Well it's the 21st of July 2008. I'm still here in 3rd. world country Costa Rica, this place is really getting to me. The people here have no class whatsoever: and as far as work.......every job I've had has been a scam. I've been in an online pharmacy working, where nobody ever got the drugs they ordered(that's really big here in Costa Rica) employed in a sportsbook......americans love to bet on sports and "lose". But the biggest scam I worked was a "sweepstakes scam" to american and canadian citizens, boy did they get "ripped off". This place is a "shit hole" [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 treated to [View Full Entry]

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After classes on Wednesday, it was time for the Latin American dance class, where we learned the basic steps for salsa, merengue and cumbia. The instructor spoke only Spanish during the one-hour lesson. "Caderas" means "hips." She said that a lot. Other than that, it didn't really seem to matter what she said. We just watched and did what she did. Check out the pictures and video -- they speak for themselves. Earlier, on Monday afternoon, we learned to use the public buses to go to the city of Heredia. Our guide, Johnny, said that it was just a large town, [View Full Entry]

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It was a very long day, but the group arrived safely and in good spirits. Everyone was absolutely starved, since our connection in Charlotte consisted of hurrying to the gate, catching our breath, and getting on the next plane -- no time to get anything to eat. The CPI personnel quickly took action, though, and used a cell phone to call ahead to have pizza delivered to the school so that the group would have enough energy for the placement test and orientation session. The pizza was delivered via motorcycle, but the important thing was that no one passed out during [View Full Entry]

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After spending most of 2007 travelling, I wanted to settle a little bit the following year. I wanted to have the same bed for more than three nights in a row, I wanted to be able to pick from more than five t-shirts each morning, I wanted to make more permanent friends, I wanted a cupboard full of food, etc, etc. However, I was sure that i didn't want to be in the UK. Tried that, not too keen. So, as discussed in the Mexico blog a while back, I decided on taking an English teaching course, as a passport to [View Full Entry]

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ASU in Costa Rica is a 4-week summer study abroad program that gives university students the opportunity to experience Costa Rican culture first-hand. Participants in the program earn six credits in Spanish by living with a family and studying at el Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI). Students spend the first three weeks of the program at the CPI location in the typical Costa Rican town of San Joaquin de Flores, just 30 minutes from the capital city of San Jose. Everyone learns to use the public bus system to go to San Jose or to the closer small city of [View Full Entry]

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We have decided to sell the business. If you're interested in starting your own adventure, please check us out. http://www.theorchidlodge.com/sale [View Full Entry]

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In Costa Rica, there is no debate about when schools in Costa Rica take their "spring break." Everyone is off for Semana Santa - the week before Easter Sunday. So, with the boys off school and some friends from Minnesota (Dave, Naomi, Nicole, Abby, and Allison) down for their kids' spring break, we decided to do some traveling. Our first stop was Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. This is located in the north central part of the country, about 2 hours drive from San Jose. The town itself used to be a major inland port for the banana and coffee trade - [View Full Entry]

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