My Temporary Home

This last week has been wonderfully sad. It's always odd when a conflicting hodgepodge of emotions is thrust upon you. This is definitely one of those situations. I am beyond ready to spend some time in Hoover before a final year at Alabama, but it is going to be very difficult to leave this place behind. Almost ten weeks of my life have been spent here. It's the one place I have lived in the longest after Alabama. I feel as though I am just getting to know this beautiful city and country, and now it is time to leave. I will never forget the experiences I had here nor the people that made them worth having. I will take everything I have learned in my temporary home and make it part of myself for the rest of my life.

On a less emotional note, I've done some pretty cool things this last week. I went to a beautiful park this afternoon in San José called Parque Sabana with my friend Katie. It was previously the national airport, but it has now been transformed into a Central Park or Retiro of sorts. It was nice to see a bit of natural beauty in an urban city. I also turned in my six page paper, which was a great feeling. Now I have two full days left before returning home, and I cannot imagine what leaving will be like. I have to make the most of my little time left, so I am planning on getting one last milkshake at Café Krakovia and having one last night on the town. Of course, I also have to say a special good-bye to Fong Sheng, the chinese restaurant/bar where all of the good nights began. I'll be home soon! ¡Pura Vida!

Getting Laid! Well the Eggs Were...

I picked the perfect location for my final weekend in Costa Rica. Tortuguero is beyond wonderful. You have to take two buses and a boat to get here. It's a tiny island that is what I imagines Costa Rica to be like. I love how rural it is. They don't even have an ATM.

Chad and I met up with some people from Maximo this morning, and the group has been the best possible. I hate that I am only meeting these people now since I am leaving so soon. Chloe and Harriet are these two hilarious British girls that I hope I can visit some time in the future. After an afternoon on the most deserted beach I have been to. Jeremy, Chloe, Chad, Harriet, Rachel, and I went to the most unique restaurant called Café Buddha. The chocolate shake I had was delicious. The restaurant was right on the river with paper lanterns over the tables that lit up as the sun set behind the trees. I have never seen something so beautiful.

After dinner, we met up with our tour guide to go see the turtles lay their eggs on the beach. I will never be able to forget the image of watching these turtles plop out 90 eggs in a short time span. If I were a male turtle, I would refuse to copulate because the turtle vagina looks like it would fit in well with that movie Teeth. It really was an amazing thing to witness even if also slightly revolting.

Tomorrow Chad and I are going to the National Park to see all sorts of other creatures before going back to San José. Phil, Kelly, Kim, and I are seeing the orchestra at the National Theatre. One week left! ¡Pura Vida!

¿Una Semana Más? No puede ser.

I cannot believe that my time in Costa Rica is coming to a close so quickly. I leave a week from Saturday, and I cannot comprehend it. This past week has been perfect. I am getting acclimated just in time to go home. Since I've been working on my paper a little bit every night this week, and I am really proud of the work I've put into it. I should be finishing it right now, but I wanted to post instead.

Class this week has been more fun than I could have imagined. My class of five has been going to my favorite coffee shop everyday where we sit and discuss literature in the beautiful Costa Rican sun. If I have to have class over the summer, at least it is a super fun one. We're going to watch a movie, go to an art museum, and hang out together after class next week. It'll be a nice, calm way to spend my last week in San José.

Tomorrow I am going to Tortuguero to watch turtles lay their eggs on the beach at night! I am so excited to spend my last weekend in a place that is completely different than what I am accustomed to experiencing. When I get back, I'll have less than a week left with my wonderful friends that I hope are more than temporary. This has been the experience of a lifetime, and I could not have picked a better way to spend my summer. Quiero decir gracias a todos los maes quienes han pasado tiempo conmigo aquí en un lugar que tiene un espacio muy importante y permanente en mi corazón. ¡Pura Vida!

The Springs Were Hot, Hot, Hot

Every weekend I spend in Costa Rica has been completely different, and this weekend was no exception. It began with Lindsay, Kelly, and I seeing Toy Story 3 in Spanish on Thursday, which was really interesting since I had seen it in English. Whenever Buzz was switched to Spanish mode, he spoke with a Castilian accent, and it was called his "romantic" mode instead.

Friday night Kelly and I went to Fung Sheng just to play cards and pass the time. We actually got a little hungry, so we shared a $4 meal of wings, fries, and coke in glass bottles. While I dominated every card game we played, we were able to watch Saw V with no sound and Spanish subtitles.

Saturday Lindsay, Kelly, and I caught a bus to La Fortuna, the town closest to Arenal Volcano. As soon as we got off the bus, a man made us follow him to a hostel where we could stay for only $8 a night. I was up for sacrificing quality for a deal, but I had no idea to what extent. We got the only room without a window. In fact our window was replaced with concrete. We decided this was to make the room lava proof. You know you're staying in a top quality room when the shower is the nicest part.

After a nice lunch at La Parada, I met up with Erin, Isabel, Danika, and Jessica to go to the hot springs. I have never felt more relaxed in my life. The place was gorgeous. The were five pools that went up the side of a hill, and the water got increasingly hotter as you moved up. There were even waterfalls built in to connect the pools to one another. After a good two hours of relaxing, we had one of the best meals I have had in Costa Rica. We had all you can eat rice, beans, and tortillas with an actual steak. It was the biggest piece of protein I have had since I have been here, and it was beyond delicious.

I just got home a little over an hour ago, and I am finishing up my homework now. It is crazy to think that there are only 12 days left! I am hoping to go to Tortuguero next weekend with some friends to see the canals and turtles laying eggs. It should be the perfect way to end this amazing experience! Well, it'll actually end with the 7 page paper on which I am currently working. Gross but Pura Vida anyway.

España en Cultura y Literatura

This past weekend I enjoyed a little less than twelve hours with my dad and brother at the Holiday Inn Express by the airport. I have to say it was one of the best moments of this trip. I hate that they did not have the time to let me show them this city I love, but I am so happy I got to see them. We spent most of the time together in Denny's talking about their trip. I wish I could have taken a week off from school to go with them. They got to see a side of Costa Rica that I won't be able to. I feel like they have more Tico friends than I do now.

After they left Saturday, my friend Jessica and I took my new German roommate Alissa downtown to watch the consolation match for the World Cup between Germany and Uruguay. We watched the first half in Spoon, which is a chain restaurant here. Then we went to get our tickets for the bus to the beach and watched the second half in a random bar by the bus station. After the German victory, a sixty-year-old drunk woman came up to chat with us about her life. This was highly entertaining as her English was not great and neither was the Spanish of my roommate.

On Sunday, the three of us went to one of the nastiest but closest beaches in Costa Rica, Puntarenas. We spent all morning lying out in the sun, and thanks to Alissa's poor sunscreen application on my back I know have a small burned patch of skin on my lower right back that is turning purple. We ate lunch at a tiny restaurant on the beach and watched the wonderful match between Spain and Holland.

This week has been pretty chill. I've just been reading for class. I can't seem to escape Spain in my life. First, I went there. Then the world cup started, and now I am reading Spanish literature everyday. I am currently working on my devil of a final paper about the effects of the adaptation of Euripides Hippolytus into Unamuno's Fedra.

Tomorrow, I am going to Volcano Arenal for a one day adventure including a hot springs visit. It should be a fun day with great people. Lindsey, Kelly, and I are leaving at 6:15 in the morning, and I'm meeting up with Erin, Jessica, Danika, and Isabel once we get there. I'm glad I have Harry Potter y el Orden del Fénix to make the 4 hour bus ride better. Pura Vida!

The German Invasion

This week has been great! I am now only taking one class. This means that I don't have to go to school until 10:40 everyday. I am so glad I get to sleep more. Also the work load is a little less. I am still reading a lot, but it's not as bad it once was. I really love my Generation of 98 class. It's only five people, but we have really great discussions about al of the readings. Also, the teacher is just a crazy guy. It's so much fun.

One day after class this week, Isabel, Erin, Jessica, and I went to watch the Spain vs Germany match at Hooters. This was quite an experience. Everyone in the restaurant was going crazy during the game. It reminded me of Alabama football games. The food was great as well even if it was a tad pricier than what I am accustomed to here.

Yesterday, a new housemate arrived from Germany. Her name is Elisa, and she is only 17 years old. Luckily, she speaks English, but I cannot use any difficult words because she doesn't know what I'm saying. I'm excited to hang out with her for the rest of the month. Last night I had a good night out at Ciros with a group of friends, and I met two Canadiens who did IB at there high school. We felt like big nerds talking about IB at a bar on a Thursday night, but I was okay with that.

This weekend I am staying around San José to work on an short essay for class and to see my dad and brother. Sunday I am headed to the beach for the afternoon. Next weekend I am going to Arenal, which is the youngest and most active volcano in Costa Rica!

If there were a sand restaurant, this would be steak.

Happy 4th of July! I celebrated by spending around 30 hours in Manuel Antonio with my new friends from Maximo Nivel. Unfortunately, I did not get to see my father and brother on Friday, but hopefully we'll be able to meet up this weekend before they go. Saturday morning I took a bus with Sarah, Phil, and Lilly at 6 am. I slept most of the 4 hour journey. As soon as we got there, we checked into Costa Linda, a wonderfully cheap hostel, where we met up with Jeremy and eventually Kim, Heather, Lindsay, and Kelly.

Phil, Sarah, Jeremy, and I went to the beach in Manuel Antonio National Park for the rest of the afternoon, and it was gorgeous! I hate that my camera battery is dead. We saw monkeys, large rodents, iguanas, and raccoon like creatures that stole people's belongings on the beach. At the end of the afternoon, we discovered a beach that was practically deserted where the waves were insane. We all got knocked down and pulled under multiple times.

After we left the park, I had my first meal of the day at a restaurant near our hotel. Due to my hunger, they were the best chicken fingers with ranch dressing ever. Then we finally got back with the rest of our group for some cool card games and a fun night out in Quepos. Our group of friends was definitely the life of the party.

This morning we went zip lining in the forest near our hotel. It was so much fun! We got all sweaty and gross just in time to get on a bus to San José during which most of us did not have a seat. From all of the walking and standing my legs ache, but I could not have had a better weekend. ¡Pura Vida!

Flacos Can't Dance

Wow, July is shaping out to be a great month! My classes are really interesting still, but there is so much reading. I finally have a friend group from MLSA. We're all going to Volcano Arenal for the first long weekend! I am so excited! Also, I found out that my teacher Yessenia's brother was the first person to ever when Costa Rica's Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He won on Monday! Is that crazy?

Tonight I brought my friends from school Erin, Isabel, and Jessica to meet my friends from Maximo Nivel. We all chilled out at Feng Sheng aka Corsarios for a good bit. After my MLSA friends left, Phil, Lindsay, Kelly, and I stayed and got some free and unsolicited dancing lessons from a drunk man named Frank. He only gave tips to Kelly and me, but he really didn't show us how to do anything. He just told us to move our hips more. Every command he gave me began with "Flaco, ..." This was him calling me "skinny" since he did not know my name. It was really fun even if we did not ask him to make us dance.

This weekend, The four of us along with Sarah, Jeremy, and some people I don't know are going to Manuel Antonio. I'm only going to be there Saturday night, but I am still excited to spend more time with these people. I have to leave late because my dad and brother are getting here tomorrow night! I am beyond excited to get to hang out with them tomorrow night, Saturday, and then Friday night next week.

Well, I finished my homework early tonight so I am going to try to get some Harry Potter in before bed. ¡Pura Vida!