Random adventures occur daily

So, I've been in Costa Rica for about a month now, and I'm pretty much settled in. My weeks are scheduled, I'm actually on a sleep schedule here, and the weekends are anything but scheduled. This past weekend, however, my friends and I chose to just chill here in Heredia. It was a pretty relaxing weekend actually. We went out on Friday, and enjoyed each other's company and the atmosphere of a neat place called La Casona. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons we sat in a little cafe close to our school, and attempted to do homework, but ended up talking instead. The desserts and coffee are amazing here, so of course, we had to partake, lol. It was kind of nice to just not do anything. Every other weekend that we've been here we've gone somewhere, so we needed some chill out time. This weekend will be jam packed, though! A group of us are headed to Arenal Volcano on Friday, getting back in time on Saturday to go to a dance club in San Jose called La Rumba, and then on Sunday I'm going to pick up my brother from the airport! I'm excited to have my family visit me to see how I've been living. It's going to be a busy, fun next week or so.

Today I found the bus to take me to the airport, and Amanda and I decided to explore a nearby town called Alajuela while we were close to it. We ate at Pizza Hut, and it was amazing!! I know that sounds crazy, but when you've been without that greasy pizza for so long, it tastes incredible. The Pizza Huts here are quite different than in the States, as well. We decided that they're a cross between a really nice restaurant, an American Pizza Hut, and a McDonald's because there was a playplace for kids. Our waitress was one of the nicest people I've met so far here, and she complimented our Spanish which really boosts my confidence! I think I'm improving, but sometimes it's hard to tell.

So, I have 3 more days of classes until playtime, and I'm avoiding homework like the plague...no change there, lol. I'm getting along with my host family better everyday, and I understand more of what they say to me. Hope all is well for everyone! Thanks for reading! I'll have more to report later!

Pura vida,
Amelia

A Latitude of a Different Color

Yesterday evening was the birthday of one of my new dear friends. I would have to say it was one of the best nights I've had in Costa Rica. After getting her all dolled up to go out, we went out on her balcony to gaze into the night sky. Last night, there was a full lunar eclipse here. I had an epiphany while standing on that balcony. I'm young, living my dreams, and I watched a lunar eclipse from Costa freakin' Rica. Life is pretty good right now. After the eclipse we went to a nearby bar where we chilled and had some amazing cake, very different here than the States but amazing nonetheless. We spent the night celebrating my friend's golden birthday listening to some great, and not so great, lol, tunes from our past. It was pretty much the best. I have a great life in the states, but Costa Rica is a horse, or latitude, of a different color. My stress levels have definitely dropped. I was discussing with my friend Amanda the other day how everyone down here is not really worried about anything, lol. I've seen very few angry people down here. (You might think differently after being in traffic, though.) The mottos here are, "Tranquilo," and "Pura vida." They definitely live by them.

After a week of school, I'm spending the weekend doing absolutely nothing, lol. The furthest I've planned is maybe going to see a movie tomorrow. Homework is slightly overwhelming, but I think I can handle it. Next weekend appears to be jam packed, so I'm going to need this little break. I think I might go to the Volcano Arenal next Friday, dancing next Saturday night, and then my brother is coming to visit me from the States! I'm excited to show him how my life is here in Costa Rica. So many things to see, so little time...

I'm still missing flavorful food, but I'm learning to adapt. I've been here for almost a month now! That's so hard to believe. My Spanish is slowly but surely improving. I'm taking some one on one tutoring lessons that are really helping me out. I learn something new everyday, and I meet someone new every other day. I can't believe how many great friends I've made already and I still have 4 months left!

Hope all is well for everyone!

Pura vida,
Amelia

Ziplining through the rain

Hello to all! Just thought I would share a little about my experiences from this weekend. A big group of us went to check out the volcano Poas, but sadly it was completely clouded over. We were supposed to be able to see the crater with a beautiful emerald green lagoon right in the middle, but instead all we saw was a big blanket of white clouds moving around us. I thought it was pretty neat to be in the clouds, but I think I would have preferred to see the beautiful lagoon, lol. Oh well, maybe next time.

After the disappointing volcano, we went to this gorgeous little trout restaurant in the rainforest where we ate spaghetti, lol. I took some pictures, so I'll try to get a few up soon. The best part about this little paradise, though, was the zipline all around it throughout the rainforest canopy! It was so amazing to be zipping through the air thousands of feet above the ground! About halfway through the tour it started pouring rain, in the rainforest, go figure, lol, but it actually just made it that much better. You would start from a platform set about halfway up a tree and soar through the air over trees and valleys while the rain pelted you. Everything was so green and alive; I absolutely loved it! If you ever get the chance to come to Costa Rica, do the canopy tour. It's incredible! Make sure you bring warm clothing for the rainforest, though, because it doesn't really get above 60 degrees. I was pretty warm and toasty in my North Face jacket, though, so thank you, Dad!

Everything has been going pretty well in general. I'm almost over my sickness and will hopefully be able to sing again, lol. (It's always a bummer when I get sick because I can't sing for a while.) I think the biggest thing getting me down this week is the food. Most of the food here is very bland, I eat rice at pretty much every meal. I could go for a good bowl of gumbo or a pizza. A few friends and I had sushi the other day, and it was amazing just because it actually had taste, lol! Oh well, I guess it's just one of those things I have to continue to get used to.

Hope all is well for everyone in the States!
Paz,
Amelia

¡Feliz día de la amistad y amor!

Happy friendship and Valentine's Day! I was actually surprised that they celebrate this commercial holiday in Costa Rica, but alas, I couldn't get away from it. A slight difference, though, is that here, it seems to be focused more on love in general, not romantic love, which is a vast improvement in my opinion. It's not nearly as commercial down here from what I can tell, and the people genuinely love each other. Everyone here, for the most part, is pretty peaceful, very "make love not war." I like it.

In other news, I've been fighting a sickness from hell, lol. For some reason they don't believe in Mucinex and Benadryl here, or I can't figure out what they're called in Spanish, probably the latter. I finally got some meds from the infirmary here on campus, though, so I've been steadily improving. I think I'll probably just take it easy this weekend, no beach for me. We are going to see el Volcán Poas on Sunday, though. I'm pretty excited!

Weather's still great, and I'm still getting wonderful exercise. I think I'll be used to all this walking by the time I come back to the states, and won't want to drive anymore, lol. I basically eat whatever I want, and then just burn it all off! It's a pretty great system. I now have a slight tan as well since I got toasted on the beach last weekend.

Hope all is well! Thank you for the continued comments and support! It makes my day to see that people are reading my completely random thoughts!

Pura vida,
Amelia

Jacó '08 and Norwegians...who knew?

Well, I just got back from a nice relaxing trip to the Jacó beach. I went with about 10 other Americans, so plenty of speaking English this weekend, lol. We stayed a nice little place about 1/4 mile from the beach. Pretty much everyone got burned on the first day even after applying sunscreen liberally, lol, so I spent most of Saturday at the pool in the shade. There were a lot of surfers out on Saturday afternoon, though, so I went walking on the beach to see the action. A couple of the Americans had some boards so we watched them try to tackle the waves. Not bad, not bad...lol. Saturday night was extremely fun! Since we went dancing on Friday night, we decided to just chill on the beach on Saturday. There were 4 of us just sitting and talking and a guy walks us and asks us where we're from and if he and his friends can come chill with us. Turns out they were from Norway! Never in a million years would I have thought I would be sitting on a beach in Costa Rica, and have a really great conversation with Norwegians! They were just on vacation and had travelled from Peru the day before. They told us they battled 10 killer monkeys and 4 pumas in the jungle there, which quickly turned into a very big joke, lol. Very cool, I can now say that I have friends in Norway!

It's back to the daily grind of school and homework now with a trip to the volcano Poas this weekend. I'm pretty stoked about it because I can't remember seeing a volcano up close and personal, lol. I think we're going on a canopy tour through the rainforest as well, and I've heard that's supposed to be awesome!

Things are going well. I miss pickles and chicken fried steak, but love the blackberry juice here called Mora. Hope everyone is well in the states!

Pura vida,
Amelia

Toilet Paper

Okay, so, thus far, I´ve liked pretty much everything about Costa Rica, but...they are severely lacking in the toilet paper area. I don´t think I´ve been to a single bathroom that had toilet paper readily available. They have the containers, but somehow never manage to get any into the containers. It sucks. I´ve discovered that pretty much everyone carries toilet paper around with them. Needless to say, this is something I will no longer take for granted in the States.

Headed to the beach this weekend! We´re going to nearby one called Jacó. I´m pretty pumped because I don´t get to go to the beach that often. I´m just going to sit on the beach, do homework, and ¨marinate¨, as one of my new friends from Iowa says, lol. It´s going to be great!!

Oh yeah, everyone send up some prayers for those at in TN that were hit by the tornadoes, especially Union University, where my best friend attends. The dorms were pretty much destroyed. Wish I was there to help you out, buddy!

Paz de Costa Rica,
Amelia

School begins...

So, my little mini vacation is over it would seem. We started school today, and it appears that I´m going to have my work cut out for me. Everything in Spanish plus tons of homework. I didn´t expect anything different, but chilling in Costa Rica with pretty much nothing to do was pretty awesome for a week, lol. Another sucky thing about school, is that I have to walk like a mile and a half to get to one of my classes twice a week entirely uphill...I better lose some weight or gain some muscle. I have one more class today, so I´m just kind of hanging out until then.

The excursion last weekend was awesome! Fresh pineapple is amazing! Very cool to see the whole process of choosing the good ones to ship out all over the world. One we finished with that, we went to the Tirimbina Biological Reserve which was basically kind of like a resort in the rainforest. It was incredible! We toured an old chocolate plantation there and learned how to make chocolate bars. Very good...lol. The night tour throught the rainforest was amazing, as well. So much to hear and see! We walked on a 900 m suspension bridge about a thousand feet from a raging river. Awesome at night because you could look up and see incredible stars while listening to the roaring river. On Sunday, we went on another river, the Sarapiquí, and did a little boat tour. There are such amazing animals here like iguanas and crocodiles! So cool! After we got back, a bunch of us got together to watch the Super Bowl. It was weird to watch such an American tradition in Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans, or Ticos, couldn´t understand why we wanted to watch it. They like soccer, or fútbol, much better, lol.

So, I have a week of classes and then this weekend I´m going to the beach! I´m really excited! Hope all is well in the U.S.!

Pura vida,
Amelia

Pineapples, Chocolate, and Bats...oh my

Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for the comments! I love getting them! I don´t know how to comment back, so I just thought I would thank everyone in a post! Things here are going well. I had a little trouble with the ATMs but everything is okay now and I´m no longer without money, lol. For future reference, if you´re going abroad, find out which types of banks will work with your debit card. Otherwise, it either won´t work or it gives you American money! Definitely not what I needed...lol.

I´m still learning the lay of the land. Haven´t really figured out bus system at all, but I think I´ve got the taxi thing under control. Funny story, though...another exchange student and I took one the other day to get home, and she decides to strike up a conversation with him. I wasn´t really paying attention until I heard her tell him we were from Canada! Apparently this is a good idea to do because the world likes Canadians a little more that Americans, news to me, anyway...so, we drop off my friend and we´re headed to my place, and the driver starts asking me questions about Canada! Well, I know nothing about Canada, lol, so I basically had to make up stuff about Canada while speaking in Spanish for 5 or 10 minutes. Funny now, but at the time not so much, lol. I did find out that I´m a lot better at lying in Spanish than in English, possibly good to know...

This weekend I´m going on an excursion to the rainforest! We´re going to tour a pineapple and chocolate plantation, and go on a night excursion to see some nocturnal animals such as bats and certain frogs. It should be pretty cool, and hopefully I´ll have something to write about it. Hope all is well!

Peace from Costa Rica,
Amelia