Oh, and an Update!

So I told you I'd keep you updated with the photos I submitted to the magazine at my University in the United States... Well, One was published! The photo of the butterfly was chosen to be put in the magazine!

On another note, I'm thinking of starting another blog... but not too sure if I should or not. I'll keep you updated on that too.... :) 

Well, talk to you soon! 

Well, it's over... for now!

For my last weekend in Costa Rica, my mom came here! This was her first time traveling outside of the States (unless you count Canada before you needed a passport)... We walked around the city for a day, went to Cartago and saw the basilica of Los Angeles (or La Negrita) and the Ruins. Then on our last full day in Costa Rica, we went on a 3-in-1 day trip to a Coffee Farm, Volcan Poas, and La Paz Waterfalls! She really enjoyed herself and realized how I fell in love with San Jose and Costa Rica so much within 3 months (and she was only there for four full days)!

The Ruins of Cartago! 

The Basilica of Los Angeles (The Home of  "La Negrita") 

Lil' over a week later...

So I am back home, back in the States! My trip was amazing! I learned so much about the Latin American Culture, myself, Spanish, and life in general! Looking back on my travels,  I now realize that I can live independently.  I mean at college, yeah, I am away from my family, but I'm not fully independent. And I felt more independent in Costa Rica than I have ever.  I had to make my own decisions, my own traveling plans (for some trips), and some meals (Breakfast and Lunch were provided unless I was away from the home on weekends.) . It also gave me time to relax and realize that I am extremely patient and shy and need to change how much I can handle. My whole life, I have been patient and I have been walked on because of my patience level. And I have missed so many opportunities because I am shy, but that is something I just need to work on.  With my Spanish studies I learned that I will have struggles in my life (especially with basic Spanish), but I have to jump over the hurdles! Also I learned that I could so live in a Latin-American Country (preferably a safe one though)! I knew that the world was semi-dangerous, but it never occurred to me until there were a few armed robberies around the area. And myself being over-careful, I became even more over-careful after that! I did not think the culture would have a big impact on me though... But while driving around I was so confused as to why people kept stopping for pedestrians! Then it occurred to me that I was no longer in Costa Rica and people in cars have to be careful for walkers and bikers. For the last week I have been re-adjusting to the American lifestyle! It is good to be back, but I am definitely missing the "Pura Vida" lifestyle (minus the lateness)!  Well, I don't know if I'll be writing on here so much anymore, because I am done studying in Costa Rica. So unless I study abroad (which I really hope I get to do!) this will most likely be my last post. So thank you so much for following my studies through this blog! And I am so sorry that this blog was probably very random and the posts were badly organized, but that's my life! :) If you ever get the chance to study in Costa Rica (Or anywhere), remember to have fun, explore, and meet new friends. You never know how much a small trip could affect your life!  

Pura Vida Amigos! 

Dancing Senorita! :) <3

Manuel Antonio Y Tortuguero!

So, for the last two weekends I have traveled around Costa Rica for my LAST two weekends with friends. Two weekends ago I went to Manuel Antonio... which is where our food was attacked by monkeys. Silly Monkey, human food is for us. We read before entering the national park of Manuel Antonio that if a monkey eats human food, it throws their digestive system out of whack and can kill them. :( So we were very careful to watch our food. But they did get a little bit of leftover mango and some other people's food!  However they were so cute!!

 

As well as the monkeys' strategic planning attempts, we had a nice lil' iguana come visit us. We had to be careful though because we were told that they were poisonous, especially if they bit us! But that weekend was very nice and relaxing!

Sunrise over the Caribbean Ocean! 

Tortuguero boat tour. Beautiful wall mural

Then.... this past weekend, we traveled to the island of Tortuguero! It was very awesome! It was a nice getaway from the modern world. On this island, there were no cars, no big animals, and no pollution! We did have cell service though, in case we had to reach someone in case of an emergency or something! :) Tortuguero is an island off the Caribbean coast (And I have been told that it is where parts of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" was shot!)!  It was definitely a nice relaxing weekend! On Sunday we woke up at 4:40am and did two different tours, but first we got to see an amazing sunrise!  The first, by boat. Here we saw crocodiles, monkeys, birds, lizards, etc. It was really cool!  Our tour guide was amazing as well! He definitely knew how to deal with us American students! Then the second, was a walking tour. the mosquitoes were terrible though (and

"Piano Bird" during our boat tour! 

 this is a section of Costa Rica where Malaria is present, so.... we had to be careful) and we did not see too much while on this tour. :(  But it was definitely a good experience! This was our last weekend trip as our group! My housemate and I are leaving, so it will not be the whole gang anymore.  So we took our last group photo (minus one person...so below is the one we took the weekend before!)! I'm gonna miss these guys! I really am!

Last full group photo at Manuel Antonio! 

So I can almost count the number of days I have left in Costa Rica on one hand! I am so very excited to go home, yet very sad to leave as well! But I have come and met some amazing friends! People I will never forget. I have learned so much about myself, learned how to dance like a crazy good person, and improved my Spanish! I think my time in Costa Rica has been a success! :D

I have a Boston accent? Oh look, a Mahching band!

So, especially over the last few weeks, I have learned about my Boston Accent. I have never noticed it while growing up (probably because I was around people from the Boston area), I was usually told I actually had a New Jersey accent when a kid. The other day I was talking to one of my friends, and I said Oh, hey... It's Mahch (March in "Bostonian" spelling)!She called me out on it.  Then in a dance presentation last week I used the phrase "wicked pissah" and had to explain to the class that it means something like really awesome!

Well anyways, onto my real adventures in San Jose,
I have not done too much this past week. I went to the Gold museum this past Saturday.Made some more friends with security guards! It really is a talent of mine I guess! But I do not get in trouble, I just ask them questions, and by no time we're talking like good friends! This last time, my group and I said something along the lines of how we are learning so many new words today, and it will be great to put in our notebook for class. (We then explained to him that we are supposed to write down 10 new vocabulary words everyday) He then asked for a piece of paper, and wrote down 10 words for us, and explained them all for us! So much fun! However.... he wasn't really paying attention to the other parts of "his designated area"...so I hope we didn't get him in trouble!

Then not this Sunday, but the Sunday before,  my friends and I walked around the different parks here, and San Jose had a huge festival all around the city (in these parks)! It was filled with people and different activities! They had people who dressed up as people from different generations, and  from all different countries!  And they had a marching band as
well! That was very awesome!

The last time I saw a 

marching band, I was in it! So it was very nice to actually be in the audience for once! When they stopped right in front of us, they played one of our favorite songs, "Danza Kuduro" by Don Omar! We were quite impressed!



Well, that's all for now! Off to class soon!
Chao!

Largest crater in the world???

Hi all!

Part of the crater at Volcan Poas!

So today a group of friends and I decided to go and see Volcan Poas! It was pretty awesome! Last night I did some research on the volcano. It says "The crater is 1,050 ft. (320 meters) deep. At almost a mile across (1.6 km) across, it's also the largest active crater in the world!..." So it was really cool to go and see the volcano today, and to know a little bit about it as well!
For more information you can check out their website here:

http://costa-rica-guide.com/parks/poas.htm

This weekend also marked the end to another Spanish course!! That means I am only down to one more month here! There are definitely mixed feelings here! I'm looking forward to going home and seeing everyone, and maybe going for a surprise visit to see my grandparents (even though they are probably reading this right now :P )And then going out to school and seeing everyone out there, and getting the most delicious pizza (BBQ Chicken, bacon, ranch pizza) haha!  HOWEVER... of course, I am going to miss Costa Rica and all of it's amazing beauty! I have felt relaxed here at times, have had some amazing times here with my new friends from all over, and have even thought about my future, knowing I'm on the right track... and even realizing how much my high school / school district sucked at teaching Spanish!! haha! But you know what, I still have four weeks left (more-or-less) and I'm going to make it worth it! And work my butt off with my Spanish studies, and make everyone back home in the states proud, and overcome my Spanish deficit that my high school left. 

As well as all of that happening this week... I decided to submit four (4) fotos from mi trip to a magazine back at my universidad! So, I will let you know how that goes and if any of them get picked to go into the magazine!
The photos I submitted were the following: 

Well, tengo sueno, y quiero soñar!

Adios y Pura Vida!

My first soccer game ever!

So, When I was little, I played soccer...for 10 days! I didn't even make it to my first soccer game, and during all my years of schooling, I have never gone to one (I know, hard to believe)!  This last weekend however, I finally made it to one! I went to Alajuela, to see La Liga y Limon play! It was very interesting a) to see the game, but b) to also see how much Ticos love soccer! We could not bring ANYTHING in with us to the stadium! We could  not bring in drinks, no food, and little things (like no change)! We were told that we could not bring anything in with us because in the past people have thrown things like change at the players! I never would have thought about that! It was a great game though, especially for someone who had never been to one before, like me! The home team, La Liga won! I learned their "fight"/victory song! Found out how to say some new words too... thanks to the calls from the refs, haha!
Well, anyways I gotta go work on some homework!

Hasta Luego y Pura Vida!

La Fortuna, Monteverde, Earthquake... you know all the not-so-normal stuff

So, I know, this is a little late compared to when I usually post these things, sorry!  This last week and a half I started a new Spanish course; and this one has a lot of projects so far, so I have been busy!
So not this last weekend, but the weekend before that I went on an optional trip with my school. We started out in La Fortuna, at the base of the Arenal Volcano! The first night we were treated like royalty (or at least for college students we sure did fell like we were!) We went to Baldi Hot Springs! These were so relaxing, AND dinner was included there, with a decadent chocolate fountain which just so happened to be placed next to Strawberries and other great tasting fruit! ;) I think you get the picture, haha! The hot springs though were amazing and so relaxing!
The next day we went to see some more waterfalls, this time just in La Fortuna. And in this waterfall we could go swimming! I decided not to though. During our time there, my housemate saw a snake, and took a picture of it. Then we asked the staff member at the site what type of snake it was... to find out it was poisonous, and right near the water where everyone was swimming. The guy decided to go investigate, very smoothly I might add, to find out that yes it was extremely poisonous! Luckily, no one got hurt, and he just kinda nicely told the people they should leave the area for a little while. At this time our college group had mainly got out the water!
After this, we headed on over to Monteverde by "jeep-boat-jeep"... It was actually a bus, a ferry then we hopped on a different bus, but that is what our itinerary said. Anyways, we got to relax for the night, the next morning...we were going on a canopy tour!
So, the next morning, we got up at like 6:30 am and went and did this canopy tour... IT WAS AMAZING! There were four to five different Zip lines and then I did something crazy! I didn't think about what I was doing until I was walking out above the trees getting ready to jump... I did the Tarzan Swing at this place. To find out later, it is the highest in Costa Rica. A video is attached here! (This is not my video, simply found it on YouTube after I got back!

Yeah I know... Didn't think too much about it until I started walking down the "bridge" then I started to think... "What am I doing, am I crazy?" But I did it anyways! It was amazing! So there was my weekend recap!

Now this last Monday was interesting! I woke up around 4:55ish in the morning, because I was shaking. Then felt relieved when I realized I was not shaking... my bed was! 10 seconds later, realized my bed shouldn't be shaking! Now, I'm tired and confused trying to figure out what's happening. Then I noticed my blinds were swaying back and forth kinda crazily! Aha! I figured it out! I'm experiencing my first earthquake! So I was never taught what to do, so I just sat cross-legged in my bed and watched it happen! I looked up at the ceiling though... to make sure nothing was going to fall on me or anything! Then went back to bed! When I got up for class, I was wondering if that was actually an earthquake, so I checked it out online... IT WAS!!! It was a 6.1 magnitude earthquake according to the Richter scale! The center was only about 40 or so miles away from San Jose! So, that was pretty cool! That day, that was the big subject in school...at least for the international students. I guess down here, they only call it a tremor until it is a magnitude 7 earthquake, so they considered this to be normal... BUT, according to me it's still an earthquake, especially for someone who never has earthquakes around their house! I guess I'll be experiencing more though, my teacher says they are very common this time of year! This semester just got more interesting!
:D

Pues, adios... Gotta finish up some projects!

Mammals, birds, and waterfalls, OH MY! (and some snakes...)

So, this last weekend We went on a day trip! We went to La Paz Waterfall Garden! It was absolutely beautiful! So there are going to be a lot of pictures in this blog! We started off by going to see the birds! They had so many different species! My favorite ones though have got to be the Toucan and the Macaw! After the birds, we headed over to the butterfly observatory! This was just absolutely delightful! I was wearing a yellow shirt, and a bunch of the butterflies would come and land on my shirt while we were in there! Also in the observatory were sloths! They were cute too... but they were sleeping! After the butterflies... we headed over to the monkeys! There were two types of monkeys; spider monkeys and white faced monkeys!  And when we exited that area of the park, we walked right into the hummingbird area! A few times some went flying by my head! It was crazy! I was kinda nervous that one was going to hit me in the head, haha! They are crazy fast!  After that, we saw some snakes... I walked in, took pictures and got out of there fast! Not a snake fan at all! We got to take a break after that though! We had an amazing buffet style lunch! They were classy for being in the middle of the woods...in a state park type thing. After this we went and saw the feline part of the park!  The "cats" were so cute! I wanted to pet one... but I didn't, because they were behind cages for a reason!. Instead I sent my mom a message asking if we could just get one of the Margays or Ocelots! haha...She said no, it'd eat our dog. After this we went on to our last stop before the waterfalls... the frogs! They were hiding though, so we didn't see a whole lot, but we definitely saw some! They were all just in two open rooms! :) After this... Do-dododo (trumpet sound)... to the waterfalls!!! This was definitely worth the trip right here! The waterfalls were amazing! We saw the following waterfalls: Templo (104ft), Magia Blanca (131 ft), Encantada (65 ft), and a slight part of the  Escondido waterfall (65 ft). They were all just amazing! You should visit there sometime, if you ever get the chance! Once again it is La Paz Waterfall Gardens!

Well off to finish some homework, But... you can still look at all these photos (these are only a few of the 130 I took while there!)

 

Playa Tamarindo

Hey all!

So this last weekend, the group from school and I went to Tamarindo Beach on the Pacific coast! It was absolutely beautiful....if you cannot tell from the picture! We didn't do too much at all! I for one, went dancing, and just relaxed! I am not a beach person AT ALL... but I somehow felt so relaxed here. It has at least been 4 years since I have been that relaxed (Now that's saying something!)  The last night in Tamarindo though, my roommate, one of our friends, and one of the kids from our group were just walking around, then we decided to walk down to the beach...and it was just at the right time...Sunset! It was an incredible view, and just amazing!

And last Wednesday, our school held something called a "CRASH party." It is when the International students and the Tico students come together to meet each other and celebrate the beginning of the semester. It was fun; there was music, dancing, and surprises! Dancers and a band showed up. The band was like a tropical marching band, with different styles of drums, and a trumpet! The dancers were incredible as well they were dressed in tropical uniforms, almost like the hula dancers from Hawaii from the movies. It was definitely a great time! My roommate and I danced to some Salsa music. We just wish they'd do that more often and not just once a semester (as far as we know!)

Well, off to finish up on some homework!
Adios y Dios te bendiga!

Puerto Viejo

This last weekend, I went on a trip to Puerto Viejo in the Caribbean! It was Beautiful! we were going to go snorkeling, however the waves were too dangerous that day, so we took a tour of one of the National Parks and saw monkeys, sloths, snakes, ants, and even a raccoon instead, haha! My friends and I also spent the afternoon on the beach, and relaxed! Later in the weekend, we went dancing for a little while at a club nearby! I forgot how much I missed dancing! I really want to dance some more while down here...and when I return to the U.S. We danced to reggaeton, reggae, and a little bit of Bachata. This weekend was a good getaway for my birthday! So while down there, I had one drink, just to celebrate! I am happy to be back in the city though, I know its sad, but I love classes! But next weekend is another getaway! Let's see where this one takes me!

Gotta run, got class soon! adios!

First week of classes... so far so good!

So I am starting my first week of classes this week! I had orientation yesterday, and found out some really cool things (I'll talk about that later, haha) and then today I had my first day of classes, however, I still have my dance class later tonight. It does seems to be going well so far though! Yesterday at orientation I found out that I am considered an Independent student! This means that I am paid for three trips through the school. So I get to go snorkeling for free this month! As well as visit beaches, and waterfalls, bird and butterfly sanctuaries, and more!
Now onto classes: The first day, like many others consisted of getting to know each other and the professor!  And we did some reading out of our textbook, which I think the professor actually helped to write! It seemed pretty interesting, and I actually understood what was going on, haha! I was placed into Intermediate Spanish 1, and I am not going to complain!

Well, heading out with my housemate!
Hasta Luego!

I am here!!!

So I have arrived safely! I am definitely still getting used to the culture and everything, but so far so good! I had safe flights all the way down! Last night I had "casado" for dinner! A typical dish, which I will probably have every night! It is rice, beans, and a meat. Also alongside of that, comes salad, and sometimes plantains (sort of like bananas).  Last night I went to skype my mom, and was blown away by my thinking. I was trying to figure out how to describe everything that had happened today to my mom.... in Spanish. Yep, it has started, Spanish is getting to my brain! This morning I woke up to a nice breakfast consisting of apples, bread, butter, strawberry jelly, and cream cheese! I could make my bread however I wanted! It was extremely yummy!! As well, I had some cactus juice! AMAZING! I think I'm going to like it here! I am a little home-sick, but like someone said yesterday, who wouldn't be?

Well, I'm off to relax some more, classes don't start for another few days!
ok, adios, y pura vida!

Last week in the EE UU

So, just starting to look ahead at the new year and realizing this week is my last week (ish) in the United States until I take my journey to Costa Rica and study. I fly out in the middle of this week, then start classes a week from tomorrow! I am very excited, yet very nervous as well! This is a once in a lifetime experience, yet still it is a little ways away from home (Still a little farther away than my school in Massachusetts as well, haha...just a little). I am looking forward to starting classes though, especially the photography and dance classes! I am  excited for the Spanish classes as well, but I am so ready to be able to go outside and have some fun with these other classes!

Well, sorry for only the short message, but I gotta go pack!
Feliz ano nuevo y Dios te bendiga!! Adios