Blogs from San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

Today was my last day of school! I won't miss it that much. I can definitely say I am a fan of education outside desks and a classroom. It’s weird how fast time goes by. It doesn’t seem like I have been at my homestay for three weeks! I am sad to leave but also really excited for break! And to get out of San Jose – not the best city to visit. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but I can show all of you where I live(d) and go(went) to school! Here is the link to the google maps for my house: url=https://maps.google.co.cr/maps/ms?msid=217573190594832094291.0004b385864e86c0aca33&msa=0&ll=9.928271,-84.031677&spn=0.183632,0.338173https://maps.google.co.cr/maps/ms?msid=217573190594832094291.0004b385864e86c0aca33&msa=0&ll=9.928271,-84.031677&spn=0.183632,0.338173 The actual address is: Santa Marta, Bo. Ma. Auxiliadora, del Convento de Monjas suroe... read more

I was planning on posting this last week but the internet was out for two days! So here it is....And another post about this weekend will be coming soon :) My friend told me that the other day was the half-way point of the semester – wow! It seems like I have been here longer. I think that the rest of the program is going to go by very quickly though. This week, and the week before here in San Jose flew by. I don’t know if it is because people realized that it’s about the halfway point of the program, but nobody wanted to be in class this week. It seems like more people are getting homesick. One of my friends really likes to sail and he is missing the America’s Cup in San Francisco. ... read more

Well I have my first real weekend starting tomorrow! I am off to Manuel Antonio National Park with about 12 other people from the OTS group. I’m a little bummed because initially I wanted to go to Tamarindo, a beach town on the Nicoya Peninsula in the northwest. But, this morning there was an earthquake there, and they are apparently anticipating aftershocks. So the school didn’t want us to go. I didn’t feel the earthquake this morning but other people in the house did. Today in class we learned about some problems that Costa Rica has, a major one being traffic. I learned that certain cars, for example with license plates that end in a 2 or 3, can’t drive between 6am and 8am during the week to San Jose. I’m not sure if this is ... read more

Well, I’m not sure if I can consider myself a “Tica” yet, but I’ve gotten used to living in San Jose! Technically I live in Santa Marta, a small neighborhood outside of the big city. It is a little challenging to get around the city because there are no street signs and no house numbers! I don’t know how people give directions, but an example would be “300 metros norte, la tercera casa a la izquierda” (300 meters north, the third house on the left). A compass would definitely have been a good investment. I’m in the intermediate class at CRLA (Costa Rican Language Academy) and there are five other students with me. All of them are from the OTS group so I know them well. Our professor’s name is Gabriel and he is a great ... read more

Hola! Well, after about three weeks it’s time to say adios to La Selva Biological Station. Time went be really fast here. And in spite of being here for such a long time, I feel like I didn’t get to explore enough. Maybe that’s because it’s the second largest field station in the world. Or maybe it’s because we had a lot of school work to do here – it may have monopolized our time more than I realized. If I got the chance I would definitely come back here. Apparently, yesterday, a regular researcher here saw a mountain lion! She was conducting her research really early in the morning like 4:30, when she came across it on one of the trails. She was by herself and it was dark – yikes! She had to walk ... read more

Maybe on the MOON! Costa Rica doesn’t have street names or numbers. EN SERIO! The address would be something like this: From that tree that was there 15 yrs ago, head north about 100 meters to the white house with black little dog. From there turn left and walk south-east 200 meters until you see a Pharmacy. My house is the pink one with white columns. Early in the morning after having a cup of delicious Costarican coffee and a plate of gallopinto (rice and beans) I went for a short walk. Good thing I remembered that I passed a random green house and our house had white flowers in front. If not I would be still walking in the neighborhood of San Jose until someone would ask if I were lost. And even then I ... read more

Here are some pictures from the first day... read more