Last few weeks!!!

     Ok, it has definitely been a while, i'm sorry about that! However, its good, that just means I have been busy!


     Can I please tell you about the weekend I went to Guanacaste? It is north of Costa Rica and all that I have really heard about it, was that it was hot there but the beaches were beautiful. The trip I went on last week was part of the culture study that I am in. Well, little did I know that this was the start of one of those weird trips that you don't really like but ends up being the most memorable type of thing...
     We kept asking our teacher Carlos Naranjo, what to bring... he said "you gringos (slang for americans... sometimes offensive) you always have to know every little detail!" Haha, yes we do! So I thought the bus trip was going to be 8 hours but he informed us it was only 5. We all showed up to leave at 6am but of course one person was late and we left at 7am... I didn't care, such is life in Costa Rica. Then, an hour out on the road and we get a flat. I'm that person that always saw cars with flats and said "oh, that sucks" and here was my bus, with a flat! 45 minutes later and we were out on the road again. I had no idea where we were, but we started going down some dirt path and then the bus stopped in the middle of no where, I thought "Oh great, the bus broke down again" but I was wrong, we had arrived out our destination! And our destination was what exactly? A place where they used to mine for gold, cool! No not cool, the life of a gold miner is kinda depressing. Before they knew about the effect it had on the lungs, at least one person would die a day. They still mine for gold for 24 hours twice a month and just hope by luck they find gold to profit on. I guess that means if  you don't find gold, you don't get to eat meat that month! Only rice and beans for you! Did I mention it was super hot? Then we hiked up some trail with huge steps and slippery dirt. As I said to myself "its always worth the climb, its always worth the climb" I got to the top and wondered where the beautiful view was. Everyone was like WOOOOW! But after you have climbed the largest mountain in North Carolina, the Great Wall of China, and Mt. San Jacinto in California, you just don't find many views that top it. Don't feel bad for me, i'm spoiled. But really, i'm serious, there was no view... I mean there was a mountain in the way of what was probably a great view. We kept traveling along the path which dead ended to a mine... I thought we had to go through it but no, we had to turn around and travel back. We went a different way and climbed down a very steep slippery hill on which I fell, but wasn't the only one! I was so happy to get on the bus! The next place we stopped at we learned how they made pottery. It was very cool, and nice to know the pottery I bought my mom and sister was homemade and not just imported from China. That night we stayed at a hotel which was interesting... Chinese owned, which made it more interesting. I was dead tired and passed out that night. Only to wake up to a 5 hour bus on the way home. We could have gone to the beach but it was hot, and it was going to be 14 more dollars for only a couple of hours... plus the beaches here don't have clear water. I'm going to Bocas del Torro for Spring break and leave tomorrow, they have clear water.


Oh and by the way, the serial killer that was running a hostel in Bocas del Torro was caught in Nicaragua... so I should be fine. AND I am not staying in a hostel, but an apartment with 4 other friends! Half of our meals for the week include the phrase "Just add water!" Haha, I think it will be a great time! 

One love, one heart, lets get together and feel alright

Why do people have to hate? 
Today in my business class of 5 people, i'm basically the only one who probably loves their country and is conservative... What can I say? I was raised that way and I agree with it! A lot of peoples views root from their parents... don't hate. I clearly stated I really didn't know a lot about politics because it is not my area of expertise, I just don't study it. I make my decisions around election time by seeing both sides of the candidates. That didn't stop one person from insulting me. Really girl? Using insult to fight your battles? Yeah, really convincing and educational! I really understand now and want to be liberal... NOT. I told the teacher I was done and didn't have anything more to say... This is the exact reason I hate politics. People hating other people based on their opinions. Why the hate? If everyone had the same view our country wouldn't exactly be a democracy. Appreciate the different opinions and appreciate the fact you were born in the United States... after all, you wouldn't have the opportunity to voice your opinion if you were born in a communist country now would you?


PEACE AND LOVE


Feels good to blog! And for the record, unlike most people in this program who are trying to find themselves or whatever... I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!

Here comes the rain doo doo doo doo

You know, I am not the biggest fan of rain... but for the past few days it has been way to hot in Heredia. As some of my other blogs stated, I have had to lay on the floor in my bra and underwear just trying to stay cool. I don't even have a fan! So the past few days when it has been raining in the afternoons, I have welcomed it with arms wide open. The rain brings the cool air which is so refreshing, I can actually sleep with my blanket on me at night. Otherwise, it becomes a very long night. Hopefully it will stay. They say there is a lot of change of weather in this month when we convert to the wet winter season. I will probably get to see the end of it. 5 1/2 weeks and counting! I tried to book a flight for a week earlier but it was like $200 extra! AHHHH Don't think I didn't consider it! In the end, it will be a good thing to wait instead of spending money... thats what I keep telling myself at least.

Cosas en Costa Rica (Things in Costa Rica)

I don't know if its illegal for students studying abroad from the USA to buy pirated DVD's in the country they are studying in, so i'm going to just say I may or may not have bought some pirated DVDs. See, in Costa Rica, there are no copyright laws... Same thing with books... you can rent out a library book and then copy it, for super cheap! It's really Costa Rica's fault though! The books are sooooo expensive here! So anyway, the movies have copyright laws but for some reason, they can do it in Costa Rica. In the DVD copy store, the owner even has a license for copying DVD's and he has a sign that says "God blesses my business". Haha, sounds good to me! Or at least if I tell myself that. So I may or may not have bought 3 DVD's including the new Twilight movie, which I kinda want to see, "Love and Other Drugs", and the movie "Enamorándome de mi ex" which translates as "Falling in love with my Ex" which is actually the movie "It's complicated". So if I did buy these movies, it would be because I really miss watching movies and its not like there is a regular DVD store around here, much less a place to rent DVDs. Gosh, its likes asking us to buy pirated DVDs. Plus, I figure I payed enough to live in this country, I should reap some of the benefits... but this is only IF I bought pirated DVDs... just sayin. 


Today was fun... We (Me, Linsey, and Las Negritas {Kennesha and April}) ate at a Lebanese place, I really like Lebanese food! They give you these fried balls of who knows what for appetizer... It was similar to the Persian food except we got hummus. I don't really like hummus but it was bangin at this place! And I got a pita, I really miss pita, I love pita. So you put your hummus down, then some meat, then some vegetables and yum yum yum... but apparently you are not supposed to put them all together, but whatever, I'm American and I totally miss the whole burrito concept, so yeah. I know a burrito is Mexican but lets face it, its more Americanized then ever with places like Chipotle and Qdobas... who kinda make it better than the Mexicans... sad.


After eating we went shopping and to central park. We looked in clothing stores but wow, if I though clothes were expensive in the USA, I really had never visited Costa Rica before. Even the thrift stores that carried American clothes from the 90's are expensive... why? So after shopping we went to central park where they have people selling homemade things, a lot of jewelry. I bought some dragonfly earrings since I love dragonflies (The look, not the actual insect) and they were made out of wood and painted... $2! Ok, I guess SOME things are cheap around here.

Make your own pizza night!

So at my house in Charlotte, usually once a week my mom has a "make your own pizza night" so I was excited to find out we would be making pizzas in my cooking class! It was really fun because we made our own dough which tasted ah-mazing by the way. We also made our own sauce and had a plethora of toppings! To my sauce I added some garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper... yeah, I know how to make good sauce. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I really think my pizza was the best. 2/3 of it was pineapple and bacon and 1/3 was fresh tomatoes and fresh basil and garlic, the 1/3 was the most delicious because the garlic combined with the homemade bread tasted fantastic. Just by reading this, you can tell I definitely love pizza... especially homemade pizza!

 The toppings!

 My sauce creation... yum

My pizza is in the middle :)

Life is still the same... even in other countries

     My title may have you interested, let me explain. Last night, from about 8-10pm when it is usually quiet in my house, there was some crazy things going on. My host brother Fabian, was pacing outside on the phone, my host mom's sister came over and was talking to Fabian about who knows what. Fabian was going back in forth in the house and my host mom was talking to him and he seemed annoyed... The language barrier still exists and when something is going on, it is hard to understand. I asked Fabian what was going on and he said "nosing hahaha" (nothing with his accent). 
     This morning, my host mom told me that Fabian didn't do something that he promised he would do (something serious) and they kicked him out of the house. I asked when he would be coming back and she told me she didn't know, basically when he figures things out. Then she told me he was probably moving to stay with his cousin in a town 2 hours away. I went and looked in his room and ALL of his things were gone. His bed, his posters, his dresser, his clothes! Everything! I can't believe it, he is actually gone. My host mom said they had to kick him out of the house because he will never learn if they didn't. As she told me this, she was crying, I felt so bad for her, I just sat there and talked to her. I really didn't know what to say.
     It's crazy how you can be in the same country but there will always be similar issues that go on with family. My host mom told me there are two things in life that are difficult. 
1. Marriage: it requires a lot of time, patience, and love 
2. Children: There is not always a right way to do things and even if your kids are all raised the same, they won't always turn out the same way

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

I don't think I have ever felt so hot in my life. Yesterday, I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I couldn't sweat because I guess it is too dry here. I had to lay on the glass tile floor in my underwear. I was still burning up and even felt light headed when I stood up. My host brother broke down some ice for me in the freezer so I could put it in my water bottle. I was very hydrated because all I did was drink ice water and go to the bathroom yesterday. I know TMI however I am blogging my experiences. So because I couldn't work on my homework with my hot computer, I drew pictures while laying on the floor. Then it started to rain outside which caused a power outage. Yesterday was just a weird day. I had to take a cold shower because there was no heat, but I was perfectly happy with that. My host family thought I was crazy but I enjoyed the cool water. 


By the way... can you guess what my host mom is holding?

Correct! Wow, how did you know that was a fruit???

Yes, the fruit looks like felt... which I ate