I'm sitting on the floor of our garage, staring through the black iron gates that separates the house from the street - It is (well, was) pouring outside. In front of me, through these gates I see this house, old, beaten, maybe even a little rusty. The little bit of sky that I can see is foggy and cloudy. Three birds just flew down onto the sidewalk and grabbed some crumbs to eat. What I see here in San Jose, outside of my house, on my walk to and from school, even the old rusty house in front of 'mine' is a beauty that is taken for granted. A beauty the many people don't notice. Why is this rusty house beautiful? This red and white rusty house is beautiful because it is different. It is different from all the houses in America, at least any of the ones I have seen. Different, has always been beautiful to me. I think my thoughts have just taken me into a new direction with this. Maybe I'll hit on that later, for now, I'll keep typing about the beauty.
My city, Zapote, in San Jose is surrounded by mountains. I can't say if it is small or large because I am not sure if I have even seen half of it. Because there are so many parts that I have yet to explore. You might even be surprised to know I have yet to go to downtown San Jose - where the outdoor open market is. That, has just been due to lack of time, laziness, and lack of someone to go with. This is a task I hope to complete within the next week! (Although I have been saying that for the past two.)
Everyday I walk to school. I walk down this long street of my neighborhood. Walk past a bread bakery, a small childcare center where (on days when it is not rainy) the children are out playing. Past some key making place and this little "fast food" restaurant ("El Lobo") which has become a favorite for several of my gringo friends. Then take a left onto another street in the neighborhood, where the houses are located in a different direction, allowing me to see the mountains behind us. In the evenings, on a semi-cloudy day, this view is one of the most beautiful things I feel I get to look at here. The sun sets behind the clouds, with its rays shining through. The reflection of whatever it is that causes the gorgeous colors, lights up the sky with colors of orange, red, and pink. And in the background of these clouds and the setting sunlight, are the mountains. If I were to take a picture, mountains would only look like, boring mountains. Which they are (maybe not so boring if we were to know whats up there, but definitely simple and plain) But with the rest of nature's beauty adding to the mountains, whether it be the sun, the clouds, or the old rusty red house, this city is beautiful. This country is beautiful. And I am very blessed to be able to live in an area such as this.
(Oh the many other things I have in mind to type, BUT my friend just called me and we are to meet up at the school so we can go shopping. Good thing this was not a paper for school, for if it was, I would fail it, because the conclusion was terrible! No matter, the conclusion sitting in my head is better, and suits me just fine. Unfortunately, you all do not get the oportunity to read that conclusion. Not today at least.)
Many hugs and kisses from me to you all.
Believe it or not, I do think about you all daily.
Hope you all are taking good care of yourselves, your friends, and your family!
See you in a few months.
Britt
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
¿Ratón? o ¿Cucaracha? [Mouse?! or a cockroach!!
Well, I didn't have plans to write this tonight [okay i did, then i didn't, then well, now...] a current event just gave me an awesome title. Though due to several recent events this past week I had come up with some others ["I fell out of a tree" "That dog just used the bathroom on the other dog" "I didn't think it was possible to get MORE lazy"...and so on and so forth] not all of these 'titles' will be mentioned, so don't mind that.
I think I will start with explaining this one title. It's simple enough. So the story goes like this: Here in Costa Rica I have developed a, what seems to be incurable, disease called: I-can't-stop-eating disease. Because the food is so delicious! So I walked into the kitched for a 10pm snack, grab the cough medicine from the fridge (CR has also given me a nice constant random cough), and as im reading for a spoon from the utensil drawer i feel something scatter across the top of my foot. I thought I saw a body like a baby mouse! oooh kinda cute! Bend down to look for it - maybe it went behind the fridge? Or MAYBE THAT SHADOW that's not really a shadow but a GIANT COCKROACH is the thing that ran across my foot instead!!! EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. needless to say - maybe my incurable feeding disease IS curable, because i definitely lost my appetite after that. [after, i told my Tica friend about it, and she only proceeded to NOT be surprised, AND tell me its "cockroach season" greeeeaaat.] haha.
Next title: "That dog just used the bathroom on the other dog" explanation: I was walking to class Thursday evening, fascinated by my surroundings [sometimes i do that, the same places ive seen time after time, nature can randomly just be fascinating - especially this night when the sun was setting behind the clouds, painting them an INCREDIBLE color or pinkish orangish red..anyway..] when I see this cute little puppy on the corner of the street [okay not puppy, but just a small dog] and it was standing outside the garage gate of this house - where inside the gate facing the opposite way was another dog. As I'm walking and watching, I see the little dog lift its leg, and.....go the bathroom on the other dog! [I think i laughed outloud at this] and then, i proceeded to watch the little dog wait for the others reaction, and then i see it wag its tail and jump up and down!!! EWW! man. stupid dogs! hahahaha
The tree title, I think I will skip that explanation for now, and get on with the most recent news, which, i think the only news I really have is from the Carnaval in Puntarenas. Due to overexcitement and a singing a.k.a HOWLING dog,, I woke up at 5am Saturday morning. Layed in bed until around 6:15 when I got up, showered, grabbed my stuff, and left to meet the other 50 gringos that were going, at the school, to wait for our "Party Bus" (a.k.a a regular tour bus that holds 60 people. haha)
Around 1030am we arrived at the beach - and began to branch off, walk around, and then, ENTER THE MADNESS of the concert area. Let's see how to make this story short - because I'm sleepy. First, me and 2 other girls were sure all the Ticos would let us push our way to the front near the stage, so we tried that. Then we saw one of our gringa friends of a balcony of some place - so we tried to get up there. We failed at both. Headed back to our big group of gringo guys and girls, and saw a few Ticos in a tree. FABULOUS idea! So I climbed. (Set the gringo trend!) and others climbed behind me. The tree provided some AWESOME seats - even had foot rests to secure yourself to ensure you didnt fall! Waited in the tree with my friends for an hour and a half listening to the opening band, only to climb down, find some other friends, & realize my camera was stolen. [fabulous.] After that, I was so bummed, and tired of waiting for the real band, so I went and fall asleep on the beach, only to wake up an hour later realizing i missed the WHOLE concert!!! grrrr
After realizing that bein 'hot' about getting my camera stolen [*Note*I was not the only one, at least 7 other people in our group were robbed of cameras, wallets, and/or other things, so it wasn't just that I was stupid - it happened to SO many people] I got up, and we just walked around the beach for the rest of the afternoon/evening watching the festivities, the people, and after the sunset - is really when it all began!
There was a parade in the evening. Full of many different things. And there were people EVERYWHERE. You could barely walk! The environment of this festival - the annual "Carnaval" which lasts for 2 weeks - is INCREDIBLE! EVERYONE took part in the festivities - even saw babies running around at like 10pm! [shame on those pareenntts! haha] The parade was beautiful, followed by fireworks, and outdoor dance-floors with all kinds, and PLENTY of music. It was a shame we were leaving at 11pm, because thats when the PARTY JUST GETS STARTED! oh well.
OH! that's not all. So the bus ride is supposed to be an hour and a half. Maybe 2 with traffic. Well let me tell you, it became and even MORE interesting night, when we stopped, like ENGINE OFF stopped on the ONLY highway - for 3 hours. There was some sort of accident on the highway , and you know how Ticos are NEEEVVERRR in any kind of hurry, all the cars behind and further - turned off their engines for a littleeee nap. We didn't move ANYWHERE for 2.5 hours. It was a slightly nice experience, especially considering we had NO bathroom, NO food, and NO water. We made the most of it. Thanks to this huge little mound of dirt on the side of the road, a friends flashlight, and the natural absorbancy of mother nature, we found a nice little restroom. (though unfortunately, it was out of toilette paper) As far as food and water, we just listened to our tummies grumble as we all layed in this ditch on the side of the road watching for shooting stars (of which i saw 3+) Oh and don't worry - we were just next to our bus, it wasn't like a ditch for dead people of anything - more for run-off water drainage i do believe. A little hard and uncomfortable - for concrete does not really make the best cushions, but given the circumstances, we made the most of what we could.
Finally boarding the bus again at some hour which I can't even remember because at this time we were all SO incredibly exhausted that no one could hardly even THINK of anything! We were on our way again - id say a little after 3am - and arrived in San Jose a little before 5am. Went home, and crashed.
And the rest is only boring after that.
My life, never ceases to stay interesting; I can't say I have too many complaints about that.
Goodnight family, Goodnight friends.
Thinking of all of you, and wishing the best.
-Britt
[here are a few stolen photos from a friend, i believe one is of the crowd, one of the trashy aftermath, one of the parade, another of an overflowed trashcan, and one of the morning sunrise. Enjoy!] [Oh. And - Thanks Mike/Angy for involuntarily donating your facebook pictures to my blog!]
I think I will start with explaining this one title. It's simple enough. So the story goes like this: Here in Costa Rica I have developed a, what seems to be incurable, disease called: I-can't-stop-eating disease. Because the food is so delicious! So I walked into the kitched for a 10pm snack, grab the cough medicine from the fridge (CR has also given me a nice constant random cough), and as im reading for a spoon from the utensil drawer i feel something scatter across the top of my foot. I thought I saw a body like a baby mouse! oooh kinda cute! Bend down to look for it - maybe it went behind the fridge? Or MAYBE THAT SHADOW that's not really a shadow but a GIANT COCKROACH is the thing that ran across my foot instead!!! EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. needless to say - maybe my incurable feeding disease IS curable, because i definitely lost my appetite after that. [after, i told my Tica friend about it, and she only proceeded to NOT be surprised, AND tell me its "cockroach season" greeeeaaat.] haha.
Next title: "That dog just used the bathroom on the other dog" explanation: I was walking to class Thursday evening, fascinated by my surroundings [sometimes i do that, the same places ive seen time after time, nature can randomly just be fascinating - especially this night when the sun was setting behind the clouds, painting them an INCREDIBLE color or pinkish orangish red..anyway..] when I see this cute little puppy on the corner of the street [okay not puppy, but just a small dog] and it was standing outside the garage gate of this house - where inside the gate facing the opposite way was another dog. As I'm walking and watching, I see the little dog lift its leg, and.....go the bathroom on the other dog! [I think i laughed outloud at this] and then, i proceeded to watch the little dog wait for the others reaction, and then i see it wag its tail and jump up and down!!! EWW! man. stupid dogs! hahahaha
The tree title, I think I will skip that explanation for now, and get on with the most recent news, which, i think the only news I really have is from the Carnaval in Puntarenas. Due to overexcitement and a singing a.k.a HOWLING dog,, I woke up at 5am Saturday morning. Layed in bed until around 6:15 when I got up, showered, grabbed my stuff, and left to meet the other 50 gringos that were going, at the school, to wait for our "Party Bus" (a.k.a a regular tour bus that holds 60 people. haha)
Around 1030am we arrived at the beach - and began to branch off, walk around, and then, ENTER THE MADNESS of the concert area. Let's see how to make this story short - because I'm sleepy. First, me and 2 other girls were sure all the Ticos would let us push our way to the front near the stage, so we tried that. Then we saw one of our gringa friends of a balcony of some place - so we tried to get up there. We failed at both. Headed back to our big group of gringo guys and girls, and saw a few Ticos in a tree. FABULOUS idea! So I climbed. (Set the gringo trend!) and others climbed behind me. The tree provided some AWESOME seats - even had foot rests to secure yourself to ensure you didnt fall! Waited in the tree with my friends for an hour and a half listening to the opening band, only to climb down, find some other friends, & realize my camera was stolen. [fabulous.] After that, I was so bummed, and tired of waiting for the real band, so I went and fall asleep on the beach, only to wake up an hour later realizing i missed the WHOLE concert!!! grrrr
After realizing that bein 'hot' about getting my camera stolen [*Note*I was not the only one, at least 7 other people in our group were robbed of cameras, wallets, and/or other things, so it wasn't just that I was stupid - it happened to SO many people] I got up, and we just walked around the beach for the rest of the afternoon/evening watching the festivities, the people, and after the sunset - is really when it all began!
There was a parade in the evening. Full of many different things. And there were people EVERYWHERE. You could barely walk! The environment of this festival - the annual "Carnaval" which lasts for 2 weeks - is INCREDIBLE! EVERYONE took part in the festivities - even saw babies running around at like 10pm! [shame on those pareenntts! haha] The parade was beautiful, followed by fireworks, and outdoor dance-floors with all kinds, and PLENTY of music. It was a shame we were leaving at 11pm, because thats when the PARTY JUST GETS STARTED! oh well.
OH! that's not all. So the bus ride is supposed to be an hour and a half. Maybe 2 with traffic. Well let me tell you, it became and even MORE interesting night, when we stopped, like ENGINE OFF stopped on the ONLY highway - for 3 hours. There was some sort of accident on the highway , and you know how Ticos are NEEEVVERRR in any kind of hurry, all the cars behind and further - turned off their engines for a littleeee nap. We didn't move ANYWHERE for 2.5 hours. It was a slightly nice experience, especially considering we had NO bathroom, NO food, and NO water. We made the most of it. Thanks to this huge little mound of dirt on the side of the road, a friends flashlight, and the natural absorbancy of mother nature, we found a nice little restroom. (though unfortunately, it was out of toilette paper) As far as food and water, we just listened to our tummies grumble as we all layed in this ditch on the side of the road watching for shooting stars (of which i saw 3+) Oh and don't worry - we were just next to our bus, it wasn't like a ditch for dead people of anything - more for run-off water drainage i do believe. A little hard and uncomfortable - for concrete does not really make the best cushions, but given the circumstances, we made the most of what we could.
Finally boarding the bus again at some hour which I can't even remember because at this time we were all SO incredibly exhausted that no one could hardly even THINK of anything! We were on our way again - id say a little after 3am - and arrived in San Jose a little before 5am. Went home, and crashed.
And the rest is only boring after that.
My life, never ceases to stay interesting; I can't say I have too many complaints about that.
Goodnight family, Goodnight friends.
Thinking of all of you, and wishing the best.
-Britt
[here are a few stolen photos from a friend, i believe one is of the crowd, one of the trashy aftermath, one of the parade, another of an overflowed trashcan, and one of the morning sunrise. Enjoy!] [Oh. And - Thanks Mike/Angy for involuntarily donating your facebook pictures to my blog!]
Monday, February 15, 2010
¡PURA VIDA in Jaco!
There was a group of 8 girls, and then the 5 of us (3 guys 2 girls) that were going on this van. There was a larger number of people going Saturday morning and staying in Playa Hermosa, but we decided to go up Friday and stay in Jaco. Where were we going to stay? That was still TBD after arrival. The 8 girls had a nice condo that they had already made arrangements to stay in - we decided to wing it and look for a hostel somewhere in town.
After about a 2 hour ride, we arrived, dropped the girls at their place, and got out of the van at ours, a small hostel, recommended by a friend, which was advertised by a small sign that said "$9 Beds on Bohia"
We walked in. Spoke with this girl from Sweden maybe? Who was there working as a waitress in the small restaurant connected - for an internship/work abroad kind of thing. She told us we could have a room with AC for $11 a night if we preferred. With the humidity we on the way up, we didn't hesitate before accepting. There also was an offer of breakfast for $2 a morning which included Gallo Pinto (popular rice and beans dish here), a piece of toast, scrambled eggs, coffee. I chose not to get that considering I dont drink coffee and I don't eat Gallo Pinto.
Our room, reminded me something of a dorm room - with 3 sets of bunks. There was already 1 suitcase in the room - so first we spent a few minutes trying to guess if it would be a girl or a guy: The black suitcase told us it could be either, but we figured since it was alone, it much be a buy because girls dont often/shouldnt travel alone.
So we set our stuff down, changed, and went to the beach. Played some sand soccer with the locals, layed out in the sun, watched the sunset, and played in the ocean a little bit. I will say, that I before this trip I was never sure how anyone could really drown in the ocean. But the current and under-tow of the ocean here was INCREDIBLE. So strong that I was only in the SHALLOW water for a few minutes - after being knocked out several times by the waves - that were like 3 times my size. The sunset was beautiful, as is on any beach.
The beach at Jaco was very interesting, and beautiful because of this. First, the beaches here are all interesting because they are in the middle of the mountains. Then, this beach, Jaco, when it was low tide - you could walk almost half the length of a football field, if not more, and still be in water that was not even knee-deep. The beach was so flat.
Saturday, we woke up early, walked around town for a little bit while waiting for the others to wake up. I ate cup of ramen for breakfast, because I didnt order from the hostel annnd it was the first thing i found. We then headed to the beach again for a little bit, and then decided to take a cab to Playa Hermosa to meet up with some of the others that were staying there. It was about 7km away from where we were staying. Playa Hermosa is a big surfing beach - and we spent literally at least an hour and a half watching people surf. It was just so awesome, and so beautiful. And, the beach here was so much different than Jaco! It was very hilly, not flat. So we got to Jaco, ate lunch, and then hung out for a few hours there until going back to our hostel to clean up and relax for the rest of the night.
Sunday was about the same thing: We all woke up, went to the beach, came back, relaxed, and then left to head back to San Jose.
This weekend was only so wonderful for the simplest reasons. We went in a smaller group - we were a group of 5 who went to meet up with some others on occasion instead of the normal group of 15-25. We stayed in a hostel, a simple hostel with one shower for all 6 rooms full of people. We layed in hammocks in the evenings and out on the beach during the day. The water was perfect temperature and was wonderful just to be in for a few minutes. We met so many cool, interesting people at the hostel as well : for example, one young boy about our age who quit his job just to travel Costa Rica for 3 months and had been in Jaco for 10 days so far. Another man from England who is teaching English abroad for a year, and next year will go to Japan to do the same thing. In hotels, you meet people from all over who are traveling for many different reasons.
The beauty of the beach, and even of the hot weather is one that can't even be perfectly described. It's just one that surrounds you when you are there, and is only something that one can experience on their own. On Saturday, while the boys were swimming in the monstrous ocean, Meira and I lied on the beach and were just mesmerized by the beauty of the ocean, the sunset, the mountains, even the SAND, which at Playa Hermosa was made up of little teeny tiny (and i mean teeny tiny) rocks! (Sand/rocks that are inescapable - and once you get a little on you, you will never get away from it!)
Well, needless to say, THAT was a small taste of paradise for us, and one that we FOR SURE are going to return to experience before our semester here in Costa Rica ends.
Now back to "real life" in San Jose, with school and such to attend.
¡Que tengan una buena semana! (Hope you all have a great week!)
-Britt
Sunday, February 7, 2010
¿Dónde están los monos? (Where are the monkeys?)
Just got back tonight from hiking in the rainforest. Let me tell you about how well THAT went. Once I figure out where to start!
We left Veritas University around 9am en route to LA SELVA - which is a biological research reserve or forest or something for biology that has lots of tress which comes with LOTS OF BUGS! (my favorite!)
We arrived around 10 - ate lunch at 12. Then went for a *super cool nature walk!* (too bad you cant hear my sarcasm on the description of that! =P) for two hours - we walked the rain forest. It was super super humid out so we were sweating too - which only attracted more delicious friendly fun bugs. We saw some cool things (I guess) and lots of trees. We had to take notes and stuff because we have to write some report on this trip too. (WHY did i sign up for this class again?!!!!) But we can't write the common names like Howler monkey or Walking palm; instead we have to write them in our report as Alovatia palliata and Socratea exorhiza. Hmm...I did say that I would have like to learn another language while I was here in Costa Rica - but I was more referring to like German....or something cool like that..NOT SCIENTIFIC GIBBERRRISSHH!!!! (Can you tell yet that this is my FAVORITE class? :P)
Anyways - so after our walk, we sat down and discussed all of these *super cool* plant and animal species that we saw. And then we wrote down all of their scientific names (because we can't google them or we might find and write about the wrong specific genius type in the same family or something like that) Then we had lunch, waited an hour or so for our food to digest - and precede to walk again for another 2 hours.
Lets cut this story short and say we went for a long night walk - and then went to bed - woke up the next morning at 7am, ate, went for a 3 hour walk through the mud, water, and rain, and then got on the bus and came back to San Jose. Which is where I am SO glad to be again!
Last night-I dreamt about bugs. I woke up smacking invisible bugs off of my body. Tried telling myself that we had closed doors AND windows and they weren't going to get in our room - but with the sounds of insects all around us, my mind disagreed quite a bit. hmph. So needless to say, I didn't sleep too well last night.
Some of the semi-cool things we saw: Monkey (1 or 2), Sloth, red-eyed tree frog, poison dart frog, some rabbit sized rabbit/rat looking thing, some pig looking things called peckary (not so interesting) Giant spiders (my other favorite) Ants, ants, and MORE ANTS (they pretty much covered the entire forest floor. (theres this one type we saw that is about an inch long called BULLET ANTS - and well, it got its name because apparently its bite/sting feels like you just got shot. ooooh coool let's touch it!) uhmm....some cool birds annnd yea. lots of trees and stuff.
Met a couple from Arlington, Virginia. Ironic? Or just expected since I AM Bev's daughter!
Then there was a group of ol-i mean-senior citizens - from the Maryland area. I didn't get to speak with them because i was on my way to the ladies room BUT i did overhear one woman say she was from Gaithersburg? But they were from several different cities. I bet if i talked to them, one of them probably knows one of my family members - if not mema - than probably someone else. haha
Well, now I am going to try and get some hom--homew----i think they call it "homework" done (hehe) so that I don't have to do it this week while my friends are doing other things!
Oh - today is presidential elections in Costa Rica. ooh ooh I wonder who's gonna win!
Just thought i'd add that.
alright well, hope all is well - keep tryin to stay warm!
Hugs and Kisses for all,
-Britt
This is a two-toed sloth
Heres the Rabbit/rat looking thing
Red-eyed tree frog (most photographed in the world/the ones you see on post cards n stuff)
random blue butterfly
Bullet ant
We left Veritas University around 9am en route to LA SELVA - which is a biological research reserve or forest or something for biology that has lots of tress which comes with LOTS OF BUGS! (my favorite!)
We arrived around 10 - ate lunch at 12. Then went for a *super cool nature walk!* (too bad you cant hear my sarcasm on the description of that! =P) for two hours - we walked the rain forest. It was super super humid out so we were sweating too - which only attracted more delicious friendly fun bugs. We saw some cool things (I guess) and lots of trees. We had to take notes and stuff because we have to write some report on this trip too. (WHY did i sign up for this class again?!!!!) But we can't write the common names like Howler monkey or Walking palm; instead we have to write them in our report as Alovatia palliata and Socratea exorhiza. Hmm...I did say that I would have like to learn another language while I was here in Costa Rica - but I was more referring to like German....or something cool like that..NOT SCIENTIFIC GIBBERRRISSHH!!!! (Can you tell yet that this is my FAVORITE class? :P)
Anyways - so after our walk, we sat down and discussed all of these *super cool* plant and animal species that we saw. And then we wrote down all of their scientific names (because we can't google them or we might find and write about the wrong specific genius type in the same family or something like that) Then we had lunch, waited an hour or so for our food to digest - and precede to walk again for another 2 hours.
Lets cut this story short and say we went for a long night walk - and then went to bed - woke up the next morning at 7am, ate, went for a 3 hour walk through the mud, water, and rain, and then got on the bus and came back to San Jose. Which is where I am SO glad to be again!
Last night-I dreamt about bugs. I woke up smacking invisible bugs off of my body. Tried telling myself that we had closed doors AND windows and they weren't going to get in our room - but with the sounds of insects all around us, my mind disagreed quite a bit. hmph. So needless to say, I didn't sleep too well last night.
Some of the semi-cool things we saw: Monkey (1 or 2), Sloth, red-eyed tree frog, poison dart frog, some rabbit sized rabbit/rat looking thing, some pig looking things called peckary (not so interesting) Giant spiders (my other favorite) Ants, ants, and MORE ANTS (they pretty much covered the entire forest floor. (theres this one type we saw that is about an inch long called BULLET ANTS - and well, it got its name because apparently its bite/sting feels like you just got shot. ooooh coool let's touch it!) uhmm....some cool birds annnd yea. lots of trees and stuff.
Met a couple from Arlington, Virginia. Ironic? Or just expected since I AM Bev's daughter!
Then there was a group of ol-i mean-senior citizens - from the Maryland area. I didn't get to speak with them because i was on my way to the ladies room BUT i did overhear one woman say she was from Gaithersburg? But they were from several different cities. I bet if i talked to them, one of them probably knows one of my family members - if not mema - than probably someone else. haha
Well, now I am going to try and get some hom--homew----i think they call it "homework" done (hehe) so that I don't have to do it this week while my friends are doing other things!
Oh - today is presidential elections in Costa Rica. ooh ooh I wonder who's gonna win!
Just thought i'd add that.
alright well, hope all is well - keep tryin to stay warm!
Hugs and Kisses for all,
-Britt
This is a two-toed sloth
Heres the Rabbit/rat looking thing
Red-eyed tree frog (most photographed in the world/the ones you see on post cards n stuff)
random blue butterfly
Bullet ant
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Sí, todavía estoy viva (yes, I am still alive)
So the reason I have not updated in over a week is because there isn't very much to tell. Last week was full of classes, soccer, and eventful evenings (which means study sessions only of course)
This weekend I went to the beach : Playa Temblor, in the small city of Paquero - in Punta Arenas. My host family here has a house in the city where you take a bus or taxi to the local beaches. There are a few local beaches. Organo or somethin like that is the name of the one very close to their house. We didn't go to that on. Temblor is about 21km from their house, and Montezuma is about 40km. (Montezuma is a semi-famous beach known for its beauty annnnd i'm not sure really what its famous for actually, but well, it's that far from their house too.)
We went on Friday morning. Took a taxi to el parada de buses (the city bus stop) which was about 20 minutes from the house in san jose. We then got on the bus to PuntaArenas - about a 2 hour ride WITHOUT traffic. Then, we got a ferry from the city of PuntaArenas to Paquero - the ferry ride was about an hour - and then about a 10 or 15 minute taxi ride to the house in Paquero. Needless to say, the journey was very tiring and consited of many changes of transit.
We arrived and I walked around the town with my host-sisters and some of their friends during the evening. I think we walked around it about 5 times. It is maybe the size of Vintage Estates at home, maybe slightly bigger.
On Saturday, we woke up early, around 730, and went to the beach all day until 4pm. Then came back, I watched the movie Slumdog Millionaire with my host mom, and then in the evening the city had this "fiesta" that we all went to (me, my tica mom, and two sisters)
Sunday, I had decided to head back alone to San Jose - while the others stayed another night. So i took the journey alone - and made a friend on the bus (yes, just like mommy) who spoke to me in spanish , was reading a book in english, and then made a phone call in Dutch. So needless to say i HAD to ask her a question. ::So, how many languages do you speak?:: and the conversation started and continued from there. It was nice to have a "friend" on the bus. haha. She had been in punta arenas at an art camp (this is an older lady - maybe 50s?...wait...not that thats OLD just meaning older as in older than me...you know what i mean =D ) and she and the other people there at the camp had been making scultures and other artwork out of trash that had washed up on one of the beaches.
Apparently that specific beach gets a TON of trash washed up on its shore - so they were constructing artwork with it as a way of awareness. Her artwork will be in one of the art museums here in San Jose - children's art museum i believe actually. Not sure - but starting Feb. 8th and she thinks it will be there all month - so i told her I may try and stop by to see it. I think it would be something interesting to see anyways.
Well, I need to post pictures on here i know, I will get to it, one day.
Sorry for the late updates - but like I said, there isn't too much to tell.
This week starts the rest of my vaca---i mean semester with a schedule change. I now have NO class on Monday or Friday, and only 2 hours on wednesday, 7 hours on tuesdays, and 2 hours on thursdays. That of course, means I now have so much more time to STUDY!!! huiahaiuhauiahuiaa...okay but really.
I just joined the gym here and am planning to go in the mornings - since I no longer have my 8-12pm class mon-friday. All this DELCIOUS white rice, bread, and other CARBS is starting to do its work on my poor body. So i need to get workin on it! hahaha. Also, there is a daycare very close to my house here - about 1 block away - that I hope to stop by one day this week and talk to them about possibly volunteering. I think that would be SO SUPER awesome to do!! ahhhh little Tico babies!!! it would be so much fun and so cute and awwwwwww..... hahaha
well i have to get to my Tico class now (my class with costaricans - ticos) or im going to be late and that's no good.
So this is your update probably for the week! haha
and I will try to do another one when i get the chance again or have more cool things to tell :)
Love and miss you all,
Britt
This weekend I went to the beach : Playa Temblor, in the small city of Paquero - in Punta Arenas. My host family here has a house in the city where you take a bus or taxi to the local beaches. There are a few local beaches. Organo or somethin like that is the name of the one very close to their house. We didn't go to that on. Temblor is about 21km from their house, and Montezuma is about 40km. (Montezuma is a semi-famous beach known for its beauty annnnd i'm not sure really what its famous for actually, but well, it's that far from their house too.)
We went on Friday morning. Took a taxi to el parada de buses (the city bus stop) which was about 20 minutes from the house in san jose. We then got on the bus to PuntaArenas - about a 2 hour ride WITHOUT traffic. Then, we got a ferry from the city of PuntaArenas to Paquero - the ferry ride was about an hour - and then about a 10 or 15 minute taxi ride to the house in Paquero. Needless to say, the journey was very tiring and consited of many changes of transit.
We arrived and I walked around the town with my host-sisters and some of their friends during the evening. I think we walked around it about 5 times. It is maybe the size of Vintage Estates at home, maybe slightly bigger.
On Saturday, we woke up early, around 730, and went to the beach all day until 4pm. Then came back, I watched the movie Slumdog Millionaire with my host mom, and then in the evening the city had this "fiesta" that we all went to (me, my tica mom, and two sisters)
Sunday, I had decided to head back alone to San Jose - while the others stayed another night. So i took the journey alone - and made a friend on the bus (yes, just like mommy) who spoke to me in spanish , was reading a book in english, and then made a phone call in Dutch. So needless to say i HAD to ask her a question. ::So, how many languages do you speak?:: and the conversation started and continued from there. It was nice to have a "friend" on the bus. haha. She had been in punta arenas at an art camp (this is an older lady - maybe 50s?...wait...not that thats OLD just meaning older as in older than me...you know what i mean =D ) and she and the other people there at the camp had been making scultures and other artwork out of trash that had washed up on one of the beaches.
Apparently that specific beach gets a TON of trash washed up on its shore - so they were constructing artwork with it as a way of awareness. Her artwork will be in one of the art museums here in San Jose - children's art museum i believe actually. Not sure - but starting Feb. 8th and she thinks it will be there all month - so i told her I may try and stop by to see it. I think it would be something interesting to see anyways.
Well, I need to post pictures on here i know, I will get to it, one day.
Sorry for the late updates - but like I said, there isn't too much to tell.
This week starts the rest of my vaca---i mean semester with a schedule change. I now have NO class on Monday or Friday, and only 2 hours on wednesday, 7 hours on tuesdays, and 2 hours on thursdays. That of course, means I now have so much more time to STUDY!!! huiahaiuhauiahuiaa...okay but really.
I just joined the gym here and am planning to go in the mornings - since I no longer have my 8-12pm class mon-friday. All this DELCIOUS white rice, bread, and other CARBS is starting to do its work on my poor body. So i need to get workin on it! hahaha. Also, there is a daycare very close to my house here - about 1 block away - that I hope to stop by one day this week and talk to them about possibly volunteering. I think that would be SO SUPER awesome to do!! ahhhh little Tico babies!!! it would be so much fun and so cute and awwwwwww..... hahaha
well i have to get to my Tico class now (my class with costaricans - ticos) or im going to be late and that's no good.
So this is your update probably for the week! haha
and I will try to do another one when i get the chance again or have more cool things to tell :)
Love and miss you all,
Britt
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