One month left to go, and a lot has happened since my last post! Turns out I have allergies down here in lovely Costa Rica that cause my eyes to enflame randomly. Not exciting at all. In other news, I switched houses to another host family, and I find myself a lot happier and less homesick. The girls I live with, as well as my family, are absoutely fantastic! In addition, all of us American girls (there are four, three of us live together) only speak Spanish around the house, which helps us immensely.
Just got home from tropical marine biology, which is definitely a very informative class. It may be the class with the biggest workload, but it is definitely worth it. Today we watched Sharkwater- watch it if you haven't seen it yet. Also, visit savingsharks.com There are so many problems that we are so unaware of!
The last few days have been sweltering hot out, but I heard of SNOW in TEXAS!!! How crazy. Hope all of you back home are staying warm and also ENJOYING the snow!! Imagine living without it, I couldn't do it.
Also borrowing a cookbook from my host mom, with over 300 recipes. This means I can cook traditional Costa Rican food for you all when I come home! Hopefully I'm good at it, lol.
I have three more field trips to look forward to out of my four full weekends left here, which is good because it saves planning on money on my part, and I still get to experience so much of the country!
Unfortunately, that makes it time to get back to homework- I have to write about snorkeling, and present on cetaceans communication skills and garbage swirls. At least my homework is interesting!! Stay well and safe back home, tell everyone I know that I say hi :)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Been A While
Sorry for not posting for a while! It's been an interesting week or so. Got to see the other coast in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side. It is a totally different experience- environmentally, culturally, atmospherically- and I loved it. It's got a beach bum Bob Marley feel to it, and it was totally chill.
We stayed in a hostel for the first time, and that was quite an experience! It is totally culturally different as well. It is a cheaper way for people to stay somewhere overnight- uually students and cross county backpackers. In the hostel, the first night, we stayed in tents. They had an entire loft that was just tents side by side, $7per person and you can keep your belongings in massive lockers down below. The second night, we elected to try something totally different and even cheaper- we stayed in hammocks that rent out at $5 a night! It was a fantastic experience. While we were there, we met people from ALL OVER- apparently, Puerto Viejo is a major backpacking stop. I met people from Austria, Holland, Australia, the UK, and Sweden. I think more too, I just didn't catch where they were from.
I also got the chance to make a Tica friend- she didn't know any English, so it was a great opportunity for me to practice. At the end of the night, she gave me her bracelet as a keepsake- how sweet!
Another part of the experience was renting bikes- the bikes were old, pedal-brake bikes with baskets on the front, $5 for a day. They turned out to be a great investment, as we rode about ten miles in total. During the day, we also got to see a surf competition- for someone who lives nowhere near the ocean, that was a unique experience!
We also got to visit a wildlife preserve where we got to play with howler monkeys and sloths, as well as seeing all kinds of poisonous snakes, frogs, an ocelot, and a really funny looking owl.
Of course, ther was also beach time. I got to see a black sand beach for the first time, and it almost glitters back at you. The waves on the Caribbean side are WAY bigger than the ones we saw the week before on the Pacific side, so I didnt swim too much.- but of course, it was very nice to be by the beach again. Love that sound. Right before we left, the tide was right for collecting small misc shells and coral pieces. I only got about 15, but they are unique and beautiful.
This weekend serves as a big celebration in both countries- back home, the Superbowl, which, gracias a Dios, I get in ESPN vivo here. Also, the same day is election day here in Costa Rica. THis is another thing I am learning to be culturally different. Here, it is a celebration of a peaceful history throughout their tme as an independent country. Having no army since 1949, the country prides itself on not needing military strength, and living as a fair democracy. People drive into the city throughout the entire week, putting a serious cramp on traffic, and party all day Saturday into election day Sunday. Everyone who is able to votes, and they continue partying. This year, there are four candidates, including their first female candidate- and the polls favor her. It proves to be an exciting event and a serious part of history that I cant wait to observe!
Check out my pictures on SHutterfly! (scroll down for a link)
We stayed in a hostel for the first time, and that was quite an experience! It is totally culturally different as well. It is a cheaper way for people to stay somewhere overnight- uually students and cross county backpackers. In the hostel, the first night, we stayed in tents. They had an entire loft that was just tents side by side, $7per person and you can keep your belongings in massive lockers down below. The second night, we elected to try something totally different and even cheaper- we stayed in hammocks that rent out at $5 a night! It was a fantastic experience. While we were there, we met people from ALL OVER- apparently, Puerto Viejo is a major backpacking stop. I met people from Austria, Holland, Australia, the UK, and Sweden. I think more too, I just didn't catch where they were from.
I also got the chance to make a Tica friend- she didn't know any English, so it was a great opportunity for me to practice. At the end of the night, she gave me her bracelet as a keepsake- how sweet!
Another part of the experience was renting bikes- the bikes were old, pedal-brake bikes with baskets on the front, $5 for a day. They turned out to be a great investment, as we rode about ten miles in total. During the day, we also got to see a surf competition- for someone who lives nowhere near the ocean, that was a unique experience!
We also got to visit a wildlife preserve where we got to play with howler monkeys and sloths, as well as seeing all kinds of poisonous snakes, frogs, an ocelot, and a really funny looking owl.
Of course, ther was also beach time. I got to see a black sand beach for the first time, and it almost glitters back at you. The waves on the Caribbean side are WAY bigger than the ones we saw the week before on the Pacific side, so I didnt swim too much.- but of course, it was very nice to be by the beach again. Love that sound. Right before we left, the tide was right for collecting small misc shells and coral pieces. I only got about 15, but they are unique and beautiful.
This weekend serves as a big celebration in both countries- back home, the Superbowl, which, gracias a Dios, I get in ESPN vivo here. Also, the same day is election day here in Costa Rica. THis is another thing I am learning to be culturally different. Here, it is a celebration of a peaceful history throughout their tme as an independent country. Having no army since 1949, the country prides itself on not needing military strength, and living as a fair democracy. People drive into the city throughout the entire week, putting a serious cramp on traffic, and party all day Saturday into election day Sunday. Everyone who is able to votes, and they continue partying. This year, there are four candidates, including their first female candidate- and the polls favor her. It proves to be an exciting event and a serious part of history that I cant wait to observe!
Check out my pictures on SHutterfly! (scroll down for a link)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)