Puerto Viejo

This weekend, we loaded up the bus, as normal, at 1pm on Friday to head to Puerto Viejo.  Typically, the drive is about 4+ hours over a stretch of roads covered with pot-holes toward the end (in Costa Rica, pot holes are really more like miniature Grand Canyons).  On the way there, it was raining, and it was neat because beside the road there were steep cliffs covered with plants, trees, and, when it's raining, waterfalls!  I wasn't able to snag a picture, but it was neat.  After this however, the trip went slightly downhill.  We came upon an accident and were just stopped in traffic. Instead of a little over the 4 expected hours, the trip took 8 and a half! And while we were stopped, we couldn't go outside because of the rain (and when I say rain, I mean RAIN).

But eventually we made it to Puerto Viejo, which is completely different from last weekend's Tamarindo Beach.  Tamarindo, while gorgeous, is very geared toward Tourists.  Puerto Viejo has a definite Caribbean flair to it and is a little more 'authentic.'  We were a little bummed at first because while we were expecting a weekend at the beach, the pouring rain was not exactly cooperating.  But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as because of the rain, we took a tour of a 'chocolate factory,' which was really a lady's house who makes chocolate and some other natural products.  It was so cool! I bought a few chocolates but unfortunately they did not make it home =) Also during this trip, we got to see a few sloths and some other animals.  It was neat because the backyard of this lady's house looked basically like a rainforest!

The rest of the time we mainly spent exploring Puerto Viejo. This morning the sun even decided to say hello, so we got our day at the beach after all =)

toucan!

the lady who makes the chocolate holding the cocoa plant.

sloth!

roomates for the weekend :)

streets of puerto viejo

this captures the laid-back atmosphere of puerto viejo =)

these colors speak to the rastafarian influence of the caribbean side of costa rica.

at a cute little crepe restaurant :)

haven't had many desserts while here...that changed this weekend. yumm :)

even while overcast, the beach was still beautiful.

puerto viejo has black sand beaches!

remember the lady who makes chocolate? this is her backyard. 

there was a plant with red coloring that we all put on our faces =) she uses it to make red garlic spice stuff. 

eek!

Today, I discovered I have a fear, no, make that phobia, of mice.

Bad news #1: leaving food, even in sealed containers, in your closet.  

Bad news #2: witnessing a mouse running around your room at 3am. It won't leave. 

Bad news #3: discovering that the house was to have been fumigated in December..but never was.

Worse news #4: reaching for a shirt on the top shelf of your closet and, surprise! a mouse pops out from among your clothes and falls to the ground, then runs under your bed.

Bad news #5: the mouse runs into a hole in the wall, in the kitchen. End of story. 

It was quite the eventful morning. Maybe I'm being dramatic (it's quite possible), but I'm a girl, so I figure I'm allowed to be afraid of mice :) Eek!

Universidad Veritas

Veritas is a art and design school. 

courtyard with a nice breeze =)

where my classes are held :)

Universidad Veritas

As wonderful as the beaches of Tamarindo are, I did forget to mention one important detail about life in Costa Rica...school! I am studying at Universidad Veritas which is a art, design, and architecture school.  There are actually quite a few international students here, mostly from the U.S., among the students from Costa Rica and surrounding countries.  

I have Spanish class from 8-12 every day...and yes, that is four hours!  My profesora is wonderful! She is Italian and very animated so it makes for a fun class. Class sizes are very small, only about ten people.  I am in an advanced Spanish class which is a bit hard for me, I could choose between that and the intermediate class, which may have been better suited for me, but a little late now! We get a decent amount of homework, and I had my first quiz today already.  There is a lot to keep up with, mostly because the Spanish classes run for one month at a time.  And with only four weeks to a class...this week is midterms already!  The most daunting task so far is a presentation in Spanish thursday for fifteen minutes-no English, no notecards, and correct grammar.  

But I'm learning a lot, and it's nice to be able to use what I am learning outside of class.  The only barrier to that is that there are so many American students in our program that we end speaking a lot of English outside of class.  But it's nice to have a break and be able to not have to think so much about what I'm saying :)

Tamarindo!

Tamarindo Sunset

This isn't me..but I did get to try surfing while I was there! So difficult!!

Tamarindo!

This weekend, we got the chance to go to Tamarindo Beach!  It was so beautiful, I will be uploading pictures soon.  We left Friday and finally arrived after a six hour bus ride.  The group I was with are "independent" students, or as Luis, someone who works at the university says, "VIPs" or Very-Independent-People. haha.

We got to go to a disquoteca friday night (dancing) and spent most all of Saturday at the beach.  We also got to watch the sunset which was gorgeous! After, a few of us went to eat at a restaurant on the beach, which was great, but it took three hours! "Tico Time" as we call it here is very laid back and no-rush.  At the end of hour dinner, a Mariachi Band played for us, on the house!  It was a great weekend.

First Days

Costa Rica is wonderful! Yesterday was my first official day. I got to meet my wonderful, wonderful host family--they are great.  There is also another student staying at this house, and she seems great too.  Our host mama tica makes sure we are never in need of anything, and is always cooking AMAZING meals. 

Today was our first day at the university and we had orientation and a placement exam.  We also got the chance to meet many other students and find out about the trips we will be taking, which sound great! There is a trip every weekend this month.  The first is this weekend to Tamarindo Beach!

I am nervous for my Spanish class tomorrow...I think I may be in a little over my head, but the class is for conversation skills which will definitely be useful for everyday life here, so it could be just what I need.

Also today, a group of us got to go to downtown San Jose which was fun!  There is much, much more to explore here though, can't wait.