Just finished making a powerpoint for my 15 minute Spanish presentation due tomorrow, topic received yesterday. Wish me luck!
Today, Environment class was remarkably boring-our professor brought in a Geographer and had him lecture for an hour an a half in Spanish while she translated to English because not everyone knows a good amount of Spanish. Trying to listen to them both about a topic I took a class on last semester at 8am was not easy...to say the least. I was happy to have our break before Spanish class.
Spanish we reviewed relative pronouns-not going to get into details, don't want to be arrested for killing people of boredom. One thing to note about class today though; they had the bars outside the windows being painted which caused a horrible odor to take over the class-my professor joked that we would all be high by the end of class. I only came out with a headache.
Dance class number 3 was today. I had fun, however I was stressed about my looming project and other things life threw at me so I was a bit distracted and kept screwing up the dance moves. Eventually I gave up on trying and just did a Russian squatting leg-kicking dance to get the party started. Class livened up a bit after that.
I got home and hung out with my sis for awhile. I taught her the meaning of "sketchy" while we were hanging out and working on my homework. Why I chose "sketchy", I do not know, most likely because it's absolutely hilarious to watch a 14 year old try to say sketchy with her Spanish accent and telling her to use it in a sentence. I got her to say "That person is sketchy". I gave her an A for 'class' today. I also taught my papa how to say sweatshirt and the difference between that and a sweater. Bout time I teach them something, I've been sucking up words like they're water. My bro showed me how to connect to a faster wireless network he created (he's studying Industrial Engineering) which was super exciting as the internet craps out a lot here. Wee! Better blogging! We also brainstormed a prank to pull on my host mom, so well see how that goes.
Hasta Luego!
Love,
Kristin
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Dia 18
Wow it's been 5 days since I've posted something?!?! Time is flying by here and I don't like it! I wish the days would last longer and the time would pass slower. I almost have to pinch myself to realize I'm actually here. Every time that something comes up that is irritating, annoying, or frustrating I find myself stopping and saying to myself, "Pura Vida, Kristin. Life is good." It has become kind of a joke between me and a few friends because some of the moments are so ridiculous. This past weekend while I was in Manuel Antonio I was paying the waiter for my food and when I checked to make sure I'd received the correct amount, I thought I was short money. So I walked back up to the counter and told him; turns out I owed him a buck! Dangit! I could have used that dollar, I thought. But then I decided that that dollar, in the scheme of things, meant nothing and there was no use wasting anytime being disappointed so I moved on. Sounds silly, I know. But I'm finding that I'm bothered by a lot fewer things and am enjoying more of the moments that I should be. I didn't always have that ability to just let things go.
Let's see here, quick re-caps. Thursday the main highlight was going to a dance club/bar called
Let's see here, quick re-caps. Thursday the main highlight was going to a dance club/bar called
La Birreria in the nearby city of Heredia. I had a lot of fun with my friends from the program and getting to hang out with the locals.
Friday we only had Costa Rican Cooking class which was fun. We learned how to make Gallo Pinto (rice and beans, very typical dish here) Jugo de fruta (real fruit juice), empanadas, pinto de gallo, and other items. I had a blast goofing off and eating the yummy food. Not bad for a friday class! Later we left to take the bus to San Jose and catch another bus to Manuel Antonio. I brought my big hiking backpack and by the end of the trip I was regretting it-you never need as much as you bring, if only you knew what you'd need!
Saturday, we spent the day at the Parque Nacional (National Park) walking through the forest (saw some white faced monkeys), and swimming at the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous!! This was the beach you would see on t.v. or on postcards. At one point while we were swimming I just floated and thought about how unreal it was that I was swimming in the Pacific in Costa Rica in Feburary!! The monkeys kept trying to steal our stuff on the beach so their cuteness ran out pretty quick, but it was still a sight to see.
Sunday I spent the day traveling back home and being exhausted. I had a heart to heart with my host brother and spent the evening hanging out with him and one of his neighbor friends chatting about music, the differences between the U.S and Costa Rica (NOT America as many Latin Americas are offended by this use of 'American' because they are 'American' as well, good thing to know!) and I was of course sucking up as much spanish as possible. I learned that cheese curds are called dados de queso (we had them at a restaurant-SO GOOD) and napkins are called servilletas. All good things to know!
Today we spent class learning about the culture of piropos (cat calls). It was really funny and interesting. The cat calls aren't all necessarily offensive, many are nice compliments. Women use piropos as well. My professor explained that in Latin America, all women are treated as beautiful no matter how you look, where you're from, etc. Needless to say, it was a funny class!
Off to bed, tired as always. But happy!
Love,
Kristin
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Random tid bit for my amiga, CLUPE
If you look closely, my host sister has a special talent that I've only seen one other person do....CLUPE that's you! Give up?!?! She can cross one eye and keep the other forward! I flipped when I figured this out the other day but kept forgetting to post it. MISS YOU!
Dia 13
Hola Hola!
It seems like no matter what country I'm in, Wednesday is Wednesday. I'm looking forward to this weekend and having some more relaxing time at the beach. We bought tickets today to go to Manuel Antonio, a supposedly very nice beach (although it's supposed to be very tourist-y). The hostel we're staying at (Pura Vida Hostel) cost us $15 a person per night-including breakfast, internet, and a kitchenette. You find a better deal and I'll give you the difference. I'm so excited!
Today I got to sleep in a bit. We had a field trip to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) for History Class and had to be at the bus stop at 9. We have another field trip tomorrow so another day of more shut-eye...yes! We met our professor in downtown San Jose where we proceeded to see a most peculiar site. A family was hanging out with the abundance of nasty dirty pigeons-okay, not so weird, right? Just wait...the mom puts nuts on the little girl's head and a flock of pigeons fly towards her with one or two landing on her head and eating nuts off it. Can you imagine how many germs are on that poor girl's head now? I would be scrubbing my head for days. Ick.
We stopped quickly to check out the Café del Teatro Nacional (pictured on left) and Mercado Central; both of which were constructed in the 1880's and were sights to see. At the Mercado Central, I found a piece of artwork (with a horse on it of course) for 7700 colones, or about 15 dollars. Well, being my frugal self I wasn't about to pay that much so later on in the day I came back with some program buddies and one of them bartered for me (as I had before and she wouldn't take my lower price-sorry US dad, I tried your tricks but I gotta perfect them still). We got it down to 7000! I'll take that. I'm glad to finally have a tangible thing from a Costan Rican artist...all the pastries and other foods I've been eating won't exactly be remembered years from now...
After our field trip, my Spanish class had to return to school for a 3 hour lecture, to our dismay. It ended up being fine-I continue to like class, it's just a matter of learning for three hours gets a little boring by the end. We had to get to know a partner and explain them to the class using certain structures in Spanish. I had a grand old time-my professor is a goofball which fits me just fine. I go along with the jokes and try to make my own jokes to make class fun...at least for myself. After class, we had "intramural" fútbol. I have that in quotes because it's mostly a bunch of us running around kicking at a ball and having a grand old time-which is exactly was it was. It's at an indoor soccer "facility" (it's tiny) but WOW is the property gorgeous. I'll try to get a picture of it next time I go to play. There's a pool and you have to go over this little bridge that stretches over a rocky stream to get to the facility which is surrounded by palm trees. Rough life, I know.
Oh! I almost forgot. I had pizza today...it was FANTASTIC! You don't realize how much you miss that stuff until you can't just open the fridge or walk to Little Caesars for your pizza fix. Man, what I would do for a Little Caesars breadsticks and stuffed-crust pizza...
Buenas Noches!
Love,
Kristin
It seems like no matter what country I'm in, Wednesday is Wednesday. I'm looking forward to this weekend and having some more relaxing time at the beach. We bought tickets today to go to Manuel Antonio, a supposedly very nice beach (although it's supposed to be very tourist-y). The hostel we're staying at (Pura Vida Hostel) cost us $15 a person per night-including breakfast, internet, and a kitchenette. You find a better deal and I'll give you the difference. I'm so excited!
Today I got to sleep in a bit. We had a field trip to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) for History Class and had to be at the bus stop at 9. We have another field trip tomorrow so another day of more shut-eye...yes! We met our professor in downtown San Jose where we proceeded to see a most peculiar site. A family was hanging out with the abundance of nasty dirty pigeons-okay, not so weird, right? Just wait...the mom puts nuts on the little girl's head and a flock of pigeons fly towards her with one or two landing on her head and eating nuts off it. Can you imagine how many germs are on that poor girl's head now? I would be scrubbing my head for days. Ick.
 |
| Trying on animal masks at an exhibit in the museum |
Oh! I almost forgot. I had pizza today...it was FANTASTIC! You don't realize how much you miss that stuff until you can't just open the fridge or walk to Little Caesars for your pizza fix. Man, what I would do for a Little Caesars breadsticks and stuffed-crust pizza...
Buenas Noches!
Love,
Kristin
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Dia 12
Hola Hola!
So last night my brother came home after much anticipation. My sister ran into my room and whispered frantically that he was back. I told her to play it cool and pretend like nothing happened. He came into my room and gave me a questioning look and said he was scared to go to his room. He left and headed to his room while mama, mari, and I followed inconspicuously. He opened the door, turned on the light, and realized his hand was full of peanut butter. It was hilarious! We were all laughing and laughing as he examined his sabotaged room. We got him good :) (Even if we had to clean up later, still worth it). Later while Mari and I were hanging out on our laptops in my room, Alejandro came in with an ENORMOUS cockroach-looking bug. We both screamed like babies. He came back a few minutes later and threw what I thought was a bug and ended up dropping my laptop-no worries, no harm done but an elevated heart-rate. Definitely a fun time. The war has begun. No signs of a prank in my room but I will keep ya'll updated.
Today at school I started another class, Costa Rican Environment. I think I will enjoy it a lot. We will be doing a lot of interactive learning and going on field trips. Tomorrow we're going into San Jose to go to a museum for History class-should be interesting. Afterwards I have soccer to go play! Today after class I had my second dance class- it was really fun. So far we've learned Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, and Kumbia. I realized how much different dancing with a partner is! A bit of a challenge but so much fun. I can't wait to be able to dance these dances with friends. Tonight will be an early night-gotta get caught up on sleep.
Love,
Kristin
So last night my brother came home after much anticipation. My sister ran into my room and whispered frantically that he was back. I told her to play it cool and pretend like nothing happened. He came into my room and gave me a questioning look and said he was scared to go to his room. He left and headed to his room while mama, mari, and I followed inconspicuously. He opened the door, turned on the light, and realized his hand was full of peanut butter. It was hilarious! We were all laughing and laughing as he examined his sabotaged room. We got him good :) (Even if we had to clean up later, still worth it). Later while Mari and I were hanging out on our laptops in my room, Alejandro came in with an ENORMOUS cockroach-looking bug. We both screamed like babies. He came back a few minutes later and threw what I thought was a bug and ended up dropping my laptop-no worries, no harm done but an elevated heart-rate. Definitely a fun time. The war has begun. No signs of a prank in my room but I will keep ya'll updated.
Today at school I started another class, Costa Rican Environment. I think I will enjoy it a lot. We will be doing a lot of interactive learning and going on field trips. Tomorrow we're going into San Jose to go to a museum for History class-should be interesting. Afterwards I have soccer to go play! Today after class I had my second dance class- it was really fun. So far we've learned Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, and Kumbia. I realized how much different dancing with a partner is! A bit of a challenge but so much fun. I can't wait to be able to dance these dances with friends. Tonight will be an early night-gotta get caught up on sleep.
Love,
Kristin
Monday, January 30, 2012
Dia 11
Hola familia y amigos!
It's been a few days-sorry to keep ya'll waiting! Let's see here, where did I leave off...Saturday morning I woke up (way too early for my liking) and walked to the bus stop where I met up with my friends from school. We took the bus into San Jose where we had to run to catch our second bus to Jaco. The ride was long and fairly boring. Although I did see some cocodrilos (crocodiles) and the views in Costa Rica are always gorgeous so it depends on your definition of boring.
The bus company over-booked the ride so some of my friends had to sit on the floor, pretty unfortunate but in the end I'm sure it was worth it. It was our first trip to the beach, so exciting! Jaco is known for its tourism and dirty water-not too much else. I have been told many a times that this beach is a disappointment compared to others like Manuel Antonio (going there next weekend) and others. I guess I am easily impressed! The weather was crazy hot, easily hitting a hundred degrees with a ton of humidity. There were palm trees and the ocean, which was all I needed. We sat on the sand and played in the water all day. It was really relaxing. I would sit under the umbrella (we paid less than $1 a piece between 18 people to use them for the day) and close my eyes and breathe in the ocean air and let the sun tan (or burn) my skin. Even with sunscreen, my skin was shot.
I stayed the night in a hostel that cost less than $15 a person for the night. It was a super awesome deal that we were only able to find because we had tico friends with us that know all the good spots. It was a clean place to stay with a nice view of the beach. The following day (sunday) my host family (and some extended family members) picked me up in Jaco. We proceed to go to another beach (which was way less impressive with its rocks, dirty sand, and crowds.) Afterwards we drove to Puntarenas, a supposedly better beach to eat dinner and show it to me. It was very pretty with its expansive beach and views of nearby mountains. Then we faced the 2 hour drive home. My family proceeded to 'help' me with my Spanish homework. They did the classic, say this word in a sentence, then the entire van bursts out laughing because what I said was an offensive phrase. They're such goofballs, although I appreciate the humor. Personally, I was a bit cranky after having too much sun, not enough water or food, cuts on my feet, sunburn, and an upset stomach. But we made it home, and boy was I thankful to finally get some shut eye.
Today was back to school. This week is the start of my Central American History class. We have this young professor named Francisco or Franc for short-he seems pretty cool, he likes his politics, but I think I will enjoy the class. We watched a video today by a Nigerian women named Chimamanda Adiche entitled, "Dangers of a Single Story" this link is here --> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg]. If you have the time to youtube it, I would highly recommend it as I think everyone should see it. It explains the perceptions we learn as we grow up in our cultures, only seeing one side of every story. It has a lot to do with trying to understand other cultures while still embracing your own. Very interesting.
After class, I had a 3 hour break until my Spanish class so I went into town and bought some more band-aids (curas) since I can't stop cutting myself on things, tripping, or otherwise finding a way to need a band-aid. Good thing it only cost me a little over $1 for 46 band aids. If you're curious about the weird number, it's because I had to buy them at the pharmacy and they usually sell them one by one for 15 colones.
Afterwards, I returned for Spanish class. It was fun, as it always seems to be here. I don't know if I've ever enjoyed my classes as much as I do here. We learn a lot but in a non-traditional style. We play games and my professor is young enough where he still likes to crack jokes and make class fun for us all. I look forward to class and seeing what we will learn next.
After class I returned home to hang out with my host family. After dinner I was hanging out with my sister when we got the bright idea to pull a prank on my brother. My mom helped us cut saran wrap and we proceeded to tape it to his door at about eye level. I sat in the breezeway to take a picture of the hilarious moment as my mama called for him to come into the house. He opened the door, immediately saw it...and me. I made a break for the house but ran straight into the clear glass sliding door. They were dying laughing for a good five minutes. Jokes on me, I guess! Don't worry, he left for the night so we sabotaged his room with a better prank-newspapers under the sheets and peanut butter on the door handles. He should be coming home any minute so we shall see his reaction-I'm sure I'll be getting pranked for a while after this!
Hasta Luego!
Love, Kristin
It's been a few days-sorry to keep ya'll waiting! Let's see here, where did I leave off...Saturday morning I woke up (way too early for my liking) and walked to the bus stop where I met up with my friends from school. We took the bus into San Jose where we had to run to catch our second bus to Jaco. The ride was long and fairly boring. Although I did see some cocodrilos (crocodiles) and the views in Costa Rica are always gorgeous so it depends on your definition of boring.
The bus company over-booked the ride so some of my friends had to sit on the floor, pretty unfortunate but in the end I'm sure it was worth it. It was our first trip to the beach, so exciting! Jaco is known for its tourism and dirty water-not too much else. I have been told many a times that this beach is a disappointment compared to others like Manuel Antonio (going there next weekend) and others. I guess I am easily impressed! The weather was crazy hot, easily hitting a hundred degrees with a ton of humidity. There were palm trees and the ocean, which was all I needed. We sat on the sand and played in the water all day. It was really relaxing. I would sit under the umbrella (we paid less than $1 a piece between 18 people to use them for the day) and close my eyes and breathe in the ocean air and let the sun tan (or burn) my skin. Even with sunscreen, my skin was shot.
I stayed the night in a hostel that cost less than $15 a person for the night. It was a super awesome deal that we were only able to find because we had tico friends with us that know all the good spots. It was a clean place to stay with a nice view of the beach. The following day (sunday) my host family (and some extended family members) picked me up in Jaco. We proceed to go to another beach (which was way less impressive with its rocks, dirty sand, and crowds.) Afterwards we drove to Puntarenas, a supposedly better beach to eat dinner and show it to me. It was very pretty with its expansive beach and views of nearby mountains. Then we faced the 2 hour drive home. My family proceeded to 'help' me with my Spanish homework. They did the classic, say this word in a sentence, then the entire van bursts out laughing because what I said was an offensive phrase. They're such goofballs, although I appreciate the humor. Personally, I was a bit cranky after having too much sun, not enough water or food, cuts on my feet, sunburn, and an upset stomach. But we made it home, and boy was I thankful to finally get some shut eye.Today was back to school. This week is the start of my Central American History class. We have this young professor named Francisco or Franc for short-he seems pretty cool, he likes his politics, but I think I will enjoy the class. We watched a video today by a Nigerian women named Chimamanda Adiche entitled, "Dangers of a Single Story" this link is here --> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg]. If you have the time to youtube it, I would highly recommend it as I think everyone should see it. It explains the perceptions we learn as we grow up in our cultures, only seeing one side of every story. It has a lot to do with trying to understand other cultures while still embracing your own. Very interesting.
After class, I had a 3 hour break until my Spanish class so I went into town and bought some more band-aids (curas) since I can't stop cutting myself on things, tripping, or otherwise finding a way to need a band-aid. Good thing it only cost me a little over $1 for 46 band aids. If you're curious about the weird number, it's because I had to buy them at the pharmacy and they usually sell them one by one for 15 colones.
Afterwards, I returned for Spanish class. It was fun, as it always seems to be here. I don't know if I've ever enjoyed my classes as much as I do here. We learn a lot but in a non-traditional style. We play games and my professor is young enough where he still likes to crack jokes and make class fun for us all. I look forward to class and seeing what we will learn next.
After class I returned home to hang out with my host family. After dinner I was hanging out with my sister when we got the bright idea to pull a prank on my brother. My mom helped us cut saran wrap and we proceeded to tape it to his door at about eye level. I sat in the breezeway to take a picture of the hilarious moment as my mama called for him to come into the house. He opened the door, immediately saw it...and me. I made a break for the house but ran straight into the clear glass sliding door. They were dying laughing for a good five minutes. Jokes on me, I guess! Don't worry, he left for the night so we sabotaged his room with a better prank-newspapers under the sheets and peanut butter on the door handles. He should be coming home any minute so we shall see his reaction-I'm sure I'll be getting pranked for a while after this!
Hasta Luego!
Love, Kristin
Friday, January 27, 2012
Dia 8
Hola!
This will most likely be one of the shortest posts-sorry in advance! I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this. Today my school group went to the capital San Jose. We separated and my group was in charge of getting tickets for everyone at the bus stop for tomorrow-we're going to a beach called Jaco (accent on the 'o') pronounced ha-co. Of course, we got hopelessly lost. I was asking all the ticos, where's the bus station? Where's the plaza? Luckily we found a parking attendant that let us use his cell phone (public phones are so complicated to use) and we got a hold of a staff member that found us and got us back to San Isidro. My first frustrating Costa Rican adventure!
We got back home safe and sound. I hung out with my family and we all shared music with each other. My papa played music that reminded me of doing the twist so I started dancing around the kitchen-they all got a kick out of that. Tomorrow a group of us students and a few tico family members and friends are going to a beach-about a 2.5 hour bus ride away for the day. I won't have internet access until Sunday night or Monday morning so sorry-no posts until then. I'll write in my travel journal that my Mom back in the States gave me.
Buenas Noches!
Love, Kristin
This will most likely be one of the shortest posts-sorry in advance! I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this. Today my school group went to the capital San Jose. We separated and my group was in charge of getting tickets for everyone at the bus stop for tomorrow-we're going to a beach called Jaco (accent on the 'o') pronounced ha-co. Of course, we got hopelessly lost. I was asking all the ticos, where's the bus station? Where's the plaza? Luckily we found a parking attendant that let us use his cell phone (public phones are so complicated to use) and we got a hold of a staff member that found us and got us back to San Isidro. My first frustrating Costa Rican adventure!
We got back home safe and sound. I hung out with my family and we all shared music with each other. My papa played music that reminded me of doing the twist so I started dancing around the kitchen-they all got a kick out of that. Tomorrow a group of us students and a few tico family members and friends are going to a beach-about a 2.5 hour bus ride away for the day. I won't have internet access until Sunday night or Monday morning so sorry-no posts until then. I'll write in my travel journal that my Mom back in the States gave me.
Buenas Noches!
Love, Kristin
The post office in San Jose.
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