Days 23, 24, 25

So nothing spectacular happened on Day 23 or 24 except....I happen to like my class a lot!

Now onto the 25th. San Jose. Oh yes we, Stephanie and myself explored another area on our own time by ourselves.

It all started with a 5hr busride at 3am. Below is a pic of the first mall we went to.

Notice the MULTIPLE stories.

Here is a view of one of the streets and all the red taxis. :)

Well after 5hours on a bus, several hours of shopping (including 2 malls and one really long street,) a wonderful lunch, speaking spanish everywhere and a 5.5hr busride back...we danced.

Tonight was Pacifico. This is a term you might here a lot in Costa Rica. Tonight is...Pacifico, Aqua, Monkey Bar, ect.
So here is a pic of Pacifico :)



Overall today was one of the greatest days while in Costa Rica. It was incredible doing things on our own and having to use Spanish everywhere, since San Jose is not a tourist area. We took several taxis, where of course I asked them a million questions. The final one I think gave us a discount too :)


Tip 9: Bring some multivitamins...everyone gets sick. The longer you stay the more times you'll get hit with whatever it is that week.
Tip 10: Start taking pics and buying items your first week of everything. Waiting last minute makes everything a last minute rush.

Accomplishment day 25: Executed a whole day trip to another area with another student..and it was AWESOME!

Days 19, 20, 21 & 22 - AMAZING

Day 19:

Thursday night was an overall good night. I stayed at the school for the free pizza, which we later found out no one signed up for and that was a requirement for free food. Instead we ate out at our favorite pizza place. It is "our" place for birthdays, last days, new people and anything else we feel like celebrating together.

After the food a few of us went out to Le Beach Club for the live music. It was FANTASTIC! I have a newfound appreciation for live Jazz and other such music. From the live music we walked to VooDoo Lounge where we met the fire guy (he goes EVERYWHERE for tips.) He always manages to amaze me but he also concerns me for my wellbeing.

After a little bit of dancing me and another Jennifer left for our homestays. It was definately an awesome night.

Accomplishment day 19: Listened to live (semi) Costa Rican music.

Day 20 - 21:

It started out with not wanting to go out two nights in a row...it ended with sleeping outside on a porch.

Mellisa was wanting everyone to go out and if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have. But shese my chica and it was her last night that I would see her....so guess who went out?

After my homestay dinner I took the public bus, which none of my girls were on, then I had no clue of where were meeting. I looked at two diff. places and no luck so I walked back to the school. Keep in mind the searching and walking everywhere all took place in the dark by myself.



Met Stephanie at the school and borrowed a skirt then we had dessert, since we had eaten, when everyone else ate dinner at VooDoo. As we finished we saw two students that were supposed to be in Nicaruaga heading towards us. Apparently one is Russian and Nicas (Nicaruagan people) won't let them inside their country. The other had a passport that expires in 5 months and the expiration has to be 6 or more. Our expressions were pricelss when we saw them.



After dinner we went to Monkey Bar then onto Aqua. I found myself without anyone to go home with, as my pal was no longer being a pal. So, I found a taxi that a friend of a friend relys on and trusts; I took a taxi by myself home. That was the BEST thing ever!



The taxi man and I talked the ENTIRE way home in Spanish and he even gave me a lecture after the fact for going alone and how I need to be more careful and other such things. Oh, it was great I felt as if my mom or dad was giving me the same warnings.



This is where the porch comes in...I forgot my key on my bed because my descision to go out that night was last minute and I set it with my things for the next day. Needless to say, my "madre" laughed at me when she came home in the morning.



Accomplishment Day 20: Tried VooDoo for food instead of dancing.

Accomplishment day 21: Talked with a taxi driver for forever! :)







Day 22:


After breakfast I had a long nap. Then I got ready for Festival Espinar. Oh yes, I left about 4pm and returned around 7:30/8am. It was glorious! Great friends, and new ones, decent food, awesome atmosphere and just a grand amount of fun.



PS. I happen to love being in the middle of the action. Oh yes, elbows were very helpful in keeping the drunks who kept shoving everyone from moving forward anymore. Especially when I was ALMOST in "touching the singers' hands" distance.

The picture on the left is of Sean Pual and the one on the right is of my "hermano" and I.

Accomplishment Day 22: Someone coming up to me and asking, "hables ingles?" Then for me to hardly understand them because they talked soooooooooooo slow in English.

Day 16/17/18 - School and Erika

School is going great, the German Baker is still delicious and Erika insurance is a definate must.

What is Erika insurance that I speak of? If you happen to study abroad it "pays" for any medical expenses. However, the one downside is you must pay upfront and there is no telling how much it will cost you.

For instance Andy got clipped by a surfboard and required stitches. Erika will pay Andy back for the medical expenses.

Here is a lovely pic of Andy and a guy from the pharmacy telling him that Andy needs to see a doctor to get stitches. Yay Andy!

This weekend I will be going with a small group to the Sean Paul concert. I am EXTREMELY excited not to see someone who speaks English but to be there during a huge festival.
There will be a large number of tico singers and dancers performing along with all the "usual" festival activities.
I am not sure what all we all will be occuring but I know the festivities are from 4 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Sunday. This will be a VERY long day where I hopefully will truely experience the Costa Rican life.

Tip 6: Bring less clothes and more evening activities (cards, books, ect.)
Tip 7: Ask a million questions to everyone, not just your teachers.
Tip 8: Learn a few sayings before you arrive. Such as "no se" and "no comprende." The first meaning you just don't know and the second being you don't understand. These are very helpful tools in class. If you don't understand, your teacher will help you.

Day 15 - Moving day

Had an amazing breakfast with Steaphanie today. We made cinnamon sugar apples with cinnamon sugar tortillas. I don't think it was all too healthy but very delicious!


Afterwards and throwing a few last minute items into my bag I moved into my host family. They are VERY sweet! I live with a mom, her son and two other students. There is also this family friend guy who is learning english so we were helping each other out. Although him making me explain English in Spanish helped me more than I think I helped him.

My new bedroom!

After a few hours us homestay girls left for dinner..a birthday dinner! Good friends, good food, good scenery...what could be better?

The birthday girl and her family.

Accomplishment Day 15: Taking my first taxi...anywhere.

Day 14 - WOW

Words cannot possibly describe how amazing day 14 was. So why don't I show you some of it (backwards)...

This is the canopy (or zipline.) There were SEVERAL of these where we were at. And the best part was that it seemed like we were in some secret world. I felt like maybe I had just found the lost world.
Anywho there were straight accross, tarzan, rapel, free fall and monky crawl ziplines. It was SPECTACULAR.

This would be the river rafting we did. The water was FREEZING but so well worth it. Also the rapids were actually very strong but on those I didn't want to loose my camera so I packed it away inbetween calm waters.

Well after we road horses to this secret waterfall we enjoyed the freezing water and very strong currents. Although cold, it was very exciting. Okay..I do want to offer one bit of advice; DONT JUMP OFF THE WATERFALL!!!

So yes, Guachipelin is definately my favorite excursion so far.

Some people prefer to go to the national park and look at all the animals and plants but personally I prefer to be out there and active.

That is why this excursion was perfect. It was one very long and exciting day of horseback riding, swimming at a waterfall, tubing on the rapids, a buffet lunch, a large canopy (which they let me go upside down on for many of the lines) and the hot springs.

Did I mention the hot springs included a sauna, mud bath and hot springs? Yes, we painted mud on ourselves. In the end we actually all shined with a newfound tan!

FYI, tomorrow I move into my host familie's house! :)

Accomplishment day 14: Trying more than one thing I have never done before.

Day 12 & 13 - Testing, Germany, Italy & window shopping?

Sidenote...yesterday I went to the Monkey Park as part of my class. We learned about the animals by our guide and also by asking questions, everything in Spanish. I found their website online afterwards and I think I might have to return here one day to volunteer at the park. They provide a bed, bathroom, a bike and food. What more does a person need? I want to do good and that just makes sense.

Day 12:

Dear first test,
I hope you met your match today.
Yes I had my first test today and as much as I studied over the days and did some extra last minute cramming, I am pretty sure I did alright. One thing about me though, I don't like to settle for alright. I prefer awesome, amazing, spectacular and ect. to describe all that I do.
I'll find out Monday how I did. If I did really good, then I can move up again, which would be AWESOME! I like working with people that are slightly better than me. It doesn't make me feel bad, it just makes me want to work harder to achieve their level.


Day 13:

Dear possible future students,
Love the German baker. Wow! Everything he brings is AMAZING (and very decently priced!!!!)Today I bought a slice of chocolate cake and a ham and cheese cresent.
Well me and the Italian guy (When everyone is from different countries all over the world this is not considered a negative thing to replace their name with their home location, and it is very common) went to lunch. He showed me a local place for meals and it was easy to tell it was not a tourist place. :-) So while I had a person from another country with me, I couldn't help my self...I asked a MILLION questions. On the way to lunch, at lunch on the way home and even a little bit afterwards. The subject? ITALY
I find myself being nosy with every person here. I want to know everything about their county and if it is at all like the movies portray. I want to know their culture, weather, social activites and social norms.
Later, my roommate and I went window shopping for a couple hours. Now we are watching a movie in Spanish.

Tip 4: Bring old flip flops and be thankful of the roads you have. Your legs will always be muddy.

Tip 5: Learn more than Spanish. Cultures from all around the world live at the school. Utilize that, take advantage of the opportunity and learn about the world while your here.

Day 11 - July 14, 2010 - My big bubbas wedding day!

Okay, so today is not about me...yes I realize this is my blog.

My brother, Josh, just married my now sister-in-law, Hollis. Wow! I am so excited for them! They are the worlds' cutest most amazing couple EVER! (Sorry mom and dad but really..they are ADORABLE and well, your my parents.)


So let me give some shoutouts.

Thank you Kristen, mutual friend of both, for bringing the worlds cutest couple together! Without you taking the chance none of us would have known the love and support that Hollis brings each and every day.

Thanks to parents on both sides for raising such wonderful people who are filled with love, respect and honesty.

Thanks bro for always being my rock, I love you like a TON!

Thanks Hollis for well, being you and accepting my brother's proposal with open and loving arms. I love you sis!

Lastly, thank you to anyone and everyone who are a part of Josh and Hollis' life.

Accomplishment day 11: Tengo una mas hermana!!!

Days 8,9,10

Why hello all!

So I just wanted to inform you that I talked with Sandra about a homestay and she said I could! In fact, I will be going to one who supposedly is super awesome. One of my newfound friends had her and said that her homestay was the best part of this experience.
I move Sunday, so i'll be there for two weeks. Unfortunately, that means no wifi :( Oh well, I am here to improve my Spanish, not my typing speed.

On other news, classes are going well although I missed all four today. I was completely and utterly sick. YUCK! Plantains are so much worse than bananas (i'm alergic to bananas) and I spent most the day sleeping/sick. I'm FINALLY starting to feel better.

On a better not, I received two things for my transfer leadership council. One being an email verfifying my attendance at the leadership retreat this August. After quickly replying I would be there the magical person on the other side of the computer said she would send me more information about where/when/what later.
I am SUPER excited! I remember attending the leadership retreat for OCCC and well, that was the start of my networking maddness. I absolutely loved every moment and meeting all the wonderful people, many of whom I am now good friends with.

As for the other thing, my parents skyped me and said I recieved a letter from Rep. Colby Swartz congratulating me on being accepted into the Leadership Council. I know those are generic (because every time I make a paper he sends me one) but it is still nifty he sends those. As an updated edit...I was in the paper, The Edmond Sun! I would paste the link but Blogger does not allow copy/pastes. Not even the shortcut ways that programmers use...grrrr. I found it by googling it though :)



So for these days where I really didn't do much, I think I will give tips for future CR travlers.

Tip 1: Bring an umbrella.

Tip 2: Even if you don't drink, go out! You will meet a lot of students and learn more about them when you are in a different atmosphere.

Tip 3: Don't go to the store and only by food you recognize from home. How can you experience the CR food if you constantly by food that you can by at home?

Day 7 - Surfing

First off I made a video, but I give up on it loading. "Happy bday to you, happy bday to you, happy bday dear crazy clutzy silly niece of mine Caitie-did, happy bday to you!"

So today I surfed. Well I actually fell a lot but I did surf! Mellissa, Stephanie and myself took a lesson from a guy named, Johnathon. He is a friend of one of the students. This surfer lives in Costa Rica and I beleive works at the Restraunt FT's.

So if anyone is reading this that will attend EF Tamarindo, go to the restraunt by Kelly's Suf Shop and ask for Johnathan. He is hard to miss because his sunscreen is blue and he covers his face with it. He only charges $25 for about a 2 hour lesson. That is the cheapest price you will find anywhere.

I just wanted to post this because it was on a windowsill and pretty. :)

Accomplishment Day 7: Surfing a Costa Rican wave!

Day 6 - The beach

I am proud of myself today...I worked out! I did this lovely thing called, extreme climbing. It is either 215 or 250 stairs and the hike to get there is all uphill. Wow, it was intense. A lot more than I thought it would be.

Heres some of the stairs:

And here is the view:

Fyi, a pretty view does NOT make exercising any easier. In fact it is slightly the opposite because you find yourself wishing you were there on the beach.

After the stairs and class I went to the beach with Stephanie and Mellissa. We had a lot of fun playing in the ocean and just chillen on the beach. It was great. Anyone think there is a chance Oklahoma could build an ocean? I mean we build lakes, surely we can tackle this!

This would be the beach...oh yeah!

Accomplishment Day 6: Swimming in the Ocean

Day 5 - Going Out

So today I met some new people.

First a group of people that are all siblings. We wen't to the store and got some groceries. They told me about the smoothy stand that will give you fresh fruit as part of a fruit salad. Which, was AMAZING. Frest strawberries and pineapple, life couldn't be better. That and I realized that I am a lot like the girls, which was nice. They also told me about homestays and recommended I switch. Guess I need to talk with Sandra Monday.

When we came back the Wed. salsa lessons were being held. Apparently they were a no-go yesterday. I am not the greatest at salsa, but it is a lot of fun!

Heres a pic of Andy and one of the girls salsa dancing.

Today was a great day. Just like back home in College. The more things your involved in, the more people you will meet and bond with. One way to accoomplish this is going out at night.

Tonight we went out to several places. First to Beach Access (pictured below,) then stopped by another place to say hi. After that we went to the VooDoo lounge where the music was definately ment for the tourists.

At VooDoo there was fire dancer there trying to get some money, it was EXTREMELY cool...or I guess hot. I have a video, but Blogger is killing me because it will not let me upload videos. :( I'll have to figure out another method a bit later.


We started to go to Pacifico but decided to return to the VooDoo. It was a ton of fun.

Granted, a group of us only stayed till a little after midnight. When you have class the next day, that really is the way to go because you can always go out another night and stay as late as you want then.

The walk home was great too. I'm not sure why the adventure of going to a place or returning is always so fun with me..but it is :) Between Stephanie nearly loosing her shoe and then myself nearly loosing the battle of my shoe vs. the mud I was stuck in, it was a fun way home. I won by the way.

Also there were a couple guys guiding our way, at the begining, with flashlights. When I got stuck I was telling Stephanie to stop and help me. Well..the flashlight guys started to come, thinking I was hurt. It was incredibly funny. Luckily I found my shoe and quickly walked away. :)


Accomplishment Day 5: Experiencing the night life.

Day 4 - Tortugas

Why hello!

Today I switched professors. Please hold your gasp, it is not like America. You are not stuck with one professor or class because it is who you must have. This school is amazing, if the class is too easy/hard or the teacher instructs in a way that is not suitable for your learning style, you can switch!

For me, the teacher was a bit too easy and I wanted more of a challenge. I realize I am in the middle of paradise but I am here to learn and to hopefully become fluent. Okay, so I know the last one is a bit far fetched but my goal is to become a few steps closer to that by the end of my stay.

This brings me to another point..location. Although I absolutely LOVE my roommate, living on campus and wifi internet, I am thinking of switching to a homestay. I feel living in a homestay would force me to speak Spanish more. LIke most things in life, what you put into something will determine what you get out of it..and I want to get a lot out of this experience.

Okay I'll stop blabbing on, now onto my evening of tortugas (turtles.)

After a two hour bus ride which included practically driving through mini-rivers, we arrived in the pouring rain. Helpful bit of advice, don't wear jeans when it is raining. Also...know ahead of time if you will be here during the rainy season.

These turtles were pretty cool but I must say the journey of walking to them and returning was well... an adventure! Crossing the water, which was up to my knees, walking on the beach in the dark trying to avoid rocks, tree branches and turtles was interesting. The return was even more exciting when the water rose another couple feet and was a lot stronger than I expected.

The picture is the drenched us. Mellisa, Myself and Stephanie!

Okay, back to the turtles. Did you know they lay about 170 eggs at one time? So, I tried uploading a movie, twice, and then a second picture...all with no luck. Next time dear friends, next time.

Accomplishment of the day: Asking a tico (Costa Rican native) questions about a subject I know nothing of..and them understanding and replying! :)

Day 3 - Class

Today I had my first day of classes. I absolutely love my class with Edwin! Today we learned realistic vocab. and then created a small scavenger hunt using what we learned. It was awesome creating the clues and then using the other student's clues to find schocolate. Yes, we got free chocolate. :-)



Between classes I went for a swim with Andy and then other students joined us and we chatted about the school and the culture here. It is interesting and beneficial to talk with students who have been here a week or more because they inform you on where to go and where is cheap.



Here is a pic. of the iguna we saw while swimming. It was maybe 10 feet away.



After classes I signed up to see Tortugas (turtles) tomorrow and this amazing trip that isn't until next Saturday.



Okay...just ate an awesome dinner! I love sharing cooking duties along with splitting the cost of food.

Some gal just invited us to watch a movie downstairs..so adios amigos.



Accomplishment Day 3: Understanding the instructors..they only speak spanish.

Day 2 - Orientation/Beach

My Norwegan (sp?) roommate showed my Austrian roommate and myself the shortcut to one of the supermarkets. It wasn't open yet...although we walked in and started grabbing things because it looked kind of open. Luckily, their nice and let us put it back. We walked across the street instead to a small stand (Tamarindo is covered in stands) and I ordered in ESPANOL.

Orientation was today there are like 16 or so that just began. We learned a bit about the school and also the area but I think the coolest part was that about four of us formed a little group. Mellisa, Stephanie (Austrian roommate), Andy and myself. We kind of hang out everywhere together now. It's awesome! From the beach to the stores to ordering smoothies and whatever it was I had in Spanish..i'm lovin' it. Now if we could all just be on the same schedule so we could do the activities and trips together.

So from what Mellisa and Stephanie said, it looks like I tested into Intermediate Spanish; group B. It goes A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. The final one is when most people take the Cambridge test, they said. So I am either 2 or 3 away from mastery. SWEETNESS! With this course I am supposed to advance a level every 4 weeks. Guess how long i'm staying FOUR WEEKS! :)

After making dinner with Stephanie, i'm just tired...this blog takes FOREVER to load and classes begin tomorrow at 8am. I have four 80minute classes...IKES!

Pic of the day is me at the beach before we went shopping.

Accomplishment Day 2: Make new friends.

Day 1 - The Flight

FYI..this was my first flight alone and first time flying out of the country.

If you are traveling to another country you might want to know a few things.

1. First, bring a pen. Not a pencil not a sharpie - a pen. Why? Because they WILL wake you and you WILL fill out paperwork.
   
2. If it is free TAKE IT. Sidenote, when in doubt..ask! Example, the Continental Airlines snack is actually a meal - breakfast to be exact. Here is mine ---------------------------------->
   
3. Costa Rica does not observe daylight savings time. Therefor they are not always central standard time. I am actually one hour earlier than my peeps in OK.
   
4. Lastly, the double yellow lines and most all driving rules in CR are just optional. Feel free to pass people on bikes, a dozen random dogs, another dozen cows and more via driving into the other lane with oncomming traffic. (I think my driving would make me look like a local.)
   

Here are some pics...

The first is me on the plane to Liberia, CR.

The next would be one of the many coasts you see flying into Liberia.

The third is a person from my school, EF, waiting for me.

The last is my view from my balcony.

Notice the green. Yes..my favorite color is EVERYWHERE!!! Along with monkeys, mosquitoes and iguanas.

Well not too long after arriving me and one of my roommates (from Austria), who also flew into Liberia at the same time, went for a walk. We saw the shops, the beach and cows. (Take a second note of cows to hint that CR has more cows than OK.)

What's not pictured is the cookout the students came together and made for the 4th of July. It was so weird that we had to explain what the Star Spangled Banner was and why we celebrate the 4th. No fireworks though :*(

These last two pics are for my mom!

Accomplishment Day 1: Explore without a guide.