Panama

Helllooooooooooo :)

So thursday-I had one final...and it was in my dance class. We put on a performance of Calypso and our own dance that we had to choreograph. It was a lot of fun! I had to wear a white dress for my dance and we put baby powder all over ourselves to look "dead". We did a lyrical dance-it was pretty fun. If i have time, I will post it on fb for everyone to see :) Later that night, I went to the bar with some friends from my Administracion de servicios class. They begged me to go even though I had no interest in going with, "its your going away party, we wont see you anymoreee" soooo I decided to go for a little bit. It was a lot of fun and I am glad I went. I stayed for two hours then went home because I had to get up at 345 the next morning to go to PANAMA!!

Friday-I woke super early to take a taxi to the bus stop in San Jose. Kelly and I waited for an hour and then boarded the bus. We were on the bus for about 6 hours and we finally arrived to the border. We had to fill out immigration papers, then we had to walk across the SKETCHY border....So sketchy. I felt like I was going to fall through a good 4 times. The huge river that was under the bridge was reassurring as well....

After we got across the border, we had to get our bags checked by this creepy military looking guy and let me tell you-he was not nice. He made you take EVERYTHING out of all your bags....so annoying. Then, we got on a mini van to get to the water taxi place so we could get to the island we were staying at in Panama. When we were driving, we came to a complete stop on a two way road. A semi truck had fallen on its side so we waited for a good 20 minutes-not to mention the most awkwardest guy sat next to me on this mini van attempting to speak English to me. After the hour ride in the mini van, we got on a boat, aka water taxi. That was a good 15 20 minute ride on the boat. so, just to make sure you are following...to get to this island from Barva (where i live in Costa Rica) we took:

1.taxi

2.bus

3.walked

4.taxi

5.water taxi

6.walked

Impressive, eh? So, we finally got to the island 9 hours later :) Some guy came up to us and asked if we had already had reservations for a hostel...we told him no and he said he was a tourist guide worker so he told us about how there was a hostel for 15 a night for two people anddd he was offering a full day tour for only $15. We took him up on both offers! We went to the hostel, checked in, then went to sign up for the tour for the next day. After, we went to the ATM to get some dolla's out. Well....both of the only two ATMS on this island werent working. But, this little old man comes walking up to the ATM and kelly starts talking to him in Spanish and asking if he knew if there were anyother atms....and he suddenly spatted back at us, i speak english. He helped us get money at, and offered to buy us a free drink at his hangout place. Two hours later, Kelly and I know this whole guy's life story. We went to a boat off the island that was a full bar and restaurant. It was different but fun! After, we walked around Bocas and shopped at the stores all around selling souvenirs.

Saturday-THE TOUR! We got on the boat around 9:45ish. Oh, for breakfast, I ate this really good chocolate muffin, in case you were wondering ;) This tour consisted of us going to FOUR different islands to snorkel in two different places, see dolphins, and go to Red Frog beach! Well, it started to rain right before we got on the boat to see the dolphins :( buuuut, it started to clear up a little. We got to the dolphin island...SO COOL. It was raining so I didn't get any pictures of the dolphins because I didn't want to ruin my camera...but Kelly got a couple so I will steal hers once she puts them up on Facebook. It was so so cool and there a ton of them at this island! So neat. Then, we went snorkeling in the middle of the ocean....don't laugh at me or think I am special BUT I never knew the bottom of the ocean actually looked like it does in Nemo, the movie. It looks exactly like that....and I HAD NO IDEA! Granted, it was my first time snorkeling, but i had noooo idea. I was amazed and I already cant wait to go snorkeling again :) oh, wait-backup....did I mention how the snorkels (mouth piece and all) were just laying on the floor of the boat...it took me a good 3 minutes to finally put on the snorkel because I was so grossed out.

After the snorkeling, we went to this restaurant off the island where people could order food. Kelly and I brought our food because the food was super expensive. After lunch, we went to the Red Frog beach. The most bluest water I have EVER seen in my life. I didn't want to leave, obviously. I fell asleep on the beach, as always for a good hour and got a little tan ;)

After the beach, we went back to the island where we were staying at. Kelly and I showered, and got our hair wrapped! Mine is bright pink, orange, green, and yellow. Its pretty cool I guess. Then, we went and got dinner and walked around the town some more. We were in bed by 10 :)

Sunday-Got up, went to a business seminar for two hours....then got on the water taxi to head back home :( it was a long dayyyy. I always get sea sick on boats...I don't know why either. We got back into Heredia around 1030ish. Oh, on the bus ride back from Panama, I had two guys sit next to me on the bus....who played music from their phone....WITHOUT headphones....do you know how annoying that is? 7 hours on a bus....super annoying. But, thats about all from my panama trip....3 days and my mom and sister will be here :)

for the next couple of days....bring on all the goodbyes :(

baby please don't go

I am officially done with two more classes. I had two finals today-my spanish grammar class and my cultura de costarricenses class. It feels good knowing I have one more final left....and its the dance recital. Although, I am very nervous. We are practicing tomorrow for 3 hours before...lets hope that helps :)

I got a 100% in my administracion de recursos humanos 2 class.....I WAS SO EXCITED. Not bad for taking a class in a different language....

I said another goodbye today, to my Spanish tutor. We have met for 3 hours each week for a one-on-one session for 15 weeks. She is so nice and has taught me so much. Yet again, I got another email address so we can stay in contact! :)

Today-I went to a friends house to make Arroz con leche for our class tomorrow. It was fun to go to another tica house and talk to people i have never met before for 3 hours and be able to understand everything and respond....so crazy how much I have learned over these past 6 months.

I leave for Panama Friday at 430am...yiipppppyyyyyyyy. I will return sunday and have so much to update you all on. Random fact of the day-did you know PANAMA'S currency is the AMERICAN DOLLAR? How they get away with that, I dont know. But I am determined to find out this weekend.

let the "see you later's" begin :(

So, today marked my first official "goodbye" or "see you later". Whichever you prefer. Last week was the last time my HR class was meeting. My classmate that I had been working with all semester on a group project asked if I would meet him this morning because he had some presents for me. I met him outside of the business building, he was there waiting for me with a handfull of Costa Rican books along with this email address. He asked if he could come visit me sometime in the states. My response, OF COURSE (in spanish) ;)

I cant believe everything I have done here, my daily routine, my friends, my family...i am leaving it all in 15 days. Lets be honest, the chance of me seeing some of these people are very slim. so sad. This way of life I have made for myself for the past 5.5 months....will be gone, in a matter of days. So weird to think about.

I am procrastinating and not studying for two finals I have this Wednesday. I should get back to studying. chaooo!

Angels Cry

In two weeks from today, my mom and little sister will be here in Costa Rica. I have one word for that-CRAZY. Where did these past 6 months go? I have been thinking about it a lot lately, and the future scares the crap out of me. I have so many options and I don't know which is the best way to go or which one I will be more happier with. I was accepted/approved to stay in Costa Rica for another semester, but had 3 days to accept or deny the offer. That was a tough decision. Then, I found a internship in Spain dealing with law for the summer of 2011, but its a lot of money. decisions decisions. I am starting to look into law schools-i have no idea where to begin with this search. I never really had to choose or decide where to apply for college, because I had always wanted to go to NWMSU since my freshman year of high school. But, I keep on trying to tell myself everything will work out and don't worry about it so much. Time is too short to be stressed out about the future.

I have all my finals this upcoming week. I will not be doing anything this weekend but attempting to study for them. I hope my teachers are nice to me :)

For my dance class, we are putting on a dance recital. I AM SO EXCITED! It will be so much fun to be on stage, putting on a performance in COSTA RICA! I can't wait. For all you costa rican's reading this, you are more than welcome to come and watch-its thursday afternoon in the dance studio building at UNA! :)

On sunday, i think i am going white water rafting! I AM SO EXCITED! Then, because I have the best parents I could ever ask for, I AM GOING TO PANAMA!!!! Specifically a island off panama, bocas. I am so so so so excited. Mark another country off my list of places I want to visit :)

I skyped with my little nephew (he is 4) thursday morning before class. It made me so so homesick. He was singing "i like it" by enrique. So cute. and he asked what I was doing for the day and how he was going to be in Kindergarten next fall! ahh, so precious. I absolutely cannot wait to see my nephews and nieces. He also agreed to going with me to get ice cream. The summer before I left for Costa Rica, he would cry while getting into my car because he was such a momma's boy and didn't want to leave his mom. but he said he wouldn't cry because he is now a big boy! 17 more days.

I was also skyping with my dad and stepmom and stepsister and my other nephew the other day. They all left the office for a second...but my little nephew stayed and we played peek a boo for a good two minutes.

This is one of my nephews, AJ. He just turned 2!

Ok, I need to go back to studying. Buenas noches y nos vemos muy pronto :)

Playa Tamarindo

Friday-Kelly, Ashli and I decided to go to playa tamarindo, in Gaunacaste. We got up arounf 430, took a bus to san jose and waited for a couple of hours to get on the bus to Gaunacaste. It was raining the whole way there. We got to Tamarindo, and it was still raining. So, we went to our hostel, put all of our stuff in our room, and walked around the town in the rain. Later that night, we went out to a bar that was suppose to be the place to be. It had two different sides of the bar...one playing a live band and the other side a DJ was playing music. I personally didn't like it. It was weird and the two different types of music clashed.

Saturday-We set our alarms for very early to wake up and see if it was going to be sunny. AND it was!!! We got out to the beach around 730 in the morning. We layed out and swam until lunch time. For lunch, we went to Subway-its very good here! After lunch, we went back to the beach until about 3 or 4. After the beach, we just stayed in our hostel and attempted to work on homework. I got burnt...while using SPF 100 again...obviously they need a stronger SPF if 100 is not working and i re-applied it multiple times!

Sunday-We got up early again so we could take advantage of the sun! We were at the beach for about 3 hours then went back to the hostel to shower and get back on the bus for san jose. While we were laying on the beach at about 730am, a guy decides to put his rental surfing board business RIGHT NEXT TO US. And, we were the only ones on the beach...he would decide to put all of his stuff right next to us-these ticos are so crazy. An hour later, a crazy man comes over and lays down right beside me. I was kinda scared at first and he was trying to tell me how he wasn't a creeper and how he just wanted to be my friend and i was like dude, i am trying to sleep. and he was like okay, i will watch you sleep. so creepy! He then left, came back 5 minutes later with a flower for me?? he was crazyyyyyy. He was for sure on something. He was getting all mad because there wasnt high enough tides to surf...like freaking out-throwing his shirt around mad. soooo weird!

En general, tamarindo was so so nice. I want to go back :( I can't believe i only have 23 more days here...where did the other 170 days go?!

I will see you all VERY VERY soooon. Two weeks and two days before my mom and sister are here.....

Nicaragua experience

I had to Get up at 330…Kelly and I took a taxi to san jose. From there, we got on the bus at 6am and were headed to Nicaragua!!!! About four hours into driving, we arrived to the border. It was CRAZY! When we first got off, we were harassed by about 15 guys wanting us to exchange our money with them. To finally get into Nicaragua…you have to pass two different borders, one for costa rica and one for Nicaragua. There are different processes at both of them, depending on which way you are traveling. We got back on the bus after the costa rica border, and then went to the nicaragua border. We had to get our bags checked…here, we saw lots of people walking around and asking travelers for money…so crazy. Moms would make there little kids walk around and ask people for money. How sad!

After the Nicaragua border, we got back on the bus for another four hours. Kelly’s friend miguel was waiting for us at the bus stop in managua-capital of nicaragua where he lives. He showed us around managua-we saw lots of historical things. We went to the mall to eat and then went to one of his friends house to pick her up then went to another friends house and hung out and drank. When we were driving around managua looking at the historical things, at the stoplights…kids would come up to the windows begging for money…and would get on the car and touch the windows and try to grab things inside the car. At first, I was very very scared. This doesn’t happen in Costa Rica at all either, so I was somewhat caught off guard. After the first couple of times, we started rolling up our windows at every stoplight.

Random information I learned during our historical tour of Managua:

*There is a lot of publicity for the current president of Nicaragua…and more than 60% of the Nicaragua population hates him.

*I cant say if Nicaragua has more poverty than Costa Rica or if it is just hidden better in Costa Rica. The statistics show Nicaragua has more poverty, but that is besides the point. I saw a lot of houses that weren’t really “houses” and I cant even begin to imagine having to live in one of them.

*Nicaraguans were very friendly and started conversations with me on the bus, just talking. It was so neat to have a conversation in Spanish and actually understand everything. I think costa rica is paying off!

Saturday-we woke up around 830….ate breakfast at the hostel then miguel came to our hostel and we took a bus to Grenada. Grenada is the “spain” of Nicaragua. It resembles spain so much. We got on this little carriage thing for five dollars that was pulled by horses to a lake nearby. It was so so pretty. We walked around grenada the whole day. Took lots of pictures, shopped, and ate pizza. After grenanda, kelly and I went back to the hostel and took a nap, showered, and got ready for the night. Miguel came and picked us up, we went to dinner/drinks, then we went to a discoteca. SO MUCH FUN! I was introduced to a guy from HONDURAS! We was super short, but he asked to dance, so I did. I got owned on the dance floor, that is for sure. He was attempting to teach me how to dance to swing and all this random stuff. I was not so good at swing, fyi. He was so good! At the discoteca, there was girls standing and dancing on the bar, that usually doesn’t happen in the bars that I have been to back in the USA.

Sunday-woke up at 830, we ate breakfast at the hoste, then said goodbyes :(

Overall, Nicaragua was such a great experience. I can’t believe I had the opportunity to go there. Now, I just need to go to Honduras and meet my step family!!!

This past weekend, I went to san pedro on Friday with Daniela, my tica friend. We went to the street full of bars where all the college students go. Saturday, Kelly and I went to Alajuela and went to the Casino, called Fiesta. It is super close to the airport, where I will be in 23 DAYS to pick up my mom and sister! After the casino, we went to a bar near our university.

Its starting to scare me that I have less than 30 days here. As much as I miss my friends and family back in the USA, I don’t really want to leave. If it weren’t for my wonderful family and friends, I would honestly consider moving here. Buuuut, good thing I have the best friends and family a girl could ask for. Thank God.

I am super busy right now with final stuff, so off to studying I go.

.eat.pray.love.

Tuesday-I had class-which I gave a presentation in. It went pretty well.

Funny story of the day, I was walking home from class. There was a group of people walking in front me, very very slooooow. So, I decided to pass them....and fell on ALL FOURS. So so so so embarrassing. Hands and knees on the cement....after that, I was thinking about walking to the airport and getting on a plane to the USA!

Wednesday-I had class till noon, then I went to san jose to purchase bus tickets for NICARAGUA this weeekend...I am so so excited! Cross another country off my bucket list :) We are leaving friday morning at 6am and staying until Sunday! woohooo. I also went and saw Comer.Rezar. Amor.-in english, eat pray and love. It was an okay movie...kinda slow and i thought there could have been a little bit more action but it was an okay movie! :)

Thursday-I had class from 10-7. now, I am getting ready to pack for the weekend and go to bed, means I have to be up at 3am. I CANT WAIT FOR NICARAGUA. I feel like its going to be an experience I will never forget...and I am excited to exchange my "colones" into the currency they use in Nicaragua. There is something about traveling that makes me feel so "alive". The world is so big and there is so much to see out there.

I will update this on monday, when I return from Nicaragua! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! :) I cant believe I will be home in 6 weeks. Where did the time go???

love like woe

Hola mis amigos :)

This weekend was not anything exciting! I did a lot of homework and essay writing. I did on Saturday get to go out with some friends. We went to watch the MMA fights. We went to a bar and it was such a different bar...I wish I would have brought my camera along with me that night. It was like a house setting...and there was all these different rooms you could sit in...it was so unique and different.

I dont have class today (monday) because of some holiday that happened last tuesday? Don't ask me...I dont understand either.

This week, I have a presentation on Tuesday and thats about it :) woohooo

In case you were wondering, its kinda cold right now in Costa Rica. I am somewhat confused...and good thing I packed ALL summer clothes...I have exactly one hoodie with me here in Costa Rica...fail.

I have 43 days until I home...that is just crazy. This is all I have for now though :)

Have a wonderful week everyone!

51%=fail

this week=wasn't the best.

I had lots of presentations and tests and projects.

Wednesay was my friend's 21st birthday....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGELA!! It made me sad not being able to celebrate with her. I did get a chance to call her and wish her a happy birthday though!

My little sister went on her first college visit to my college! That also made me sad, I wish I could have been there!

I got a test back last night...51%. I was very very frustrated. But there is nothing I can do about it soooo yea. oh, and mind you-this test, i was with two other tico's. fail fail fail fail fail. I am so nervous for my grades from these classes. aahhh.

This weekend: I am not doing anything but catching up on sleep and studying/doing homework. I only have about 40 something days left here, I have lots to learn still.

its official, my mom and sister are arriving in Costa Rica November 25th. I CANT WAIIIITTTT. I am working on all the details of what we are doing why they are here for a weeek! :) I cant wait.

another random thing: I woke up one morning, got ready for class, ate breakfast, then walked out the door. Waiting for me outside were 3 cows, just chillin in the streeet. I have never been that close to cows before without a railing or closed gate or something protecting me. I was scared to walk past them, i didnt want them running after me and tackling me. It was so so weird. I asked my mom later why there were cows just wondering around in the street, and she said she didnt know hahaha too funny

EARTHQUAKE

Friday- I got up early and went to the gym. Then, I met with my "group" to work on our project that is due this wendesday. We had to go to San Jose to the University of Costa Rica to meet with a profesor who was going to help us. We met from 2-7. My brain was about to explode when it became close to 7. I basically sat there and attempted to understand what they were talking about. When it came close to 7, I left and met Kelly and Ashli at the San Pedro Mall. I was starving because i didnt have time to eat lunch before we got on the bus to San Jose. So, I ate dinner at the mall. Then, we went to the Danza theatre in San Jose to watch a dance performance. As we were waiting in line to enter, I called my mom and talked to her for a little bit. I love hearing the excitement in her voice when she realizes its me on the phone :) As we were sitting down in the theatre, waiting for the performance to start, a 5.4 earthquake hit COSTA RICA. OMG, I dont even know how to explain it to you guys. At first, I saw all the seats moving and thought it was a cool "attraction" of the theatre with moving seats. Then, I saw the stage moving and the cieling was shaking and the lights. At this point in time, I saw 2 old ladies get up and start running for outside. It was so funny and such a cool experience to say I have felt an earthquake before.
The dance show was AWESOME but a bit graphic. I would classify the dance recital as lyrical but there was some ballet, jazz and hip hop in it as well. It was cool to see a costa rican dance recital. It was fun comparing it to the dance recitals that I used to be in!

Saturday-ISEP had a field trip to Santa Maria de Dita. We visited two coffee plantations. The drive was about two hours. I didn't really enjoy the fieldtrip because I don't like coffee and a majority of the field trip we were tasting different types of coffee drinks. The last coffee plantation we went to, we saw an indigenas "house" and people. I say "house" because it wasnt really a house. It was more like a fort. They cooked with a wood stove. They wore folklore dresses and had little kids. They had to go to a well to get water. It was such an experience and made me feel so thankful for all that I have and the expierences I have had. I am one lucky girl and I feel like I take a lot of things for granted. For example, shoes or being able to "shower". It was so cool. I will post pictures of facebook when I get time and you will see this "house" and thier "stove".

Sunday-I worked on homework all dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. My family left for an activity so I was home alone all day. You would think that would mean me getting a lot accomplished..but nope. I watched the last song-I love that movie. It makes me cry everytime! I got to talk to most of my friends on Sunday as well. That always makes me happy!

Today (monday)- I have class till 230, then I plan on going to the gym to relieve some stresss. I have 3 projects, 2 presentations, and a ten page paper all due wednesday and thursday. Help? Why did I sign up for 18 hours in Costa Rica? What was I thinking?

I also got two letters from my Aunt Sarah today. I always love hearing from her. Her handwritting is so dificult to read sometimes! It took me about ten minutes to read one page..hahah. I need to work on reading cursive handwriting obviously!

Overall, it was a great weekend. I hope all of yours' was wonderful too :)

Also, I am starting to get addicted to coffee brits chococlate covered coffee beans. They are AMAZING. I will try to bring back some for everyone to taste...if I dont eat them all before I get back to the USA :)

Love you all! :)

Jealousy

So, the past few days have been hectic. I have spent the past two days at school for 12 hours each day. Thinking for that long in Spanish literally hurts my brain. I have so many group projects, I cant keep them straight or begin to understand how to do them fully.

One thing that has been on mind recently is how big of a problem jealousy is with "tico's". I don't understand how one can get so jealous. You are not my boyfriend nor ever will be, so what gives you the right to go through my phone and read all of my text messages and get angry at me for who I talk to? Really? and no, I don't want to spend my entire time here in Costa Rica only hanging out with or only talking with you. Yes, I do have other friends than just you. If I ignore your call more than 7 times a night, please get the hint that I don't want to talk to you or if I dont answer after 5 times I am busy doing something. Get.over.yourself.

Okay, that is me venting :)

Other than the whole jealousy factor, life is wonderful. I have so much homework to do and papers to write and projects to wor onk, so off to work on those I go. I hope everyone has a wonderful weeeekend!

papas/chips....same thing.

I woke up around 7 to read for my ten page paper that I have to write for Thursday. I went to class from 10-12. In my RH 2 class today, we had a presentation over working in a team and leadership. We were split into two groups and did two different activities. It was a fun day! After class ended, I went to lunch with my friend Kelly. After lunch, we had to go to the bank and deposit another $80 for our VISA's. I only have two months left, I am starting to think this VISA stuff is worthless! After, I went home and took a hour nap then went to the gym. Kelly and I did our first class at the gym today. It was all about your abdominals. HOLY COW do my abs hurt :) watch out everyone..i. may just come back with a six pack. but lets be honest, nooot happening because when I got home from the gym, I hate a whole bag of chips....faiiiiiil. I eat so much here in Costa Rica. Who knows why?

Now, I am working on homework and then off to bed Danielle goes :)

oh, and last night I talked to my older sister for the first time in a LONG time. It was so good to hear her voice and talk to her about things. i love my family. I can't imagine my life without all of my 7 sibilings. I honestly can't wait to grow up and have lots of kids. There is never a dull moment when we are together and I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Buenas noches! :)

I wanna set the world on fire

This weekend-nothing too exciting. Friday night we went to the bar near our university. Saturday night, I went to Escazu with Kelly to see a movie. We saw "amor a distancia". In english, going the distance. It was such a cute movie. I want to see it again! Sunday, I worked on homework all day and talked to my friends and family on facebook/skype.

I feel so repetitive with this blog. I kind of do the same thing every weekend if I dont travel anywhere cool.

Things I want to do before I leave Costa Rica. The list is still in working progress

*buy pink skinny jeans
*go white water river rafting
*go to guanacaste

Tonight, I haven't done much at all besides worry about my future. I dont know what I want to do after Costa Rica. I am currently looking for an internship in Spain for the next summer, but not finding any luck. Thats one thing I know for sure that I want to do.

Another thing I have been thinking about: I know I am going to be bored out of my mind with my international business/spanish major sitting behind a cubicle all day. So, I have been thinking about what I want to do instead or after I get my bachelors degree. I have thought about grad school at AU in Washington DC. buuut, do I really want to sit behind a desk all day? Yes, I am sure there are positions available without having to sit behind a desk all day, but its a risk I will have to take. Don't laugh when I say this, but I am currently looking into law school. I want to be a bilingual lawyer! I finally can say thats what I really want to do when I grow up. But to actually make the decision final and apply for law school and take the LSAT and make it come true, is a huge decision that I am not ready to fully commit to yet. So, that being said, what does that mean? 1. I am either not 100% positive that I want to do that for the rest of my life 2. Its a huge commitment that I am not ready to make 3. I have doubts that I can't do it.

decisions decisions decisions. I wish I wasn't so worried about the future and what I want to do when I grow up. I feel like I am growing up too fast and I am not ready to make this life long changing decision...ahhhhh.

Any suggestions would be wonderful :)

and not to mention, once I make this decision. WHERE DO I GO FOR LAW SCHOOL? ahh. too much pressure!

but as for now, I am going to work on mastering the Spanish language while I have 8 more weeks in Costa Rica. I have a 10 page paper to write by thursday.

Buenas noches.

tengo muchisimo sueno...

The past week and a half...

where do i begin? This week has been hectic. Today, I had to give my first presentation in a "tico" class. I would say it went...good. The teacher came up to me after and told me good job, so that made me feel somewhat better. For some reason, its really difficult for me to pronounce certain words...i blame it on studying french for 4 years...

This past weekend...I didn't do much. Friday, there was a group of us gringo's who went to san jose to see the university of Costa Rica. It was like any other campus in the USA...it reminded me of NWMSU and how I wish I could have studied in San Jose rather than Heredia because of the campus. It was so much open, prettier, and bigger. On Saturday night, a few gringo's and I went to a bar near our unviversity.

I was annoyed all day today because things are really starting to make me mad! Like, for example, how it has rained here for 7 days in a row now...nonstop. AND the fact that I have to carry everything I need with me for the whole day to school for 13 hours. 13 hours is too long to be at school, constantly thinking. I am tired of my clothes/hair/shoes/backpack/school materials/money/face being wet from the rain. Its getting super annoying. Rain, please stop. As some of you may know, I am pretty sure a lot of the rain is coming from hurricane Mathew...I can't wait for it to leave central america...

but on the other hand...I hate to sit here and complain. Because I am going to look back on these past 6 months and think, "those were the best 6 months of my life." I am trying to take advantage of everything while I can and not be such a debby downer....cause I know as soon as I get back to the USA, I am going to wish I was back in Costa Rica. Only because everyday I learn so much spanish and I know in the USA, I won't be able to. BUT....cheers to the next two months and being positive :)

Also, I got back a paper from one of my classes, 100%. I never thought I would see that day...

what else is new? oh, this week, I got TWO packages from two of my best friends.

Krista sent me a package with a magazine(in english!), a letter, pictures, candy, and halloween oreos. Amy sent me a tshirt from her soccer team, a rubber ducky, and a necklace. Little things like this make my days so much better. I know I say this all the time, but I am so lucky to have the friends that I do. I am one lucky girl :) but thank you both for my packages! :) It makes me not miss home so much!

I am not really sure what else to say right now. Hopefully I will get better at updating this. Only two more months to go...crazy. these 6 months are flying by!

Some things I am going to do the first weekend I get back to the USA:

*eat jimmy johns/hectors/dairy queen/homecooked meal/tacobell nachos
*take a shower without shoes :)
*re-learn how to drive a car
*visit my nephews/niece, and sorority sisters

okay, buenas noches y dulces suenos! :)

tranquilo

Hola!

Today (Friday) was my first relaxing/chill day in a very long time. I didn’t do much besides the gym, homework, and talked with friends/family. Funny story of the day=so, I went to the gym with my friend Kelly. She lifts all the time when she goes to the gym, and she asked me why I don’t. My response-I don’t really know how to. I haven’t really lifted since basketball season in hishschool, sooo long ago and I can say I didn’t take lifting during basketball season very seriously. So, we went to the gym today together and we attempted to lift. I guess I should say, I attempted to lift. So so so funny. I was doing some kind of arm exercise and obviously I wasn’t doing it correctly after two trainers came up to me and attempted to help me, in Spanish. I had no idea what they were saying, I guess I should brush up on my “gym” Spanish vocabulary. So funny. After they attempted to help me, I hit my head on the machine. So so embarrassing and like I always say, it’s not like everyone already stares at me. This time at the gym, I gave them a reason to stare hahahaha but, pura vida. My arms are extremely sore. I am gonna come back from Costa Rica ripped, watch out J haha just kidding.

I am starting to listen to Spanish music and I am loving it! Its so cool being able to listen to a song and understand what they are saying. Costa Rica is paying off! I only have about 73 days in this country. Holy crap, where did the time go? I cant believe it and thinking about my return to the united states literally scares me. Everything is going to be so easy when I get back and I don’t think I am going to like that. I love living in Costa Rica because I encounter challenges everyday. With either the language, food, technology, busses, people, etc. It makes life so interesting knowing everyday you wake up, you wont know how to get somewhere or you wont know what a person is saying to you or you don’t know how to respond to someone. Call me weird, but I love the daily challenges here. When I go back to the US, my classes are going to be in English, boringggg. Everyone is going to speak English and I will be able to understand them, boringggg.

Random fact of the day-I took a 3 hour nap today. It was much needed…it was a long week full of celebrations, studying, and writing papers.

Hola :)

Monday-I had class until 230. After class, I went to the gym, came home, did homework and chatted with the family. Also, I got a package from my friend Angela Wasko! :) She sent me candy, bobby pins, chaptstick, and lotion. Thank you so muchhh! :)

Tuesday-I had class till one, went to the gym after, showered, then went to central heredia because they were having Independence day festivities. I went with my friend kelly. Before we went to see the festivities, we went to a local bar and had a drink. The independence day festivities included people singing, dancing to folklore music, etc. At 6pm, everyone in Costa Rica at the same time sings a song wherever they are at that moment. It was so cool to be able to witness all the festivities! Also, little kids bring "faroles" which are kinda like laterns made out of paper or plastic and they light a candle in the middle of it. There were a ton of those. I will put up pictures tonight or tomorrow, check them out! It was so cool to witness all of this. Def. a wonderful culture experience. After all the singing and dancing, 3 friends and I went to the local pizza place, (where they know me by name and what i order every single time, how embarrassing) and after, we went to the bar. My friend came and picked me up and we drove around for a while.

Wednesday- NOSCHOOL! I woke up early, around 7 to go the parade. It was SO HOTT. My legs got burnt through my jeans, thats how hot it was! The parade was just like any other parade in the USA. There were dancers, cheerleaders, bands, gov't people, etc. After, I went to POPS to get some ice cream, fail. But it was too hot to pass up ice cream! After the parade, i went home and took a nap, did some homework, showered, and got ready. It was a girls 21st brithday in my exchange program so we all surprised her at her ticohouse with cake! She was so suprised. Her parents made us all food, mom-i tried Lasgana with spinage? (idk how to spell it haha) and her papatico made us all drinks, so so good. After, we went to the bar to help her celebrate. I love going out in Costa Rica. Everyone is always so happy and having a good time. Its awesome.

Thursday-I woke up, with a bad headache, wrote a 5 page paper, had class from 1-7, now i am here writing this and hopefully going to bed soon. I am exhausted-it has been a long week.

somethings on my mind:

1. no fireworks in Costa Rica, how depressing.

2. my sorority sisters finally have their facebooks back, and my sorority got 36 new girls. I can't wait to meet all of them!

3. my classes are getting hard and i feel like i dont do anything here until the last minute. wonderful.

4. i am scared to go back to the united states. Iam nervous because i feel like i may be bored and everything is going to be so easy again. That scares me.

5. its my bed time :)

6. i am trying to mess around with pictures. but the first picture is of the place where people sang and danced on Tuesday night in central heredia!

buenas noches y dulces suenos :)

Sunday Funday

Hola! :)

Today, was a good day! :) I woke up around 830, checked me email and facebook, and worked on homework. My host mom and I talked a lot today. She is so cute and we are starting to become super close and that scares the crap out of me knowing i am leaving in less than 3 months. Its almost like I want to start shutting people out and stop getting so close to everyone here so its easier to leave in December. But then again, who would want to do that?

I taught my little host sister nose, ears, mouth, eyes, tongue, teeth, and cheeks tonight :) she is so adorable. Later, I went to a movie with some friends. I dont know what it is called in English....nor Spanish as a matter of fact. haha oops. It was 3d and about fire, air, earth, and something else? idk...haha it was interesting. After, we went to Wendy's then I got dropped off at home. I am now writing this, getting ready to finish some homework and study for my two tests that I have tomorrow :(

On a positive note, we don't have class Wednesday! woohooo! Its the Costa Rican Independence day! :)

Buenas Noches :)

Volcan Poas y La Paz Waterfalls

Hola! :)

Friday-I contemplated for about an hour if I should go to the gym or not. I ended up choosing to not go. royal fail as kelly would say. I showered, ate lunch (as my mom was making me lunch, the power went out. I swear this is a weekly occurrence) then left for escazu. Escazu is kinda like how millard is to omaha. Escazu is a very nice suburb of San Jose (Costa Rica capital). I went there to buy body spray and pink jeans. I found body spray, but failed at finding pink jeans. I dont know why I feel the need to buy pink jeans, but I am convinced it needs to happen. Everyone in Costa Rica wears colored skinny jeans and I want a pair! :) After shopping, Kelly and I saw "el orgin". In english, inception. It was a very very good movie. Kelly cried, hahahaha. The popcorn is always good here! Also, the seats lean back in the theatre. Be jealous. After the movie, two of my friends picked us up. We bought some beer at the automercado in the mall and drank. I love just driving around heredia. Its always a good time when you are in a car rather than a bus. After, they dropped me off at home, and i skyped with my friends until about 3am. Good times!

Saturday-I was up at 530am. I had an ISEP field trip. We went to volcan Poas and la paz waterfalls. It was a very very good day. I saw yet another active volcano and the crater.....costa rica amazes me. There are so many beautiful things to see here. It was smoking the whole time...pictures coming soon. After, we shopped around the souvenir store and left for the la paz waterfalls. Here, we ate a buffet lunch. I for sure took advantage of the unlimited buffet. After, we walked around the park. Did you know the la paz waterfall park has the worlds biggest butterfly conservation? Well, know you do :) We saw butterflys, jaguars, monkeys, birds( We got to go in the cage and the birds flew onto your arm. I was very scared at first but i got warmed up after a couple of minutes). We put food between our teeth, and the bird would put his mouth to your mouth and get the food-PICTURES TO COME! It was so cool and something I can cross off my bucket list-to feed a bird by mouth. hahaha just kidding, but seriously. THEN, the waterfalls. Costa Rica has so many and they are all different. It amazes me. once again, pictures to come. After the waterfalls, we went to a souvenir area up in the mountains then back to Heredia.

I am so exahusted after only getting 3 hours of sleep last night. Buenas Noches! :)

IAM BACKKKKKK

ahhh, I finally have a computer again! :) My lovely mother sent me one to Costa Rica. She must have really really missed talking to me on a daily basis to send me the house laptop to Costa Rica! :)

I don't even know where to begin! It has been atleast a month since I have blogged. I guess I will start off with my classes. Everyone always asks how my classes are going, and they are all going good so far. They are extremly difficult but I had expected it. I dont understand the teachers most of the time, word for word but I get the gist of what they say. I have made friends in all of my classes so i always have someone i can go to if i have questions. Compared to the united states, classes are very easy here. For me, its not easy because of the spanish, but if i spoke Spanish fluently, they would be a piece of cake. Everything we normally do is in a group.
So thats always nice!

My Costa family is wonderful and nothing really is new. Iam going to miss the food that my mom makes me everyday once I go back to the USA.

My flip flop broke on Monday after i was leaving the library at like 6 at night. It was dark and i tripped. Good thing i wasnt by myself because that would have been very embarassing. I walked home with one shoe on. Everyone stared at me, go figures. Especially when I get on the bus. and me being the germ freak i am, i washed my foot as soon as i got home.

I have an ISEP field trip this saturday until sunday. We are going to some volcano.

Since the last time I blogged, I went to Puntarenas. Its a beach town, I went with my friend Kelly. The hostel had a pool so the first night we just hung out at the pool then saturday we went to the beach and got FRIED after being out in the sun for only two hours. AND we used spf 100....what the heck!

I miss all my sorority sisters because it is recruitment time so they all had to deactivate their facebooks for two weeks.

I just got done skyping Ed and Krista. Boy, have I missed them. I also skyped with Amanda earlier, but she doesn't have a camera so I only got to hear her voice...fail amanda.

I have made a lot of "tico" friends. Two in particular that I hang with all the time. I am going to miss them so much.

I am starting to fall in love with Costa Rica and I can honestly say that I won't be ready to leave when the time comes. I have learned more Spanish than I ever have with being here for 3 months. I love the constant Spanish and the food. Speaking of food, while I have been in Costa Rica, I feel the need to eat chocolate EVERY SINGLE DAY! What is wrong with me? That being said, I joined a gym two days ago. It felt so so so good to go workout in a gym and be able to run without having the fear of getting killed. so good, let me tell you.

I feel like I am going to feel so spoiled once I go back to NW and my classes are in English. I had a test today in my dance class. There was a written part and we had to dance two different dances. I think i passed, lets hope! I have to wear this rediculous skirt.

What else is new? uhm, Sunday I went to San Jose to see "son como ninos"- I dont know what its called in english...but its a movie with adam sandler. It was very very funny and I went with two tico friends. One of my friends, he had an interview in English the following day so we went to the mall and talked in english the whole time so he could practice before his interview. Needless to say, he passed the interview :)

Last Saturday, I went out with my friend Kelly and her hermanatica. It was her birthday-we went to hooligans then to a different bar where we could dance. It was a lot of fun to go out with older people. She was turning 28, i want to say?

sorry everything is so scattered. I just have so much to say because I have been gone for so long. People still stare at me like I am some freak or alien. not cool. Yes, i have light hair, and light skin, and light eyes....but does that really give you to feel the need to stare at me for minutes? NO

uhm, okay. That is all for now. I will try to get in the habit of updating this on a daily basis again.

Also, today is kids day in Costa Rica. There was a bunch of stuff going on, it was kind of cool to see because we dont really have a national kids day in the USA.

Buenas Noches y Dulces Suenos! :)

ah Dios mios

sooo, my computer broke, if you didnt already know this! I went somewhere down the street from my house to fix the problem...which he did. But now, there is more problems. The company that fixed the problem deleted some software that I need in order to use my computer since my computer is from my school. So, i either have to pay $130 to send it back to the USA and wait a month to receive my new one, or not have a computer for the rest of the time being here.

Anyways, nothing too exciting has happened here. Just hanging out and doing class work all the time. I feel so out of the loop from everyone!

I am at the library now and I need to finish my homework before I leave to go home for lunch. I will write more later! Love you all! :)

A whole weeks worth :)

Monday-I had class till 1-went to the ISEP office. After, I came home and ate lunch. I then went to Central Heredia with Kelly and sent some postcards to the family, then went to the bank because I had to deposit $400 for my tutor-after waiting for 30 minutes I realized I didn’t have my passport so we waited 30 minutes for nothing! Haha opps! I came home, ate dinner, and did homework!

Tuesday: I had class till 1, then I went home, had lunch, went to central Heredia to do some errands, I bought school supplies, came home ate dinner, and did homework. Such an exciting life! Ha

Wednesday: I had class from 8-930. After, I went back to the bank to deposit my $400 for my Spanish tutor. Then, I went and met up with Luis in the library to work on our homework for our administracion de recursos humanos 2 class. After, we went to taco bell to get lunch then I went to class. I love my group for this class. They are all very funny and nice. I don’t know what they say half of the time because they talk so fast, but it’s always a good time. After class, I went to POPS to get some ice cream then worked on some homework with Lauren. Then, I went to the mall with some ISEP friends, we walked around, I bought glue for one my classes, and I went and saw eclipse for the second time. It was just as good as when I saw it for the first time. After, we took taxi’s home and I worked on homework!

Thursday-nothing interesting. I had class from 1 till 7 then came home and worked on homework

Friday-I didn’t have class soooo I got to sleep in! I went to a bar near the university with some ISEP friends! It was so much fun and nice to get out of the house and not be working on homework! I drank cranberry and vodka and apple martini! Both were really good and very strong! After the bar, we went to Mcdonalds, which I didn’t need. I got fries and a McFlurry! After we ate, we took a taxi home. Taxi rides are always very interesting/awkward. Glad I wasn’t alone.

Saturday-did absolutely nothing

Sunday-I went to a coffee shop near the university with 3 other ISEPers. We worked on homework for a little bit, and then went to POPS to get ice cream! I didn’t do much this either.

Monday-MY PACKAGE FINALLY CAME FROM MY MOM!!!!! I was so so excited! It had some presents for my host family, and they loved them!! They each got a USA shirt, and my little host sister got a bag, 2 beach balls, and a book in English with all the different types of Animals! I sat down and read her the book. While we were reading, I was chewing gum and would blow a bubble. She would get so scared of the bubble! It was hilarious. I wish I was better at explaining things but when I started blowing the bubble, she would make this scared face and put her hand over her eyes, I am guessing to protect herself from my bubble? Haha I don’t know, but it was super cute! I taught her how to say bubble too! Its more like, “bubbay” but it still works! She is so cute. She reminds me of my nieces/nephews and I cant wait to come back home to them!!!!!!! My mom also put some candy in my package….one being junior mints. I think she forget those are chocolate…because they are not junior mints anymore. More like a big ball of melted chocolate. It’s the effort that counts I guess! THANKS MOM! She also packed the New Moon book. I have only read the first one, so now I can finally read the second one! Hopefully I will have time to read it in between all my homework and classes here! She also got me twizzlers! Gosh, I am spoiled! Okay, that’s all for now. I have a tutor from 1-230 then I will be working on homework the rest of the day/night and teaching my little host sister body parts in English! Hasta luego!

p.s. sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in this entry. I typed this super fast! Also, I am finding it very difficult to type/talk in English! My mind is constantly in Spanish mode here so its weird to “switch over”. Weirddd. Okay, bye!

4.more.months.

Friday-I had no class….I finally found the nerve to go running!!! I found a very very small park near my house, so if I run around it about 50 times, that’s about 20 minutes worth of running. People probably think I am crazy for running around it but I need to start running again and this is my only option! After I was done running, I had lunch with my family and then went to school to meet Luis to work on our HHRR 2 homework. After, Luis and I went to a pizza place nearby then met some other ISEP students to go see “el villiano favorite” in 3D. It was pretty funny and I could understand most things! I must be learning some Spanish!

Saturday- I went to the mall with my host dad, my host sister, and her friend. I didn’t really do much this day. I attempted to work on my online class. This online class is taking forever because I have no motivation to do it. Before we went to the mall, my host sister came into my room and told me that she was robbed the night before in front of her dad’s apartment. She was with another boy. The two boys who robbed her, one had a knife and the other had a gun. The robbers took her purse, which had her wallet, money, school stuff, keys, makeup, umbrella, etc. in it. Her friend had an Iphone and the robbers took that. I am so glad nothing serious happened and that she is okay. This kind of freaked me out so the rest of the weekend I just hung out here at home.

Sunday- I went to San Jose with two other girls from ISEP. We went to a different mall, I found new earrings! Yay. And that’s about it.

Monday-I didn’t really do much either. I worked on homework and translated all of my syllabuses for my classes. I am so nervous.

Also, I am thinking about running in 3 different half marathons this next summer. I want to the do the Lincoln National Guard one with my sorority sisters, the National Breast Cancer Awareness one for my Aunt Sarah, and the Crohn’s & Colitis foundation one for my little sister. If anyone wants to start training and do them with me, let me know!! I would love to not run by myself! I hope they are spaced out through the summer and not all in the same month.

This is all for now, I guess. Four more months till I am home and I CAN'T WAIT

Happy Birthday to my host sister! :]

Today, I didn’t have class till four. I was supposed to have a class at 1 but it was cancelled. Woohoo! I got up around nine, ate breakfast, and thought about running. But, I decided against it. I have yet to go running here in Costa Rica. I feel so, nasty. I need to start running again, I just can’t find the right place to do it. I don’t feel comfortable outside with shorts on because every single man stares at you, but it’s to hot to wear sweats. I can’t run without music, but if I have music playing then I won’t be able to hear if there is a crazy driver behind me. I can’t find an outside track anywhere and the soccer field at my university is muddy because it rains every single day here. The inside gym at the university has no treadmills. I guess it’s a sign not to run while in Costa Rica? But this may cause a problem when I need to start training for the half marathon again….Anyways, I ate lunch then went into Heredia. I had to go to the copy store near my school and request a copy of my book. They don’t buy books here in Costa Rica because it is too expensive. Instead, they purchase a copy of the book. Weird. So it cost my under $10 to do that. After, I went to the library and attempted to work on my Spanish online class for Northwest. I failed to do so and instead responded to all of my emails. There is so much going on and things that need to get figured out with credits/changed classes, etc. I can’t wait for things to finally settle down. I went to class, and I was the only gringo in the class. The teacher gave everyone a sucker with a piece of paper attached to it. We had to read what the paper said and say what we thought about it. Well….of course….I had no idea what my piece of paper said, so she immediately knew I was a gringo. She then started talking to me in spanglish trying to help me understand what the paper said. But I had to respond in Spanish and I had no idea what to say so I just stared at her and said, “no sé.” She said esta bien and that that was my homework for the next class. She then made me read the syllabus to the whole class, and I wanted to cry. I didn’t know how to pronounce half of the words, they were words I have never seen before. I wanted to get up during class and just cry myself back to the United States. After the syllabus, we had to make groups. Two very nice tico’s asked if I had a group and wanted to be in theirs. So I did, and one of the girls explained to me that she has take a test in August to certify her for being able to do something international, I forgot exactly what this test she is taking does. But, she said I could help her with English and she would help me with Spanish. I am so excited to finally make friends with a tica. After class, I went home because it is my host sister’s birthday! We had chicken, cheesy potatos, and rice for dinner followed by ice cream, and cheesecake! I loved the cheesecake! I was suppose to meet some ISEP students at a bar near the university, but its too late and its pouring outside. So, instead I am going to work on my online class and go to sleep. I have no classes tomorrow, but I NEED to finish my online class soon so I will probably work on that for most of the day. Buenas noches!

Tropecé (I tripped)

2nd day of classes….i am still alive. I had my Spanish grammar class from 8-930. After, I went to the postal office at UNA to figure out if they had my package that my mom sent me a month and two weeks ago…I have no idea where it is at and it’s super frustrating. I think it would be easier if I was bilingual in Español and was able to ask more in depth questions, buuuuut – I am not. So, I went to the ISEP director’s office and explained the whole situation and she is going to try to help me, thank goodness. After that, I went home because I didn’t have class again till 1. My mamatica went to central Heredia with Maria Paula so she wasn’t home until about 1140. Well, I leave 45 minutes early for everything because that’s how long the whole walking/bus/more walking process takes to get to school. She made me a quick lunch, I inhaled it, and was out the door. Today, I had Las costricenses: su identidad cultura. My first “tico” class with gringo’s in it as well. This class wasn’t as embarrassing as my first class. The teacher knew right away we were gringo’s because apparently tico’s don’t go in the classroom until the teacher does. Everyone was waiting outside for the teacher, besides the 4 gringo’s in the classroom, including me. It was 3:01, and we were wondering why NO ONE was in class….but as soon as the teacher walked in, the whole class followed her. Weird. Soooo, the teacher saw that we were sitting in the classroom and immediately asked if we were gringos. Wonderful. Class was…okay. I wish I knew one thing she said though….It is so difficult to understand Spanish when they are going 100 miles a minute. Estoy muy nerviousa. I also learned today that there is no way my classes can come back to NW as pass/fail. So, I NEED to get at least a 3.0 in order to keep all my scholarships for the next two years. No pressure or anything. On top of the five Spanish courses that I am taking, I have an online Spanish course I need to finish. Aahhh-so much to do.

I signed up for a $400 tutoring program. It is one on one, so I am hoping that will help improve my Spanish speaking capabilities. I have so much I still need to learn in order to be fluent. I might as well give it all I got while I am here. After class, I went to KFC with two other gringos’ in a different program and we got chips ahoy avalanche's. It was so good. I would like to add that I definitely tripped while crossing the street, almost landing on all fours. I am so special.

After KFC, I went to the school’s library for two hours and worked on my online class. I just got home and am planning on eating dinner then working on more homework. How exciting!

About my throat-my glands seem to be somewhat swollen. This better not turn into anything serious. I don’t have time to deal with sickness!!!

Buenas noches!

I feel like an International student...

Today was my first class with all ticos, it was Administracion de Recursos Humanos 2. I survived, to say the least. But my teacher speaks so fast, I can barely understand what words she is saying, let alone know what all those words mean. We started off class with her telling us that there is 48 kids in the classroom, but only 35 desks. So, we pushed all the desks towards the wall and sat on the floor. After that whole ordeal, the teacher went over the syllabus. She then took role. She never called my name so after she was done, she asked if she skipped anyone. I raised my hand and she asked what my name was. Here is how this conversation goes ALL THE TIME IN COSTA RICA.

Her: como se llama?
Me: Danielle
Her: que?
Me: Danielle
Her: lo siento, no entiendo.
Me: Dan-ieeelllleee (slower)
Her: huh?
Me: es como Daniella.
Her: oooooohhhh, daniella
Me: si, si. es correcto.
Her: Daniella, mucho gusto.


Really? Who would have ever guessed. Tico’s are unable to say Danielle for some reason. But when you add a simple A to the end of it, they are able to. I don’t understand. This conversation happens every single time a tico asks what my name is. EVERY single time. After the whole name issue, she asked where I was from, I said Los Estados Unidos. She then gave the whole class a five minute lecture on how they all had to help me an speak slow to me when they talked to me, and help me learn the learning process here in costa rica and how its very difficult to go to a different school in a different country and so on. SO EMBARRASSING! They all already stare at you but after that whole five minute lecture about being nice to the international kid, they stare more. I hope this lecture isn’t given to all the students in my other 3 classes…. She asked if I spoke Spanish, I said ehh, mas y menos. I wanted to say “I try but I am not very good at it” but I couldn’t think that fast.

I have a sore throat and have had one for a couple of days now. Today for lunch, my mamatica made me soup and it tasted really good. It had carrots in it and I ate all the carrots! My plan for the rest of the day is to do some homework, write on some postcards, eat dinner, homework, then bed!

field trip weekend

Thursday- all the isep students met at the school at 7am. We then took a two hour bus ride. We went on a tour of a pineapple processing plant. It was very interesting. I learned how to correctly pick out a good pineapple at the grocery store. Also, Costa Rica exports 90% of its pineapple to the USA. If you need any help picking out the best pineapple, I am the girl to go to! I tried a piece of it, and actually liked it. BUT, this pineapple came straight from the field and it was warm. After the tour, we went to our hostel, called Trimbina. It was literally in the middle of the rainforest. Off the main road, it took about 20 minutes to get to. We had some workshops about safety in costa rica then had dinner. After dinner, we sat around and played phase 10 then off to bed.

Friday-We went on a chocolate tour. I tried all different forms of chocolate and learned how it is made. This was just as interesting as the pineapple tour. Chocolate comes from a plant, called cocoa. When we first tried it, it was kind of like a peanut. You had to crack open the shell to get to it. This chocolate tasted very very strong and it wasn’t very good. Then, the tour guide grinded up these nut chocolate things and we tried it then, it was like a powder. So so so good! Then, she put the powder in hot water, and we had hot chocolate water! Yuuuummm. Then, we tried it frozen-one was dark chocolate and the other was milk chocolate! It was good! After the tour, we went back to the hostel and had more workshops about safety in Costa Rica and cultural differences. After, we had dinner and I went to bed because I was exhausted.

Saturday-We got up around 7am and went horseback riding for TWO hours. Have you ever been horseback riding for two hours??? It seemed like it took forever to be done. It is very uncomfortable but tons of fun at the same time. My horse had a mind of its own, and would not wait for anyone to get out his way. He just barged through everyone. This horseback riding was not the typical horseback riding either. We went across the river 4 times on the horse….the water came up to my thighs and I was so nervous my camera was going to get wet so I was trying to hold on to the horse while holding my camera up in the air so it wouldn’t get wet. What a day. After, we went to a resort! We had lunch, and it was very fancy. After, we all went swimming/hot tubbing until dinner. Kelly and I went to the gym before dinner, thinking the gym would be super nice, but it wasn’t. fail. After dinner, we sat around and talked then went to bed.

It was so nice to be in a resort/real hotel for once. There were no bugs in the room, there was a tv, you could walk around with no shoes on-it was super nice!

Sunday-got up at 8am and had breakfast. I had 3 pancakes and they were so good! We got on the bus and headed back to Heredia. We stopped about half way to get lunch. This place was so good! I had arroz con pollo y papas fritas. The best arroz con pollo I have ever had, hands down. We got back to Heredia around 3, I went home and talked with my family for a little bit. I then attempted to get things done, but failed. I went to bed pretty early and it felt so good to get some good sleep after that long field trip weekend.

Monday- FIRST DAY OF CLASSES! I I have my Spanish grammar/culture class on Monday and Wednesday’s from 8-930. My Spanish grammar/culture class is with all other gringo’s so I haven’t officially had my “tico” classes yet. I have my first tico class tomorrow at 10am and I am so nervous. My Spanish class went well today. The teacher is very nice and always happy/energetic. It makes the time go by fast! After class, I went searching for a package my mom sent me a month ago for my birthday. It is nowhere to be found and I don’t really know what to do about it? Hopefully my mom knows what to do. After that, I came home. I had lunch with the family and it just started raining. Kelly and I were going to go to downtown Heredia to do some shopping, but if it’s still raining like this, I am not going!! It is always raining here. If I go shopping, I will come home, and hopefully be productive. I didn’t get 3 of the classes that I got preapproved before I came here, so I have to do this huge procedure to get them approved at Northwest. Yippy. Have a good night!

Estoy muy feliz!

So, we had yet another day of orientation. We sat in a classroom for three hours doing the whole VISA process. The VISA allows me to stay in Costa Rica for more than 90 days. We had to get our fingerprints printed, cool, huh? After the 3 hours, we went on a tour of Heredia-it was the same one we went on during the summer program. After, we got on a bus to San Jose and had a little tour of downtown San Jose. I have word for downtown San Jose, it is=ciaos. After, we went to pizza hut for lunch AND they had cheese pizza! After, we went to a church nearby. It was so cool to see how many people actually just drop in the church and pray during the day. It was very busy and people were walking in and out constantly. After, we went to the teatre Nacional for a tour. Its basically just a famous theatre. Many famous people have been there. Did you know that San Jose, Costa Rica was the first place to ever have electricity? Interesting fact of the day. After, we got on the bus to go back to Heredia. I came home, ate dinner, and skyped with my dad! I heard his voice for the first time in two months. He is such a crazy guy, and I hope I can have his happy, crazy personality when I am that old.

For some reason, I am super excited and happy today.

**I think it's because I got an email from Logan Larkin today (my friend on the two year mission trip) It somewhat comforts me knowing he is gone for two years without facebook or skype and that gives me the strength to know that I will be just fine.
**I am learning so much, more than I ever have.
**I can’t wait to start dance classes
**I am trying new foods and actually liking some healthy choices
**I got to talk to my dad for a about five minutes on skype
**I have the best friends/family. My friends are always, 100% of the time, there for me. I love coming home to messages from them updating me on their life. At times, it’s difficult because there are certain situations that I wish I could just be there to help them through or just to be able to talk to them in person or over the phone. I love you guys.
**I have the most supportive mother on this earth. She does anything she can to help me out, even when she has no time for herself and I appreciate it so much.
**Only four months and one week till I am home… which I am bittersweet about. I have so much that I want to do/learn while I am here, I am afraid I am going to run out of time. BUT, I can’t wait to be back with my family, friends, hectors food, dairy queen’s ice cream, Maryville, and the crazy busyness lifestyle.

This weekend, ISEP is making us go on a trip for the weekend to San Jose. So, I will be back Sunday night! Have a wonderful weekend!

Stormy Tuesday

Second day of orientation. For breakfast, my mamatica made me fried cheese with gallo pinto and tortilla’s. Not the typical breakfast back in America, but it wasn’t too bad. It was just a little too much for a breakfast food. Normally, I just eat toast or nothing at all, but fried cheese, beans, rice, and tortilla’s was a little much. We had our exam today to see what level of Spanish we would be taking while at the university. I am got placed in intermediate-advanced. We then took a tour of the campus. After that, Louis, Earl, and I went to a nearby pizza place for lunch. For the first time, I tried a calzone. It was delicious! Earl informed me that we have them back in the USA, but I have never heard of them. So, go out and try them, they are amazing! After lunch, we met in the library and chose our classes. I am hoping I get the five that I really wanted. After orientation, April and I went to the bank to pay $250 deposit for our Student Visa…yikes. Then, I went near the central park in Heredia to find a place where I could get a passport photo of myself. Found one, and as soon as I walked into the store, it started down pouring. I waited five minutes, then was on my way to the bus stop to go home. Of course, It was still pouring. I got on the bus….and it was storming like crazy, I am pretty sure I jumped a total of 4 times. Talk about embarrassing, like it’s not already embarrassing being stared at by all the tico’s. My bus stop came, and the bus driver said something to me but I was so worried about the rain, I wasn’t paying attention. I think he said to get off at the back of the bus, because as soon as I stepped out of the bus…it was knee high water. FAIL. Then, I almost tripped because I couldn’t see where the curb was. Tico’s already stare at you for being a gringo, I just drew more unwanted attention to myself after that whole ordeal. Wonderful. I am glad to be back in my house for the night. When I walked into the house, there was no lights. My mamatica told me the power went out and we had no electricity. So, for two hours we sat in the kitchen with a light bulb thing and talked. The lights finally came back on so I went up to my room to change out of my wet clothes. 20 minutes later, we lost power again. So, I took a 15 min nap. The lights went out when my mom was trying to make us dinner, so she came and gave me some cookies while we waited for the power to turn back on. She is so cute!

The classes I am hoping for are:

1. International Marketing
2. Internation Human Resource Management
3.International Fianance
4.Latin America: historical leadership

....in case you were wondering.

I have so much to do. buenas noches.

Lunes=Monday

First day of orientation! I was up at 7am. I had breakfast and played with Maria Paula for a while until I had to leave for school. It was my first time taking the bus/walking to school without Kelsie. I met the 14 new students that are here for the semester long program. None of them are as cool as the summer ISEP students though. We had orientation till 4-I am currently deciding if I should do this community service project during my time in Costa Rica. Its around $200 but I am thinking it might be worth it? You go on a weekend trip, one every month and do different volunteer work. Any thoughts??

After orientation, we went to a dance studio close to the university and took a two hour class. We started off with normal stretching, then learned the different types of “tico” dancing. After the class, I signed up to attend class every Monday for 1-2 hours of dancing. Aaahhhh, I am so so so excited. It has been a couple years since I have been in a dance studio and it feels so good “to be back”. I am on like a dance class high right now. After dancing for two hours, I walked home by myself for the first time. I am still alive and returned home in one piece!! I had dinner, then sat around and talked to my host family for about an hour. Buenas noches!

Mi fin de semana

Friday: I didn’t really do anything. I woke up, ate breakfast, then my host mom and I went into Heredia. I mailed my post cards, finally. We walked around looking for a little jacket for Maria Paula-we had no luck. We also went to the auto mercado and bought some groceries. We came home, and then I just sat around all day/night.

Saturday: I didn’t really do much today either. I ate breakfast and then sat on the computer for awhile. Then, the power went out in our neighborhood. My mom was in the middle of making pizza for lunch. Because the power went out, the oven stopped working so she ended up calling “Deli Express” for lunch. It was the best chicken I have ever had! We sat at the table for at least an hour just talking. Then, my host’s mom ex husband came over and showed a family our house (the house I live in is for sale, in case you didn’t know). Then, my host mom asked me to watch Maria Paula so that she could go to the store. So, I did!!! Then, she made us dinner. After dinner, my host sister and I went to the little store behind our house. I got cookies and an orange fanta. We then watched Remember Me. I loved it. Then, I went to bed. But, before I went to bed, I was informed that my best friend was a in a serious car accident. The other car, the girl was drunk driving and ran a red light. The girl died, and I am so thankful that my best friend walked away with no serious injuries.

After hearing about this accident and being countries away, I initially started freaking out. I asked my friend Lindsey for some advice, and she gave me the following verse.

Isaiah 41:10 it says "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Basically means that God has a plan for each one of us, and you have to trust in Him with everything you have that His plan is better than what you have planned out for yourself.

Sunday- well, the internet isn’t working today. For breakfast, I had pancakes and bacon. The bacon here is 10 times better than the bacon back in los Estados Unidos. I tried mango and papaya. I did not like the papaya but the mango I could handle eating. After eating, I went to the mall with my mamatica to look for jeans for her. After, we came home and she gave me some cookies! I then sat around all night and attempted to study for my test that I have Tuesday.

SUMMER PROGRAM=DONE!

Tuesday-I had class till noon. We had a presentation, a 3 -5 page paper due, an oral test, and a written test today. It was a long day as well as Monday. After class, I came home and ate lunch con mi familia. We had some type of fried potato thing with of course, rice and beans. I got a drink with my meal this time, I was happy!!!! Then I went through my whole room to get rid of trash. I also wrote on some postcards. Now, I just need to figure out where the post office is and figure out how to mail them….It was a very very productive day! I also played with Maria Paula. She is so cute! She loves to pull your shirt up to see your belly button. She thinks it’s the funniest thing. I officially taught her how to high five and when we are playing, I will say “too slow” and move my hand, and she attempts to mumble “too slow” too. She is adorable!

Also today, I listened to the Plain and Simple CD. For those of you who don’t know, one of my friends started a band when we were in high school, his name is Logan Larkin, and he left this time a year ago for a two year mission trip in Russia. I miss him so much! He is the happiest, honest, and most down to earth guy I know. I can’t believe it has already been a year. I hope this next year flies by because I am getting anxious to see him.

After today, I feel like I am going to survive the rest of this experience. One day in June, I was talking with my friend Angela Wasko. We were talking about this whole study abroad experience and how she was going to Washington DC for the summer to work for Make A Wish as an intern. I was telling her how I was so nervous to be away from family and friends for as long as I was and I didn’t know anyone who was here. Her response was, “its going to be what you make out of it”. Today, I finally realized that is 100% true. Yea, I can sit in my room on facebook all day after class and be homesick, or I can go downstairs and practice my Spanish with my family and get to know my host sisters and/or explore the city of flowers. I can finally confidently say I am going to survive these next five months! It’s about time!

*One thing that I have noticed is that I haven’t used my hair blow dryer or straightner for more than 2 weeks now. My hair feels so much healthier! There is no need to use it because as soon as I walk outside, the humidity undoes everything I did to it 3 minutes ago. It has gotten a lot of getting use to, to say the least.
*Another thing is that I hate how every single guy who you walk by or drives pasts you, they honk, stare, whistle, or talk to you. It is the most annoying thing about Costa Rica I would say.
*I have finally gotten over the bugs. I can sleep through the night without waking up every half hour to check my bed for bugs. I read a card my mom wrote me before I left and it said “Remember, you are bigger than the bugs.” Very true mom, thanks!
*The ISEP summer students leave this week. I really don’t want Kelsie to leave. We have done everything together since day uno here. I met her the first day of class, and I feel like I have known her for years. I am going to miss you Kelsie! She is from Indiana, and we have already made sure there will be road trips in our future.
*I also would like to note that I have gone more than four weeks without my blackberry! It doesn’t do much here in Costa Rica besides turn on and the alarm clock works! The first week, I carried it with me everywhere. I think it was like a comfort item, and having it with me made me feel safe and if I needed anything, I could somehow magically make it work. But now, I don’t carry it around with me. I only use it as an alarm clock.
*It is also difficult for me to sit here and type in English when I write this blog. It’s like my brain clicks over between the two languages. I am constantly speaking, writing, and thinking Spanish so it’s difficult to sit here and type all of this in English, no lie. Weird, huh?
*one more thing, I am trying to figure out how I can get my grades to transfer back to Northwest as pass/fail instead of A for A, B for B, etc. I feel like the teachers here grade more on product and not the actual learning process. Every other person in the summer program is getting a pass/fail grade, and I am the only one getting grade for grade. I don’t understand how Northwest can trust a different countries grading scale. I am also nervous because I need a 3.0 this semester in order to keep all of my scholarships. Taking classes in a different language will be difficult in the first place. Not to mention, I am taking international business classes that I have yet to take in ENGLISH. Say a prayer for me please.

*sorry for being all over the place today with my thoughts. It has been a long day and for some reason I can’t steal anyone’s wifi today at my house. Boo.

I guess you could say I am finally adjusting to this crazy, different, low key culture. This culture is so laid back and calm, I can’t even put words together to describe it. Back at home, I was constantly running everywhere to accomplish as much as I could in one day. I always needed at least 3 more hours in a day, but here, I am very low key and somewhat of a home body because I have no responsibilities whatsoever. It’s a very different life style; let’s hope I don’t get too used to it!

Wednesday-Today, we didn’t have “class”. Some couple came and talked to the whole ISEP group. The topic was over Costa Rican Folklore. It was very interesting and they taught us how to do three different types of traditional dances. After class, 6 of us girls walked to the local mall. We bought our movie ticket to see eclipse at 4:00pm. The ticket was only 1,300 colones, which equals under $3! What a deal! There was a HUGE line to buy tickets, I have never seen anything like it before and it wasn’t even the premier showing of any movies. It was crazy and intense. After buying our tickets, we ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Today was the first I have ate chips and salsa since I left. It was so good. After eating, we went to McDonalds and got a Mcflurry! Yuuummm! Then Kelsie and I went back to the movie theatre to wait in line so we could all sit together. There was a huge line for that also! The popcorn tasted normal and the seats in the movie theatre leaned back! After the movie, I took two buses home and was able to get online for about 15 minutes. For some reason, the wifi I normally use is no longer on my list of available networks. Boooooooooooooo.


Thursday-Today we had a “fiesta” in a park close to Barva. There was a pool, a soccer field, a volleyball court, and a basketball court. It rained ALL day so we just all sat around and told stories all day. All the summer ISEP students are leaving tomorrow, so we all said our goodbyes. I am so nervous to go a whole weekend without any of them. After saying our goodbyes, Kelsie, Kaleigh and I went to McDonalds to get our last MilkyWay McFlurry together. After, Kelsie and I went to Palli, which is a grocery store in walking distance of our homes, then went to the bank. I came back home, ate dinner and took a little nap. After, I met Kelsie outside and for the last time, we went to the little store behind my house and got cookies and fanta. Then, I cried myself to sleep, just kidding.

No bebida :(

Monday-I had class till noon, then Kelsie, Kaleigh and I went to burger king to eat lunch then worked on our paper until 6pm. It was a long day to say the least. Kelsie and I took a break and walked down the street to McDonalds to get a Milkyway McFlurry. OMG! They are so so so good! Then I came home, ate dinner-which was spaghetti. My mom and my sister ate some type of bean soup…it looked weird so I asked her what it was and she let me try it. It was very…different. And once again, no drink with my dinner. I don’t understand why they hardly drink anything here. You never see a tico just drinking. I know for a fact that my family does not get the required amount of water needed in a day, combined. Anyways, after dinner, I went to Kelsie’s house to finish our paper and study for our test.

Puerto Viejo

Thursday-We left for Puerto Viejo. We grabbed something to eat, and caught a bus to San Jose. We were planning on taking the 2 o clock bus to Puerto Viejo but we didn’t make it in time so we ended up taking the 4 o clock bus. We sat at the bus station for about two hours. Here is where for the first time I had to pay to use the restroom. It was about 100 Colones and it was the nastiest bathroom I have ever seen. Kelsie and I almost threw up. We got into Puerto Viejo about 9 o clock. We ended finding a place to sleep at! Woohoo! We all got ready and went out to dinner and had some drinks. After dinner, we came back to the hostel and sat around and played games and others drank some more.

Friday –AKA Kaleighs Birthday!!!! We got up and got ready for the beach! We had to walk about 35 minutes to get to the good part of the beach. On our walk, we stopped at a little café to eat breakfast. I had a croissant with cheese and orange juice. The lady who owned the café spoke in like a French/Spanish mixture and we could barely understand her. After breakfast, we walked some more and were finally at the beach! We just lounged around all day at the beach. Around 3, we walked back to our hostel and showered/got ready. After we were all ready, we went out to dinner for Kaleighs Birthday. The restaurant we ate at was the first place Kelsie and I had seen Chips and Salsa on the menu. We got realllllllllyyy excited, but they were disgusting. We figured it would be really good salsa and fresh, but I don’t even know how to explain this salsa. It was not good! After dinner, we went back to the hostel and talked and went to bed.

Saturday-We got up super early to go to the beach. I got so burnt the first day; I didn’t put on my suits this day. I went to the beach with a t shirt and shorts on! The waves were super strong this day and there wasn’t much sun. We left around 2 to go back to the hostel to shower and get ready. We then went out to dinner and then came back to the hostel and slept!

Sunday-We got up around 7. We packed our things and stopped to the Super Mercado to grab breakfast. Our bus left at 9:00am. We sat around for the bus for a little bit. Kaleigh played Word Mole the whole time. She is obsessed. We got on the bus, and were in San Jose by 1. We then walked to a different bus stop to catch a Heredia bus.


1. Puerto Viejo is not a good town. It was dirty and smelly. There was trash everywhere, and they had no trash cans in this town.
2. There was a bunch of weed in this town. As soon as our group got off the bus, some guy handed our group of guys a pound of weed and said “Welcome to Costa Rica”. REALLY???? The surprising thing was that we had seen multiple cops during the day wondering the streets. You can obviously smell it…but the cops must not care. And it is illegal in Costa Rica.
3. There were a lot of random dogs in this town.
4. This will be my last weekend trip for a while. My summer program ends this week. That means all my new friends are leaving me. I am not happy about that!!!! I hope the ISEP semester group of people are somewhat normal.


Today, it has been four weeks exactly since I left Omaha. I can't wait to come back. I miss my family and friends thee most. I missed my little nephew's 4th birthday party yesterday which is really really frustrating but I keep telling myself the next five months will go by fast. five more months, five more months.

I do know that I could never have learned as much as I am learning in Costa Rica back in the USA. So that is one thing I keep on reminding myself!

Have a good weeek! :)

Tuesday- I had class till noon. It was presentation day…yippee. It went okay, let’s hope we did somewhat better than the first one. Then, Kelsie, Kaleigh, Caitlyn and I went to San Jose. We left Heredia around 2 and didn’t get back till about 7. It’s always so complicated finding the right bus to San Jose. As soon as we got to San Jose, Kelsie wanted to take pictures but if you were to see San Jose, It is not smart to take anything of value out of your purse/bag because it will get stolen. San Jose is pretty big, but has a lot of people in it. We walked around for about 30 minutes trying to find the Mercado. We finally found it and spent about 3 hours in it. They all needed to get souvenirs for their family/friends since they are leaving next week. Gahhhh. I feel like I am going to be so so lost in Costa Rica once Kelsie and Kaleigh leave. I am praying to God that there is at least one person like them in the semester ISEP program. I talked to my dad for the first time on Skype on Monday. He was crying before we even started talking. He misses me a lot, I must be his favorite! I got shirts for one of my nephews and niece. They are too cute and I can’t wait to see them again. I miss them like CRAZY.

Wednesday-We had to be at the school at 730am. It was fieldtrip day! We took a three hour bus ride to a national park. It was kind of boring….and of course, it started raining. IT RAINS HERE EVERYDAY. No lie. After the tour around the park, we went to some junkie restaurant and ate lunch. I ate only rice and some potatoes. I wasn’t really a fan of anything else that was on my plate. After lunch, we got back on the bus and was on our way back to Heredia. I had dinner at my house, then came over to Kelsie’s to work on homework. We went to the little store behind my house and got some cookies and tried these candy bars called yuki’s. They were okay-they tasted like a nutty bar.

Tomorrow I have class till noon then we are leaving for Puerto Viejo (aka, a beach!). All the hostels are booked for Thursday, but we do have a reservation for Friday and Saturday. We are winging it. Let’s hope we find a room to sleep in Thursday night! I will let you know how it goes once I get back to Heredia! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Hasta luego.

I only cried once (Monteverde)

Friday- sooo, set my alarm for 4:00am…deffintly wasn’t up at that time. I heard someone knocking on my bedroom door, i freaked out and looked at my phone and it said it was 5:21. I opened my door to see who it was, and it was mi mamatica. Thank goodness she woke me up! I was suppose to be at school at 5:30am to leave for monteverde. She told me to get ready very quickly and she was going to call a cab for me. She must really love me! So, three minutes later, I ran out the door and through the gate into the cab car. I was so scared everyone was going to leave without me if I was late. But, thank goodness I was only a minute late. These cab drivers are CRAZY. So, from the university, we took a cab to San Jose then got on a four bus ride to Monteverde. I hate taking those buses. They are always crowded and someone always smells. After we arrived in Monteverde, we found our hostil and just had a chill night. Kaleigh had to finish a paper that was due at midnight so we waited for her to finish that and then we walked around and looked at all the souvenir shops. We went to a small soda for dinner. I did not receive my food. Everyone else at the table got their food, so I decided to be patient and wait about ten minutes thinking that maybe my pizza was going to take longer to make. Ten minutes go by…all my friends are already done eating so I go up to the counter and ask him where my pizza was. He goes, “Oh, you wanted pizza?” What the FREAK! I did order it….Wierdest thing ever. So I told him to forget about it because all my friends were already done eating. He must have been on drugs if he thought I ordered something then didn’t want it??? So after they paid, we went to the supermercado and I bought pastachios and oreos for dinner. Yum. After that, we went back to the hostil for the night and we enjoyed a bottle of wine..haha. Kaleigh ended up spilling it on her computer…so now she is computerless for two weeks.

Saturday-ZIPLINING DAY. We were up at 630 am to catch a bus to the Extreme canopy place. We got there, basically signed our lives away…and got geared up. I was somewhat excited…but more scared. I didn’t realize we would be up soooo high. Danny told us all the rules and how to break when we are up miles and miles up in the air-the only thing saving me from death was a piece of string. HOLY CRAP! Anyways, I only cried once!!! Woohoo, go me. I personally didn’t like the ziplining. I think I was soo freaked out about how high we were that I didn’t really get to enjoy or notice what I saw when I was actually up in the air. But all my other friends really enjoyed it and would do it again. I, the only person in our group, opted out of doing the tarzan swing. I just couldn’t take it! It was toooo much for me! But as I look back on the ziplining, it was something I will probably never get the chance to do again so it was worth it. And I conquered a fear, sort of. After the ziplining, we were all starving so we went out to lunch. After lunch, we went back to the hostil and napped. After napping, Kaleigh literally took apart her whole computer trying to get it to magically work. She is hilarious. She failed. We went out to dinner then came back to the hostil…the plan was to go to the Discoteca buutt, we all fell asleep. Lame, I know.

Sunday-We got to sleep in! yayyyy. Woke up about 11, went out to lunch, then got on the bus to go back to San Jose. We got to San Jose about five hours later…then hopped on a bus to Heredia for another 45 minutes. Kelsi, Brittany, and I walked to the bus stop in Heredia and got on the bus to Barva. I then worked on my 10 page paper and presentation-oh joy.


Here are somethings that I have noticed about Costa Rica that are really starting to bother me.

The people-they aren’t very nice. On the bus, if they are sitting in aisle seat…they don’t scoot over to the window seat so someone can sit next to them. They either don’t move at all and make you stand on the bus which is very very annoying and uncomfortable or stand up so you sit next to the window. Annnnooooyyyyinggggg. In the United States, we would scoot over so the person could sit in the aisle seat. Also, if you are walking on the street, they don’t move for you. They just keep on walking and expect you to move out of their way. Rude.


The waitress/es are HORRIBLE. They don’t greet you, they don’t talk to you, they don’t help you, and they always mess up your order. And I am not trying to just sit here and complain. They walk right up to your table with pen and paper…without saying ONE word. The least they could say is, hi, what can I get for you to drink? But nope, instead they stand there and just wait for you to start talking. We all know enough Spanish to order our food in Spanish and we say Hola to them. I just don’t get it!


The bathrooms. No public place here has toilet paper, soap, or paper towels. What the freak! It’s just really really annoying because back at home, you expect any where you go to have those essential items in the bathroom.


I hated being here on my birthday and on Fourth of July. Both days I just wished I was back at home with my family and friends. But I would like to say thank you to Kelsie and Kaleigh for entertaining me on my birthday in Costa Rica. You guys are the best

But on a positive note, I am enjoying Costa Rica. I am learning a lot and so glad I chose Costa Rica because I feel like any other country would be worse than it is here. I love my host family. I love the food-surprising, who would have guessed? on that note, last week I ate an alvacado for the first time. My host mom probably thinks I am crazy because she always asks if I like certain things and I always say I don't know what it is. hahaha. I also ate corn on the cob for the first time ever last week. My diet is the healthiest it has ever been. But for some reason, I crave chocolate here 24/7. I think its the one thing that tastes semi-american here in Costa Rica.

ALSO THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH TO KRISTA AND AMY. I got both of your packages today. It made my day so much better. They both sent me an Oklahoma college world series t-shirt and candy (twizzlers and gummy bears…the ants better not get them!!!!)…and both sent me a picture to hang up in my room. I seriously have the best friends anyone could ever ask for. I would probably go insane without you guys.

Less than five months until my mom, Makayla and Ed get here. Thank goodness. See you all soon!