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.
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