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.

Jungles, Crocodiles and Volcanoes OH MY!

After this weekend I now know why Costa Rica is one of the biggest tourist destinations. The stuff we saw was beautiful and they cater to Americans like none other. I could have gone the whole weekend without speaking a lick of Spanish.

Friday we went on a zip-line through the canopy. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed but it was not what I imagined. I think the problem rooted in the fact that I have no fear of heights so no thrill was present. Also I imagined zooming through desolate forest and seeing wildlife all around me. It turns out that I had quite the wrong image of the jungle. I blame this on Animal Planet. I expected a rainbow of colors, snakes hanging from branches, and monkeys swinging between trees. This was more like a really green forest.

So once I stopped being a stupid American it was GREAT! We zipped through the air on eight different cables. The guides running it were super friendly and fun. There were times when we would transfer lines in the middle of the woods so you just stopped on a tree fort on a massive tree! The highlight however may have been the ride back to the top. We all piled in the back of a pickup with benches and a bar in the middle to hold on to. They told you to hold onto the bar so for the most part we all laid a hand on it. Then the instructor climbed in and connected his harness to the bar… And then we all flew six inches off our seats. Then we grabbed on for real. Our professor’s daughter, Quinn, had to be held down.

That same day we drove down to a river that according to National Geographic has the most crocodiles. And oh the crocodiles we did see. Large ones, fat ones, baby ones, old ones. We also saw a ton of birds including Scarlet Macaws. I kinda forgot those actually existed out of the zoo. My favorite was a Spoon billed pink one. So the closest I got to a crocodile was like 4 feet and I was like this is unbelievable, then the guide got out of the boat with some chicken cutlets and fed this giant like 18 foot crocodile (Interestign fact Crocodiles never stop growing) . His hand was like in the mouth, I was impressed.

I hit the sack early Friday night to get ready for our VOLCANO adventure. We stopped in San Ramon to pick up the students there and they went on the trip with us. It was fun to compare programs. I decided after talking to them that I definitely made the right descion. Sam Ramon is a bustling town with lots of people and cars, it is like 20 degrees colder and a lot of people just speak English. They could not believe that we had no hot water, no air conditioning but did have cockroaches. I felt tough haha. (I will post pictures of my room soon ;) )

So we visit a beautiful city at the base of the Arenal Volcano which is an active volcano that spews lava almost every night. Our night was cloudy though. We ate lunch and visited all the shops. Which were mostly souvenir shops that all had the same t-shirts, magnets and dresses.  I don’t know how they all stay in business. I did try an avocado smoothie though. Delicious.

We checked into our hotel which was top of  the line. We all stayed in little cabins, there was an outdoor pool and hottub with a waterfall and our towels were folded into swans. We visited the Baldi hot springs which was a trip I may not have chosen. Super hot like 150 degree water when it is already like 80 out… We all wanted cold springs. But there were water slides, swim up restaurants, and lots of temperatures to try. We also got a buffet dinner that was delicious but consisted of still beans and rice. When they say typical food of Costa Rica they mean the food of Costa Rica.

We spent the night partying at the pool and being crazy college kids who think that sleep isn’t cool but we all made it on time to the bus for the hanging bridges. And this trip is top of the list right now. We kind of all started out together but ended up finding the people who had the same priorites. So Casey, Marcela, and I walked on every path and stopped to observe everything sweet. Even the super hard working little ants. The one thing that was super sweet that I was not able to get a picture of was a Toucan. He looked nothing  like the fruit loops box  though….

This is actually a hummingbird. I guess they don't have to work as hard as in North America. 

some kind of racoon, I was really hoping it was in the monkey family.

The bus ride back was also very exciting. I think the driver was ready to be home and tried to leave with out every one several times and was like flying around curves in the mountains. We were all feeling a little nauseas when we reached Puntarenas and frightened from the four near misses. I had a fabulous weekend.

Puntarenas!

This is my house. The two story yellow part is where my hermosa (sister) her husband and child live. We share a garage and my house is on the left.

This is the Road along the ocean that my school building is on. It is called Paseo de turistas (Path for Tourists). From what I have gathered Puntarenas is a huge tourist town but it must be mainly for inland Costa Ricans. Cause overall it is not that breathtaking. The warm weather and water spoils me but the quality is a the dirty grimy city. It is not a destination vacation for other travelers.

My school building. The picture is taken from a small park cross the road and you are on the BEACH! 

A typical street. Everything is behind bars and fences, landscaping is not a top priority. They are cleaning and sweeping the streets all the time though. I don't know yet if it is like just that time of year or if it is a frequent occurrence. Either way there currently is lots of trash...

 This is the busiest street! There is about three stop lights a little further down but in general there are no signs. We were told a red light in Costa Rica means yield slightly. haha. Traffic is so light here though that violations really don't cause any problems. They warned us several time that traffic has the right of way not pedestrians like in the United States. Apparently Houghton didn't get that memo.

Travel with Purpose

I started having a… we will call it a “Becky Moment”. I was all concerned about not learning Spanish, not doing stuff yet and feeling like I didn’t have a purpose. I go through one of these episodes every now and then usually when my life changes and have learned that’s when I have to be proactive and start doing stuff.

            Luckily this same day I had Travel with Purpose/ Ecotourism Class. The class was a little overwhelming, it is a lot different in an atmosphere of all girls. Now I am going to make some generalities here but typically women are a lot more detail oriented and well they were just that. Our very energetic and excited teacher from the United States was telling us about the topic and the rough outline of the course. Immediately they all wipped out planners and needed times and locations and dates and had too much information to input for their own good. I found it mostly entertaining but at the end wished that we may have accomplished something.

            But the happy ending to this story I found a daycare that I can volunteer at! Just around the corner from my school there are also a few school aged children that would like to learn Spanish. We also have opportunities to clean the beach, help an wildlife rescue and visit a ecotourism place. A very good answer to prayer!

The work begins...

The first day of classes (yesterday) went well. I have a cinema class, and turns out all the people in the class really like movies.  I just vote George Clooney all the way. The teacher is really nice and makes lots or jokes, at one point I was laughing so hard I almost cried. And then he says ¨¨OO the German likes that one¨¨ in Spanish of course. But now I am affectionately called the German. 

I went home for lunch and had plantain, which are deep fried green bananas with like refried black beans on top. It was delicious, but slows you down. With this heat I would think their diet would consist of more light and fresh foods but so far I am loving the food. For dinner we had hamburgers. Turns out eating a hamburger with a tortilla is actually a preferable way to do it here. They call it a hamburger de ticos. I also went to the market today with my madre and she had a great time telling everyone about my allergy.  And they would all laugh when she told them I can´t even drink beer. I feel like I may have missed some details…

I spent the afternoon at the beach the water is SO warm! It is like taking a bath. I am surprised every time by the salt though. The overall beach has nothing on Grand Haven, it makes me miss it L but I still enjoy it.

We also started dance class last night. And I was slightly disappointed, the teacher I think just likes to dance so he just dances the whole time while we try to copy what he does. There is also only 2 boys for the probably close to 20 girls. We have a great time though.

I also got my first taste of wildlife yesterday,  that is besides the Musquitos. I saw a 2  foot lizard, I am guessing Iguana,  Just chilling in the street. I scared it and then it ran back into a pipe that runs under the sidewalk probably only 4 inches in diameter. There were lots of pelicans at the beach as well as living sand dollars and little tiny snails. At home I saw a cockroach in my room…I wasn’t sure if attempting to kill it was the best idea so I let it crawl on and just prayed that it can climb up things. I have been attempting to include pictures but currently have had no success. I will keep trying.