Hola Amigos!
It´s been a good two weeks in Costa Rica.! Here are some highlights:
The US beat Spain. I don´t know much about soccer teams, but I do know that this was a classic David and Goliath situation where both David and Goliath were very cute and very fit. For me, it was a win-win situation, but for Spain, it was a HUGE loss.
I started running again, which is almost more surpising than the US beating Spain. It´s just that I was starting to feel a little sedentary eating so much and moving so little. Here the maid (Claudia)and my host mom seem to have a small battle making me breakfast every morning. Claudia makes me toast. My mom outdoes her with an omelet. Then Claudia strikes back with pancakes. So my mom ups the stakes with gallo pinto. After about 30 minutes of this I finally say I can not possibly eat anymore, and both of them walk away, most likely strategizing what they will make the next day. I must admit, it is the most delicious war this country has ever seen, but I´m worried it will soon start to claim victims, namely the buttons on my pants and the small wicker chair that I sit in. With them in mind, I decided it was time I laced up the old gym shoes again. Of course, I celebrated the start of me running again with a fresh bag of Chiky´s (tasty little cookies covered in chocolate that have more addictive qualities than tobacco and gambling combined).
But the biggest news yet is that I finally went to a beach this weekend! I love museums and hiking has been great, but I´ve been waiting forever to finally see some sand! It was so different from anything I´ve gotten to do so far; there were no worksheets, no classes, and no planned activities. Honestly, I spent most of my time just laying on the beach (with my trusty SPF 55), and when I got tired of that, I laid by the pool. It was so nice and such a welcome break from class. Unfortunately, on Sunday afternoon everything went back to normal: we got back into our stinky old bus, Brazil beat the US, and I was out of Chiky´s.
As you all know, this weekend is the 4th of July, and I´m a little sad that I won´t be in the US to celebrate it. I told my mom that, and the next day we went to a mall, where we ate KFC and Oreo McFlurry´s. While she did cover a lot of the finer aspects of America (mainly the Oreos), it still wasn´t quite like being at home. This trip has definitely been a good one, but I must say I am very excited to see you all in just two and a half (that´s right, just TWO AND A HALF weeks)!!! I miss you all very much!!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
I´m still alive!
Hi everone at home!!
I´m sorry it has taken so long to update this. We went on a long trip last week where there were times that I didn´t even have running water, let alone a computer (I´ll explain this later), and when I came home my family´s internet was not working. Luckily a team of tico techies fixed our internet today and I can blog again! It´s a good thing too because I thought I was going to have to go to this store where you can pay to use their computers and internet, located right between the man who sells raw meat from a cart and a store where, as far as I can tell, you would only go to if you´re looking for a nice place to get robbed. I´m very glad it didn´t come down to that.
I think the last thing I told you all is that we were going to watch the Costa Rica vs. US soccer game. We did end up going to watch it at a bar in Alajuela, once agian with my 65 year old teacher and almost my entire class. We were all hoping that the US would win, but less than 2 minutes into the game Costa Rica scored and we never came back. It was a little bit disappointing, but I did learn a couple of things: one, Costa Rica plays soccer pretty well for a country about 1/50 the size of ours and two, mozarella sticks are served here with jalepeño, NOT green pepper...I learned this lesson the hard way. Thankfully, the waitress was nice enough to bring me a very large glass of water once she finally stopped laughing at me.
That weekend we got to go to another volcano. I won´t go into much detail aout this part because there´s a lot of other stuff to cover, and also, I think you guys get the point that Costa Rica is very pretty, that we see a lot of nature, and that they make me hike a lot. I will say though that the crater we saw was throwing off enough gases to make the whole place smell worse than Gary, Indiana and that the muffins in the gift shop were to die for. On the way home from the volcano, we stopped in Sarchi and Grecia. Sarchi is home to the world´s largest carterra (basically a giant painted wagon). That probably does not sound very exciting, but, oddly enough, it does mean that I have now been to two towns that boast the world´s largest some kind of wagon (the other of course being the world´s largest covered wagon in Lincoln, Illinois, which is driven by a 20 foot tall replica of Abraham Lincoln). We also stopped in Grecia, which is known for the frequency that it has earthquakes and also for its church made entirely of metal to withstand those earthquakes. Overall, it was a pretty good trip.
When I got back, I had to study for midterms. It was a pretty long day of studying with of course the occasional break to watch (and, I admit, sometimes dance with) the Spanish music video channel. If you happen to be looking for some fun Spanish pop music, my little sister and I really like this song by Fanny Lu, I think it´s called ¨Tu no eres para mi¨. The girl who sings it is kind of like Britney Spears after Justin Timberlake, but before Kevin Federline.
The day after we finished exams, we left on a 5 day trip for Amubri, a BriBri indian reservation. We left at 4 in the morning, and after bus ride around, over and through the mountains, a short trip in a canoe, and a bit of walking, we finally arrived at about 1:00 in the afternoon. Whie we stayed at the reservation, we slept underneath a mosquito net on very thin foam pads, showered (when the water was working) in a little stall behind the school building, and ate rice and beans for almost every meal. It was roughing it like I had never roughed it before. On Thursday and Friday we spent a lot of time with the kids going to classes, running around, and, of course, playing futbol. The kids were pretty nice, even though one called me a giant, and they all gawked at me when I put on my sunscreen (I don´t think any of them have had to wear sunscreen a day in their lives, let alone SPF 55). For most of Saturday and Sunday we helped to distribute all the clothes, towels, toys, and everything else that we brought to people living at the reservation. A lot of people were really grateful and my teacher said that some people walked 4 or 5 hours to receive some of the things we brought. Overall, it was a good experience that (although this maybe sounds cheesy), heightened my awareness of all the opputunities I have and the comfortable life I have both here in Alajuela and the United States. On Monday we came home, and I have to say I was very happy to not have to sleep under that net with 30 other sweaty people who had eaten 3 meals that day that included beans.
I think that pretty much brings us up to date! Today we are going to a coffee plantation and next weekend we finally get to go to a beach!! I hope everything at home is going well!! I´ll see you all in less than a month!
I´m sorry it has taken so long to update this. We went on a long trip last week where there were times that I didn´t even have running water, let alone a computer (I´ll explain this later), and when I came home my family´s internet was not working. Luckily a team of tico techies fixed our internet today and I can blog again! It´s a good thing too because I thought I was going to have to go to this store where you can pay to use their computers and internet, located right between the man who sells raw meat from a cart and a store where, as far as I can tell, you would only go to if you´re looking for a nice place to get robbed. I´m very glad it didn´t come down to that.
I think the last thing I told you all is that we were going to watch the Costa Rica vs. US soccer game. We did end up going to watch it at a bar in Alajuela, once agian with my 65 year old teacher and almost my entire class. We were all hoping that the US would win, but less than 2 minutes into the game Costa Rica scored and we never came back. It was a little bit disappointing, but I did learn a couple of things: one, Costa Rica plays soccer pretty well for a country about 1/50 the size of ours and two, mozarella sticks are served here with jalepeño, NOT green pepper...I learned this lesson the hard way. Thankfully, the waitress was nice enough to bring me a very large glass of water once she finally stopped laughing at me.
That weekend we got to go to another volcano. I won´t go into much detail aout this part because there´s a lot of other stuff to cover, and also, I think you guys get the point that Costa Rica is very pretty, that we see a lot of nature, and that they make me hike a lot. I will say though that the crater we saw was throwing off enough gases to make the whole place smell worse than Gary, Indiana and that the muffins in the gift shop were to die for. On the way home from the volcano, we stopped in Sarchi and Grecia. Sarchi is home to the world´s largest carterra (basically a giant painted wagon). That probably does not sound very exciting, but, oddly enough, it does mean that I have now been to two towns that boast the world´s largest some kind of wagon (the other of course being the world´s largest covered wagon in Lincoln, Illinois, which is driven by a 20 foot tall replica of Abraham Lincoln). We also stopped in Grecia, which is known for the frequency that it has earthquakes and also for its church made entirely of metal to withstand those earthquakes. Overall, it was a pretty good trip.
When I got back, I had to study for midterms. It was a pretty long day of studying with of course the occasional break to watch (and, I admit, sometimes dance with) the Spanish music video channel. If you happen to be looking for some fun Spanish pop music, my little sister and I really like this song by Fanny Lu, I think it´s called ¨Tu no eres para mi¨. The girl who sings it is kind of like Britney Spears after Justin Timberlake, but before Kevin Federline.
The day after we finished exams, we left on a 5 day trip for Amubri, a BriBri indian reservation. We left at 4 in the morning, and after bus ride around, over and through the mountains, a short trip in a canoe, and a bit of walking, we finally arrived at about 1:00 in the afternoon. Whie we stayed at the reservation, we slept underneath a mosquito net on very thin foam pads, showered (when the water was working) in a little stall behind the school building, and ate rice and beans for almost every meal. It was roughing it like I had never roughed it before. On Thursday and Friday we spent a lot of time with the kids going to classes, running around, and, of course, playing futbol. The kids were pretty nice, even though one called me a giant, and they all gawked at me when I put on my sunscreen (I don´t think any of them have had to wear sunscreen a day in their lives, let alone SPF 55). For most of Saturday and Sunday we helped to distribute all the clothes, towels, toys, and everything else that we brought to people living at the reservation. A lot of people were really grateful and my teacher said that some people walked 4 or 5 hours to receive some of the things we brought. Overall, it was a good experience that (although this maybe sounds cheesy), heightened my awareness of all the opputunities I have and the comfortable life I have both here in Alajuela and the United States. On Monday we came home, and I have to say I was very happy to not have to sleep under that net with 30 other sweaty people who had eaten 3 meals that day that included beans.
I think that pretty much brings us up to date! Today we are going to a coffee plantation and next weekend we finally get to go to a beach!! I hope everything at home is going well!! I´ll see you all in less than a month!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monte Verde and more
Hi everyone at home! This week in Costa Rica has been a good one!
On Thursday we went to the national museum in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. The museum actually used to be a military base, but it was donated to the city when the Costa Rican army was abolished in 1949. They kept some parts of the base the same for people at the museum to tour, including some jail cells which were used to hold prisoners. It was sort of creepy, but immensly more interesting than the exhibit on the national flower we had seen just before that. I was also a little bit surprised at the lack of security they had- no one even said anything to me when I almost accidently sat on a chair created by indigenous tribes about 5000 years ago. Oops. We also got to do a little bit of shopping while we were there, and I got some cool things for people at home!
Friday we went to a discoteca (I guess it´s kind of like a night club in the United States, but I would say this one was a little more PG). It was relatively unventful, especially because my teacher (who is about 65) came with. Some boys tried to dance with us, but she quickly scared them away. I´m not sure what she said, but I´m assuming it was something to the effect of ¨they have swine flu¨ judging by the rate at which they ran.
Saturday night my family took me back to San Jose to go to a steakhouse. I didn´t really understand the menu so I asked them to order something for me, and I ended up with a 12 ounce steak and french fries. I knew it was so expensive and that they went they´re just for me, so to not seem ungrateful (or unamerican), I ended up eating every bit of that steak, even though I could feel my pants getting tighter with each bite. Plus, we stopped to get ice cream on the way home- it was the only time I´ve ever had to choke down a milkshake in my life. I literally think I went into a food coma because there are little pieces of the night that I can remember nothing but the steak.
Our surprise trip this weekend was to Monte Verde. We left at 5:00 on Sunday morning and got there by about 10:00. Had there been a straight road up to the top of the mountain we probably could have made it there in about forty five minutes, but since we were travelling in an oversized bus on narrow, unpaved, winding road, it took about 5 hours. I can´t really complain though, the scenery was so pretty, and I listened to Backstreet Boys for approximately 60% of the ride.
When we finally got there, we went hiking in the cloud forest. I didn´t realize this, but the reason they call it a cloud forest is because you are actually in the clouds sometimes. It was kind of a strange concept to wrap your mind around, and I didn´t know whether to be angry or excited when the wind picked up and some cloud hit me in the face. I also put on an extra layer of SPF 55 because I wasn´t sure how these strange conditions would affect my tendency to burn. Our hike was about two and a half hours and overall we probably climbed about a mile upwards on the mountain...I definitely worked off that steak.
On Monday we went on another hike, but this one crossed 8 suspension bridges. Some were about 200 meters long, and they were (I´m told) stable, but very shaky. The bridge was made of kind of metal mesh so that you could look directly down beneath you, but it was one of those things that you kind of have to talk yourself into doing each time you do it. I was pretty tired after all that hiking and I slept most of the bus ride home yesterday.
This week we´re going to another museum on Thursday and on Saturday we´re going to Volcan Poas. I think tomorrow night we might also go watch the United States vs. Costa Rica soccer game somewhere, which I´m told is always very intense. I´ll probably update this again after all that, and like always, keep me updated on stuff at home! I miss you all a lot and hopefully I´ll see you in about 7 weeks!
On Thursday we went to the national museum in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. The museum actually used to be a military base, but it was donated to the city when the Costa Rican army was abolished in 1949. They kept some parts of the base the same for people at the museum to tour, including some jail cells which were used to hold prisoners. It was sort of creepy, but immensly more interesting than the exhibit on the national flower we had seen just before that. I was also a little bit surprised at the lack of security they had- no one even said anything to me when I almost accidently sat on a chair created by indigenous tribes about 5000 years ago. Oops. We also got to do a little bit of shopping while we were there, and I got some cool things for people at home!
Friday we went to a discoteca (I guess it´s kind of like a night club in the United States, but I would say this one was a little more PG). It was relatively unventful, especially because my teacher (who is about 65) came with. Some boys tried to dance with us, but she quickly scared them away. I´m not sure what she said, but I´m assuming it was something to the effect of ¨they have swine flu¨ judging by the rate at which they ran.
Saturday night my family took me back to San Jose to go to a steakhouse. I didn´t really understand the menu so I asked them to order something for me, and I ended up with a 12 ounce steak and french fries. I knew it was so expensive and that they went they´re just for me, so to not seem ungrateful (or unamerican), I ended up eating every bit of that steak, even though I could feel my pants getting tighter with each bite. Plus, we stopped to get ice cream on the way home- it was the only time I´ve ever had to choke down a milkshake in my life. I literally think I went into a food coma because there are little pieces of the night that I can remember nothing but the steak.
Our surprise trip this weekend was to Monte Verde. We left at 5:00 on Sunday morning and got there by about 10:00. Had there been a straight road up to the top of the mountain we probably could have made it there in about forty five minutes, but since we were travelling in an oversized bus on narrow, unpaved, winding road, it took about 5 hours. I can´t really complain though, the scenery was so pretty, and I listened to Backstreet Boys for approximately 60% of the ride.
When we finally got there, we went hiking in the cloud forest. I didn´t realize this, but the reason they call it a cloud forest is because you are actually in the clouds sometimes. It was kind of a strange concept to wrap your mind around, and I didn´t know whether to be angry or excited when the wind picked up and some cloud hit me in the face. I also put on an extra layer of SPF 55 because I wasn´t sure how these strange conditions would affect my tendency to burn. Our hike was about two and a half hours and overall we probably climbed about a mile upwards on the mountain...I definitely worked off that steak.
On Monday we went on another hike, but this one crossed 8 suspension bridges. Some were about 200 meters long, and they were (I´m told) stable, but very shaky. The bridge was made of kind of metal mesh so that you could look directly down beneath you, but it was one of those things that you kind of have to talk yourself into doing each time you do it. I was pretty tired after all that hiking and I slept most of the bus ride home yesterday.
This week we´re going to another museum on Thursday and on Saturday we´re going to Volcan Poas. I think tomorrow night we might also go watch the United States vs. Costa Rica soccer game somewhere, which I´m told is always very intense. I´ll probably update this again after all that, and like always, keep me updated on stuff at home! I miss you all a lot and hopefully I´ll see you in about 7 weeks!
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