Blogs from San José, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 21

So, early morning. Thought I'd tackle the town, I left the hostel with a few destinations in mind and some road names scribbled on paper. Feeling feisty I hit the road, however my I quickley realized that the roads aren't clearly marked and I had no idea where I was in a matter of minutes. But when in doubt...just keep walking! So I just weaved up and down streets looking around, found lots of parks and interesting shops. I kept my headphones in my ears so I could easily ignore the screeches from shop owners. Somewhere along the way in my journey I took a wrong turn and before I knew it I was heading down a not so savory road. People were laying all over the sidewalks and I had to walk in the road. ... read more

Day 19 - Dancing Without the Stars September 22, 2008 Today we had a test in Spanish class. But after that, we spent the last hour and half learning to dance with a dance teacher our professor brought in. We learned the basics to merenge, salsa, and cumbia. It got really hot in that room and I was sweating like crazy, but it was fun. I went for a run for the first time in forever today, I want to get back into the habit. I feel so much better when I run and work out. I think Ticos were taken aback by the blond white kid with short shorts running through their town. Tonight I went to my first dance class. 5 classes for $22 isn’t bad at all. Learned more merenge, salsa, but also ... read more

Day 17 - Counting Cards, Waterfalls, Chess, Hot Springs, Longest Day Yet. Make sure you have some time on your hands if you are going to read this entry. It’s a full one. I woke up at 5:00 am to get to school by 5:30. On the way to Arenal we watched “21” on the bus. I enjoyed the film. Well done in my opinion. Worth renting for sure. We stopped at a park in Zarcote where there was awesome hedged art everywhere: archways, animals (including dinosaurs, birds, and horses), funny faces, patterns and designs. Check out the pictures. I think this is what we need to do at SU though. Seriously. We should have a huge redhawk hedge somewhere central as well as a huge SU one (the athletics logo one), right outside the new ... read more

Day 15 - No military = More $$ Had a big discussion in class today about racism and discrimination and the like. It was very interesting to talk about, especially because for the last 2 weeks (and the next 3 months) I’ve been the outsider. I talked about how that is somewhat ironic because I have a scholarship for Latin-American back at SU. What if someone that wasn’t Latino needed that money and was more qualified for the scholarship than I? Hmmm. Interesting things to think about. At home I had a discussion with my Mama, brother Gustavo, and his girlfriend Wendy about taxes, healthcare, economy, etc. Apparently, in Costa Rica everyone (with a job) gets an EXTRA paycheck for the month of December - straight up. It’s not like getting taxes back, not like getting ... read more