It's less than a week before Christmas. I have to say that it doesn't really feel like it. Even though there's Christmas lights everywhere and Christmas music in all the stores, it just doesn't have the same feeling. I had some tamales the other day which is this mashed up maize, and flour and other vegetables all wrapped up in a big leaf. Then they get cooked over a fire. They taste pretty good actually. This is their specialty for Christmas. It takes forever to make them though. I thankfully just watched! I went on a mini hike the other Saturday [View Full Entry]

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This past week I visited 'Ranchito Naturalista' with one of the students from the school. It's famous for its hummingbirds and butterflies. As we were walking along the trail I saw something move by my feet. I looked down and saw this big snake that slithered behind me. I yelled to the girl behind me to stop walking so that she wouldn't step on it. We were all shaken up and then even more so when the guide told us that it was a 'Ferdelance' snake - which happens to be one of the deadliest snakes in the world! I've never [View Full Entry]

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So I've been here one full month already! It's hard to believe. I can't believe how much has happened! This past weekend was a youth retreat. It was crazy! The lady cooks that came with us were wild! Singing at 4 in the morning, doing impromptu skits at night, fashion shows with bread and eggs (don't ask), scavenger hunt etc...It was pretty fun. I got to see toucans that weekend too! It was my dream last time I was here to see some. And finally I did! They were far away, but I zoomed in with my camera and could see [View Full Entry]

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Check out these photos! [View Full Entry]

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Believe it or not I've been really busy lately! Today was the first day I had a pounding headache and so at 2pm I shut all the doors and locked them so that I could take a quick nap without being disturbed. After an hour of resting I felt a lot better. I still think I'm at the beginning stages of a cold though :( Last week I had two afternoons of Spanish classes, which I really liked. I'm finally learning the past tense! I'm going to keep taking lessons about once a week until I feel like I don't need [View Full Entry]

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So it's been one full week since I've arrived. It's gone by fast and slow at the same time... A lot of new things to adjust to..but it hasn't been a big deal. I guess because I knew what I was coming back to. I've started helping the 'coordinating' of the Spanish school already. I like it a lot. My office has 2 windows where I can see the palm trees and I can feel the sun through the open (no screen) window. The dog 'cookie' sits under my desk by my feet. My new friend :) So the flow so [View Full Entry]

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It's hard to believe I'll be back in Costa Rica in a few weeks. It's been a looong build-up and now that it's so close it feels strange...but good! Last night's farewell party, me moving out of my apartment, are all making this feel real... So, I've decided to re-use this blog for the next year. Apparantly now this site lets you upload video clips, so once I figure out how to compress files, I'll try to send some short clips! [View Full Entry]

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So now I'm back in Toronto. Start work again on Monday. It was definetly hard to leave on Wednesday. My flight seemed to go too fast. I printed off around 90 pictures from my camera. That narrows it down for people so that they don't have to sit through 500! I also just uploaded some pics onto this blog, just for the sake of at least having more than just 2! In a nutshell, an experience of a lifetime. I'd recommend anyone who wants to learn spanish and also give back to a community, to check out: www.vqcmission.com The Spanish school [View Full Entry]

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Well, it's almost over.... Tonight Macha is putting on a goodbye dinner for me. A bunch of people are coming over. This afternoon, I'm visiting another house for coffee at 2pm. I like that everyone stops what they're doing for afternoon coffee. It's a major priority in their day! I'll miss that. This past Friday we drove to Cartago (an hour away) to watch a movie in a big theatre. I invited a couple in their 40's who had never been to the theatre before. (Only the low budget kind that no one goes to anymore, once or twice in their [View Full Entry]

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Friday night all 6 of us drove to Cahuita Beach, close to Limon on the Caribbean coast. It only took 2 hours to get there. We stayed in cabinas which only cost $10 per person. It was the first time that Mauricio and Gabriel had ever stayed overnight in a hotel/hostel. Gabriel said he felt like he was in another country and was loving the experience! The beach was beautiful and we had sun the whole day, other than a bit of rain in the morning. I think I prefered that beach over Puerto Viejo when Shell and I went last [View Full Entry]

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