Advertisement
Published: February 7th 2009
n10205354 41557437 8248
picture showing how many people were at Palmares Sorry it has been a while! The days seem to fly and I have no idea where the time goes! A couple weeks ago on Jan. 22 we went to Palmares, a yearly festival here in Costa Rica that is similar to our state fairs. There were tons of people, huge stadiums that were dance clubs, and of course tons of food stands. We went the day of the "tope" which is their version of a parade with horses. It definitely smelled when we got there! 😊 They also had rides for the kids. It was a neat experience, but the funny thing was you had to pay to use the bathrooms! It was only like 40 cents but it was still different!
The weekend following Palmares, Jan. 23 and 24, we had another excursion to La Fortuna waterfall and Arenal volcano. We left early Saturday morning because it was about a 4 hour drive. We stopped in the town La Fortuna to see the waterfall before checking into our hotel. It took around 580 steps to get down to the waterfall, so you can only imagine the walk back up! But it was definitely worth it! We
got to go in the water near the waterfall but it was hard to swim with the current. After the waterfall we checked into our hotel, Los Lagos which was a very nice resort with the Arenal volcano in the background. The volcano is still active so they told us if we were lucky we could see hot rocks coming out of the volcano in the middle of the night but it was cloudy when we went so we didn't get to see much. We also went to a water park of natural hot springs that are naturally heated by the volcano. Our second day there it rained all day so we didn't get to do much and we returned to San Jose that afternoon.
Some friends and I went to Jaco Beach on Monday, January 26 because we didn't have class. It was so nice to finally get to experience a beach! It was SOOO hot we when arrived, even at 9 in the morning. Definitely a climate change compared to what we were used to in San Jose. The beach had black sand that was ridiculously hard to walk on without shoes! We stayed there for
n10205354 41557439 8786
one of the "bar" stadiums a night in a nice hostel with the beach as our front yard. One of the girls that was with our group had stayed in Jaco a week before our program began with some of her friends from home who came to Costa Rica to surf for a month. We all stayed at the hostel and there were people from Germany, Israel, and Argentina staying there too. It was a pretty cheap trip because it was only $4 for a 2.5 hour bus ride to get there from San Jose, and $4 to get back. After our mini beach trip we returned to San Jose for classes, only to return to another beach on Friday.
This past weekend, Jan. 30 through the 2, we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We passed over a lake with lots of crocodiles on our way there so we stopped to take some pictures. Our hotel was right on the beach again. On Saturday we went to the National Park that had 3 beaches in it and several hiking trails. I've definitely been getting exercise with all the steps and trails on the weekend excursions! They warned us ahead of time that
n40609578 33588654 265
a group of us with our academic director in the front at Palmares we have to be careful in National Park because the monkeys will steal our belongings when they want to find food, so after lunchtime I was able to get plenty of pictures of white-faced monkeys. We also got to see a sloth that was hanging right over one of the hiking trails. It was so still and peaceful it looked like it was dead. After a day at the beach and in the park we went to a restaurant in town for Happy Hour where drinks were 2 for the price of 1. I had Pina Coladas, which were so good! On Sunday some girls and I went on a banana boat ride in the ocean for only $4. The rest of the group left on Sunday, but some of us who don't have class on Mondays stayed an extra night. Our hostel here wasn't as nice; it was definitely a true definition of a hostel. It downpoured the night we stayed there so we didn't get much sleep at all with the noise of the rain hitting the tin roof. The girls and I who stayed in a room together put on bug spray before we went to bed
n1575780623 30421407 7910
Hooters at Palmares
just can't escape it! just in case, and good thing we did because some of the others got bit up! There are so many iguanas, lizards, and geckos everywhere here, and it's normal here to see monkeys. It's so different to see monkeys everywhere and not just in a zoo! We went to a sushi restaurant Sunday night where I tried sushi for the first time. Surprisingly I actually liked it! Mom and Dad you should be proud! 😊 We also got to watch the Superbowl which we were all psyched about! Monday morning one of the girls taught a group of us how to surf. I was really excited because I have always wanted to learn. It is hard work, and I have plenty of bruises to show for it! Monday afternoon we took a bus back to San Jose. I witnessed a car accident on our way back home. I saw two people airborne after getting thrown off their motorcycle by a car that hit them. Then it didn't help that our taxi driver who took us home after we got off the bus was a crazy driver. In addition, it was 5 o'clock rush hour so it took us twice as
P1230001
a church we stopped at on the way to La Fortuna and Arenal long and cost us twice as much to get home with all the traffic. It felt so good to be back home after a weekend full of the sun and adventure.
Lately we have been going to class with ticos who are learning English. Us international students get to practice our Spanish with ticos, while they get to practice their English in return. Their teacher gave them an assignment to make plans with an international student and then create a Powerpoint presentation about him/her. I really liked this because it gave us an opportunity to meet more locals and make more friends to show us around, in addition to being able to practice our Spanish. There were more tico students than international students so I helped out two ticos with their presentations. A group of us went to Castros, a salsa and karaoke club, last Thursday for a tico's birthday so we invited our new friends to come with us. My person's name is Jose Carlos, who was born in Honduras. He was the perfect partner because he was a very good dancer; therefore, I was able to learn the Salsa and the Merengue. I helped him present
P1230008
inside of the church his presentation about me this past Wednesday. He did a great job and it was a very entertaining presentation, I wish I could send it to you all. Next Wednesday Jose and I are going to the Costa Rica v. Honduras soccer game together. Should be interesting because he said he is going to be decked out in Honduras stuff and the rest of us will be rooting for CR. My other person's name is Michael. He also is studying Psychology so it was neat that we had something in common right off the bat. A group of us international students and ticos went to a cafe together so they could get to know us for their presentation. I learned a lot about Michael's family and found out that he lives really close to me in San Jose. I will have to introduce you to all my new friends Steph when you come, you are going to love them all!
Wednesday night my roommate, tica sister, another girl from my program and I went to the movies because it was 2 for 1 (2 people for the price of 1 movie). We saw Bride Wars (in English with
Spanish subtitles) for $2 a piece. It was so cheap! The movie theater has really good daily deals and food prices. Popcorn and a drink are actually affordable compared to the US. Today I found out that I will no longer have class on Fridays. I think a teacher couldn't come on Fridays so we had to change our class time. Now I have 4 day weekends, which is perfect for future trips! This weekend a group of us are going to Playa Nosara on the Pacific side to watch a surfing competition. We found a SUPER cheap hostel, $20 for 6 of us to stay for a night. Should be interesting...I am definitely packing my bug spray again!
It is hard to believe I have been here for a month now! San Jose is beginning to feel a little like home and I know my way around more. Here are some of the biggest adjustments:
1. You can't walk alone or at night EVER, unless you want to take the risk of getting robbed or something worse.
2. You can't flush toilet paper down the toilet here unless it is a fairly new facility; you have to
P1230020
the waterfall throw it in the trash.
3. There is no hot water other than in the shower. The shower head has a heater in it that heats the water. Less water pressure=hot water; more water pressure = cold water. Therefore the water pressure is really low. I can't wait to take a shower with water at full blast when I return to the states!
4. I miss my car!!! Surprisingly I don't miss my cell as much as I thought I would but I think it helps that none of the other international students here have a cell either. Skype also has a huge influence.
5. Pedestrians first definitely does NOT apply here.
6. Cat calls and being honked at every time I am outside.
7. I haven't watched tv in over 3 weeks, except for the super bowl.
That's all that comes to mind right now, but I'm sure there are a few more.
Well I think you are all pretty much caught up now! I hear it has been a little warmer lately back home which is good. When I get some postcards I will send some more warmth your way! Miss you all
Advertisement
Tot: 0.138s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.1021s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
