A Weekend of Firsts

Jacó Beach

First time traveling independently in Costa Rica, first time staying in a hostel, and.....first time dealing with a medical situation in a foreign country.

Remember when I said I wouldn't write super long posts? Well, that was a lie. Last Friday I finished my first Spanish class here in Costa Rica. What better way to celebrate than a beach weekend? Five friends and I decided to go to Jacó, a beach town that is about 2.5 hours away, on the Pacific side. We booked a hostel online and woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning to take a public bus to Jacó. Public transportation is always fun here, because you don't really know what will happen. We got tickets for an 8 o'clock bus, which isn't even offered on the official schedule list. On the bus, there were a few people standing in the aisle for nearly the whole 2.5 hour ride. Occasionally, the bus would stop along the way and let people out. Actually, it didn't really stop, it just slowed down a bit, the door opened, and people would hop off while the bus was basically still going. Kind of unsafe. Overall, though, the transportation was pretty easy and cheap (only $6 each way).

We arrived in Jacó and decided to look for our hostel. Apparently, the one we booked online was under construction, so Jessica had arranged for a different hostel via email. We didn't really know what to expect, but that made it exciting. The hostel was about 5 blocks from the beach, with a hammock and swing in the front yard...it seemed promising. We wandered into a place that had obviously seen a party the night before. The hostel owner was really nice, but really hungover. I think his name was Chabba. He was from somewhere in Europe, probably like Slovakia or something. Anyway, it seemed like any other house, but with bunk beds in every bedroom. It was about 11 am and there were various strangers sleeping in each room. Chabba seemed unprepared for 6 of us to be staying there, but he showed us to our bedrooms anyway. Jessica, Heidi, Ellen, and I stayed in a room with 8 bunk beds and 3 strangers. It might sound bizarre to just settle into a house with people you are completely unfamiliar with, but it wasn't. Everyone was really nice, really chill, and easy to be around. Most of them were very seasoned travelers with interesting stories and advice.

After leaving our things at the hostel, we went to the beach. On the way, we noticed that there was an abundance of motorcycles. We soon realized that there was a motorcycle rally happening the same weekend. Obviously, there were a lot of interesting people in town. The beach was great, though. It was super warm and sunny, busy without being crowded, and the water was actually warm. I have never felt the Pacific at a comfortable temperature, but the water in Jacó definitely is! It was so nice to just relax and play in the water all day. I got some color, too :)

Not too much else happened Saturday. We ate BURGERS and fries for dinner. The restaurant did some strange things. About halfway through our meal, the waitress came and took one of my friends' water glasses explaining that, "we need these for other people." The restaurant wasn't even that busy! Later, we went to one of the clubs that was having Ladies' Night. It was actually a nice club, but the only people there were old white guys and some very flirtatious, voluptuous, and cheaply dressed women (read: HOOKERS). After the girls got their 2 free drinks, we decided to call it a night.

I slept well, despite sharing a room with 6 others, and I didn't wake up until 5 am. Why? Well, this very drunk Canadian girl was standing next to my bed trying to talk to me. I was really confused, at first, especially when she started pulling the covers off of me! I realized that she had me mistake for someone else. All I wanted to say was, "Girl, please, I am trying to sleep and my name is not 'Timmy!'" Oh hostels, what fun!

The next day, we were all somewhat sunburned, but we decided to visit the other end of the beach. Our friend Ellen wasn't feeling great, though we thought it was just a stomach ache or something. On the way back from the beach, she just started puking all of a sudden. After spending some time in the bathroom, she came out, barely able to walk and complaining that her vision was fuzzy. Obviously, we were really freaked out and worried about her. Two people ran back to the hostel and they sent a guy on a motorcycle to pick her up and take her to see a doctor. Everybody went back to the hostel and scrambled to find all her necessities, like her passport copy and money. We took a taxi to the Red Cross, which is where the motorcycle guy said she would be. Do you know what the doctor told us? He said, "No, there's no one here named Ellen, no American girl." My heart stopped for like 5 seconds as we all thought simultaneously, "Oh my god, we just put our sick friend on the back of a stranger's motorcycle and now she's disappeared into the jungle!"

Thankfully, we all speak Spanish, so we were able to question the doctor and get directions to the other health clinic. Keep in mind that we were also supposed to be getting on a bus this afternoon, so in addition to stressing about her health, we were also worried about our schedule. We managed to find her, though, and she was already looking a little better. They told her she had a stomach virus (how they diagnosed this in 1 hour, we're not sure), gave her some antibiotics, and said she would be fine to ride the bus back to San José. So in the end, everything turned out okay, and we even managed to make the bus.

As a final, lovely topping on this weekend, though, the first half of the bus ride was miserable. We were stuck in traffic for an hour with intense heat and sweat occurring, and of course Lexi and my window was the one that wouldn't open. After the traffic, our driver turned off on some gravel side road that took us through the country for a bumpy shortcut aka "scenic tour." The rest of the journey was completed by highway, but we were driving on the wrong side of the road for almost the entire way. Apparently, that's okay here. I came back to San José exhausted, tan, and fully appreciative of my own bed and family here. Despite the scares and abnormalities, this was a fun weekend, and I can't wait for more weekend trips!

Photo credits to Lexi and Jessica, who were brave enough to bring their cameras this weekend.

Backyard at the hostel.

Jacó beach with Kelly (note the fact that I haven't shaved in over a week)


Yep, driving on the left side is totally safe..

Monteverde

Okay....time to take a break from my presentation/essay/final exam studying to post about last weekend. I have been here almost a month and I can definitely say that Monteverde is my favorite place. Possibly my favorite in the world. It's a rain/cloud forest about 5 hours north of San José. It didn't rain once while we were there, though. I don't even know how to describe it, it was so surreal. We stayed in this amazing hotel with the buildings staggered on a steep, forested mountainside. From my balcony, I could see all the way to the peninsula on the Pacific side. We were literally above the clouds.

Hydrangeas were everywhere at our hotel

We took two excursions while in Monteverde. One was the zip-lining/canopy tour. Obviously, that was a blast, with 15 different zip lines, a tarzan swing (a four-story tower, harness, and swiiiiing over the rain forest), and some great views. The last two zip lines were actually optional because they were so long, spanning a small valley. I actually got stuck before completing the last one...not enough speed. Sailing over the rainforest is one thing, but dangling 200 feet in the air with no momentum and another 100 yards to safety is not the most comforting sensation. It was really fun, though :)

Modeling our harnesses.

Zoom zoom!

Also, the town of Monteverde is cute. There's this great art gallery with handmade, unique pieces. Much more interesting than your typical souvenirs. I purchased a fused glass ring that many people have mistaken for amethyst. It is shaped like a dangerous cutting weapon, which is always a plus when it comes to jewelry. My friends and I had cocktails at this restaurant called "The Tree House". It's a restaurant/hotel centered around a giant tree. Pretty neat.

Above the town of Monteverde

Someone buy me this car!

Arriving at the Tree House Bar

Tequila Sunrises & BBCs (Banana, Baileys, Coconut)

We encountered two lemur-like creatures this weekend. One chased us (okay ran AT us) and then there was this one...inside our hotel building!

On Sunday, we took a hike through the cloud forest preserve. It was a really pleasant 2 hour hike, with lots of beautiful scenery. We didn't see many animals, though. I heard another group saw a sloth and a quetzal. There were also a TON of older (60+) travelers in Monteverde, including a large group of them on the hiking trail. I thought that was cool, as I hope to keep exploring forever.


Beautiful old tree


Obligatory rain forest shot


FUNGUS!

PS: I'm gonna do a little promoting for my friend Kennie P. She has been involved with some tremendous volunteer work at a women's shelter in Bellingham. Everyone PLEASE VOTE for her so she can win a scholarship and keep doing good in our community :)

http://www.serviceawards.org/applicant/115/sis_applicant.aspx?nid=115

Nature boy...on the lawn below our room :)

Pictures from Arenal

Just a few shots from last weekend at Arenal:

Hanging bridge at the hotel...this was actually a shortcut from our rooms to the pool :)

Super fun to walk across at night, with all kinds of creatures chirping/howling.

Another bridge picture: Erin, Jessica, Claire, & Kelly

Crocodile exhibit at the hotel.

La Fortuna waterfall.

I love wild mushrooms/fungus, as creepy as that sounds.

I hope I find tons more this weekend in the Monteverde rain/cloud forest.

Soaked, but happy. It was raining on our hike to the waterfall.

Swim-up bar, oh heyy (w/ Jessica and our friend Emily from Nebraska)

I'm drinking a "Kangaroo."

Ice cream!

(PS that tank top is from Forever 21, I know you all want one.)

Check Check

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to check in since I haven't posted for a while. We went to the Arenal volcano this weekend, but it rained the whole time so we never actually saw the volcano. It was a beautiful place, though, with lots of lush vegetation. Our hotel was on a hillside, with a view of this expansive green valley (when there weren't clouds) and it also had several pools with waterslides, naturally heated by the volcanic hot springs. It was relaxing, but also really moist. Everyone felt soggy by the end of the weekend. I will try to find time to play catch up and post a lot of pictures. I need to stay on top of things, because this week I am going to:

-Thursday- the zoo (with my art class). We are going to compare the representations that we saw at the gold museum last week to the actual animals.

-Friday- several of the Spanish classes are going to the Children's Museum. We have to view certain exhibits and give our final presentations about them next week.

-Weekend- Monteverde Cloud Forest! EEEK, can't wait! Canopy tour, etc.

Oh and here's a fun Costa Rican slang word that my family taught me: chunche (pronounced: CHOON-CHAY). They use it to refer to any "thing" that may not have a specific name, like a remote control or a phone charger. I've also heard it used to describe girls when they are wearing revealing clothing. So don't let your "chunche" hang out.

Loves

PS: Once again, my phone is not working. I forgot the SIM password and after 3 unsuccessful attempts, it locked me out permanently. So now my family is trying to contact the phone's previous owner for the override code. Kinda annoying

Who invited THIS guy?

Well I was about to lay down, but then I discovered this little treasure on my windowsill:

Neat, right? He was about three inches long,

the biggest one I have seen....so far.

ANYWAY, let's talk about something pretty I saw today:

Much better, right? There's this house on the way

to school that has like 5 different hibiscus trees :)

Face Like a Farmer

Sometimes, Costa Ricans can be very indirect when talking about their desires. When it comes to general perceptions and observations, though, they are blatantly direct. It can seem offensive to Americans, but they don't mean to be insulting; it's just their culture. The reason I say this is because of a particularly interesting conversation that happened today.

I just returned from spending the afternoon in downtown San José with a few friends. We were eating POPS ice cream (AMAZING.) in the National Theatre plaza, observing all the attractive people, homeless Nicaraguans, and horrendous fashions. This Tico popped up on the bench next to Jessica and started talking to us. He could speak a little English and obviously wanted to practice, even though we ended up speaking mostly Spanish. His name was Warner, like "Warner Brothers". Not a traditional Costa Rican name, right? According to him, it was a name his mom selected after drinking too many beers and watching a Warner Brothers movie while she was in the hospital giving birth to him. Well, Warner had lots of opinions to share with us. He rated us all on our Spanish-speaking abilities, how much we look like Ticos, and asked the general questions about what we were studying, etc. My favorite quotes:

To me: "You're from Idaho....I am not familiar with this pueblo, but you have the face of a farmer." WHAT does that mean?

To my friend Emily: "Maybe your Tico friend doesn't like you because he thinks you're a lesbian. Your shoes [a pair of Converse] are mostly lesbian shoes."

Basically, this was just a really hilarious and random encounter and he ended up talking to us for about an hour. While this guy wasn't really your typical Tico, it just shows how they are friendly and funny people...often with no verbal filter.

And Baby Makes Three

The baby, being me. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but Jessica and I are in a class with only THREE students. It's a Latin American art and architecture class, taught in English. Attending a public university, I have never had a class that's so tiny! It's nice, though, because we have lots of time to just chat and the environment is really comfortable. The professor is really awesome, too. He teaches architecture in the regular Costa Rican classes, so he obviously knows a ton. We're going to take a lot of field trips in this class: this week is the art museum, and next week is the zoo!

I also just want to mention that I love my family here. They are so friendly and helpful all the time. They also prefer me to my house mate, which is kind of funny. His Boston accent and blunt manner seem to annoy them. We did have a very confusing situation, though, when discussing travel plans.

As a family, they want to take us to the beach. The problem is that they want to go for five days, but I can only miss one day of school each month or I will fail my classes. Obviously, I would rather reserve that one day for illness, personal travel, or a hangover (just kidding! I don't party on week nights.) So I suggested that Steven and I could just stay here while they vacation, which made them very uncomfortable. They don't think we can cook for ourselves or anything, probably because we're young and male.

Anyway, I said that I could skip a Friday, as long as I didn't have a test, but that would require me taking the bus there or back from the destination, since they would be staying for longer. After many conversations, and some obvious planning-related stress on my mama Tica's part, I think we found a solution. They will leave on a Wednesday, I will stay to take a test on Friday, and after my test, the uncle (who lives downstairs) and I will drive to meet the rest of the family at the beach. DO YOU KNOW HOW CONFUSING ALL THIS PLANNING WAS, ESPECIALLY IN SPANISH?! Oh, and my roommate, well he seems to have no interest in coming at all, so no one really knows what he will do that weekend. I think I'll explain my feelings more in a future post about culture shock/acceptance/American idots.

loves

PS Mom and Dad, my phone has been dead since this weekend, but I will call you guys as soon as my family finds the charger (which might take some pestering on my part).