Tortuguero!

<-- view of tortuguero from river

<--- me and erik on a hammock

<-- budda cafe!

<--- budda cafe again!

<-- me and ana on the beach!

<-- view on the river

Soo this weekend I went on an awesome adventure! Some boys in my group organized for the group to go an island en el caribe; Tortuguero! We left the house at 6 am and traveled on two different buses, then needed to take 1 hr+ bus ride to reach the island where we stayed. Coming up by river the place looked awesome! And i really felt like I was no longer in costa rica and now in the Caribbean. We walked through this island to get to our hostel ($8/ a night!) for a nice comfy bed, a towel, and a shower! Also there were AWESOME hammocks everywhere haha. We were a minutes walk away from the beautiful beach that had black sand (from the volcano!) andd  the water was exactly like that in north carolina oak island; warm water with the best waves. The first day me and some friends went out to lunch and ordered veggie pizza and it was delicious! Then we returned and swam in the wonderful ocean. That night.. the biggest rip off ever! We went to tortuguero... island of turtles right? So we agreed to pay $10 to see turtles on the beach. We got all ready and prepared. Then we proceeded to wait for 2 HOURS to see them but.. the guides couldnt find any. Which was fine and therefore we returned to our huts. The next day the guy came around and charged us anyway! (very rude).

The next day we went kayaking in a national park and saww.... soo many monkeys! ; howlers, spider, capuchin. Also, we saw a caimon and my kayak was literally like 3 feet away from him! I finally saw dad's lizard; the jesus christ lizard. This guy walks on water! ( I saw him do it, i was so shocked, he ran across like 2 meters of water).  It was a lovely afternoon. When we returned, we went to the beach more.. then dinner! We went to the budda cafe where I had pasta pomonero?  sooo delicious! My table ordered 2  pitchers of sangria; the best wine i have ever tasted! there were soo many fruits in the pitcher and the cinnamon overtones made it perfect. And after telling all 5 others at my table nooo pina colado and the waitress no pina colado for me she brought one anyway! Best idea ever! sooo good. I drank it very quickly.. hahah. Also i played soccer with the island boys and they were impressed by my minimal skills and kept screaming "chemy chemy! pass the ball  to chemy!". Very fun soccer match. Overall the weekend was so relaxing and peaceful ( we have not had much free time this semester :( but this was awesome! )

San Jose!

So I have been living in San Jose for over a week now. Every day, I wake up at 7.30, eat a delicious breakfast that includes; papaya, pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, and a tiny banana that is better than any banana ever in the states (soo rich tasting and soft!!). Also, pan tostado ( pre toasted bread sooo good!) is also available :D. I take the bus (fee = 200 colones ~ 40cents) with route Vargas Arayas! I arrive at the Costa Rican language academy where i begin class at 9 with a class of ... 3 other people! It is great because we can talk a lot and we have class for 5 hours each day! Then when I get home.. I can speak more Spanish with my host mom (so needless to say lots of Spanish during my days!). So we have a break at 10:30 and every day i eat delicious empanadas! (only 600 colones ~ $1.20!). The outside is fried and crispy dough and the inside has beef, chicken o gallo pinto (beans & rice) accompanied with chile sauce (sooo spicy burns my mouth everday!). There is always different kinds of fruit juice to try. Then for lunch we have 1 hr break when we go either to the mall to eat, or we will go to restaurants very close to school. Today i ate at la Sopa and got pasta, rice, salad, soup, potatoes, y un postre (desert) all for 4 dollars! Very delicious traditional costa rican food.We return from lunch, then have class for 2 more hours, then free time! Every day after class the academy has various activities for us to do. Cooking class of traditional cr food; we made pancakes with yuca ( a potato like veggie) and cheese . There is also conversation class and my favorite... salsa y merengue!! I love dance class because i meet soo many ppl there and it is very fun and easy to learn. I have danced with people from austria, switzerland, belgium, germany aand... Alaska! lol In fact, i really want to take salsa next semester at tulane (so fun!) After dance, I either hang out with my friends a while or go home by bus again. For dinner my and my mama tica eat together, and everynight she makes delicious food ( not as delicious as my real mama of course!). Then at night, i work on hw (we have either an essay or presentation 3/4 days of the week! Afterwards, sometimes me and mis amigos like to sample local bars and go dancing! Life in San jose is very pleasant. The city has many little shops/ restaurants etc all over the place and its cool just to walk around. I am also happy to have my own room (after living with 5 other girls in the same room all semester in the same space as 20 others).

La Selva independent projects!

>-- frog from rainforest cafe!

---- weevil! long snout and playful

,--- los congos en la puento! (monkeys on the bridge)

<-- more monkeys

<--- la perezoso (sloth!)

<--- coati!

<-- leaf cutter damage

Soo I have been very busy lately with independent projects! My group studied leaf cutter ants and the dear enemy effect. We watched ants from 7 -1am and one night when it was raining i woke up at 3 am to watch ants till 6 am!

One night, after a heavy rainfall me and my amigos went out to a trail that led to a bridge over a swamp. the trail was flooded and all the frogs came out to mate. they were so cool! all green and brightly colored, they reminded me of the awesome frog pencil that i bought from rainforest cafe when i was in elementary school. I got very close to them and was able to take some really cool pics!

i may have been the luckiest student (in terms of seeing cool creatures). first of all i would like to thank the la selva bridge, source of many of my finds. first i saw that kinka jou, but he was only the beginning. not only did i witness an additional three kinkajou sightings (1 was lucky enough), but i also saw a sloth several times and once he was actually on the wire of the bridge! he was literally 2 feet away from my face soo cool. he looked grumpy though and no one dared touch him. apparently sloths can be wicked fast in the face of predators, and our instructor mau said they will claw you with their vicious claws. i saw a family of howler monkeys pass across the bridge, the first time with no luck in pictures. the second time, and the last full day at la selva, the family was on the bridge for a good 20 minutes and they were again 2 feet away from my face (nice pics with that as well). there was a baby on a mommy's back. (sooo cute). also, for bug homework this time, i found a weevil (kinda uncommon too) and he was soo beautiful. weevils are under the same class as beetles but they are so much fun to play with! i wanted to keep him as a pet, but he was too beautiful. he would craw on my arm and clamp around my fingers.

today i arrived in san jose. i met my host mom who is a very welcoming motherly type. in my house are two other students, one from germany and one from south africa. i spent the afternoon with the german girl and met some of her german friends. we talked span/ eng/ german (except me). and went to... Mcdonalds! haha at the mall. its crazy that every single food chain cept like 2 there were all usa food chains... kfc, subway, quiznos, etc. for dinner we had some whiskey with our meal? \