Thanksgiving

Mal Pais, Costa Rica with amazing friends in an amazing home!!!

first semester: check

Yesterday I finished my first semester as a second grade teacher at Lincoln. There is a huge part of me that can't believe it has already been 4 months, but when I think back on everything I have done and seen in the past four months, it seems like it has been longer. Tomorrow I leave to head back to the USA for the holidays, the first time I have returned home since I came down in July. My roommate has already gone home, so it is pretty quiet around my house, and I have had some time to think... about my life here, about going home to see friends and family and my dog, Bentley!! I realized just how fortunate I am. I am so lucky. I have a wonderful life. Last night I celebrated completing the semester with great friends who I have met here. I really did not know who or what I would stumble upon when I moved to Costa Rica, but I have met people who will leave lasting impressions on me, and people who I have, in such a short time, created amazing memories!! Seriously, lucky. And that is not even all, tomorrow I will fly back to Michigan to spend time with my dear family and enjoy celebrating another Christmas together. I will get to see my 4 year old niece rip open her presents from Santa, which will be great, since I haven't seen her in about a year!! Then I will be off to Colorado to reconnect with friends who became family in the past 10 years of living there! I will visit places I used to frequent all the time, see old friends, visit with family, hit up the ski slopes.... I can not wait.

Maybe what I am trying to do here is reflect upon how incredibly fortunate I am! Moving to Costa Rica was a leap, one that many people were unsure of, including myself... but I knew I needed a change. I am so happy I did it. It has changed me. I know when I go back to the states tomorrow, and see the people who I love, it will be like I haven't skipped a beat. Sometimes life is hard. I was stuck... but I can say today that I could not be happier with the decision I made last November.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.~ Henry David Thoreau

daily life in chepe

I haven't been doing the best job keeping up with this blog- and honestly, I know it isn't the most exciting read, but I hope to look back one day and remember these moments!

So... Life in Chepe

Never have I felt so busy, well at least not that I can remember. I'm sure I have been. Our schedule here is busy, obviously working the day job as a second grade teacher. Our weekly schedule is very crazy and it changes everyday, so that alone is hard to keep up with sometimes. Luckily, my kids are finally getting a handle on the schedule, so that helps!

Spanish:
Many people keep asking, how is your Spanish coming along? Well... to be completely honest,  it is still       s  l  o  w  l  y  coming along. I have a Spanish class every Monday after school, and I haven't missed one yet! She moves quickly and covers a lot in a short 45 minute time period. It turns out you can't learn Spanish in 45 minutes a week! So recently, I started studying once a week with my friend, Kim, it usually involves food and wine, but we also study! I have found that it helps me to review and try to talk more, but I still have so much to learn. I can understand more than I did when I came here 4 months ago, but don't expect a response (unless I have had a few glasses of wine, then I think I can speak Spanish).
I have also determined it is difficult to practice when most of your friends are gringos and speak English. I know I need to get out there, find some activities to participate in that will help me meet Spanish speaking friends... but then I go back to the issue of being "busy". Oh well, I have plenty of time, right?

Friends:
The more time I spend here, the closer I get to my new Costa Rican amigos! I have really enjoyed spending time with the people here and still feel so lucky to work with and be friends with a great group of people. It is so nice that the school environment creates an amazing community of people, and that everyone is so welcoming and friendly. I know I will be so sad when I have to say goodbye to those who have fulfilled their 2 year (or more!) commitment this summer... but I also know I have made some wonderful friends along the way and I still have 7 months of time left to enjoy them!

Transportation:
Boy did I luck out, living with a roommate that owns a care has serious perks!!! I have been spoiled and I am the first to admit it. Don't get me wrong, I still rely on walking, taxi's and the teacher bus to get me around, but not nearly as much as I would if I didn't live with Elle!  I take the teacher bus to school most mornings, it comes around 7 and picks us up right outside the apartment. I rarely take the teacher bus home due to after school activities (Spanish, spinning and yoga) but even in those cases, I either ride with Elle or convince someone to take me home! If I can't walk, which is often, there are always taxi's available, and while it isn't expensive, it certainly adds up after awhile. However, it is safer than walking alone at night and that is by far the most important!

Safety:
Overall, I feel pretty safe here. I feel safe at home, safe walking around during the daytime and even safe out at night if I am with friends. Our apartment is in a nice gated complex, and because Costa Ricans are super paranoid about safety, EVERYWHERE has a guard. So we have a few guards who are always working, which adds a small element of security. As far as being out and about, as long as you are cautious and aware of your surroundings there isn't much to worry about. Which I think you can say about almost anywhere in the world.

Weather:
I never, ever, in a million years thought I would say it... but it actually gets COLD here! I know, I know.... crazy, right? But it's true!! This is coming from a Michigan girl born and raised, who lived in Colorado and loves snowboarding... but it is a little chilly, people! Obviously, it is not snowing or anything... but I am surprised at the temperatures. We are just finishing up rainy season around here, or so I hear, but for the month of October it rained almost every afternoon and that was pretty miserable. You aren't really leaving the house in the rain because it sucks to walk anywhere and you can't get a cab... so I spent many lazy evenings in. Now the rain has subsided, but the wind has picked up and the temperatures have dropped. I must admit, it feels like fall, and I enjoy being able to wear my fall clothes. I get to wear pants, leggings, boots, lightweight long sleeves, it really is like fall! I have heard it stays this way through January and then our dry beautiful summer begins!

Well, I think that is enough updating for now... not sure you learned much about life in chepe.. but it is a good start. Thanks for reading, if you even made it this far!

hola...?

Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted... I guess life gets away from us sometimes. So much has happened since my last post, and it would take forever to write all of it... so how about a quick break down. I have continued to become more and more comfortable here in Costa Rica. I have gotten to know people better, am settling in (and making changes!) at work and continuing to adjust to my new life. While there have been times that I have missed home, friends and family... overall, I am still so happy with the decision I made to come here.

One of the reasons I came: TRAVEL
I have been given so many wonderful opportunities to travel around Costa Rica! Fortunately, it is really easy to get around here and it especially helps when your roommate and friends have cars! A big group of gringos took a trip to Nosara back in September and it was wonderful. It was quiet, relaxing and beautiful!

For another long weekend, a few girls (Elle, Kim, Jessica, Rachel, Vale and I) got out of town for a nice little trip to Tamaridno (or Tamagringo!). Since it is low season, it really wasn't too busy, but it was the perfect busy for a girls weekend away. We got to surf, enjoy nice dinners, dance and have fun all weekend! We did have an interesting experience with a crocodile swimming in the ocean, yes, in the ocean! Luckily, we were warned about the crocodile before it did any damage to us, but there was an out of town surfer there who can not say the same. We read in an article on the way home that weekend that a man was attacked! We can't believe we didn't see it happen since we were on the beach the whole weekend!

Can you see the croc?

Amazing sunset in Tamarindo

Whale watching: Uvita! Asecol (an organization through work) organized a group tour to Uvita to go whale watching. It was a fantastic deal! We had a private tour bus, private tour and a fabulous time watching whales and lounging at the beach! We were taken out on small boats to see the humpback whales... and we got to see them! It was so amazing! They are so big, its unbelievable. It is something I would like to do again while I am here. We also got to jump off the boat and swim out in the middle of the ocean. There were probably about 20 of us swimming in the water. It was very nice.

Humpback whale!

Cahuita was another great escape. I traveled with Kim, Stacy and Jessica for the weekend to the Caribbean coast. We visited Cahuita which is a small, sleepy town that is home to a National Park. It was amazing, and it turns out, not so sleepy after all. We went into the park and saw monkeys, sloths, birds, a sting ray, a million sand dollars and the clearest water I have ever seen in my life. We had an amazing weekend and managed to make our own fun. When there are 4 gringas looking for a fun evening on the town, it turns out its not too hard to find!

Monkeys!

So beautiful!!!

I feel so lucky to have been on these vacations. Life is not one big vacation, I do work, but I am so fortunate to be able to spend my weekends exploring Costa Rica. Coming soon, I will write more about Life in San Jose, work, you know... the day to day things!

revenge of the rip tide!

Last Saturday, I went to the beach with 2 friends. It was my first time visiting this beach, Playa Hermosa, it is just south of Jaco. We have been told time and time again about the dangerous rip tide, but we hadn't even taken the time to consider it before a friend went in for a swim. We were only about 10 minutes into our beach day... Elle and I were sitting in our beach chairs and Ruth was swimming. All of the sudden we heard a loud scream, "HELP!!!!" My stomach sank, Elle and I looked at each other and started running as fast as we could to the water. Elle looked to me and said, "Are you a stronger swimmer, I used to be a life guard" Quickly, I replied, "Yes, but maybe you should go." So I stayed about knee-deep and Elle started swimming in.... the waves were big and I was nervous. Elle got about chest deep and turned back to me and gave me a look that can only be described as hopeless and afraid. She told me to yell for help and that's when I knew we were in trouble, serious trouble. I started screaming, screaming as loud as I could, "HELP! HELP! Someone please help us!" I really can't remember, but all I know is I was scared, Elle was trying to work her way back in and I was trying to keep my eyes on Ruth, making sure she had her head above water... the waves were so big I'd lose her... at one point I couldn't see her head... one wave came... then another... still no Ruth. Finally her head popped up... thank goodness!!!! Sometime during all of that a surfer came running toward us and yelled at me to get back to the sand. He headed out into the ocean in full rescue mode. Another guy started swimming out too and helped Elle as she made it back to shore. It felt like forever... Elle and I standing on shore waiting... hoping, both thinking we were watching our friend die. A crowd had built up upon the shore... all hoping that Ruth would be okay. The surfer made his way out to her and luckily she had the energy to keep herself above water and she was okay. He helped her onto the board and swam about 50 yards to the left before bringing her in. There were about 10 other surfers in the water ready to help as needed. We were so lucky. Had we been on that beach alone there's no telling what the outcome may have been. It was by far the scariest experience in my life. We learned a valuable lesson that day... to always always always check the currents. Watch the water and be so cautious while we swim. We were lucky... but I don't ever want to experience that again.

hola

it's Friday... I am exhausted and relieved it is the weekend! I realized I have not written in awhile, so I thought I would take some time today. I looked at the date on the lower right hand corner of the computer and realized that 2 months ago today I was packing up the last of my little home in Denver, saying goodbye to friends and my sweet puppy. A part of me feels like I have been here so much longer than 2 months, but another part of me feels like it is flying by. The good thing is, it feels like home. I am comfortable, I have nice friends and colleagues, and I am finally in a routine. Between Spanish, spinning, yoga and now kickboxing, my Mon-Thurs stay busy! With my weekends, I have been fortunate to have already been to many beautiful beaches on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts and seen some beautiful landscape along the way! It really has been an easy adjustment so far...

I am settling in at work as well, it is always tough to start a new job and learn the way things are done. For awhile I was pretty down about things, because I don't really agree 100% with my team about best practices for teaching. With all of the work I have done in the past few years to become the teacher I am, it was difficult for me to let that all go and teach in a way I don't really believe in. So, I have been quiet at meetings and figured out how to incorporate the necessary curriculum while teaching the way I want. Luckily, the curriculum coordinator, Kasey, supports me in that decision. In the past week or two I have started speaking up a little more, asking a few more questions, sharing more ideas (and they are becoming more welcomed) during the team meetings. It turns out, having 7 years of teaching experience, I do know a little bit about teaching! So slowly I am teaching other people about things I love and believe in, such as Daily 5, teaching vocabulary and grammar within context, individualizing instruction to meet the needs of my students and people are slowly opening up to new ideas. With 100% of my students being English Language Learner's, I really get to put my new Master's degree to use! I have to remember that change is hard but as long as I continue with what I believe is right then I am doing the best job I can for my students...

thanks for reading!

puerto viejo!

This past weekend I took my first trip to the Caribbean in Costa Rica! It was beautiful! There was a group of nine and we left immediately after work on Friday to catch the 4 o'clock bus to the beach! It was along trip, but it was worth it! We stayed in little cabinas (Cabinas Selvin, I believe) in Punta Uva... they were rustic, but affordable and had kitchens. I wish you could have seen the size of the insects! I was too afraid of them to take pictures! They were HUGE! Here is a few pictures of the place though...

a bedroom- with a net for the HUGE bugs!

front porch with hammock!




The kitchen!


 We spent Saturday at the beach, it was beautiful! The water was clear and warm and the beer was cold and delicious! We had a delicious lunch (I had fish tacos with Caribbean rice and beans) and then we headed back to the place to shower up and prepare for a night on the town!

Some of the crew

Could this be any more relaxing?

Que lindo!

 We headed into town for dinner and ate at a place called Chile Rojo. I had FRESH Marlin with rice and veggies and it was only about 13bucks! I was pretty pleased with that! It was delicious and affordable! A few of us stayed out to enjoy the night life and I am glad I did. There were many bars with dancing and music and the culture of the Caribbean in Costa Rica is really neat! There was a bar that played all Spanish music and it was fun to watch people salsa dance, other bars played Rasta music and the dance floors were packed! While I have never been to Jamaica, it felt like it could be a similar feel. It was a wonderful night!



It's blurry, but it is the group sin Meghan at dinner! A bunch of lookers, eh? :)

Sunday was another beautiful day at the beach, a delicious meal at a place called Bread and Chocolate and a bus trip home! Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home... but it was all worth it! Another great weekend in the books! It was pura vida!

end of august

well... I guess I am really settling into my routine in Costa Rica. I have been here 6 weeks but it feels like I have been living here so much longer! It must be because I am so busy with work each day and thoroughly enjoying my weekends. The people who I have become close friends with are great and it is starting to feel like I have known them forever! weird. :)

These past few weeks have been jam packed with fun, so I will fill you in on some of the adventure!

San Jose weekends: One of the best parts about staying in San Jose for the weekend is being able to go to the feria organica! It is the cutest little hippie farmer's market and I have found tons of great gems (thanks Elle!) It is nice to stock up of fresh fruits and veggies, but I also enjoy the pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, chocolate banana bread and variety of goat cheese I have brought home. Haven't been disappointed in a purchase yet! The hard part is getting up and being out the door by 7:15 to get the good stuff. I am so not a morning person...


Elle doing some shopping

Sean doing some browsing

Last weekend my roommate, Elle, and I hosted the "Old gringo/new gringo" party and also celebrated our friend Meghan's birthday! It was a wonderful time and it was nice to get to know some of the other teachers who have been teaching here awhile. We had a great time and I am happy we were able to bring so many people together! The gringos gotta stick together!

Meghan, Elle y yo :)

Language Acquisition: My Spanish is coming along s l o w l y... but it is coming! Every Monday I take Spanish after school and while it is only an hour a week, it is still helpful. We have been working on regular verbs in the present tense... now I just need to memorize what they all mean since I know how to conjugate them! Soon enough.
I did my first yoga class in Spanish! I do yoga at school every Wednesday and every other week she does English/Spanish... I was a little nervous I would be lost, but I did better than I thought! Turns out knowing silla means chair, perro means dog, derecho means right and izquierda means left helped a lot! I enjoyed the class more than I thought!

That about sums up what I do on a weekly basis... work, Spanish class, work, yoga... work... get caught in the afternoon rain, oh and drink copious amounts of wine but nothing has changed there...

thanks for reading :) pura vida!

i've been here a month, really?!

(Oops! Had some computer trouble, now this is a week late! Owell!)

It is hard to believe it has been a month already! Time is flying by, but we are so busy down here! Really a month is nothing when you have 2 years! Everyone keeps telling me the first year will be over in no time and I will soon be deciding if I want to renew a contract! I don't believe them... a year can't go by that fast!

Anyway, another great week under my belt. I am still happy, loving it, enjoying making new friends...some say it's the "honeymoon stage"... I am hoping it lasts a long time!

As far as work goes, it is busy and the schedule is crazy and I am trying to learn new curriculum (which I don't really love that much, because it is SO different from what I know and so one size fits all) Anyway... I am going to try to work around it and teach what I believe in while working in the required curriculum... wish me luck!

The students are pretty adorable- but SUPER chatty. Cultural, I know... but really they never stop talking! However, their schedule is super hectic and we are constantly transitioning... so I feel like that plays into it too... it may take me awhile, but I am determined to whip them into shape!

On the social side, I am having tons of fun meeting all of the new people! Loving my roomie, Elle and my new sobrino, Billy Moo! This Thursday we did not have school for Mother's Day in Costa Rica! Feliz dia de madre, Costa Rica! I went to the beach! We had a caravan of 4 cars and about 20 people at the beach and it was SO fun!! Turns out there were just a few bad apples on my first beach trip who managed to really spoil it for everyone, and they weren't on this beach trip and all was well!! I handled this group of 20 just fine! We had a great time and it was fun to get to know some of the other people I hadn't met yet! It is really nice to have a community of gringos here to relate to and spend time with... it's like instant friends!


The photos below are the gringo group and the Crocodile Bridge on the way to the beach! You can stop and see all of the crocodiles under the bridge! 


Gringo Group!

Crocodile Love!

first week of school

Once again another week has gone by and I have barely had time to breathe! This past Monday the entire staff, veteran and new teachers, came together to prepare for the school year. There are so many teachers at Lincoln, I am not sure I will ever meet them all! With the school being PreK-12 grade, it is a large group! However, I did get to meet most of the elementary staff and have already found some people I really enjoy spending time with! It was a relief after my weekend in Manuel Antonio with the other new teachers! I was happy to find some people I can relate to a little better!

Monday-Wednesday were filled with meetings... we barely had any time to work in our classrooms which was pretty stressful! However, the kids came Thursday I a jumped right into teacher mode and had a great day! These kids (so far) are pretty great! They are very sweet, respectful and bright. Coming from a class that was 75% below grade-level in reading, this group seems to be very on top of things! When I ask them to do something, say, writer's work shop, they all cheered and started writing almost immediately! It was nice. I know I will need to work on a few things, because culturally they talk a lot... but we will get there :)

As for my social life, meeting the entire staff has been wonderful, but kept me busy! My roommate, Elle, is great! She knows the ropes around here and is very helpful! Every night this week I was invited to join people for dinners, birthdays, beach trips... and I just can't say no so I kept busy! I had a great week though! Like I said, I have found some nice people in the veteran group and I wanted to make the effort to get to know them! Yesterday, I headed off to the beach  for the day with a few people from school. It was beautiful!! We went to a beach outside of Jaco and it was empty and wonderful! The sun was shining, the water was warm and the company was great!

Crocodiles on the way to the beach!

 Playa Esterillos- all to ourselves!

It was a busy, but wonderful week! I am looking forward to a quiet Sunday to catch up on work and relax a little before work tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

manuel antonio

Hola!
Well here I am at the end of week two! I realize it has only been two weeks, but it seems like time is flying by! This school week was full of meetings and on Thursday night some of the other new teachers and I headed to Manuel Antonio for a long weekend.

friday:
We woke up EARLY and headed into Manuel Antonio because we wanted to go to the National Park. It was a rough start because we had a few beers the night before... but we couldn't waste time, we had to get to the beach! We ate breakfast at hostel lindo (I think) and it was 2 mil for an entire typico Costa Rican breakfast! Eggs, beans and rice, fruit, pancake, coffee... YUM!
Next, we bought our tickets and headed into the national park. It was AMAZING in there. We had about a 15 minute walk to the beach and it was through the rain forest! On our way in we saw a huge snake (maybe a boa), spiders and a sloth! When we got to the beach we found a place to spend the day and went swimming! The water was calm and warm, I could have spent all day swimming! While we were at the beach we saw monkeys, lizards, another sloth, and amazing views. It was great!

We left the beach at about 3pm, exhausted, sun-burned and starving! On our way home we ran into some of the other teachers and made plans to meet them for dinner later. Our evening consisted of dinner, a few drinks and an early night!

                             

  

saturday:
Once again we got up pretty early as we had to head into town to buy our bus tickets to leave the next morning. After that, we headed back down to Manuel Antonio to grab breakfast and hit the beach. We spent the day with our crew of ten on the beach. The public beach is different from the beach in the park. There are many locals trying to sell you things like tours, food, drinks, cigars, drugs...you get the idea. However, I was able to rent a surf board and try it out again. It was not as easy for me this time as I have tried it 3 years ago when I came to Costa Rica. The waves were big and I am not as strong as I once was! After nearly drowning and only getting up 3 times I decided to call it a day. It certainly was not as easy as I remember, but I will try it again some day soon. Saturday was also a pretty low-key evening. After 2 days at the beach most everyone was exhausted. The sun sure takes it out of you! After dinner and a few drinks, we called it a night, and boy was I ready to come "home".

lesson:
I learned a lot about myself and others on this little weekend trip. One, maybe I shouldn't travel with large groups because I really don't like taking care of adults on trips. Many people were unhappy with the living situation (it was 20 bucks a night, it was by no means fancy!) and some had issues with eachother. I learned that I need to choose friends carefully here, but it is hard when the school community are your friends! So much to learn.... 

my first week

What a whirlwind! This has been the busiest week! After a few days at the fancy hotel, I moved into my apartment and have been settling in and exploring my new city! Here is a peek at my day to day life so far! 

the apartment: 

I live in Apartemtos de Llorente and it is pretty nice. I am centrally located, near friends, grocery stores, bars and restaurants. Most everything is within a 10 minute walk, but you have to be careful walking here... especially after dark. I have my own bedroom and bathroom and share this apartment with my roommate, Elle, who I have not met yet! She will arrive in a few days! It is pretty spacious, so I am sure it will be great!

my room

transportation: 

Since it is difficult to walk, I have been using a lot of buses and taxis to get around. So, I already have a language barrier and they don't use addresses here... so getting around by taxi, while convenient, can be difficult. So, when I go to my friends nearby I say, Salon La Pista, una mas cuadra, then I tell them a la derecha and izquierda and then point to their house. HA! So I tell them to go to a bar, then one block more, then turn right and then left. It is weird. Getting home is easier because I live near a University, so I can just tell them to take me there. 

I have also used the buses a few times to get to San Jose. It is pretty cheap, about 50 cents, to get downtown and there is a bus station right by my apartment, so I may end up taking the bus around once I learn exactly what bus I need to take to get around! 

walking: 

Thankfully during the day it is safe to walk around, so I have been walking around with friends learning my way around. Yesterday I walked by myself a bit and wow, it sure is interesting! The Ticos are not shy, so they whistle and yell out the window at the ladies on the street. I guess they mean it as a compliment. It is pretty different, especially since this climate makes my hair look horrible and I am breaking out like a teenager! I can't possible look beautiful! But when they yell lindo or maybe it's linda out the window, I think that's what it means! HAHA! When I come home and no one yells you're beautiful out their car window my ego will be squashed! 

Today I decided to walk to the grocery store nearby. As I was leaving it started to sprinkle and within minutes it was pouring!! I decided to continue on, it actually felt kind of nice and I had a rain jacket on. Needless to say, I was soaked within minutes but at that point I wasn't far from the market! I did my shopping planning to get a taxi on the way home... it turns out getting a taxi while it is raining is much more difficult! So I walked home, good thing my groceries were all covered in plastic bags and stayed pretty dry!!

friends: 

So far, I have been hanging with the gringos! The other teachers at the school are all so great! It is so nice to have a community of people to spend time with right off the bat. I have spent most of my time with Ruth and Sean, who happen to be Michganders, I always manage to find them! They have been great though, so thanks for taking me in Ruth and Sean! I appreciate it! They have helped me learn my way around and always invite me to explore and grab a meal with them, so it is super nice! 

The rest of the group is great as well! We all went on a school field trip to La Paz and got to see some of the wildlife and beauty of Costa Rica together. 

I guess that is it for this week! We start work tomorrow, so I am sure I will have plenty more to add soon! 

i made it!

I can't believe the time has finally come. I am sitting in my hotel room (Hotel Bougainvillea) in Heredia, Costa Rica! I arrived this morning at about 5am. The last 24 hours were stressful and emotional, but all a part of the decision to come to Costa Rica.

Yesterday, I finished up in my house with the help of great friends, Lori and Sarah, had pizza and beer with more friends, enter Cari and Lisa, spent time with my dog, Bentley (saying goodbye to him was the hardest!), and headed to the airport... completely full of nerves! I had six bags/boxes to check... yes six, I am moving for 2 years!!! Each box or bag needed to be under 50 pounds and boy was I close! Most of the items were exactly 50 pounds and one was 51 pounds! Luckily it was a suitcase and I was able to quickly grab my nude pumps and pack them into my carry on, bringing me down to 50 pounds! Phew! Once all of my bags were checked, I was able to take a huge sigh of relief... but the stress wasn't over yet!

The 5 hour flight was easy, of course I couldn't sleep a wink, but I certainly tried. We arrived at 5 am and it did not take long to get through immigration and on to baggage claim (the most dreaded part of this adventure was how I was going to manage 6 massive checked items in San Jose!!) Luckily, in true Tico form, the airport was full of people ready to help! A nice man loaded up all of my items and wheeled my huge cart right to customs where another man took over and loaded up all my items onto the conveyor belt Before I knew it they were all loaded up on the cart and we were off to find my taxi! Customs with 6 checked bags and 2 carry on... CHECK!

The man driving me to the hotel was waiting with a sign with my name on it, so it wasn't long before I was on my way to the hotel! The nice man talked to me all about Costa Rica on the way to the hotel and even pulled over to show me where coffee was being grown and gave me an explanation of how it all works (in English!). In about 20 minutes, I was at my hotel getting all checked in to my "Mountain View with a balcony- King sized bed" hotel room. Not too shabby!

After checking in I took a nice nap for a few hours and then headed down to the hotel lobby for breakfast. My first meal was a typical Costa Rican breakfast: eggs, rice and beans (gallo pinto!) fresh fruit, fried plantains, orange juice and coffee! IT WAS SO GOOD! I had forgotten just how amazing the food is here... I think I could have eaten an entire pineapple!

 

After stuffing my face I thought it would be a good idea to put on my bikini and find the pool! Even though it was probably around 75-80 degrees, I was the only one there. So peaceful. Next I headed in for a massage, which was just what I needed after the stress of the past month or so. Who can pass up a massage from a tico? :) 

My afternoon was filled with a visit to a host family (Reiner & Lily) I reconnected with before coming down. Reiner invited me over for a visit (or at least I think he did, it was all in Spanish). I had the hotel help me with getting a taxi because directions are difficult here. Thankfully, ticos are amazing and very friendly and the taxi driver called Lily at the house for directions!! Nothing like my previous experience of getting kicked out of a cab in Denver for living too far away! Anyway, I arrived at Lily's house and she welcomed me in with open arms! I spent the evening trying to understand and speak Spanish while spending time with Lily and her family. There were also 2 students from the states staying there as well. Lily was able to help me with a cab ride home. Her nephew drives a taxi so it was nice to get a safe and trustworthy ride home on my first night in Costa Rica. I even scored his digits for future rides! He said he will go anywhere... may be hiring him for a beach vacation soon! 

Needless to say, this has been a fantastic day. The food was fabulous, the people are wonderful and laying in my king-sized bed writing this isn't so bad either... if you made it this far, thanks for reading :) 

buenas noches