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). 

    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.

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 : )