Winter? Yeah, right.

 Studying, papers, presentations.... that's pretty much been my life since I returned from the beach on Sunday.  My host sister has been studying all the time too!  I don't think I really started studying until at least high school (and even that is debatable. haha)  She has had 4 exams in the past 2 weeks...I saw the material that she had to know for one of the exams, and it was like 20 pages of notes!  Thankfully, she will be on her "mid year break"  starting Friday!

Last night, we had a mini photo shoot with my mac.  

 

Here, the kids start the school year in February and have a week break for Easter.  After that, their next break isn't until July!  She has 22 days off starting Friday, so that will be nice.   After she goes back, her school year will end in December and her summer break is December-January.  Funny, right? 

Right now, it's actually "winter"  in Costa Rica.  The literally use the word "invierno"...except it's nearly 80 degrees every single day.   It does get down to about 70 at night every once in a while, but it's never cold.  Apparently, the Ticos do think it is cold, however.  One evening when we were going out, Elena was wearing long sleeves and long pants... Before we left the house, her mom told her to put on her coat because she would get sick if she didn't.  Meanwhile, I was wearing a skirt and short-sleeved t-shirt because it still felt warm to me.  haha.

Even though it's not cold, it does rain here  A LOT.  If you leave the house without your umbrella, you're in trouble, because there's a good chance that it will be raining when you're walking home.  You'd think that with all this rain that the Ticos would wear shoes and clothes that are made for walking around in torrential downpours every day.  NO.  They dress up to go anywhere.  Women are almost always in high heels.  Casual wear involves wearing jeans and a nice shirt, and Ticos never leave the house in any type of workout clothes or lounge wear unless they are actually on their way to the gym.

Another thing that took some getting used to is how people just stare.  In America, you look away when somebody realizes you're staring at them, right?  Here, no.  They just keep blatantly staring.  I assume it's because I'm a foreigner...and when there's a group of us Americans, we might as well just have a flashing neon sign on us saying, "Stare at us!" It happens absolutely everywhere I go.  It starts at the bus stop in the morning and doesn't stop until I get back to my house in the afternoon.  It's like having 100 staring contests every day.  I used to just pretend like I didn't notice them staring at me... Now, I just stare back. haha. Every once in a while, they will say, "buenas" or smile....but mostly, it's just staring. Haha.

This post has been all over the place, but I haven't really done anything exciting in the past few days.  This weekend, the plan is to head over to Manuel Antonio National Park.  I'm hoping to see at least a few monkeys, and maybe a sloth or two. :)

Puerto Viejo & Rocking J's

This past weekend, I traveled to the beautiful Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo.  The town was amazing!  It had a very laid back authentic feel to it, and the people were so genuinely nice.  In order to get there, we had to take a bus to San Jose and from there take another bus to Puerto Viejo.  All together, we were on buses from around 7:30am- 2pm.  I didn't really mind the long bus ride, though, because the views were incredible.  I just couldn't stop looking out the window long enough to get bored. 

Entrance to Rocking J's

  We got to Puerto Viejo around 2pm on Friday afternoon, and took a taxi to our hostel, "Rocking J's."  We knew about Rocking J's because some other girls from the program had gone there just last weekend.  It is run by Americans, and people from all over the world stay there.  I heard people speaking all kinds of different languages.   This place is like nothing I've ever seen before and probably will never see again.  At Rocking J's, everything is covered in either mosaic tiles or paintings.  They actually provide their guests with art supplies if they want to leave their mark on the place.  The sleeping arrangements are the funniest part, though.  The cheapest option (which we decided not to do)  is to sleep in hammocks  for $4 a night.  We decided to splurge and pay $7 for a tent. Haha.  Anyway,  this place has so much character, and the people that stay there have even more. 

Our lodging for the weekend

The first thing we did when we got there was change into our bathing suits and check out the beach behind the hostel.  The views were amazing, but the water was full of coral which was only fun to swim in for about 30 minutes...until we kept getting injured.  There was one place where there was a crater in the coral that was really fun to swim in.  After that, we went down the road about 15 minutes where we found a gorgeous sandy beach.   (This beach is where we spent most of the day Saturday.)

I was definitely not prepared for the craziness that is Rocking J's on a Friday night. They turned on the music at 7:30pm, and didn't turn it off until after 1am.  Here are just a couple of the ridiculous things I witnessed on Friday night... 1. There was a guy walking around on stilts dressed as Jack Sparrow with a bottle of rum in his hand.  We actually had a conversation with this guy toward the beginning of the night in Spanish, because Jack doesn't speak English. haha.   2.  There were crabs everywhere...just crawling around.  I'm sure there are more things I could mention, but I'll save those stories for later.   Most of my group only stayed up until around 10:30, because we were all so tired from traveling all day long.  I still don't know how I was able to fall asleep with the music as loud as it was, but I didn't have too much trouble. 

Stacy and I

Beautiful Beach in Puerto Viejo on Saturday night

Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:30 because other people were getting up, and it was getting pretty loud.  As soon as I went downstairs, I smelled marijuana, which we hadn't really stopped smelling since we got to Puerto Viejo. It's just part of the Caribbean lifestyle there.  So anyway, we  spent most of Saturday laying on the beach and playing in the HUGE waves in the ocean.  But really, I've never seen waves this big in my life.  Every single wave almost knocked me down, and a few actually did. Nobody from my group went out further than waist deep because we would have been sucked out to sea in a matter of  minutes. Crazy, right! We all got a little sunburned, but nothing too bad.  After we were done going to the beach, we went into town to try and find some food, because the food at Rocking J's was ridiculously slow, and kind of expensive.  We found this cute little restaurant where I had some wonderful Nachos Caribeños (made with plantain chips).  Then, we saw a place where they were doing hair wraps, and Stacy, Sarah, and I are now currently sporting them. :) 

Olivia and I

Overall, It was an incredible weekend.  I have to admit, though I was pretty excited to get back to my Heredia home where I could take a clean shower and sleep on a bed. The only down side was that when I got back home on Sunday afternoon, I had to write a paper I had been putting off for a few days.  I had to stay up until 1am to finish, (which is actually late for me here, folks) but it's over...at least until I have to write another paper for next week.  If only this could be "Study Abroad"  without the "Study" part. 

A few of the girls in the group.  There were 12 of us in all that went. 

Perdónala

So, We watched this video in class, and I thought it was hilarious.  If you speak Spanish, enjoy. :) If you do not, I'm sorry. :/

SOLISTA
 No querría con Ester seguir viviendo
 lo que hizo ya no puede perdonarse;
 que se vaya, no me agrada estar sufriendo
 ciertas cosas no deben olvidarse.

 CORO
 Perdónala, perdónala.
 Es dulce, te fue fiel, es una dama
 Perdónala, perdónala
 Seguro que aún ella te ama.

 SOLISTA
 No querría con Ester seguir viviendo
 lo que pude perdonar lo he perdonado;
 esa tarde cuando ya se estaba yendo
 confesó que ella nunca me había amado.

 CORO
 Perdónala, no obstante.
 Regresa a aquellos besos como miel,
 Ester te fue leal, te fue constante,
 y toda la vida te fue fiel.
  

 SOLISTA
 No querría con Ester seguir viviendo,
 nuestra vida fue amarga como hiel.
 Esa tarde cuando ya se estaba yendo
 confesó que ella nunca me fue fiel.

 (Y... ¡dale!)

 CORO
 Compréndela, ten calma,
 fueron sólo veinte hombres hasta ayer.
 Y piensa que en fondo de su alma
 esa muchacha es una dulce mujer.

 SOLISTA
 No querría con Ester seguir viviendo,
 ya no puedo perdonar a esa muchacha.
 Esa tarde cuando ya se estaba yendo
 me persiguió por la casa con un hacha.

 CORO
 Tolérala, es solo una muchacha,
 conviene que unos días no se vean.
 Las mejores parejas se pelean,
 y casi todas se persiguen con un hacha.

 SOLISTA
 No querría con Ester seguir viviendo.
 Mis amigos nunca fueron de su agrado;
 esa tarde cuando ya se estaba yendo
 opinó que eran todos unos vagos.

 CORO
 Olvídala, debes olvidarla
 De esa bruja por fin te liberaste;
 pero cuéntanos antes de olvidarla
 qué fue lo peor, lo que no le perdonaste.

 SOLISTA
 Lo último que hizo fue tremendo;
 eso sí que no puede perdonarse.
 Esa tarde cuando ya se estaba yendo...
 decidió quedarse. 

El cumpleaños de Elena

Today, Elena turned eleven! Per her request, we had pizza for dinner and a pink peace sign cake. :)  The party guests included her mami, papi, abuela, and me.  I also experienced my first, "He's about to kiss me on the cheek, what do I do!?!" moment when Elena's father was saying goodbye to everybody.  Haha, I definitely wasn't expecting that.

 Tomorrow is our first exam... We're basically being tested over the subjunctive, por v para, imperfect, and indirect/direct objects.  Hopefully I'll do well since I've already had all this stuff at UT. 

Oh my, how quickly plans change.  So, I said just last night that we were going to Monteverde this weekend.  Turns out that we will be going to Puerto Viejo, a beach on the Caribbean coast.  There's quite a large group going, so I hope that it will all work smoothly with the buses and such.

By the way, the bus system here is awesome.  You can get anywhere you want to go in Costa Rica for less than 5 dollars.  There are buses absolutely everywhere, and all you have to do is figure out the system.  Great, right? 

Well, I must go study my night away.  Hasta Luego!  I'll blog again when I return from Puerto Viejo! 

Una aventura en Barva

A fútbol field in Barva

Sunday, I didn't really have any plans, so a couple of the other girls in the program and I decided to go walk around Barva...It's a small city on the outskirts of Heredia about 1km north of my house.  It is  a historic town with some of the houses dating back to the 1700's!  Anyway, it was a very relaxing and fun stroll around the city.  We also talked to an older Tico man who was walking his dogs in the Barva Park.  He was talking about how he lived in Miami for  few years, but hated working with the Puerto Ricans.  He continued to bash the Mexicans, Nicaraguans, and Guatemalans. Haha.  Anyway, it was fun just having a conversation with him.  Here are some pictures of Barva: 

La Iglesia de Barva

Mandi and Kari

So,  Yesterday, I had my first experience with trying a new food that I absolutely did not like.  It was called "Sopa Negra,"  and it had frijoles, peppers, cilantro, and I don't know what else.  I genuinely tried to eat it for about 15 minutes, but it was definitely not my favorite.  Eventually, my host mom noticed that I wasn't really eating it, and they fixed me an omelet.  I tried to finish, but I just couldn't.  I think it was the cilantro that I didn't like.  Other than that, the food has been awesome.  I've had plantains, rice, and beans cooked in every way you can imagine.  Also, the vegetables are always fresh and so so good.  Tonight, I had the best burritos of my life.  They were fantastic!  I have noticed that the Ticos don't really drink much water.  They drink a lot of juices they call refrescos, and coffee.  When I asked for water to drink the first day, they were super surprised, but it's definitely my preference.  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As of right now, my plans for this weekend consist of going to the beautiful Monteverde and Volcán Arenal.  (Mom, you can click on these links to see pictures. haha)  Hopefully, all the plans will work out.  Right now, I think that there are either 4 or 5 of us wanting to go.  Anyway, I must go to bed.  This whole class at 8am thing has turned me into a "Bed at 10:30" kind of girl.    ¡Buenas Noches! 

Una Fiesta Tíca!

Today, I experienced my very first fiesta Tica!  My host grandmother's brother, Marco, turned 50 today, which in Costa Rica is an enormous deal, just like the quinceañera for the girls.   There was a big surprise birthday party for him tonight which I got to attend with my host family!

The Mariachi Band!

My host sister Elena and mi abuela

Marco con sus hermanos, su esposa, y su hija

So, earlier today, my host mom told me that we would leave to go to the fiesta at 6 tonight...  I got home at 5:30 from a trip to the mall with a few friends, and changed quickly as not to be late.   At 6 o'clock, went downstairs expecting to leave soon, but I was the only one ready!  I have been told several times about "Tico Time"  where everybody is late to everything, but this is really the first time I experienced it.  Finally, at 6:45, everybody was ready to go.  When we got in the car, my host mom was telling me that the party started at 6, so we would probably be the first ones there.  (?)  So, if you're having a party in Costa Rica, and you want it to start at 7, you tell everybody 6 so that everybody will show up at 7.  haha.  I love it.  Turns out that we actually were the only people there for about 20 minutes!  The majority of people didn't even show up until around 8!

My host mom is on the right

 It was SO SO much fun.  There were so many cousins and other family members there that it was a little overwhelming.  Everyone wanted to talk to me and see how much spanish I knew. haha. They served us what my host mom told me was traditional food for fiestas, arroz con carne.  It was muy rico!  Later, after everyone finished eating, I was so surprised when a Mariachi band bursted through the door playing "Cumpleaños Feliz."  Overall, it was a great experience, and I'm so glad I have such a great host family that wants me to learn as much as possible about the Tico culture.

Adorable little girls clapping to the music.

Elena con su prima Maria Fernanda

Primas!  (Paola & Francela)

My host sister Elena and I!

Mi familia con Marco

San José

Today was my first adventure out of Heredia!  Five of the girls from my class and I decided to take a day trip to the capital of Costa Rica, San José!  Since we arrived here, we haven’t heard many positive things about the city.  We’ve been told that it was dirty, full of illegal Nicaraguans, and that people will snatch your camera out of your hands.  So why would we decide to go to such a horrible city?  Well…There are several things in San José that we felt like we shouldn’t leave Costa Rica without seeing…like the Teatro Nacional, el Parque Nacional, and el Museo Nacional.  Turns out, the city was a lot of fun and all the things worth seeing were very close to one another.   Our experience was actually the contrary of what everybody had been telling us about the city.  Except for being stared at everywhere we went for being Americans, (San Jose isn’t really a tourist destination) everything went smoothly.

The view from my window this morning

My day began by waking up and seeing the beautiful mountains outside my window.  I see them everyday, but never have they been as clear as they were today.  Anyway, I met the other girls at 8 at the Universidad where we started trying to find a bus to take us to San Jose.  We knew the general direction of where we could catch the bus, but it took wandering around for a bit and asking a few people in order to find it. 

When we arrived in San Jose, the bus let us off at a beautiful church called La Iglesia de la Merced.  We took pictures and then took out our maps to figure out if we were close to where we wanted to be. It took us quite a long time to get anywhere, because we kept getting distracted by parks, buildings, or other fun things to see.  Anyway, we found the Museo Nacional and continued on looking for el Teatro Nacional. (The Nacional Theater) We spent about 2 hours wandering around San Jose thinking all the time that we were somehow just missing the Teatro and overlooking it.  We had asked several different people, and each had given us different directions.  We decided to take a break for lunch, after which we ran into another couple people from our program!  We asked her if she knew where the Theater is, and we felt very stupid when we were standing about 300 yards from it at the time.  The theater is actually on the back of the Museo Nacional, but this was definitely not clear on the maps. Haha. 

While wandering around, however, we stumbled upon the train station…My host mother had mentioned that we should take the train, but we didn’t know enough about it to even try it.  Since we found the station, we decided to try it!  It was a few colones cheaper than the bus, and a much more pleasant experience.  

I don’t really have any plans for the rest of the weekend, but I my try to find somebody to go to el Paseo de los Flores (The mall in Heredia) with me to just look around. 

BUT, I don’t have to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow, which I am ecstatic about! 

I know this entry was kind of all over the place, but I’m about to fall asleep as I type this. Hasta Mañana!

I posted my pictures from San Jose on Facebook, but here are just a few of my favorites!

Un día de lluvia

Aye, qué lluvia!  Today, I experienced my very first actually rainy day.  Since it is "rainy season"  it is to be expected, but man!  It rained for hours and hours tonight!  The power even went out for about 2 hours.  My host mom lit candles and told me the Costa Rican "scary stories."  There was one about a carriage that rides by itself and another about a wailing woman looking for her lost child.  It was so much fun.  My host sister Elena got really into telling the stories! 

The clouds and rain outside my window.

Some of my classmates and I at a restaurant near la U.

One thing I haven't said much about is the money.  Costa Rica uses the "colón."  500 colónes equal 1 US dollar.  It's so weird to buy something and cost 1500 colones.  (Which is only 3 dollars)  I feel like I am one of the few people on the trip that hasn't spent quite a bit of money. Most of the people bought phones (about 50 US dollars)  even though we're only going to be here 6 weeks.  I don't feel the need to get one.
This huge stack of money is about 120 dollars.  Crazy, right?  
These coins are so interesting to use as well.  The 10 cent piece only equals about 2 cents, and the 100 cent piece about 20 cents.  It's really kind of ridiculous to have such a large coin for such a small amount.  But, these are what I use to pay my bus fare each day.

So, I've gotten into the groove of speaking spanish without mixing in too may French words.  Today, however, I received an email from my university in France for next semester, and for a couple hours after reading the email in French, I had a very difficult time speaking Spanish.  It's kind of ridiculous how hard it is to keep the two separated in my head.  Oh well.  I've learned to not be ashamed of my numerous mistakes when speaking Spanish.  They just correct me and then say "Tranquilo"  which is a very common phrase in Costa Rica along with "Pura Vida" ,both meaning "No Worries."  This whole country has that attitude, and It's going to be hard to go back to the US where life is so much more fast-paced.  I'm loving the laid back atmosphere.  No one gets upset when people are late or when things don't go as planned. Everybody just goes with the flow for the most part.   Anyways, it's late, and I have to get up at 6:30 tomorrow morning!  ¡Buenas Noches!