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