houses every week so they give the updates after talking to the group leaders that were on that worksite. We also discuss evening gathering changes, announcements, who is going where and doing what in what vehicle with who the next day, and we end in a prayer. ANYTHING that needs to be discussed to keep this whole operation moving gets talked about during these meetings. These meetings can end anywhere from 10:30 (yeah, right) to 12 (most likely) even to 1:30.
And that's what my summer is like!! Volunteers get here Sunday afternoon and leave Saturday morning, so we have some time without them here that we spend relaxing and preparing for the next group (writing instruction sheets on how to do the construction takes up a lot of that time). We get one day off every 2 weeks and one sleep in day the opposite week. It's truly a miracle that we get everything done and retain our sanity and it's only by the grace of God and with His help that this all happens!!
A Day in the Life of a Staffer
Around 6:30 or 7: One staffer goes to the hardware store. Last year mine was 25 minutes away, this year it's 5. Sometimes its 40, it just depends on the county.
7: Someone wakes up the volunteers by blasting music, makes sure devotions get done, does morning announcements, and passes back folders with any updates from the staff meeting the night before.
8: One staffer is in the supply room helping volunteers find everything
9: One staffer does border patrol to make sure everyone has EVERYTHING they need or they know that its loaded in a staff vehicle and is coming to their site (if it won't fit).
During this time, other staffers are doing paperwork, making calls, etc.
10: Staff leaves to visit worksites!! Every worksite must be visited every day. In addition, errands will be run (post office, bank, grocery store, etc.)
12: Staff maybe eats with volunteers on the worksite, maybe not. It's a day by day guessing game.
3 or so: Staff returns and does more paperwork/phone calls/project planning. Maybe takes a break? Just depends.
4: Volunteers return! Sometimes staffers get to hang out with them yay!! Sometimes this is still paperwork time.
6: Dinner!
7:30 Evening gatherings are run by the staff members. These are either culturally or spiritually based and include songs, games, activities, discussions, staff shares, etc. They go for an hour and include all the volunteers.
9 or 9:30 staff meeting starts! We start with happies and crappies (goods and bads for the day) then move on to discuss every single house and what happened there that day (aka: what went wrong?) Each person is in charge of a few houses every week so they give the updates after talking to the group leaders that were on that worksite. We also discuss evening gathering changes, announcements, who is going where and doing what in what vehicle with who the next day, and we end in a prayer. ANYTHING that needs to be discussed to keep this whole operation moving gets talked about during these meetings. These meetings can end anywhere from 10:30 (yeah, right) to 12 (most likely) even to 1:30.
And that's what my summer is like!! Volunteers get here Sunday afternoon and leave Saturday morning, so we have some time without them here that we spend relaxing and preparing for the next group (writing instruction sheets on how to do the construction takes up a lot of that time). We get one day off every 2 weeks and one sleep in day the opposite week. It's truly a miracle that we get everything done and retain our sanity and it's only by the grace of God and with His help that this all happens!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
I'm back!!
Hey everyone. So this was supposed to be a blog during my semester in Costa Rica and during my time on ASP summer staff (because no one actually understands what I do all summer) but I have been kind of slacking. Here I am attempting to pick it up again. I'm not promising that it will be a regular update but I will try to fill people in on what life in Appalachia is like and the amazing ways God is working in my life.
So just as a background story: I applied for summer staff early and found out before I even left for Costa Rica that I had been rehired as a returning staffer with the Appalachia Service Project (www.asphome.org). I was super excited about my job, especially as I could feel it getting closer as my time in Costa Rica slipped by (which was sad but I had something else to look forward to so it wasn't too bad). Then when Anna died I came home and was pretty much lost for awhile. I was in shock for about 2 weeks and then things started to hit me and I didn't feel like doing anything. My parents would come home from work and asked what I did that day and I would literally have to say nothing. I did absolutely nothing but sit around. And strangely enough, I was OK with that. I didn't really have a desire to do anything and I didn't know if I wanted to be on staff again this summer because it is a highly stressful and emotional job and I wasn't sure I could handle it. Then one Sunday in church Rick Abel presented me with a golden cross necklace. The family that he had worked for during their spring break trip presented them with the necklace and told them to give it to someone in the church who needed healing. This happened after Anna's accident but before anyone there knew about it. As soon as I got the necklace I knew that it was God's signal to me that Appalachia is where I am supposed to be this summer. The people of Appalachia were reaching out to me in a time of need when they didn't even know I needed help and reassurance (no one did, in fact). God knew. He knew that I needed reassurance and a guiding light in the stormiest season of my life up to this point.
As I was driving into Appalachia, I could just feel the weight lifting off my shoulders. It felt so good to be back!!! If you have never been to this area of the country, I highly suggest it. God's beauty and majesty is so apparent! Costa Rica was extremely beautiful and I loved it, but at the same time Appalachia is beautiful (in a different way) and has a special tug on my heart. The closer I got to training the more I knew that I was doing what I am supposed to be doing. Reunions with all the friends from last summer were great, and I have met a lot of new and great people. My staff this summer is absolutely amazing. I was a little nervous about how we would all mesh together when staffs were first revealed but the four of us work really well together and I love them all. Added to the fact that they are all great and interesting people is that we all want God to be the focus of our summer and keeping Him at the top of our hearts is a priority for us all, which only convinced me more that this is the place I am supposed to be this summer. This is where I can work on healing remember everyday that God is good all the time!!!
So just as a background story: I applied for summer staff early and found out before I even left for Costa Rica that I had been rehired as a returning staffer with the Appalachia Service Project (www.asphome.org). I was super excited about my job, especially as I could feel it getting closer as my time in Costa Rica slipped by (which was sad but I had something else to look forward to so it wasn't too bad). Then when Anna died I came home and was pretty much lost for awhile. I was in shock for about 2 weeks and then things started to hit me and I didn't feel like doing anything. My parents would come home from work and asked what I did that day and I would literally have to say nothing. I did absolutely nothing but sit around. And strangely enough, I was OK with that. I didn't really have a desire to do anything and I didn't know if I wanted to be on staff again this summer because it is a highly stressful and emotional job and I wasn't sure I could handle it. Then one Sunday in church Rick Abel presented me with a golden cross necklace. The family that he had worked for during their spring break trip presented them with the necklace and told them to give it to someone in the church who needed healing. This happened after Anna's accident but before anyone there knew about it. As soon as I got the necklace I knew that it was God's signal to me that Appalachia is where I am supposed to be this summer. The people of Appalachia were reaching out to me in a time of need when they didn't even know I needed help and reassurance (no one did, in fact). God knew. He knew that I needed reassurance and a guiding light in the stormiest season of my life up to this point.
As I was driving into Appalachia, I could just feel the weight lifting off my shoulders. It felt so good to be back!!! If you have never been to this area of the country, I highly suggest it. God's beauty and majesty is so apparent! Costa Rica was extremely beautiful and I loved it, but at the same time Appalachia is beautiful (in a different way) and has a special tug on my heart. The closer I got to training the more I knew that I was doing what I am supposed to be doing. Reunions with all the friends from last summer were great, and I have met a lot of new and great people. My staff this summer is absolutely amazing. I was a little nervous about how we would all mesh together when staffs were first revealed but the four of us work really well together and I love them all. Added to the fact that they are all great and interesting people is that we all want God to be the focus of our summer and keeping Him at the top of our hearts is a priority for us all, which only convinced me more that this is the place I am supposed to be this summer. This is where I can work on healing remember everyday that God is good all the time!!!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Saying Goodbye
Sorry this update is so late. As most of you know, this has been a pretty bad few weeks for me. On Friday, March 18 I found out that my best friend was killed when her car rolled while she was heading back to UNI. I immediately started planning to come home, and I finally got in at 11 p.m. Monday night and since then its just been a whirlwind. Anyway, my dad has been telling me to do a final wrap up update, so here it is. This will be a long one, so sorry about that.
Josh and I went to Manuel Antonio the first weekend he was here. The bus ride there wasn't too fun because for some reason the woman selling tickets gave us tickets that were separate, and the woman beside me was rude and didn't want to switch seats with Josh, so for most of the ride we were in different seats. Then the lady next to me left and we sat together for the rest of the ride. We ate dinner that night at our hotel, which was on the road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio. The food was really good, and we spent some time just relaxing and talking about what tours we wanted to go on.
The next day we went to the beach! We started by hiking to the beach inside the national park, which is my favorite beach in all of Costa Rica. It was so beautiful and secluded. Even though there were a lot of people there, it felt like a little paradise. The water was really calm, too, because it was like an inlet. We swam for awhile, laid out a little, swam some more, climbed on some rocks, and then swam a little more. We reapplied sunscreen really often, but Josh still burnt, poor guy. We had been there for about 3 1/2 hours when we headed back to the park entrance. As we were walking, we saw a bunch of monkeys! There were spider monkeys just hanging out in the trees right off the path, and squirrel monkeys walked across the trail right in front of us. One walked within 2 feet of me. It was so cool and I was really glad Josh got to see them while we were there. We grabbed some lunch and then spent the afternoon on the public beach playing in the waves. It was a lot of fun, and we definitely ingested a our share of salt water. We talked about parasailing, but decided we didn't have the money to spend on that and that it was pretty similar to a hot air balloon ride, which we have already done. We ate dinner at a cute little Italian place in Quepos but left right after dinner because it's a pretty sketchy town. We chilled at the hotel. I'm pretty sure this was the night we watched American Idol for hours because Josh is obsessed with it.
Sunday morning we got up and I thought we were running late. When we were all ready and at the bus stop we realized that we had looked at the time on Josh's Ipod, which had changed because of daylight savings time. We headed into Quepos for breakfast pretty early, and after breakfast we bought our bus tickets back to San Jose and walked around. Nothing was open because it was early Sunday morning. We walked around then headed back to our hotel, where we relaxed and took a nap (because we had been up until 2 then woke up around 6:30) before we grabbed lunch at a hotel across the street. The hamburger Josh ordered had onions and peppers in it, so I had to trade him (which was the second time that weekend). After lunch we were picked up for our catamaran tour. Sunday was Josh and I's 4 year anniversary, so we were pretty excited to do the snorkeling sunset tour. It was fun just to be out on a boat, and we saw some pretty cool fish while we were snorkeling. I was even quick enough to touch one! (Yeah, be impressed). And we saw some dolphins!! They were just right up next to and out in front of our boat. Josh didn't like the dinner on the boat, so we grabbed something at the hotel and shared a desert. There was a kitten at the hotel, and I played with it at random times throughout dinner. Josh was embarrassed by me : )
Monday morning we got up and headed into Manuel Antonio to do some souvenir shopping. We saw a bus pull up and didn't want to wait another half hour for another one, so we ran to catch it. Unfortunately, Josh fell on a rock and ripped up his toe pretty bad. As soon as we got into Manuel Antonio we found a pharmacy and got him all cleaned and bandaged up. I grabbed breakfast at a bread shop and we went souvenir shopping. We found some really cute stuff for Josh's family. We took a last walk on the beach and then headed to El Agua Azul, a restaurant we had heard lots of good things about. We both got a barbeque chicken sandwich, and for once Josh was happy with his meal : ) We talked about how beautiful CR is and how the real estate is fairly cheap, but that we were both homebodies and wouldn't want to live that far from family. We went back to the hotel and cooled off (Josh took a shower and I just jumped in the pool). We packed everything up, checked out, and headed into Quepos to catch our bus (which ended up stopping a lot to pick people up and drop them off, so the ride back took A LONG time).
I don't remember much about the week. I know we went out to eat on Tuesday at a really good steak place and on Wednesday we went to a movie with all my friends. We went to the artisan market for souvenirs one day. I had a presentation Thursday and a big quiz on Friday, then went to the talent show on Friday. We were planning on going to Jaco that weekend, since Josh had to be back midafternoon Saturday. That's when I found out about Anna, so the weekend didn't go as planned. Friday I spent a lot of time on Skype and talking to people at the university getting stuff worked out. Then that night we went to one of Ben's games (which didn't end up happening) and then to Hope's house where we played Balderdash. Saturday Josh and I packed up all of our stuff and made a last minute run to the artisan market for a hammock. Then we met up with Hope and Kels and went to watch Joey and Ben run with the bulls (dumb, crazy boys!) Ben actually got beat up pretty bad after he slipped while he was running from one. His face and his arm were all hamburgered up, and he was pretty bruised and sore from the bull head-butting him. Of course, after that he was the famous Gringo and was interviewed. The interview was played on national TV that night. We were a little worried he had a concussion, but luckily he didn't. We ate at Cafe Mundo for Josh's goodbye supper, then headed home and went to sleep. We only slept a few hours before I got up to see Josh off (I wrote a note for him to give to the cab driver, since most don't speak any English).
Josh and I went to Manuel Antonio the first weekend he was here. The bus ride there wasn't too fun because for some reason the woman selling tickets gave us tickets that were separate, and the woman beside me was rude and didn't want to switch seats with Josh, so for most of the ride we were in different seats. Then the lady next to me left and we sat together for the rest of the ride. We ate dinner that night at our hotel, which was on the road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio. The food was really good, and we spent some time just relaxing and talking about what tours we wanted to go on.
The next day we went to the beach! We started by hiking to the beach inside the national park, which is my favorite beach in all of Costa Rica. It was so beautiful and secluded. Even though there were a lot of people there, it felt like a little paradise. The water was really calm, too, because it was like an inlet. We swam for awhile, laid out a little, swam some more, climbed on some rocks, and then swam a little more. We reapplied sunscreen really often, but Josh still burnt, poor guy. We had been there for about 3 1/2 hours when we headed back to the park entrance. As we were walking, we saw a bunch of monkeys! There were spider monkeys just hanging out in the trees right off the path, and squirrel monkeys walked across the trail right in front of us. One walked within 2 feet of me. It was so cool and I was really glad Josh got to see them while we were there. We grabbed some lunch and then spent the afternoon on the public beach playing in the waves. It was a lot of fun, and we definitely ingested a our share of salt water. We talked about parasailing, but decided we didn't have the money to spend on that and that it was pretty similar to a hot air balloon ride, which we have already done. We ate dinner at a cute little Italian place in Quepos but left right after dinner because it's a pretty sketchy town. We chilled at the hotel. I'm pretty sure this was the night we watched American Idol for hours because Josh is obsessed with it.
Sunday morning we got up and I thought we were running late. When we were all ready and at the bus stop we realized that we had looked at the time on Josh's Ipod, which had changed because of daylight savings time. We headed into Quepos for breakfast pretty early, and after breakfast we bought our bus tickets back to San Jose and walked around. Nothing was open because it was early Sunday morning. We walked around then headed back to our hotel, where we relaxed and took a nap (because we had been up until 2 then woke up around 6:30) before we grabbed lunch at a hotel across the street. The hamburger Josh ordered had onions and peppers in it, so I had to trade him (which was the second time that weekend). After lunch we were picked up for our catamaran tour. Sunday was Josh and I's 4 year anniversary, so we were pretty excited to do the snorkeling sunset tour. It was fun just to be out on a boat, and we saw some pretty cool fish while we were snorkeling. I was even quick enough to touch one! (Yeah, be impressed). And we saw some dolphins!! They were just right up next to and out in front of our boat. Josh didn't like the dinner on the boat, so we grabbed something at the hotel and shared a desert. There was a kitten at the hotel, and I played with it at random times throughout dinner. Josh was embarrassed by me : )
I don't remember much about the week. I know we went out to eat on Tuesday at a really good steak place and on Wednesday we went to a movie with all my friends. We went to the artisan market for souvenirs one day. I had a presentation Thursday and a big quiz on Friday, then went to the talent show on Friday. We were planning on going to Jaco that weekend, since Josh had to be back midafternoon Saturday. That's when I found out about Anna, so the weekend didn't go as planned. Friday I spent a lot of time on Skype and talking to people at the university getting stuff worked out. Then that night we went to one of Ben's games (which didn't end up happening) and then to Hope's house where we played Balderdash. Saturday Josh and I packed up all of our stuff and made a last minute run to the artisan market for a hammock. Then we met up with Hope and Kels and went to watch Joey and Ben run with the bulls (dumb, crazy boys!) Ben actually got beat up pretty bad after he slipped while he was running from one. His face and his arm were all hamburgered up, and he was pretty bruised and sore from the bull head-butting him. Of course, after that he was the famous Gringo and was interviewed. The interview was played on national TV that night. We were a little worried he had a concussion, but luckily he didn't. We ate at Cafe Mundo for Josh's goodbye supper, then headed home and went to sleep. We only slept a few hours before I got up to see Josh off (I wrote a note for him to give to the cab driver, since most don't speak any English). 
Sunday Hope, Kels, Ben, and I went to the Gallo Pinto festival (which ended up being lame - we got Pizza Hut instead of waiting in line for gallo pinto lol). We had a picture sharing party, then met up with Joey and all went to the steak place for a final dinner for me. I took a test on Monday morning and then headed to the airport.
I boarded the plane to Atlanta and found out that I was in first class (it was the only seat left when my mom booked the flight). I could definitely get used to that!! I just wish I had known so I wouldn't have spent $11 on a Burger King meal in the airport. I made all my connections with no problem, and arrived home to my welcome back party at around 10:30 that night. Thus ended my study abroad experience.
Overall, I had a great time studying abroad. I learned a lot (Spanish, culture, and about myself). The people I met there were absolutely wonderful, and I know they will be my friends for years and years to come. Studying abroad really showed me who I was and what kinds of things I could handle. It was empowering and really opened my mind and heart to new perspectives and new people. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I am glad I took and would suggest that everyone take the risk, because the rewards are worth it.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Playing Ketchup (long post including Jaco y Irazu)
Tuesday (March 1): Today was the first day of my Spanish class. I am taking intermediate conversation, which I have heard nothing but good things about. We got a big list of vocab words already, but they are ones that I think I will actually use and the teacher is very cool and so enthusiastic that it makes the four hour class pass by in a flash (en un dos por tres - vocab word!)
Wednesday: My plan was to get a whole bunch of homework done this afternoon, but instead I went to a soccer game with Hope's family and a bunch of our friends. We had to take the bus to Cartago, which took like an hour. Then we were in the stadium early, but it was ok because we got some good seats and got to talk to Hope's dad about what was going on everywhere and who the teams were. Cartago (blue and white) was playing Limon, which is another province of Costa Rica (their colors were green and white). Cartago was a favorite, but Hope's dad said he was cheering for Limon because there is so much poverty and drug use that the kids need someone to look up to. BBUUTT we were sitting with ALL Cartago fans and were actually right behind a group of fans that were CRAZY. They followed the team around to all the games, and Hope's dad said if a fight broke it out it would be there and we would probably get punched haha.
The game was SOO fun!! The fans were crazy, jumping up on the fence every time Cartago scored a goal and they were also constantly singing. "Azul, azul, azul, azul, azul! azul! Soy Cartago!" Cartago ended up winning 4 to 1, and even though it was a long a very cold (not just for Costa Rica, it was cold) night, it was definitely worth it. I would say it was one of the most fun experiences I have had in Costa Rica.
Thursday: I went to classes, as is normal. I had four hours of communication, and we watched a video so we could write a paper about the intercultural conflicts in it. The movie was called El Norte and was the semi-depressing story of a pair of siblings who have to flee Guatemala because people are taking over their lands, killed their father, and kidnapped their mother. Basically, they make it to Tijuana and get robbed then finally make it the States, where they are treated really badly. At the end of the movie, the sister dies because of a disease she got crawling through rat infested tunnels to cross the border. It was definitely an eye opener and got us all thinking about illegal immigration and the value of human life.
Friday: Today was "family day" so the school had a big picnic at a park and invited all the families to come. There was lots of food (but people ate every scrap of it) and there were some fun games and activities. I tried to walk on stilts and kind of failed miserably at it. After the picnic ended, my friends and I hung around for a little while longer and played ninja, which is our favorite game. I got a little too much sun and ended up burning.
After family day, Hope, Kelsey, and I went and got haircuts at Mall San Pedro. They were a little more expensive than we wanted, but everywhere was booked. They also didn't do the greatest job. Kelsey and I's hair looked fine (Kelsey got bangs and I just got a trim because I had cut my own bangs on Monday) but Hope's bangs didn't turn out the way she wanted them to. She was pretty upset about that, but we couldn't fix them because they were too short (for those interested, they look fine now and she gets a lot of compliments on them!)
We each ate dinner with our families, then got back together to walk to Ben and Sean's soccer game together. Hope's Tico dad came with us (because he loves soccer) and we had a good time talking with him and watching the game. He actually started playing in a game after Ben's ended, but then the ref got mad and called the game. However, he did talk to someone and will start playing with the league on Monday nights. It's funny because he is a TINY man. Literally tiny. But he is so dang scrappy and always puts on a show that we are kind of afraid he will start some fights.
After the game we all went to Kelsey's house for some youtube video sharing and some snacks. I got home around midnight then got ready for the rest of the big weekend ahead. We also celebrated that Hope found out she is going to be an RA and Joey got a job as a camp counselor this summer!! YAY!!
Saturday: We got up early to go to the Coca Cola station so we could catch our bus to Jaco, a beach about 2 hours from San Jose. We have heard that it's not the greatest beach (and it wasn't) but it is a nice little day trip. Hope, Kelsey, Joey, Brennan, Caroline, Rachel Morris, and I all had a great time. We relaxed on the beach from around 10:30 until 1 then grabbed lunch at this really cool little restaurant. It was a fish bar that had AMAZING lemonade and all kinds of fish tacos and fish sandwiches. Some of the seats were swings, so you know Hope and I were on that in a flash!
After lunch we walked down the street to an extreme sports place, where Joey had been looking at bungee jumping. He ended up signing up right then and there (and didnt even wait for his lunch to settle). He did a giant swing, and rocket launcher, and bungee jumped (which dipped him in a pool of water). It was cool just to be there to be a cheerleader : )
We went back to the beach for a little while, then grabbed smoothies on our way to the bus. We had a quiet and kind of relaxing bus ride home, then showered, ate, and pretty much passed out we were so tired.
Sunday: Got up early again today so we could go downtown to catch a bus to Irazu, a volcano that's just outside the suburbs of San Jose. The bus ride cost about $8, which included both the 2 hour trip to the volcano and the 2 hour trip back. There were six of us (Joey, Ben, Caroline, Hope, Kelsey, and I) but we crammed into the back 5 seats that go across the entire bus. It was a close ride, but lots of fun. When we actually got to the volcano, we had to get out to buy a ticket into the park. It cost 1 mil for residents ($2) and 5 mil for non Costa Ricas ($10) What a rip-off!!!
The volcano was pretty cool, though. I don't think it was as cool as Poas, but we got to see the crater and walk around on top of the volcano. We took lots of pictures and just hung out together for a few hours. We got back on the bus at about 12:30 and returned to downtown. We wanted to go to an all you can eat Chinese buffet, but it was closed, so we decided we were craving some American food. We all went to Taco Bell (which was crazy crowded, even at 3 in the afternoon) and then sat outside in a square to enjoy the sun. It was a nice relaxing lunch, and after Joey finished his ice cream (of course he got ice cream, this is Joey I'm talking about) we walked back home.
I spent the rest of the day cranking out papers (I wrote a total of 11 pages that day!)
Monday: After class, I pretty much locked myself in my room so I could do more homework. It was a good choice, though, because I finished my 10 page, 1.5 spaced paper for ecology and practiced my presentations for Tuesday. That is literally all that happened Monday - work work work work work.
Tuesday: Spanish class was SO fun today! We had to look up information about famous singers in Costa Rica, and then we watched one of their music videos and voted for our favorites. The singer I researched was the oh so guapisimo Enrique Iglesias (he is straight, you're thinking of Ricky Martin). Then we we all picked a picture on facebook that we liked and impromptu told the story behind it (to practice speaking in past tense). I picked the picture of the DC staff at midsummer in our Gaga outfits : ) Que lindo!
I turned in my first comm paper (out of two) and gave both my ecology presentations, which felt GREAT! My group presentation went over time limit, but she said she really enjoyed it so I hope we got a good grade! It was all about human and natural affects on coastal ecosystems, so we talked about coral reefs, oil spills, nitrogen in the water, global warming, and I talked about human development. It was a really interesting presentation, in my opinion.
Another person in my class gave a really interesting presentation about the evolution of feathers. It doesn't sound interesting, but it was about dinosaurs and if they had feathers and did reptiles gain feathers to become birds or did birds lose feathers to become reptiles and all kinds of things like that. It was actually really cool to hear. Then I gave my individual presentation. It kind of stank because we had to stay a little later to finish (it was a 20 minute presentation and she made me start with about 7 minutes left in class). I talked fast and managed to get through all my information about Olive Ridley sea turtles in 20 minutes. It was surprising because I thought that 20 minutes would be hard to do, but both Bailey and I had to talk fast and couldn't show our videos because we had too much information. I guess our teacher really liked it, because she said that she wanted all our presentations to be like the two that day : )
Wednesday: Another great day of Spanish class. I just love this month!! Conversation is so much fun, and I am learning lots of expressions and just practicing talking without rehearsing what I'm going to say. I have also bonded with the only other girl who is in my class, Claire, and we stick it to the 6 boys in our class : )
We ate out at Mey Bien, and Joey brought a new friend who just got to Costa Rica. Her name is Alice and she is a super sweet girl who is here until August. Then I bought my tickets for the bus to Manuel Antonio Friday. I told her I needed two tickets, and I'm pretty sure she gave me two seats that are NOT together (12 and 13) so I am going to have to ask someone to trade seats with one of us, which seems ridiculous. Common sense - we want to sit together! grrrr. Oh well, it will be fine.
I met Rachel Braun and Bethany back at the school after they got out of cooking class, and we walked to the Auto Mercado. I bought some excellent dip that Kelsey introduced me to the other day, as well as some oranges, sandwich meat, granola bars, and some Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Guess what got eaten right away? lol
I was planning on watching a movie before dinner and then writing a paper about it after dinner, but I rented it from itunes and it told me it would take 7 hours to download. WHAT?!?! I should have known, I guess, but I didn't think about it. Therefore, I had time to finish my Spanish presentation for tomorrow and practice it, write this blog, finish some other homework, and practice my presentation otra vez (again) before dinner. I will probably finish my SAA application and my peer leader application before it finishes loading, as well. I don't think I will be able to make a movie with my friends tonight, unless my movie still has a few hours left to load (Ojala que no!! I hope not!) Some people are going to Black Swan and others are going to a different movie, possibly Ringo (or Rango? whichever is about the lizard).
Josh comes tomorrow!!! I am extremely excited!! I am skipping communication to go pick him up at the airport, but I have to go to ecology in the evening because on Tuesday I have communication for 4 hours, so I'm skipping ecology that night (so Josh won't be alone 8 am to 8 pm). It's nice, though, because I am done with ecology - I just have to show up and sit there. We are leaving Friday at 2:30 for Manuel Antonio (which I have heard is like everyone's favorite place to go) and staying until Monday afternoon : ) Ana is also going to the beach this weekend, and my friends are going to Nicaragua to work with a church organization, so it will just be a great next few days for everyone!
My pictures aren't loading, once again. Sorry!!!
That's all folks!
Pura Vida : )
Wednesday: My plan was to get a whole bunch of homework done this afternoon, but instead I went to a soccer game with Hope's family and a bunch of our friends. We had to take the bus to Cartago, which took like an hour. Then we were in the stadium early, but it was ok because we got some good seats and got to talk to Hope's dad about what was going on everywhere and who the teams were. Cartago (blue and white) was playing Limon, which is another province of Costa Rica (their colors were green and white). Cartago was a favorite, but Hope's dad said he was cheering for Limon because there is so much poverty and drug use that the kids need someone to look up to. BBUUTT we were sitting with ALL Cartago fans and were actually right behind a group of fans that were CRAZY. They followed the team around to all the games, and Hope's dad said if a fight broke it out it would be there and we would probably get punched haha.
The game was SOO fun!! The fans were crazy, jumping up on the fence every time Cartago scored a goal and they were also constantly singing. "Azul, azul, azul, azul, azul! azul! Soy Cartago!" Cartago ended up winning 4 to 1, and even though it was a long a very cold (not just for Costa Rica, it was cold) night, it was definitely worth it. I would say it was one of the most fun experiences I have had in Costa Rica.
Thursday: I went to classes, as is normal. I had four hours of communication, and we watched a video so we could write a paper about the intercultural conflicts in it. The movie was called El Norte and was the semi-depressing story of a pair of siblings who have to flee Guatemala because people are taking over their lands, killed their father, and kidnapped their mother. Basically, they make it to Tijuana and get robbed then finally make it the States, where they are treated really badly. At the end of the movie, the sister dies because of a disease she got crawling through rat infested tunnels to cross the border. It was definitely an eye opener and got us all thinking about illegal immigration and the value of human life.
Friday: Today was "family day" so the school had a big picnic at a park and invited all the families to come. There was lots of food (but people ate every scrap of it) and there were some fun games and activities. I tried to walk on stilts and kind of failed miserably at it. After the picnic ended, my friends and I hung around for a little while longer and played ninja, which is our favorite game. I got a little too much sun and ended up burning.
After family day, Hope, Kelsey, and I went and got haircuts at Mall San Pedro. They were a little more expensive than we wanted, but everywhere was booked. They also didn't do the greatest job. Kelsey and I's hair looked fine (Kelsey got bangs and I just got a trim because I had cut my own bangs on Monday) but Hope's bangs didn't turn out the way she wanted them to. She was pretty upset about that, but we couldn't fix them because they were too short (for those interested, they look fine now and she gets a lot of compliments on them!)
We each ate dinner with our families, then got back together to walk to Ben and Sean's soccer game together. Hope's Tico dad came with us (because he loves soccer) and we had a good time talking with him and watching the game. He actually started playing in a game after Ben's ended, but then the ref got mad and called the game. However, he did talk to someone and will start playing with the league on Monday nights. It's funny because he is a TINY man. Literally tiny. But he is so dang scrappy and always puts on a show that we are kind of afraid he will start some fights.
After the game we all went to Kelsey's house for some youtube video sharing and some snacks. I got home around midnight then got ready for the rest of the big weekend ahead. We also celebrated that Hope found out she is going to be an RA and Joey got a job as a camp counselor this summer!! YAY!!
Saturday: We got up early to go to the Coca Cola station so we could catch our bus to Jaco, a beach about 2 hours from San Jose. We have heard that it's not the greatest beach (and it wasn't) but it is a nice little day trip. Hope, Kelsey, Joey, Brennan, Caroline, Rachel Morris, and I all had a great time. We relaxed on the beach from around 10:30 until 1 then grabbed lunch at this really cool little restaurant. It was a fish bar that had AMAZING lemonade and all kinds of fish tacos and fish sandwiches. Some of the seats were swings, so you know Hope and I were on that in a flash!
After lunch we walked down the street to an extreme sports place, where Joey had been looking at bungee jumping. He ended up signing up right then and there (and didnt even wait for his lunch to settle). He did a giant swing, and rocket launcher, and bungee jumped (which dipped him in a pool of water). It was cool just to be there to be a cheerleader : )
We went back to the beach for a little while, then grabbed smoothies on our way to the bus. We had a quiet and kind of relaxing bus ride home, then showered, ate, and pretty much passed out we were so tired.
Sunday: Got up early again today so we could go downtown to catch a bus to Irazu, a volcano that's just outside the suburbs of San Jose. The bus ride cost about $8, which included both the 2 hour trip to the volcano and the 2 hour trip back. There were six of us (Joey, Ben, Caroline, Hope, Kelsey, and I) but we crammed into the back 5 seats that go across the entire bus. It was a close ride, but lots of fun. When we actually got to the volcano, we had to get out to buy a ticket into the park. It cost 1 mil for residents ($2) and 5 mil for non Costa Ricas ($10) What a rip-off!!!
The volcano was pretty cool, though. I don't think it was as cool as Poas, but we got to see the crater and walk around on top of the volcano. We took lots of pictures and just hung out together for a few hours. We got back on the bus at about 12:30 and returned to downtown. We wanted to go to an all you can eat Chinese buffet, but it was closed, so we decided we were craving some American food. We all went to Taco Bell (which was crazy crowded, even at 3 in the afternoon) and then sat outside in a square to enjoy the sun. It was a nice relaxing lunch, and after Joey finished his ice cream (of course he got ice cream, this is Joey I'm talking about) we walked back home.
I spent the rest of the day cranking out papers (I wrote a total of 11 pages that day!)
Monday: After class, I pretty much locked myself in my room so I could do more homework. It was a good choice, though, because I finished my 10 page, 1.5 spaced paper for ecology and practiced my presentations for Tuesday. That is literally all that happened Monday - work work work work work.
Tuesday: Spanish class was SO fun today! We had to look up information about famous singers in Costa Rica, and then we watched one of their music videos and voted for our favorites. The singer I researched was the oh so guapisimo Enrique Iglesias (he is straight, you're thinking of Ricky Martin). Then we we all picked a picture on facebook that we liked and impromptu told the story behind it (to practice speaking in past tense). I picked the picture of the DC staff at midsummer in our Gaga outfits : ) Que lindo!
I turned in my first comm paper (out of two) and gave both my ecology presentations, which felt GREAT! My group presentation went over time limit, but she said she really enjoyed it so I hope we got a good grade! It was all about human and natural affects on coastal ecosystems, so we talked about coral reefs, oil spills, nitrogen in the water, global warming, and I talked about human development. It was a really interesting presentation, in my opinion.
Another person in my class gave a really interesting presentation about the evolution of feathers. It doesn't sound interesting, but it was about dinosaurs and if they had feathers and did reptiles gain feathers to become birds or did birds lose feathers to become reptiles and all kinds of things like that. It was actually really cool to hear. Then I gave my individual presentation. It kind of stank because we had to stay a little later to finish (it was a 20 minute presentation and she made me start with about 7 minutes left in class). I talked fast and managed to get through all my information about Olive Ridley sea turtles in 20 minutes. It was surprising because I thought that 20 minutes would be hard to do, but both Bailey and I had to talk fast and couldn't show our videos because we had too much information. I guess our teacher really liked it, because she said that she wanted all our presentations to be like the two that day : )
Wednesday: Another great day of Spanish class. I just love this month!! Conversation is so much fun, and I am learning lots of expressions and just practicing talking without rehearsing what I'm going to say. I have also bonded with the only other girl who is in my class, Claire, and we stick it to the 6 boys in our class : )
We ate out at Mey Bien, and Joey brought a new friend who just got to Costa Rica. Her name is Alice and she is a super sweet girl who is here until August. Then I bought my tickets for the bus to Manuel Antonio Friday. I told her I needed two tickets, and I'm pretty sure she gave me two seats that are NOT together (12 and 13) so I am going to have to ask someone to trade seats with one of us, which seems ridiculous. Common sense - we want to sit together! grrrr. Oh well, it will be fine.
I met Rachel Braun and Bethany back at the school after they got out of cooking class, and we walked to the Auto Mercado. I bought some excellent dip that Kelsey introduced me to the other day, as well as some oranges, sandwich meat, granola bars, and some Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Guess what got eaten right away? lol
I was planning on watching a movie before dinner and then writing a paper about it after dinner, but I rented it from itunes and it told me it would take 7 hours to download. WHAT?!?! I should have known, I guess, but I didn't think about it. Therefore, I had time to finish my Spanish presentation for tomorrow and practice it, write this blog, finish some other homework, and practice my presentation otra vez (again) before dinner. I will probably finish my SAA application and my peer leader application before it finishes loading, as well. I don't think I will be able to make a movie with my friends tonight, unless my movie still has a few hours left to load (Ojala que no!! I hope not!) Some people are going to Black Swan and others are going to a different movie, possibly Ringo (or Rango? whichever is about the lizard).
Josh comes tomorrow!!! I am extremely excited!! I am skipping communication to go pick him up at the airport, but I have to go to ecology in the evening because on Tuesday I have communication for 4 hours, so I'm skipping ecology that night (so Josh won't be alone 8 am to 8 pm). It's nice, though, because I am done with ecology - I just have to show up and sit there. We are leaving Friday at 2:30 for Manuel Antonio (which I have heard is like everyone's favorite place to go) and staying until Monday afternoon : ) Ana is also going to the beach this weekend, and my friends are going to Nicaragua to work with a church organization, so it will just be a great next few days for everyone!
My pictures aren't loading, once again. Sorry!!!
That's all folks!
Pura Vida : )
Monday, February 28, 2011
Walking, walking, walking, walking (Santa Rosa)
Wednesday: We had lunch with some missionaries that Kelsey, Ben, and Joey had met at a church here in San Jose. One couple invited us to their house for lunch, and then 2 other missionary couples came over for lunch as well. It was pretty laid back (salad, chips and salsa, chili, bread, and brownies) and was a lot of fun. We played 2 truths and a lie and spent almost all afternoon talking. I didn't get home until around 4:45, then I worked on my presentations for ecology.
Thursday: I skyped with Emily! We had a skype appointment to go over my honors literature review for my thesis. Deanne stopped by and I chatted with her a little bit. It was fun and also helpful : ) I felt bad because I color coded it for myself and then referenced that for Emily. I forgot she's color blind and my color code did nothing for her. I had lunch with mis amigos then had class as usual.
Friday: After a lazy morning and a pb&j sandwich for lunch, Kelsey, Hope, Ben, and I met at Hopes house (Joey had already left for Panama). We went to the school and rented Oh Brother Where Art Thou then played some ninja. I actually won one game!! Then we decided to walk to Parque La Sabana. On the way there we stopped in this courtyard to watch some men playing a game. There were three green things that looked like bowling pins and they each had three little nuts with washers on top of them. Each man would use a stick to push a tennis ball at the pins and try to knock the nuts off without knocking the pin over. We watched for awhile, then the creator of the game (a really nice old man) taught Kels, Hope, and I how to play. Hope and I were tied but no one could knock the last nut off, though we hit the pin repeatedly. We finally asked "El Champeon" (the old man) to do it for us. Then we chatted with someone that Ben and Kelsey had met at church the night before. He just happened to be walking through the same courtyard that we were in, despite being in a city of millions. It was pretty cool.
We continued on to the park, which was A LOT further than we thought. When we finally got there, we sat around, talked, and watched some people play volleyball. We played fetch with this dog who loved us but kept hating on men with beards. Then the dog (who we called Charlie because he looked like the dog from All Dogs Go to Heaven) followed us around everywhere. We saw the new stadium that China built then left the park for the walk home. The dog followed us all the way to a plaza near downtown where he got distracted by all the pigeons (thank goodness, because we didnt know what we would do with him once we all got home).
We finally made it home. I showered and ate dinner, then a bunch of people met up by the highway and walked 20 minutes to a soccer field, where we watched Ben and Sean's game. It was a nice, relaxing (free) and fun thing to do on a Friday night. After the movie, I went to Hope's house. Kelsey played the guitar and we had a little singalong before Ben, Kels, Hope and I watched Oh Brother Where Art Thou (and devoured some popcorn). The movie ended at 12:30, and Kels and Ben went back to their houses while I stayed with Hope so she wouldn't be alone. Overall, we decided that we had walked a bout 10 miles that day.
Saturday: Left Hope's house and walked next door to the school for my field trip. We had to wait for our teacher, who showed us still drunk from the night before, and one of the students who was a little late. There were only 12 of us, so we all got a lot of room, which was super nice for the 6 hour drive. When we got to Santa Rosa, we had a late lunch and put all of our stuff in the rooms. We had a girls room and a boys room, and the bathroom was co-ed. The stalls were marked for a specific gender, but it was all in the same room. Awkward.
We all hiked to La Casona, which is an important historical site for Costa Rica. It is where the Costa Rican army fought off William Walker, who was trying to take over Costa Rica with his army of mercenaries. This is the only battle Costa Rica had to fight for its independence (the first time it was given to them when all the other Latin American countries gained their independence) so its very important. It was cool to see, even though there weren't a lot of artifacts there. Apparently, in 2001, two hunters were angry that they kept getting caught illegally hunting at the park and burned a lot of the building down. At La Casona, we hiked to a lookout point, which was absolutely gorgeous. We just sat and looked at it for a good hour.
While we ate dinner, one guy in our class convinced our teacher to let us walk to this beach (which was 8 miles away). We couldn't go at night because we didn't have enough flashlights. so we decided to go really early the next morning. We went on a short night hike, where I saw two scorpions fighting. One had babies on her back. It was really cool until they froze when they noticed us and we had to head back. Then we went to bed around 9 p.m.
Sunday: Good morning! 4 a.m. and we were up, getting ready for our long hike. We finally ended up leaving around 4:40, after waiting for our professor and getting a sack breakfast that the cooks made for us. We hiked for about an hour in the dark. I didn't have a flashlight and was relying on staying close to people. I was continually tripping, then I got the "bright" idea to walk in front of the person with the flashlight. It was a bad idea. I fell flat on my face. So embarrassing lol. I was fine, and learned to walk behind the flashlight.
We saw a lot of cool things on the walk, like monkeys, a tarantula, iguanas, birds, and more. We stopped around 6:30 for breakfast and finally reached the gorgeous beach at about 7:40. We stayed there for about an hour and a half, relaxing and taking pictures, before we started the hike back. And the hike back was TERRIBLE. Literally, an entire hour was uphill. I drank SO much water and worked my body so hard, but felt very accomplished afterward. We had hiked around 16 miles! Whitney, Derek, and I walked together the entire way back, and we got back to Santa Rosa around noon. We had lunch (though I was too tired to be very hungry) and took quick showers. Then we packed our stuff and headed back to San Jose!
The bus trip back kind of stank because we didn't stop at all, and I couldn't sleep like everyone else was. We made good time, though, and I got home at 6:30. Perfect timing to eat dinner with Ana and the girl that's living in the room next door this week. Her name is Jamie, and she and her friends are spending their spring break here taking Spanish classes. That's dedication! She is in class ALL day long, then Thursday and Friday the school is taking them to see some volcanoes (no beach for her, though). Then I skyped with people and went to bed!
Thursday: I skyped with Emily! We had a skype appointment to go over my honors literature review for my thesis. Deanne stopped by and I chatted with her a little bit. It was fun and also helpful : ) I felt bad because I color coded it for myself and then referenced that for Emily. I forgot she's color blind and my color code did nothing for her. I had lunch with mis amigos then had class as usual.
We continued on to the park, which was A LOT further than we thought. When we finally got there, we sat around, talked, and watched some people play volleyball. We played fetch with this dog who loved us but kept hating on men with beards. Then the dog (who we called Charlie because he looked like the dog from All Dogs Go to Heaven) followed us around everywhere. We saw the new stadium that China built then left the park for the walk home. The dog followed us all the way to a plaza near downtown where he got distracted by all the pigeons (thank goodness, because we didnt know what we would do with him once we all got home).
We finally made it home. I showered and ate dinner, then a bunch of people met up by the highway and walked 20 minutes to a soccer field, where we watched Ben and Sean's game. It was a nice, relaxing (free) and fun thing to do on a Friday night. After the movie, I went to Hope's house. Kelsey played the guitar and we had a little singalong before Ben, Kels, Hope and I watched Oh Brother Where Art Thou (and devoured some popcorn). The movie ended at 12:30, and Kels and Ben went back to their houses while I stayed with Hope so she wouldn't be alone. Overall, we decided that we had walked a bout 10 miles that day.
Saturday: Left Hope's house and walked next door to the school for my field trip. We had to wait for our teacher, who showed us still drunk from the night before, and one of the students who was a little late. There were only 12 of us, so we all got a lot of room, which was super nice for the 6 hour drive. When we got to Santa Rosa, we had a late lunch and put all of our stuff in the rooms. We had a girls room and a boys room, and the bathroom was co-ed. The stalls were marked for a specific gender, but it was all in the same room. Awkward.
We all hiked to La Casona, which is an important historical site for Costa Rica. It is where the Costa Rican army fought off William Walker, who was trying to take over Costa Rica with his army of mercenaries. This is the only battle Costa Rica had to fight for its independence (the first time it was given to them when all the other Latin American countries gained their independence) so its very important. It was cool to see, even though there weren't a lot of artifacts there. Apparently, in 2001, two hunters were angry that they kept getting caught illegally hunting at the park and burned a lot of the building down. At La Casona, we hiked to a lookout point, which was absolutely gorgeous. We just sat and looked at it for a good hour.
While we ate dinner, one guy in our class convinced our teacher to let us walk to this beach (which was 8 miles away). We couldn't go at night because we didn't have enough flashlights. so we decided to go really early the next morning. We went on a short night hike, where I saw two scorpions fighting. One had babies on her back. It was really cool until they froze when they noticed us and we had to head back. Then we went to bed around 9 p.m.Sunday: Good morning! 4 a.m. and we were up, getting ready for our long hike. We finally ended up leaving around 4:40, after waiting for our professor and getting a sack breakfast that the cooks made for us. We hiked for about an hour in the dark. I didn't have a flashlight and was relying on staying close to people. I was continually tripping, then I got the "bright" idea to walk in front of the person with the flashlight. It was a bad idea. I fell flat on my face. So embarrassing lol. I was fine, and learned to walk behind the flashlight.
We saw a lot of cool things on the walk, like monkeys, a tarantula, iguanas, birds, and more. We stopped around 6:30 for breakfast and finally reached the gorgeous beach at about 7:40. We stayed there for about an hour and a half, relaxing and taking pictures, before we started the hike back. And the hike back was TERRIBLE. Literally, an entire hour was uphill. I drank SO much water and worked my body so hard, but felt very accomplished afterward. We had hiked around 16 miles! Whitney, Derek, and I walked together the entire way back, and we got back to Santa Rosa around noon. We had lunch (though I was too tired to be very hungry) and took quick showers. Then we packed our stuff and headed back to San Jose!The bus trip back kind of stank because we didn't stop at all, and I couldn't sleep like everyone else was. We made good time, though, and I got home at 6:30. Perfect timing to eat dinner with Ana and the girl that's living in the room next door this week. Her name is Jamie, and she and her friends are spending their spring break here taking Spanish classes. That's dedication! She is in class ALL day long, then Thursday and Friday the school is taking them to see some volcanoes (no beach for her, though). Then I skyped with people and went to bed!
Monday: Had a relaxed morning, trimmed my own bangs, then had bible study during lunch. The pizza place I went to ran out of pizza, so I thought I was going to be late. Turned out fine though, and we had a great bible study led by Rachel Braun. Afterwards Rachel and I got some cake then walked home. I took a little nap and worked on homework for the rest of the afternoon. I found out that my research for my honors thesis got approved! After dinner Rachel and I went on a grocery run, and now here I am blogging. I am sore and tired, but excited to start Spanish again tomorrow : )
Pura Vida!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
More time with my family then on to Playa Hermosa
Tuesday: I studied all morning for my ecology test. Blah! I had a mini paper due in Intercultural Communication, and just studied for my test. It turned out to be pretty easy – just 4 essay questions- but I am glad I studied as much as I did because I had no idea what was going to be on the test. I think it went well, though!
Wednesday: This was a long time ago, so I don’t remember much (wasn’t too memorable of a day). I literally did my thesis/read all day. Had lunch with Hope and Kelsey at a Mexican restaurant close to school. I think the most memorable thing I did that day was walk to the mall for some ice cream with Rachel Braun. It was some really delicious ice cream and some good conversation!
Thursday: Chilled all morning doing my thesis stuff and enjoying a little me time. After Intercultural communication I caught a cab to my parents hotel and played cards with them for awhile. Then we went back to my house and I introduced them to Ana, who tried to speak English to them (she is so sweet!). My sister understood some of what she was saying in Spanish, though (she is so smart!). We went back to the school and walked around a little. I took them to the Dos Pinos store and introduced them to the strawberry yogurt with coco puffs in it : ) I gave them directions to a mall and went to ecology. I got out early and expected them to be awhile, but they had just gotten back. They couldn’t find the mall, but found Pequeno Mundo (which is a block from the mall).
We all went out to eat at Tin Jo, an Asian restaurant where Rachel Braun’s mom works. It was really good and actually pretty cheap. My food was so hot it burned my tongue off, though. Literally, no taste buds. Ouch. After dinner we decided to go to a movie, so I asked the cab driver to take us to the closest movie theatre. He said the name of one, then a few minutes later said there was another one but it was not as nice and not very safe. He said it was Mall San Pedro (where I go literally once a week). I told him just to take us there, so we went to the only movie they had playing at that time, which just happened to be the Green Hornet. It was actually a good movie, and I don’t even like Seth Rogen (who starred in it, co-wrote it, and co-produced it). It was action and comedy and something I think a lot of people would enjoy.
Friday: My family and I got breakfast at a soda then walked downtown. I was trying to find the artisan market but couldn’t. We walked around for a long time. Then we found a little place that had souvenirs and they shopped for awhile (but didn’t buy much because the market is cheaper). We caught a cab to Café Mundo, where we were meeting 6 of my friends for lunch. I was so excited for everyone to meet each other! My family loved my friends and thought they were just such good people and so sweet. My friends thought my family was really nice. What a good day : )
After the artisan market we went to the Centro Commercial del Sur, which is not too far from my house, and got some Mexican food. It was ok, but not worth the price. Then Maggie and I got some ice cream from Pops (which my mom shared, of course) and we headed out. I was really nervous because I didn’t know the name of the place we were going, just that it was a new artificial soccer field and that I could see the lights. We got there fine, though, and had a little time before Ben’s soccer game started. We watched another game for awhile (we were early), then they had halftime. After halftime the ref came up to us and asked something in Spanish. My mom said, “si… Maggie?” And I asked the ref what he said. He had asked if we were going to play after. I was like “Oh no! Just watching!!” Then we had to give my mom crap for just saying “si” when she didn’t know what people were talking about lol.
Saturday: We had breakfast together at the Restaraunte Grano de Oro (the restaurant in the hotel my family was staying in). It was pretty good. Then we had to call me a cab so I could go to the Coca-Cola station and catch my bus. It was sad saying goodbye, for sure. I just got in the taxi and drove away. I did tear up a little, but I was stronger than when they left after visiting me this summer in VA.
I got to the Coca-Cola station (where I had never been before) and waited for awhile out front. I was really worried because it was 5 til and I hadn’t seen anyone around. So I went searching a little and found Ben, then we walked back into the main area of the station, which I didn’t even know was there! Luckily I had found Ben otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go that weekend!
The bus ride was fairly uneventful. We chatted with each other and with these 2 Tico brothers that were on their way to meet their family in Jaco. When we got to Jaco, we all crammed into a taxi (which is a little illegal) for the ride to our hotel in Playa Hermosa (a 10 minute ride). Our driver didn’t know where the hotel was, so he dropped us off at the wrong one. Luckily a little kid on a motor bike knew where the hotel was and helped us find our way, periodically driving by while we were walking to make sure we were going in the right direction.
After a long, hot walk we made it the hotel. We checked in and saw where we would be staying, which was a loft right next to the hotel. The owners were renting it from an Australian guy and it wasn’t as nice as the actual hotel, which means we got it for 20 a person and still had the nice pool, breakfast, and barbecue that the hotel offered. We all jumped in the pool for awhile to cool off, then walked to the beach, where we burned our feet off before we figured out that the black sand was very very hot. We grabbed some cheap but delicious lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach, alternating between laying out, being covered by black sand, and getting rolled by the massive waves. We watched a very quick and uneventful sunset then grabbed some dinner at one of the restaurants near the beach. We grabbed a cab back to the hotel. The cab drivers made us take 2 cabs, and they didn’t have their meters running and charged us $4 for what should have been a $1 ride. Ben argued with the guy, but it did no good. We both did what Joaquin told us and slammed the doors of our respective taxis (which is an insult). We spent the evening chilling in the pool and enjoying life in Costa Rica!Sunday: We had breakfast by the pool, then went and got changed. We spent all day in the pool and around it. The hotel had a barbecue, where we grilled some hot dogs and pineapple for lunch. I highly recommend grilled pineapple! We just played around in the pool and got a little sunburnt (though we put on lots of sunscreen!)
We got a ride back to Jaco at 4:45 from one of the owners of the hotel. She and her husband moved to Costa Rica 2 months before to run the hotel, which some rich man built for his son (a surfer) to run and take care of so he could visit a couple times a year. The son didn’t care about the hotel and spent all his time surfing, so the father sold the hotel to the couple from Chicago who barely knew English but were ready to take on an new adventure. They were really nice people.
The bus ride back to San Jose was a little chilly. I tried to sleep but it was uncomfortable and windy, so I just sat through the 2 ½ hour drive. We caught taxis back home, and I ate some pasta then headed to bed. The sun sucked all my energy!
Tuesday: Just a normal day of class. My internet didn’t work at all, so that’s why this is so late and I haven’t been able to contact anyone. Hopefully it will work tomorrow! I am a little stressed out because I found out I have A TON of work to do in the next week and a half. Like 3 presentations and parts of major papers. I know its just as much work as I have in a busy week at home, it just feels like more here cuz I’m not used to having homework at all! And I want to get a lot done this week because I start the hardest Spanish class next week and want to be able to devote my time to that. Tomorrow we are having lunch with a couple that Kelsey, Ben, and Joey met at church. They are so sweet and offered to make us lunch, so I am excited about that!
I will keep you posted on everything! (
Pura Vida!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Weekend with the fam!
So here's a quick review of the last few weekdays last week. Wednesday: normal day. Went to Mey Bein and had a blast (as usual). Thursday: the four hour class ended up not happening. When Ben and I were walking home from class, we saw Hope, Joey, and Kelsey playing kickball with some little kids, so we joined them. We played kickball, basketball, and drew chalk pictures with these three little boys. They were absolutely adorable. One of them, Andres, had a crush on Kelsey. We taught him how to outline people's bodies and make chalk people, so he made Kelsey. Beside her picture he wrote "Kelsey, la mujer de las sonrisas" (The woman of the smiles). It was so cute! Thursday night after dance class we all went to Castro's, which is a Latin dance club. I mostly danced with people from class, but did dance with one other person. He creeped me out a little bit, though, and I escaped as soon as the set was done. It was a lot of fun, though!
Friday: I went to pick up my parents at the airport. There was a HUGE traffic jam, and I didn't think I would make it in time! I asked the cab driver how long until we got to the airport, and he said an hour and a half! I definitely could not wait that long, because we had to leave from the airport straight to Monteverde and Arenal. I asked the cab driver if there was a faster way, so he swung out into the bus only lane for like 10 minutes! My hearts was pounding because I thought we were going to get in big trouble, but there was no problems and we arrived at the airport in good time : ) I waited outside for about 15 minutes and then my family came!!! It was so great to see them again. I didn't realize how homesick I was until they came. We took a bus ride to our hotel at Arenal, which took 2 hours instead of the usual 3 because our bus driver drove SO fast. Faster than normal Costa Rican bus drivers, which is staying a lot.
The hotel we stayed at was absolutely gorgeous. The nicest hotel of my life. It was a cabin type thing with an outdoor jacuzzi tub, an outdoor shower, a huge bathroom with beautiful granite vanities, an indoor shower with 2 showerheads, nice teak floors, and a deck with a hammock. It was great. We also had a great view of Arenal, which was actually clear enough for us to see on Friday! Friday night we just ate at the hotel restaurant and relaxed. Maggie and I went in the jacuzzi and then tried to watch Eat Pray Love but the DVD kept freezing.
Saturday: We walked around the little town of La Fortuna, which was about a ten minute cab ride from our hotel. We looked in all the little tourist shops and bought some things, but they sell basically the same things in San Jose for MUCH cheaper, so we waited on most of the things my family wanted to buy. We ate in a little restaurant in the town, and I had some delicious spicy "volcano" rice. Then we went back to the hotel and got ready for our tour of Arenal, which left at 2 that afternoon. We drove to Arenal then hiked to this look out point, where we learned a little more about the volcano (it actually has multiple craters, and the biggest eruption actually was from a crater in the side of the volcano instead of the top). Then we started a hike to the edge of the where the lava flowed when Arenal erupted in 68 (the biggest eruption). It was a long hike, but was pretty cool to see. At the top was a great view of Arenal lake, which was actually man-made in like 1975. After the hike we went to Baldi hot springs, which was the same hot springs that I went to the last time I was at Arenal. It was fun, though. I went on all the slides at least one more time with my sister, and went on 2 of them with my mom. She didn't want to go on the one that dropped a few feet, though. Other than that we just relaxed in the warm water for a few hours. We met our guide at the front at around 7:15 to go to dinner with this nice Canadian couple that was with us. When our guide dropped us off, he said he would be back at 8:15 to pick us up. We didn't think it would be a problem considering we pre-ordered all of our food (before the hot springs, so at like 5:15). At 8:05 we received our salads. When our guide came back at 8:15 I told him that we had just received our salads. He was not happy and went to talk to the staff. They seemed more concerned with clearing empty tables than with helping us, and even though the restaurant was full there shouldn't have been a problem considering we told the cook what we wanted 2 hours before. They were also very bad about bringing stuff out together - my dad was finished with his food before anyone else got theirs. Well, we ended up finishing our meal at around 9:15 and then heading back to the hotel. I felt bad for the guides, whose day started at 7 that morning and wouldn't get home until after 10.
Sunday: We got up, got ready, then ate breakfast before we realized we still had around an hour before our ride came, so we sat in the lobby and relaxed (it was a long walk back to our cabin, and it was raining so no one wanted to go back). We were a little worried because we were supposed to be ziplining, but it was pouring outside. But when the bus came we all loaded in and drove up the mountain to the SkyTram. We (Maggie, Mom, and I) got on all of our ziplining gear, which included a nice rain jacket, then we road in the SkyTram, which was a mix between a ferris wheel and a ski lift (it was a ski lift but the sitting area was like a ferris wheel). At the top we waited for a while then got instructions about body position. It was a lot different than the first time I had gone ziplining! These lines were a lot longer, so we had to go really fast to make sure we didn't get stuck. We had to curl our legs up and lean back for ultimate speed. The first line was the highest, and it had an absolutely gorgeous view!! We could see the lake over the trees in the canyon that we were flying across. My mom was a little nervous, and after the first line I asked her how it was. She told me that halfway through she thought, "What the hell am I doing? What did they convince me to do?" It was too late to turn back, and she did great with all the other lines. The last one was really long, and we got going up to 45 mph! Faster than a speeding bullet....
We met my dad down at the bottom (he had gone for a hike instead of ziplining) and loaded back into the van to return to our hotel. We got back around 2 p.m. and had lunch, then spent the afternoon relaxing and playing card games. We went into town for a typical Costa Rican dinner and some ice cream. We also stopped at a shop where a man made bracelets. They were really neat, and he made one specially for me in 20 minutes with the colors I chose. Back at the hotel, I went in the jacuzzi again (with my mom this time) and we all chilled outside on the porch. Then Maggie and I tried to watch The DaVinci Code, but once again the DVD kept freezing so I just turned it off and we went to bed.
Monday: We had a relaxed morning of packing, then were picked up (a little late) to be taken to a little airport by Arenal. My parents had a flight to Quepos and I had one about two hours later to San Jose. The airport was literally an old cow barn and only had three walls. There was no security whatsoever, and we could tell the airport doubled as a nightclub (there were huge speakers, disco balls, and a massive bar). The runway didn't have lights and there was no building to store planes. All these things made us a little nervous. I gave my family hugs and told them not to die before they boarded a 16 passenger plane (or something like that) and took off! I was praying really hard, and they made it as far as I could see. I waited for a few hours then got in my own tiny plane for the 20 minute ride to San Jose. I caught a taxi/van thing back home and did some homework for the rest of the afternoon (fun fun).
I fell asleep at like 8:30 because I had such a hard time sleeping in the hotel. I set my alarm for 9, but didn't wake up until 9:35. I changed and went down to check my messages, because I was supposed to go to a club with my friends (El Observatorio) to watch some salsa dancers. I realized I was late and basically ran to the school, but they had left. I caught my own taxi there, and luckily found them despite the fog of smoke and the crazy lights. We stayed for about an hour watching the crazy good dancers, then walked the 10 blocks or so back to the school, where Kelsey and I shared a taxi back to our houses (so we wouldn't walk alone). Joey walked Bethany home, and Hope lives right next to the school, so we all got home safely : )
Pura Vida!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
La Selva (aka: The Jungle)
Hey everyone! Sorry this update is so late. I have not had wireless in my room since I got home from my field trip on Sunday, so I have had to use the cord downstairs, which has given me an excuse to put this off…
Friday: Four other girls (Kelsey, Rachel, Bethany, and Holly) and I went to a city close to San Jose called Heredia. We met at 330 at the school and waited for a couple other people, who were late so we had to leave them (no one here has phones, so it’s impossible to let people know if you are not coming anymore, so we just assume 15 minutes late they are not coming). We walked for about 20 minutes to get to this train station, then bought our tickets (for about 40 cents). The train was PACKED and we had to stand smushed together. It was still fun; however, then we got off one stop too early (all the people still on the train didn’t give us a clue), so we had to ask for directions and walk another 15 minutes to Heredia.
When we entered Heredia, we were along a strip that had Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King, and some other American fast food restaurant. It was strange. Then we walked around, found central park, the train station, an open air food market, some friends in a bar (from school), and then we found Rachel, Holly, and I’s communication professor’s house. He had given Rachel directions to come visit (even though he is in the middle of renovations). I must preface this by saying professor-student relationships here are much looser and there is less crap attached. Our professor is always super helpful with any of our questions about our families and the culture, and he invited anyone in his class to Heredia and to his house. He was on his way to the hardware store, but decided to stay and talk to us instead. We took a tour through his house, which is really cool and will be even better once his terrace is finished. Then he made coffee for people and gave us cookies. We just talked about culture and looked at some of his pictures. It was a little awkward, but really fun and chill at the same time. After we left his house, we stopped at a gelato place (where I broke out of my shell and got ice cream with fruit. Even though it was still chocolate ice cream, I usually never mix the two. It was pretty good, though!). Then we walked to the train station and got a ride back home to San Jose (and got off on the right stop this time).
Saturday: I arrived at the school at 7:30 a.m with my bag packed and ready for La Selva (even if my attitude about missing a weekend at the beach with my friends was a little cranky). We stopped at a supermarket then had about a 3 hour drive to La Selva (which translates literally to the jungle but is also a research/conservation center). We had a while to chill after lunch, then we had a lecture where we learned all about La Selva and what kinds of projects are going on. It’s a really cool mix of long and short term scientific projects, ecotourism, and ecology education. La Selva is actually the only place in Central America where there is a corridor between the highlands and the lowlands, and is a huge biological asset, which makes it teeming with biodiversity.
We crossed this massive suspension bridge over a crocodile infested river to get to the main part of the preserve, and we were about to go on a guided hike through the jungle when we found some things within the camp to examine. First of all, there was a huge iguana way up in a tree by the bridge; there were spider monkeys, macaws, and the dreaded bullet ants!! Ahhhh!!! These ants are literally huge and get their name from the fact that when one bites or stings you, it feels like you have been shot. Yeah. We ran from those many times during our weekend! During our actual trail hike, we saw some really super cool looking little white fruit bats sleeping under a leaf, lots of bugs, TONS of peccaries, and an armadillo. We learned a lot about different species of plants and animals, and we got comfortable walking around in the jungle (even though it was pouring rain and taking notes for our ecology paper was hard). We met some really cool people at dinner – 2 elderly men, one from Boston and one from Montana. They were at La Selva for a couple days, and the guy from Boston had been going there for years and years and years. They raved about the night hikes and told us to feed the fruit piranhas in the morning (more on that later). That night we went on a night hike, and man was that cool! We saw lots of snakes (mostly nonvenomous, but we did see a baby viper, a cousin to the fer de lance, the most poisonous snake in CR!), spiders, frogs, and insects (like leaf cutter ants – those things are pretty sweet!!)
We enjoyed some hot chocolate and card games, then settled in to go to sleep. I, being the worry-wart that I am, didn’t sleep very well because I was worried we would sleep too late since I didn’t have an alarm and the girl who did felt like she would sleep through it. I woke up when it went off after having only drifted a little during the night.
Sunday: We had a delicious breakfast bright and early at 6 a.m., and snatched a banana piece or two for the fruit piranhas. They really do exist!! We dropped bananas over the side and they all dog-piled trying to get the pieces! It was like at the zoo when you can feed the fish, but these fish were even bigger. Then we spent the next few hours doing our assignment (which would only take 5 minutes, but everyone got an opportunity to explore the jungle). Rachel, Sara, Holly, and I were a group of 4 and set off to explore. We picked a path that would take us to a swamp and spent a good 2 hours or more just walking around and exploring (and peccarie stalking). It wasn’t as easy to find animals and stuff as it was with the guide, but it was still really fun. We saw a couple snakes, lots of spiders, lots of peccaries, some birds, and of course heard the howler monkeys and parrots. Holly got bit by some giant horsefly type thing and almost got bit by a bullet ant, so once we were done in the forest we relaxed in a study area of the preserve. There we found a bullet ant just hanging around, saved a twig bug, and found a HUGE beetle, which we named Ricardo and rescued from his back.
Back at the main complex, we talked about the interactions we had seen (our assignment) and chose the one we were going to use in our paper. Then we went to the gift shop and enjoyed ice cream and purchased t-shirts (only $8 and the money goes to conservation research – great purchase in my mind!) and sat around and waited for the bus. And waited. And waited. The driver was about an hour and a half late. We didn’t want to miss the Superbowl, so we all jumped on ASAP and headed back to San Jose.
The plan in San Jose was to meet my friends at this restaurant for the game. Turns out they are closed Sundays, so everything just kind of fell apart and I ended up watching it at home alone, as did all my friends. I didn’t have a good night, because of cleanliness issues with my host brother (who is much better now that I used the Costa Rican passive aggressive way of telling him to clean up and asking him where the food money is – he now does his dishes and buys the food using the money I’m pretty sure he took from his mom), the fact that I hadn’t showered in days but no water was working, and general tiredness. Everything turned out well, though.
Monday: Went running, had breakfast, did homework/thesis work, and went to the bank. Met my friends for lunch/bible study then went to the mall, where I bought new sandals for $6!! We also went grocery shopping and I bought a whole pineapple for less than $2!!!!! I was so happy with myself lol. When we were at the grocery store, I didn’t know how to pick a ripe pineapple, so I asked a lady there, who told me then went and got someone from the store to help her find a good one for me. They were so darn sweet!!! Other than that my day was boring and full of thesis work and other generally boring things.
Tuesday: Worked out, had breakfast, did thesis work, had a picnic lunch with friends (followed by Dos Pinos ice cream!), had class (and found out another 4 hour session will take place on Thursday), chilled at home for awhile, had ecology class, then went to dance class, where I learned some fun new turns because I have missed the last 2 weeks. I danced with the instructor at one point because there was an odd number, and she asked if I had been practicing. I said yes even though in reality I really haven’t lol. But yea, I’m just that good lol. It’s a lot of fun and our dance instructor is taking us all to a Latin dance club on Thursday for about an hour after class to practice with Ticos (who can actually dance, woo-hoo!). Tomorrow is my friend’s and I’s lunch out day of the week, and I think we are going to see 127 hours for half price tomorrow night. Fun fun in the sun! Sorry to all my Iowa people who are suffering in the sub-zero windchills right now!!
There are no pictures in this update because of the whole internet situation, sorry! Not sure when I will get them posted on facebook, but when I do I will add some here.
Pura Vida!
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