And God said...let there be rain!

Estoy mojada! Today it didn't rain...it was more like a flood! I had to wade through the street to get to class! And by "wade" I mean it was up past my ankles! How fun...I know!

Today is the last full day with the roomies! :-( One has to leave at 2:50am on Saturday! Since tonight is their last night we are going to have a celebratory dinner. I'm providing the dessert! A good ole southern girl staple...Peach Cobbler! They don't grow peaches in Costa Rica so I had to go buy some that were imported from California. They are REALLY tiny! Nothing like what you would get in NC. But I found some that were ripe enough to work well. My family, nor Gert have ever had a cobbler before. But my roomie Ronald, from Lincolnton will be the real judge. I'm sure he has a good peach cobbler before.

As promised...here are some random pictures for you! The first is of the outside of my house. It looks like a prison! All of the houses are JUST like this. They have these cages to keep people out. They also act as a garage. They just drive there cars right up in here! They even have a motor on the gates that open and close with the press of a button in their car.

I also have 3 different keys to get into the house! One for the main cage, then there is another gate at the front door, and at last a key for the front door.

Here is a picture of the infamous shower! I had never seen anything like it before... but maybe some of you have.



This weekend I'm off again! I'm heading to Arenal Volcano! I'm really excited. It was the one thing that I said I couldn't leave Costa Rica without doing. Here they have natural hot springs that are heated by the volcano! I think it will be great! Pray that it isn't cloudy and that I will be able to take really good pictures of the volcano. I can't go up to the top of this one because it still has lava slowly trickling down the side. (don't worry...I will be staying a safe distance away!) I leave on Saturday at 8am and I will return late on Sunday. I'll update with lots of pictures on Monday!

I hope every one has a great weekend and a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISH TO MY BABY NIECE!!!! Lyla will be having her 1st birthday party tomorrow!!! I can't wait to see the pictures!

No major reports...

Today since nothing exciting has happened...I'm going to give ya'll a little more general info!

#1- I figured out how to make my shower have hot water!!!! I will take a picture of the shower head when I get chance so that I can show you what it looks like. Anyway...the trick is, you have to barely turn the water on! You turn it on REALLY slowly until you here this sort of whirring noise. Then you STOP!!! And don't turn the water any more! Apparently since I have no hot water heater, the water has to be heated as it comes out. So if you turn on too much pressure then the water can't be heated fast enough! Its enough pressure to wash your hair...just takes a little longer. It has definitely improved my morning routine!

#2- As I have said I have to take the bus everyday to school. Not a big deal because it is so cheap. Except...I have EXTREME bus anxiety!!! I can't get on the bus OR get off the bus! Its really bad! When I am with the roomies, its fine! They choose the bus, they press the button to get off...quick and painless! But when I have to go by myself...COMPLETELY different story! Lately, I have had to ride the bus by myself because our schedules are a lot more free. So we are all doing our own things during the morning.
First, I can't get on the bus! I'm terrified that I'm going to take the wrong one! All of the buses have labels on the top that say their route. I have 2 choices for buses. However, I just stand at the bus stop and let the first couple go by...even when they say the correct route! I'm so afraid that its not the right one! Once I finally get up the nerve to get on the bus...getting off is even worse! The buses here don't always stop at all the bus stops. Unless someone presses the button or pulls the string saying that they want to get off...they don't stop! I can't press the button! I'm so afraid that maybe where I want to get off isn't really a stop. Then I think that the driver will yell at me or the other people on the bus will get mad because I'm delaying their journey. So sometimes I just stay on the bus, wave to my bus stop and keep riding until someone else pushes the button. Today I rode about 8 blocks past the school because I wouldn't push the button!!!! Yesterday I just got off while the bus was at a stop light and almost got run over my a motorcycle!!! But the motorcycles here are really dangerous. They pretty much drive wherever they want. It's really bad. I don't know why I have so much trouble with this! And I don't know what I 'm going to once the roomies leave! I found out that I will be the only one is the house for the rest of my stay. They do not get another student until the day after I leave. I'm gonna have to get over this anxiety somehow...or just start walking to school!

#3- My house that I live in has 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms! But you would never know it! It does not seem big at all! They make excellent use of space here! No space is wasted! But you don't feel cramped either! I'm going to take a picture of the outside of the house. Random photos to come tomorrow!

A real live volcano!

Today I went to see the Poas Volcano. You can see this on the map. Almost directly in the middle. All of the volcanoes are in red. This volcano's most recent eruption was in 1954. However, as recently as 1989, the park was closed because of dangerous sulphurous gas emissions. Its geyser-like eruptions of muddy water and steam, have given it the reputation as the world’s largest geyser.

Here are a couple pictures of the peak! The "clouds" or "smoke" you see comes from the crater lake in the middle.




The one of me is just in case you all forgot what I looked like. My hat is pulled down really tight on my head because it had already blown off once! It was quite windy up there! He had to hike up about a 1/2 mile to reach the summit. But it was an easy climb! It was an amazing view!

Back in San Jose

I arrived back yesterday evening...here is my attempt to recap the fabulous weekend!

We had to get up really early on Saturday so I packed my bag the night before. Gert and I had been invited out for a birthday celebration but we had to decline. We needed to be at the bus pick up at 6 am. As I was packing up I realized that I need to buy a carry on bag. My back pack isn't going to cut it for weekend excursions. It was OVERFLOWING! AND since on an airline you can have 2 carry ons, as long as one will fit under the seat, I will go buy one this week. Isabel told me there is a place where you can get them for cheap 10,000 colones (about 20 bucks!) Anyway...

We arrived at the bus stop a little early and the bus showed up around 6:15am. The way this excursion worked was really nice. The bus picked up everyone that was going to Tortuguero and we all stay together the whole time. We eat all our meals together and take all our excursions together. So it is nice, especially if you are traveling alone. Which I wasn't...but will be in the future. The person that picks you up is your personal tour guide. He stayed with us the entire time. So it made me feel a lot more secure.

Now for the actual trip...the drive was really nice. We went out of San Jose, up through the mountains then back down to the coast. I was so excited because this was the part of Costa Rica that I had really wanted to see. Little houses, small towns, friendly people...not like the pollution and buses in San Jose. It was wonderful! We saw a lot of animals. In fact here are some cows just running along the road. No cowboy there with them. They were just chillin', out for a little run!




On our way we also passed MASSIVE banana plantations! We also passed the processing "plant" for one of my favorite fruit companies...Del Monte! (It is so much better than Dole!) Well this is where Del Monte bananas come from! They had this assembly line going for deciding which bananas were good enough for snobby Americans and Europeans and which ones would just go to the local market. Here is a picture below of a man chopping apart the bananas.



At this same location there was a man selling coconuts. He would cut a whole out and give you a straw to drink the milk. Once you were done he would chop open the coconut so you could eat the pulp. He also had this enormous bug with him. And of course I couldn't help but have my picture taken with the bug.



Oh and real quick about the cost. All of our food was included in the price. As were the excursions and transportation to and from San Jose. We stayed 3 days and 2 nights, 3 meals a day, 4 separate excursions...for about $220! It was a great deal, especially since the meals were great (and HUGE), the rooms clean and the excursions really interesting!

Okay...now back to the trip. Our hotel (or resort) was located between a Canal or Channel and the Carribean Sea! How nice! You have to take a boat to get to the location. We were on a sort of long strip island with 1 other resort and the little town of Tortuguero. And when I say little town I mean LITTLE! Less than a mile long. So we got off the boat at our resort and could walk straight across to the ocean! The resort had everything you needed...except AC! And it was HOT and even more so...HUMID! I had to change clothes about 3 times a day...but it was still no less paradise! I really wish you all could have seen the views! It was like a jungle or tropical forest surrounded by water! The views were amazing! I don't think I took one picture that truly does this place justice!

Our excursions included 1 trip to the town. You could walk down the beach or take a boat. We also had 2 trips through the canals. On these we searched for monkeys and toucans and all sorts of animals! They were a lot of fun! We also had a trip through the jungle! Only six of us were brave enough for this one! It was so much fun! Just like MAN VS. WILD!!!!! I totally made it back to civilization! But...when I say it was like Man vs. Wild...I really mean it had handy boards above the jungle floor for us to walk on! :-) See the picture below to see the boards! I had you fooled for a second huh?!?


It wasn't all on boards I promise! They even gave us rubber boots so we could navigate the mud! There was a lot of it!


All in all it was an AMAZING trip and I would go back in a heartbeat! The longer I stayed the more I didn't want to leave! I also made friends with the guys that work there...imagine that! These guys had the life! Half of them didn't even wear shoes! They live at the resort, wake up everyday on the beach, play nice to the tourists and it doesn't cost them anything! All they need is included! Their rooms...their food...Thats the life! I wish I were brave enough to just up leave my comforts for a life like that! But alas...I am a spoiled little American girl! :-)

I definitely did not want to come back to San Jose! I don't like it here very much. It's by no means bad but it is extremely polluted! I hate walking on the streets, but taking the bus is worse! Then you are just riding around in a big ball of pollution! It really is bad! However it is often raining (or is about to rain) when I go home so the bus is a nice cover. And it never costs more than 38 cents to ride! (200 colones) I haven't found a bus yet that costs more than that! 38 cents is one of the expensive ones!

Well I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures! I apologize that this post is so extremely scattered. I had a lot to say and not that much time to do it in!

If you want to know more about my trip or see if I have a specific picture just send me an email!



Here is picture specifically for my sister! Katie, here is a picture of the iguana you saw at granddaddy's pond! I asked him if he had ever been in North Carolina before and he said yes...that he loved the Christian Light area and stayed there for a short while! So here you go! You finally have proof! Love you Sissy!!!

Whoops!

Whoops! I lied yesterday. We didn't go to the butterfly farm. Instead we went into the town of Heredia and looked around a bit. Here is a picture of a HUGE church. And a picture of the inside. If you look to the left of the picture of the inside you can see their gorgeous pulpit! All of the churches have pulpits like this one! Also most of you know how much I love stained glass! Check out the amazing stained glass in the front of the church!




This will be my last post until Monday. This weekend I am heading to Tortuguero on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It is a great place to view nature and see the SEA TURTLES! I am going with my roommates Gert and Ronald. We will be staying at a place on the beach that will have a pool and HOT WATER!!! How great it will be!!!

I will be sure to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it when I get back!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

A little more info...

Now for more juicy details!!! When we went to the Orosí Valley we also visited the Basílica de Nuesta Señora de los Angeles. It is the church of lady of angels. This is the saint of the Costa Rican people. It is very similar to the Virgen Mary. Here is a picture of the outside:

It is extremely beautiful and very large! And it all started with a little “negrita.” Here is a bit of the story…In 1635 there was a little dark skinned girl that was walking through the forest. She got to a river and on one the rocks in the river there was a dark rock that resembled the Virgen Mary. The little girl was excited because the rock or statue was dark skinned like she was so she took the rock home and hid it under her bed. She went out the next day and the statue was back on top of the rock. So she ran home and told her mother…who in turn told the priest. The priest went to the rock and declared that it was sign and that he was meant to build a parish in honor of the statue. So he took the statue to his parish but it mysteriously returned back to its original location, twice. In 1926, the Catholic Church build a basilica on the spot of the forest to house the statue (so that it would remain in the same place.) Under the church there is “supposedly” a spring that pours out holy water. Costa Ricans often come here to taste the healing power and fill their bottles with the water. Here is a picture of them doing so. It really isn’t a fountain but more like a run off. It has pipes and such. I did seize the opportunity to sprinkle a little on myself…ya know…every little bit helps!


Yesterday Gert, my roommate broke my sunglasses! My favorite sunglasses! It really was an accident. He did not see them and sat on them! I have sat on them many times and they have never broken! Perhaps they were just worn out. It was funny because he felt bad! I told him the previous day that he was bad luck because he lost me in the mall, directed us to the wrong bus and in turn, we had to walk a mile in the pouring rain! (Yeah, Tuesday afternoon was not a good one!) However, he really is nice and felt awful! He tried to fix my glasses and asked if they were expensive or if they were custom made for me! HA HA!!! Little did he realize that they were $7 from Target! He is definitely A LOT better off than I am! He is a big shot European lawyer…and I am a lowly schoolteacher in the ghetto! Anyway, at dinner he surprised me with a new pair! And they are A LOT nicer than mine but they look very similar. They are Ray Bans. Because they are expensive…I know I will break them or lose them!

Speaking of being a schoolteacher…you know how in English we will often say “I’m just a poor…” Well apparently they don’t say that here. At dinner the other night the family and I were discussing how cheap movies are here in Costa Rica (like 3 bucks!) *Now remember…this is all in Spanish* Mauricio starts to say how expensive they are in Canada (which is the same in the U.S.) So, I told them how it was the same in the U.S. and that I never went to the movies. The mom asked me why and I said “!Porque yo soy una maestra pobre!” This means… Because I am just a poor teacher. Apparently, this is not a statement in Spanish but a joke because Isabel just laughed and laughed! And kept saying how funny I was! HA! Who knew?!?

Now to the food!!! The food here is very delicious but not as different as I expected. We have rice almost every night but the rice is very delicious. Its sort of plain…but delicious! We have a lot of fruits and vegetables. The pineapple and bananas are the best! They are also the 2 main exports out of Costa Rica. (Coffee is the 3rd.) I have not really eaten out much. Once I ate out for lunch and I just went up the street to the Automercado (a type of supermarket.) However, the food was delicious. I had a Spinach empanada. It was so good!!! It had spinach, cheese and onions. !Qué Rica! Isabel also cooks typical American food like baked chicken and spaghetti. But it is always delicious! In fact, for breakfast she sometimes makes scrambled eggs. I do not normally like scrambled eggs but these are delicious! She puts little tiny chopped up onions and spices in with the eggs. It is yummy! She also made us homemade Flan the other night!

Today we are off to a butterfly farm! Hopefully it will be fun and will not rain on us! It rains almost every day but usually not for long. Kind of like when I lived in Boone. You know that it is going to rain but you do not know when and for how long!

I hope everyone else is doing well! Keep the emails and comments coming! I love reading them! ~Miss you all~

Hold on to your seats...

Get ready...here is the long post that you have been waiting for....

So I will start with the home I am staying in. There is a mom and dad, they are both REALLY nice! The mother is a great cook!!! She is very caring and attentive! She even re-made up my bed!!!! I had already made it up but she came in and did it again! The dad is ADORABLE!!!! He is 61. He does not speak very much English at all. He is trying to teach himself now. I really like to help him after dinner. He brings out his books and I quiz him! It is fun! And I do love helping people with English! They also have a son that is very nice. He is 23. He works during the day. We really only see him at dinner. But he is funny and speaks English well. It is really funny to watch how he interacts with his parents...it reminds me a lot of eating dinner with my folks.
There are also 2 other students staying in the house. One is from Lincolnton, NC!!! He is a student at UNC-Charlotte. His name is Ronald. He is A LOT older! I'm not sure how old...but he looks like he could have grandkids! But I think he just "looks" old. He is very shy and does not speak at all!!! I finally got him to talk about tobacco and cotton fields! He also makes honey. The other student is fabulous! He is a lawyer from Austria. His name is Gert. If you say like you are a Bulgarian you will have the pronunciation right! I'm not sure how old he is either but I think he is in his late 20s early 30s. He kind of looks like he could have been a model or actor in the 90s. He is very nice! And quite a gentleman...but awkward! It is really funny! His English is good but there are some words that he doesn't know. It is really fun to teach him new words! I also make him teach me German! I'm having a lot of fun learning fun, new, German words! He speaks 4 languages and is very intelligent! He speaks German, English, Spanish and French. He is very funny but awkward...in a European way.

And now for my adventures:
My first adventure took me to the Orosi Vally. If you look at the map below find the word central and look below it at Cartago. That is the area that I visited on Tuesday. There we went hiking up to a beautiful view of the valley. The valley is important because the people thought there was gold there (Oro, si=Gold, yes) and put a lot of hope in developing it. However there was no gold! So now it is just a little town. Here is a picture of the view:

We also went to one of the oldest churches in Costa Rica. Here is picture of one of the statues inside. In this picture is looks like a painting but it is actually a statue.
...
Well the internet is messing up...so the pictures will have to wait. Today we went to a coffee plantation. It was located in Heredia...on the map that is directly above San Jose. It was really interesting! We saw coffee plants and learned about the process and the history of Costa Rican coffee. It was a lot of fun! And of course we got to taste GREAT coffee. I'm a firm believer that Costa Rican coffee is some of the best in the world! Its funny because the coffee you buy here in the grocery store is not of great quality because they export all the good stuff! But today I bought some of the good stuff!

I don't know what I am going to do this weekend I will do this weekend...but I will let you know as soon as I figure something out!

I MISS YOU ALL!!!!

Sorry the post was not as long as I had hoped...but I seriously have NO free time! Its crazy! Things will settle down soon!

Lots to say...

I have a lot to tell you about but no time!!!!! I have been super busy since 8:00am this morning! I did not bring my laptop today so I do not have the freedom to sit around and type. I looked for a WiFi connection at my house but they are all locked! I promise...tomorrow there will be a GRAND POST including lots of pictures and information!!!

Love to all!!!!

I'm alive!!!!

I made it safe and sound!!!! No major glitches! All of the flights were fine (delayed and/or bumpy) but fine!

I think I finally made it to my host family's house around 6:30 (8:30 EA). They are very nice! There are 2 other students staying with them. I will meet them tonight. Here are some pictures of my room:
This is my bed and night table. The bed is really comfy but squeaky...and when you roll around like me...squeaky isn't good! The covers are all nice and smell really good! :-)

This is my closet it is small but adequately holds all my clothes and shoes!This is my bathroom. I have a private bath and the 2 other guys that are staying with the same family share a bathroom upstairs. This bathroom is plenty big for just me. And it is really clean! (Dirty bathrooms...another pet peeve of mine) In fact, the mother actually pointed out to be a black spot on the shower door to make sure I knew that it wasn't dirty and was just darker rubber!

2 weird things about the bathroom: There is not hot shower water. Now you are thinking..that's not so weird...its Central America. Whats weird is that they tell you there IS hot water. I've already taken 2 showers...no hot water! They told me to turn the shower off while I soaped my hair and body in order to reserve hot water...but there isn't any! Maybe it is hot to them. I do take scalding showers...The other weird thing...you can't put toilet paper in the toilet...it has to go in the trash...SIEMPRE! ALWAYS! Yeah...thats going to take some getting used to! Well I will update with more details later. I am at the language school now and there are a lot of people around...so hasta luego!

This is it...

The time has come! This is my last post before leaving for Costa Rica.

This weekend I spent some time with Koop and my family and finished all my last minute packing. Tonight my family threw me a going away party combined with a Father's Day celebration. (Since I will be missing Father's Day.) It was a lot of fun and we ate some delicious food! Here is a picture of my niece enjoying her corn on the cob. It has nothing to do with my leaving, other than once you see how adorable she is you will understand why I'll miss both my nephews and niece!


My packing went well. I have room left over in my checked bag! My carry on is a little full but it is just a back pack so it doesn't have that much room to begin with! Here is a picture of my neatly packed bag! :-)

There are more shoes than the one pair you see! They are neatly tucked away at the bottom!

Well I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my night! Koop and I are going to watch the Heartbreak Kid then I will be off to bed! For those that are keeping track here is my itinerary for tomorrow!

I leave RDU at 7:25 am
Arrive in Charlotte at 8:23 am
Leave Charlotte at 11:45 am
Arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 1:49pm
Leave FL at 3:00 pm
ARRIVE IN SAN JOSE AT 3:50 PM!!!!!!! :-)

Hopefully all will go according to plan and there won't be any hitches!!! I'm excited to set off but a little nervous as well! I don't think I will be able to fully relax until I am on the plane heading to San Jose!

I will post as soon as I can once I land! I don't know if I will have internet at home but I will definitely have it Monday. So expect a flight and first impression post coming soon!

A little background...

Hi, and welcome to my blog!
This blog is going to be used to document my adventures in Costa Rica. I will be flying to Costa Rica on June 15 and returning July 12. While there I will be learning more about the language as well as adventuring around the country! I will keep you updated with where my travels take me. I placed a map at the bottom of the page so you can track me as I travel about!

So what is going on now...
My semester is almost over! I have 2 teacher workdays left. I have spent this week cleaning out my classroom and running around like a crazy person buying things I may need for the trip. (I'm pretty sure I have been to Walmart 5 out of the last 7 days!)
I have already begun packing. Its actually going suprisingly well! I will have enough room to fit my pillow into my checked bag! Those that know me well, know how important this item is! For those that know me better...don't worry, Phu-Phu will be in my carry on!
All thats left is to make it through this week (thank goodness the students are gone!) I'll keep you posted on how the packing goes. I'm sure I will be proud enough to take a picture and post it!