Last Day!

I honestly can´t believe it´s already been an entire month already! Packing up my bag this morning was so hard because I feel like I have acquired a new home in Costa Rica: and my host mom has already made it clear that I´m welcome to come back anytime I want. Since we´re staying at the airport hotel tonight, last night was the final night with our families. My host sister and I stayed up talking and laughing because we both dreaded wasting our final time together- until at 1 am we got so tired that we crashed! It´s amazing how close we´ve gotten within these last weeks, and it´s going to be really sad to go.

On a happier note, we all went rummaging through downtown San Jose yesterday at the Market and Museum, picking up last minute gifts and souvenirs for our families. KOB got the nickname of the ´tourist´, because our teacher said that he was a sucker for a good deal. To speak for the girls, our weakness was the jewellery, of course. Between beads to coins to leather, the market had it all. For me, I bought myself a bottle of the signature ´Salsa Lizano´sauce so that I can cook some Costa Rican cuisine for my family when I get back. As for the boys, I´m pretty sure they just went for anything that had the signature phrase ¨Pura Vida¨ on it, but as the tour guide at the rainforest said, ¨If you know the phrase ´Pura Vida´ you pretty much know half the Spanish in Costa Rica¨. Speaking of Spanish, I think we were all amazed yesterday at how well we could communicate- really showing us how much we´ve learned in these past weeks.

All in all, I´ve had a fantastic, priceless and unforgettable experience on this trip. I´ve met new people, discovered a new culture, perfected my Spanish and acquired a new home in the (what I now see as short) span of four weeks. It´s sad to go, but I´ve made about twenty or more new facebook friends that I can keep in touch with while I´m away...and I hope that I´ll be able to plan another trip shortly along the road.

-Leah

Arenal and Hot Springs

HI everyone,
This weekend my host family took me to see Arenal and its surrounding hot springs. Arenal is an active volcano that is in the classic cone shape. It has several craters and visible evidence of its activity as one side of the volcano is blacked by cooled lava. Arenal and the town of San Carlos is about three hours from San Jose, but it is a beautiful drive through the mountains and valleys of the Costa Rica´s central valley. I thoroughly enjoyed the hot springs and challenged myself to climb into scolding water, finally cooling down in a cool pool. On our return to San Jose we stopped in the small town of Zacero to see an amazing garden. A beautiful church was framed by the plants and trees of the garden which were carved into animals and various figures.
Thanks,
Charlotte

Before this trip, I was called a [picky eater] by my parents... but through my experiences on this trip, I have suprised myself, through how much food I have tried. I would now call myself an adventurous eater. :) Even though some of the foods I have tried have been delicious, the after thought has almost made me sick My favorite foods from Costa Rica are picadillos and fried plantin. I have been cooking with my mom, and learning the Costa Rican ways in the kitchen. Tonight she is going to teach me how to make Picadillos; chopped potatoes with vegetables. I have made myself my own little recipe booklet, inwhich I´m excited to share with my family in the states. The typical foods of the United States and Costa Rica have a couple main differences. Besides the traditional meal of rice and beans, I have also noticed that the cakes I have tried have been made with a milk base; condensed milk, evaporated milk, and normal milk. All in all, the food has been delicious and I am going to miss my mother´s cooking in Costa Rica.

I have also gone to the movies twice with my family. We have seen A Night at the Musuem 2 and Up; the animated kids movie. They are both kid movies, but have been in spanish without subtitles, which was easy to understand because of the slow pace of conversation. The price of tickets is also cheaper because of the salary income for Costa Ricans. The tickets have been 1700 Colones which is equivilent to around $3.50 .

This past Saturday, I went to the Feria, an open market with my mom. We bought all of the fruits and vegetables she would need for cooking for this upcoming week. The prices were also cheaper compared to the United States because the venders grow the fruits and vegetables themselves.

- Allie

Pictures from the Botanical Gardens/ School

Post Beach Weekend

So, I´m not really sure what Charlotte is talking about when she says nobody got burnt, but I´m pretty sure she´s just referring to the miracle that she didn´t burn...all I know is that my back is red, and Mac´s nose is already peeling so I´m pretty sure at least a few of us got burnt :D. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. The hotel was gorgeous (with a Chocolate Chip Cookie entrance). The rooms were beautiful, and I think being together at the beach was a nice break from the hustle and bustle in San Jose. Also, driving to the beach gave us the full Costa Rican experience with the scenery and the pleasurable bus ride around sharp corners. Jack had to grip the back of the seat for support.
When we returned to San Jose, we got Monday and Tuesday off of school to enjoy some time with our families because our siblings have vacations now (the equivalent of our Winter break). I got the full Costa Rican experience when I travelled with my sister to Jaco Beach...the beach was beautiful, and the town was small and cute, with really nice people and GREAT shopping (much to my parent´s dismay :P). I´m glad I could share that experience with my host sister because it´s really given me a chance to bond with her...

Next, I´m super excited for the rain forest trip on Friday. That should be a ton of fun! Until then, chao.
-Leah

The Beach Weekend

HI Everyone,
We had a successful trip to the beach at Puntareanas, Point of Sand. We were accommodated nicely at the Hilton Hotel, locally known as La Fiesta. We had beautiful rooms and a couple great swimming pools. Everyone enjoyed the constant supply of food, needless to say we were spoiled. The waves at the beach were extremely strong but that didn´t stop most of us from swimming in the ocean. On Saturday night, we were fully entertained with a show at the hotel called Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. It was fashioned after Costa Rica´s love and care for the environment. We all thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and fortunately no one got burnt.
Thanks for reading,
Charlotte

We are going to the Beach

Hey guys,

It is the morning before we go to the beach and we are all really excited. We talked with our teacher yesterday and he said that it was a nice beach and hotel and there are a bunch of cool shops around there. Today is the last day of school before a break for the kids here and they are all excited, they also get a dress down day and they don't have to wear collared shirts and can wear jeans. We don't really know what we are doing at the beach or have anything scheduled. There is a big cultural difference here, time isn't a big deal it is more of a go with the flow attitude which is nice but sometimes gets annoying, because you can't really plan on doing something.

Talk to you later...

Mac