Final Week of Session One

This week is the last week of classes for most of the Students in Puntarenas right now. About half of us are going on a Week-long tour of Osa in southern Costa Rica before we start classes again on the 5th.

It is shocking to think that this adventure is already about half over. My Spanish is a lot better, but not fluent. I have only kinda tried surfing once but I have more sessions planned. So I think I am on track for an amazing finish.

Almost everyone that is leaving wishes that they were staying longer. It is wierd to say goodbye and even wierder to think about new people coming. Puntarenas with brand new Gringos. The transition is definitely going to be interesting.

I have my final exam tomorrow in Cinema so we have all been studying. We went to a restaurant, I had a delicious pineapple  drink (tasted like drinking a pineapple through a straw) and watched the Soccer games. America won 1-0.

I had my last day of dance class yesterday my partner Sophie and I passed I guess haha. It wasn't too hard ;) but now we know Salsa, Merengue, Cubiana and Bachata.

 I did my final presentation for Eco Tourism today which was to look into my future and determine my opportunities to volunteer/ give back.

I passed the class but well my new future list includes being a Nanny abroad, engineering abroad, grad school, being a camp counselor in Costa Rica and well at least I have a list in excel now…

The last day of cooking class was a bit of a letdown, I think they are getting sick of my gluten free antics. I was so excited because we were going to make pasta in class…but they just bought mine. They made bread with a maple syrup glaze to go with it but I just got tortillas. But hey it was still good food and if compared to a different standard probably AMAZING!

         

Tomorrow is our last day at school with this group of kids. I hope to keep volunteering next semester but I have class at that time so we will see what happens…Pura Vida. 

Pura Vida

             Pura Vida is like the catch phrase of Costa Rica. It perfectly embraces their easy going culture. When things go awrye they just say Pura Vida and brush it off. When things are goinf great they say Pura Vida. This weekend involved a lot of Pura Vida. 

            The first alteration started when I arrived at school on Friday and everyone said grab your stuff booby (this is my new nick-name along with bovement, boov, the german, and boover) we are leaving at one. I had no real plans just to visit the beach and run some errands, I needed more bug spray I am already on bottle two.So I packed up my stuff  and headed to the bus stop. Pura Vida!

            We had a great ride talking about high school and stuff but the 1 and a half hour ride turned out being a 2.5 hour ride. Pura Vida. Of course it was raining when we arrived so we headed straight for the Hostel that our teacher told us about. I learned on this walk through San Jose that my second biggest fear is getting poked in the eye by an umbrella. It was like a nightmare every person, and there were a lot of people had an umbrella.

            We made it to the hostel and it was really cool,  the walls were all uniquely painted, it had stairs and hallways going every which way perfect for hide and seek. We had some trouble pay and getting a room together but eventually we settled. Pura Vida.

            The original plan was to catch a movie and go out to dinner kinda like a Date night with America. Once the plan was under way people however changes their mind and we decided to do a fancy dinner instead. We found a nice looking place owned by a hotel and headed in, this place was really nice. Stained glass windows, wood floor, and a super fancy waiter. I was happy I got a super delicious salad bar but no one else liked their food, pura vida.

            We then were on a mission for a store to get some ice cream/ desert and had a nice walk around the town. It was nice to explore it all empty but this all meant everything was closed. We meandered for about an hour and eventually gave up, the good news is when we returned to the hostel there was a 24/7 mart right across the street. Pura Vida.

            We spent the next day shopping in the big city. We went to this cool super market all indoors with all the touristy souvenirs you could imagine. The streets were line with shoe shops and clothing stores. Some people left for a mall in a nearby town but I stayed to explore here. We shopped until about lunch and hit up a taco bell  (Pura Vida), went to a small museum in the Historical Theatre and  then headed for the bus stop. We got to Puntarenas and ate at Mitobes,  probably the nicest restaurant in Puntarenas. I ordered a delicious chicken salad big enough to feed a family of four. Pura Vida.

            I stayed up late doing homework and catching up with friends from home but woke up early to go to Church with Annemarie and her family. I did however sleep through my alarm but was ready in time. Pura Vida.

            I was excited for church and new it was going to be an adventure but turns out is was way more of an adventure than I anticipated. We left around 8:30 and has to catch a bus, the church was in Miramar about 30 minutes away and Annemarie’s family is too big to all ride in one car. When we left Annemarie, her mom, and I were the only people on the bus, that was different.

            We got to the bus stop and had to walk for about 20 minutes to the church, it turned out we were in the mountains now and the church was this beautiful complex set back into the woods overlooking the cost of Costa Rica. It was nice to get a perspective like that. Pura Vida.

            On our way up the hill though we saw a funeral procession coming down the street, an ambulance followed by a hurse, then about 40 people on foot and a dozen cars. A 20 year old boy of the church had had a heart attack. I was very sad and church was delayed until 10:30.While we waited we played games like patty cake with Annemaries sisters.

            When the service started it was very excited to watch people and attempt to translate what was going on. Some of the songs even had the words in Spanish but we could sing along. This fun lasted for about the first 60 minutes of the 2.5 hours.  It was really weird to the children came up from bible school early and the general population was just talking during church. I could follow what the Pastor was saying but it was hard to collect significance when thinking so hard. The theme was lying and I know it is bad so I think we can call it pretty much good. Pura Vida.

            I was very thankful when it was over but was slightly antsy to get home for our family barbeque ( Unfortunately from the Spanish I did really actually know if there was one or when it was for sure) , but I wasn’t even close. We all piled into the family car and the three of us got dropped off at a bus station. Where we waited, and waited, and waited… for 2 hours. Some excitement did happen a homeless guy developed a crush on Annemarie and wouldn’t stop scooching closer to her and touching her so annemarie’s mom called the police after warning seven times, I also made fun with a little diva 3 year old, and a lady brest fed a boy who was old enough to walk. I was so thankful when I got home. I had missed the barbeque but still ate good. I was really bummed cause I was looking forward to having a social activity. It was a little harder but I eventually could say Pura Vida.

            The story ended up providing plenty of entertainment too. When we took our Sunday night ride around Puntarenas and we passed the bus stop my Padre asked me if I wanted to get on one to Miramar. 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

In honor of Father’s Day I decided to provide a sneak peek of the book I am going to write and publish someday. It was originally titled “Stupid Things My Dad Says” but after a recent round of editing has been changed to the “The things my Dad Says” because of two main reasons. First he also says a lot of insightful and helpful things and now I can include those too and Second I now say a lot of the once dubbed stupid things. And I would never say stupid things. Lol

     1.      Excuses are like belly-buttons everybody has them but nobody needs them.

     2.      Don’t be a schmuck

     3.      Do what’s right and Do what’s best

     4.      You deserve to be head over heels in love. 

     5.      Stand up straight you’re a Boeve.

     6.      Dead Horse!

     7.      I couldn’t be better if I was twins.

     8.      Is your integrity worth _______ (fill in the blank with any questionable action)

     9.      I can’t I have a bone in my leg

*I was about 9 until I realized that I had a bone too.

Situational Phrases

Me: I am almost ready I just need to change my shirt real quick.

Dad: Don’t change I love you just the way you are.

      *Like is used in more informal settings

Stranger: How are you doing today?

Dad: I am finer than frogs’ hair.

Stranger: Burst of laughter while Me=eye roll

Cool Stranger: What up?

Dad: My hairline and my brother’s cholesterol. (If an acquaintance is near by their name replaces brother)

Me: Dad will you make me a sandwich.

Dad: (Points at me as if about to do a magic trick) YOU’RE A SANDWICH!

Person: Any probable question that the answer is not really know.

Dad: Licks his finger lets it dry in the air pretends to read it while giving a generic magic eight ball answer.

These are only the basics that I could remember on short notice and while being separated by a LOT of miles. (I tried to google map it but it said that it was unable to calculate directions). I know there are lots more entertaining phrases and good adive. If you remember some feel free to comment.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

The struggles of Living in Costa Rica

Now the beauty of this list is not only the realization that most of these struggles are of my own doing or lack of competence but also the conclusion that if these are the struggles then I am doing pretty dang well.

1. Even Clinical Strength deodorant can't keep the pit stains at bay
2. Everyone wants you to speak spanish
3. The toilet paper goes in the trashcan after use...
4. They don't drink milk
5. Packaged gluten free baked goods are non-existent
6. It rains the hardest when you forget your umbrella
7. Seven year old children play soccer like high schoolers so extrapolate from there
8. Language barriers do exist and therefore many things are lost in translation
9. The United States is far away
10. Everything is made of tile

The brightside
1. Every one is therefore sweaty always so you stand out if your dry
2. People here may speak perfect English but Puntarenas has the mind set that they want to teach us Spanish.
     but they are right that is the only way to learn.
3. Trying breaking that habit it is impossible, and I haven't really found an upside yet because if the wind      blows just right the entire town smells like an out house.
4. I miss it! But in replacement frescos, like fruity drinks, are a component of the meal. My mom has made freshly squeezed lime, orange, mango, and a bunch of fruit that I just smile and nod when she talks about. They are all delicious though.
5.No bread, cereal, cookies, crackers. My cooking class has been a nice little source of breaded type foods but just something else to get used to. I was however afraid to tell my madre all the foods I didn't like after I told her all the foods I couldn't eat. I now eat fish, shrimp, tomatoes, and cabbage. I also told my family here the story about how my dad pulled up all the cabbage because he didn't want to eat it. They laughed and laughed and now every time I eat cabbage they say that I should cook it for my dad.
6. Murphy's law it is inevitable, but the air is so warm it is nice to have an excuse to just walk in the rain
7. We have played several pick-up games with the locals and well I am getting better. They are pretty nice too about yelling your name pointing to where you should stand and then kicking the ball there.
8. One example... Collin is coming to visit the end of the month and I thought my mom was talking about preparing things (she offered to prepare him all my favorite foods) but she actually asked if he could bring things. Collin is now signed up to bring 4 pairs of Keds. I am really bad at saying no too...
9. With skype and facebook it is so easy to stay in touch but it is also so easy to see the United States without you. I guess I just want to make sure that it is know that I miss my family, my friends, my bed, the beach, the conference grounds and all the people there.
10. So it is all made of tile and then it is all went and then it is really slippery.

Costa Rica Wins

Costa Rica won today. Don’t get me wrong I still had a great day but it was just another adaventure. Last night I went to an Aerobics Class. It was in a ladies house with a whole sloop f Ticos. We jumped and kicked and danced for an hour and oh man I was soaking wet with sweat so that means today I was sore…this morning’s run was hard. Costa Rica 1 me 0.

The morning was mostly typical, we had our second quiz in cinema (unfortunately harder than I expected but still good), a stop at the beach, and a delicious lunch with Coconut Flan. I had to do a presentation on our daycare volunteering and it went very well. I was freaking out just a little when my partner didn’t show up till half an hour before class (Tico time... Costa Rica 2 Me 0). But then I remembered that we could use ENGLISH! It was a breeze.  Costa Rica 2 Me 1.

Dancing class Costa Rica 3 me 1, we tried cubian my hips just don’t move like that. It rains pretty much every day but of course it rains the hardest when you forget your umbrella Costa Rica 4 me 1. I knew I should have brought my rain slickers ;)

I then had the opportunity to go to church with my family it was the 8 year anniversary of the death of my padre’s mom. Costa Rica  (Or the 80 anniversary of her life… lost in translation). It was cool to see the cathedral and I had a great time watching but I think I understood 12 words. Costa Rica 8 me 1. The rest of the night was fun I watched soccer and minute to win it with my padres.

But I did get Coconut Flan at lunch and dinner today so I am going to call this one a win (Dad I got the recipe for you! Does that count for father’s day? Haha)

I also forget to say that this weekend I also saw two armadillos and husked and cracked open my own coconut. I also tried mamones which taste a lot like wild grapes but you have to suck them out of their peal. 

The Weekend of Walking

I couldn’t believe it was already the weekend when I woke up Friday morning I felt like the week had just started and I wasn’t rested for another adventure, but there was no time to dilly dally.

The day started out godo with Cinema Class, we watched the movie Nueve Reinas which is similar to Ocean’s 11 (my favorite movie) I would highly suggest this film too. I ate lunch and packed and headed for the Ferry. Most of the students had left already since they did not have a late morning class.

We walked to the end of the peninsula and rode the ferry from Puntarenas to the Nicoya Peninsula; it was a cheap/quick ride only $1.50 and one hour.  On the ferry with us was our Professor of Ecotourism and her family. We landed in Paquera and caught a bus to Santa Teresa a Surf town on the west side. Good news only 2/3 of us had to stand this time.

Austin, Me, Stephanie and Annemarie on the Ferry to Santa Teresa

We arrived in Santa Theresa just before night fall and the walking began… We talked to a boy from New Jersey who runs a hostel with his Sweden friend.  They said they could give us a great deal and it was just up the road, 5 km later we arrived just when the rain started to fall PERFECT! We dropped our stuff and immediately headed for food.

We ended up at an upscale(well upscale for Costa Rica all the silverware matched) sushi/fish shop. The sign also said beef and chicken but in my book Veal doesn’t really count as beef. Haha. I am also getting so used to the typical ease of gluten free in Puntarenas that I forget to ask when I go out now, thank goodness I remembered because I initially ordered the special to split with Anne Marie which ended up being breaded. Oops!

So after a lot more questions and instructions I found out that Cevchie was about the only thing to eat but still sounded delicious. It is also very popular here so we thought we would give it a try. And we tried and I decided it tasted like Tuna Block…and turns out it was tuna. Ceviche is a cooking style where you cook the fish in acid, it was like almost raw tuna. But once over the initial shock we both enjoyed it.

We then stopped by the store and headed back to the hostel. On the way back we luckily ran into all our other friends from USAC we all headed to our house to hang out. We had a great time but we returned to the dilemma of travelling with 20 people without a shared goal. At one point we were in a Taxi and 1/3 of the people were yelling to turn around 1/3 of the people were saying go on and a 1/3 were just watching. We couldn’t find a club that pleased everyone and walked up and down the strip (if you can call it that). Some of us finally just stopped at a beautiful place overlooking the ocean and walked the5 km and back to the hostel. We could hear the frogs croaking and saw crabs scurrying across the road. Everyone had fun.

As close as I got...but hey I look like I am having fun

In the morning we could really see the town, It was a single dirt road with hostels on either side. Half the people in the town were carrying a surf board and 4 wheeler or dirt bikes were the preferred means of travel. We grabbed breakfast (Avocado Omelet J) and headed to the Beach.

The beach was a blast! The waves were huge and so much fun. We walked and explored up the coast and I even tried my hang at surfing. I only tried about 4 times and was apparently in white water which is hard but I was glad to finally try. I am hoping to hire a real coach sometime soon.

Like Puntarenas there are Dogs everywhere, except here there
are more and they are all really nice and pure breeds. We had
the cutest Lab Puppy follow us to breakfast I wanted him to
come to the beach too!

We did however have some casualties at the beach while the majority of us were on our hour or so walk the tide came in. A flip flop and t-shirt are gone and two digital cameras are currently chilling in a bag of rice. Pray that they will dry out and work SOON!

After the beach we de-salted and trekked back to the bus stop. Some people stayed in Santa Theresa, we were headed to Curu a nature preserve for our Ecotourism class and other were headed back to Puntarenas. We all fell asleep on the bus and when our stop came we frantically rushed to get off. When we got off it was a big surprise a wooden gate and a large LARGE green field. I felt like we were not in Kansas anymore.

The Ranch

Usually you get of the bus and there is a bank, a tourist shop and seven people trying to sell you anything, this time we were all alone and it was nice. On the 2.5km walk into the preserve we saw a heard of cattle grazing, wild horses, dear (Yea chilling by a palm tree, Now I really couldn’t figure out why so many live in Michigan it gets cold and we try to kill them). We also saw a cage of protected Spider monkeys and a million more crabs.

At this reservation you were allowed to interact with the animals.

 The camp was on a beautiful cove. They only had solar power but there was a small store and souvenir shop. We listened to the presentation about the land which was started in the 1930’s as a sustainable hardwood and fruit farm. Unlike typical wildlife prevention this farm utilized creatures like the monkey to help grow healthy crops. It currently is a tourist location for Tortuga island, a cattle and mango farm.

Night Hike

This might have been my favorite night so far most of us went on a night hike to see the wildlife but ended up being the wildlife. We turned it into a tour where for some reason we all picked up Australian accents (some turned British) and wandered through the Jungle. I was the guide who spotted Heffalumps, whoozles, and dung of 

the kinnikanich beetle. I think all the real animals heard us coming miles away.

Monkey Snagging the Leftovers

Then we played group card games like Mophia and the Name Game, we were all exhausted and rolled into bed at 10:30!!! The lighting here in Costa Rica really throws you for a loop.

We woke up early to look for animals, Annemarie and I walked to a lagoon we mostly found mud but learned that the statement of a million crabs may have not been that much of an overstatement. The whole ground had at least one teeny tiny crab per square inch. We saw some birds and a Cuati, a raccoon meets swiper the fox kinda thing.

Most people headed back to Puntarenas or to Santa Tereasa if they didn’t go Friday but Annemarie and I decided to spend the day here. We hiked more after breakfast and saw lizards, iguanas, a crocodile and lots of birds. We returned to camp in time for the Monkey’s lunch time! This tradition started with the origin of Curu the only way out used to be by boat and boats would come near the camp to collect the fruit, the overripe or ruined fruit would be put in buckets and the monkeys started to come down and eat it. After the shipping stopped so did the fruit. The monkeys however were upset by this fact and pounded on the roof of the house until they were fed fruit.

So continuing the tradition we got to see a whole trip of Capoochen monkeys get bananas and then argue with a troop of Howler Monkeys about the situation. It was amazing!

We took a dip and headed back to the road to catch the bus for the Ferry. On the way back we decided who each glee character the students at USAC were with our teachers daughter. It worked surprisingly well, except they said I had to be Sue Sylvester. Haha.

We tallied it up and we think we walked about 20 miles this weekend I was glad to come home to my rice and beans watch soccer (Yea I am being converted…) and RELAX!

Saving the Scarlet MaCaw

I wanted to write real quick about my adventures on Thursday before I headed off for the weekend. This will be brief but hopefully I can add more detail later...

We got to play with the students again Volleyball although not my strong suit I think I was able to teach them something. I also taugt them nucomb, they would get demolished by the CRCG kids but they caught on. The teacher also loved it he played volleyball in college and didn´t want to give the kids a turn.


I also went to a sanctuary where they are rehabilitating foriegn and local animals. This was amazing it was like a zoo on steroids, most of the animals were rescued from homeswhere they were being mistreated.

They were also helping in rebuilding the Scarlet and Great Green Macaw population a.k.a. ther were like 30 some Macaws just swooping over our heads, one nibbled on my shoe. They were real strict about not interacting with the animals in order t not domesticate them but that just made it that much more amazing.

I have to run though to go catch the ferry to the Nicoya, for real how do I do school.

Tico Time

I missed my chance to go to visit the local private school again because my Cinema class ran long. But pura vida. I am really enjoying my cinema class, it is not very hard in the sense that my teacher doesn't really grade on Spanish grammar but it is a great refresher for remembering Spanish.

So I am enjoying it because I am learning a lot about movie style and cinematography as well as about the history and culture of Central America. My teacher is a riot too, he calls me Booov and when I told him the correct pronunciation he said booby and well it went down hill from there. We were laughing like middle schoolers. So far my recommendation is to watch City of God, good flick not for kids. The report writing is going well but I am procrastinating right now by blogging. 

We hung out with our Tico partners, local university students who want American exposure, and cleaned the beach. I used a lot of Spanish my partner Dunkan is very helpful. We then played a pretty horrific game of Volleyball but we all had fun. We finished with swimming in the ocean and FOOD!

So Tico Time= the flexibilty of people here to be late for whatever, or for class to run long, or for the bus not to come, or the food not to be ready. 

My own little Triathlon

Austin cracked after one day. He passed his hand over his face like a curtain and says I can't do it anymore my head hurts! We guilt-ed him a little it was his idea after all but we let him off the hook. In reality the whole group is just speaking more Spanish now it is fun, I am learning a lot more.

I am starting to catch on in my dancing class. Sophie and I have decided to be partners every week to improve are schools and I know lots of tricks now. The hardest part is I am the guy and she struggles being a "girl" she is always trying to lead our teacher just laughs and whenever he watches we mess up. He probably thinks we have two left feet. Dancing with him is really fun though! He is so good you don't even have to think he just twirls you all around.

After I went for a swim in the ocean... like a swim swim, lap swim. Probably not the best idea I have ever had but it felt good afterward. It was dark and I kept hitting things in the water. When I first started I was like woah I feel good, then I thought maybe it is cause this is saltwater and then 2 minutes later I switched to side stroke. I'll keep practicing, I read a book on how to swim in Wisconsin. :)

The USAC students also played Soccer the field was indoors and super small. I held my own most of the time, I had a few swings and a miss. I scored a goal! and ending up being on the winning team. Thats all that matters right? ;)

Afterwards I watched the NBA game with my hermano, that was good Spanish practice too we talked about sports and school. We did however come to a few bad conclusions= He doesn't like Futbol Americano and well I was breed to. He hates the Lakers, My favorite team is the Lakers! I hate the spurs, His favorite team is the Spurs! We agreed to disagree and it helped that we are both cheering for Miami now. I told him lots of people in American don't like Lebron James and he just said but he is really good at basketball.

Hablo solamente en Espanol

So a few weeks back Annemarie talked about the idea of only speaking Spanish second session like the last 5 weeks of us being in Costa Rica. We told Austin about it this weekend and he had the great idea to start NOW because he won't be here second session, and well so far so good... pretty much I just don't talk unless I have too, comedic comments no longer exist.

The hardest part time to speak only Spanish is when I am with other USAC students that haven't made the promise and are a lot newer to Spanish for example at Day Care yesterday Cristin had no translator. Regardless we had a great time again.

She keeps playing hard to get. And her Mom stopped by to breast feed...we didn't know what to do.

It had been raining all day and in the right corner here the roof was leaking like non other. The floor was very slippery and the kids kept falling, they were surprisingly tough.

The paintings on the walls were done by a former USAC student that also volunteered here.

We have to do a report on this volunteer project for our Ecotourism class we think we are going to contrast it with day care in the United States, it is a lot different than Jane's House. As well as talk about how the kids benefit from the experience. Another interesting fact it only costs $6 a day!! I think my parents used to pay us more than that to watch ourselves.

Last comment- I saw two jelly fish like swimming in the Ocean this morning and got like 6 feet away from a pelican!

There really is a first time for everything!

Today I learned that there really is a first time for everything. I ordered ice cream, didn’t like it and DIDN’T finish it! Now the background on the situation is that another student at USAC and her father told us that Churchill was like the official ice cream drink of Puntarenas and we needed to try one. So the weekend unfolds…

We leave Friday for Manuel Antonio a National Park in Costa Rica that is known for its beaches and animal spotting. One student Will had visited this area before and tells us that we should probably by our tickets before to ensure we get a seat. So after class Austin and I walk to the bus stop and by tickets we then attempt to ask how many seats are left and it turns into the very common gringo game of “si, si, si” to every sentence. We walk away with 2 tickets so all is well.

Side story- Austin is the only student that lives relatively close to my house so we walk home together often. He is also afraid of pretty much all wildlife. So far an iguana fell off a roof and almost hit him and a pit bull jumped through a fence to try to bite him so now we walk in the middle of the street. Friday a pigeon landed on his head. I laughed so hard and then told him to buy a lottery ticket.

We return to the bus station only to find out that of the 24 USAC students 21 decided to join and only 10 have tickets… bum bum bummmm. The driver says the other can wait and pay for standing room we decide this is good enough and we can take turns sitting so we board. There are however people in Austin and I seats…we are so confused and the Tico’s look annoyed. After much discussion and intervention from the ticket seller it turns out we bought tickets for the 12:30 bus instead of 2:30. Stupid Americans haha. So we fill up the aisle for the three hour tour (I wish that was a joke).

It ended up being a great ride we all practiced our Spanish and as the riders thinned out eventually got a seat. We also met the owner of a nice hostel right next to the national park with a POOL. He helped us all transfer busses and pointed out our stop. He then started to lead us down a dark dirt road… at this point we were all hungry and ready to sit down that any thought of should we really just follow a stranger never crossed our mind. And it indeed did turn out we all got a bed and walked to the nearest restaurant to eat. The only struggles were that we no longer had a teacher to tell us when and where to go, nobody wanted to be that student and when somebody was that student it was under much scrutiny but we were all fed and had a goodnights sleep for the low low price of $11.50.

I set my alarm for 6:30 a.m. so I could be at the park when it opened. About half the group made it up and only one girl wasn’t woken by anybody… she must have been a really hard sleeper. I was attacked at the gate by a nice gentlemen that was suggesting how great a tour was and you know how I am I couldn’t say no… so I turned to my friends to say no and well they said YES! But it was the best thing that happened the whole weekend.

This guy was amazing he had a giant telescope and just kept saying I want to show you something. He would then set it up and bam he would have a sloth, monkey, iguana, a bug, a frog’s nest or something else super amazing in focus. He brought us to the most beautiful beach ever where I swam to the breakers and looked at the huge open sea. By the end we couldn’t believe that we had accomplished all that by 10:30 and were singing Williams praises. We kept asking him how he knew where to look but he would only start on a story that detailed how he has worked in the park for 17 years, I think that is the only English explanation he knew. Haha.

I have a ton more pictures that I will load on Facebook!

We then went right for food a nice little shack on the beach with cheap breakfast all day. (but no Churchills).

We decided to spend the afternoon in Quepos and head to Jaco at night. The beach was nice and Austin and I rented boogie boards, turns out there is actually a right way to boogie board…who knew. Our beach time was cut short by the rain L so we headed to Jaco early, about 1.5 hours by bus. At the bus stop I ate a mango like an orange it was great.

We got to Jaco and part or our group found a hostel while the rest explored the beach it was still raining and no weather for Ice Cream. Myself, Annemarie and Amanda decided to return because there plan was to get up and leave early. Annemarie is the most frugal college student I have ever met and did not want to spend $10 for another night out and I didn’t want to spend the sunny afternoon on a bus so it was perfect. Later when Annemarie to tell me the cheapest pharmacy in Puntarenas to buy Neosporin I asked if she was Dutch, she is not but definitely could be.  

We all ate dinner at a Taco bar with swings! It was delicious and all you could eat. I could tell however that we were no longer in “Costa Rica” they didn’t have corn shells L. Jaco was a giant surf town with people of all nationalities, the building style was the same but you could tell there was more money in town. It is a tourist trap straight up. I was glad to catch the last bus back to Puntarenas.

Back in Puntarenas Sunday was full of adventure. It started with a triathlon! Puntarenas hosted a triathlon on the point and the point only! This meant that for the Olympic race you have to do the same circuit 14 times, that would be tough. I enjoyed watching it while I ran on the bike path but I got a lot of joking encouragement to run faster. They were kicking my butts. They even had an 11, 12 and 13 year old division this triathlon was legit.

I watched watermark! The camera work is getting better, which unfortunately means I don’t get to see your darling little heads any more. L. I studied some Spanish and went to the beach late morning.

You could tell it was the weekend we got approached by everyone and his neighbor to buy something. One man even serenaded us for tips and renamed me Shakira, unfortunately or maybe fortunately none of us had any money on us. After lunch with our families we decided to go shopping.

It was an extremely unsuccessful but fun afternoon. Amanda wanted to get her hair braided. She has about 3 feet of hair and he did braid it but started about two inches down her hair and braided to inches past and tied a clump of shell on the end. It was like he created a whip. We laughed it off. All the stores were closed in town because it was Sunday so no Neosporin, Amanda gave up on finding peanut butter and all the clothes were too expensive for Annemarie. Her clothes don’t dry fast enough to have clean things to wear.

We decided to focus solely on getting a Churchill we would accomplish something. We checked all the prices at every ice cream shop to find the best deal (Thanks Annemarie!)  And the three of us ordered two to split. We under the impression a Churchill is ice cream with fruit but when they arrive it is a scoop of ice cream a ban of red, white and then red again. I am thinking its ice cream it’s still good.

They give you a dish of sweet and condensed milk to pour on top and from what we can tell the ice cream is rum raisin. Weird but still tolerably interesting. The first red band is slushie. We are eating and having fun trying to figure out the whole sweet and condensed milk part when Annemarie says “I found the dry part.” I am very confused, dry?, like you sucked all the flavor out of the slushie? But no sure enough the second white ban is not ice cream but powdered milk… At this point we mostly just got lost it and started laughing. 

We try to figure out what to do next, but just laugh we don’t want to offend the owner so we take it to go with plans to drop it in the nearest trashcan. Annemarie keeps eating her frugal nature must enjoy it, and of course at this point it is pouring rain. And that was it I threw away my ice cream actually I guess technically I did eat all the ice cream but we run to the next closest ice cream shop order fruit with ice cream and study Spanish till dinner.

Something else I learned at Dinner, the Chalupas in Costa Rica don’t look like taco bells. J

Soccer and Squatters

So this morning my padre is cleaning the sewer type system under our house…this means no water, then the power went out my madre was laughing and laughing because we couldn’t do anything. I think my classmates might be upset with the no shower part haha.

So Yesterday after my morning class a group of us went to the local private school and played soccer with the 4^th graders. We played a game of world cup where you have a partner and the two of you need to score a goal. The boys were really good at soccer and the girls tried hard… but eventually it became time for eliminations and the girls were dropping like flies (which included me and my partner Carolina). I then attempted to start a game of monkey(mono) in the middle and was actually successful! It turns out jumping up and down and making monkey sounds is universal the kids loved it. They were all laughing and running and I felt like I was at camp again.

Then we played a little scrimmage it was Gringo girls and Tico (Costa Rican) boys versus Gringo Boys and Tico girls. We made cheers and attacked the kids with joy when they scored. I soon got distracted though and was just talking to the girls about their siblings and school. Ya know telling them things like Science is the best.

After the clinic we went on a boat tour. Visual aid my teacher and very knowledgeable Tico set this up with two local fisherman so it is the 20 of us in two little dingy boats. We talked a lot about an upcoming resort development that poses quite a threat to the environment and infrastructure of Puntarenas but will also bring in a ton of capital. Unfortuately it may be creating local jobs but most likely all the capital will leak back to developed countries like America because the project is funded internationally. Coldwell Banker is a huge backer.

Also we learned about the fishing ban they have in Costa Rica for June, July, and October. This is spawning season so they say no fishing. This puts thousands of Ticos out of jobs, including those that gave us the boat tour. The Government attempts to compensate them but only gives them roughly $100 dollars a month, now food is cheaper here but for a family of probably 5 or 6 that is only enough money to maybe eat beans twice a day. The government is attempting to go green and protect the environment but is prioritizing against peoples way of life. These men have fished all their life they don’t know how to do anything else… The system makes sense but the execution doesn’t work.

The last part of our boat tour we went to a squatter community. A group of people who just went to live on a coastal island because they had no land or money to buy part of the main land. These people are then termed squatters and after living on a piece of unowned property for an extended period of time it becomes yours. I learned about squatters when I read the Grapes of Wrath in 10th grade. At that time Mr. Christian said that in America you have to squat for 8 years. Not sure if that is a verb...haha.

Here they life in shacks constructed from sheet metal and whatever washes up from the ocean. Their floors are dirt and they are a 20 minute boat ride from civilization.And currently they are all out of work for the next two months. It was like being in a tribal community in Africa so far away from the structure right across the ocean it was wild.  I guess most Costa Ricans don’t even know they are there. Another student Erica took pictures of both activities and will share them soon.

And now my house! From visiting other students’ houses mine is older and smaller but from walking by other houses mine looks great!

My room. My madre cleans it and washes the bed three times a week. I told her last semester I washed my bed once and she thought I was crazy.

This is like the front porch/garage they pull the car in every night. My family is more relaxed and there is this gate and front door that they only lock at night. Some families lock three things all day long.

This is like a shot from the front door the living room, dining room and my madre in the kitchen at the back. Our rooms are off to the left. My brother is using the computer on the right.

The porch in the back. This is actually outside under a lean too type thing. You can see the start of the clothes lines that fill the backyard.

And my madre with an avocado you eat them green here. She made sure I took a picture of that.

And last but not least the bathroom. So the first week I was here I had no clue you weren't supposed to flush the toilet paper. When I found out I tried real hard to stop but it is just habit, I am getting better but oh man was I nervous when they said they had to clean it this morning I thought maybe I broke it! My house is further from school than most but still only a 10-15 minute walk. I love my familia and I am pretty sure I eat the best food :)

Starting Week 2

This week is a busy one! Monday I volunteered at a daycare, today I am going to a school, we are meeting our conversation partners at a local university, Thursday we are holding a soccer clinic for a private school gym class and going on a boat tour of the endangered mangroves, and Friday the weekend starts! And probably holds another adventure to a new place. We are also starting activities at night like soccer, volleyball, and a local aerobics class. I don’t know how they expect me to do school…

I had a great time at the daycare, there was only 3 little girls and they were very shy at first but by the end we were dancing and playing hide and go seek (Escondidas). The oldest little girl was 6 and she was quite impressive with all the English she knew. Body parts, colors, numbers. After everything I said though she would say Que? I think it is harder for her to interpret my bad pronunciation, but we got through it.

Visiting with the lady who runs this daycare at her home was fun to. She doesn’t have as much interactions with Americans so was very interested in discussing the differences of food and costumes. I also found out that all the public schools are off of school this week for the census! I was kinda bummed that USAC didn’t apply for that.

I was going to take pictures of my house today but my mom said it was too dirty and I have to wait to later…haha.