Quieres Bailar?

Well, I'm not actually doing that well today. Usually when I write these posts I'm really excited about the week... And while most of the week was great, I am currently sick. I was very sick to my stomach this morning but am doing better now. I think my stomach had just finally had enough of the food that I'm not totally accustomed to. Especially in the last few days my host family has fed me a lot, so I guess my stomach decided it wasn't having it! So that's unfortunate. But enough of the bad stuff, what about the rest of my week? 

I finished up my Spanish class with a 98% overall, so I'd call that successful! I am now officially done with Spanish classes and will have four extra hours every day! On Thursday we took a class field trip to the Hospital Clinica Biblica. It's a private hospital and it's actually beautiful! Also, it's just great to have these experiences of visiting different clinics to get an idea of what healthcare is like here. My other classes were also fine this week. My two elective classes barely have any homework so I am going to have a lot of time on my hands starting Monday! 

One of the prettiest parts of the hospital.

The view from the helicopter landing on the roof of the hospital. 

One thing I'm going to do to fill up the time is read! I got the first Harry Potter book in Spanish from my school's library and I'm thirty pages in and understanding most everything! Side note, I haven't read the Harry Potter books since my dad used to read them to me in Elementary school. That's one of my favorite memories with my Dad; he would always do the best voices for the characters (especially Dobby). 

I've also been spending a lot of time drawing quotes. Here's a look! I really enjoy trying different hand writing. 

In my free time I also plan on exploring Zapote (my neighborhood) more on my own since most of my friends have another Spanish class unfortunately. So don't worry, I won't be stuck inside reading and drawing all day! I'm here to explore the culture!

Friday night we were supposed to leave for Turrialba, Costa Rica which is about an hour and a half from our house where my "host abuela" lives! Unfortunately we had some car trouble so we couldn't leave until Saturday morning. Therefore, my Friday night was pretty lame because I didn't do much! Most of my friends went to Jaco Friday afternoon so I was on my own! But we made it to Turrialba Saturday morning and it was really pretty! I loved it! She is surrounded by forest and has a big river just behind her backyard so I enjoyed exploring. During the day I also played some soccer with my host sisters which was really fun. However, Saturday night was the best experience of the week for sure. I went out dancing with my host abuela and some of her friends! I was actually really nervous. We went to a Discotech where I was literally the only non-Latina. Talk about intimidating!! But such an awesome experience. When will I ever again get to be the only American dancing traditional Latin dances in the middle of Costa Rica?? Oh, with a live band too! On top of being the only American, I am okay at dancing but these people were clearly practiced, I am only okay at Spanish and anyway I could barely hear with the music. I have been out dancing a couple of other times but it's been to places where there are a lot of Americans and usually have more American music. I was smiling the whole night because it was just such a unique experience. I danced actually quite a bit! The first two people who asked me to dance I told "No estoy muy bien", but then I thought, they don't need to know that, I'll just go for it. So that's what I did the rest of the night, just kept my mouth shut and went for it! I danced mostly Merengue and Cumbia. I really appreciated that the people I danced with were all very respectful. They ask you for a dance, you dance, they say "Gracias" at the end and you both go sit back down. I was concerned that people might be rude or too forward, but I was pleasantly surprised. I do have to say though, that I missed my dance partner, Jeremiah, last night for sure! I was really tired at the end of the night, but my host abuela seemed like she could've gone all night! She and her friends were around 50 years old and had more energy than me! 

So that's pretty much been my week! It was a little bit slower, but still had some really unique opportunities. Let's just hope I get over this sickness quickly so I can enjoy the beginning of this next week more!

There is a river just behind my host abuela's house.

Bad lighting, but finally have a picture with Marcello!

Pura Vida and a very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone this week! Stay safe if you are traveling and enjoy the time off with friends and family! 

Living like a Little Kid

Writing this post from the beach! This weekend I was expecting to just stay in San Jose... But alas, here I am on the beach! More on that in a minute.

My classes went well this week. A very normal week really until my field trip for Spanish class this Friday. We went to the Musee de Los Niños, or the Children's museum! We spent about three hours there, first doing a fun scavenger hunt and then just exploring. My team came in second place for the scavenger hunt so that was fun!  The museum was actually really cool and very impressive. It was huge and even had a mini Walmart like the mini Wegmans in the Strong Museum in Rochester! We had a great time just looking around and being a little goofy! 

Mini Walmart! 

Outside of class this week... on Wednesday it was my friend Hannah's birthday so we went to a delicious Chinese restaurant for dinner and then another place for drinks and dessert afterward. It was a really fun girls night! Thursday I went to dance class and had fun hopefully improving my Salsa skills. Unfortunately early this week I was sick. It's going through our house, the girls were sick at the same time as me and now my host parents are both sick! It was something like the flu, but nothing too bad. So thankfully it ran its course in about three days. 

Friday after class my friend Stephanie and I went to a place right by school called Le Rendez Vouz. It's a French place with sandwiches and pastries. I got a Chicken Pesto sandwich that was delicious. Afterward we walked quite a ways until we reached a mall called the Multiplaza. It's really nice and very American, but we had to go while we were here since everyone goes! So we spent awhile just browsing and ran into some of our other friends while we were there! The rest of Friday I spent just hanging out with my host family pretty much!

Saturday morning was I think the first time I could sleep in and I woke up at 6:45 right when I wake up during the weekdays! But that was fine. I had a leisurely morning and then at 11 I met up with Stephanie again and we took the bus Downtown. We decided to just take our time exploring the city more! We first went to the Central Market, had lunch and explored the market and ended up each buying a couple things. I bought a pair of leather sandals that I am really excited about! After then we made our way to the Artisan Market where we bought a couple more things each! So it was a successful day  of souvenir shopping (though I'm still struggling with some gifts for others) and to end the day of walking we stopped at POPS, a chain ice cream place that's all over here. It was very good! So Friday and Saturday I really felt like I got to know the city a bit better because I got out and just took my time exploring.

POPS Ice Cream

I had intended to stay in San Jose again on Sunday, but Saturday night my host mom came over to my room and said they were thinking of going to the beach on Sunday and asked if I wanted to go! So I said sure, why not! So Sunday morning we got all ready to go and I hit the road with my host family! We drove about an hour and a half to Jaco, the closest beach to San Jose. It was more crowded than the other beaches I'd been to and not as pretty but it was close and it was really fun spending the day with them! I built sand castles and jumped over and ran away from waves with Valentina and Dilanna and sat on the beach and enjoyed the time with all of them! It was completely unexpected, but I'm really glad they decided to go! Now I can check off Jaco and I didn't really have to pay anything which is always nice! I've said it already, but I really got lucky with my host family! They are so great about including me and making me comfortable here. That was probably one of my biggest fears about studying abroad here was getting paired with a bad host, but that definitely didn't happen! Looking forward to another week here.

By the way, the name of the post is because the bulk of what I talked about in this post was playing at a Children's Museum and playing on the beach so I was living like a little kid this week!

Finally got a picture of my host parents!! 

Pura Vida!

Making Memories in Monteverde

Well I have officially passed my halfway mark! I've done so much in my six weeks here and I'm looking forward to my last six just as much! Though there won't be quite as much traveling and exploring, it will certainly still be full of memorable experiences. 

This week I had a very good week of classes before yet another weekend away. In my PT class this week I learned how to give massages! We were on a massage therapy unit so we had actual massage tables out in class to practice! It was awesome! Also I am loving my Spanish class. But I'm already halfway done with my second class! How crazy! 

Tuesday after classes I went to a birthday party with my host family! It was my host dad's mom's birthday. So my host dad's entire side of the family was there! It was such a cool experience! My host dad's dad is from Canada so it was really funny to hear someone saying "eh" periodically in their Spanish. He also talked to me a lot in English, because he spoke perfect English. Also one of my host dad's cousins speaks perfect English and even has a second home in Prescott, AZ! What are the odds! He does some work with NAU too I guess so that was cool to talk to someone who knew exactly where I'm from! At the party we all sat around and talked (I mostly listened) and they brought rounds and rounds of food. I'm not kidding, the food just kept coming. Some sort of chili type thing, tacos, arroz con pollo, beans, and cake. It was all great, but they kept bringing around rounds of food! The only downside to the party was that I dropped my phone and it cracked my screen... I was so upset with myself, but luckily it isn't super noticeable. Only at certain angles.

Wednesday my ISA program had an optional cooking class! So I went to that with one of my friends and there were a lot of people their so the learning part didn't go that well. But I observed some of the steps and had a delicious meal in the end! Arroz con pollo, beans, and this coconut fudge thing. All very good and a fun experience! So it was a good week of some sort of fun activity pretty much every day!

Arroz con Pollo, one of my favorite dishes here!

Friday at about 1:00 I met my friends at school and we caught taxis to the bus station for another trip! This time was to Monteverde, Costa Rica! And this may have been my favorite trip so far! That's hard to say though... Monteverde is about four hours north of San Jose, it's very close to Arenal which we went to my second week here. I must seem kind of crazy going somewhere every weekend, but it's very easy to get around here! The bus ticket to Monteverde was literally $5. For a four hour ride! So I'm taking advantage of the opportunities. Though I have now hit all of the places I wanted to go so my traveling is going to slow down. Anyway, when we got to Monteverde it was dark so we went right to our hostel which was actually a B&B I guess. There were seven of us and we were out in this cute little house with a whole kitchen to ourselves! So that was a very nice place to stay. Once we dropped our things off we found a small soda for dinner (soda is what they call restaurants a lot of times). The restaurant had delicious smoothies that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Saturday we were up early and off on a ziplining tour! It was so much fun!! There were about ten lines. One of the lines was the longest in Latin America at 1 mile long! It was over this big canyon and it was beautiful. Also, the last three lines were superman style! It's exactly how it sounds. I was strapped at the chest and at the hips and was facing the ground as I went down the line! I think I liked superman even more than normal because I got to really enjoy the views and not focus on keeping myself facing forward. There was also one small rappel and a hanging bridge in between some of the zip lines which were fun. But the last one was by far the best (and scariest) part. A Tarzan Swing!! So cool!! I was the first to go, so I walked out on this bridge, two guides hooked me up, instructed me to hang on with both hands and they would open the gate. Once the gate opened I had to bend my knees and step off the bridge! It was a crazy feeling! It was a 3 second free fall and then the rope caught you and swung like Tarzan! I already want to do it again, I loved it! I also need to do it again because I annoyingly left my gopro on and drained the battery so it died before I could film the swing. But besides that unfortunate part, it was an awesome day of adventure!

The rest of the day we spent in the town of Monteverde, souvenir shopping and then just relaxing. One of my friends, Hannah, went bungee jumping in the afternoon! Her video is pretty crazy! It was $60 and I couldn't justify spending that much for 5 seconds. Plus I'm sure it would've been pretty freaky! It was the largest bungee in Latin America. Saturday night we ordered a pizza for dinner and got ice cream from the grocery store so it felt like a fun girls night in our little house in Monteverde! Also, today is my friend Stephanie's birthday! So we were celebrating that with the ice cream too!

Sunday, we got up early again for a guided hike through the cloud forest reserve of Monteverde! The cloud forest is how it sounds, very cloudy all the time. But within the forest there are so many animals. We took the guided hike so that we could actually see the animals better because the guides have these telescopes that they bring along. We saw a bunch of birds mostly, including an apparently very rare Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala! It was a beautiful hike, and a couple of people in our group were from Phoenix too! Our guide was very knowledgeable and told us a lot about the plants, animals, and insects that we saw. 

The Quetzal that we got to see!

After our hike there we gathered our stuff, and stopped at a crepe place for lunch before heading back to San Jose! It was a really awesome weekend. The girls that I've been traveling with have been really great and made every weekend especially memorable for me! 

Thank you to those of you who have read my blogs throughout the first six weeks! I am definitely long-winded in these, but there is so much to tell! I hope you'll enjoy reading about my last six weeks as well!

Pura Vida

Taking on Tortuguero

I've really been running out of creativity with these post names. Jeremiah is usually the clever one as far as that goes, so sorry about the lack of creative names! I've resorted to alliteration.

So far my first week in my new Spanish class has been good! My professor definitely speaks faster and is expecting a lot from us, but it's a good challenge! She also gets us talking a lot; she's really trying to make us more conversational which I appreciate! This week I also went to the free dance class at school both Tuesday and Thursday. It was really fun, especially on Thursday! We were doing some tricky moves and switching partners while dancing which was pretty crazy, but really fun!
Also on Thursday I had my first field trip for my "Conflict Resolution and Healthcare" class! We went to an elementary school where we held a workshop on self-esteem and encouraging others. The class seems to loosely follow its name, but that's okay, I had a great time and learned quite a bit! We had prepared an agenda for the workshop, which lasted about 2 hours. The tricky part was... The workshop was held in Spanish! I was really nervous about helping lead a class of 25 students in Spanish! But I tried to be confident and I think it went well. The students had a lot of energy and seemed to enjoy our activities! When our directions didn't make sense luckily our professor was right there to help explain in her fluent Spanish. One of our activities was sending a paper with our name on it around the classroom for other people to write positive qualities and comments on it. The results were very sweet even though the students didn't really know me!

Some of the kids! 

The positive qualities the students wrote about me! 

On Friday after class at about 2:00 I met some friends at the bus stop and we went Downtown to find the Artisan Market. The Artisan Market is basically a long strip of shops selling every kind of souvenir you can think of! I bought only one thing, but I'll be going back before I leave so it was a good chance to see what they had! Also, it was nice to spend a little bit more time in downtown San Jose! After we got back I had dinner with my host family and my friend Stephanie came over and we watched a movie on my laptop. It was a nice Friday night, the first one I've spent here in San Jose!

Saturday I was up bright and early to head to Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Tortuguero is on the Northern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We had planned our trip through ISA so we took a private shuttle bus to the coast. On the way we also stopped for a buffet breakfast that was provided and were on our way. We got as far as we could via bus and then had to take an hour boat ride out to our hotel! The boat ride was through the canals of Tortuguero, and I felt like I was on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. It was so cool and totally different from any experience so far. I can't explain exactly what it was like, so you can see the pictures. The hotel was only accessible by this boat... How cool is that? Right when we arrived at the hotel they had coconuts sitting out for us as a welcome drink! We felt very welcomed and our rooms were pretty nice as well. There was only one other group at the hotel while we were there so they were very attentive to us, which was nice. We had lunch at the hotel and then took another short boat ride to the rest of the town of Tortuguero. It was pretty small, but we had a nice time wandering through it, through souvenir shops, stopped at the beach for a bit, and had way too much fun taking pictures with the many murals around the town!

"The Jungle Cruise" to the hotel.

Coconut waiting for us! Don't even like coconut, but it was a nice thought!

Too much fun with the murals.

Sunday we were up and out by 6 am! We took a two-hour tour of the canals looking at all of the wildlife! It was really nice! We saw a bunch of different birds, iguanas, monkeys, and frogs! Plus I just loved being in the boat and exploring! After we had breakfast, packed up, and left! So it sounds like it was a short trip, but it was great. I loved how I got to see yet another unique part of Costa Rica!  Also there was a group of nine girls this trip and it still went really well and everyone got along which is great!

A frog we got to hold!

This week I want to find a book to read in Spanish and to start watching the news or some sort of Spanish TV show daily. I'm determined to keep improving rapidly! I'm loving the challenge of learning Spanish!

Pura Vida

El Caribe!

What an amazing weekend. I am getting so spoiled with these amazing weekends. It is so nice to get out of a long week of classes with a trip to look forward to on the weekend! Friday was my last day of my first Spanish class and I am happy to report I received a 95 in the class, so an A overall! Yay! Only one more Intensive Spanish class that will go through November 20th and then my two electives the whole time I'm here. So after class got out on Friday I met up with four of my friends at school where we caught a taxi to the bus station. Two of our friends left on an early morning bus so we were meeting them at our hostel. We had to take two taxis to the bus station, mine was perfectly smooth and we got there and got our bus tickets to Puerto Viejo, but our friends in the other taxi weren't showing up, and they weren't showing up... So we started to get panicked thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong. What a way to start the weekend! Luckily we had planned in a lot of extra time so eventually they came walking up saying that their taxi driver dropped them at the wrong bus station and they couldn't find the one we were supposed to be at. In the end it was a little hiccup, nothing too bad! Though they did get their tickets so late that their tickets were standing room only... So they ended up sitting in the aisle of the bus for the four hour ride. But we got to Puerto Viejo, a small beach town on the south Caribbean coast of the country. Our hostel was called Rocking J's and it was really big! It had every type of option, private rooms, dorm style, tents, and even hammocks!! I opted for the tent, which was only $8 for the night and had a small mattress on the floor of the tent. It was super hot in the tent, but besides that it was fine! So it was already dark when we got to our hostel, but the 6 of us went to a restaurant called Hot Rocks. The food was pretty good, but they also had karaoke, pool, and swings inside the restaurant! So that was really fun and we ended up spending the rest of the night there! And yes, I did participate in karaoke, only once and with another friend. But it was fun! 

Saturday we were up at 5 am! We opted to get a private shuttle to Panama instead of having to navigate the public buses across the border ourselves. It  ended up being just barely more expensive for the private van, and it was so worth it! The border was so confusing. We had to go to four different buildings with no signs in order to get into Panama. Also we had to leave our first van, walk across the border, and then into a different van for the rest of the way. Also we had to pay the CR exit fee, then fill out the Customs form, then get our passport stamped, and then pay the Panama entrance fee! All of these buildings were in different spots with no indications of where to go or in what order. So we all made it just fine, and were on our way to Bocas del Toro, Panama. The bus dropped us at our "water taxi" and we had to take this boat out to the island we were staying on! Bocas del Toro is very hot and humid, but it is really cute! Our hostel was very nice and we had a private room and bathroom. So we dropped our things off, and found a place for lunch. Then we rented bikes and rode out to Bluff beach! It was a pretty good distance and about half of it was unpaved and rocky. Needless to say my butt was a little bit sore the next day! But we made it to the beach and we were the only ones there! The waves were huge so we just stayed at the edge of the water. But it was really nice after such a hot bike ride. Once we dropped the bikes back off we showered and changed and I looked through TripAdvisor for a place for dinner. We chose a Caribbean place called "Capitan Caribe" with really good views. The reviews were spot on... I had the best burrito of my life!! It was amazing! It was called the "Tropical Burrito" and it had Coconut Rice, Pineapple and Tomato Chutney, Sour Cream, and Curry Chicken. 5/6 of us got it and were all in love. I probably sound ridiculous, but it was justified. The other girl got a Fish Burger which was apparently just as amazing.

The bridge into Panama

The amazing burrito!

Sunday we spent exploring the town more and buying some souvenirs (I bought a Panama patch), also had a delicious breakfast before leaving. At noon we caught the water taxi back to the mainland and crossed back over into Costa Rica! So it was a quick stop in Panama but I loved it! Being on an island surrounded by a bunch of smaller islands was beautiful! Plus I love to ride bikes, so that made the short stop that much more fun! Back at our same hostel in Costa Rica we went to another beach called Cocles Beach. I've never spent so much time in the ocean in my life! But that's the nature of Costa Rica I suppose! I'm not a big fan of sand, but the swimming and sitting on the beach is great. It was yet another beautiful beach and a very relaxing afternoon! Sunday night we found a restaurant close to the hostel and again, it was delicious! Most notably, we all split three desserts. A caramel crepe with ice cream, and two of this Argentinian dessert called Alfajor with ice cream. The waiter recommended the Alfajor and it was a good recommendation! We loved them! 
Then this morning I was again up early to catch the public bus back to San Jose! I got back about 30 minutes before my afternoon class. I didn't have Spanish this morning because my new class starts tomorrow so that's how I was able to stay through Monday in Puerto Viejo. 

The Alfajor

I was a little bit nervous going into this weekend just because it was our first weekend on our own and we were going across the border. But everything went so smoothly and it was a great experience! Luckily I was traveling with a great group of girls that made it that much easier.
Thanks for keeping up with my adventures to those of you reading! Jeremiah is recovering very well and getting more used to the inconveniences of school and everyday life. I am missing him a ton lately! But only 8 more weeks until I see him and the rest of my family again! Meanwhile I am treasuring all of these opportunities and adventures God is giving me here is Costa Rica!

Some pictures from last week:

Pura Vida!

Manuel Antonio y mas!

One month down, two to go! Wow! 

Last weekend I had a trip to Manuel Antonio National Park. It was only about three hours away and our hotel was very nice and right outside the national park! All day last Friday I wasn't feeling very well, so my Friday night was not very exciting! Saturday we went into the national park. It is beautiful! We went on a couple of trails, one that led to a waterfall, and one that went by a bunch of crabs and monkeys! The monkeys were so cool! There were so many of them and they were really close. So I took a ton of pictures of them. After quite a bit of walking we headed to one of the many beaches inside the national park. The one we chose only had two other people on it! So we walked down the whole beach and climbed around on these huge rocks and explored. While exploring we saw a bunch of crabs and an eel!! And then we swam, and spent most of the rest of the day sitting on the beach! Oh, there were also some fearless raccoons on the beach so you had to watch your things. 

Sunday my friend and I walked around town and got free Pura Vida bracelets! That was nice! The rest of the morning we wandered around the hotel area until it was time to return to San Jose! 

This week was my last week of my first Spanish class! So I wrapped up a five credit class in only four weeks! The name "Intensive Spanish" is definitely justified. So as far as class went this week I was busy with two presentations, an exam, and a patient simulation. The patient simulation was nerve-wracking but actually very cool. My Spanish class is Spanish for health professionals, so we were in pairs and one person was the nurse (me) and the other was the doctor. We had to get their basic information, take their vital signals, listen to their symptoms, diagnose them, and give recommendations. So it was very applicable to a real life situation, so I enjoyed it and think mine went well! 

Also this week we had different visitors at our house pretty much every night because of the new baby. Everyone wants to see him! So I got to meet a lot of Costa Ricans! One of them even told me that I have a great Spanish accent!! 

I made Oreo Truffles this week! I wanted to make something common in the U.S., and for my family, this is very common! I had to make do with different melting chocolate and no food processor, but I managed and they tasted great! Valentina and Dilanna loved watching me make them, and they loved the end result even more! So I was happy they enjoyed a little something from home! 

Weekly observations/notes:

"Mae" is a word here that they use for "dude." I hadn't really heard it much until my host dad's friends started visiting more and they'll use that term pretty freely in conversation!

Dilanna and Valentina give me hugs when I come home, which I love! 

They have a "juice" here that is literally oats, water, and sugar... Really weird. I'm not a fan, but my host mom loves it! 

I took my first taxi today! I know my dad will be happy to hear that. It was super easy, I just hadn't needed to take one until today!

I'm having a hard time getting pictures with my wifi right now. So next time I'll have more pictures!

I am currently on my way to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast of the country! Manuel Antonio was my last planned excursion with my program so this one is on my own with friends! So it will definitely be a new and interesting experience! We are also going down to Panama for a day, so I will be going to yet another country this year! I'm excited to see what's in store! 

Also, quick shout out to my adorable niece and nephew who turned two this week!! Well, Madeline turned two yesterday and Parker turns two tomorrow! I can't believe it! I love them so much and miss them like crazy! I'm so lucky to be an aunt!

Pura Vida

Adventure Awaits...

The "..." In the title was meant to be foreboding because this week while I did have some awesome adventure awaiting me. There was also some not so fun adventures in store! 

Last weekend I got to explore another new absolutely beautiful part of Costa Rica! On Friday (10/9) afternoon at 1:00 we got on the buses and drove about four hours to Arenal! It's an active volcano in North Central Costa Rica. It was a beautiful, green drive up there, but pretty windy and very foggy! The clouds kept up most of the weekend and unfortunately I never was able to see the top of the volcano because it was covered by clouds! Our resort was again amazing. I was randomly roomed with three of my friends which was a very nice surprise! The front of porch had a view of the volcano, we were right by the base of the volcano! Because of that, our hotel had hot springs! How cool! So after dinner of course we spent the night enjoying the hot springs. It was a bunch of small pools and some bigger ones and we just hopped in between them. Saturday morning I was up at 6:00 for a canyoning excursion that I decided to do! We took a bus pretty deep into the forest, had a safety lesson, got our gear (harness, helmet, and gloves) and were on our way. We had four rappels, a suspension bridge, a zipline, and a couple of small jumps off small waterfalls. It was so much fun!! I can't believe I was in this forest of Central America rappelling down waterfalls!! I was really nervous the first time rappelling. I had my arm wrapped around the guide's waist as he kept telling me to get closer to the edge. But they were great guides and it was really fun. So one of the rappels we had the option to do it upside down!! So I literally was strapped in and out over the edge of the canyon, told to flip upside down, and let go. Then I dropped a long way down!

 There were always guides at the top and bottom for extra safety and precautions. It was amazing and I have the video on my gopro so I can't wait to see how it turned out! All in all, that was a really fun day. I'm so glad I did it, even if parts were very nerve-wracking. After that we were all soaked so we changed and were taken right to a sustainable farm. The rest of our ISA group was already there and we were provided a lunch from the farm, everything grown and made right there! After the yummy lunch we were given a presentation about the farm and got to try a cacao bean which is actually like a fruit on the outside! And we tried sugar cane and sugar cane juice. Pretty good! The rest of the day my friends and I enjoyed the hot springs, the views, and dinner. 

Cacao fruit

Sunday we got ready and packed up, stuck our feet in the hot springs after breakfast and at 11:30 started the journey back to San Jose. It was another great weekend enjoying this beautiful country! 

And to make it even better, I got back to San Jose Sunday night, dropped my stuff at my house and went right back out to meet up with my family!! My parents, Emily, and Jeremiah came and it was so great to see them all! It's strange, I feel like my time has flown by here but I also felt like I hadn't seen them in awhile. So Sunday night we just had dinner and caught up! Monday was the random holiday from school which was perfect so we headed out bright and early right back to Arenal! That's where I had just been all weekend, but it was worth going again because it really gives a good sense of Costa Rica. 

Once we got up to Arenal after a bumpy drive we found a tour info place and booked a zipline/rappel/horseback/hot springs tour! It was perfect, it had everything included! So we grabbed lunch first and made our way to the tour place. Ziplining was first, and it was really cool! Really long lines and a great view of the forest and greenery. Emily and I went down first and then we were waiting for Jeremiah to come in next. The next thing I see Jeremiah is coming in backwards, really fast, and we are all screaming "Brake!!" But he can't hear us... And so he comes flying in to the platform and collides with ropes and who knows what, it was all kind of a blur. I keep replaying this scene in my head it was so scary. So we're all kind of frazzled, but he hops off the zipline and seems to just be more in shock than pain and we're all asking if he's okay. His right arm started swelling up very quickly and he was quickly becoming more and more in pain. He couldn't move his elbow and was going a little white, so we got him out of there as quickly as possible. He and my mom went with one of the company's workers to a nearby clinic while my dad, Emily, and I finished the Ziplining. I felt like an awful girlfriend and was a little in shock the rest of the time, but he and my mom insisted I stay. So we wrapped up and found out immediately after that his right Humerus (upper arm) was broken... Yeah, not a great way to spend the first full day of vacation in a foreign country. So we spent the rest of the day in the clinic, then driving back to San Jose, and in the hospital there. We thought he was going to have to get surgery here and then found out it could wait until the U.S., and then at his appointment this Thursday back in the U.S. he found out he won't need surgery! Yay!! But... He has a three month recovery which is a really long time and since it's his right arm it's very debilitating, so prayers for a speedy and full recovery are appreciated! So obviously this was not ideal, but despite that, Jeremiah has been so positive and didn't let it stop him from having a good time here! So Tuesday I was back in class but still able to see my family after class and go out for dinner and just spend time together. They were able to go the beach Tuesday, Jeremiah left Wednesday, and my parents and Emily toured some of San Jose on Wednesday and did a coffee production tour on Thursday. I think they enjoyed their time here! It definitely wasn't long enough, but I'm glad they were able to see my new home and share some experiences with me here! I'm trying not to think too much about the nine weeks now that I won't see them... 

Weekly observations:

It is so green here!

I'm getting used to feeling a little damp from humidity all the time.

Props to my dad for renting a car and navigating this insane city all week without getting in a wreck! The traffic is crazy here! 

My host mom had her baby on Wednesday! His name is Marcello and he is quite big but so cute!!

I'm not actually getting a roommate anymore, she decided to stay with her original family.

This weekend we are going to be at Manuel Antonio National Park! Another beach area so I can't wait! Feeling a little sick but praying it's a 24 hour thing. I want to enjoy the beach! 

Pura Vida