The Market in Heredia Written by Valarie, with some photos that she took of the market and other sites in Heredia On a tour through the central part of Heredia, we visited a large indoor market. Although our guide says that this type of market is becoming less popular in Costa Rica, there was a great deal of activity and a high level of energy there. There were a variety of fresh produce, meat, and bake stands with local products. There was even a place to buy dog food and treats! We also stopped by a little shop that roasts [View Full Entry]

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On Monday after classes, we had our first experience on a public bus in Costa Rica. We went as a group to the neighboring town of Heredia, capital city of the province of Heredia, which is only about 15 minutes from San Joaquin. Even though it looked like it might rain any minute, the weather held and we were able to see all the highlights of the town -- el Fortin, the main square, a church built in the 1700's, the home of a former president of Costa Rica, and a bunch of kids leaving school at the end of their [View Full Entry]

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To be sure that you see all of the pictures, please remember to click on "view full entry." Everyone has been far too busy since we arrived yesterday to e-mail home, so don't worry if you haven't heard anything yet. The flights, the brief layover in Houston and arrival in San Jose all went very smoothly. Almost everyone changed some money or used the ATM before leaving the airport, and we were greeted by three friendly CPI (that's the school here) staff members and two drivers who brought us to the town of San Joaquin, about fifteen minutes from the [View Full Entry]

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After the first day or so in Monteverde, everyone settled in and quickly got used to the totally different environment of the cloud forest region. We literally were above the clouds during most days -- you could see them down below the mountain, and in the afternoon they would creep up the side of the mountain, cross over the road in front of CPI and make everything foggy. Sometimes it would rain and sometimes there was just a little bit of mist, but most of the mornings were clear, sunny and warm. The area to explore was much more rustic [View Full Entry]

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In some of the gift shops in Monteverde they sell a T-shirt that says “I survived the road to Monteverde.” It’s true that the last hour and a half of the trip from San Joaquin was on a very bumpy and hard gravel road that winds through the fields and mountains and eventually reaches what feels like the top of the world. The panoramas were breathtaking. Sometimes there were sharp drop-offs on both sides of the road. We saw some cows that looked like mountain goats perched on the side of a grassy mountain that looked to have about an 80 [View Full Entry]

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First I'd better explain the language in the first video, even though you may have already watched and heard it. There is plenty of humor throughout the Café Britt Coffee Tour. The supposed owner of a coffee plantation begins the tour by leading the group through his shaded coffee fields to two of the workers who help the owner to explain the process of growing and processing coffee beans. They flow back and forth between Spanish and English and their personalities develop as the tour goes on. We learn that the two workers have been dating for 10 years, and she [View Full Entry]

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(By Crystal) directly after class, they pile us back to the van to head to La Paz, the waterfall gardens. It´s an hour ride there, during which time i do not face backwards. we drive through coffee fields, pass a volcano, lots of farms, cows in the road, a runaway cow... and we even stop to take pictures! but i think that was mainly because we were traveling uphill through the mountains, so lots of people were getting sick. so we wobbled around for awhile, the van drove ahead to pick us up later. When we finally arrive to the park, [View Full Entry]

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When does a 30-minute meal REALLY only take 30 minutes? When you have 10 highly skilled ASU students cutting, chopping, and grating, with a very experienced Costa Rican cook named Doña Eugenia organizing everything. Check out Crystal's account of the Costa Rican cooking class, along with some photos and even videos of the action. You can find the recipe for "Arroz con pollo" (rice with chicken) at the bottom, just in case you have 10 people eager to do some cutting, chopping, and grating. Otherwise, it takes at least an hour. (by Crystal) After our Spanish classes, we are treate [View Full Entry]

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(written by Crystal) so friday we left for the beach. we stopped several times, including once to see a a group of crocodiles... massive crocodiles who hang out with cows. we all stood over the bridge and leaned over.. i think we made johnny nervous. we finally make it to the beach and we´re all exhausted. well most of us. i made it to bed, some others made it to the disco. our resort was simply amazing, we were nestled up agains the rain forest.. with thatched roofs and separate buildings. it was splendid, we were all estatic we didn´t [View Full Entry]

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The town of San Joaquín de Flores, where we live, is in the province of Heredia, but it is also more or less a suburb of the capital city of San José. On Thursday afternoon, we spent a few hours on a tour of the city. First we drove through some of the more affluent neighborhoods and saw the home of the current president, Oscar Arias, as well as the US Embassy. Then we drove into the heart of the city and had lunch at a typical restaurant near the National Museum. Our food was served on a wooden plank lined [View Full Entry]

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