Finally feeling Homesick

Well its happened, I finally feel homesick. I miss my family, boyfriend, and friends. For about a week I was pretty bothered by this, but now I am just feeling the remnants. It is perfectly natural. I have been gone for two months and have had little contact with most people. I have gotten over the feeling simply by talking to friends and family on Facebook. I have plenty of time to do that during the week, so it hasn't been anything of concern. I have a little less than 5 weeks in Costa Rica. Although I am a bit homesick now, I know I still have so much to do here. I, in no way, want to leave Costa Rica though. It probably didn't help that I stayed in San Jose this weekend. We had a service learning activity on Saturday. My group, along with about 30 other college students, volunteered at a small school in Tirasses, which is a local town. It is very poor and it was evident by the houses and pollution surrounding the area. In about 5 hours, we made a garden right outside the school and I have to admit, it looked really nice! I am very happy we were able to get that done and help out the school. Some school kids were there and they were very nice, some of us had the opportunity to practice our Spanish (which is always needed). It felt really great to volunteer and actually make a difference. Take advantage of talking to Costa Rica children. They can tell you a lot about the culture and they easily latch onto people. It is easy to make a connection with children. At night, we went to a bar in San Pedro called Mundo Loco. It is very close to ULatina and is always a very good time. The bar played some Latin music on Saturday, so the atmosphere was very fun and lively. We spent some time dancing. Besides that, this weekend was very calm and allowed me to plan for my next couple of weekends here. This weekend, I am going to Nicaragua with ICDS, I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about that. I have a feeling it will be one of the best weekends here, if not the best. ICDS is great at planning trips.

Montezuma

This past weekend, I went to Montezuma with 3 other students from the program. Many students went their separate ways this weekend in smaller groups. Traveling constantly with a large group can be draining so we decided to make it small and intimate. Montezuma is a beach town on the pacific coast off Costa Rica on the Nicoya Peninsula. We took a bus, a ferry, and then another bus to get there. We stayed at La Aurora Hostel, which was very nice. Two of my girl friends and I got a private room to ourselves with three beds, a mini fridge, and a private bathroom. That's about as good as its going to get when visiting hostels. The owner was really nice and was willing to help us out a lot. The hostel was about a minute walk from the beach, which was great. Surprisingly, the beach was extremely dirty. There was so much trash along the border of the sand from the forests, but the water was clear. This was very upsetting because we later found out that all the trash wash floating down the rivers from the interior of the continent. Although Costa Rica is the poster child for sustainable development, it still has a long way to go with improving its waste management. In the ocean, the waves were sooooo strong! We could hardly stay in without being knocked over, but when we walked down about 30 minutes along the coast we found a calmer part of the water and swam. When we were walking we spotted about 10 monkeys. They were adorable, but fierce. We got really close to them as well! Don't worry we acted sustainably and didn't feed or touch them, of course! On Saturday, I went snorkeling on Tortuga Island. The island was really cool, but there was some pollution there as well. I still saw so many fish and it was a great time! Our guide took us on a long boat tour, let us snorkel for about 2 hours, and prepared us lunch. We chilled along the beach of the island for a few hours before returning to Montezuma. It was a beautiful weekend, but the pollution surprised us all. The nightlife in Montezuma is a little slow. We were really tired so we ended up just talking with each other at night and relaxing. Also, a guy we met in Monte Verde joined us at our hostel! It was great.

Puerto Viejo

Its been a while since I've posted on here! I've been really soaking in Costa Rica. I think its important to refrain from spending your time behind a camera or a blog. Get out there and experience things in person! So two weekends ago I went to Puerto Viejo. It was extremely fun! Although Puerto Viejo is known for being one of the most dangerous parts of the country, if you stay in a group and behave in a smart manner, no harm should come to you. That is what I did with the other students and no problems arose. I went in a big group (about 10 students). During the days, we went to local beaches. The water was so clear, the sand was white, and the environment was really pretty (along the beach that is). Once we strayed from the beach, the trash along the streets was visible. Puerto Viejo is poverty stricken in some areas and the people seem to be very laid back. This is when the term Pura Vida can develop into a negative phrase. At night, we walked around Puerto Viejo and bar hopped. The dancing was fun and the people were hilarious. It was very crowded and loud in the town so we made sure to take safety precautions. Puerto Viejo is one of my favorite spots in Costa Rica. I really enjoyed the culture, from what I saw. We stayed at a hostel called Rocking J's. If definitely catered to my age group and the decorations of the hostel were very.... how can I put this..... well hipster. Don't get me wrong, all the art was really cool and it was fun just to walk around and see the designs, but to me, it wasn't genuine. When we asked the employees for help, they acted rudely and sometimes ignored us. It was extremely annoying and I started to dislike the place for that reason. I could really tell it was all a scheme to attract people from our age group and charge them ridiculous amounts of money. Although my host mom told me that I could drink the water everywhere in Costa Rica, this hostel said we couldn't so they charged us for water. (Don't worry I rebelled and boiled my own tap water on the stove). I have about 80 bug bites on my legs from the nights in Puerto Viejo. So remember to apply your bug spray and maybe wear long pants! Soak up the sun at the beach because that is easily the best part. I took the bus down to the last set of beaches and the corals were great to see and swim across.

Studying abroad in Costa Rica

This is my 5th week in Costa Rica and I can´t believe it. Tomorrow, I and a few others are traveling to Puerto Viejo for the weekend. Although its only been a few days since Monte Verde, I feel like I just got back. The week days literally fly by. I guess its because everyday I have class from 8-3:30 except on Fridays when I have class for 2 hours until 12. Also, the work load is not small or easy. I came to Costa Rica thinking the classes would be super easy and I would spend most of my time around the city of San Jose. Although I do find myself in San Jose sometimes, most of my week days consist of getting my homework done so I don´t have to worry about it on the weekend. It is definitely import to balance play with academic planning, but it is harder to do that in Costa Rica because on the weekends I do absolutely no homework. So my weekday life centers just around my classes. It definitely helps that the subject matter (environmental sustainability) is a subject I hope to become involved with for the rest of my life. I really do find my classes very interesting and they are nothing like the classes I have taken at Drexel. The environmental sustainability track is very much about policy and institutional change compared to the environmental science courses at Drexel which are mostly about biodiversity and scientific research. I am SO happy that I came to Costa Rica to take these classes, because Drexel cannot offer me anything similar to these classes. I know I will have an advantage against other students majoring in environmental science because of Costa Rica.
Also, I am so happy that I came to Costa Rica and stayed with a host family. Its a completely different type of experience because you are COMPLETELY immersed in the culture and a student living in a dorm or apartment with other study abroad students will never feel that type of connection. I have developed such a strong love for Costa Rica and Latin America and it is because I was thrown into the culture and have developed an understanding of it. I cannot stress enough that a study abroad experience is not just about going out and seeing different things and partying, it is about understanding new cultures, becoming a part of it, and giving back to the country that is giving to you. Also, I came to Costa Rica not really caring if I learned Spanish while I was here or not. Now, I really hope I come back at least conversational. Its really fulfilling to be able to have conversations with my host mom in Spanish and I am proud when I can order in a restaurant with no problems. I can´t explain it, but the success feels great! Now, I feel like when I visit other countries in the future, I will try to immerse myself not just in the environment and sights, but in the culture as well.
The Take Home Message: Traveling abroad is about becoming a part of other cultures and experiencing different ways of life, not partying and looking at pretty things.
Here is a typical breakfast in Costa Rica:

Monte Verde

This past weekend I went to Monte Verde with 14 other students in the program. It was a great time!  We took a bus at 2:30pm on Friday after class and got to Monte Verde around 7:30 (which was longer than we expected). The bus ride was hell though, unfortunately. There were no more seats left on the bus so we all crowded together and sat on the floor of the bus. We were all cramped and hot by the time we got off, but at least we got there. I have to admit I will remember that experience and laugh about it forever. I recommend to anyone traveling by bus to line up ahead of time to make sure you get your seat. We will not be making that mistake again. We stayed at a hostel called Sleepers Sleep Cheaper and it was AWESOME! For only $7 a night we stayed in private rooms (4 people to a room) and we had our own private bathroom to each room. The hostel was clean and the sitting area for everyone to share was nice as well. The kitchen was stocked with pots and pans so a lot of people went and bought groceries at the local market and made dinner. Of course I was too lazy so I bought myself some Ramon and a few pieces of fruit. On Saturday, we went to Santa Elena Reserve, which was a forest reserve much like Monte Verde. We chose to go to Santa Elena instead of Monte Verde because it was cheaper and it was less "touristy" from what we heard. Also, the cost of entry went directly to the upkeep on the reserve unlike Monte Verde. It was absolutely beautiful. We spent a full 8 hours hiking through the forests. It was a long day and I was dead tired from the night before, but it was all worth it. After we took our taxi back to our hostel, I went out to dinner with a few friends and enjoyed the rest of the night playing some games around the hostel and getting to know the visitors. We were too tired to go out that weekend, but we all had a great time in the hostel getting to know everyone. We met people from New Zealand and Germany and we plan to meet up with one of them another weekend. It is great talking to other international visitors. You can learn a bit about their culture without every traveling there. Truthfully, it just makes me want to travel to other places more and more. On Sunday we took the bus back at 6 am and got back to our host families around 11 am, which was really good timing. The weekend was all in all really great, but in the next upcoming weekends I plan to participate in some adventures. I don't just want to spend all of my time hiking. I want to snorkel and bunjee jump and a whole other bunch of stuff as well.
Here is a picture of the could forest in the reserve:

San Jose & Rafting

I spent this weekend in San Jose, and vowed not to do that again unless I have to. On Friday, our counselor, Tatianna took us to the theater to see a contemporary ballet show downtown. It was a great performance which taught us a bit about indigenous culture. ICDS paid for our tickets and transportation! It was really nice of them because this wasn't a planned event. We just all expressed interest and they said they would provide the tickets and transportation. ICDS is a great program because they truly do care about our experience and they care how we are feeling. Although, they're not perfect. Most of us came into the program thinking that we would have Fridays off to travel, but we don't. After I expressed interest in changing the schedule of some classes so we could have Fridays off, they denied our request. It really does impede on some of our plans, but they are thinking about giving us a few Fridays off so we can travel to farther places. That would be perfect, but we will see what happens. Also, every student is assigned a volunteer location for Monday mornings. It is supposed to be like a mini-internship in the subject of your program. Unfortunately, its not like that at all. I am in the environmental sustainability program and I was placed at a local grade school to help students learn English (that has nothing to do with environmental sustainability). I'm not too upset about it because I didn't join the program for an environmental internship (I mean come on, I go to Drexel), but a few others did and I understand why they are upset. ICDS can be disorganized. To us it is disorganized, but to them it is normal because that is sort of the culture of Costa Rica. Pura Vida! So make sure to keep on them if you really need something. Some other students have switched locations because they wanted other volunteer opportunities, but I am going to stick it out at my school and see what happens. Its always good to be well rounded. Anyways, enough of my ranting. On Saturday I scheduled a trip with Rainforest Tours to white water raft down the Pacuare River. I never white water rafted before. IT WAS AMAZING! I loved every minute of it. The company picked us up form ULatina, gave us a delicious breakfast and lunch, and took us rafting for 4 hours. Rafting is one of the most exciting things I've ever done. The rapids went up to class IV difficulty, I even fell in a few times, even on purpose! I would go again in a heartbeat... if I had the time and money (It was $85). Today I just hung out around the house with my host family. I needed a calm day to finish some homework. It is important to get all of your homework done during the week so you can be care-free on the weekends. That's gotta be on the top ten list of study abroad tips right there.

Tortuguero

I cannot begin to explain how happy I was this weekend. This was one of the best weekends of my life not just because of the places I was at, but because of the people I was with.
This weekend, we went on a trip that ICDS (my program) planned to Tortuguero. Tortuguero is a national park in Costa Rica known for its beautiful canals and sea turtles. It has a lot of other things to offer as well. We left for Tortuguero on a small bus at 6:15 am. The bus ride took about 5 hours which included breakfast at a local restaurant, the food was good as usual. Once we got into the small rural town, we took a boat through the canals which led to our small resort. The resort was beautiful. We slept in huge tents (about 5 beds to a tent) which was the best way to do it. It was an eco-friendly lodge so there was a noticeable effort to reduce electricity and water consumption, which was nice.  Once we got there, we ate lunch and I took a tour of the waters through a kayak and also ended up lounging around on the hammocks in the resort. Then, we took our boat over to the local school. This school was very small and poverty stricken. There is 1 teacher and 6 students in the entire school. All afternoon, we built a path for the students so during the rainy season they could walk to school without ruining their shoes and clothes everyday. It was manual labor, but extremely rewarding and fun. After that, we all embraced our sweaty-ness and played some volleyball, then got showered and ate dinner. We ended the night by singing around a campfire and talking ourselves to sleep. Falling asleep to the sounds of the rainforest was so amazing, I cannot describe it. Throughout the day we got up close and personal with a really cute sloth, saw and heard many monkeys, and saw a ton of cool birds, insects, and plants. On Sunday we woke up at 5am and took our boat to a green sea turtle sanctuary. We watched the turtles get pulled out the sand, we measured a few, and then released them all. They were so adorable. We took the boat back to the resort, ate breakfast, hung around the resort, and headed back to San Jose. Oh and right before we left, we saw a small crocodile!
The weekended was phenomenal. Like I said before, I cannot begin to describe how amazing it was. The teacher, counselor, and guide who accompanied us were so happy to have us and they helped make this weekend one of the best in my life. I am so thankful! Remember to get to know your teachers. Our teacher, Helen, came with us and she is a great friend! She is so knowledgeable and down to earth.
Unfortunately, I need to start my homework. Sundays are always the days I have this great realization on how wonderful my life is... and then I start my homework.
Here is a picture of our captain, boat, and a bit of the canal: