Hey Gringos!
Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I've been at my homestay! This weekend I worked in the garden, played with their super cute dogs, learned alll kinds of info about the family and kids lol. My "family's" kids are about my age, so that's been pretty cool to talk with them and all. They love my music. I also cleaned and learned to wash my clothes by hand. It's been such a different experience, but really rewarding. Oh! I also learned how to fry plantains (which is my new favorite food group). I'll have to make them when I get back. They're "muy rico" which means really sweet or rich. I'll be in my homestay til Thursday, then on Friday we're leaving for San Jose and Arenal. Arenal is the volcano, and we'll be there to celebrate the 4th! I'm looking forward to San Jose for a change of scenery. We're in a very small town here! Side note - Costa Rica has turned me into a certified coffee drinker. I've progressed to just coffee and some sugar now; don't think I can drink it black yet. I feel so mature lol - just kidding. Well that's about all for now. I'll be sure to post some pictures soon!
Nos Vemos!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
6/24 Day 2 at Homestay
Hello all,
Homestays are great! My family is really nice and very hospitable which is definitely a part of the culture here. Turns out, my family is also hosting this Italian couple who are also in their 20s, just a little but older than me. Well, I've come to the conclusion that the Italian girl is pretty much a condescending bitch. She monopolizes conversations, pretends like she doesn't know what I'm saying, or just ignores me. However, her boyfriend is super nice. Thankfully, they're leaving on Sunday. Oh and in case you were wondering, they're here through a volunteer organizations that is studying farming in the area. This morning they left earlier than usual which gave me time with my family by myself, and it was awesome! I learned that my homestay "mom" looooves makeup! She went through all my makeup and was fascinated by my mascara. She has mascara, but she said the brush isn't big enough for her lashes lol. I told her that I would send her some makeup when I get back home. She also loved my stretchy nike leggings. By the way - these cropped athletic leggings and my chacos were probably the best investment I coulda made for this trip. So anyway, she works in the kitchen here at UGA, so I'm gonna stay later than the rest tonight and eat here then help her in the kitchen and walk back home with her :). I'm not sure what we have planned for the weekend, but I'll be at their house, so no internet. You can expect another post/facebooking on Monday :). Family - I'm gonna call yall tonight w/ my phone card. Last thing - I'm noticing that I can pretty much understand and comprehend everything that anyone says, but it's soooo hard to respond! It's like I know what I want to say but can't get my mind to produce it in Spanish quickly enough. Hopefully that will improve. Anywho - to all my friends who are partying it up at Athfest, do a flabongo for mee!! Later gators.
Homestays are great! My family is really nice and very hospitable which is definitely a part of the culture here. Turns out, my family is also hosting this Italian couple who are also in their 20s, just a little but older than me. Well, I've come to the conclusion that the Italian girl is pretty much a condescending bitch. She monopolizes conversations, pretends like she doesn't know what I'm saying, or just ignores me. However, her boyfriend is super nice. Thankfully, they're leaving on Sunday. Oh and in case you were wondering, they're here through a volunteer organizations that is studying farming in the area. This morning they left earlier than usual which gave me time with my family by myself, and it was awesome! I learned that my homestay "mom" looooves makeup! She went through all my makeup and was fascinated by my mascara. She has mascara, but she said the brush isn't big enough for her lashes lol. I told her that I would send her some makeup when I get back home. She also loved my stretchy nike leggings. By the way - these cropped athletic leggings and my chacos were probably the best investment I coulda made for this trip. So anyway, she works in the kitchen here at UGA, so I'm gonna stay later than the rest tonight and eat here then help her in the kitchen and walk back home with her :). I'm not sure what we have planned for the weekend, but I'll be at their house, so no internet. You can expect another post/facebooking on Monday :). Family - I'm gonna call yall tonight w/ my phone card. Last thing - I'm noticing that I can pretty much understand and comprehend everything that anyone says, but it's soooo hard to respond! It's like I know what I want to say but can't get my mind to produce it in Spanish quickly enough. Hopefully that will improve. Anywho - to all my friends who are partying it up at Athfest, do a flabongo for mee!! Later gators.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
6/23 I'm Alive
So last night was my first night in the homestay. I arrived around 6:30 pm, but the family had already eaten. The father, Marco, met me at their gate and walked me up to their house where the mom, Lorena, had dinner waiting. Well, my situation is a little different from everyone else's homestays because my family has 2 Italian travelers staying with them for the next few days. The two Italians are in their 20s and are studying the farms in this area. It was a little awkward last night because they know the family better and speak fluent Spanish, so I was a little overwhelmed. However, everyone was really nice and the food was good. Lorena works in the kitchen here at UGA (she's a great cook). Their daughter, Neybi, is 17 and she was a little bit standoff-ish, but I was told that about her before I went. She just takes a while to warm up to people. After dinner we went next door to her son Arnando's house. He is 21 or 22 and just got married to his wife who is 19! No thank you. Over there we watched futbol (soccer) and he was super kind. Now I'm on campus trying to study for a quiz, so wish me luck! I'll keep you all informed about homestays more :)
Ciao!
Ciao!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
6/22 Moving To Homestays!
Hey yall!
Sorry that I haven't had a post in a couple days, but here's what's been going on. Monday was just a normal day - class. Tuesday was the same; however, my friend and I walked to Santa Elena which is about 12km (8 or so miles). Well, on the way there, you have to walk up the "la trocha" which means "path", but honestly it should mean torturous. The few miles of the trocha are extremelllllly steep. I'm so glad that we did it though - you feel so proud of yourself once you make it to town. Oh, also, I worked in the kitchen yesterday morning with the kitchen staff. It was fun because I got to practice my Spanish and help out, but it was hard work! So today is fairly normal except for the fact that we're moving to homestays tonight! I'm leaving around 6:30 our time to move into the home of Lorena Leiton and Marco Marin. In Hispanic culture, the wife doesn't take her husband's name, she just adds it on. The kids' last names are: first name, dad's last name, mom's last name. So their daughter, Neybi, is Neybi Marin Leiton. I won't have any internet at the homestay so that means no fb or skype at night. The best time to try to chat will be in the mornings around 10am yalls time. I'm thinking of buying a calling card, so I can call home (mom). Talk to yall later!
Sorry that I haven't had a post in a couple days, but here's what's been going on. Monday was just a normal day - class. Tuesday was the same; however, my friend and I walked to Santa Elena which is about 12km (8 or so miles). Well, on the way there, you have to walk up the "la trocha" which means "path", but honestly it should mean torturous. The few miles of the trocha are extremelllllly steep. I'm so glad that we did it though - you feel so proud of yourself once you make it to town. Oh, also, I worked in the kitchen yesterday morning with the kitchen staff. It was fun because I got to practice my Spanish and help out, but it was hard work! So today is fairly normal except for the fact that we're moving to homestays tonight! I'm leaving around 6:30 our time to move into the home of Lorena Leiton and Marco Marin. In Hispanic culture, the wife doesn't take her husband's name, she just adds it on. The kids' last names are: first name, dad's last name, mom's last name. So their daughter, Neybi, is Neybi Marin Leiton. I won't have any internet at the homestay so that means no fb or skype at night. The best time to try to chat will be in the mornings around 10am yalls time. I'm thinking of buying a calling card, so I can call home (mom). Talk to yall later!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
6/19 La Catarata y Baile!
So to translate: la catarata = waterfall and baile = dance. Today has to be one of the funnest days we've had thus far. It started out this morning with a hike to the San Luis waterfall which took about an hour and a half. Once we got there, we all got in the pool by the fall and it was freeeeeezing! There was a place up by the falls where you could jump, so we all took turns climbing up there and jumping in. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty scary, but I'm so glad I did it! It was soo much fun. Although once you went all the way under from jumping in, it definitely took your breath away because it was so cold. After we got out, it definitely felt like a massage because the water was basically like an ice bath. I have a few pictures of the falls, but everyone will have to wait to see the group pictures and ones of me jumping in because they are on someone else's camera. So after that we hiked back and had lunch. Then everyone just kind of chilled and did homework and studied until dinner. So after dinner a few of the staff taught us how to dance the cumbia and the merengue (sp?). Wow! They can dance. It was so much fun. They were twirling us around like it was nobody's business. Hopefully the lessons will continue and I can show yall my new moves when I get back. Also, to back track a little, I laid out after the waterfall for literally 15 minutes and got the same amount of sun as I would laying out for an hour back home. Yes, I'm a little burned. Anyway, so we also had our homestay orientation today! We will be moving in with families on Wednesday, and I am sooo excited. My family lives in Alto San Luis or upper San Luis which will make for walking straight up hill each evening when I go home from class. I can't remember the name of the family right now, but the mother works in the kitchen here on campus and she has twin sons who are about my age - one who is married and lives in Santa Elena where the bar is and the other is in school in San Jose (I think). She also has a daughter who is 18 which I'm really looking forward to meeting. I think we're all really excited about meeting our families. It is going to be such a great opportunity to practice my Spanish. Well tomorrow will be a normal day - class, class, class. Happy Father's Day!
Buenas noches :)
Buenas noches :)
Saturday, June 18, 2011
6/18 Our First Night Out (Made a Lasting Impression on the Town)
Hey everyone,
Sorry I didn't get to get on the internet yesterday, but you'll get to hear about it all now! First of all - Happy birthday to my Dad!! Sorry I'm a day late telling you. So yesterday during the day was typical - class. We watched our first movie in the film class called Central Station and it was about a kid whose mom gets killed by a bus and this lady takes him in to try to help him find his father even though she doesn't want to. She's really mean, but on their journey she changes and becomes kind and he finds his older brothers to live with. But the bigger story to talk about is our night on the town last night. So after class we all got ready and got the cabs in order to go into Santa Elena to go to Bar Amigos. Bar Amigos was more like a small club type atmosphere - big dance floor, loud music, dj, etc... Surprisingly they played all American music except for one hour which was mostly Hispanic music. Well our group went, a few teachers went, some of the resident naturalists went (the RNs are interns mostly just graduated or in grad school working here on campus), and some kids from another group who is here went. So we walk in with about 30 people and just completely take over this place. Needless to say, we were the entertainment for the locals. Everyone immediately started pounding tequila shots then hit the dance floor. I had a few shots, but for most of the night I drank the popular beer here, Imperial. We had the BEST time. Everyone danced together and was buying drinks for each other and getting along. However, toward the end of the night around 1 we as a group definitely started getting out of hand and belligerent - few people threw up. But we all made it very safely back home to campus and slept a solid 4 hours until we had to get up for breakfast at 7! We had to go on a hike at 8. Obviously we were a cranky bunch, but we've discovered that the best cure for a hang over is hiking in the clouds! The hike was nature focused, and we saw lots of bird and the flora of the Cloud Forest. Once we got back, everyone ate a quick lunch and we allll took naps. I just woke up lol. A few people have gone into town to watch the soccer or futbol game and the rest of us are just chilling on campus. I'm going to try to be on skype tonight and tomorrow night. My skype name is sarahwagnon. Tonight we're hoping to watch a movie and just relax :).
Sorry I didn't get to get on the internet yesterday, but you'll get to hear about it all now! First of all - Happy birthday to my Dad!! Sorry I'm a day late telling you. So yesterday during the day was typical - class. We watched our first movie in the film class called Central Station and it was about a kid whose mom gets killed by a bus and this lady takes him in to try to help him find his father even though she doesn't want to. She's really mean, but on their journey she changes and becomes kind and he finds his older brothers to live with. But the bigger story to talk about is our night on the town last night. So after class we all got ready and got the cabs in order to go into Santa Elena to go to Bar Amigos. Bar Amigos was more like a small club type atmosphere - big dance floor, loud music, dj, etc... Surprisingly they played all American music except for one hour which was mostly Hispanic music. Well our group went, a few teachers went, some of the resident naturalists went (the RNs are interns mostly just graduated or in grad school working here on campus), and some kids from another group who is here went. So we walk in with about 30 people and just completely take over this place. Needless to say, we were the entertainment for the locals. Everyone immediately started pounding tequila shots then hit the dance floor. I had a few shots, but for most of the night I drank the popular beer here, Imperial. We had the BEST time. Everyone danced together and was buying drinks for each other and getting along. However, toward the end of the night around 1 we as a group definitely started getting out of hand and belligerent - few people threw up. But we all made it very safely back home to campus and slept a solid 4 hours until we had to get up for breakfast at 7! We had to go on a hike at 8. Obviously we were a cranky bunch, but we've discovered that the best cure for a hang over is hiking in the clouds! The hike was nature focused, and we saw lots of bird and the flora of the Cloud Forest. Once we got back, everyone ate a quick lunch and we allll took naps. I just woke up lol. A few people have gone into town to watch the soccer or futbol game and the rest of us are just chilling on campus. I'm going to try to be on skype tonight and tomorrow night. My skype name is sarahwagnon. Tonight we're hoping to watch a movie and just relax :).
Thursday, June 16, 2011
6/16 First Day of Class
So today was probably the busiest day we've had so far - and that was by choice. My first class is at 10:50 so I pretty much chilled this morning after breakfast and chatted with my INTL teacher who is really cool. I think I'm really going to like the Inter-American relations class. After class and lunch I decided to take a run...up a freakin' mountain! It was the most intense jog I've ever attempted, but the scenery was breath taking! After that we had lunch and another class - business spanish. After class a few of us decided to try to hike to the waterfall - it was a bust because we never made it and it was a long ass hike, but we still had fun along the way. Our group here is really awesome and we're getting along great. We're definitely the loudest at dinner lol. Tonight before dinner, we sat outside and played categories then tried to start a Soul Train line (thanks to Shamar, of course). After dinner I had my last class, Latin-Am Film, which is going to be fun and chill. Currently several of us are sitting on the porch doing our homework for tomorrow (how studious, I know!). We plan on going out tomorrow night, and we're all really excited! Don't worry - I won't be walking on my knees here, as Ali says I do when drunk. We'll play it safe. Plus, bars close around midnight anyway. Couple of fun facts about Costa Rica - there is no dawn or evening. The sun rises around 5:30 and almost immediately goes away around 6pm. Yall will probably enjoy this one - we can't flush ANYTHING here - not toilet paper, not nothing. Surprisingly, it's not as gross as it sounds, but very differed to get used to. Every night, the kitchen staff makes the most amazing hot chocolate you've ever tasted in your entire life from fresh milk from the cows here. Be jealous. So I know I keep promising pictures, and I'm going to try to upload some this weekend. The internet is shoddy here and uploading takes time, so bear with me! Ok, time to do homework. Hope all is well back home!!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
6/15 Santa Elena and Night Hike
Hey everyone!
We started bright and early today with breakfast at 7:30 of rice and beans, platanos or plantains, and a Costa Rican version of French toast which was really delicious. After that we headed to Santa Elena which is about 30 minutes up (and I mean UP) the road from campus (1.5 hour by foot). It's a small tourist town where we got to exchange our money which was an interesting experience because the bank had these special doors that doubled as security so one side would open, you walk in, then the other side opened. Well, it must have not liked me because it took me at least 5 tries to get into the bank. However it finally worked and I got my Colones. From there we walked around town and stopped in this authentic coffee shop where the family grows their own coffee, processes it, and turns it into a delicious yet strooong cappuccino. The barista made a bear face in my cappuccino - pictures to come (as soon as my laptop can get some steady connection). After Santa Elena, we came back and rested and took a hike around campus, ate lunch, then had class orientation. After orientation everyone was pretty exhausted, so most of us napped until dinner which consisted of some rice and beef, yuko or yucca, salad with star fruit, and fresh veggies. Yum! Right after dinner we took a night hike on campus to try to see some wildlife and plants, but it was raining pretty heavily. However, we did see some frogs and some bioluminescent moss that glowed in the dark like in Avatar! It was really cool. Classes start tomorrow, and thankfully I don't have any before 10 am! I'm looking forward to them, but not the homework :(. All the teachers are really cool and laid back though; I mean, there here on vacation too. We'll see how classes go tomorrow. Apparently we're going to start speaking only in Spanish from tomorrow out which is great...but not for a couple of people on the trip, including the intl teacher, who speak no Spanish. I'm looking forward to it though! Well more to come tomorrow! Night :)
We started bright and early today with breakfast at 7:30 of rice and beans, platanos or plantains, and a Costa Rican version of French toast which was really delicious. After that we headed to Santa Elena which is about 30 minutes up (and I mean UP) the road from campus (1.5 hour by foot). It's a small tourist town where we got to exchange our money which was an interesting experience because the bank had these special doors that doubled as security so one side would open, you walk in, then the other side opened. Well, it must have not liked me because it took me at least 5 tries to get into the bank. However it finally worked and I got my Colones. From there we walked around town and stopped in this authentic coffee shop where the family grows their own coffee, processes it, and turns it into a delicious yet strooong cappuccino. The barista made a bear face in my cappuccino - pictures to come (as soon as my laptop can get some steady connection). After Santa Elena, we came back and rested and took a hike around campus, ate lunch, then had class orientation. After orientation everyone was pretty exhausted, so most of us napped until dinner which consisted of some rice and beef, yuko or yucca, salad with star fruit, and fresh veggies. Yum! Right after dinner we took a night hike on campus to try to see some wildlife and plants, but it was raining pretty heavily. However, we did see some frogs and some bioluminescent moss that glowed in the dark like in Avatar! It was really cool. Classes start tomorrow, and thankfully I don't have any before 10 am! I'm looking forward to them, but not the homework :(. All the teachers are really cool and laid back though; I mean, there here on vacation too. We'll see how classes go tomorrow. Apparently we're going to start speaking only in Spanish from tomorrow out which is great...but not for a couple of people on the trip, including the intl teacher, who speak no Spanish. I'm looking forward to it though! Well more to come tomorrow! Night :)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
6/14 Arrival
Hola a todos!
We have made it to Costa Rica! Our flight arrived around 12 noon their time (which is 2 hours behind EST in case you were wondering about the time difference). The flight was uneventful: small plane; watched the Adjustment Bureau which was mediocre. Nothing beats Virgin Airlines. But that's neither here nor there. Once we arrived in San Jose, we met up with the rest of our group and proceeded through customs which took forever. Thankfully, no one's baggage got lost; however, someone mistakenly took one girl's suitcase which Delta is trying to track down. In the mean time, we're all pitching in to help her. So after we left the airport we loaded a van and started the trek to campus in San Luis de Monteverde which is about 3.5 hrs away. The drive was really gorgeous, especially once we got up into the mountains. However, then is turned downright scary since it was raining and we were on these tiny dirt roads just going up and up into the mountains. Because of the weather and since we made a pit stop for food (which I naturally had to take a picture of because it was so yummy and my first meal in Costa Rica), we took a little longer in arriving to campus. However, on the way, we saw monkeys which I tried to take a picture of! Once we arrived we immediately dropped our bags and went to dinner and then the welcome orientation. Dinner was a yummy combo of rice and beans (of course) and some french fries (papas fritas) and salad. Now we are back in our bungalow, and I have two other roommates - Allie and Caitlyn. Everyone is exhausted, and we must be at breakfast at 7:30 in the morning so I'm sure we'll all be turning in early!
I hope once I upload some pictures, you all will be able to see just how gorgeous this country it. Everything is incredibly lush and green and we're so high up in the mountains that it looks like were in the clouds (hence the Monteverde Cloud Forest which is a national park that backs up to campus). So far everyone is really nice both on the trip and locally. Tomorrow we are going to a town called Santa Elena which I look forward to telling you all about later. Let's just hope this storm passes. Oh, last thing that kind of caught me off guard - when I logged onto the internet, it was automatically in Google Costa Rica and everything was in Spanish lol. Even now all my tabs for this blog are in Spanish. Technology these days... Ok, time to hit the hay.
Buena noche!
We have made it to Costa Rica! Our flight arrived around 12 noon their time (which is 2 hours behind EST in case you were wondering about the time difference). The flight was uneventful: small plane; watched the Adjustment Bureau which was mediocre. Nothing beats Virgin Airlines. But that's neither here nor there. Once we arrived in San Jose, we met up with the rest of our group and proceeded through customs which took forever. Thankfully, no one's baggage got lost; however, someone mistakenly took one girl's suitcase which Delta is trying to track down. In the mean time, we're all pitching in to help her. So after we left the airport we loaded a van and started the trek to campus in San Luis de Monteverde which is about 3.5 hrs away. The drive was really gorgeous, especially once we got up into the mountains. However, then is turned downright scary since it was raining and we were on these tiny dirt roads just going up and up into the mountains. Because of the weather and since we made a pit stop for food (which I naturally had to take a picture of because it was so yummy and my first meal in Costa Rica), we took a little longer in arriving to campus. However, on the way, we saw monkeys which I tried to take a picture of! Once we arrived we immediately dropped our bags and went to dinner and then the welcome orientation. Dinner was a yummy combo of rice and beans (of course) and some french fries (papas fritas) and salad. Now we are back in our bungalow, and I have two other roommates - Allie and Caitlyn. Everyone is exhausted, and we must be at breakfast at 7:30 in the morning so I'm sure we'll all be turning in early!
I hope once I upload some pictures, you all will be able to see just how gorgeous this country it. Everything is incredibly lush and green and we're so high up in the mountains that it looks like were in the clouds (hence the Monteverde Cloud Forest which is a national park that backs up to campus). So far everyone is really nice both on the trip and locally. Tomorrow we are going to a town called Santa Elena which I look forward to telling you all about later. Let's just hope this storm passes. Oh, last thing that kind of caught me off guard - when I logged onto the internet, it was automatically in Google Costa Rica and everything was in Spanish lol. Even now all my tabs for this blog are in Spanish. Technology these days... Ok, time to hit the hay.
Buena noche!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
6/12 Tester
Hello! If you're reading this, then you've found your way to my blog about Costa Rica. I'm really just using this post to test it out and play around on here, so I don't really have much to say. Stay tuned, though, more to come once we fly out!
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