Blogs from San Ramon, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Nothing too exciting has happened so far this week. I am begining to get into the groove of things. Although, I STILL am always tired. My family bought ketchup :) I found an awesome ice cream place that I have been to the last two days... This morning, for my spanish class, we went to a preschool to help them make 'torches' for the parade this weekend. September 15th is Costa Rica's independence day (from Spain). Every year on this day, San Ramon has a parade to commerate Costa Rica's independence. In this parade, the children carry homemade 'torches' because on September 15, 1821 they were carrying torches. The kids were so cute. I hope that the kids at my service learning school are that cute and fun and it will be a great experience! After ... read more

Today was an interesting day.. On Fridays I usually only have my Spanish class, but today we had a special lecture about insects. All day after this 'special' lecture, I felt like I had insects crawling all over me. After what I learned about bugs in Costa Rica, I am even less excited about my field trip tomorrow :P. Putting snakes and insects aside, I'm actually REALLY excited. After classes we went to 'la feria' which was like a farmers market, but larger. There were so many fruits and veggies that I had never seen before. The vendors were continuoulsy saying, "Oh nunca ha probado esta? La prueba!" Which means, "Oh, you haven't tried it, try it!" Everything was so cheap. Here, healthy food (fruits and veggies) are much cheaper than processed foods- unlike the US. ... read more

New observations and realizations: 1) I miss ketchup. A lot. 2) Some people think that I am Costa Rican and are a little surprised when I’m not.. They all realize I am not from here when they hear me talk. They call me “Morena” in reference to my dark hair/complexion. Maybe it’s only when I am with blonde Ashley that I will be stared at.. :) 3) If every weekend is like the one I just had, I probably will never want to leave. 4) I am going to come home fat! Everyone just wants to feed me! Coffee, cookies, and cake! 5) Many Costa Ricans dress more provocative than people in the United States- if you can believe that. 6) I am always going to be tired here. I thought it was just jet-lag but ... read more

This weekend I had my first bank experience. The banks aqui are very different from those in The United States. There is a security guard at the door who must unlock and open the door for you. Once you are in the door they use a metal detector and check your bags. You then receive a number and wait until your number is called. We waited about 20 minutes. There were so many people in there… Friday night was quite the experience. We went to quite a few bars and dance clubs. We started at a bar called “Los Secretos” and then went to a discoteca that played music that we didn’t know how to dance to at all- it was slow and kind of for older people. Then we went to another bar where they ... read more

This morning, since I didn't have class I got to "sleep in" until about 8:30... Never thought I would call that sleeping in. At 11 we went to the San Ramon festival. It was a big parade where the floats were different Saints. There were SO many people. It was a bit confusing for me because I do not know a lot about the catholic religion. Tomorrow is when the celebrating starts :) My host parents had to return to Guanacaste, where they lived for the last 3 years, to finish up some stuff. So, it was only me. When I returned to the house for lunch, I couldn't unlock the door.. I had the parents next door try to help, but no one could. I was locked out, with my lunch inside. Luckily, Ashley's host ... read more