Well this weekend was another great one! It was really relaxing because I went back to puerto viejo, bc last weekend when I went there I bought a hammock and I left it in the back of this guy´s car. So i figured I might as well just go back there for another weekend and hang out with him and just hang out at the beach. I love it over there! It´s just laid back and relaxing, all the time.
Yesterday we went to the beach that is a little farther away and it was probably my favorite beach experience ever. The weather was absolutley perfecto, the sea was soo blue and the sky had just a few clouds in it!
But now I am back in Alajuela, at an internet cafe. I do not liek my spanish class again, I am with a teacher who talks down to everyone in the class and I don´t know, it´s honestly just nto interesting and I just want to work on speaking. The past two weeks were really great, but this week, it´s back to the first week when I didn´t like it. Anyways, I´m not complaining bc I do knwo that I am still having a great time here. I think this weekend we are going to Monteverde, which is in the mountains and is suppossed to be really neat. Anyways, I have some homework I need to do so I will write again later!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
I´ll finish!!!
Haha, well I thought I would have had more time to write yesterday but I didn´t, and I figured a little is better than nothing however since jake and rach commented I will try to write more!
Anyways, I did go to Puerto Viejo this weekend and it was a really good time! We got there later on Friday and stayed at this place where you can rent a tent with a matress and a sheet for only $6 a night!! And it was a really neat place that was right on the beach and the first night they had a live band which played all sorts of beach music and bob marley (since we´re on the carribean!)
Then the next day was a lot of fun bc we rented bikes and rode them about an hour down this tough road sice it had huge rocks and potholes! But then we went tot his really nice beach with lots of rainforest all around! Costa Rica really is like a paradise when you think about it. I mean I am really accostumed to it now so I have to always remind myself to take in just hwo goregous it is and I know I´m really lucky to be able to have this experience where I can go visit so many places, live in the mountains and get to know another culture and family. This week will be a month that I have been here! Which is really crazy since that sounds like a long time, I know this time will go by so fast and in almost the next entry I´ll be writing about how I am back in Galesburg! haha
Anyways, that night was nice expect we really wanted to go out to the discos bc Puerto Viejo is known for having this amazing night life. The problem was that it was about 1100 and no one was out dancing at any of the clubs! So we sat at this neat place that had a big bonfire on the beach and then a bar and disco right on the beach too and eventually we just went and started dancing bc I just thought no one would be going out and maybe it was a bad weekend. The thing I foudn out was that really it just didn´t get started until around 1200 to 1230.... then by about 1245 the place was finally full and they were playing salsa and reggae! After that it was a lot of fun and tons of dancing and everything but I can´t believe it took that long for everything to get started! haha
Now I´m back to classes and it´s another week with the same people which is good bc it´s the right level for me. Today we went to this coffee plantation which was neat to see and hear the whoel process of making coffee. There is so much work that goes into getting just one cup of coffee!! Okay well I´m unsure of my plans for this weekend right now, but I´m sure I´ll figure it out in a few days... Also, I always say that I want to hear from people at home so send me an e'mail or something! (Jacob I know you read this since you commented!) okay love you
hasta luego!
Anyways, I did go to Puerto Viejo this weekend and it was a really good time! We got there later on Friday and stayed at this place where you can rent a tent with a matress and a sheet for only $6 a night!! And it was a really neat place that was right on the beach and the first night they had a live band which played all sorts of beach music and bob marley (since we´re on the carribean!)
Then the next day was a lot of fun bc we rented bikes and rode them about an hour down this tough road sice it had huge rocks and potholes! But then we went tot his really nice beach with lots of rainforest all around! Costa Rica really is like a paradise when you think about it. I mean I am really accostumed to it now so I have to always remind myself to take in just hwo goregous it is and I know I´m really lucky to be able to have this experience where I can go visit so many places, live in the mountains and get to know another culture and family. This week will be a month that I have been here! Which is really crazy since that sounds like a long time, I know this time will go by so fast and in almost the next entry I´ll be writing about how I am back in Galesburg! haha
Anyways, that night was nice expect we really wanted to go out to the discos bc Puerto Viejo is known for having this amazing night life. The problem was that it was about 1100 and no one was out dancing at any of the clubs! So we sat at this neat place that had a big bonfire on the beach and then a bar and disco right on the beach too and eventually we just went and started dancing bc I just thought no one would be going out and maybe it was a bad weekend. The thing I foudn out was that really it just didn´t get started until around 1200 to 1230.... then by about 1245 the place was finally full and they were playing salsa and reggae! After that it was a lot of fun and tons of dancing and everything but I can´t believe it took that long for everything to get started! haha
Now I´m back to classes and it´s another week with the same people which is good bc it´s the right level for me. Today we went to this coffee plantation which was neat to see and hear the whoel process of making coffee. There is so much work that goes into getting just one cup of coffee!! Okay well I´m unsure of my plans for this weekend right now, but I´m sure I´ll figure it out in a few days... Also, I always say that I want to hear from people at home so send me an e'mail or something! (Jacob I know you read this since you commented!) okay love you
hasta luego!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Puerto viejo
Monday is here again! But this entry is probably going to be pretty messy because i can{t figure out this keyboard bc it looks like one from the states but it{s set up different!
anyways, this past weekend i went to puerto Viejo, on the carribean side again. my host mom told me i am going to become a limonensen )a person from limon...the provence) haha
anyways, this past weekend i went to puerto Viejo, on the carribean side again. my host mom told me i am going to become a limonensen )a person from limon...the provence) haha
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Well this week is a short week here because it was Costa Rican Independence day on Monday and there were no classes... but It has been a really good week so far!! First off, I moved up levels in my spanish classes which I was soooo happy that they moved me! Now my class is with four other students who are at similar levels and two students aren{t from north central which is fun too. My teacher is a younger guy who is really good at making the class challenging but still fun and he doesn{t talk down to us or anything which is very nice.
This past weekend I went to Tortuguero with four other students. It overall was a very good trip. Tortugero is one of the most isolated places in costa rica because the onyl way to get to the village and the national park is by either boat or plane and most people do nto travel there without beiong with a resort meaning that a resort that isn{t right in the village gives you transpotation from san jose, meals, tours, everything. Of course I coulnd{t do that because it would cost at least 250 per night where I spent about 100 for the whole weekend! Anyways in order to get there we took.... bus, bus, taxi, bus, bus, boat... and with some minimal walking in between! The nice thing about costa Rica is that it is very cheap to travel, all of those buses and taxi and boat only cost me about 7 dollars!
Anyways, the main reason I went to Tortuguero is because it is one of the msot popular places for turtles to nest because it is suppossed to be well protected. The first night we got there we did a sea turtle tour and it was really successful because I saw 5 sea turtles nesting! The thing that was so imprerssive about them is that they are huge! I couldn{t belive how big these turtles were that climb all the way to the top of the beach! Also, we went into the national park and saw a lot of monkeys... they seem to be everywhere here!
Okay, well I didn{t have much time to write today, but I will try again soon. Thsi weekend I think I am going to Puerto Viejo, which is a bigger beach town very close to Cahuita, where I went the first weekend. Anyways, I hope everyone is having a good time back in the states and Id love to hear what everyone is up to!
This past weekend I went to Tortuguero with four other students. It overall was a very good trip. Tortugero is one of the most isolated places in costa rica because the onyl way to get to the village and the national park is by either boat or plane and most people do nto travel there without beiong with a resort meaning that a resort that isn{t right in the village gives you transpotation from san jose, meals, tours, everything. Of course I coulnd{t do that because it would cost at least 250 per night where I spent about 100 for the whole weekend! Anyways in order to get there we took.... bus, bus, taxi, bus, bus, boat... and with some minimal walking in between! The nice thing about costa Rica is that it is very cheap to travel, all of those buses and taxi and boat only cost me about 7 dollars!
Anyways, the main reason I went to Tortuguero is because it is one of the msot popular places for turtles to nest because it is suppossed to be well protected. The first night we got there we did a sea turtle tour and it was really successful because I saw 5 sea turtles nesting! The thing that was so imprerssive about them is that they are huge! I couldn{t belive how big these turtles were that climb all the way to the top of the beach! Also, we went into the national park and saw a lot of monkeys... they seem to be everywhere here!
Okay, well I didn{t have much time to write today, but I will try again soon. Thsi weekend I think I am going to Puerto Viejo, which is a bigger beach town very close to Cahuita, where I went the first weekend. Anyways, I hope everyone is having a good time back in the states and Id love to hear what everyone is up to!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Casi 2 Semanas!
I Cant believe that i have been here for just two weeks. It seems like a lot longer as of right now. Obviously, i haven{t been very good about keeping this updated but it is kind of hard. by the time you get on here and check your e'mail it{s already been awhile since its slow.... but i am going to try and be better about it.
First off I have started my classes at the institute and all i really have to say is that i hope that next week is better. I must have failed my entance exam because i was put in a class way below my level so it{s honestly pretty boring, but its easy so i know i am getting a good grade!
Anyways, on to better things, this past weekend I went with three other girls to Cahuita, which is this small beach town on the carribean side. It was perfect there! I absolutley loved it i could really see myself living somewhere that laid back. The whole town is only about 8 blocks by 8 blocks and all dirt roads. I guess it started out as a touristy spot, until puerto viejo became more popular. Anyways it was great since it wasnt too touristy and since it was so small after the first night of going out we knew a lot of people and their family members the next day!
Also we managed to get this amazing room that had a balcony that looked out onto the carribean sea for onyl 50 dollars a night! We went to both beach the next day, there is a black sand and a white sand beach on both sides of the town in walking distance. It felt really good to be albe to be on our own for the first time in costa rica because a lot of the time is spent with my family, with teachers, or with all 20 ncc students. Espceically, the first week everything seemed to be a group outing, so this weekend was a great get away.
The culture over on the caribean side also was so intersting! Mostly everyone is black, from jamaica because when costa rica decided to build a railroad they brought workers (slaves) from jamiaca. Then a few years after United Fruit Company was started and it was decided that this is the perfect area to have bannana plantations. There are bannana fields everywhere over there! Anyways, most people typically speak at least spanish and english, and speak with a jamiacan accent. The spanish is even a little easier to understand becase it seems to be a lot slower.
It was really intersting to see how all of these different cultures are mixed together, there were different foods, and it just seemed like a whole different place than carrillos (the town in the central valley that I live in). I asked one person if he considered himself tico and he said yes that that is jsut what he is.
Also, I tried jugo de pipa a few times when I was there and it was great! It is basiccally where someone chops open a coconut that is green with a machete just enough to fit a straw through the top and then you drink the water/juice out of it! It is very good and refreshing and not too think or light either!
I also saw about 30 monkeys in the rainforest right next to cahuita and I can{t wait to let everyone see my pictures but it is difficult and slow so I{ll work on it some more later! Anyways I love and miss you all and hope everything is going well back home. This weekend I think i am going to tortuguera, again on the carribean side and I will hopefully see sea turtles!
First off I have started my classes at the institute and all i really have to say is that i hope that next week is better. I must have failed my entance exam because i was put in a class way below my level so it{s honestly pretty boring, but its easy so i know i am getting a good grade!
Anyways, on to better things, this past weekend I went with three other girls to Cahuita, which is this small beach town on the carribean side. It was perfect there! I absolutley loved it i could really see myself living somewhere that laid back. The whole town is only about 8 blocks by 8 blocks and all dirt roads. I guess it started out as a touristy spot, until puerto viejo became more popular. Anyways it was great since it wasnt too touristy and since it was so small after the first night of going out we knew a lot of people and their family members the next day!
Also we managed to get this amazing room that had a balcony that looked out onto the carribean sea for onyl 50 dollars a night! We went to both beach the next day, there is a black sand and a white sand beach on both sides of the town in walking distance. It felt really good to be albe to be on our own for the first time in costa rica because a lot of the time is spent with my family, with teachers, or with all 20 ncc students. Espceically, the first week everything seemed to be a group outing, so this weekend was a great get away.
The culture over on the caribean side also was so intersting! Mostly everyone is black, from jamaica because when costa rica decided to build a railroad they brought workers (slaves) from jamiaca. Then a few years after United Fruit Company was started and it was decided that this is the perfect area to have bannana plantations. There are bannana fields everywhere over there! Anyways, most people typically speak at least spanish and english, and speak with a jamiacan accent. The spanish is even a little easier to understand becase it seems to be a lot slower.
It was really intersting to see how all of these different cultures are mixed together, there were different foods, and it just seemed like a whole different place than carrillos (the town in the central valley that I live in). I asked one person if he considered himself tico and he said yes that that is jsut what he is.
Also, I tried jugo de pipa a few times when I was there and it was great! It is basiccally where someone chops open a coconut that is green with a machete just enough to fit a straw through the top and then you drink the water/juice out of it! It is very good and refreshing and not too think or light either!
I also saw about 30 monkeys in the rainforest right next to cahuita and I can{t wait to let everyone see my pictures but it is difficult and slow so I{ll work on it some more later! Anyways I love and miss you all and hope everything is going well back home. This weekend I think i am going to tortuguera, again on the carribean side and I will hopefully see sea turtles!
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