La Comida

     Buenas tardes chicos! Life is amazing here in Costa Rica! I've truly fallen in love with almost every aspect about life here. I'm officially starting to think in two different languages. It's getting a little more difficult to write in english, without wanting to finish my sentence in Spanish. I've been getting a lot of practice, talking to friends, my family, the staff at school and around the city! 

     Let's talk about the food here a little bit. I'm sure if you know anything about Costa Rica, it's probably that they eat a lot of rice and beans, and this couldn't be any more true. I've eaten rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner in one day before. Before I got here, I was never a big fan of beans, but being in a new country, I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave them a chance. They actually turned out to not be so bad! They are definitely growing on me, even though they still aren't my 'food of choice.' 

     The picture to the left is a meal from one of the two 'cafeterias' at VERITAS. It contains a steamed vegetable mix, fresh salad, strip steak, and of course, rice & beans. This is one of the best meals I've had here in Costa Rica. One thing I've noticed, is that they all like their meat cooked well-done! It's something that I have grown used to, but I'm definitely missing my medium cooked steak and burgers back home! For the most part, the food is not much different that it is in the States. Costa Rica is a very Americanized country, especially compared to some of it's surrounding partners.

     The past weekend, I planned on staying in San José, but I ended up making a day trip to Jacó. Jacó is a popular town directly west of San José on the Pacific coast. Unfortunately, it's known as central Americas prostitution capitol. I have a friend here, whom is doing an internship with a program that helps these women who are ready to get off the streets and get back into society. I've learned a lot about the topic since this trip and continue to learn more and more each day. It's really nice to hear about programs that are helping these women and their children. 

     This weekend, I plan on taking my first trip to Puerto Viejo! Most of my friends have already been, and said it was their favorite trip! I am so very excited for this opportunity. I went to get my bus ticket today for the trip tomorrow, and ended up taking a little journey in the process. My room mate and I took a cab to the bus station where I was told I could only pay in cash. I only had enough money to get one ticket and a cab ride home. Unfortunately, I was buying two of my friends tickets as well since they couldn't make it. Tasia, my room mate and I, went on a search for an ATM to get some cash. While we were looking, we ran into an older couple who greeted us with, "Hello! Do you speak english!!?" They were ecstatic to find out that we did. They were lost, and we gladly helped them find there way using our improving Spanish!  It was really great to run into some US Citizens that weren't from our school, and being able to help them ask for directions for where they were going, gave me some incredible feeling. HORRAY for speaking Spanish!

Reflection Hour

     Last week was my 1 month mark for being in Costa Rica. When I realized this, I immediately filled with so many emotions; Happy, sad, accomplished, worried, amazed, excited, and so much more. I couldn't decided how I really felt! Luckily, I was one of the people who were the exception to the homesickness curve. I have only felt so excited to be here the entire time. As much as I miss my friends and family back in the States, I just love everything that I have here, and I am so thankful for all the friends I've made here thus far. It makes it so much easier to know that other people are going through the same obstacles as me, whether it's with school or what to do next weekend. 

     I've officially finished one class, like I mentioned in my last post, I did extremely well! The class that I started last week is definitely already a challenge though. I learned a lot in my last class, but I know that I will learn so much more in this one. I already feel like I've learned so much! I just pray that I will do as well as I did last month! I had my first quiz yesterday, and I have my first oral exam tomorrow. It's crazy because I have to talk for 15 minutes about my experiences here thus far. While I have so much I could say, I fear that 15 minutes of talking by myself will be more than I can handle. Already, this coming Friday, I have my midterm. It's crazy to think that classes are only 4 weeks long, and that this one is already almost halfway over. 

Handstands during the sunset at Playa Hermosa

     Since I've been here, I've not only learned a lot of school related material, but I have also learned so much about myself. I truly believe that I will come home a brand new person, because I already feel myself changing into the person that I was meant to be. I've made friends that aren't in the same 'social status' as I am, I've done what I wanted to do regardless of what the people around me wanted to do, I've made my own decisions, I've developed into an individual person, rather than a follower of the crowd. 

     I've made a few mistakes, but I've also made plenty of great decisions. I love my life here in Costa Rica, and I really wish I could just continue my life here forever. 

     This past weekend, I went with a small group of people, whom I didn't know well (or really at all), to Playa Hermosa & Jacó. These beaches were really cool, because they have black sand instead of white. This is because of the volcanic ashes that come from nearby volcanoes. This ended up being one of my favorite weekends, because I stepped outside of my comfort zone and went along with some other people. I can easily say that on this trip, I made my best friends here in Costa Rica, and now, I hang out with them just about everyday.  On the way back to San Jose, the bus driver stopped the bus at this adorable fruit stand. All of the workers were surrounding you, giving you free fruit to taste. I've never tasted such delicious and interesting fruits in my life! 

Bocas del Toro, Panamá!

     This past weekend I traveled across the southeastern border from Costa Rica to Bocas del Toro, Panamá! Bocas del Toro is a province of Panamá. Its area is compromised by the mainland and nine main islands. We had the luxury of staying in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago on Isla Colón. In order to get to our hostel on the island, it took a two buses, a boat and our own two feet to get there. The first bus took us from San José, all the way to the Panamá border. I've never quite experienced anything like the border between two countries like I did here. It was a set of 3 offices [1 on the Costa Rica side, and 2 on the Panamá]. Each office had a different purpose. The first office on the Panamá side, we were required to pay 3$ in taxes to enter the country, and then 3$ again when we left. The second bus ride, was about 45 minutes to the taxi boat. Then, the taxi boat took us about a half hour to get to the island, where we walked through town to get to our hostel. A hostel is a bit different from a hotel. The major difference between the two would be privacy, as well as a dramatic difference in price. While no hostel is the same as the next, there is usually a shared kitchen, and living space. Hostels tend to be more social than hotels, because of their open concept. There are rooms, just as in a hotel, but with several beds [typically bunk beds] in each room. 

     We arrived to Panamá on Friday evening, around dinner time. We all dropped our bags off in our room and scurried out to find something to eat! After that, we had the night to ourselves to explore the town. The next morning, we all met in the common area around 9 am to leave for snorkeling and Starfish Beach! We hopped into a taxi boat that took us out into the ocean for us to do some snorkeling! It's safe to say that I've officially been chased by a jellyfish! This was pretty cool, I got to see a ton of sea creatures in every color imaginable. After some time in the ocean, we made our way to Starfish beach. I can easily say that this is the most beautiful beach I have been to, ever! The colors were vibrant, the water was as clear as day and atmosphere was in general, up  beat and fun! We spent the afternoon here relaxing and playing catch with a football and a frisbee in the water, meeting new friends and having a good time! 

     What I loved most about this place, is that you needed to take a taxi boat any where you wanted to go, for places not on your own island. This made waking up at 7:30 am the next morning for the beach not so bad, because I knew I was about to hop onto a boat. I really enjoyed the boat rides, because each way I claimed the bow of the boat, or the very front. I sat in the front, with the wind in my face catching the beautiful sun rays and just taking in all of the breath taking views of Panamá. That evening, we set out to a place called Aqua Lounge. This is by far the coolest place I have ever been too. It's a restaurant built over the water, with decks surrounding the back. They had a trampoline and giant holes in the deck for people to jump in and swim! I didn't take part in the swimming, because the unknown of the ocean in the dark is a little to much to handle for me. Although, watching from the side while everyone tried to walk the tight rope over the water from one side to the other was highly amusing.
     On Sunday, we went to Red Frog Beach, which is part of a national park. Again, the views were amazing, but I guess what isn't beautiful about Central America? Unfortunately,

the weather this day was back and forth with sunny and cloudy, with some occasional rain. But that didn't stop us from having a ton of fun! Sunday
     School is going really well! On Friday, I finished my first class [Advanced Spanish for Health Professions]. I received 100% on my final exam and ended the class with a 95%! I couldn't be more excited! On Tuesday, I started my second class [Advanced 1]. I can already tell a huge difference between the teaching styles of 'elective' Spanish classes, and required courses. It has only been two days and I feel like I've learned so much! My new professor is 32, and looks like she could be 25. I've noticed that people here age extremely well! She talks at what I think is a wonderful pace, and thoroughly explains everything! I'm really excited to see where my Spanish goes in this class!

Here are some more photos from Panama!