Hello there Ohio
I can't believe that we're back already. I feel like just yesterday I was flying into the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica with eight other students. I remember riding in the van for an hour and a half with Profe Hogue, Ronny, Eric and two other colleged-aged students from CSI. Ronny, Eric and I practiced Spanish phrases in the van up until the very last second. When I got dropped off I remember completely freaking out, on the inside of course, and forgetting every single word of Spanish I'd ever learned.
For the first week I know that speaking Spanish with me had to have been a very trying task for Neida and Jose (my host family), but they never gave up on me. By the second week I was able to understand basically everything that they asked me or said to me, and by the last week I could finally form intelligent and correct responses. I was actually really sad to leave Costa Rica, much more sad than I expected to be initially. When I signed up for this trip I never realized that I would grow so attached to my host family, and my "life" in Costa Rica. Being home and seeing the difference in the way that I live here really heightens the cultural and social gaps between "ticos" and "gringos" for me.
I met some really amazing people and have become very good friends with people that I never expected to. In my opinion, this trip to Costa Rica was the best experience I've ever had traveling in my entire life. Being able to learn a language, form bonds and relationships with new people and travel to country as beautiful as Costa Rica was the most rewarding three weeks of my life.
Hoy es mi ultima dia in clase! Helado?
As our trip wraps up it's time to start reflecting on our experiences here. Today was my last day of classes because tomorrow I have an appointment with the orthopedic specialist back in Liberia. What appointment? THE appointment. That's right folks; it's the moment of truth. I hope the yeso comes off. But even if not, PURA VIDA!
This whole trip has been one crazy ride, but a great one at that. Even though it was completely out of my comfort zone, I have to say that I learned a lot. Spanish isn't such a huge challenge anymore and I've gotten a sneak peek into the lives of people and their culture. There is so much more to Costa Rica than beaches and souvenirs.
I am highly anticipating returning to los Estados Unidos. But even more than bringing home bracelets, colones and other miscellaneous knick-knacks, I'll be bringing home the experience of a lifetime. And a yeso. :]
So what now? Movie night, yeso-quito-ing, karaoke, BBQ, and then... E.E.U.U.! Yay!
P.S. Pictures are hopefully coming up soon! You'll love them.
Snorkeling and Schtuf
Hola,
This was the last weekend of our trip! =[ Last weekend was amazing. I went snorkeling for the first time and it was very neat. I was about 3-4 inches from a school of yellow fish! We were in the Pacific, but the water was only about 8-9 feet deep because we were close to shore. We also saw a puffer fish which floated up to the surface! It was really neat. =] On Sunday, we went on a tour which was kind of boring (the highlight was eating pineapple). We saw the tail of an adult crocodile, a young crocodile, crabs, monkeys, and cows. After the tour we went for lunch and then watched the US-Brazil game. I have had a wonderful time here!
Achal
La Ultima Semana en Costa Rica!!
Yesterday we toook a trip to an estuary and it was very fun and exciting to see the MONOS! aka monkeys. We also saw an adult crocodile and a baby crocodile. It was very interesting to see an estuary. It looked like a plain old river to me. But, depending on the time of year, the estuary gets filled with fresh water and salt water. BTW, it was our tour guide's birthday yesterday. ¡Feliz cumpleaños a él! All is well here in Costa Rica.
I'm really going to be sad to leave this place.
¡Pura vida!
-Ronny K. Oppong
Hey Monday
On Saturday we went snorkeling. We all piled into a boat and our guide took us out to the ocean. It started out all right, however I got a little seasick by the time we got to our site so I couldn't snorkel. However, I got to hang out on my own personal beach while the others snorkeled. On sunday we went on another boat but I didn't get sick because it was just a tour of the estuary and not on the ocean. We saw 2 crocodiles in the boat and on the walking part of the tour we saw some cows and crabs. Today we were back to morning classes so it was much better. This week should be fun!
It's feeling like a Monday...
Today is probably the coolest day so far, in terms of temperature. We switched back to morning classes this week, and this morning was pretty crazy. There are lots of younger kids here for a Spanish camp. It's a lot louder and more family-oriented now.
We've got the hang of things now. Things don't feel so foreign anymore. We've explored a lot of Tamarindo and we are having lots of "firsts" experiences. My list of firsts:
1. First trip outside of the US
2. First ride on a plane.
3. First debit card.
4. First fracture.
5. First experience in a foreign healthcare system.
6. First time bartering with a store owner.
7. First time meeting a German, Swiss, New Zealander, Canadian, etc.
8. First avocado for dinner.
9. First time sitting on a boat in the ocean.
You get the idea.
I have an appointment this Friday (the 3rd) to get the yeso taken off. I am MUY (very) excited for this.
Lya
P.S. I bought a previously-loved copy of Three Cups of Tea for $7 from Jaime Peligroso. Beat that!
Mateo, Octupi, and Soccer with Niños
So Mateo, who is Liz's host brother, is adorable. On Sunday, I went over to her house and played a bunch of games with him while Liz set up a webkinz for her host sister Kimbly. Kimbly is really nice and fairly easy to understand. Anyway, Mateo is awesome, and if I come back from Costa Rica with a little kid, it will be Mateo. I even love his name. hahaha I think he will fit in my suitcase.
This weekend we also went on a river tour and snorkeling. The river tour wasn't as much fun as snorkeling but we did see dos cocodrilos. During the snorkeling, I saw an octopus, so the guides went down and got it. A bunch of people gathered around, and the guides put it on my hand. Then they put it on Ronny's leg, but it got away.
Later on Saturday, Liz, Adam, Jake, Lya, Achal, and I went to see a soccer game. It was awesome. They were pretty good, and the Tico goalies were alot more aggressive than American goalies. After Jake, Lya, and Achal left, Adam's host brother Wilmur (who has a crush on Liz which is so cute; he's 12) invited us to play soccer. ¡Fue muy divertido! There was only really good little boy who nutmeg-ed me. I was very impressed.
I'm having SOOOOOO much fun in Costa Rica! and I'm really looking forward to Thursday when I go to Santa Cruz and Nicoya with my host father Carlos and my host mother Odelie.
el fin de semana
Yesterday there was a huge birthday party at my house! the whole family gathered outside for dinner along with at least 30 friends! It was a really fun time, but the coolest part was the cake. In Costa Rica there is a tradition of smashing the cake in the birthday boy or girl's face! It was so funny to watch, and everyone laughed. Today I found the leftover cake in our fridge with an imprint of a face!
This morning we went on a snorkeling trip. We sailed out to playa conejo. we snorkeled in 2 different spots, both beautiful and full of creatures. We saw two pufferfish, a white shark, an octopus, dory fish, and lots of other colorful fish! Afterwards, we had lunch in Tamarindo, and had some fun waiting for a nonexistent bus for a ride home.
After finally getting home, Evelyn, Adam, Jake, Achal, Lya and I watched a futbol game in Santa Rosa. It was different from US soccer; much more agressive, and the ball barely touched the ground! Afterwards we played our own game with some of the kids. It was a lot of fun, and the kids are so good here! It was a great day!
Hola!
Just like my fellow students, I was very surprised about what Costa Rica is actually like. When I first signed up for the trip, I imagined us staying in a quasi-primitive settings that are not comparable to our standard of living in the US at all. Then, after talking to Ms. Hogue at the airport before we left, I thought that we would be living comfortably, similarly to how we do in the US. My ideas about Costa Rica were nowhere close to the truth; Costa Rica is not primitive at all but it is not really similar to the US either. Our standard of living here is in between those two extremes.
My house has 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and combined family room/dining room/kitchen area. The front door and back door are always open and the walls don't connect to the roof so bugs are a constant nuisance to us. There is no air conditioning and my shower is crazy cold. However, we have multiple large televisions, nice kitchen appliances, and nice laundry machines. It is incredibly comical to see technology and nature intermix so frequently.
I've adjusted easily and quickly to my living situation, much better than I would have pictured. I could definitely stay down here for a few more weeks and I plan on doing many more home stays. Trips like this are something that everybody should experience at some point in their life.
Hey Mom, I broke my hand.
Hey everyone. This is Lya. You may have heard about my little adventure here (I managed to break my hand in two places and damage my elbow within three hours of arriving). (Mastery). So here's the scoop in a nutshell: First I went to a clinic in Tamarindo, only a few minutes away. They checked out my arm. They didn't have an X-ray machine because they would have had to hire a person who is specially certified in using the machine. The funny thing is that they are right next to a veterinarian's office and the vet is going to get an X-ray machine and operator soon. The two offices are going to share. Profe Hogue wanted to ask who would get priority: the animals or the humans?... (think about it, it's pretty funny)
I got a splint. I went to the hospital in Liberia, which is about an hour away. I was there for about 2-3 hours the night of June 13th. I went back and forth between the ER and the X-ray machine. They knew that I had two fractures in my hand but it was unclear what was up with my elbow. So, we scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic specialist on Monday the 15th. I got a temporary cast to hold me over. We went back on the 15th. The doctor checked out my elbow. I could rotate it side to side but I couldn't move it up or down. So... I got a full cast. I wasn't very happy with that at the time.
My first week here was pretty rough because I was still upset about having broken my hand. Early this week I got a reality check and decided to enjoy my trip as much as I could. There are lots of things to still be happy about.
My family is awesome. They're not perfect and I love it. They're not rich, they're not poor. They have the necessities, and then a little more. A phone, TV, a family cell phone, and a video game system? That's plenty, and they're happy with it. They live with it. But I have to say that in America not very many people would be able to stand it. It's taught me a lot about chilling out. In America we have so many things that stimulate our senses constantly. It's always go go go all the time. It's exhausting.
But it's not like that here. It's a good lesson for us to take, especially since we've been blessed a little more than most in America. It's definitely taught me not to take my blessings for granted. It's also taught me the difference between the things that I need, and the luxuries that I crave. It's shown me that the necessities are a foundation for life, and we can choose to build on that foundation however we want to. These are life choices.
Now, enough with all that good stuff. We're chillin' today, as usual. I'll be working on uploading more of my pictures, as I'm sure everyone else will be as well. Enjoy!
Costa Rica Trip
Hola Everyone!
On Saturday we arrived to Costa Rica. The airport looked like a gigantic tent with two huge fans. All the workers there were wearing surgical masks because of the scare of the swine flu. It was pretty funny. After that we took a long bus ride to Santa Rosa or Villareal, depending on where you were assigned. On Sunday, we did not do anything as a group and stayed home with our families. I watched TV and played with the little child. It was pretty fun. He loved the television and never had his eyes off if it. When his sister would change the channel to anything but Disney the little kid would throw a fit. After playing I ate dinner which was beans and rice with salad. After the weekend I started school which was really fun! For the first week, I had professor Jackie and professor Krissia. We played Scrabble and taboo to help improve our vocabulary. After classes, we would go to the pool, beach or shopping. After the first week, we went to a volcano where we went ziplining, rock climbing, tubing and horse-back riding. It was a great experience. During this week we had afternoon classes so we really didn't do much in the morning. We went to a cooking class which was cool.
Today is Ronny's Birthday and there is a party! This is a really fun and cool experience.
Have a great summer,
Achal
Bienvenidas
My time in Costa Rica has been interesting. A lot of things have met my expectations and several have gone past my expectations. Two years ago I went to Paraguay and Argentina and I expected Costa Rica to be more like that. It was as hot as I expected and I expected the beach to be as fun as it was. However, there are so many more mosquitoes than I thought there would be. Even the first couple days I had almost 20 bites. The time here, though has totally been worth it. In the other spanish speaking countries I've gone to, cows walk freely across the street. Here what suprised me is that almost everyone seems to have a dog and that dogs walk around the street everywhere.
The experiences here have been pretty awesome. Last weekend we went to the Rincon de la Vieja which translates directly to The Old Lady's Corner in english. It is a volcano but we didnt actually end up seeing it. When we got there we put on a bunch of gear and went ziplining. We took a horseride to our next activity which was tubing. We finished by going to a sauna, a madbath and hot springs. On Sunday we had a beach day and we played volleyball, soccer, ate, and went in the water. We have done much more and we have much more to do.
La Vida Tico!
Costa Rica is very beautiful! I have to say I was not expecting this, being here in Costa Rica for three weeks with a host family. Trips like these are not always the safest, but the people here know what they're doing and are very honest. I was just shocked that the Bran family would welcome me with arms wide open. Indeed it is Pura Vida here. I have a sister named Yasmine, a brother Dorian, another brother Hiro and his son Camuen. These people are awesome. I'm going to miss them.
With good things there are bad things. In the day Tamarindo is very pretty and the people are just so friendly and nonchalant about things. At night it's a whole different city; it's fairly dangerous, but that's no different from areas in Columbus, Ohio. This country is, in a way, similar to the states "Tamagringo."
All is well here in Costa Rica- Ronny K. Oppong
a bit farther down south...
To say the least, i must say it's a life changing experience. To live in a house with a lack of closing windows, air conditioning, electricity, lights, and a front door, it's like living in a completely different world. I absolutely love it. To wake up to find a monkey in your room trying to run off with your bag, and find a lizard in your shower is one of the most oddly entertaining experiences i've ever had.
Spanish is an essential down this far south, as english speaksers are far and few between. For this reason, picking up the language has been much easier because you are compeltely immersed in the language, the culture, and the compelely different living sphere that is Costa rica.
We've ziplined, bodysurfed, Swam at the pool, gone dancing, learned to cook, white water tubed, road horses, and survived a world compeltely different then hours.
Greatest experiences of my life
From a little farther south then usual,
Jake
Friday, June 26, 2009
Hey all!
Costa Rica is not at all what I expected. I anticipated a hot climate, with a lot of sun, and I thought that we would all be in houses in the same neighborhood. It's not like that at all. It is sunny and cooler in the mornings (but still the warmer end of the temperature spectrum in Ohio) and gradually gets hotter and more humid as the day goes on. It rains here every day, and not just a little bit of rain, a torrential downpour. The humidity comes after the rain. One of my favorite parts of the day is the morning. I love going to beach in the morning or in the evening - it's windy, cool beautiful.
As far as housing arrangements go, the students are situated in two different "suburbs" of Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I am staying in Villa Real, which is closer to Tamarindo than the other "suburb", along with Mr. Johanssen, Ms. Hogue, Ronny, and Eric. All of the other students are currently staying with a host family in Santa Rosa. Villa Real and Santa Rosa are about five to ten minutes away from each other, driving. Every weekday morning all of the students get picked up at a designated bus stop by one of two bus drivers who drop us off at the school. These same drivers also drop us back off at our stops in the evening.
I think that my favorite thing so far in Costa Rica has been getting to be more immersed in Spanish language and culture. I feel that my Spanish has improved immensely. Now I can actually make conversation, and my grammar is slowly getting better. I feel like going to school at the Coastal Spanish Institute has been an amazing experience for me. As has the valuable opportunity to stay with a host family in their house.
More later!
Allie
¡Hola Chicos!
Hey! :)
So our time here in Costa Rica is awesome! I know that I'm personally loving my host family. I'm staying with Carlos and Odelie in Santa Rosa, and practically every night he captures a new animal from the yard surrounding the house. Last night he called me outside to see this really cool crab that was blue, green, red, and orange. I tried to pick it up but it was too fast for me. The other night he caught a "tortugito" which means "little turtle" in spanish. It's adorable, but whenever I try hold it, it goes in its shell. They also showed me the parakeets in the trees. And Carlos thinks it's hilarious to imitate the howler monkeys. They also have a dog whose name is "blackie" and yes, he's black. He has crooked teeth but he loves me and whined last night when i walked up to the house to see him.
Other than my host family, I love spending time with the group. It's so funny because everyone tells stories about their friends and family when we have time to kill between activities. Yesterday, we went to Playa Conchal ("Shell Beach"). The waves were HUGE and Mr. J and Jake had a great time getting beat around by the waves for two hours. They each had their share of cuts and bruises. Everyone else had a fun time watching them, going down to the rocks and watching the waves, and gathering shells because the beach was covered in them.
-Evelyn
Miercoles
On Wednesday we took a bus to Playa Conchal in the morning. It was a lovely beach with shells instead of sand. The waves were very strong but a lot of fun to play in. Some students flipped and hurdled into the waves, and others just let teh sea foam touch their feet. Either way, everyone loved the beach. I spent a lot of time collecting shells. Evelyn and I found a whole bunch of colorful shell fragments that filled a small bag. For lunch we aate by the shore at a small local resteraunt. Then we returned to the school for Spanish class. After class we took a quick cooking lesson. We made empenadas con papas y zanahorias (tortillas with potatoees, carrots and other vegetables). I can't wait to come back and cook for my family! When I got home, my neighbors from Holland made us a goodbye dinner, as they are leaving this weekend. My whole host family and their host family got together, including my German neighbor, and teh other student living with me, Melissa. It was a lot of fun and I heard a lot of cool stories about the girls trip.
¡Pura Vida!
Costa Rica is a beautiful country! We have been in Tamarindo for over a week. Our classes are going well; the school is right off the coast. The beach is very pretty, especially at sunset. The first night we went to the beach for a welcome drink. We played sand volleyball and futbol and grilled a light dinner on Tuesday night. We have been to the pool a few times; the pool is at a hotel right down the street. We have had a fun time playing sharks and minnows and cooling off in the water.
On Saturday we went on an Adventure Tour near the volcano, Rincòn de la Vieja. We went ziplining, climbing and repelling in the morning. The best part was hanging upside down over rushing water and a beautiful view of the canopy. Then we traveled on horseback to the gorge where we went tubing in the rapids. After we had lunch we went to a spa. We went in the sauna, and had a grand time in the mud bath where we painted each other with mud while nourishing our skin. The hot springs were lovely and relaxing.
On Sunday we went to Las Minas Beach. It was in a cove, making the water crystal clear and warm. We built sandcastles, kayaked to the caves along the cliff's edge, and rode on a banana boat. It poured in the afternoon, but it cooled us off, and made the day more interesting. Although the bus was two hours late, we all had a lot of fun.