I am currently writing this blog entry having just arrived back in the States. I have a lot to catch you all up on, so I’ll go back a few weeks and update you all on what’s been happening in my life.
Weekend of April 13-`14th
This weekend, I went back to La Fortuna and visited Arenal Volcano and the hot springs! I had such a fun time when I went a few months ago that I wanted to visit the hot springs again.
I have to give a shoutout to my Resident Director, Karla. She went out of her way to help my friend Alena and I save some money and organized all of the logistics. I’ll have a separate post where I’ll talk more about her, but I wanted to mention here how thankful I was for her and for helping us with everything.
We left early Saturday morning and headed to La Fortuna! Before we stopped at the hot springs, we stopped along this lookout spot and got to take in the stunning views of the volcano and surrounding areas.
In the righthand corner, you can see the man-made Arenal Lake
We then trekked to the Baldi Hot Springs again, where I got to enjoy the hot springs and all they had to offer. I loved this resort the first time I visited, and it definitely did not disappoint the second time I visited as well.
My friend Alena and I enjoying the hot springs
After spending the rest of the day there, we traveled to another hot springs resort and spent the night before our relaxing day ahead.
Sunday, April 14th
I spent the day just enjoying the beauty of La Fortuna and the hot springs. It was so nice to have some quiet time and just soak up the warmth of my remaining weeks in Costa Rica.
These hot springs were SO pretty to see (and very enjoyable to go into!)This hotel also had some stunning views of the volcano as well
We left the hot springs later that day, and I was honestly so glad that I was able to do this weekend trip. It was definitely much needed and I also got to appreciate some more of Costa Rica’s natural beauty.
Puerto Viejo
This trip was probably one of my favorite trips that I took during my time in Costa Rica. It was absolutely stunning and I fell in love with the Caribbean influence in Puerto Viejo.
I went to Puerto Viejo with my friend Valerie and her boyfriend, Chris. Chris is a tico (and Valerie is bilingual), so I got the chance to really practice my Spanish with both of them.
Our Airbnb was a house that was right along the beach and about a 20 minute walk from downtown. It was just far enough town where it felt quiet and peaceful, but it wasn’t too far away in that reaching Puerto Viejo was inaccessible. We stayed along Playa Negra, which translates directly to black beach as the beach is a black-sand beach. The location of our Airbnb was perfect, and I honestly spent the entire weekend on the beach, taking in my final weekend in Costa Rica.
I love this photo so much…. we had such a fun weekend.
This whole trip felt like a dream and I’m genuinely so happy that I got to experience Puerto Viejo at least once while I was in Costa Rica.
Next Blog
This is the last blog where I mention my travel plans. Since I am back in the U.S. now, I want to write a final blog entry that details some final reflections I’ve made about my entire study abroad experience. That blog should be coming out soon, but until then, ¡pura vida!
I have quite a bit to write about in this blog as I just returned from a week-long trip to Colombia! Before I write about that, I want to update you all on my life since my last blog.
End of March/Early April
During the last weekend of March, I got the chance to go to the beach in Jaco! Jaco is one of the most popular beaches that people go to from San Jose, and my friends and I wanted to soak up some time at the beach. As is the theme of this trip, the beach was beautiful and the waves were great too!
I really had the time of my life playing in the waves and soaking up the warm sun. We had a really great lunch too that I enjoyed. I honestly just had a great day overall. We had to wake up very early to catch the bus, but we had just the right amount of time to enjoy the beach to then return back to San Jose.
Last Week ofClasses
This week was quite an emotional one if I’m being completely truthful. A lot of change happened this week: many of my friends who were here for 12 weeks (I’m here for 17 weeks) left a week ago to head back to the United States. On top of this, my classes were finishing up, which meant I had several final projects to complete.
My gender and sexuality class after our last day of class.
It really started to hit me that a lot of my friends were leaving when we went to the final goodbye dinner on Thursday (March 30th). It was our final, celebratory moment for our program to enjoy the time we had together and celebrate the past semester. The restaurant that we went to was absolutely stunning. It sat on top of the mountainside with a view that was absolutely stunning to witness. Enjoy the pictures I took from our dinner:
I already miss my friends so much.
We all celebrated the last day by going out for a little bit and having fun at one of the nearby clubs. I got to see some other friends who didn’t go to the dinner while we went out, so I got to give them final hugs and thank them for making the time in Costa Rica just that much more special for me.
Once I got back to my homestay, I finished up packing and went to sleep in preparation for leaving early the next morning to Colombia!!
Friday (March31st)
We left for Colombia this morning! We arrived in Cartagena and spent the afternoon getting ourselves settled at our hostel. We spent a considerable amount of time waiting to get through customs and traveling to our hostel.
One thing I immediately noticed about Colombia was the driving. I thought that Costa Ricans were aggressive drivers, but I quickly learned that Colombia was far worse than Costa Rica. I’d never seen such organized chaos in my life. You could not pay me anything to drive in Cartagena, because I’d be an absolute nervous wreck.
Once we got to the hostel, we went out to dinner and got to meet some of our hostel-mates. More on that in a bit.
Saturday (April 1st)
Today was our first full day in Cartagena, and we spent the day exploring the city and what it has to offer. We first went to a beach that was really beautiful. The locals were telling me how the beach was like their version of Miami, and I could absolutely see why. While I’ve never been to Miami, the buildings, atmosphere, and the weather all seemed very much like what I’ve heard about Miami.
The view from the beach along the coastline.
After spending time on the beach, we did a walking tour of the city and got to see some notable landmarks on the tour. The city is super picturesque and was really beautiful to see with all of the old colonial architecture.
After our walking tour, we headed back to the hostel and got ready for our night out. We ended up going to a really awesome rooftop bar that was one of the highlights of the trip. The music was fun, the atmosphere was inviting, and we got to hang out with some of our hostel mates! Here’s a picture of my friends and I at this bar:
My friends and I with our balloon animals, courtesy of Olivia.
I want to take a moment to talk about our hostel mates. They were SO much fun to chat with and were honestly one of my favorite parts of the trip. The first group of people we met were some peace corps volunteers in Colombia who were happening to stay at the same hostel as us. I got to talk with one of them for a couple of hours about their experience, and it was so eye-opening to hear her explain her life and why she chose to do the Peace Corps. After talking with them, I have much more interest in potentially joining and serving, so we’ll have to see where life takes me.
I also want to shout-out the other hostel mates I met: Geraldo from Chile and Pablo from Argentina. I appreciated them both so much because, to be frank, I really didn’t have a lot in common with them. They’re both super athletic/into sports, straight, and very much “bros”. Yet the both took the genuine time to actually want to get to know me. Through my limited Spanish, we were able to communicate with each other and they adjusted the way they spoke to make sure I understood what they were saying. Both Chile and Argentina are known for having some of the hardest Spanish accents to understand, yet they both adapted the way they spoke to accommodate me, and did their best to communicate with me. We also went out with them and they both were SO much fun to dance with at the club. I just have a lot of respect for people who, even with someone like myself who is completely different from them, make the effort to talk with me and get to know me. These interactions honestly just fueled my passion for learning the language and served as a reset-button to help me realize why I decided to come here and spend time learning Spanish. I’m honestly so grateful I met all of them during my trip as they really were the inspiration that I needed to motivate me to practice as I continue to learn the language.
As you can imagine, we had a long night out, and we definitely had a slow Sunday after sleeping in.
Sunday (4/2)
Today, we did one of my favorite activities of the trip: the mud bath. We went to this old volcano that now has a mud bath in the middle of it. It took us about an hour to reach the volcano and we quickly realized, once we got there, that this tour we did was definitely more for locals than for gringos like ourselves. We had to walk barefoot across many pebbles and dirt and climb the splinter-producing stairs to reach the mud bath. It was worth it though – the mud felt so good and it was super relaxing to spend that time in there.
A picture of us as we descended the steps to get washed off
We spent another 30 minutes here getting rinsed off, dressed, and then departing back to Cartagena. We enjoyed the evening having dinner and celebrating the last night in Cartagena before we set off for Medellin the following day.
Monday(4/3)
Our flight left swiftly at 11:30AM and we headed to Medellin – yes, the Medellin that Pablo Escobar once ruled back in the 90’s. We arrived, got settled at the hostel, and then made our way to do an art and graffiti tour in Comuna 13 – a once guerra-dominated-now-tourist location that educates people about the neighborhood’s troubling past and how it has drastically changed over the last several years.
To put it simply, the government came in and killed a lot of the drug cartel head members. The government made peace agreements with other cartels to not bother the neighborhood anymore. After this was done in the 2000s, the government began to pour investments into the neighborhood by implementing escalators so that people living in the hillsides of these neighborhoods wouldn’t have to climb 500+ steps everyday just to reach their homes. As our tour guide explained to us, houses were cheaper the higher up they were, so many elderly folks who were poor would only be able to afford them and were forced to live high on the hillside. Because of this, it made leaving their houses super difficult because it meant having to make the climb back up.
If you look closely, you can see people boarding the escalators to move up “floors” of the neighborhood.
I didn’t know what to expect with this tour before it started, but I was honestly so moved by it. The tour felt so authentic because our tour guide relayed stories from his family that lived through the trauma that ensued for so many years before.
Our tour guide took us to his grandma’s house who unfortunately passed away due to COVID in 2020. He told us the story of how she survived all of those years, and even lost a couple of her sons to the drug gangs. What made me the most emotional, however, was when he showed us a picture from his phone of her back in 2019. Throughout everything that she had experienced – the pain, torture, and the true ugliness of life, she still had a smile. She still was somehow happy, content, and just seemed like the warmest person in the world. After her passing in 2020, the community painted a mural on her house.
The tour also was so profound because it enabled me to see the complexity and juxtaposition of this neighborhood. For example, we passed by a little basketball court where some kids were running and playing, and our tour guide told us that that spot used to be the public execution location – front and center for the entire community to see to instill fear in the community.
Another example of this juxtaposition – as we climbed higher and higher on the mountainside, as I already mentioned, that’s where more and more people who lived in poverty, well, lived. Yet as we climbed, the views got even more breathtaking. We could see the entire city, and even were able to watch part of the sunset from the hill.
The picture doesn’t do this view justice.
It just was so thought-provoking to think about how this community, who had undergone such awful trauma, also had this undeniable beauty to it that, until recently, no one besides the community had ever seen before. This tour truly opened my eyes to Colombia and just made me fall even more in love with the country, and I was so glad I decided to do this tour.
After we ended the tour, we headed back to the hostel and prepared for our long day ahead of us.
Tuesday (4/4)
Today was the day that we had planned our tour of Guatapé, the 2nd most colorful city in the world and the famous Guatapé rock.
We got up very early, and arrived to Guatapé around 10AM to begin our trek hiking up the rock. We didn’t realize it until we arrived, but we ended up hiking over 700+ steps to arrive at the summit of the rock. While we were definitely exhausted from our hike, the views were obviously stunning and amazing to see in person.
We spent a little bit at the top of the rock, and then made our way down before heading to the town of Guatapé. We arrived, and our tour guide told us that the town was actually inspiration for “Encanto”. After seeing the town for a bit, I could definitely see how the town had inspired that movie.
We spent a little bit of time here before we took a boat ride around the reservoir that can be seen in the photos above from the top of the Guatapé rock. We learned a bit more about Pablo Escobar and actually got to see one of his famous estates where he had many parties and such.
After our boat ride, we departed back to downtown Medellin, and recovered from our extensive day of hiking.
Wednesday (4/5)
This was our last full day in Medellin, and I unfortunately was beginning my bout with a cold that is still affecting me a bit to this day. We were all pretty tired and really didn’t have a ton of energy to do stuff, so we opted to explore the city of Medellin by using the metrocable – Medellin’s own public transportation.
If you would have told me that Medellin, in Colombia, had one of the best public transportation systems in the world, I don’t think I would have believed you. But after using it for several hours, and I can confidently say that Medellin has one of the best public transportation systems. It uses a mix of lightrails, trains, and (my favorite), gondolas to transport people to different neighborhoods across the city. We of course had to take the gondola since it seemed super cool, and I’m so glad that we did. Once we reached the final station at the top, we got this absolutely incredible view of the town of Medellin:
You can see the gondolas on the right of the picture.
I can safely say that Medellin, Colombia, is one of, if not, the most beautiful cities that I’ve ever visited in my life. The city sits in a small valley, but a lot of the city is also built on the mountainsides. You can be walking in the middle of downtown, only to look up and see this absolutely gorgeous mountain with buildings sitting atop of it. It was so lush, green and literally felt like we were in a movie. The motto for the city is “the city with eternal spring” because the weather is always like spring with the greenery and mild temperatures. I couldn’t get enough of just how beautiful this city was, and taking this little tour on the gondola (which was their public transportation) was just the icing on the cake. I took pictures from the gondola also since the views from inside were also stunning as well.
After our time on the public transportation, we headed back to the hostel, had dinner, and packed up to leave Colombia the following day.
Thursday (4/6)
We headed back to Costa Rica from Colombia. My cold unfortunately got worse and I was very glad when we finally made it back to San Jose. I luckily took medicine before our flight, but even so, I was pretty miserable as we ascended and descended as my sinuses were trying to kill me.
Once I arrived at my homestay, I spent the rest of the night relaxing and resting.
EasterWeekend
I wish I had something exciting to report, but I spent the entire weekend recovering. This cold has really made me rest up, as even going on a walk was enough to tire me out and make me take a nap for a bit. I think our travel and my lack of sleep during our trip exacerbated whatever virus I got and my body has forced me to take time to rest and prepare for the beginning of my final Spanish class for April. I start that class tomorrow and I’m sure will have more updates for you all in bit. In the meantime, take care, and ¡pura vida!
These past weeks haven’t been the most eventful of ones I’ve had since I’ve been here, but I wanted to still write and provide some more reflections I’ve made since being here as well as update you all on some of my latest adventures since being here.
Reflections
As my time here in Costa continues to dwindle as early May approaches, I waft through the feelings of homesickness of the United States with also appreciating even more the time I’ve spent here.
I’ve been thinking about how this experience will impact me once I arrive back to the U.S. and have some time to reflect. And I genuinely don’t know if I’ll have the words to describe it. I already know that I’m going to miss so many things from my life here in CR: my host family, my friends, Spanish, the weather, and more. I’ve been even more sentimental recently as a lot of my friends leave next weekend, so we’ve all been rushing to spend time together and cherish the final moments that we have together.
I also have been reflecting deeply on how much I take for granted that I live in a country (the U.S) where my native tongue is spoken. Being here has really given me the appreciation of simple interactions I used to take for granted easily – whether it’s going to a restaurant and being able to fully converse with the waiters/waitresses, or trying to understand my program director as I practice Spanish with her, or whether it’s trying to decipher all of the billboards posted around the city. I never realized how difficult it could be to do all of those things until I’ve been here. Having to navigate and live my life where language barriers/communications happen often gives me this sense of appreciation that I can, in fact, speak a language fluently. I also have such a greater empathy for immigrants, refugees, expats, or frankly anyone who uproots their lives to live in another country that doesn’t speak their native tongue.
These past few weeks, I’ve also had the opportunity to meet and hang out with some locals, which has been a very interesting experience. They could speak English well, but our conversations have mostly been in Spanish, which, again, has given me such a more complex understanding of how we use language in our daily life. I never realized how many dichos (sayings in english) that I use in my daily vernacular. Likewise, Spanish also has its dichos, and when locals use them, I understandably don’t understand exactly what they are saying. Again, these conversations have humbled me because they not only show that I still am not as proficient in Spanish as I wish I was, but that language and communicating is such a beautiful gift that we all take for granted. Of course the locals will explain it to me, but, if I’m being totally honest, it can get a bit frustrating at times knowing that I can’t fully communicate the way in which I’d want in all settings.
On the flip side of that, I also feel so proud of myself and accomplished that I can even form relationships with people while using another language than my native tongue. I’ve continued to grow my relationship with my host family, and knowing that I’ve created this special relationship with an 82 year old señora in a language that is not my native one es muy chiva (in english = is really cool/awesome). When I have those moments when the language flows off my tongue and I can fully understand what locals are saying, I feel a sense of deep accomplishment – like the work I’ve put in to learn the language is actually paying off. It’s almost like a challenge that I embark everyday – like a 1,000 piece puzzle that I’m trying to solve. There’s so many moments where I try to fit pieces together that don’t fit, but when that moment comes when two pieces fit together, it’s such a rewarding feeling that encourages me to practice more.
Unrelated to Spanish, I’ve also had some fun days that I wanted to share in this blog from the past weekend:
Saturday (3/18)
Today was the day that I got to do one of my bucket list things here in Costa Rica: go to their amusement park. As many of you know, I am a huge rollercoaster/theme park junkie, so getting to visit a theme park in *Costa Rica* was definitely on my bucket list.
The first thing I immediately noticed was how cheap it was to enter the park. We bought a bundle of 4 tickets that cost around $50, meaning it was about $12 per person to enter the park. In other words – it was super cheap. That theme continued within the park, as I saw options to get theme park food combos for $6. It was truly wild to me how cheap everything was.
My friends and I had a great time. The park had a couple of upside down rollercoasters (one of them shown below), but what I loved about the park was how quaint it felt. In one area of the park, it had these really cute, old buildings that were super fun to explore.
This was a bumpy yet very fun ride 🙂This was the old-building section of the park…. they had several restaurants and other shops in this area.
My friends’ and my favorite ride was this spinning rollercoaster that had these wicked turns. It caught us off guard and we had such a fun time riding it.
We spent more time riding the other rides there and really just had a great day. One thing I found super interesting was that we saw a thunderstorm nearby (with lightening) that was approximately 3-5ish miles from the park. We thought, when we saw it, that everything would close down. But nope. Everything continued as normal as if it didn’t exist. This included the *water* rides that still had quite long lines for them even as lightening was imminent. The thunderstorm didn’t actually hit us directly so nothing happened, but I found it very interesting and a bit funny that the park continued to operate even with lightning nearby. This definitely wouldn’t have happened if we were at a U.S. theme park.
After our busy, I returned home, had some dinner, and prepared for the next fun day.
Sunday (3/19)
My friend Yesenia and I went to Hacienda La Chimba, a finca (like a property/estate) that had a famous hiking trail that we wanted to go on. We made our way there and began our trek through the trails.
I don’t think either one of us realized how difficult the hike would be. The hike ended up taking over 2 hours to complete, which consisted of mostly incline hiking. Neither one of us are in the best shapes in the world, so we definitely were huffing and puffing and had to take many breaks during the hike. Fortunately, however, there were many spots along the route where we could take breaks and take in the spectacular views.
As we continued our hike, we grew more and more tired, but persevered! It was a very sunny day that also happened to be really warm. After reaching 4 kilometers, I was questioning whether or not I could still continue the hike. We cheered each other on, and upon kilometer 5, we got to witness the view that everyone talks about.
This photo is definitely a favorite of mine.
We definitely spent at least 5 minutes trying to take in the views and attempting to document the moment. I was so glad that I got to experience this moment with my friend, Yesenia.
We had the option to continue the hike for an additional 4 km, but we were so exhausted that we headed straight back to the main lobby area, enjoyed some gelato, and made our way back to San Jose.
I spent the rest of the day recovering and rehydrating from our strenuous day.
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I’m going to end this blog entry here. I’m going to the beach tomorrow and this week is the last week before a lot of my friends leave, so I’m sure I’ll have a lot to write about. Until next time, pura vida!
A few days ago marked the halfway point of my study abroad trip, and I genuinely can’t believe it. Time truly feels like it’s flying by and I keep waiting for it to slow down, with no avail.
I wanted to write a bit about my academic experience here in Costa Rica, as it’s incredibly different than the United States. Firstly, I’ve noticed that most of the homework for my classes here are presentations. The university uses a competency-based model where grades are given based on the quality of work turned in (and presented on), not on how many details you can remember for a test. Overall, I really like this emphasis because it enables me to show what I actually know, not what I don’t know (which is how I feel many tests work in the United States).
I just finished my intensive Spanish class, and it was very bittersweet for that class to end. On the one hand, I have considerably less work to do, with more free time to catch up on other homework and relax. On the other hand, I really miss my class and I loved my professor – she was the absolute sweetest. On our last day of classes, my classmates and I got her flowers and a card, thanking her for her kindness and for being an awesome professor:
She really was such a sweetheart
I’ll be taking another intensive Spanish class in April, but my other classes will have already been completed, so I’ll only have Spanish during that month. I have a feeling that once April rolls around, I’ll be looking forward to having a more structured, routine-based schedule again where I’m practicing the language.
I also really want to again highlight how incredibly grateful I am for my host family. I currently write this blog as I recover from a bout of a stomach virus that really tried to kill me last night. Not only do they repeatedly cook and clean for me, but at my worst of moments, they bent over backwards to help me and make sure I was as comfortable as possible. At 11:30PM last night, after my fourth bout of getting sick, my host family made (in that moment) an electrolyte serum that helped me stay hydrated. They also not only adjusted the food they gave both my roommate and I (we both got the virus at the same time, lucky us!), but they even cooked us an extra meal because we both simply didn’t have the energy to leave the house.
I always feel that people’s true colors come out in the worst of moments, and while I always knew that my host family cared a lot about me, their willingness to bend-over-backwards, late at night, while I feel awful is a true testament to their genuine kindness.
On a completely different note, I got to visit the Osa Peninsula last weekend, located on the western, pacific side of Costa Rica. Here’s a little run-down of my trip:
Friday, March 3rd
We departed my university at 1:30 in what ended up being a 6+ hour drive to Sierpe, the name of the town that we stayed in for the weekend. We arrived, and I immediately noticed the oppressive heat/humidity of the area. I was so thankful that we had air conditioning in our room because being in that area reminded me that we were in the tropics.
We had dinner at the main restaurant in town and prepared ourselves for a busy next day.
Saturday, March 4th
We had an early wake-up today of 5:30AM to eat breakfast in preparation for our big day. Since we arrived at night, I couldn’t get a good sense of what the town looked like until we woke up the next day to this:
The quaint town of Sierpe at 6:30AM
After boarding our boat, we embark along the river and shoreline until we reach the Pacific ocean. I remember thinking how everything felt so tranquil and calm as we rode along the river.
A view of the Sierpe River and our boat that we rode on for the day.
Once we made it to the Pacific Ocean, we headed towards la Isla del Caño (Caño Island), a remote island off the coast that has some of the most biodiversity in all of Costa Rica. When we arrived, our tour guide had to get off the boat and get a permit from the person working at the island just to let us snorkel around the island. This island is really restrictive, so not many people have visited it before in their time at Costa Rica.
La Isla del Caño in all its glory… it was stunning to see in person.
I’ve had the opportunity to snorkel several times in my life, but I’ve never snorkeled where I’ve gotten to see so many fish and corals in my life. The water was also crystal clear, so the views were simply stunning to witness. I felt like I was living in a nature documentary. I wish I had my own photo of what it looked like, but here’s a good idea of what it looked like:
After snorkeling for a while, we departed to an island right near the main coastline and had lunch. This island was, as I’ve said so many times, extremely beautiful to see. There were even black sand beaches at this particular island – my first time ever experiencing them!
After spending time on the island, we did a mangrove tour where we saw several species of wildlife, including several birds, monkeys, sloths, and more. Enjoy these monkeys that we spotted in the mangroves:
They got quite close to our boat!
After our mangrove tour, we departed back to our hotel and rested for the rest of the evening.
Sunday, March 5th
We departed back to San Jose on another 6+ bus ride. Upon return to home, I spent the rest of the day resting up for the upcoming week and spending time with my host family.
That’s all I have for now, so until next time, ¡pura vida!
This blog will be a lot less action-packed than the last several have been, as the past couple of weeks I’ve been able to stay here in San José and get to know the area a little better. I’ll begin by sharing some of my reflections at this point in my study abroad experience:
Week of 2/12
This week was my second full week of my Spanish course, and wow has it been intense! We’ve had assignments due almost everyday and I’m in class for at least 3 hours everyday for the entire month. I’m still learning a lot and I know that (poco a poco, which means “little by little”) my Spanish is improving, but it’s hard to see all of those improvements in day-to-day life sometimes when I have trouble understanding sometimes what people tell me in Spanish. There are moments that I get super frustrated that I don’t know certain words or that I just can’t understand certain things. Obviously I know that I’m improving (even if I don’t see it) and that I still have so much time left here to continue to improve my abilities.
Something I’ve noticed with my Spanish is that my overall perception (and my abilities with the language) really changes based on my mood and how alert/awake I am. When I’m in a cranky and tired mood, I find it so much harder to use the language than when I’m alert and in the “mindset”. I’ve also noticed that when I spend a lot of time speaking in one language, it’s oftentimes harder to switch between the two than when I’m using both simultaneously or am not communicating for long periods of time. For example, when I talked with my friend from home for almost 5 hours, I found it more difficult to switch to Spanish. Likewise, when I chatted with my host family for 3+ hours on a few occasions, it becomes so much easier to think in Spanish, and I actually had a bit of trouble thinking and speaking in English!
Besides Spanish, I’ve also been just a bit all-over-the-place emotionally the past week. I’ve been able to see these truly incredible locations and have so enjoyed these moments, but I’ve also missed some of the things I’m used to in the States. I miss my bed, and my dog, and my family/friends. I even (VERY slightly) miss the cold and snow in Minnesota.
I know that all of my feelings are normal and are part of the study abroad process. And I also know that I’m doing my best to really put myself out there and make myself part of the Costa-Rican community. This past weekend did really lift my spirits and reaffirmed why I came here (more on that in a bit).
I still am so grateful for my host family. They continuously cook, clean, and look after me. My Mama Tica never fails to make me smile – I know that the love she has for me is not anywhere close to the love I have for her. Here’s a picture of her, me, and my roommate from the other day:
A picture of me, my roommate Jamie, and my Mama Tica 🙂
This past weekend was super rejuvenating and was definitely the weekend I needed after a long and stressful past week.
Saturday (2/19)
I went white-water rafting for the first time, and I had so much fun. I love an adrenaline rush, and white-water rafting sure does provide that rush for an adrenaline-seeker like myself.
It was a very early day – a 5:00AM wake-up call greeted me and I definitely was begrudging to get up. Nevertheless, we drove for a couple hours until we reached the entrance of Pacuare River – a beautiful river that flows through canyons that offered some awesome rapids.
I remember on the bus ride to the start of the river, the safety instructor was telling us about all of the safety instructions, and I definitely started to question what I’d gotten myself into. My heart started racing and I was terrified I was going to be that person who was going to cause the raft to flip over.
Once we got on the river, however, my worries faded away. I felt much more comfortable when I learned our guide had done tours on the river for 23 years and knew the river left and right. When we started to do the Class 3/4 rapids, I remember laughing and having the time of my life. We were able to buy pictures after the rafting excursion (as they had several people along the river who took pictures), and I think this photo below encapsulates how I felt gliding along the rapids:
I’m in the back right of the raft having the time of my life in that rapid!
While I loved seeing the rapids and getting that adrenaline rush from them, I think my favorite part from the whole trip was being able to swim in a canyon along the river. We were the last of several rafts (we all went out at the same time – there probably were close to 10 rafts going at the same time!), and we had the chance to swim in the river (when the current was calm). There were no boats behind and we got this beautiful view of this canyon. I can’t take credit for the photo as it’s not mine, but from the tour company that we went with:
Yes – it was as beautiful as this photo looks.
What I didn’t expect, however, was how tough paddling would be for 3 hours! As I write this, I’m still a bit sore from my big day of rafting. I also was a bit bummed that, after about 1.5 hours into rafting, I started to get this nasty headache that lingered until I took some advil after the trip. When we hit rapids, I’d be preoccupied with them and wouldn’t notice it, but when we had the lull moments, it would come back and be pretty gnarly to deal with.
Nevertheless, I still had a blast and really want to go rafting again. I might have to convince some friends to go rafting at another river… we’ll see what happens!
After our long day of rafting, we grabbed lunch and then returned back to San Jose. As you can imagine, I was exhausted after my early wake-up call and slept for 11+ hours that following night.
Sunday (2/19)
Today, I spent the morning and early part of the afternoon resting/recuperating from my rafting adventure, and then went to a language exchange meet-up that was happening at a Tico’s house in downtown San Jose! I had a great time meeting some new people and practicing my Spanish with some local ticos. I definitely want to do it again, as it’s great to meet locals that can help with the language and share their personal thoughts about CR and the community.
I don’t have any plans for next weekend (yet…) as I want to rest up before my weekend plans for March (more on that later). Until next time chicos, ¡pura vida!
Again, my apologies for the very delayed blog entry. I started my intensive Spanish class this month and my workload has doubled, so it’s been a bit difficult to manage the workload as I travel around! Nevertheless, I have some time now to detail what the past few weeks have looked like for me!
First weekend of February: Bocas del Toro, Panamá
This weekend, I spent 3 days in Bocas del Toro – a lovely collection of islands located in the Northeast Caribbean side of Panamá! This is how the trip went:
Friday (2/3):
We swiftly left San Jose, Costa Rica at a lovely 5:15AM to embark on what-would-be 10 hours of traveling. We stopped at a cute restaurant to have some breakfast (the food was really good at this particular restaurant), and then continued our bus ride until we reached the Costa Rica/Panamá border. I found the border so interesting because the border was a river, so we had to walk across a bridge to cross the border. We simply stopped at the immigration office before the border crossing, and what was even more interesting was that the Panamá immigration office was somewhat hidden after we crossed the bridge! If I hadn’t been with a group, I would’ve not known where the office was. Crossing the border was not what I expected at all, but everything went smoothly and we made our way into Panamá.
We then drove about an hour more (in another bus) to the boat port, which has boat taxis to-and-from Bocas del Toro. The views were already so stunning as we trodded along the Caribbean water to the island.
A view of the main island at Bocas del Toro!
Upon arrival to the hotel, I spent the rest of the day recuperating and preparing for the next day of adventures we were about to embark on!
Saturday (2/4):
We spent the day doing a boat excursion across some of the different islands in Bocas del Toro!
We first went to this lagoon area that was known for seeing dolphins! Some of the dolphins got really close to our boat. I didn’t take the best pictures of them, but here’s my best shot of getting some a picture of these majestic creatures:
Look at the left side of the picture to see part of the dolphin… it was stunning to see them in real life.
From there, we went to various islands and saw some of natural, untouched lands of the islands. Again, it was so pristine and beautiful to see such beautiful nature.
Some mangroves at an a random, untouched island.
After having lunch at one of the small islands, we then headed to my favorite part of the trip: La Isla Bastimentos, a Marine National Park located on a tucked-away island. I can confidently say this island was one of the most beautiful places I’ve experienced on my trip thus far. Once we arrived on the island, we did a small hike that had some of the coolest plants I’d ever seen:
It felt like I was living in a dream during this hike.
We were met with one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen. I remember beaming and laughing uncontrollably when we first got to the beach. I was just floored that a beach like this could even exist in real life.
I promise it looked even better in real lifeYes – the water was as clear as it looks in the picture.
I wish we had more time to spend at this beach because it really won over my heart. I’m still so blessed I got to visit in the first place, and I definitely won’t forget frolicking in the water like a little kid as I took in the beauty around me.
After the beach, we headed back to our hotel and I had a relatively chill rest of the evening. The next day was filled with more adventures around Bocas del Toro.
Sunday (2/5)
We did another boat tour today visiting a few more islands around Bocas del Toro. We first visited a very tiny island that was known as “Bird Island”, as a lot of birds used the island to grow their eggs! Our boat guide told us that the birds make little holes in the land, and they lay their eggs in those holes until their babies are born. It was majestic seeing all of these tropical birds flying above us as we took in the beauty of this island.
You can’t really tell in the photo, but the waves were CHOPPY around the island… there were a few moments were I flew out of my seat while riding around the island.
We then went through an open canal that our boat guide told us was actually man-made to help with transportation within the island. It felt like I was riding a Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, but actually in real life.
Not the best picture but the canal was so pretty to cross.
We then went to a beach called “Playa de las Estrellas (del mar)”, which translates to “Starfish Beach”. It’s called this because many starfish (especially farther from people) inhabit the shores of the beaches. I saw probably 10-15 starfish… I had to be careful not to step on one as they were plenty abundant at this beach. While I don’t have any pictures of the starfishes themselves, I do have a picture of the beach:
Again, the beach was just stunning to witness in person.
After spending some time at this beach, we decided to head back to Panamá and spend the rest of the afternoon on the main island (where our hotel was). We had a great time enjoying life and enjoying the sun of Panamá.
The view from our hotel… how did I get so lucky in life?
I went to bed early in preparation for our early morning the next day.
Monday (2/6)
We swiftly left Panamá at 6:00AM (which meant a 5:30AM wake-up call) and headed back to Costa Rica. Nothing super eventful happened on the way back, just that I was definitely tired throughout the entire ride. I will say though – the beauty of Costa Rica even when driving is stunning. I sometimes just can’t even believe my life when I take pictures like this one from the bus:
Just a random creek and valley on the side of the road.
I made sure to go to bed early in preparation for my first day of Spanish the next day.
Week of 2/6
I started my intensive Spanish class this week, and the difference between this one and the one I was originally placed in were striking. My professor actually cared about me and wanted me to understand what was happening in class. She makes sure to explain concepts several times in class, which helps so much in feeling like I’m actually learning stuff in the class. We’ve also talked about concepts that I’ve never learned before, so I actually feel like I’m benefitting greatly from the course.
I’m going to stop this blog here as I’m planning to write another one soon about the past week and this weekend’s adventures. Until then, pura vida chicos!
This past weekend was one to remember. So much happened in such little time, but I’m super excited to share with you all about my travels to La Fortuna and Monteverde!
Friday (1/27)
We departed swiftly at 1PM to La Fortuna – a 4.5 hour bus ride riddled with several traffic jams. We arrived at the Baldi Hot Springs – an opulent resort filled with – you guessed it – hot springs that progressively got hotter as we hiked through the resort. I was extremely excited for the hot springs because of the waterslides they had there, and they sure didn’t disappoint. This slide in particular should not be legal…. everyone that went on it practically got thrown around in the slide and came out as if they were free-falling. I apologize for the size of the video, as I can’t seem to make it smaller. Nevertheless, enjoy this video of me on the waterslide:
This entire night, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I couldn’t get enough of the waterslides, and I had so much fun bonding with my friends. Later on in the night, we found these over-the-top caves, where a little waterfall trickled in through the rocks and created a sauna-like experience. I felt so rejuvenated and relaxed as I sat in the hot springs sauna.
After our time at the hot springs, we departed to our hotel (it was too expensive for us to say the night haha!) and prepared for the following day.
Saturday (1/28)
After an early breakfast, we headed down to la Catarata de la Fortuna (La Fortuna waterfall), a mesmerizing sight to behold. We quickly learned that to get close to the waterfall, we had to trek down almost 500 steps (which also meant later trekking up the 500 steps). The steps were worth it though as the views were simply incredible.
The view of the waterfall before the 500 step descent.The waterfall up close… it was truly a sight to behold.
I won’t lie – the hike up the 500 stairs was definitely not easy. I definitely rewarded myself with a smoothie after the hike as I was sweaty and tired. But the views were so stunning and it truly felt like I’d seen something from a movie.
After the waterfall, we had lunch and then took a boat ride across El lago Arenal (Arenal Lake), where we (luckily!) got to see the Arenal Volcano on full display. The boat ride was stunning with the views of the volcano and the surrounding rolling hills.
Arenal Volcano in all it’s glory… I was so happy the skies cleared up and we were able to see it!
Once we crossed to the other side, we then had a 2.5 hour car ride through Tilarán, a district/area of land that was nestled in the mountainside. It was incredibly windy – a couple of wind gusts physically moved me – but the views were amazing and I was awestruck by the surrounding beauty of Costa Rica.
Tilarán in all of its glory.
After making it to Monteverde, we spent the evening eating dinner and taking in the gorgeous sunset from our hotel. Again, the views from our hotel were unreal and incredible to take in.
I went to bed early that night to prepare myself for our final action-packed day of the weekend.
Sunday (1/29)
Today was the day I think we all were most excited about: ziplining in Costa Rica. I was SO excited to zipline in the woods, and it did not disappoint whatsoever.
After arriving and getting the safety training, we embarked on our zipline tour in Monteverde. The first several zips were shorter but in the middle of the woods. They definitely didn’t have much clearance, for if I stuck my legs out of the ball-like position I was in, I would’ve easily hit them on a tree.
A wild Clay zipping through the Costa Rican forest.
After the small ziplines, I then did several ziplines that were incredibly long. One of the zips was the longest zipline in all of Central America, estimated to be over 1 mile long. It wasn’t until about halfway through the zip could I see the end point. Throughout the entire zipline, I saw the entire valley below as I zipped across the line. I couldn’t stop laughing as I watched the valleys pass below me. The photo below is the closest I could find to accurately showing what the views were like from this zip.
This zipline felt surreal.
I then got to do the superman zipline – the one where I lay on my stomach as I zip across the valley. I was definitely trembling in fear, but I also had the best time too. I’m currently looking to see if I can find the superman photo of me – if I can find it, I’ll update the blog and put it here. For now, this is a good example of what I looked like doing the superman zipline:
After the ziplines were done, I got to my favorite activity of the entire trip: the Tarzan Swing. At this point in the zipline tour, my adrenaline was pumping and I was ready to take on any challenge before me. The video below is me experiencing the Tarzan Swing, and again, apologies for the size of the video:
My legs trembled for a solid 5 minutes after my jump, but I was beaming and felt so accomplished and satisfied that I did it. I wish I could’ve done it again. My next step is to (hopefully) find a place to bungee jump here in Costa Rica, as I am ready for my next adrenaline rush.
After our zipline tour, we headed back to San Jose and I recuperated from the busy but amazing weekend I’d just had.
Conclusions
This trip made me fall in love with Costa Rica even more than I already had. I felt so happy and comfortable with my friends, and I truly got to enjoy some of the beauty Costa Rica has to offer. I feel incredibly blessed that I had the opportunity to visit both La Fortuna and Monteverde, and this trip will definitely be one I will not forget.
Next weekend, I will actually be heading down to Bocas del Toro in Panamá – a collection of seaside islands where I will get to snorkel and swim with dolphins. I will likely write my next blog after that trip. Until next time, ¡pura vida!
I’ve been incredibly busy touring around Costa Rica and finally had a few moments to actually sit down to write this blog entry. Since a couple weeks have passed, I will catch you all up on what happened two weeks, and then update you all my adventures of this last week!
Week #2: 1/15 – 1/22
Two weeks ago was my second full week in Costa Rica, and I started to feel more adjusted to my life here in Costa Rica. I’ve gotten more used to talking in Spanish everyday with my host family, know my way around the neighborhood/campus, and genuinely feel like I’ve made some friends here.
My favorite meal I’ve had so far… a BBQ-esque chicken sandwich with garlic on top
One aspect of life in Costa Rica that I’ve been adjusting to is having to be much more mindful of safety, particularly theft. Our program (and school) repeatedly emphasize that at night, we shouldn’t walk outside at all. They also tell us that we shouldn’t walk with computers (or any other valuables), and that we should limit the amount of cash we carry. One day during this past week, our office building was robbed overnight, where food and valuables were stolen. That same day I learned about the robbery, I was approached by a man as I was leaving my homestay. He got uncomfortably close to me and began talking (and slurring) his words so that I couldn’t understand him. I quickly went back into the gates of my homestay, said I couldn’t speak Spanish, and he then left me alone.
To be clear: I’ve never felt unsafe at any point during my time here. Moreover, I have several resources to call if I feel unsafe at any point. However, my point in saying all of this is that it’s definitely taken me a little bit to adjust to the difference in safety. Back at St. Olaf, I could leave my laptop (and backpack) practically anywhere on campus for hours and return to find it exactly where I left it. Our mailboxes at school (that we share with another random student) don’t even have locks on them. As you can probably imagine, it’s taken me some time acclimating as I live in a bigger city.
And with all of that said, I’ve felt extremely lucky for the people and experiences I’ve had so far. My program advisors (Karla and Jessenia) are both delights to chat with. I’ve had several 1+ hour conversations with both of them, and they help me practice my Spanish.
I also love AIFS – the company that I chose to study abroad with – as they have been nothing but support during my time here. They also made sure to plan some well-thought-out excursions of the area, as I write about below.
Saturday (1/21/22)
Today, we had an all-day adventure visiting several different locations across Alajuela, one of the seven provinces in Costa Rica. Our first stop was Poás Volcano National Park – a beautiful place with lush forests, (supposedly) beautiful views and very, very, very sunny weather.
Our view of Poás Volcano, or as I like to call it, “Noás Volcano”.
For reference, this is what we were hoping to see:
A postcard-style photo of the volcano.
In all seriousness though, it was still wonderful walking through the National Park. While it was extremely foggy and we couldn’t actually see the volcano, the forests we trekked through were absolutely breathtaking. The fog and clouds made it seem like I was walking through an enchanted forest that’s always shown in cartoons.
As you can probably imagine, I couldn’t stop saying “it’s so lush and green” the entire time.I think I stared at this tree for several minutes, taking in its beauty.A picture of me attempting to pose as I took in the beauty of the forest.
As you can probably tell, I was completely enamored with the beauty of this forest and it more than made up for our inability to see the volcano. I already miss this National Park and might have to return back to experience this forest again (and to hopefully see the volcano!).
After visiting the National Park, we then visited a coffee plantation and saw a coffee farm! We learned about how coffee is made in Costa Rica got to see the machinery used to produce coffee. At the end, we even were able to try some freshly-made coffee… unsurprisingly, it was one of the most delicious coffee I’ve ever tasted.
A picture of the coffee plantation… it was stunning!
We then continued our day-adventure visiting Grecia, a small town with a very historical building: the Church of la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. This church is made completely out of metal – one of the only ones in Central America. The metal was actually from Belgium and, as stories say, the pieces were meant to go to Chile, but wound up in Costa Rica instead.
From Grecia, we made our last stop in Sarchi, another small town that is known for its beautiful, ornate designs for ox carts.
Not the best picture, but the detail of these ox carts was wonderful to see in person.
We then visited an artisan factory, where they showed us how that ox cart was made:
The factory also looked like something out of a movie. It was so cool to see how they managed to create and paint such a large and ornate structure!
After having some time to shop for souvenirs, we headed back to San Jose after a long but fun day traveling around.
Last week:
I can safely say now that I feel much more settled here in Costa Rica. I’ve developed (somewhat) a routine of having my daily breakfasts, heading to Veritas to take my classes, and have a more grounded sense of where I am and what I’m doing. I still am fascinated by my host family’s hospitality and genuine warmth that they’ve shown around me.
My breakfast one morning… they were one of my favorite pancakes I’ve ever seen (and ever eaten!)
I will wrap up this blog entry here. I went to La Fortuna and Monteverde this past weekend, which will get it’s own entire blog entry and I have so much to share. I will hopefully post that blog entry within the next couple of days. Until next time, ¡pura vida!
It’s Monday afternoon, and I write this blog entry back in San Jose after my incredible adventure at Manuel Antonio! This weekend was relaxing and exciting as we got to explore the national park. I’ll walk you all through my weekend:
Friday
We left my school and headed to Manuel Antonio National Park! Along the way, we stopped at a bridge where we saw (from below) crocodiles! Since it was mating season, there were a lot of them to see!
We then drove to our hotel, had dinner, and prepared for our big day!
Saturday
I think I uttered the phrase “That is so beautiful” at least 100 times during the day. To say Manuel Antonio National Park is beautiful is a severe understatement. The park was one of the prettiest places I’ve visited thus far in my life.
We first started the day with an early breakfast, and then went to the front entrance where we met with a naturalist from the area. He had special camera/binoculars, so we were able to see up close some animals:
A crab that was near a creek in the forestTwo bats sleeping underneath a tree
And finally, my favorite photo that we captured at the end of the tour:
A mother sloth with her baby resting on a tree
The tour was amazing and I was just in awe of the greenery everywhere:
After our tour, we had lunch and then explored the rest of the park. There were a couple of small hikes that we did that took us to the top of the hills in the park. The views from these hikes (at the observation decks) were breathtaking – I got emotional a couple of times because I was awestruck with wonder and disbelief. The pictures don’t do the views justice at all:
View #1My friends and I at the other observation deck
Again, I was just amazed at the natural beauty of the park and how we’d be in the middle of the forest, and then find ourselves overlooking pristine beaches.
After our hiking adventures, we proceeded to swim in the pristine oceans. I felt like a little kid as I caught the waves and laughed with my friends. We even saw some crabs on the shoreline.
That night, we went to dinner, then a bar, and just chatted away as we reflected on the amazing day we had.
Sunday:
We had breakfast this morning at the hotel. We had some visitors at breakfast who wanted a fair share of the food. The waitresses had to come over and spray them with water to try and deter them (spoiler alert: it didn’t). It honestly was quite comical to watch.
The culprit of the breakfast stealings… it’s hard to get mad at them though with their cute faces
After breakfast, we then went into the ocean right next to our hotel. The waves were bigger than the day before which made swimming in the ocean that much more fun. The beach was also stunning to see – it felt like I was living in a postcard:
After our time at the beach, we left our hotel and departed back to San Jose.
Reflection:
This weekend was exactly what my body and soul needed. Culture shock was affecting me a lot last week, so being able to connect with nature, hang out with my new friends, and relax was rejuvenating. This trip made me even more excited for future excursions that I will embark on. Until next time, ¡chao!
To say the past few days have been a whirlwind would be an understatement. I write this blog during the first morning where I have some downtime.
I left California at 11:50PM last Friday night and managed to get 2 hours of sleep. My body ached as I raced around the Charlotte airport at 8AM, trying to find a morsel of food before I left Charlotte for Costa Rica. Once landing here, I eventually made it to my host family’s house, and I immediately was greeted with the warmest smiles that I could’ve asked for.
I feel so blessed for my familia tica (aka Costa Rican family). I live with my mama tica, her son Elías and his partner Adriana, and their son, Nicolas. Everyday, my mama tica, Elías, or Adriana switch off cooking breakfast and dinner for me. They not only cook these meals, but clean up as well.
My first Tico breakfast in Costa Rica, courtesy of Elías
I’ve offered to help several times, but I’m always meant with “tranquilo Clay” (aka “don’t worry”). Their hospitality and kindness never fail to amaze me, and I feel very lucky to have them in my life. I always thank them profusely and try to help them in other ways. For example, I went with my mama tica to the store and helped her shop for some food. She’s 82 years old, so she had some difficulty carrying all of the groceries. I helped her carry everything and was able to practice my Spanish with her at the supermarket.
And while I love my familia tica and am so excited about my new adventure, culture shock has been hitting me pretty hard. Living in a new country with a new language, a new family, a new school, and new friends has not been the easiest feat. I oscillate between feeling joy and happiness with overwhelm and anxiety. So far, I’ve been feeling like the latter easily sneaks up on me like a cat pouncing on its prey, while the former I’ve had to actively pursue.
Just two days ago, I had a whole debacle with my Spanish class/professor. It my first time visiting the university, my first day of the semester, and my first class ever in Costa Rica. I was nervous because I didn’t know what I was doing and I second-guessing my Spanish skills (as I was placed in Advanced Spanish II). As I quickly learned upon arrival, the school has a floor specifically for international students, with signs showing where each class was taking place. I saw my class (and the classroom number), so I found my way to the class and met up with a few other students in the class. We stood next to the classroom, anxiously awaiting for class to start.
After 10 minutes of waiting with no one showing up, we realized we may have been at the wrong class. After scrambling for a few minutes, I then realized I had access to the course online and could see the course syllabus. I looked online and saw that the syllabus said the class was taking place in a different classroom. We then proceeded to search around, frantically looking for that classroom. We couldn’t find it, and upon going to back to the international floor where one of my resident directors was, we realized that the classroom he put in the syllabus didn’t exist.
Long story short, my resident advisor had to call him via his cell phone to ask where the class was. As it turns out, the classroom he ultimately was in was different than what posted online AND what he wrote in his own syllabus. Upon arriving 30 minutes late to class, our seemingly-frustrated professor then proceeded to speak to us at such a fast rate, as if we were all native speakers. I would say that I was able to understand ~30% of what he was saying. My heart was beating out of my chest the entire class period.
When I decided to talk with him afterwards about having a tough time understanding what was happening in class, he continued to (still) speak at the same rate and tell me that I wasn’t at a high enough level to be in his class. He also did not offer any remorse or compassion for the confusion of classrooms that occurred at the beginning of the class period.
That class officially got removed from my schedule yesterday morning.
I tell the story above because it’s most obvious example of culture-shock-related situations that have arisen so far. Having attended St. Olaf for 2.5 years, I could never have imagined this type of situation happening there. To clarify – I know that miscommunications and cultural differences like these will occur while in CR, and I value learning about these cultural differences. However, this understanding doesn’t take away the feelings of uneasiness of adjusting acclimating to CR culture.
On a more positive note, I’m super excited for this weekend. My program group and I are heading to Manuel Antonio – a popular national park in Costa Rica that sits on the coast of the western pacific. It will be a fun weekend of hiking, swimming, and relaxing on the beech – a much needed rest from the chaos of the past several days. I will likely write my next blog after this trip. So, until next time, ¡adios!
