Pura Vida, Cocles Style

Yes, I am illegally stealing internet from the 5 star hotel across the street from my house. Cocles is absolutely amazing though. Besides for the extreme heat and humidity every day... and the 3405843837 mosquito bites, the strange lizards that I have found in my bed on more than one occasion, the fact that I eat ants with every meal, and that we only have running water 6 hours of the day... but really, I LOVE IT HERE! (this is not sarcasm). If someone told me I was going to be living in these conditions, I probably would have refused to come. It is amazing, though, how quickly I could adjust to these little things. On the up side, from my backyard, I literally take 10 steps to reach the sand of the beautiful beach. Since it is the off-season for tourists, there is rarely anyone there. I have been going for long walks along the beach every morning and have not been disturbed by a single person. Also, I have been swimming every afternoon with maybe 5-10 other people on the entire beach strip. How amazing.

A sort of funny story, my host mother here forgot that I was coming on Saturday because they just don't bother to keep track of the days here... I guess there is no need. My host mom runs a laundry business for the hotel across the street, my host dad works there, and my host sister is a 15 year old who is so obsessed with the fact that I have my own computer. The house is really small. We do not have any furniture in the living room besides some lawn chairs. There is no dining room table in the house, I thought this was weird... but then I found out that you just don't go into the house during the day because it is so hot. We eat all our meals and do pretty much everything outside. Another interesting fact is that we have had someone new sleep over at our house each night. Apparently they have all been "uncled, aunts, or cousins" but everyone has been super nice. I am still not really sure who all actually lives in the house... but there is one bedroom with like 12 mattresses.

Apparently since she forgot that I was coming, my mom forgot to talk to the school and tell them that I was coming to help out. So, she decided we should just walk down there and introduce me on Monday morning. Sure enough, we walked down there on Monday morning, I told them I wanted to help out. They asked me if I knew English, then told me I would be teaching English. In fact, they had me start that very morning. I just did some introduction get-to-know eachother games because I had nothing prepared. I could not believe I could just walk in there and they would let me teach for 3 hours! They way the school is set up is that there is levels 1-6, but it is basically equivalent to our kindergarten to 8th grade. The upper 3 levels have classes from 7-11:30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then afternoon classes on Tuesday and Thursday. The lower 3 levels have the opposite schedule. Because of this, I only have to teach in the mornings from 7-11:30... with the older kids on Mon-Wed-Fri and the younger kids on Tues-Thurs. So far I have done the alphabet and basic English introductions. I am really enjoying it. I asked the kids what other themes they are interested in and will be teaching about jobs, locations, physical descriptions, and animals in the upcoming classes.

Because I only teach in the mornings, I have all afternoon to do whatever I want. I have been going to the beach for a couple of hours everyday! Not only because it is relaxing... but also because it is so unbearably hot that I need to just be in the water most of the day. Beyond that, I have basically just been preparing lesson plans, reading a lot, and getting to know my family. I think this weekend I have found some worthy opponents to play basketball with! All in all, I am really enjoying this trip, but it is a big change from the life I am accustomed to. This is the first time I have really had internet or used my computer. I have only used a phone once. I am able to live without running water and have already had 2 days without power. All of these things seemed impossible to me before, but now I am kind of proud that I can handle this lifestyle. Hopefully I'll be tan when I'm done with this!

Until next time! =)

Preparing to Leave

It is finally time for the rural stay portion of my trip. I had been really nervous about this whole living 3 weeks without knowing anyone for miles thing, but I am really excited now. Basically, the ACM program includes a 3 week break from classes where you go and do volunteer work in a rural area of Costa Rica. I have been blessed and am placed in Cocles, Costa Rica. It is along the Caribbean Ocean and I am basically going to be across the street from the beach. I can't wait. I will be teaching in a small, rural primary school... but I am still not sure what I will be teaching yet! I am placed with a different family for this 3 weeks where I will have a Tica mother, an African father, and one 15 year old sister. I leave this afternoon at around 11.

It is definitely going to be a change of pace for my life. From the people who I have talked to... professors, my Tica family, college students at University of Costa Rica, etc.... Cocles will be the most beautiful place I will ever visit. This has made me really excited. I am told everything is really slow-paced and relaxed, which will be a good change of pace for my hectic mind. I have also heard the food is better than here in San Jose, which is impossible for me to imagine... for those of you who know my passion for food, this is a huge deal! It isn't the rainy season in Cocles, so it'll be a cool change of pace to not have rain EVERY, single day. and most importantly... no classes for 3 weekssss!

Although it is a touristy destination, I am not really sure what my internet connection situation will be... so I might not be able to post for a few weeks. If I can't blog while I'm away, I'll get you all the updates when I return.

Wish me luck!! =)

Volcan Poas

That's right, went to a volcano yesterday... no big deal. It is actually really funny how surreal it was to just go to a volcano. We just hopped on a bus on Saturday morning, paid for the tickets right there, drove a couple hours, and we were at a volcano. The pictures do not do the experience justice, but I figured you'd like to see anyway...

We went with just a small group of people, so the trip was really relaxed and fun. Everyone brought a little something so that when we were on our hike, we had a little picnic. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with pringles and cookies was a pretty awesome meal on top of a volcano... just saying. All in all, it was an awesome experience and a lot of fun.

Dia de Independencia x 2

Well, I had mentioned that I was about to enjoy some of the Dia de Independencia activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, but now I have actually enjoyed them. What a beautiful day in Costa Rica... I was really impressed with how patriotic everyone is around here. There were some of the most beautiful parades I have ever seen with some really beautiful clothings. There were the cutest little boys dressed in "authentic" Costa Rican garb with painted on mustaches... Que Linda! (How cute!). After a long and late night on Tuesday, I went to the parades all day on Wednesday. Surprisingly, I did not get sunburnt. =)

Yesterday was just a boring day of classes, but I finished a lot of homework last night so that I could enjoy this weekend. I only have classes to 11 today. We are hoping to go to the beach or visit a volcano this weekend... I'll update you on which we choose later! Enjoy the pictures.

Until next time... =)

Dia de Independencia

Finally, a fun week of school! Tomorrow is Costa Rican Independence Day, so today was filled with fun activities during class. We walked down to the local elementary school and watched the cutest little kids in a parade with their traditional Costa Rican garb... how cute! We ate some typical Costa Rican cuisine for lunch, were taught some traditional Costa Rican dance, and celebrated Stuart's birthday. Que buen dia!

I am really starting to enjoy my time here. I finally feel like I have a comfortable place/role in my classes, with my family, and in the country in general! I am really enjoying getting to know the country and meeting new people. I have become brave enough and confident enough in my Spanish-speaking abilities to try and communicate with more of the locals, which has been an interesting experience. Although some ended up being creepers, I have met a lot of cool and nice people. This weekend I am hoping to go see a volcano. I can't wait.

Tonight we are going to head out to watch some of the parades, the torch lighting, and some other celebrations for the holiday. After that... it's time to celebrate Stuart's birthday. No classes tomorrow.. hoorrayyyy!

Slacker...

So I know I have been slacking on the whole blog thing this week, but it has been pretty busy and unexciting. This week has been jammed with classes, tests, and lameness, so I do not really have any exciting news. They even opened up the ACM building so that people could do their homework today... on Saturday. Yes, I went like a nerd... but I spent 3 hours of my time watching my fiance's football game on webcast! =)

Anyways, a little good news is that I found out I will be doing my rural stay in Cocles, Costa Rica. It is along the Caribbean Coast and I will be working at a school there. I get to spend 3 weeks right next to the beach!! I will be living with an Afro-Costa Rican family which will help me with my research papers on the West Indian influence in Costa Rica.

After spending all day at school, I came home to a big tasty dinner. My Tico mom offered to paint my nails, so I went along with it. Little did I know that she is basically an expert and painted the cutest little flowers too! I'm pretty pumped.

Well, a group of us are going to head out now to find out a little bit about the Costa Rican nightlife... wish the "Machita" luck!

Until next time... =)

Weekend Trip - Part 4 (Rainforest)

The Tirimbina Resort (recommend it- completely eco-friendly)
This picture doesn't capture his size, but this jerk was huge...and he was trying to steal our chocolate.

Howler Monkey... can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?

View from the Canopy Bridge

Baby Frog... (actually not a baby, just really small)

Giant Fig Tree

Cool Tarzan Vines

The Sarapiqui River

Rainforest (in general)

View from the Bridge

The obviously very sturdy and well-constructed bridge

That's right... I actually went into the rainforest. What an amazing experience! There are really no words to express the feeling you have walking through the rainforest; it was amazing. Here you see pictures of the giant, probably very unsafe, bridge across the Sarapiqui River that we crossed to get into the rainforest. Actually, the night before at around 10PM, we all decided to cross that same bridge using flashlights... which was probably not one of our smartest decisions ever, but we all survived. I saw leaf-cutter ants, one of the biggest forms of ants in the world, the cutest little baby tree frogs, beautiful birds, an angry howler monkey, lots of ugly bugs, and tons of plants, flowers, and trees that I've never even imagined. I even got to swing from a Tarzan branch! It was an awesome experience and I would recommend it to anyone. We even crossed a second bridge into the upper-canopy of the rainforest. The views were beautiful and the photographs cannot even begin to capture the essence of the rainforest.

Weekend Trip - Part 3 (Sloths)

Now... for the most important part of the weekend... I GOT TO HOLD A BABY SLOTH!!!!! I know the whole educational part of the trip is supposed to be the most important, but how can I not be excited? At the Cacao Farm, we met up with a man named Giovanni, who is better known as "Hombre de Perezosos" or "Sloth Man." He is apparently obsessed with sloths and tracks the 160 that live in the Cacao Farm that we visited. First we tracked down an adult sloth named Byron sitting up in a tree. After we got back, Giovanni surprised us with a baby sloth sleeping in a box. I was the happiest person in the world to get to hold the little guy.

Beyond just sloths, we also took a bat tour and got to see real, live bats up close. This was also a pretty cool experience... but not many people can say they held a baby sloth!!

Weekend Trip - Part 2 (Cacao Farm)

As if the bananas weren't enough... we also got to go to a Cacao Farm. For those of you who aren't sure what that is... it's a chocolate farm! This was pretty much the dream of a lot of girls in the group, but because I don't like chocolate that much it wasn't so amazing. It was really interesting, though, because I've never through of where chocolate comes from before its a solid brown bar. I was really surprised to see the trees it grows on and the fruit it grows inside. This was a really cool experience. In the picture, you can see the inside of something that looks like a mix between a pumpkin and a cantaloupe... that's a cacao. When you crack it open, those slimy white things actually contain the chocolate seed. I actually ate some of that gooey stuff (aren't you proud of me!?) and it was really sweet and pretty tasty. There is a whole long fermentation process where those beans basically sit in giant boxes for a couple of days until they dry out. After that they are cooked... then a couple more steps are taken until the chocolate we know turns up.

A group of Costa Rican women have started their own chocolate company that uses no preservatives and is completely eco-friendly. Apparently we have a lot of connections through ACM, because we got to go to the house of these cute, old ladies and have an AMAZING lunch cooked for us. They talked us through how they started their company, why they started it, and the empowerment it shows for women in Costa Rica. The chocolate they gave us was actually 75% chocolate and 25% sugar... something we cannot even grasp the concept of in the U.S. Now, I'm not a big chocolate person, but this was definitely the best chocolate I've ever tasted. Without any preservatives or whatever other fake stuff they put in our chocolate, it was actually less than 100 calories per bar.

Weekend Trip - Part 1 (Banana Farm)

This weekend has been quite the adventure... and it is only Saturday afternoon! Because I have so much to share, I am going to create this weekend's blog in sections. To start off, yesterday morning we drove up to Guapiles where we visited a couple farms. These farms were definitely not like anything I've seen in Illinois, though. First we stopped at a Dole Banana Plantation. Wow! It was amazing!! The whole system is a lot more complicated than just picking some bananas and throwing them in a box like I expected. As the bananas are tracked by their age, they are placed in blue bags (while still hanging) to protect them from bugs, birds, and to keep them the perfect temperature. There are series of... well, I guess it is easiest to call them ziplines... and when the bananas are ready, they hang them from this zipline. A man then ties a rope to his back and pulls about 15 HUGE bunches of bananas along this line into the company. After that, there is a huge inspection process to make sure the bananas are ripe enough, but not too ripe because they need to ripen just right when they reach the U.S.. The Bananas are then cleaned, the bad ones are again weeded out, boxed, weighed, and shipped off to you guys back home!

One of the funniest things I learned about the bananas is that if they bananas are too ripe and would be browning by the time they get sent to us, they are sold to Chiquita Banana company to turn into baby food. Hey, at least they don't go to waste! One of the best parts about the trip was that the guide gave us ALL a free bunch of bananas! Also, in Costa Rica they call them "bananOs."

Week 2

Well, the whole "WOW, I'm in Costa Rica!" feeling of shock has sort of worn off starting at the beginning of this week, so it has been a tough couple of days. Not that I am not happy to be in this amazingly beautiful country, but it is hard to actually accept that I am going to be away from all the people I love for months! On top of missing others, this week has been filled with a ton of information and the beginnings of a lot of projects, which was overwhelming and a little mentally draining.

Today was a huge relief, though. We went to the San Jose book fair, which to me is one of the most exciting things in the world. Of course... I creeped on basically only children's books the whole time. Books are more expensive here than the U.S.! =( I ended up buying a really cute children's book that is written in both Spanish and English. It is about a coyote who eats the moon! It came with a CD and is super cute and well illustrated. Also, I couldn't pass up on a Costa Rican recipe book! I have really enjoyed all the food here, so I wanted to be able to share some of the culture when I get home.

Besides books being my favorite thing in the world, we also had dance class. At first I was sort of not looking forward to spending 2 hours that I should be doing homeworking...dancing, but I am so glad I did. The instructor was so fun and funny and we learned all different types of music. He also told me I had nice, wide dancing hips... I wasn't sure if I should be honored or offended. Regardless, it was super fun AND a good workout. Looks like we're going to be doing the merengue at my wedding!!

This weekend we are traveling to Sarapiqui and Guapiles for Friday and most of Saturday. We are going to visit a Cacao farm... the place where chocolate comes from... and a rainforest. I am so excited! My professor studies sloths, apparently, and told me I can even hold a baby sloth. As you can imagine, I am so excited. Funny fact: the word for sloth in Spanish is "perezoso" ...which is also the same word for "lazy."

Until next time... =)