Time is Getting Short

WOW O WOW. I just continue to be amazed by Costa Rica day after day.

It had been awhile since Ive written. Ive been so busy with class and such!
My Spanish class is still going amazing. I love it. :) My teacher's name is Roxanna and she is a doll. Super sassy and really good at getting conversations going. Its weird that I am outnumbered by guys in my class because never been that way before! And we always end up talking about sports which is REALLY interesting...let me tell you.(NOt)

Last weekend I had a field trip with my marine Biology class. I was kinda dreading it, 1.because I have no friends in the class, 2. because we were gonna have to write a report on the paper, and 3. because I thought everyone would go out partying. But, it turned out being super fun. I made some friends in my class (one girl is a Christian!) Had some good convos, bonded, went snorkling on a reef (overcame fear of water...mostly), explored tide pools, learned what fire coral and fire worms look like, swam in the ocean in the rain. Yay. I have another field trip with the class this coming weekend...cool, but sad bc I can't go to Panama with some kids from school. :(



So. What has been going on? We had a spanish festival and all the spanish classes had to get a province of Costa Rica (There are 7 provinces) then present (IN SPANISH)  in front of everyone in the plaza one day. It was really fun actually and most tables had food and stuff :) After that, we went to lunch with Rachels Parents. They took us out to Cafe Mundo. So sweet :) That was fun. THEN WE WENT TO THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!!! EEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP!!! I loved it. It was sweet. I swear, I want to work at one. Ben had the very great idea to carry our leftovers downtown to give to homeless people so we did. I had been carrying mine for awhile and wanted to just give it to the dogs but he said, "Just wait. There will always be someone." And there was....we saw thiss really young guy after awhile down in this sketchy area  and it really touched my heart. He was so young. probably a teenanger...but almost for sure homeless. It just broke my heart. I mean, I am not sure what to even pray for, for those people. But I do hope that he is touched by Ben's generosity, and so his heart is open somehow for God to come into.

LAst night we had a girls' baking night. I love hanging with the girls :) I mean, I love my guy friends too, but something is so nice about just being with girls :) We made lots of cookies, and a kinda of made-up recipe. We took a Friut pie recipe I had and made it with what we had! ahah. It turned out really good: coconut cookies crushed with melted butter as base; bannanas, mangoes, and blackberrys in middle and on top and the sauce was cream cheese (added in last min) whipping cream and strawberry jello. Yup. we are artist chefs. Good job girls.

Today had a field trip with my History and Culture Class. I LOVE IT. We went to the City of Cartago (the first capital) Visited some church ruins-- I LOVE TEHM!!! They look like Narnia..The ruins of Cair Paravel! :) THen another big Basillica--like a big catholic chrurch. They were ahving mass and it was really pretty in Spanish. They even had some Holy water going on behing the church :p It was interesting to see. Then we went out into the country! Saw some more ruins.  Ruinas  Ujjarás!! BEAUTIFUL!! gah.. somehting magical about ruins. Then, out to visit my teachers friend in this TINY little town called San Miguel. Its cool, because you take the hwy but then eventually have to take a one way dirt road up into the mountains to get to the town. I loved it. We ate lunch, then  walked WAY up into the hills to see a real coffee plantation! IT WAS SWEET.  A young girl (prob about 12-13) led us up the hill where we met her father (the owner/worker). It was so cool. Gah. Beautiful! I couldnt imagine being a coffee farmer though. They dont make much money and it's hard work...and you have to climb the hills everyday!!! AHHH.  After that very interesting tour, they led us to the local (secret/hidden) swimming hole! SWEET. I didnt swim, bc I didnt have a change of clothes (sad bc I knew to brign my swim suit I just got lazy and left it at home) But most of my class swam. My teacher even took off her bra and swam in her clothes!!! HAHAHA!!! It was probably the most-cool field trip I have ever been on. Very Hard Core. I loved it because it was jsut so... rural.And not touristy. And REAL. :) Love it.

That's about it! My friend group is all gone to the beach without me this weekend, so it's a little sad. But it's ok. I know they are having fun and I am too! :) I just miss them! Withdrawels!

ONLY A MONTH LEFT! NOOOOO!!!!

Class (except teacher) in front of Hydroelectric Plant/Dam

Cow-we had to walk through a herd to get to coffee (scary!)

Ready to pick some coffee!

Manuel Antonio

This weekend was another adventure outside the city. The destination this weekend was "Manuel Antonio"; a small beach town about 3 hours by bus from San Jose. This weekend we choose to go in a group without the school planning it for us and it worked so smoothly. Kelsey played trip adviser and booked us (Ben, Joey, Brennan, Kelsey, Mel, and Me) a CUTE Bed and Breakfast called "Didi's Bed and Breakfast." It was really cute and nice.  The man that runs it was Italian, and had the highest most excited voice every time he talked to us. There was a poodle and HUGE black lab that lived there too :)

The bed and breakfast was located on the main road that everyone had to travel down to get between the two closest towns (Quepos and Manuel Antonio). I say main road, but it was definitely in the jungle. There were restaraunts and hotels and such all on the road, but by no means was it like a super developed road. It was nice though :)

We had to hop on a bus to get to the beach or the town. At first I was a little annoyed because I'm use to staying on the beach when I go to the beach, or at least in walking distance, but this was about 6 kilometers. But, after a time or two taking the bus I didn't really mind so much. It was about 50cents for the bus and we never knew when it would really show up at the bus stop, but that was all the fun!

Friday night we went down to the beach after dinner and I taught everyone to play Ninja. It was a hit, but don't worry I gave all the props to CCU people! We played on the beach in the moonlight for....at least an hour!

Saturday was spent at the beach and it was a really pretty one :) Brennan and Mel rented jet skis, but I just enjoyed hanging out.  We played in the water some, and the boys ended up digging me a hole to lay in while they "sculpted' me a new Bod. The boys designed the top and Kelsey did my legs--I turned out looking like a pretty buff man, pretty good looking if I may say so myself :p Kelsey and I walked down the beach after and made our way into the National Park (the gate guard didn't make us pay for the 10$ entrance fee!) We even got to see some wild monkeys in the park! CUTIES!

My favorite part of the weekend: We met these women on the bus, and they are missionaries! Better yet, they are living really close to my school in San Jose doing Spanish classes as well! We talked to them for a long while, and loved it! One woman said she'd love to invite us over for dinner one night with her family!  There is just something so encouraging about meeting other Christians in the most random places. I am hoping we actually get to see them more. I would love to see the life of a missionary "THIS CLOSE UP", actually in another country. WOW.

Right now--feeling SUPER stressed about homework. This months Spanish class is more work (but I'm learning a lot) and my other two classes' projects are getting close. So, I definitely do not have as much free time as last month. It's hard getting back into study mode! I keep having to tell myself that if I was at CCU I would probably have more, and it makes me feel better.

Super bowl was today! I didn't go watch it, but a bunch of my friends went to sports bars and did. Sad thing, was that the commercials were in SPanish...hmm.

Jeoy, Me, and mel at Brennan's Birthday party last Thur at "Cafe Mundo"- Yum and Fun

"El Avion" restaurant in Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio Beach

Catch Up!

Well, I have been a little lazy with these blogs. Sorry!

Here is a catch-up on everything that's been happening.

Last Friday we went on our last excursion with the school. It was off to Arenal (another volcano). Although we didn't go to the actually volcano. We went to the Baldi Hot springs which were, AMAZING. It was a series of pools (like normal swimming pools) but they were filled with hot water, that were somehow heated by the volcano. Also, there were a few REALLY intense water slides! They were sweet! Although, on the middle one, everyone always came out flying and skidded accross the water. Some of my friends did it headfirst and have giant bruises on their hips. But it looks really cool.

Then Saturday we went by "Jeep-Boat-Jeep" to a place called Monteverde. It really meant that we took a van for awhile, then this really cool boat--kinda like a big pontoon boat-- and then another bus for a long time on SUPER bumpy roads. I really enjoyed the trip, just the traveling. The van rides were fun, and I praise God that I don't get motion sickness. But the view was amazing! The whole time we were surrounded by such pretty scenery and could see the mountains and fields below. I love it. And on the boat, I got some really good prayer time. It was a good break :) I love scenery and the little things in life. Once we got to our hotel in Monteverde (it was called Don Taco!) we had time to go out and eat in the little town. I just love all my friends here and we enjoy all our time together.

After was my favorite time of the whole trip--- It was dark and we wanted stars so we went out into this little field (It was Joey, Ben, me, Rachel, Kelsey, and Caroline). It was so neat because we just laid on the ground or on a log and watched the stars. It was almost magical because I had forgotten how bright stars could be. But boy did they shine! We saw some shooting stars. Then we all sang worship songs together for like 45 min. AHH. So nice to be with similar spirited people who all love the Lord.

Then Sunday was an adventure day-- we went and did a canopy tour! It was a series of about 11 zip lines through the jungle and 2 extra ones. They were fun, but there were 2 that were about 300 feet across a giant gorge. IT WAS AMAZING. I just like, lost my breath when I looked at the scenery. Love it. And the last one was a "Tarzan Swing" which means you get clipped into your harness and jump off a platform to a giant swing. You actually free fall for about 3 seconds before the rope catches and you swing. What a rush!

Sunday night, we were back in San Jose, and it was SLEEPOVER/MOVIE NIGHT! WOO. My friend Rachel's Tica Mom is out of town, so Kelsey and I went over and watched a movie with Ben and Joey. We actually talked them into watching Dirty Dancing Havana Nights. I thought it was very fitting because Cuba is pretty close. Right? Then sleepover with the girls! No school Monday.

I rode in my first taxi Monday! It was.... a little uneventful and kinda expensive. Oh well. Worth a try! But I decided buses work just fine for me.

We went downtown to this littl ecraft market called "La Casonya" and I loved talking to all the people. They LOVED it when we would speak Spanish to them so I got in some good practice. My friend Ben is super good with people and can make anyone laugh. I'm a bit jealous of his people skills, but Im trying to turn that into pure happiness for him and learn some things. I just love watching him interact with people, because he genuinely cares and wants to show them God's love.

New Spanish class started today! "Intermedio Conversación" I love my teacher :) I LOVE HER. She is just super fun and one of those people that you instantly can get along with. Weird thing though: there are 4 boys in my class and only 2 girls. ODD-- I have never been outnumbered by boys in a class before! I'm gonna learn a lot I can tell. My teacher said the goal was to speak like a "tico"...OK let's do it!

Planning a trip (ON OUR OWN!) to the beach called Manuel Antonio this weekend. Keep ya posted on how it goes!