The beach!! :)

This weekend was quite exciting! Friday we went to a coffee making place here in Barva called Cafe Britt! It was a really cool place and we all enjoyed some delicious coffee (even though I hate coffee)! Then after that we went to Poas Volcan which is an active volcano close to Heredia! It was really cool to see the whole thing, but I was slightly scared too! The volcano itself was just really smoky so that was okay! There was also a lagoon on the other side of the mountain and that was beautiful! I enjoyed that greatly! On Saturday the USAC group grove up to a resort place called Punta Leona! It was gorgeous! We had a white sand beach where all of us got sunburned and now look like lobsters! We also did a canopy tour which is basically zip lining a bunch of times through beautiful trees and such! We pretty much just played on the beach and in the Pacific Ocean and it was great weather and everything!! :) I enjoyed myself greatly! :) Now it's back to school again! Oh the joys of college!

Today the USAC group went to a place called Cafe Britt! It is a coffee plantation/roasting/making/i have no idea exactly place! it was really cool! We got to tour the whole place and see how coffee is grown and made, then we got to try coffee and chocolate! It was soo delicious...well minus the coffee part! haha After that we went to a little restaurant and had lunch which was really good then we drove to Poas Volcan, which is an active volcano mind you! It was pretty fun and a very amazing sight to see, but I was slightly frightened! It was cool though! After that we drove back and went to the mall to this pizza place and had pizza together. I can't wait for tomorrow! We are going to Punta Leona, which is a beach on the Pacific Ocean side! I hope it isn't too rainy and 'cold'. Maybe I'll get a sunburn...I hope not but then I would get tan! ;) haha It will be a grand adventure!!! :)

I am starting to understand Spanish better, but not completely! I still just do the nod and smile thing, but eventually I will understand everything! Yesterday the group went to Piratas del Caribe pero fue en Ingles con subtitulos en Espanol. It was pretty exciting but I was soo tired! We also went to a huge market inside this building and it was soo cool! I am going to an outside one on Monday and I'm soo excited! I cannot wait! Tomorrow we are going on an adventure and we don't have school so officially I have finished my first week of school in Costa Rica!!! Congratulations to me! ;) haha

Oh My Goodness....That's all I can pretty much say about yesterday and today! I had a good 21st birthday with mi amigas! We might have had a little too much fun last night because we have all decided that drinking on a Tuesday night then going to class at 8am is a terrible idea. It has been quite the day to say the least! I did have a great time, but I missed all of my family and friends back home! I'm very sleepy so I will write more and post pictures later!!! :)

(picture on Top) My host mom, Particia (in the back), my host sister, Daniela (in the blue), and a family friend/translator, Ruben, after finishing the puzzle of Boise that I brought them! (picture on bottom) Daniela y me at the Monte de la Cruz (mountain of the cross) ayer (yesterday!)

Universidad Nacional (UNA)

Hoy es el dia 4! It was also my first day at school! I only had one class this morning, which was Español! It was pretty good and my teacher is super nice! I've also decided that Spanish books are sooo expensive and I dislike buying them :( Mi madre took me to la universidad hoy pero I had to take the bus back home by myself :/ Thankfully I made it safe! Mi madre told me to pretty much chill when I got home so that's what I'm doing! I have la clase de baile this afternoon and I'm pretty excited about that :) Maybe I'll try to post pictures for everyone this afternoon! I miss everyone back home! Hope everything is going well!

So I ended up going to the mall yesterday, which was huge and there were so many people it was crazy! I guess that is expected for a Saturday! Today they are taking me to a mountain...I'm not sure which one, but it is supposed to be really cool! I'll talk lots of pictures to show everyone!

I'm still enjoying myself, but one thing I'm still having a hard time with is the fact that you can't flush toilet paper down the toilet! Their sewers or plumbing is really bad so you have to throw it in the garbage. It sounds really gross and it kind of is, but that's just the way they live.

I found out yesterday that we have una tortuga (Turtle)!!! I love turtles soo much! His name is Tortue. We also have un conejo (rabbit), dos perros (dogs), y un gato (cat). I have no idea what the rabbits name is, but los perros nombres son Moli y Luna. El gato nombre es Pelusa! It is quite interesting, but they are all nice so that's good! More to come about my exciting day today! :)

I started off my day with eating rice and black beans. It's a traditional Costa Rican meal! My host mom, Patricia, gave me a huge plate and I definitely couldn't eat it all. It was interesting to say the least. It wasn't gross, just different, especially for breakfast. Then Patricia took me on a Bus to Heredia to the Universidad (UNA) for my orientation. I met all of the rest of the USAC students and adults in charge, which was nice! They are all very sweet and we had a good day today! We toured the campus, talked about what to expect, and I learned where the market is! I am sooo excited to go there so I hope it's as good as they say! :) I also picked out my classes....I'm going to take Intermediate Espanol, Conversacion de Espanol, Historia de Americana Latina, y Biles de Americana Latino (I get to take dance class for both sessions YAY!). After orientation my host sister, Daniela, came and picked me up. We rode the bus back to our casa, but I'm pretty sure I am going to get lost on Monday :/ This afternoon Dani and I are going to the mall, I think anyway, so we will see what that is like! So far my spanish sucks, but I'm really hoping that it will get better sooner rather than later. For now I'll just smile and nod and say Okay!

COSTA RICA!!!

I'm in Costa Rica!!!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!! We landed in a huge rain storm but it's very green here!! I met some awesome people already and I love my family!!! I have a host mom who is so sweet and cooks amazing and I have a host sister that is really cool! She took me all around the town (Barva) and I met so many people I don't remember their names. I also met a Tico (Costa Rican) who knows English and Spanish and he has helped translate which is nice for being here for the first day! Tomorrow is orientation so we'll see what I will be doing the rest of the summer!

Airport!

Well I am officially checked in and about ready to board! Two days of flying will finally get me to my destination...Costa Rica! Wish me luck!! :)

AHHHHH!!!! Less than 24 hours left before I leave! Wow time has really gone by fast! :/ Hope my suitcase isn't too heavy! haha

Only 8 more days until my fabulous trip to Costa Rica begins! So much to do and so little time to do it in! :/ I am getting really excited!