Saying Goodbye

Last night my host mom prepared a nice goodbye dinner for me to share with my family. She wanted to make sure I was comfortable knowing I could go out and enjoy my last few days in Costa Rica without feeling the responsibility of staying at home, so she made the meal on Wednesday. It was a tasty meal... and it was just nice to sit down with the whole family and goof around a little bit. It is amazing how close I have grown to this family in just 4 months. They are some of the kindest and most welcoming people I have ever met. We even had a cake! (I know you all understand how rare sweets are here... since I have only emphasized it daily). It was a sweet gesture, but it made me realize how much I will miss things here. I have been homesick the past 2 weeks, so I hadn't put a lot of thought into how much I was going to miss this experience.

I cannot believe how close I am to coming home. As I look back and think of the fact that I have spent 104 days in this country, 2 more days here seems surreal. I have learned and gained so much through this experience, with all the good times and the bad, that I cannot imagine never being in this situation again. I am sitting in the same building that I have sat in almost every day that I have been in Costa Rica. I am surrounded by the faculty and friends that have made this experience so enjoyable and memorable. Tonight, I will go home to the host family that welcomed me into the country with love and respect. How can it be that I may never see these people again? People have been heading home gradually throughout the past hour...and I feel so torn with emotion. I am SO excited to get back home to the people I love most; yet, I am sad to leave those who have shared such a unique experience with me. All goodbyes are difficult, but I have never experienced one like this. I thought it was hard to say goodbye as I was leaving for Costa Rica... well-knowing that I was going to return in 4 months! Recognizing that I may never see some of these people who have changed my life again is impossible.

All in all, I just want the faculty and students of ACM to know how lucky I am to have gotten to know them, learn from them, and grow with them. It has truly been a life-changing experience. I cannot wait to go home and share the many things I have learned with the people that mean the most to me.

Thanksgiving... revisited...

So I wanted to let you all know about the Thanksgiving experience I had here in Costa Rica. As much as it was super nice of the ACM faculty to set up a lovely Thanksgiving lunch setting for us... they just couldn't top my family in the U.S. As you can see in the pictures, the setup was beautiful and the people were great. It is easy to think of only the AMAZING food and desserts on Thanksgiving, but only in being away did I realize that those were not the most important things. On Thursday, family and friends were running through my mind the entire day.

I think this picture explains my sentiments during the Thanksgiving meal. Look at the bitter sadness in my eyes...
The turkey was delicious though!

We also decorated the room with some paper snowflakes while listening to Christmas music.

We're talented 20-21 year olds... I know.

The place settings were better than the green potatos, non-sweet corn, and tablespoon full of stuffing.

The beautiful setup.

All in all, I really appreciated the effort and it was very nice to have something to occupy my Thanksgiving day. For the most part, though, Thanksgiving just wasn't the same. I now realize the the family I spend the day with is the most important aspect of the holiday. (I can't wait to fall asleep on your patio couch next Thanksgiving after 2 GIANT plates of food, Grandma & Grandpa!).

How did it get so late so soon?

"How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?" -Dr. Seuss

I have had my trials and tribulations here in Costa Rica, but I would not take anything back. While enjoying my last weekend in Costa Rica on the beautiful beaches of Guanacaste, I had a lot of time to reflect on how much I have grown.

The time really has flown these past 100 days. I remember getting off of that airplane, immediately hopping into the minivan with a family I could hardly understand (let alone speak to), and stepping into the place that I would call home for the next 3 months. I remember thinking how fast everyone in my family spoke, wondering if I would ever be able to respond to them. I remember how the rooster woke me up every morning and the big stray dogs walking down the street made me nervous. I remember the fear and anxiety I felt when a creepy, old man would scream "Machita" at me down the street. I remember my first bus ride and being convinced that I would never be able to find my way home.

Now I hold conversations with my family and friends in Costa Rica, not only understanding and speaking the language, but also being able to use the slang that I've picked up on. I walk into my house here with the same level of comfortability I walk into my house in the U.S, no longer worrying about keeping my room in perfect order. I haven't even noticed the rooster or the creepy old men screaming every morning. I catch the bus every morning and afternoon as if I have been doing it my entire life.

I have developed a level of comfortability, independence, and confidence here in Costa Rica. My life previous to this experience had been so pampered, so perfect. I have always been surrounded by wonderful people who would do anything to make sure I didn't feel the slightest bit of pain (thanks Dad and Peyton). As much as I have and always will appreciate this, it was a huge step to travel here and take care of myself for once. I have to admit, it was a little more trying than I had hoped... but it has all been for the better. The strength and independence I have developed here will truly help me move into the next step of my life. With graduation coming up and my recent engagement, I know that a lot will be thrown at me in the next couple of years... but I now have all the confidence in the world that I will be able to overcome anything thrown my way.

There is no way you can live somewhere for 4 months and not develop a sense of connectedness to the place. There are a lot of people, places, and things that I will miss about Costa Rica. I know, though, that the most important aspects of Costa Rica will always be with me. The people who have taught me, the lessons I have learned, the knowledge I have acquired, the independence I have gained... all these things are what will catch Saturday's flight with me back to the U.S. (I mean... along with a couple of souvenirs!).

Thanks Costa Rica... it's been real. =)

Ready for Home

There has been a lot of drama within the ACM building this week, so it has sort of been lame. I think everyone is just ready to go home... at least I am. I am really looking forward to this weekend though. I will be spending 4 beautiful days on the beaches of Guanacaste...hopefully this will distract me from my strong desire to get home!

Nothing too thrilling has happened since my last post, so I figured I could update you guys with some pictures. We went on a trip to Heredia last Friday to check out some water and discuss the topic of water problems. We went on a nice long hike. Here are the most important images from the hike...

I don't really know what to say about this man. He was really funny, though...
Here is the stream "purification" process the people are currently drinking from. Don't worry, they just throw some chlorine in there and pretend the cow farm up the way won't have any effect on the water quality.

Beautiful view of the trail.

This is how real hikers hold their water bottles.

Some of the beautiful mountaintop view we saw throughout the hike.

On Saturday, as I mentioned previously, we had our family picnic. Here are some pictures from the soccer game.

Both teams. Gringos vs. Ticos.

Right before the cross into my second goal.

First half as goalkeeper. Getting the team pumped (obviously).

Pregame "GRINGO" chant.

That basically sums up the weekend. On this day before Thanksgiving, I am really missing home. As most of my readers know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I wish I could be home to share it with the family, fiance, and friends that mean so much to me. I wish I could eat some of grandpa's turkey and then fall asleep on the couch for a couple of hours. I miss everyone so much and can't wait to get home!

This trip has really helped me grow and mature in my appreciation for the little things. I had always had these big dreams of that giant, cookie-cutter house, the family vacations all over the world, and the biggest wedding with every little detail just perfect. Being on this trip, away from those that I love, but at the same time learning a different lifestyle, has changed my mindset so much. I now see and understand that the things I had previously dreamed of have very little importance in the success of my life. I see that family and friends are what leads to love and happiness; these are the most important riches in the world. Sure, I used to say that money did not matter, but I had never changed my "dreams" to demonstrate this. These things were so easily accessable to me that I took them for granted. I feel that now I will have a much happier, more stress-free life with this more developed understanding of what's important.

Until next time... =)

Note to Self:

To begin, today was a really awesome day. We had our ACM Family Picnic... where all the students and their host families got together. We had the big soccer game. Sadly, the gringos lost. =( ...but I played really well and scored 3 goals! =) We danced, ate, and just hung out. It was a nice change in routine and interesting to meet all the host families I have heard so many stories about. I will tell you more about this once the pictures are available; I know those will help explain a little better.

In other news, I am using this post as a note to self. Every day I find myself daydreaming about something I miss from back home. The important people in my life-- family, fiance, and friends are obviously always on my mind... you know who you are! But there are some other more subtle things that I need to remember to appreciate when I return. Here we go---

• sleeping on my bed with some form of cushion and more than one stiff, flat pillow.
• taking naps (specifically on my parent's amazing bed
• Portillo's cakeshake
• REAL pizza
• going into the kitchen and eating at my own will
• CHOOSING what I want to eat and making it myself
• calling someone without needing to dial a million numbers for the calling card
• relaxing in my own room
• freedom to do what I want
• watching more than just soccer on television
• renting a movie
• listening to new music
• being with the people I love
• and so much more....

Beautiful Views to Lighten the Mood

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!" -Dr. Seuss

To stick with the Dr. Seuss theme, just a quote to express how I have been feeling lately. Because I had been so caught up in seeing new places, struggling with the language, and doing a ton of homework, I had not been able to notice how much I miss my fiance, family, and friends. These last couple of days have been almost unbearable, though. I have finished basically all of my work. My Spanish is at a level that I do not struggle at all anymore... and I am more or less accustomed to living in Costa Rica. I think I am just ready to get home to the ones I love. It was refreshing, though, to go on a trip to Orosi. With these pictures, you'll probably be able to see how my stress was relieved.

This small church is also considered a museum. It is a beautilly subtle church... more or less maintained for years and years. It is the oldest church still in use in Costa Rica... and the second oldest church in general. It was built sometime in the 1700s.

View from the front of the church. Historically, only the Spaniards and the wealthy could enter through the main arch. The smaller arches (a little hard to see) were used for the poor and indigenous people... they literally had to crawl to get into the churchyard to hear the service.

Although the church was beautiful, it could not top the lunch we had. We traveled up to a lookout point in Orosi... it was amazing. Our hostmoms packed us all little lunches and we had a picnic overlooking this...

I just wanted to note again that these photographs are from members of my group (especially Mallory, Emily, and Erin). I want to thank them again for sharing their photos with me and all those who read my blog.

Cartago

Although it has been a pretty rough week for me-- finally hit that brickwall of homesickness... I did get to go on a spectacular trip yesterday. We have visited a lot of places, but I felt that we were lacking some of the more historical/cultural trips that I had hoped to go on. Cartago was the original capital of Costa Rica, so it is filled with a rich history.

Here is an image from the outside of the Museo Municipal. We couldn't enter because of problems with flooding, but rumor has it that it is a pretty sweet place.
At the Basilica, there are little hooks all over the basement where people can hang little trinkets to be blessed. The people bring in whatever part of their body that is hurting them, and then they ask to be prayed for. It was unbelievable how many of these little trinkets were hanging.

We couldn't get too close to the altar because a mass was going on, but it was amazing how intricate the details were.

The hand-carved and hand-painted wood cielings were amazing.

Millions of people travel across the country on a pilgrimage to this beautiful Basilica de la Virgen de Los Angeles.

Here are the ruins to the original church in the middle of Cartago. It had fallen down and been rebuilt 3 times from earthquakes before it was decided to just be left alone.

Now it is the site of a beautiful garden and a hangout place for the stray dogs. =)

Cartago offered a rich history and some pretty cool sites, but I enjoyed much more the beautiful views found in Orosi on this same fieldtrip. ...coming up next...