A Rich Coast Indeed

It’s safe to say I’m in love with Costa Rica! After seeing the coast and driving through some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen, I have fallen in love! Honestly, I knew it was going to be a beautiful country, but you can’t quite grasp it until you see it yourself. Now, I spend most of my time in San Jose, which is a big city, and while I wouldn’t necessarily call it beautiful, I definitely love experiencing life here.

So why did I leave the city you ask? Well the program that I came to Costa Rica with, ISA, includes planned excursions in their program cost. So I had just barely wrapped up my first week of classes and fifteen minutes later I was on the road to Playa Tamarindo, on the Northwest coast of Costa Rica! The drive was 5-6 hours of beautiful scenery. Completely green, deep gorges, rivers, small towns… Did I say green? We arrived to our hotel just as the sun was setting. We stayed in a very nice resort right on the beach so it was great views, and I shared my huge room with only one other person. That night ISA provided us dinner at the hotel and brought in traditional CR dancers to perform for us. On Saturday I spent the morning with a few friends walking on the beach, walking through town, and swimming. The water was warm! I guess since it’s closer to the Equator? But I was expecting cold since it’s the Pacific, so it was a very welcome surprise. In the afternoon I opted to do a Catamaran Cruise/Snorkeling excursion. A few of my friends were doing it as well and it was worth the cost for sure. While I am being conscience of my spending and not just going crazy I am also thinking, “When I am 40 years old, am I going to think, man that was a lot of money or am I going to think, what an amazing experience!” So we took a nice long catamaran ride out to a quiet cove and went snorkeling, swimming, and paddle boarding. While snorkeling I saw tons of different types of fish and a huge school of fish. It was so cool! I could’ve spent a whole day in that cove exploring and swimming around. When we headed back on the Catamaran we caught most of the sunset, which was amazing. The beauty of this place really made me admire God even more than usual. Truly, in a place so beautiful I couldn’t help but think about how He created it all and how truly fantastic His creation is. Saturday night my friends and I grabbed dinner (I had a delicious Passionfruit smoothie) and then went dancing! That was quite fun. Sunday morning we spent our last few hours on the beach before heading back home.

More observations:

• ·      They don’t put toilet paper in the toilet… Everything goes in a trashcan right beside it! Weird and hard to get used to!
• ·      I found two (thankfully dead!) cockroaches in my room in one day…
• ·      Not sure if I mentioned this last time, but Costa Ricans are called “Ticos” or “Ticas.”
• ·      I might get a roommate! There is another girl from my program who is looking for a new host family so we may be getting her here! Not certain yet, so I’ll keep you updated! I realized once I found out that she might be joining us that I actually like being the only student at my home. I think that’s a little selfish of me! But I’ll be happy with whatever happens.
• ·      Still no new baby! But I found out the names they’re thinking of are Marcello, Nick, and Mike! I thought the last two were interesting because they are very American! I think she is leaning toward Marcello anyway, but her mom doesn’t like Marcello so I think that’s bothering a little bit. We’ll see what happens!
•       I have been using my GoPro and compiling clips into a video of my trip so that at the end I'll have one video of all of my experiences! So far it's looking really good! 
• ·      Classes are going well so far! In “Intro to PT” we are learning Basic Anatomy, which has been a really good refresher and it seems like it’s going to be a great hands on class! In Spanish class I am getting quite a bit of homework, and I have my first presentation tomorrow and test on Friday. But I’m learning a lot!
• ·      I bought a gym membership! I was really missing exercise and there is a gym a short walk from my house. It was a little bit expensive for a month, but I figured my health was worth it since I don’t have very much control over my food intake here! It’s been great so far!
• ·      I’ve said amazing, awesome, or great probably way too many times in this post. So I apologize for that!
•      Recently been thinking more about why it was in God’s plan for me to be here in Costa Rica. Can I make a positive impact on other people’s lives? What can I learn about Him in my own life while I’m here?

I continue to get closer to my host family. They are so wonderful and helpful! I know that I am improving very quickly with my listening skills in Spanish, but I definitely still have a lot of room for improvement in the speaking part! My host mom already asked me if I would come back to visit at some point after I go home! I think I’ll plan on it.

My family (Mom, Dad, Emily, and Jeremiah) comes in four days!! I barely left them but I’m still so excited to have them here! Also, I just found out yesterday that we get Monday off of school for “El Dia de Las Culturas” formerly Columbus Day. That means I can spend the whole day with them instead of being stuck in school! Yay!! Can’t wait to explore some more of Costa Rica with them and to show them my new home!

Pura Vida

Abigail, Melissa, Hannah, and me enjoying the beach!

 My view from breakfast! 

Ready to snorkel!

The Cove

How can you not think of God's beautiful creation in this picture??

Pura Vida

Pura Vida! This is what Costa Ricans say, meaning many different things, but mostly a “life is good” kind of phrase. So it hasn’t even been a week but I have so much to say, I figured I should write sooner rather than later! First off, I am sitting in my room and it is pouring rain. Truly pouring, it is so loud. And it does this every afternoon around 3 for probably an hour or so, then it may or not continue sprinkling through the evening. So that is just one of many things that I have observed since I’ve gotten here!

When I got off my plane on Saturday it was already completely dark at about 6:00, which seemed very early to me. Anyway, I got my bag and made it through customs and everything really fast. When I walked out into the “arrival hall” I was already outside and people were everywhere holding up signs and saying “Taxi? Taxi?” I couldn’t find anyone holding up an ISA sign, but a man with another study abroad group said he was on his way so I waited there and found him just a few minutes later. We waited for one other girl arriving on a flight just after mine and we hopped in a bus and I was dropped off right at my home! As I said, it was dark when I arrived but I spent the 20-minute bus ride just peering out the window! It’s a big city but it’s still very green! I got dropped right off at my house and… My host family does not speak any English! Yep, it’s a very good thing I had a basic knowledge of Spanish before coming here! There are people with my program who have very little to no Spanish knowledge. The first thing I said to my host mom was “I know some Spanish but please speak very slowly.” I said that in Spanish obviously! So she showed me my room and bathroom and I have some pictures of those below. It’s a very big room, which is very nice! Then she made me a delicious dinner!! It was noodles with chilies and onions and some delicious sauce. I’m not sure, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. After I ate I met my host dad and my two “sisters”! Oh, and by the way my host mom is pregnant and due on October 8^th!! So I will have a brand new “hermanito” very soon.  Anyway, the little girls are twin 4-year-olds and they are very cute. They are getting more used to me, but at first I think they were very confused as to why they had to speak so slowly to me! That night I had about a two-hour conversation with my host parents. They spoke very slowly, and I focused very hard the whole time! But I understood the bulk of it and Google translate came in handy for us for some words!

My home is the right half of this building. Every home has big gates in front. So I have two gates and then the door to get inside! 

Hard to see well, but this is a panorama of my room. 

I could go on for a long time describing all of the little things I’ve noticed and experienced, so I’ll just list some of them:

• ·      Everything is very open here, the doors are almost always open and my windows in my room don’t even close all the way! They are just meant to stay open. With that being said, I am getting used to things being a little dirtier (i.e, more bugs!)
• ·      I have a two-minute walk to school. So I leave the house five minutes until class!
• ·      My host mom makes juice all the time. I have had juice for every meal that she has made me. Her favorite is watermelon juice… Kind of like you’re just drinking watermelon with how grainy it is. But I like it!
• ·      I have tried a couple of different fruits that I am still not sure the names of, but they look very interesting and are delicious!
• ·      My university is a school for art, design, and architecture and it is definitely very modern in design! There is one building where all of the classes are out in the open. They are only separated by a couple of white boards!
• ·      There is also an area in the university with hammocks and beanbag chairs! How cool!
• ·      My classes are tiny! I have 7 people in two of my classes and 10 in another.
• ·      My Spanish class is completely Spanish… No English spoken at all.
• ·      The little girls I live with are named Dilanna (Dee-lanna) and Valentina. They stay up until 10:00 most nights, which seems awfully late to me for four-year-olds!
• ·      I have been very open to trying foods here. My host mom feeds me soo much food even though I told her I eat a little-normal amount of food. Some of the weird things I’ve tried: a hot dog with ketchup and mayo, rice with tuna mixed in, and I actually am coming to like black beans!
• ·      Costa Rica is known for their “gallo pinto” which is rice and beans mixed with salsa and cilantro. It’s actually quite good and I even had it for breakfast the other day!
• ·      My host mom always says “Si?” at the end of her sentences to see if I understand what she said and it is very tempting to just say “Si!” in response, but recently she’s been getting on me to not just say “Si,” which I appreciate… But it’s difficult!
• ·      My university has free dance classes Tuesdays and Thursdays and I went to the first one last night with some friends I’ve made and it was really fun!
• ·      I am the only student living with my host family whereas most host families have 2-4 students living with them. So that’s been my one complaint is that I don’t have an automatic person to rely on and go places with while most others do. But that has just forced me to put myself out there more! There are three girls that all live together that I have been spending a lot of time with and they are all great!
• ·      We have a lady that is living with us all week. I am not sure if she does this every week or if it’s just because my host mom could have her baby any day and they have the other girls to take care of. It appears she does this every week though because she helps cook and take care of the girls.
• ·      The second day here I was sitting at the table reading my book when my host dad walked by and said something to me and it caught me off guard that he was speaking in Spanish! I hadn’t gotten used to it yet!
• ·      Costa Ricans (so far) are very friendly!

So I have been really taking in a lot of new experiences and enjoying my time here in Costa Rica. I am excited to get out of the city and to go on my first “excursion” this weekend! My program, ISA, has planned excursions for us that are in the cost already. This weekend is Playa Tamarindo and I can’t wait to see the coast! I am really enjoying all of the Spanish. I’ve been putting myself out there trying to speak as much as possible and ask questions. Even as I’m typing this I am translating some of it to Spanish in my head! It’s already becoming more natural, which is really exciting! It is very frustrating not being able to express yourself when you don’t speak a language so that makes me want to learn even faster! I feel like I have so much more I could/want to share about my experience so far. So far, I love the fact that I get to live with a host family… What better way to learn about the culture?

Pura Vida!

The hammocks inside the school. 

Mis hermanas- Dilanna y Valentina

My hot dog with mayo!! I tried not to think too much about what I was eating! Not very "Costa Rican" either, right? Hot dog and French Fries??

This a central area at school and on Monday there was a brass band and these strange costumed people making everyone dance!

Three of the girls that I have become friends with! Melissa (from Wyoming), Hannah (from Nebraska) and Abigail (from Minnesota)

An empanada from lunch today- delicious, but should not have asked for the salsa (spicy!!)

Adios a Los Estados Unidos

Well I'm off! I'm currently sitting in the Miami airport getting ready for the last leg of my flight into San Jose. I'm feeling a lot of nerves, a lot of excitement, a lot of feelings are happening! Mostly it just feels really strange that the time has finally come for me to study abroad! I haven't fully grasped the fact that I'm headed to a foreign country on my own. It feels very different from traveling to Europe with Jeremiah this summer. 

Even before I started college I knew studying abroad was something I wanted to do. My sisters both went to Spain on study abroad. During my freshman year of college I started looking at ASU's study abroad website and had a really fun time clicking on different countries on the map and exploring their programs. While I looked all over the world, I was very interested in a Spanish-speaking country since that's what I have some background in. So I focused on those countries primarily. I also wanted a program compatible with my Health major, which there aren't too many of! So after a lot of looking, thinking it over, and talking to others I settled on Costa Rica. It is unknown territory for anyone in my family. That means there are a lot of unknowns! If you know me, you know I like to plan, but that's a little tough to do in this situation! But I'm excited to branch out of my comfort zone and to explore a completely new culture. More like completely bust out of my comfort zone actually... I've done a lot of reading and preparing myself, but I'm sure that will be nothing compared to actually being there! 

It was particularly tough to say goodbye to my family this week. I got to see most of my friends throughout the week to say our goodbyes. I've been made more aware because of this trip how many people I have in my life that really care about me and are excited for me. Last night my family got together for Grimaldi's pizza and frozen yogurt and hanging out! One of the hardest was thinking about not seeing my nieces and nephew for three months. They are going to grow up so much in three months! Parker and Madeline will turn two! Not getting their hugs and kisses for three months is going to be really hard. Man, I never would have been able to go out of state for college!! My parents and siblings were also very difficult, but at least I know they won't look too much different when I come back! Except Heather, who will be looking much more pregnant! And of course, saying goodbye to Jeremiah was no fun at all. We've made it for seven months apart before, so I know we can do it. But who wants to do that?? He's been really supportive of me, and I appreciate him so much for that! A big thank you to him, my parents, and the rest of my family and friends for supporting me on this trip, encouraging me to do it, and praying for me. I'll see my parents, Emily, and Jeremiah in only two weeks when they come down to visit!! Can't wait! 

Last day at home!

I've been asked, what am I most looking forward to about studying abroad? That's a hard question to answer! So many things! Im excited for learning more Spanish, meeting and living with a Costa Rican family, really diving into and experiencing a new culture, seeing what classes are like at a foreign university, Salsa dancing, and the endless amount of outdoor activities! I want to do everything! Ziplining, rappelling, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking... So I'm excited for a lot of things. I think this will be a great growing experience for me.

Switching topics briefly, a big congratulations to Jeremiah for successfully completing his internship at Medtronic! He worked really hard, and it paid off. They loved him and his future with the company is looking good! I'll let him brag more about that when he writes his next post. But, I had to include that. Congratulations, Jeremiah! So proud of you! 

I will be updating my blog as much as possible. I'm thinking once a week... So we'll see how it goes! I can also receive letters, though apparently they can take 2-4 weeks to arrive! So I'm not expecting any! Packages aren't recommended, so please don't send anything unless you want to give something to my parents or Jeremiah in the next two weeks so they can take it in their suitcase when they come to visit! 

The ISA address for letters is:

Hannah Warren

Y/O ISA

P.O. Box #101-2010

Zapote, San Jose

Costa Rica, centroamerica

ZIP: 10105 

Adios familia y amigos!

Still Summer?

T-minus one month until I leave for Costa Rica! Just yesterday I had a Spanish Skype Interview with Veritas University (the university I will be attending) in order to find the level of Spanish I should be placed in. The interview went quite well! Better than I was expecting anyway… I spoke for thirteen minutes straight in Spanish. I was pretty nervous beforehand, just hoping that I would understand half of what she was asking me. I ended up really enjoying the conversation and having to speak in Spanish! That bodes well for the semester ahead of me! I can’t wait to become more conversational in Spanish!

Jeremiah is down to only three weeks left in his internship! But as of August 20^th, he is also now in school full time (A senior! Where did the time go?). That means he is very busy fitting in 40 hours of work, 15 credits of school, and homework. But he is managing, taking it day by day and still very much enjoying his internship. Proud of how hard he is working, and amazed at how he manages it all! 

While Jeremiah slaves away, I feel guilty that I have quite a bit of free time before I leave for my study abroad! I am definitely enjoying the free time and trying to treasure it before I no longer have any summer to enjoy! So yes, it is still summer for me! I have been keeping busy with a few different activities… Babysitting, crafting, working, and reading to name a few things. Wicked is coming to Gammage, the theater that I work at, and it is here for six weeks! So starting tonight through the time that I leave for Costa Rica I will work/see Wicked 20 times!! It’s a good thing I enjoy the show, but I’m not sure how much I’ll like it after the 10^th time! Also I just started up an online business class called Essentials of Selling. I have decided I would like to pursue a minor in Business, so this will get me three credits closer and so far I am enjoying the class!

Here are some of the crafts that I have been working on!

A tic-tac-toe board for a game area at my friend Heather's wedding.

Decorating mugs- always wanted to try it!

Stenciled a map of Europe on this box for a place to store all of the ticket stubs I collected in Europe! Then drew the map of our route.

 All of the paper/stubs from our trip!

Books I’ve read this summer that I highly recommend: Columbine by Dave Cullen, Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, Paper Towns by John Green. These are just some of the books I’ve read this summer. I love having the time to read as much as I want when I’m not in school!

By the way I have phrased the beginning of this post it would sound like Jeremiah and I never see each other! While the next three to four weeks will probably be that way, we made our last few weeks of summer some to remember! I’ll show in pictures what we’ve done.

Jeremiah and I attended Heather and Kohl's wedding! Heather pole vaulted with me in high school and was/is one of my very good friends!

The usual silly pictures with these kiddos!

Family homemade pizza night!

A beautiful AZ sunset (same night as the pizza night)

We moved in Jeremiah's brother, Nathan, into his dorm at ASU's Polytechnic campus! While we were helping him move in, I was mistaken as a CA twice! I guess I have a certain look about me??

Nathan's very ASU-spirited room!

Many nights spent just hanging out with family. 

 Spontaneous trip Salt River tubing. Picture taken using my GoPro camera. 

Jeremiah and I have a new obsession with "Cookie Butter." Tried it in Europe and found it here at home... This stuff is dangerous! 

Played at church last weekend and had an amazing time! Love making music to worship God! With Jeremiah there too, it's even better!

LSP Welcome Back Picnic- some of my best friends from the organization!

My whole 2013 cohort!

Had Me a Blast

Woah, what is this beneath my finger tips? H- h- ... hard keys?? After five straight posts composed from my iPad along European train tracks, I must admit it feels strange to be writing with a physical keyboard again. But that, needless to say, is probably my smallest lifestyle change since coming back to the good old U S of A.

I'll get right to it:  my internship with Medtronic. I've been working there for almost six weeks now, which means I'm already halfway done! I remember thinking in April of my Disney internship last year that a twelve-week internship would feel very short, and now that I'm experiencing a twelve-week internship, that notion is even more cemented in my mind.

It's been a great first half, though. I was brought on as a mechanical engineering intern into Medtronic's Product Analysis Lab, where they perform failure analysis on the hybrids that either didn't pass testing or failed in the field. (Hybrids are circuit boards, and Medtronic Tempe Campus manufactures the hybrids that go into all their pacemakers and other cardiovascular devices.) It's a really neat place to work because the lab has some seriously high-tech equipment that they use for their failure analysis:  scanning electron microscopes, x-ray machines, plasma etchers, vapor deposition machines... You get the idea. I'm surrounded by equipment that costs more money than I'm likely to make in a lifetime.

In terms of why I like my internship, though, the equipment is just the superficial tip of the iceberg. First of all, I'm learning a TON. Probably because I'm working in a lab of almost exclusively electrical engineers and chemists. Oh yeah, and there's one geologist. But no mechanical engineers! Consequently, I've been building lots of great cross-disciplinary knowledge, in addition to skills that will serve me well even in a mechanical engineering career.

So what exactly have I been doing? Well, to put it one way, I'm the PAL's wire bond fairy - I'm here to make all their wire bonding troubles go away. Wire bonding is a way of electrically connecting integrated circuits (ICs) to the substrates they're mounted to. Normally it's easy to do, but when the PAL gets failed products, they have to use some very destructive techniques to extract the ICs, and these techniques tend to make the ICs very hard to wire bond. I'm working on developing new means of extracting the ICs in order to curtail the gray hair syndrome that appears to be spreading through the department as a result of wire bonding. It's slow going, but my mentor says I've been doing well, so I guess I'll take his word for it!

Most of all, though, I like my internship because of the company itself. All companies have mission statements, but in most cases, it seems like the missions are just words on paper, meant to improve the company's credibility. But at Medtronic, I feel like the mission is something I see employees consistently living out in their work. It's something that guides business decisions and inspires people to strive for continuous improvement. It's easier to get up for work each morning knowing I'm helping "alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life." And beyond that, the company seems genuinely focused on my own development as an engineer. The internship feels like a two-way street.

Sorry, that was pretty much a whole essay on my internship. In fact, that was probably enough words for an entire blog post... So I think I'll tell the rest of the story of the past few weeks primarily through pictures!

MY Fourth of July, spent on "A" Mountain with Nathan and Kevin. It's no lake house, but it was a good time!

Dbacks game with Nathan and Dad

Laser tag at Main Event with the interns (14 of us in total). We also went tubing down the Salt River last weekend! It's been lots of fun getting to know everyone. They're a great group of people.

Themed going-away party for two of our best friends, Kyle and Stephanie. Wishing them luck as they begin a new chapter of their lives in Wichita, Kansas! We're gonna miss them here in Arizona.

Date night at The Cheesecake Factory to reward ourselves for 1 week of no processed sugar + 1 week of no saturated fat. It was a long 14 days. But this made it all worth it!

Movie date with my two favorite gals. We saw Inside Out and loved it! Yet another creative and entertaining Disney Pixar film.

Other miscellaneous shenanigans with the Warren/Lucas babies. Life is rough ;)

Alright, Hannah, ball's in your court - which musical are you gonna quote next?