This past Thursday I visited a really special place called The Basilica in Cartago, Costa Rica. This church has been here for over 200 years and it is more than beautiful. There is a spiritual feeling inside of it that I have not ever felt before. As the story goes, in the 1600s a girl found this wooden doll in the forest. The doll was the Mother Mary holding Baby Jesus. The little girl returned to her home and locked the doll in her jewelry box. The next day she found another doll in the forest. But when she returned home [View Full Entry]

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The Farm Visit Last Sunday I visited a farm owned by the father of my Tico dad. It was outside of the city limits and beautiful. The dad is 88 years old and he lives there by himself without a car, but he has a mule. For groceries someone brings them to him. I went with my Tico family. There is also a son who is 33 and has a 3 year old daughter. Also, the sister of my Tico mom and her family (husband and daughter) came. It was a lot of fun. The daughter is 10 and we played [View Full Entry]

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I had this idea last week of bungee jumping in Costa Rica. Why? Who the heck knows? But when I was standing at the edge about ready to jump I was asking myself that question! It was amazing! It took me forever to jump, but when I finally did it it was great. So, here´s the story... The bridge is called Puente Viejo and it is over the Colorado River. How high, you ask, well, it is 300 feet above the water. Gulp! When Carlos and I walked up to it we asked each other, why? Luckily, we were able to [View Full Entry]

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Here you go... [View Full Entry]

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On Wednesday and Thurday morning I had a new medical spanish teacher. He is a general medical doctor and works in the emergency room of the hospital here. It is different in Costa Rica because after medical school you do not need to do a residency if you become a general medical doctor. There is a specialty in emergency medicine that requires a residency, but they ONLY see emergencies. So, the general medical docs see all else. It is kind of like a 24 hour clinic in the hospital. So, yesterday after class he invited me to work with him at [View Full Entry]

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Hi there, I figured I needed to drop an email and tell about my typical day here in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Usually I go for a run in the mornings. Lately my tico dad has been running with me. That was a big help yesterday when I was attacked by a dog. Okay attacked is a strong word, but he tried to bite my leg and ended up head-butting it instead...kind of funny. There are a lot of stray dogs as well as dogs with owners that roam the streets here. After the run, my tico mom makes a yummy delicious [View Full Entry]

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Check out these photos! [View Full Entry]

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Canyoning This past friday I went canyoning with 4 other students (Thomas, Carlos, Elena and Cassie) as well as a woman who travels to Costa Rica each year without her kids. Canyoning includes repeling from waterfalls, ziplining (yes, Lisa, I did it again), dropping from a tree while in a harness hanging onto a rope and crossing a bridge over 100 feet in the air. Crossing the bridge was the scariest part for me because it was difficult to reach the ropes that I had to hold onto and the drop was pretty scary. At first, the whole height thing was [View Full Entry]

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Hi all! I am having a great time...I flew into San Jose, CR on Saturday and stayed the night in a guesthouse in the city. I had to start speaking Spanish right away as my driver did not speak English. Good practice! On Sunday I took an hour bus ride to Turrialba. It is about an hour east of San Jose. My Tico family picked me up at the bus station. Okay, so Tico is the nickname of Costa Rican people and they literally ask me here, "So who is your Tico family?" My Tico family: The mom is a GREAT [View Full Entry]

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I am getting ready for my trip to Costa Rica with only one more week to go! This website should serve as a diary and photo gallery to chronicle my journey for the next 6 weeks. Feel free to post comments and communicate with me while I am on my travels. I will be checking my email regularly so drop me a line... Pura Vida (a phrase commonly used in Costa Rica as a "Hello" or "How are you?") [View Full Entry]

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