I am a proud Clemson Tiger, born and raised in the south, lover of all things pink, orange, and preppy, fan of college football and basketball, preacher's kid, daugher and sister in a loving family of 4, talk with a southern accent, hoping to be a pharmacist, college senior, currently living in Costa Rica studying abroad. Join me on this adventure as I blog about it all - what I'm doing here and what the culture is like, in addition to my musings on faith, fashion, and current events.

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Monday, August 31, 2009

"Sunday, Monday, happy days"

Sunday - slept until 10 am or so. It was nice to get some rest, though I still didn't get a full 8 hours of sleep because I couldn't get to sleep Sat. night, I guess from all the excitement! And we all hung out for a while Saturday night too, which was a lot of fun!


Sunday I met up with Danielle and Alan and we walked to the park to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the festival! We walked around past all the vendors and listened to some music on stage. We were walking through the park and came across someone named Johnny who is from Guatemala but now lives in Costa Rica. He was making bracelets. We watched him for a while, and then he offered to make some for us, so Alan, Danielle and I all got bracelets, that we are calling our "friendship bracelets." Two other students walked by so we invited them to come over and hang out with us for a while. After Johnny finished our bracelets we all walked around together, and then went to David's apartment. We tried some coffee that David and Edward had gotten at the parade, and it was pretty good. We played some sort of game that Johnny knew where you spun something around in the middle and whoever it landed on, you got to make them do whatever you wanted, so we all made each other act like random animals and dance and sing and stuff. It was really funny. Later on that afternoon we all walked back toward our houses, and on the way home some of us decided to stop at a movie store and rent a movie since it was raining and was perfect for watching a movie! We ended up getting The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (one of my favorite childhood books!) and decided to meet around 7 to watch it at someone's house. I ate supper at home and then we all met and watched the movie. I had never seen it all the way through and I thought it was great! Mom, I think it's something you could show to the youth group back home! I came back and attempted to upload all my pictures, and eventually got them all loaded.


Monday I slept till 8:30 am, got up, showered, and had breakfast:
Gallo pinto (rice and beans)

The kids only had to stay at school till 9:30 am, so when they got back, everyone got ready and we all headed to San Jose!!!! It took about an hour to get there. The drive was BEAUTIFUL! We went to the Multiplaza in Escazu, the same mall I went to when I was here on a mission trip a few years ago! There were a lot of American fast food restaurants there. Shae and I decided to have Taco Bell, and it tasted about the same. There were a lot of people there that were very dressed up, and I assumed that it was just people that work in local businesses in the city that came on their lunch break to eat at the mall. We walked around the mall for a long time and went in several stores. There were a lot of very nice ones - Kenneth Cole, Lacoste - and then other stores that aren't in the US but that have a lot of Amerian-type clothing. We found a store called MNG that is comparable to H&M, and I LOVED it! They had a lot of nice clothes, and I ended up getting a lovely pink dress that fit perfectly:

We stayed at the mall for a few hours and then headed back toward San Ramon. We all fell asleep on the long ride home, and it was nice to have a little nap! When we got back, we had coffee and crackers for a snack. I then spent some time doing homework, talking to some friends online, and Skyping with some others and with my parents too! I had (and still have) a good bit of homework to do for some classes this week and next. I went to bed around 12 and had a GREAT night of sleep!

Saturday crocodiles

We then all got back on the buses and rode another 30 minutes or so to get to our next and final stop for the day: the Crocodile Man Tour. Located on Rio Tarcoles, the second largest river in Costa Rica. The river is muddy looking right now since CR is in the rainy season and all the rain washes dirt and mud into the river, in addition to the pollution coming from all the water in San Jose that empties into all the rivers. It got cloudy quickly, and soon it started to rain, just adding to the ambiance of the whole experience. We climbed onto a boat, and headed out down the river, and saw some INCREDIBLE views, beautiful birds, and lush greenery all around:






The tour guide was funny, speaking Spanglish so that everyone understood. He explained that all the crocs (NOT ALLIGATORS) in the river have names after world leaders, like George Bush, Bill Clinton, Hugo Chavez, and even a Monica Lewinsky. Almost immediately we pulled up on a bank of sand near the largest croc in the river, named Osama bin Laden. I think I'll let the pictures do most of the talking here:


Not exactly what I want to do for a grown-up job one day, but it pays the bills I guess!


More views:

These are all crocodiles:


Want to go swimming in this river???

We boarded our buses, said adios to the Puntarenas kids, then headed back towards San Ramon. The bus ride back was much longer, not only because we had a ways to go, but also because there was a LOT of traffic on the highway between P and SR. We finally made it back after 6. I immediately headed home and showered...don't think I've ever felt so clean after all the sweating I did on the zipline, and then after sitting in wet seats on the boat because of the rain! My mother made delicious food yet again, a chicken breast cooked in some kind of barbecue-like sauce, with cream corn and some other stuff sprinkled on top - DELICIOUS. I need to start taking pictures of my meals, because I don't know that my descriptions do them justice. After supper, I finished getting ready and then headed up the street to Kelley's house to meet up with her and some others to head toward the parque where we all decided to meet up around 9. We arrived at the park and slowly everyone made it there, one BIG group of gringos sitting in the park - we definitely get stared at. We hung out for a while, I had yet ANOTHER churro, and then some of us headed toward the stage area to listen to the great band playing. They played music that was very easy to dance to, so of course we were moving around a little bit. A couple of people from our group, Danielle and Michael, were dancing around when an older couple came over and took each of them: the husband took Danielle and the wife took Michael, and they showed them the steps and danced with them for several songs! It was so fun to watch! And they were so nice too, like most of the people we have met here have been. Afterwards, we all walked down the street and met up with the rest of our gringo friends, and we headed toward another student, David's, apartment. He chose not to live with a host family, and instead rents a VERY nice apt. for only 200 a month! Quite different from rent in Clemson, Columbia, and especially Charleston! We all hung out there for a long time, listening to music and just hanging out. Then we all took taxis home. I was SO tired from our long day!

Friday, Saturday ziplining

WOW! What a great weekend it's been down south! I didn't realize that I hadn't posted since FRIDAY, so I have a bit of catching up to do!

FRIDAY
No classes on Friday ever!!!! I have ALWAYS wanted to not have class on Friday but have never been able to work it out, and I finally get to! And I'm SO THANKFUL!!!!!

I slept until 8:30 or so, then walked to another student Morgan's house so that we could go on a watch hunt! I brought a watch down here, but I wanted one that was a little more sporty so that I could wear it all the time and not worry about it being so nice that it would get stolen. We walked the streets of the downtown area for a while and went in multiple stores. We noticed that a lot of stores here are all-inclusive, meaning that you can walk in a store to buy a TV and come out with a new outfit or something. Now I know that at somewhere like Walmart or Target back home this would be normal, but San Ramon has no Walmarts or Targets. So it was a bit interesting to see that. We finally found a legit jewelry store and found some watches we liked. I got a pink sports watch (yes, dad, I know pink is not practical, but it was/is cute!). We were there mid-morning, so downtown was hoppin! We stopped by a bank on the way to Morgan's house, and then we headed back. I got back home around 11 or so. I then relaxed a bit before my mom cooked lunch. I think we just had rice and beans again: they are starting to make more frequent appearances at meals.

After lunch I got dressed and packed because the group had planned to meet at school to go check out some waterfalls a few miles up the road. We arrived at school and everyone decided not to go because it was about to rain. Some played soccer in the POURING rain, probably one of the heaviest rains I've seen since I've been here! Some of the girls got some string and made bracelets. Morgan and I walked around campus to take pictures of the University and of whatever else we saw that was photogenic! I have some pretty pictures of flowers that I took. We then stopped in where the girls were making bracelets and all spent some time talking. Soon everyone else joined, smelly and wet. Some of us waited around to meet a tico for coffee - this experience taught us that "tico time" not only means showing up late, it also means not showing up at all. Tico friend never came for coffee. So we enjoyed our cafecitos and talking at a cafe across the road from school. We then all headed back to our respective homes after deciding to meet up at the park around 8.

At home I took a shower and waited anxiously for dinner, which unfortunately brought the first thing I have tried in Costa Rica that I have not liked. It was like a tortilla made from corn somehow, but it was not very tasty. My family here loves them and poured this sour creamish sauce allllll over the tortillas for better taste, they said, but even with that I was unable to eat even half of it. Luckily they do not get offended if you don't like something...all you have to do is say so! Fortunately, my host mother made some HOMEMADE CORNBREAD, straight from the feasting tables of HEAVEN. This cornbread is AMAZING, with the taste of regular cornbread but just enough sweetness to make you chew it a little slower, and a little more than you normally would.

After dinner I headed up the street to meet Kelley and then we headed to the parque with some of our other estudiante friends. We basically just hung out there and talked, walked around and absorbed all the sights and sounds of the fiesta. There was a horse show going on, and the horses all would come out into the middle of the street one at a time and do a trot or strut or something. It was fun to watch. We headed home a bit before twelve so that we could all get an adequate amount of sleep for the next day's activities.




SATURDAY
I had been looking forward to Saturday for a while! We all had to arrive at school around 9 am to get on a bus to head to Puntarenas, about a 45 minute drive. We went straight to our first destination for our canopy tour - aka ZIPLINING through the forests of Costa Rica!!!! The group studying in Puntarenas (also through USAC) was also there to do it. Their group is much bigger than our group of 15: They have around 60 students in their program. I like our smaller size because we all have a chance to really get to know each other better. We got fitted for equipment and such, and some of us payed a few extra dollars to be able to do the "superman" zipline (will explain later). They split us up into 2 big groups, and about half of our group from San Ramon was with part of the group from Puntarenas. We had to hike through the trees a bit to get to our first of 8 platforms. They explained the proper technique to us, and then it was just a waiting process till we each got our chance on the first (and fastest!) zipline. It was SO MUCH FUN! The views were incredible and we all had fun just spending time with each other. The superman zipline was the last. They switched the harnesses so that we would be suspended by our backs instead of our waists, and we were able to stretch out to fly like superman! By far the BEST of all the ziplines!!!!


Some of the other students in my program, all waiting anxiously for our first zipline



Me on top of the mountain before heading down our last zipline, SUPERMAN
(can you see the ocean in the background?)






I was suspended by my waist with my arms out in front and my legs stretched out behind me, flying through the air like superman at the speed of light!
Okay, maybe not that fast, but it was a pretty speedy zipline!


They had fresh fruit waiting for us afterwards. It was DELICIOUS - fresh pineapple and watermelon. We were SO hot and sweaty after ziplining and walking a lot between platforms - the humidity was ridiculous, probably worse than it is back home, and it was MUCH hotter there than it is back in San Ramon. We were fortunate enough to get on an AIR CONDITIONED bus to ride to our lunch spot about 30 minutes away. It was the first time I had felt AC since the plane rides down here. It was fine for a while, but then it was too much and it was TOO cold! We watched Michael Jackson videos on the TVs on the bus on the way down there. I never have really watched his music videos or listened to his music, but he is an awesome dancer!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

LONG weekend

I have everything on one post that I will put up tomorrow from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My computer is being weird so I can't get the pictures on there, but they will be up tomorrow definitely! Be sure to check back!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Thursday

I can't believe I have been here almost a whole week already!!! It has passed so quickly! Sometimes the days pass kind of slow, because the weather is gloomy and I haven't started my internship yet so there isn't much for me to do, but the pace of things should pick up a bit next week. I've also talked to another of the students who lives fairly close to me, and she bought a membership at a very nice swimming pool down near our houses and she works out there. I think tomorrow I am going to join her! I need to get into some sort of serious exercise routine, especially since I just keep eating all of the good food down here! I wish I had the motivation to run, but I just can't make myself do it. Swimming may be the better option here...I'll find out in the morning! Luckily, many of the other students are eager to keep up their exercising while they are here, so I plan to do the same and GET going!


I had class this morning bright and early at 8 am - Latin American Literature, again, taught in Spanish. The professor is a cute little lady who is probably my mother's age. She is full of energy and really loves to read! She spent some time in the states teaching and has lived in San Ramon all of her life. Our "textbook" for this class was 2000 colones, or $3-4 dollars. HA. I bet my parents are SO glad they didn't have to buy real textbooks for me this semester. I guess that means I have more money to spend down here, right mom??


I guess this is a good time to mention how I am feeling about Spanish. Yesterday, I had kind of a tough day...I was thinking about a lot of friends and my family and about all the things going on back at home and in Clemson and I really started to miss it! Plus the weather was dreary, and that didn't help. Also, I felt really overwhelmed, especially my class yesterday, with my Spanish skills. I understand about 95% of what I hear, and maybe more if I am looking directly at the person or if they are speaking slower. My brain just can't process it quickly enough yet to come up with a good response, and my little cabeza is just overloaded right now. I know I have to get used to all Spanish, all the time, and it will take some time to do that. It took time in Ecuador last summer, but after I got over that hump, the little neurons in my brain finally connected and I found myself talking like I had been there for a long time, and it was such an incredible feeling! Getting to that point is hard, and I want to get there now!


The class doesn't seem like it will be too bad. We have a couple of things to read for next week, but the Spanish isn't too difficult in the readings. We'll see!


After lunch I walked back to my house. I spent some time reading for my classes (I have a lot to read for all of them!), and then ate lunch. We had chicken and papas - she fried them on the oven, but they tasted more like they had been baked. Regardless, the meal was delicious! After lunch, Gerardo picked me up and we went to the hospital to meet with a doctor about internship options there. We had to wait for a while, because according to Gerardo, the doctor was on tico time. He finally arrived, and we went into his office. He is a very tall and very built man, and he is really cool...VERY nice! We talked, and somehow, I managed to communicate in Spanish what I needed out of the internship. I basically told him that I wanted to be able to observe a lot and just see how the health care system here works. He offered me an opportunity to work with staff in developing a plan for improving relations between this hospital and the people in the community and with the other health care providers in San Ramon, a little mix of marketing and politics, it seems. Anyway, Gerardo wanted to talk to Claudia about it so that she can explain what the expectations would be for me (in English), and then we will go from there in deciding if it's something I want to do! It sounds interesting, and I really liked the doctor. I may visit another couple of places to see what other options are before deciding.


I returned home and spent some more time doing homework, and then I decided to have a siesta. I watched Project Runway (in English, on lifetime...ha!) and took a nap for an hour or so. It was very nice to rest. Then I woke up and had a small snack and some coffee with the familia, and headed back to school for DANCE CLASS!


This is by far my FAVORITE CLASS, and I knew it would be. The instructor is VERY good! Today we learned basic salsa and a little of bachata. Luckily I had some salsa lessons in Ecuador last summer, and it was fun to be able to do it again! That's one thing I love about the dances here - they are all FUN and easy to do, especially for the female, because all she has to do is follow the lead of the male!

At home, I had leftovers from lunch, which were still very delicious! I then washed up a bit and changed clothes, and headed up the street to another student's house, to go meet another student to go to the park area for a while. We walked around trying to scope out some places to visit for future reference. We finally found somewhere to sit that was relatively quiet and we spent some time talking for a while. After that we walked around, back to the park and got CHURROS. Yes, again. And just as delicious as the first time! We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the fiesta in the parque and around the church, and then headed home kind of early.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

algunas comparaciones

  • The US has pretty strict copyright rules and regulations. Normally, professors will not make photocopies of books, unless classes have just begun and people don't have their books for the first day or two. If you just bought books for this semester and had to pay out the wazoo for books, then brace yourself.
    Here in Costa Rica, the copyright rules are a lot less stringent, and professors can drop a book (or whatever they want copied) off at a photocopy place (they are EVERYWHERE down here!), and they will photocopy the entire textbook and let you buy it that way instead. As long as the professor isn't making any profit off of it, this is fine. So I went today to the photocopy place to pick up my books and additional reading for my classes and guess how much I paid for my textbook for one class....4600 colones, or $8-9 USD. Yes, $8-9 US DOLLARS. Isn't that crazy?!
  • I'm not sure if this is the case in the rest of the town, country, etc., but good lighting is hard to come by here. In the classrooms at the University, the lights are not turned on at all during the day. They aren't at home either. They use only the natural light, which is good, unless it's cloudy, which it is most of the time. The light in my room is very dim, but luckily I have a desk lamp that is able to give good bright light for reading things. Hope this doesn't mess with my eyes!
  • For many phrases or words in Spanish, there are no direct translations. Sometimes that is hard for me to deal with. I am bad about trying to translate things to English so that I can think about them, instead of reading and understanding them in Spanish. Last summer in Ecuador, I stopped doing that after a while and got used to just thinking in Spanish, which is kind of mind-boggling, but cool at the same time. Hopefully once I have been here a little longer I will be able to just read things and make myself not think in English, but just think in Spanish!

a little taste of home...

Last night, my class ended around 6:30 pm and it was already completely dark by then. I walked home (yes, mother, it was safe), and really enjoyed the walk. It was quiter than normal, and cool, and a bit of a breeze was blowing, and suddenly I was shocked to hear the steady humming of the crickets. Call me crazy, but it reminded me of being back home. I couldn't help but smile as I stopped for a minute to close my eyes and take it all in. I felt like I was right back at home. It was comforting to hear that sound that I so often take for granted.


Another thing I must mention here is the little Esso gas station around the street. Now, it's not a restaurant like it is back in Clemson, but just seeing the little sign made me smile and think of Clemson.


I do love it here, but I do miss home and miss all of my friends and family. Little things like this have been like reminders of home, and are comforting to me down here so far away from everything I know.

"Leche con cafe"

For breakfast this morning I had scrambled eggs, toast, OJ, and coffee. I took too long to get ready and didn't scoot out the door until 7:50 or so, and it takes about 10 minutes for me to get to school, walking. I got to school and headed to my 8 am class, the one I have been dreading the most, International Political Economy. Politics and Economics are two of my least favorite subjects to discuss, basically because I don't know much about either of them. It's not that I don't care, but topics in those areas are just a bit more difficult for me to understand than something in the health care field, for example. Anyway, I used the walk to school to prepare myself and took some time to pray about it, and I decided to keep an open mind and view this class not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity for me to learn more about things that I really should know about and be able to talk about. The professor's name is Carlos, and he is a pretty cool guy. I forgot to mention, the class is in Spanish. Can you understand my fear now? Not only would I be discussing and learning about things I really didn't know much about, but I would also be doing so in Spanish. I can barely talk about these things in English! Anyway, Carlos speaks slower so that we all understand, and he explains things in a way that we are able to understand. He is very animated when he speaks and is very passionate about it! I think it will be very interesting to see things from his point of view. He explained to us that he would teach and offer his opinions from the perspective of a professor of economics.

About halfway through the class, we took a 20 minute break and walked down the street to get some coffee. We had a brief discussion about the cafe here, and another student, who I will call T, made a very accurate observation. I noticed the first morning I was here, when my mother asked if I wanted coffee and I said YES, that when she made the coffee for me, the glass was about 3/4 full with MILK, and the other 1/4 was coffee, instead of the other way around like I normally have it. Today, in the cafe, when the lady prepared each of our cups, she did the same thing, and T made the statement that here in Costa Rica, we don't have cafe con leche, but we have "leche con cafe!"

We returned to class and ended around 10:40, earlier than planned! He gave us a copy of a text that we need to read for next week...20 pages of "Las Economias Latinoamericanas, 1950-1990." BUT, since the class is taught in Spanish, the readings are in Spanish too. Que lastima! I began reading some of it earlier, and it took me multiple times to get through the first paragraph, since there are a few words I have to look up and since the sentence structure in Spanish is quite different sometimes. I'm going to TRY to do 4-5 pages a day, but it could get ugly really quickly.

I spent some more time doing homework for my other classes, mostly some reading. I took a great nap today too. It has been cloudy and rainy here today, so it was a nice day to have to be lazy. For lunch I had "pescado" or fish, fried, with lime juice squeezed on top. I normally don't like fish, but it was DELICIOUS with the lime juice! Maybe this is something normal that we actually do back home but I just didn't know about it! It was served with rice, of course, and some sort of wonderful vegetable stir fry. I thought I may lose weight when I got down here, but I think I was unfortunately terribly mistaken. I am going to have to get a good exercise routine down so that I can keep the weight gain down with all this INCREDIBLY delicious food here!

I have spent most of the day studying for my classes next week. We have a field trip this weekend to the jungle, and then there are fiestas Sunday and Monday for the big festival going on right now, so I want to get my work done! I am going to try to read some more for my IPE class.

Tomorrow, I have class at 8 am, Survey of Latin American Literature, and then at 1:30, Gerardo and I are going to the hospital to talk with someone there about my internship. I am just trying to check out all of the possibilities so I can decide what works best for me! Then tomorrow evening, I have the Latin American dance class for 2 hours, which I am VERY excited about! Then I won't look like a silly gringa when I am out and about in town.

Buenas noches!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Monday cont.

I enjoyed a lazy afternoon on this rainy day. I headed back to school early so I could get some forms faxed to the states, and then went to my class at 4 pm, Latin America and its Cultures. I like the professor. She is originally from Peru, went to college in the US, and has been in San Ramon for over 30 years. She loves it here! There are 3 students in the class. It was kind of long, because she talked most of the time. We ended around 6:30 and I walked back home.

I had some leftover lasagna for supper. I sat in the room with Shae for a while to work on some pharmacy school stuff. I narrowed the field to 8 schools, and am now going in and looking at tuition to see if there are any others I can eliminate. I decided today that I would have my list by the end of the week of what schools I want to apply to, and for the next several weeks, I will apply to one school each week, devoting some of my free time during those weeks to completing the application to the school of the week. So far, the list includes the following: MUSC, University of Oklahoma, Mercer University, UGA, Univ. of Kentucky, Univ. of Florida, PC, and maybe a couple of others. We'll see!

Buenas noches!

temporary breakdown

So yesterday, for an hour or so, my internet at home WAS NOT WORKING.

I, like most college students today probably would, FREAKED OUT!

I tried everything. It said that my wireless was firewalled and disabled. I was thinking all kinds of crazy things, like I was going to have to ship my computer home to get it worked on, and all this stuff. I decided to take a nap, and sure enough, when I woke up, it was fine again.

My host dad asked me last night if I had had problems, I said si, and he said if it happened again to just let him know, because sometimes something gets turned off and it is very easy to fix. The same thing just happened a few minutes ago, and I told him, and he told me that when the microwave is on the connection is messed up. Kind of funny. It's crazy how dependent on the internet we are. I feel silly talking about it, how upset I was yesterday that my internet wasn't working!

I had a lazy day/evening yesterday. I spent the afternoon doing some e-mailing (still have a lot of those to do today), and I spent several hours yesterday researching pharmacy schools. I actually ended up making a spreadsheet with a lot of info. to try to organize and decide which ones I wanted to apply to. It really helped a lot since I'm such a visual person! I think I about have it narrowed done, and I will probably start filling out the actual applications this week! Crazy, huh? I've been waiting for nearly 6 years to do this, and now the time has come, and I can hardly believe it!

This morning I had to meet a group from my class yesterday to work on an assignment. We got that done pretty quickly. I talked to Claudia and Carlos for a while, and we began making arrangements for my internship. It looks like I will be working ~9 hours a week, wherever I will be at, and the schedule will be determined by the location and by my schedule as well. I have to keep a daily journal and a board for Claudia to keep up with too. I am going to visit the different possible sites on Thursday with Gerardo to determine what I think will be the best fit for me. I am a little bit nervous about it since I am not exactly sure what I will be doing. Hopefully it will involve a lot of observation of what goes on and how health care is administered here. Costa Rica has a universal health care system, so I think it will be very interesting to see how it works.

It's rainy and cloudy here today, but the temperature is nice. I'm out on the patio enjoying the quiet (not really quiet, but quieter than normal) and the cool breeze. It's not terribly humid. I think we are having lasagna for lunch, Costa Rican style! We'll see how this goes...I'm not a big fan of lasagna, but I want to try all that I can! I have class later today at 4, and it lasts till 7 - Latin America and its Cultures, I think.

Ciao for now!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Pictures of my house!!! (And another with a funny story...)

I know these look a little light because of the background on my blog, but if you click on each of them you can see them enlarged and you can see all the little details!!! I am posting pictures of most of the house, excluding down the hall where the bathroom is and where the rest of the family's rooms are. I will try to get those pictures taken soon and posted as well. I hope to maybe use my digital camera to make a video of a walking tour through the house soon so that it's easy to understand where the rooms are located in the house.
I posted the story behind this photo on a post from yesterday, but the short version is....We went in a store because I wanted a bottled coke. Register lady asks if I want a bolsita. I just say "si" and nod. She proceeds to pour the coke in a plastic bag, and gives me a straw. Apparently this is normal here, but I didn't know that...until I had that experience!
We learned in class today that stores will do this so that they can keep the glass bottles and reuse them again and again, and also because plastic bags are easier to dispose of than glass bottles (even though plastic bags don't decompose really!).

Front porch

Looking out from the porch...all the homes have bars over them, just for safety.


Right side of the porch...haven't tried the hammock yet, but I will soon!



Porch




Sala inside





La sala


"back yard" looking at the house from the garaje


Back yard - they grow lots of things



Back yard from the back patio


Patio! One of my favorite places in the house!



Patio, from the dining room


Dining room area

My other favorite place in the house...the KITCHEN


Looking at the kitchen from my bedroom door

Fotos de mi cuarto!

Below are some pictures of my room:
One of the precious "perritos" that lives in my house - this is Lucas! He is so soft and cuddly! I have always wanted a dog, especially to snuggle with me at night, and he loves to snuggle!!


Picture hanging in my room painted by my host mother; she is an excellent painter and has several other painters throughout the house!




Corner


Looking from the window toward the other side of the room; door opens right into the kitchen



My desk area and place for all of my clothes/shoes




"Now I lay me down to sleep...."






Monday

El primer dia de las clases!!

I woke up around 6:45 am and got ready and had breakfast at the casa - scrambled eggs and pancakes! I left around 7:45 for school, and ran into the other 2 girls that live just up the street from me. We walked to school together and made it just in time. Class (Society and the Environment) began promptly at 8 am. Our profesora, Claudia (also a member of the USAC staff here), went over the syllabus. The class doesn't appear to be too bad. We have a midterm, which is a take-home exam, and a final, which is just an oral presentation. We also have to find a news paper article each week and write a summary and reflection on it. Additionally, we have short assignments. The three hours of the class passed quickly. There are 9 students, all USAC students, in the class.

After class, some of us walked around town to find a store to buy notebooks and school supplies. We found one, and silly me should have thought to bring my own school supplies. I thought they would be cheaper here, but I was wrong! I had to buy a spiral notebook, paper, dividers, envelopes for application stuff, and some tape to hang pictures in my room, and a notepad because I make lists all the time, and I think all of that was $20. Quite a bit if you ask me! Not a problem though, because it was all things that I needed. We all then walked our separate ways home.

I got home and the family had gone to take the children to get some pizza. When they return, my host mother cooked for me and my host father, and we enjoyed a meal of arroz con pollo (rice w/ chicken), papas (potato chips), ensalada, and the corazon (heart) of a palmera (palm tree). The food was delicious. My mother said that rice is a staple food item here, and that people eat it with everything. She also let me try the heart of a palm tree (I forget the name). She said there are many many ways to prepare it as well. She put it in vinegar and put some salt on it. It was okay, just a bit bitter, but still tasty and flavorful! She is so caring, especially when it comes to food! I told her when I got here that I wanted to try lots of different things, especially those foods typical of Costa Rican meals. So far, she has let me try something new (and delicious) each day.

The weather here today is beautiful!!!!! I am outside on the patio at my house now, enjoying the sunshine and the constant cool breeze blowing. The sun rays are very strong here, so I'll have to be sure to wear some sunscreen next time I am going to be outside a lot. It's such a beautiful day, though...the perfect mix of the sun's heat and the cool wind. I am so glad that I am here, and can't believe that I am fortunate enough to be having this experience. Though the journey to be able to come here was a difficult one, it made me so much more appreciative, then and especially now, of all that I am getting to do. I'm sure I would have been thankful to be here regardless of the circumstances, but knowing the the Lord worked it out all for me has made it a million times better!!! I am probably going to enjoy the rest of the day on the patio, relaxing, responding to e-mails, and working on applications.

Ciao for now!

Sunday evening

After lunch, we all spent Sunday afternoon hanging around the casa. Adri was doing homework/studying, so Shae and I sat at the table with her while she studied. Alonso and Papa studied outside on the patio. I got to talk to mom and dad on Skype for a while. I think that having Skype helps us to handle being so far apart much better, because we are still able to "see" and hear each other.

Yesterday evening, I went with the girls and Alonso to the parque again. We walked around and enjoyed the cool Costa Rican evening. Sundays here are very different than they are in the US. At home, most people just rest and stay in. Here, everything is open and EVERYONE comes out. Sunday is the day to be out and about. Different, but cool! We walked around and enjoyed the festival, and some churros (YUMMY), and a live band. Then we headed back home. We all spent the rest of the night relaxing and hanging out.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sunday, cont.

I had breakfast with the familia kind of late, and had spent a lot of time online responding to e-mails and getting things sorted out for classes here. My host sister, Adriana, asked me if I wanted to go to the parque with her and her friend Shae who is here from Canada! Of course, I said YES! We went and got some DELICIOUS ice cream, and sat in the park for a while, talking and people-watching like everyone else there. The park is the place to be on Sunday afternoons!

Later, the rest of the family came and picked us up, and we all went out to lunch together at a restaurant on the outskirts of town. Mom, I had my first dish of shrimp!!! I had "camaron con arroz," or shrimp with rice, and a small ensalada. It was DELICIOUS. I had peach tea to drink, and it was better than ANY peach tea that I have ever had in the US! The restaurant was great!!

We then rode around town and stopped by the uncle's house to get some things for Shae. I met their uncle, aunt, and cousins. The families here are really really close, and all see each other very often. Afterwards, we just came back to the house to hang out. Now I'm sitting here hanging out with the girls while Adriana does some studying. I think they are going out somewhere tonight. I will probably hang out here with the rest of the family. I need to work on some applications for pharmacy schools and send some more e-mails.

By the way....I love it here. I feel like I have been here longer than 2 days, but I really do love it. There are so many differences between the culture here and back home, but I love all of the differences. The biggest difference here that I am getting used to VERY quickly is the fact that EVERYONE greets everyone with a kiss on the cheek. As a young gringa, I do love this tradition. :o)

I've also noticed how loving and affectionate the people here are. Families are so much closer and see each other a lot more often and very involved in each others' lives. Couples are more affectionate too, even those that are much older. I think that this is great, except for when there are couples that are VERY touchy and that like to make out in public parks. I'll have to get used to that one!

Stay tuned....every minute I am here holds a new experience and a new adventure. I still can't believe I am here! I feel so lucky, and am loving every moment so far. Hopefully this won't change once classes start!

COMMENTS

My mom had trouble commenting, so I figured it out and fixed it so that people can leave comments, even if you aren't a registered user of anything Googley.

Below each post is a line with the time the post was posted, and at the end it says "0 Comments." Click on that. It should immediately take you to a screen that shows all the comments on that post, as well as a text box that will allow you to type and post your own comment. Make sure to click "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT" at the bottom so that it will show up!

Sunday so far...

Today is Sunday. It feels strange to not be going to church somewhere. I tried to get online to watch the NewSpring service, but couldn't hear anything, even though my computer volume was turned all the way up. After chatting with someone in tech support, we figured out that my download speed was not fast enough, and that it wouldn't work. He said I would have to go somewhere with Wi-Fi. I'll have to just wait for the podcast, and try out an internet cafe (if they are open) on Sunday! Or find somewhere to go to church. My family asked me what religion I was this morning, and so I told them I was a Christian, and they told me of a baptist church nearby, so it's something I'll have to look into.

I slept late today, till 9 or so. I didn't actually get out of bed until 9:30 though. It's nice to just rest and relax. I had a pleasant desayuno with my host parents and brother. They fixed a very typical Costa Rican dish called "gallo pinto" (not sure if I spelled that right), made of frijoles (beans), arroz (rice), cebolla (onions), and chile (peppers). It was DELICIOUS!!! I liked it a lot. We all talked for a while, and now I am back in my room, which opens directly to the kitchen, catching up on some e-mails and working on applications for pharmacy schools. This is probably all that I will do today. The family doesn't have anything planned. Alonso has a test tomorrow so he will be studying, and Adriana has a friend over that she is entertaining. The friend she has over is the daughter of a lady who spent a year in Costa Rica with my host mom's mother, so my host mother and this girl's mother lived together when they were teenagers here in CR!! How cool!

Buenos dias!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

el sabado

Today we had our orientation of the program. Claudia, Carlos, Gerardo, and Jose are the people helping us. Jose is a student, but he is good with computers so he is going to help us out a lot. Claudia and Carlos both studied in the U.S. and speak English very well.


They gave us a walking tour of the school. We saw most of the buildings and the library. The library is what you would expect...old, lots of books, and desks and computers for studying. We had lunch in the cafeteria. We had "lasagna" with chicken, though it wasn't like your typical lasagna. It was more like chicken pot pie. Whatever it was, it was good! We then went back and got our classes straightened out. They had the "schedule" set up, but since this is such a small program (15 or so students), we totally changed the scheduling for the classes, and now, there are no classes ever on Fridays!!! HOORAY FOR LONG WEEKENDS!!! We also found out that we have several days off! We have next Monday off for San Ramon Day, a day in September for Independence Day, Columbus Day, the week-long field trip, and 2 days for Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful they gave us thanksgiving off. It's more holidays than I am used to at Clemson, and I like it!! I really could get used to school like this!!!

Speaking of classes, here is when my classes meet:
Monday 8am-11am
Tuesday 5pm-7pm
Wednesday 8am-11am
Thursday 8am - 11am and 5pm-7pm (LA dance class!!!)

I love this schedule!!!! Well, right now I do. I haven't started classes yet, so we'll see how it goes then!

A handful of us then decided to walk around town a little bit. We stopped first at the house of a girl who lives up the street from the University and met her host mother, who talked VERY fast and seemed to think that we understood every word. Then we walked down a main road. I was thirsty, so we stopped in a tienda, because I really wanted a glass bottled Coke (normally I do NOT drink Coke, unless it is out of a glass bottle). Well, I got my coke and we took it up front to pay, and the girl asked if I wanted a "bolsita." Of course, I, the silly gringo, said yes. The girl then proceeds to pour my coke in a plastic bag, and hands me a straw to drink with. I didn't know how to react, so we all made it out of the store somehow before we started laughing. I felt like I was carrying home a new pet fish from Walmart or something. We all thought it was funny. I then saw a young local walking down the street doing the same thing, drinking out of a plastic bag, so I didn't feel so bad then. It was quite an experience. (I later found out that this is pretty normal here.)

We then walked to the house of another student and met her mother, and host brother who speaks very good English (he teaches English in San Jose). We spent some time talking to them, and then he offered to take us to the bank so I could exchange my US dollars for colones. A man had to unlock the door so that I could go inside, and then he checked my bag. I got my money exchanged with no problems, and then we headed back to the house. I walked home from there, and temporarily got lost. Thankfully, the city is in perfect little blocks, so I found my way home very easily!

My mom fed me some crackers and juice when I got home (I sound like a parrot!) because I wasn't hungry enough for a full meal. I then talked to the parents on Skype before heading up the street to meet a student who lives close by. All of us had planned earlier to meet up at the parque in town where the festival was going on. We walked downtown together. It was a pleasant walk, cool (and well-lit, mom). We all met and walked around and enjoyed people-watching all the ticos. There was live music, and then some interesting dancing. There were groups of girls that performed who were from a dance school, who looked like they were doing some sort of provocative arabian dance. It was ... interesting. Some of us then decided to walk to a discoteca, so we went inside for a bit. It only stays open till 7 AM, but we left around 11:30. Again, fun to watch how people act down here. All the girls get REALLY dressed up to go out and about, but they are all very beautiful!

A group of us all walked home together. I came in and went to bed.

Saturday

Mom would be so proud of me. I woke up at 6:45 am!!!

Okay, so that means that it's really 8:45 am back home. Maybe this is a good thing! I can get up early here without any problems! We'll have to see!

I planned to take a shower last night before I went to bed, but I layed down on the bed to wait for the daughter and her friend to finish in the bathroom, and I fell asleep immediately! Oops! I woke up under the covers, with my TV and light turned off and the door shut, so I guess my host mother came in and made sure I was all snuggled in for bed!

I slept wonderfully. Yesterday wore me out!

Today we are having orientation at the university and we are taking a walking tour of the city. I am excited to see the university.

I am watching, well, not watching, but I have the TV on, and Apollo 13 is on, with Spanish dubbed over it. It's kind of interesting. I think things like this help me learn Spanish words, since I already know what's going on (in English).

I'm going to eat some breakfast now! And CAFE of course!

Friday, August 21, 2009

my journey to Costa Rica.

I should start by saying that it is absolutely without a doubt the power of God that has brought me to Costa Rica.

Until approximately 4 weeks ago, I had planned to spend fall semester in Puebla, Mexico. All the paperwork was done, except for a big part of the semester abroad: the internship. My major, Spanish & International Health, requires the completion of a health-related internship in a Spanish country to graduate. Universities around the world work with students to help them choose classes they can take to receive credit at their home universities without a problem. I'm leaving out a lot of details here, but after sending in information that I wasn't given until it was too late, I was told that I would not be able to go to Mexico because they could not work out an internship for me.

When I heard those words said to me over the phone, I think I nearly hyperventilated and just began to sob. I had been planning for a long time to do this, and then right before I am preparing to leave, I find out that I can't do it. I was livid.

My advisor and I thought about arranging a trip through a completely different program, but my parents would have lost a LOT of money due to cancellation fees for the flight and for the program. USAC, the study abroad company I am traveling with now, did everything they could to help me find another place to go. They suggested I look into the Costa Rica programs and get back to them ASAP. After talking to a missionary in Costa Rica, I then decided which of the 3 cities I wanted to go to. But then, it turned out that there were no health internships available in that city. I was so upset. I didn't want to go spend time in a city that I really didn't want to go to.

All of this happened within a matter of 48 hours, the day before my final exam for my summer class that would determine whether or not I made an A or a B in the class. I felt like my world was falling apart around me. I had never felt so discouraged in my life. I didn't know what to do. Should I just suck it up and go somewhere I really didn't want to go? Should I cancel and just go with another program and cost my parents even more money?

I was clueless. I prayed so much those few days, and so did my parents. I spoke with my advisor at USAC and she suggested I strongly consider San Ramon. She said they would be able to work out an internship. And then, after talking with my advisor, I found out that I would be able to take classes that I actually needed, which I wouldn't have been able to do in Mexico.

The next interesting piece of the puzzle involves one of my favorite professors I have had at Clemson. She was scheduled to teach a summer class in Mexico, but due to swine flu issues, she was relocated to, guess where, San Ramon! I e-mailed her to ask about it, and she had so many great things to say about it. I felt better after hearing from her. I also spent some time talking to one of my old roommates, who was encouraging through it all, who let me know that I would love the people I was with no matter where I was, and that they would love me too. After that conversation, I felt much better, and realized that maybe this was the right thing to do. I talked to my parents about it, and we decided that San Ramon, Costa Rica would be my new destination.

I have never felt so relieved after making a decision in my life. I started to think about it more and more, and realized how happy I was that I was not going to Mexico. All along, I had not been at peace about going there. I had accepted it as something that God wanted me to do, and just told him, Lord, if you want me to go there, even if I don't want to go, I will do it. When I chose Costa Rica, I immediately felt at peace, like I never have before. I got excited about going, and started to really look forward to it, feelings I had never had about my Mexico trip.

I know that all along, the Lord has been carrying me through this. As daddy says so often now, God has no plan B, his plan A always works and is always the right one! I know that the Lord must really have something incredible waiting for me here, to have faced so much opposition. I think that when we have to fight the hardest, we have the greatest opportunity for growth and positive change. I have no idea what God is going to do with me down here. I am just here, following his will, waiting to see what He does with me and to me.

Please pray for me, that the Lord will continue to protect me and carry me through this semester. Today has been tough, saying goodbye to family, leaving friends (and football season) behind, but I know that I must do what the Lord has asked me to do, and that is to be here in Costa Rica!

I'M HERE!!!!!!

I have arrived!!!!! And I love it!!!!

I woke up this morning around 3:35 am (after falling asleep after 2:30 am) to get ready. We left the house around 4:15 am to head toward GSP. Dad stopped on the way and got me some breakfast. When we got to the airport it wasn't busy at all, so me, mom, and dad sat in a waiting area until about 45 minutes before my plane was scheduled to leave. We said our goodbyes, and they watched me go through security until I had to go up the escalator into the terminal. Somehow none of us managed to cry!!! Believe me, this is quite an accomplishment for our family!!!

I got to the terminal, and was worried initially because we were scheduled to begin boarding around 6:15 am, and as of 6:30, we still had not boarded. The plane was tiny and not half full, so they let us on right before it was scheduled to leave, and we departed promptly at 6:48 am. Mom and dad stayed around to watch the plane take off, and I actually saw them as we were leaving!

The flight was pretty good. I slept on and off most of the way, but didn't really sleep that well. We arrived in Houston just after 8 am, and then I had a very short time to get across that MONSTROUS airport from Terminal B to E. Somehow I managed to do it, just in time to board the plane! I got on and luckily there was no one in the middle seat!! (I had a window seat.) The flight from Houston to Costa Rica was 3 hours or so, and I tried to sleep but never could get comfortable. They showed 17 Again on the plane. AND there was a stewardess named Tonya!!

We arrived in San Jose and when I got off the plane I knew I wasn't in South Carolina anymore! The air was a bit muggy and warm, but not nearly as hot as it is in SC! I got in the airport and it was crowded with tourists. But there was tropical music playing and coffee smells drifting in from everywhere, and I loved it immediately (again)! The customs line was LONG, so that took a while, but once I got through I had to go get my bags, and then go through customs again, and then I stumbled upon another student with the program! We talked for a few minutes and then went outside to see if we could find anyone else. There was a man there with a USAC banner, so he helped us and directed us to where the other students were. The students from Puntarenas and San Ramon were all in one location together. We waited there about 2 hours for all the other students to get there. Then they loaded us up on separate buses and took us to our destinations. The ride to San Ramon was beautiful. Everything was so green and lush!

We arrived in San Ramon and went immediately to the university where we were introduced to our families! My host mother, Alba, and her son, Alonso, were there to meet me! They were very nice and we loaded up my luggage in the car and headed toward my new home!

My house is VERY close to the school. I can walk VERY easily! I am so thankful!!!!

I love the house and the family!!!!!!!! I will be posting some pictures of my room, and hopefully of the rest of the house too. I have my own room, with a big desk, armoire, and a single bed. I have a couple of comfy chairs in here too, and a TV!! There are also a lot of bookshelves filled with their books!! My host mom enjoys painting, and she has a picture in my room that she painted. I will post a picture of it too because it is BEAUTIFUL! She has paintings she has done throughout the house.

I knew that we would get along great, because one of the first things she said to me, in Spanish of course, was, "My refrigerator is your refrigerator." She told me that I was welcome to anything in the kitchen...food, drinks, plates, etc. She showed me around the rest of the house and out to the patio area. They have a large open area where they have some fruits and veggies growing and where they keep some other stuff. (Don't worry, mom, I WILL post pictures.) They also fix up and rent out these apartments next to their house.

She then sat down with me and her son and talked a little bit about some random things. Then she offered to take me for a drive around the city!!! Of course I accepted, and so we did! She took me up on a mountain to a point that overlooks all of San Ramon. It was breathtaking! We drove around for a while and I really enjoyed it! She also told me about a big festival that just started that lasts through the end of the month celebrating the patron saints. Apparently it's a big deal!

We came back and I unpacked. I gave her and her husband the book I bought for them - a book with mainly pictures of all kinds of places and things to see in SC. They liked it. She then got out a bunch of picture albums and showed me pictures of a lot of her family and of the beach. Her family has a small house at the beach with a small pool, and they visit there often during the summer months when the mosquitoes aren't so bad.

A bit of good news - they do have wireless at their house! It just runs a little slow. So far I have figured out that I can only do one thing at a time. GMail and Facebook haven't adjusted to my change of location yet and don't really like to cooperate, so if I am slow responding to anything on either of those I apologize! The blog doesn't give me trouble, and neither does Skype. I will probably keep Skype on. It's easy to use and it seems to be the only thing that works consistently. Then again, I've only been here a few hours. We'll just have to see!!! Seriously though, find me on Skype, and TALK TO ME!!!! My user name is tonya.c.smith.

Well, I was almost done with this post, until my mom invited me to ride with them to go pick up the daughter from a party she was at. We stopped at the big festival downtown to get CHURROS. YUMMMYY!!! Bet you wish you were me right now, don't you mom and dad?!!! The fiesta was really cool. Riding through the town made me think of Anderson for some reason. It seems pretty safe, and size wise, it's probably about the same size as Anderson. There were a lot of people walking around and hanging out in the central area of town....looks like it could be fun to hang out there! I am exhausted or else I would go out there. I have been awake since 3:35 am, after 1 hour of sleep, and then a couple of poor naps on the plane...I am just plum tired, as mom would say! I am probably going to head to bed soon. It's 9:37 at home, but only 7:37 here. So I feel like a fuddy duddy crawling in bed soon, but I am T-I-R-E-D! We have a long day ahead tomorrow. We have orientation at the school and a tour of the school and of the city. Should be fun!

I think that's everything from my day so far. Buenas noches!

Friday, August 14, 2009

one week.

A week from now, I will officially be in COSTA RICA!!!!!

I can't believe that the summer has FLOWN by, and I am getting VERY excited about Costa Rica!

However, I am so sad to be leaving my family and all my friends! Pray for me that the Lord will hold my hand as I go through this experience, and that He will take care of my parents as they send me off to Costa Rica, and my sister off to college! They will have an empty nest, and I know it is going to be a tough transition for them!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Blog about SR that Mom found!!!

http://www.livecostarica.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

info. about SR

http://www.sanramon-costarica.com/guide_food.cfm

GOOGLE MAPS of San Ramon!!!

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=google

Mom found this! The city doesn't look TOO too big, which is good I think!!!

Leaving in 16 days!!!!

I am leaving for Costa Rica on Friday, August 21st!!! Right now, I am trying to get everything unpacked from moving home from my apartment in Clemson, and trying to get things together for my trip!!!