Weekend Update

Happy Tuesday!

I was planning on posting this yesterday, but I ended up working on my research paper for Professor Bruya . Yes, I am working on a research paper while in Costa Rica. Fun right? However, the sooner I get it done, the more time I will have. It is a literature review based on falls in the elderly population and attentional resources. Hopefully I will have it published through WSKW – Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness.

I’ve also been working on my resume and cover letter material, hoping to get an internship with a physical therapy clinic in Wenatchee over the summer. My plan is to mail hard copies from Costa Rica, but if anyone has suggestions, I will gladly listen. 

Last time I posted was from Manuel Antonio on Friday night. I thought I had not been badly sunburned – until I went to bed. I realized I had forgotten about my back! Ouch! It will heal, but it is very itchy.

My group and I had a wonderful time in Manuel Antonio. On Saturday, Emily, Darrah, Brenda, Abbie, MC, and myself went to Manuel Antonio National Park. I would encourage everybody to go! We saw sloths, monkeys, lizards, butterflies, frogs, and these weird rabbit/rat things. Surprising, they were somewhat cute! The best beaches are in the park. The entrance fee was $10/person, and we could have gone on a tour. The tours started at $20/person, but we actually got them down to $5/person, but we still passed. Many people along the path pointed out things their guides had pointed out – so we saw some things for free! When we arrived at the ocean, the main beach was closed due to alligators, but the second beach was wonderful with plenty of shade, something that the public beaches do not have unless you pay for it. It was also great not having people hawk their wares at us, and not asking us to buy crafts at a ridiculously high price.  

Anyway, we walked around the park, and eventually walked all the way down the public beach to meet the other half of our group. We rented two surfboards, but I did not go out – if you know me, you know how I lack anything resembling balance and coordination. J Darrah, Brenda, and I returned to the hostel to shower and hangout. It was wonderful hanging out with the group. We definitely learned a lot more about each other, and it is very easy to be around everyone. We are becoming one big family, each with our own roles.

After dinner, three members went to the beach party that takes place every Saturday. Most of us decided to stay and not get any more sand between our toes. We were exhausted from the sun, humidity, and walking all day. The night passed quickly, with lots of games of cards and Take Two (similar to Bananagrams).

On Sunday, we hung out at the hostel. Most of us already had our fill of sun and sand. The humidity was killer, but luckily we had a slight breeze. We talked about every topic under the sun, from high school dances to celebrity couples. At 2:45pm, we walked up the hill to our bus stop. Our 3:00pm bus to San Jose came rolling round the bend, and we all headed home.

We pulled into San Jose around 6:30 (thankfully! The bus was not kind to me with my motion sickness!). A minivan taxi (a registered one, not a pirata), told us he would take us all the way to San Joaquin for 15,000 colones, or $30. This was only $1 more per person than going to the bus stop and taking the bus back. We took the taxi! It saved us about 45 minutes of travel time. It dropped us off right on the main street in San Joaquin, and we all split our separate ways, longing for dinner, a hot shower, and our beds.

When I got back to the house, I unpacked my bags – my mamá tica had my laundry whisked from my hand before I was all the way unpacked! The laundry was back in my room, clean, by 2:00pm on Monday. She really hates dirty laundry! Anyway, I had a wonderful dinner (home cooked food!) and showered. Around 8:30pm, I was trying to stay awake, but common sense came to me and I just went to bed. Travelling always takes more energy than I think!

Monday was the day everything went back to normal. I woke up for my 8:00 grammar class, went to the gym, ate a lot of food for lunch, skyped my momma, worked on things that required internet at the Instituto, and went to music class. I have to do a report on Reggaeton music, and I have no idea what it is! Luckily, I have a couple months, and a wonderful partner to help me teach the class. It’s very nice being back in the groove of things. Everyone agreed that this weekend was a good weekend to spend in San Joaquin. We are going to check out the shopping malls in Heredia, and perhaps go shoe shopping. Heredia is known around here for their shoe stores! There is a wedding in my tica family on Saturday (one of the many cousins), so I will get to experience a big family gathering! Hopefully my Spanish is ready!

Have a great week everybody!!

Pura Vida!

Manuel Antonio

On Friday, my group woke up at 4am, caught a bus to San Jose at 5am, and boarded our bus to Manuel Antonio at 6am! We had a slight problem with a taxi mixup, but everyone made it to the bus on time! And now we are sitting in our hostel, and this is our view:

We are staying at Vista Serena, a very popular hostel around Querpos and Manuel Antonio. We all enjoyed the public beach today, and tomorrow we are planning on going to the Manuel Antonio National Park. Surprisingly, I only have a very mild sunburn. I applied sunscreen about every 20 minutes, after I had dried off from swimming in the ocean :) We went to the store tonight and I did splurge and bought 50 SPF and a nice light purple sun hat. I don't want to get a bad sunburn! 

Have a good evening everybody! 

Two weeks in!!

Hello everyone!

Today is Thurday. I have been on my adventure for two weeks! It's amazing how time flies. I just had my first week of classes; I'm taking Grammar, Conversation, History of Central America, and Music of Latin Ameria. It's a drastic change from the 18 credits of kinesiology and science I've been taking in Pullman. Luckily, I have plenty to keep me busy, such as my honor's thesis, a paper I was suppose to write last semester and never did, finding a physical therapy intership for the summer, and of course, keeping you all updated!

More about school. My classes meet once a week, except grammar, which is twice a week. I am done with classes by Wednesday at noon! Also, we have no classes scheduled on Friday, because they want to encourage us to go out and explore Costa Rica. The school also provides us with coffee and fresh fruit - let me just say, we attack that table everyday! The fruit tastes better down here, probably because it hasn't spent time in a shipping container. The school has wonderful gardens, and all the trees make me feel very safe and secure. Overall, I really like the school. 

The conversation class might turn out to be one of my favorites. We spend two hours a week in class, and we spend two hours a week in the community. I think I am going to spend one hour teaching English classes at the library, and one hour at the senior care center. I also want to find a physical therapist to observe, but that will be outside of the conversation class. I also want to start working out again. Ive been to the gym twice, and will pick it up more after this weekend. 

This weekend, we are going to Manuel Antonio, a beach on the Pacific Ocean! I'm very excited to relax in the sand. I'll try to post about it over the weekend, provided my hostel (Vista Selena) has internet. The plans changed over the past couple days, but we finally hammered out details. I went with my API director (Irina) to San Jose today to buy bus tickets for everyone. We are taking the 6am bus from San Jose, which means we take the 5am bus from San Joaquin. Its going to be an early morning! 

Taking the buses with Irina helped boost my confidence in using the transportation system. The hardest part is just knowing where the bus stops are, since they are unmarked. We made it to San Jose and took the taxi to the bus terminal. It's a new terminal, so it is very nice as far as bus terminals go. Afterwards, Iri and I walked to the central part of San Jose and she helped me buy a watch - my original one decided to quit ticking on the 3rd day here. It's nice to not have to pull out my phone to check the time. We came back to San Joaquin, and I welcomed the calmer streets. 

I hope everyone is having a good time in the US! I'm praying for snow for everyone in the Pacific Northwest! I can't wait to see everyone! The homesickness still comes in waves, but each wave is getting smaller, and passing more quickly. I'll post again soon! 

BYOHD! (bring your own hairdryer)

Hola! I know I just posted, but I want to update everyone again.

Saturday was when homesickness really hit me. I had not slept well, was motion sick from the van driving on curvy roads, and not feeling like I meshed with the group very well. It was while passing McDonalds and other American-based stores when the tears came. Based on everything people say, this is completely normal and totally expected! I think everyone remembers their first semester at college. Its basically the same feelings. And about the group: I am a planner, I am reserved, and am not comfortable with the bar scene. I love everyone in my group, but they are much more outgoing than me. Hopefully I will be able to overcome my hesitation and become more spontanious.  There are plans in the making to go to the beach next weekend. I want to talk with my API director about traveling and how to get the buses figured out. After that I know I will feel better, and I know I will enjoy my  time spent with all the amazing people I have met so far. 

On a different note, we went to the pool yesterday for the last 45 minutes it was open! Within 20 minutes, I could tell I had a sunburn. I changed into my clothes to save my skin. I will be here for 4 months, so I don't feel like I need to fry myself the second week. The sun down here is very intense, and feels very good to a girl from Washington State. Enjoy the sun! The vitamin D is wonderful and helps make you happy. 

After the pool we went to Walmart! We all needed some things, like razors, body wash, earplugs, and such. I wanted to buy a hair dryer, becuase I had read it was easier to buy than to bring down from the US. Well, I wish I had brought mine, because a similar hair dryer costs $70!!! (I have a ConAir Ion Shine) Ouch! I will air dry my hair for the rest of the time I am down here. If you are planning on studying down here, bring your own hairdryer (BYOHD), or plan on going al-natural. 

Also, it is a good idea to bring your own beach towel for the pool and the beach. We weren't able to find beach towels at Walmart, and the bath towels cost around $12. And if you want an idea of the cost of things, my body wash was $7, compared to about $4.50 in the US. My small washcloth was 1.50, and my snack was 50 cents. Overall, if things are imported, they are more expensive. We also couldn't  find earplugs - I would suggest bringing some down with you. I have never used them before, but now I use them every night. Also, bring slippers. Due to the humidity, most of the houses only have tile. Slippers are a comfy item from home, and you will be glad you have them!

The buses are getting easier to use for all of us down here. Just make sure you read the signs in the bus windows to make sure you are getting on the right bus. It's all right to feel nervous about them - you will figure them out once you are down here. 

I also was hesitant to run down here. I didn't know if it was popular. I did not need to worry! Many people run, bike, and go for walks. The most popular time is in the morning when it is sunny, but still relatively cool out. (Maybe around 6:30-7) If you want to run in Costa Rica, go ahead! It is a good way to explore and to get endorphines that help combat the homesickness you will experience. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful time back at home! For all the students, good luck on the first day of classes; mine start today! (Monday) 

One week and my Friday adventures

Hello everybody! I am writing from Santa Maria de Dota, a town in the mountains about halfway between San Jose/Cartago and the Pacific Ocean.

Today has been a full day. My group met at school at 7am to start our weekend excursion. Our guides for today and tomorrow are administrative geniuses, Anna, and our history teacher.  I have forgotten his name for now. We went to Cartago again. Our first stop was breakfast, where we had toast, tomatoes, eggs, and gallo pinto. And of course, coffee. What do you expect in Costa Rica? :) 

After breakfast we visited the ruins of the church located in the middle of Cartago. The ruins were very beautiful, and many people were in the plaza. There were also lots of pigeons, and we had fun watching a dog run through them again and again. You could tell he was a happy camper while he was pigeon bowling. Our history teacher told us the story of the ruins, told us some Cartago history, and then we headed off to la Basilica de Los Angeles. If that name seems familiar, it's because I went there a few days past. Because it was Friday, the church was less crowded. I was able to take a picture of the inside to share with all of you! 

I was also glad to go again because I could buy a souvenir. I bought a little copy of La Negrita, the statue of the Virgin Mary that kept appearing at this spot. Over time, the locals got the hint and built a church for her. 

After the basilica, we all headed out to the country to a viewpoint. Costa Rica is very pretty! 

It was very good going out there for me. The openness of the countryside felt nice after being surrounded by people. Of course, everyone in my group is from the city, so they didn't like it as much as I did. We continued on and saw the fist dam in Costa Rica, and visited the ruins of an old Franciscan church. It was very calm, and we saw parrots sitting on the walls of the church.

After the ruins, we headed back to Cartago for lunch. We had yummy food, and I tried the cheesecake for dessert. It was very different from the US version of cheesecake; it was more tart, like it had sour cream in it. 

We made our way into the mountains after lunch. We had 1 hour and 20 minutes of curvy roads that led up, up, and up! There is no way I could get back to Cartago now without a map. When we finally arrived, I was very happy. Not only because we were done moving (the roads were not kind to a girl with motion sickness) but because we were at a coffee plant! We went on a tour and saw how the coffee is processed, dried, roasted, and packaged. Growing up on an orchard and being around harvest and the sounds of the forklifts made me slightly homesick...along with the gravel dirt roads. Near the end of the tour, we had a competition to see who could pick the most coffee in 7 minutes. My thought was,"If I can't win, everyone in the orchard will laugh at me during cherry harvest!" Luckily, I picked the most. La gringa was victorious! :) For my prize, the tour guide gave me a new coffee bag (the big canvas ones)  that had never been used. Talk about a great souvenir! We drank coffee, of course, then walked around the town. Below is a picture of the coffee roasting process: 

 Now I am lying in bed ready to Skype my parents. Tomorrow we head to Volcano Irazu. Good night everybody! 

Hola desde Costa Rica

Hey everybody! I've been in Costa Rica almost a week! Crazy! Here are some things I've already learned. (And this will be helpful for people studying abroad.)
1. I wish I brought my yoga pants for PJ's.
That said:
2. In the daytime it is shorts and t-shirt weather. At night, or around 6:00p.m., it becomes jeans and sweatshirt weather.
3. Gifts for host family ideas: Nalgene waterbottles, chocolate, Bed Bath and Beyond stuff... really anything. They do have Ferrerra-Rocher chocolate down here, just FYI.
4. There is Walmart, McDonalds, Wendy's, and other American stores.
5. Be ready for lots of people!
6. What is considered rural is not rural. :) San Joaquin de Flores is supposedly rural, but its not. To me it is a town.
7. Bring your camera and double check memory cards.
8. Customs and immigration are easy in San Jose International Airport. Don't worry, you will be fine.
 9. If you want to tape pictures to your wall, bring tape. I bought it here (only $1.50 for masking tape), but still annoying.
There will be more things as I go, but I feel this will help most people who are ready to study abroad.

So, what have I done? Well, I have explored San Jose,  the National Theater, traveled to Cartago and the basilica, seen La Negrita, hiked the Poas Volcano, figured out buses, and met our host families.

Now, I have found out, just like when you are a freshman in college, the busier you are, the better. I will admit, I am homesick. I miss waffles, US driving (Costa Ricans are crazy!), and apples from Wenatchee. I also miss my quiet room, but it is all part of the experience. Yesterday, the homesickness was pretty bad. Luckily, I live kitty-corner to the church in San Joaquin de Flores. I went to mass at 5pm and it was wonderful. I may not have understood the words, but I still understood the mass. :) Although, for everyone at St.Thommies in Pullman, there was a 30 minute homily for daily mass. I think Sunday's going to be longer, so don't complain about the length of Fr. Kevin's :). Also, while mass helped, it reminded me of St. Thommies and all my friends there. It was definitely bittersweet.

That being said, I will get over the homesickness.  I will be home before I know it and will see everyone soon. In the meantime, I will try to post pictures and keep this blog current.

If you want to see pictures, go to my flickr. You can't find my account unless you use this link. It's just a bit of security to make me feel better :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/113459151@N02/

I will write you all soon! Have a fun rest of your vacation, and enjoy the cold, windy, snowy winter of Pullman for me! ;)

This is a picture of the view looking down from the volcano toward the Central Valley and San Jose, which is under the clouds.

If you have any questions for me, let me know, and I will do my best to answer them!

Getting Ready

College is all about taking risks and adventures. For years, I have dreamed about studying abroad, and finally, with many hours spent planning and reading, I am going to spend my spring semester in San Joaquín de Flores, Costa Rica! WOOHOO!! I am excited (and yes, nervous), but I am ready for an adventure. I will be gone from January 2nd - May 10th, 2014. I am skipping out on the Pullman winter and will be enjoying the Central Valley and surrounding rainforests and beaches. :)

Some people are wanting more information, so here it is: I will be studying Spanish at the Instituto de San Joaquín de Flores, an intensive language center designed for American students. I am taking 4 or 5 classes, and they are all 300 and 400 level Spanish classes that will also cover some of my honors classes (UH 370, 380, and 430, for those who know what that is). I will also be earning my Global Competency certificate from the WSU Honors College. Now, I had many options for choosing where and with whom to study. I choose API (Academic Programs International). I am very happy I choose them; everything is included, including a cellphone (not the minutes/SIM card). For anyone looking into studying abroad, make sure you look at what is included in the price for different programs. At first glance, API was the most expensive, but their price includes everything but the flight. When I added all the additional fees to other programs, they turned out to cost around the same. So if price is worrying any curious students, please don't let it bother you - choose the program and place that will work the best for you and what you want to study. That said, you will face nerves and every emotion under the sun when you leave - I say that because as I write this, I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Miami, then onto San Jose.

Anyway, I plan on using this blog to keep family and friends up to date on current happenings and things I experience in Central America. I also hope any information I give will be helpful to other students who are curious about studying abroad. To those students I say EXPLORE! Go to the study abroad office, get your passport, talk to your parents, and be ready for an adventure! (And practice skillful packing! My suitcase was 49.9lbs, and the limit was 50lbs. I must say, I am lucky for that!)