First Weekend Excursion

So this weekend we left San José to go explore the country. We left Friday afternoon and began a four hour bus ride to La Fortuna. Let me just make a side note that our bus driver, Carlos, is absolutely amazing. He can navigate a huge coach bus through some scary terrain. Some of the places we drove might not even by qualified as roads because there are more potholes than there actually is road. Most of the bridges we drove on were one lane and there were a few close calls of whether or not we would even fit. I probably would have given up on some of the curves and slopes in my bug, but Carlos is a pro. Anyways, when we arrived at La Fortuna, we went to Baldie Hot Springs. La Fortuna is the tourist town right outside Arenal Volcano. So when we were told that we were going to hot springs that we naturally heated by the volcano, we pictured naturally occurring pools on the side of a mountain. Oh no, this was a resort. Too bad we weren't staying there. But we got to swim around for a couple hours. They had 16 pools, one of which got up to 150 degrees. They also had some water slides, one of which probably would not be up to safety codes in the United States, but it was fun. The sign said you went 45 kilometers per hour down the slide. There was one point where you literally flew through the air. Needless to say it was a little bit painful to land. We got to eat dinner there, but then we were off to our dinky hotel. There are 30 of us, so we took up all the rooms but two. I feel bad for the two couples that had to stay with us. We stayed up for awhile outside, and at one point we were told to quiet down, but that didn't really help. I mean, we were learning how to play Costa Rican drinking games, so it wasn't really a time to be quiet.

The next morning we went to a hydroelectric plant. Therefore, we actually are learning on this trip. We got to see a dam and the plant where the energy was captured. It was a little scary at first because the guys started e

xplaining everything to us in Spanish. Luckily we have Leo, our tour guide for the month to translate.

But after that we got to go to the waterfall in La Fortuna. It was incredible. Some of the group rode horses to get there, but since I'm allergic to horses, I took the nice air conditioned bus. To get to the bottom of the waterfall, we had to walk down a long way. I think it was like 160 stairs or something, but it wasn't just stairs. The walk was nerve racking because it was steep, but not unnaturally hard. When we made it to the bottom we went swimming in the pool. It was a good thing I had good sandals because it was hard to navigate the rocks to get to the water. I tried swim toward the waterfall, but the current was so strong that I didn't make it very far. Then we navigated down the river, which was also very difficult because of the rocks. By the time we made it to a calm section and layed out on the rocks for a few minutes, it was time to head back. The walk back up to get to the bus was absolutely dreadful. I know I'm not a marathon runner or anything, but I'm in decent shape. I made it to the top without stopping, but I was breathing heavily and super sweaty.

That afternoon we were supposed to go to Arenal Volcano, but it was cloudy and rainy, so we went to a serpentarium instead. It was so cool. We got to play with snakes and frogs and butterflys. I got to hold a cute bright green tree frog, and wait for it, a 250 lb python. Yea, I know you're jealous. On the way back, we thought we might be able to see the lava coming out of Arenal because it was dark, but we couldn't. The volcano has been erupting for decades.

The next day we got up early and started our adventure to Monteverde Cloud Forest. Instead of taking our bus, we took a jeep-boat-jeep. Except the jeep was really a van. The first van ride was to Arenal Lake. Arenal Lake is the largest man made lake in central America. The boat ride was only about half an hour. And in the middle of Costa Rica, somehow I managed to be on a boat with people from Highland Park. Bizarre. The next leg of the trip was an hour and a half. And it is a ride I never need to take again. We were bouncing around the whole time on unpaved roads, up hills, around curves, and over temporary bridges. But we lived. Once we got to Monteverde, we unloaded our stuff because we were actually staying in the forest. We stayed at a biological reserve. It was like being at summer camp because we stayed in bunk rooms with public bathrooms. Oh the joys.

That afternoon we went on a tour on hanging bridges through the forest. It was cool to be up high, but we didn't see too much. There are these trees called strangler treest that grow from the canopy down. They grow around existing trees and strangle them leaving a hollow space in the middle. To get to one of the bridges, we got to climb up one of these trees. We also got to do a tarzan like swing. Later we went on a night tour through the forest. We saw a lot of bugs. Spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, millipedes, centipedes, catepillars. But not much else. The next morning we got to go on a day tour through the forest. This tour was amazing. We saw tons of stuff including some howler monkeys and the Quetzal bird.

So pretty much my weekend was sweet. Somewhat exhausting, but now we're back in San José for a few days. Tomorrow we are heading to the beach in Puntarenas for our free day. It should be a lot of fun and hopefully I'll actually get a tan, but we're leaving Veritas at 6:00 am. Should be interesting.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

Hello everybody. I've been in Costa Rica for a little bit now, so I thought I would give you another update.

This week we visited Café Cristina and Café Britt. Café Cristina is a small coffee plantation that is actually owned by two Americans. They have about 30 acres of land and do everything from growing the coffee to processing to roasting to packing. Café Cristina is certified organic and uses shade grown coffee. It was really interesting to see their approach to coffee becuase they really seemed to care about the coffee, it wasn't just a way to make money. They wanted to provide the best product. On Thursday we visited Café Britt, which in other words is Disney Land coffee style. We went on a tour that led to an auditorium where they put on a play about coffee through the years. It was absolutely ridiculous. First of all, it was in English and Spanish. Then they had crazy costumes and overexaggerated every part. But it was really entertaining. They also had a restaurant there, so we got to have another typical Costa Rican meal of rice and beans.

It was very intesting to see the difference between small and large scale coffee production. Café Cristina was really a family business. The owners were husband and wife, and technically they owned different pieces of the production. I think the husband processes all the coffee and then the wife exports it. Café Cristina also had a lot of other plants on their property. There were banana trees spread all over. During the coffee crisis, they earned 25% of their income from selling bananas. Café Britt has 1000 producers that sell to them so they can process and package the goods. All of the coffee they buy is shade grown, but not all of it is organic.

All right, so now that I got that out of the way, I will give you some more interesting tidbits about Costa Rica.
-Costa Rica does not have a sewage system. Yes, gross. I really could have gone without knowing that. But I already knew more about their plumbing than I wanted to because you can't flush toliet paper because the system they do have isn't strong enough for that.
-Ticos can make a juice out of absolutely any fruit. And they have way more fruits here than we have in the States. For breakfast this morning we had banana papaya juice. At one of the restaurants we had guanabana juice. I really have no idea what it is, but it was tasty.
-There are a lot of American college students here. Not all are studying, but they are everywhere. I have met kids that go to school in Montana, Arizona, Tennessee, Mississippi, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Missouri.
-The government has a socialist aspect. Education and health care are socialized. Our tour guide went to the University of Costa Rica. And do you know what he paid per semester without any scholarships? SIXTY DOLLARS! You can't even buy books for $60 in the US.
-My host family had been having students for 18 years. Wow. However, I am now confused on why they don't speak better English. Luckily, I have been able to understand most things.

I'm pretty sure there is more I was going to tell you all, but we are headed out for the weekend. Tonight we are going to the Bladie Hot Springs. We're also going to Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna, and Monteverde. We're staying at a hotel the first two nights and the third night we're staying at a research station in the middle of the forest. Woot!

Disclaimer

Attention family and friends. Some of the posts on this blog are required for school, so they might not be terribly interesting for you. But no worries, I will put fun ones up too.

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica

So yes, I arrived safely to San José. Woo hoo! The trip was pretty easy, we just had very good timing. We arrived at O'Hare around 4:15, which seems like it should have been plenty of time. But by the time we made it through security, it was 5:20 and our flight left at 5:37. We arrived in San José around noon, so we had plenty of time. A bus picked the first group of us up at the airport and took us to Universidad Veritas, where we are studying. My host mom, Cecilia, and her daughter, Priscilla, picked me up from the airport. When we got to her house, I was surprised to see other kids there. There are SIX students staying in my house. There are two of us from Miami, two from Montana State, one from Tennessee, and one from some school in Mississippi. However, we each have our own bedrooms and bathrooms. Pretty snazzy.

For the first few days, we have taken a lot of tours around San José. Here are some interesting tidbits about Costa Rica.
-Right now we are in the rainy season, which lasts from May to November, because, yes, there are only 2 seasons in Costa Rica. The rainy season means that it will rain everyday.
-Ticos, as Costa Ricans are called, do not use daylight savings time. Do you know what time the sun rises? FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!! And you know what, it´s very bright. Bright enough to wake me up everyday.
-The Chinese government is actually doing a lot in Costa Rica. And by a lot, I mean they are paying $60 million to build the new national soccer stadium.
-Our group of Americans stands out like no other. First of all, on the plane ride over, the guys must have turned into giants because they are all taller than the average Tico. Secondly, we all have lighter hair and light skin. We pretty much shine.
-Ticos eat a lot. My host dad, Herbert, is a 68 year old man that is probably 5' 4'' and 115 pounds and he eats 2-3 plate fulls at dinner. And trust me, there must be CP club award because everybody basically licks their plate clean.
-Before we came to Costa Rica we were told that everyone pretty much spoke some English and we can use dollars. This is a lie. My host mom speaks zero English. And if you use dollars, you get ripped off.

San José as a city is much different than the cities in the United States. First of all, it is not very tall. The tallest building is only 15 stories. Also, everything is very close together. The buildings are right on top of each other. There aren't many large parks either. There are a few small ones in the city center. One is where all the Nicaraugan immigrants hang out so they can be with people of their kind because the Ticos don't really like them. The Ticos love el Teatro Nacional. It´s a super nice theater in the middle of the city where the best performances occur. San José's streets are much different than in the United States. Let's just say it this way, they suck. You have to have four wheel drive because your car would not survive the potholes. Also, people don't have the same concept of driving on the right side of the road. They pretty much drive down the middle until they see another car. They also don't respect pedestrians. You will die if you walk in front of a moving car because it will speed up so that you don't cross in front of it. The houses in Costa Rica are also different than the United States. There are bars over the windows and gates all around the house. I have a key to get in the gate, two keys to get in the door, and there is a dead bolt on the inside of the door. But we've been assured it is very safe. Ticos also like to live in houses, not apartments of condos, so the houses are of varying sizes and quality.

All of the Ticos I have met have been very nice. My host mom cooks us breakfast and dinner, and man can that lady cook. We have close to 10 dishes to choose from at dinner. And she loves her toast. At breakfast, we counted and there were like 25 pieces of toast out for 6 of us. Herbert eats dinner with us. He is very chatty, but also very patient when we do not understand his Spanish. He knows some English, so he translates words and helps us with our pronunciation. Herbert told us he likes Bob Marley and Elvis. Tico men are very outspoken. Like I said before, all us girls with lighter hair definitely stand out. When we walk anywhere, we get lots of greetings and lots of honking. In general, Ticos are very family oriented. Every story Herbert tells is about his family and a trip they've taken. We have only met one daughter, but we aren't home for most of the day. One other thing about Ticos, they have an aversion to shorts. Luis, our tour guide, has told us not to wear our "sexy shorts" in the city because we will attract way too much attention. Girls wear pants even when it's in the eighties. Except they have no problem wearing very revealing shirts. Whatever works for them I guess.

Costa Rica has been great so far. This week we are going to visit 2 coffee plantations and then go on a trip for the weekend. It should be exciting, so I'll keep you all posted!

Adiós!

Getting Ready for Costa Rica

Well hello everybody. I'm leaving for Costa Rica on Saturday, so I have been very busy this week. I got back from Miami on Friday, so I've been packing all week. There is not doubt that I will have everything I need, the only issue might be fitting it in my suitcase.
On Saturday my flight to Houston is at 5:37 (!) in the morning. From there I will fly to San José, and we'll get in at 11:45. Then I will be out and about around Costa Rica for the next four weeks. I'll be living with Jillian at the home of Cecilia Mora Blanco and Herbert Paniagua in Zapote, Barrio Córdoba.
Just an FYI, I am not bringing my computer with me, but I'll have access to the computers at Veritas University. So feel free to email me (matersr@muohio.edu or dancrathrt2@aol.com). I'm super excited and will keep all of you posted about my thrilling adventures in Costa Rica!