Oct 30, 2007

Monteverde y Jaco

This past weekend we had our 3rd, and final included, excursion to the "cloud forest" of Monteverde. It was about 5 hours from San Jo, and we went through some pretty windy and bumpy roads (so it was a good thing I took 2 drammamine pills to knock me out!) And since it was up in the mountains, it was freakin COLD! Well it was probably just like Berkeley weather, warm during the day and bitingly chilly at night, but since I'm already so accustomed to the warm and humid weather that CR is known for, it was pretty uncomfortable, especially since I hadn't thought to pack with me any of my warm clothes.

Despite the cold weather, I most def had tons of fun! Saturday I went on 2 tours, one was a canopy tour and the other ATV. Canopying through the forest was really fun, especially since once again, all the tour guides were such guapos! Here is one of them explaining to us what to do. As you can see, once you're strapped to a harness, you zipline through the trees at pretty high heights.

They also had a "tarzan" swing, which was really scary at first because they basically push you off the platform, no matter how chicken you are. But nonetheless, it was an awesome adrenaline rush. Here's Rachie!

In our second tour, we were able to ride on ATVs! Those were sooo much fun, and I felt like such a badass driving through the rocks and mud. haha.

Our tour guide really freaked us out at first, though, because he basically told us there's a good chance we could die on them if we aren't careful. That's why we had to wear such ginormous helmets. :0 BUT we all survived to have a blast on them and to be able to see an AMAZING view. Here I am!

And here WE are! Perfect for putting on a postcard.

That night, all of ISA took over the hotel, yet again, and we spent the whole night playing flip cup, dancing to hip hop (finally!), and teaching people how to thizz face again haha. This kid was a cutie and everyone wanted him to be their boyfriend.

Eww and I saw the hugest scorpion!

Okay, so then Sunday, since we didn't have class Monday morning, some of us decided to take a trip to Jaco, the beach town closest to San Jo, where we found a place to stay for only $10/night! I personally don't like the beach because it's dirty, rocky, and the water isn't as pretty nor clear as other beaches here in CR.

The sky was pretty gorgeous, though.

That night I was able to eat sushi for the first time here in CR! Surprisingly, it actually wasn't that bad, but definitely not comparable to back home...which I miss terribly! And to make things even better, we were serenaded by a mariachi band who sang us la bamba! :)

After din din, we went to the Beatle Bar, a bar dedicated to the Beatles! (cool huh pops?) I was really excited to go, BUT unfortunately, I soon learned that it is now the hot spot for old creepy men to pick up prostitutes! It was really interesting to watch the couples interact with one another, but kind of sad as well. And of course we had to take a pic with one of the stripper poles! haha.

The 4 of us who had class in the afternoon left early Monday morning, but the bus ride was much longer (and nauseatingly bumpy) than we had expected, so we ended up missing the whole class anyway! Oh wells, at least our prof was really chill and understanding. So, once again, I had yet another incredibly fun weekend here in CR!

Oct 24, 2007

Cuarta Semana

Well this is the first week in which I've gone out every single night! Which is kind of odd, considering that we have our first final exam on Friday! oh wells..no me importa nada haha. Let's see, on Monday we went to a bar called Roots, which will from now on be our new hangout spot. I love it! it has 2 stories with a cozy balcony/outdoor area, all the people there are really tranquilo, they play reggae music and praise Bob Marley! To top it off, it's within walking distance too! After that, we went to Cuartel, as usual, but this time I did not enjoy myself whatsoever. And it takes a LOT for me to not have a good time anywhere. First of all, my favorite band wasn't playing and there was a riDICUlous amount of people there. It took us almost 20 minutes to try to squeeze through the crowd towards the dance area! AND along the way, we were groped by practically every single guy! NOT fun. However, we did see a fat latin version of George Clooney. haha. See him? We tried to be discreet.

Like Cuartel is the night for Mondays, Tuesday nights are popular for a place called Soltan... a hookah bar! :) I had been missing hookah sooo much, so I was in heaven by the time the hose came around to me. Like the tequila shots, it was Randi's first time, so we got to corrupt her yet again! She loved it though ;)

If you add hookah, cute Ticos, the awesome reggaeton songs, and 50 cent beers all together, what do you get? Quite a fun night.

Wednesday we went out to dinner (one of the very few times here in SJ) at a really yummy Italian restaurant in Multi Plaza Mall. Then we watched Superbad! Or rather "Supercool" haha. It was my 3rd time watching and I STILL laughed my butt off.

Thursday I went to my first professional soccer game! The 2 best teams of CR played: Saprissas and Alajuelos. Of course I rooted for Saprissa, the number 1 team, whose team color is purple! It was such a fun and awesome experience, especially since futbol is such a huge deal for the Ticos. Here's some of us in front of the field.

And here's the crowd going wild when Saprissa scored the winning, and only, point of the game.

So this morning I had my final exam for spanish, and I was done in less than an hour. superfacil! Now I'm off to Monteverde for the weekend! :)

Oct 22, 2007

Manuel Antonio



This weekend we went to a beach on the Pacific coast called Manuel Antonio. The bus ride there was NOT a very fun 6 1/2 hours whatsoever. Because it was raining so much, we waited almost 2 HOURS just to cross a bridge. So you could imagine that all of us were going pretty crazy by then. But once we got to our hotel and put some food in our tummies, all was bueno. :)

That night, we went out to a bar right down the road, where there were waaay too many gringos, and old ones too. But there was live music, so it was pretty chill, and just what we needed. AND we played with the cutest cat ever! he wanted some of our cervezas...

The next day, we went into the national park, where we pretty much just played on the beach in the crazy waves. We're laughing here because the tides were so strong that our bottoms would occasionally fall down ;)

We also were able to see lots of iguanas, weird raccoon/bear/fox looking things, and MONKEYS! :)



At one point, there was about 7 surrounding us, which was kinda scary at the time. But they were too cute. and the weird thing is that they aren't afraid of approaching humans at all!

Unlike the last trip, we actually had a lot of free time to ourselves. So of course we spent most of it laying on the beach. All of us definitely got some nice color by the end of this trip! :)

That night, we went out to eat at El Avion (the airplane), where there was an actual bar inside a plane! I ordered some pretty delish red snapper. Pretty daunting at first, but once it hit my lips...

Afterwards, we went to a really fun bar, where it was the first time in CR that I got to hear Justin Timberlake!!! It was soooo much fun...especially because I met a really cute Tico there :) Unfortunately, I forgot my phone number! que tonta!

Haha this was the best pic of the night. The bay area girls trying to show Mo how to thizz face! Ahh, once again, another grrrreat weekend :)

Oct 21, 2007

Quick Update from Tercera Semana


On Monday, we went out to Cuartel for Marion's 23rd birthday. The same band from the first time I went was there and I loved them even more this second time! Especially the one in the tight jeans haha. So of course I was jamming in the front the entire time, and lucky ol me just so happened to be chosen to come dance up on stage with them! I was so embarassed, but it was so hilarious and fun that it became the time of my life at the moment.

Then on Wednesday night, we went out to El Pueblo, the nighttime hotspot for the Ticans, where there are a bunch of clubs and bars centered in one compact area. Randi had her first tequila shots! Ohh, funny girl. After bar-hopping for awhile, we ended the night at a club where there were some studly dancing boy band boys up on stage!

Oops and there goes their shirts... haha it was definitely some fun, but most definitely gay, eye candy for us chicas.

On Friday, each of us were assigned to interview a couple of people about a certain typical CR dish, and bring some in for the class! Mine was gallo pinto, and I must admit that it was quite tasty what I had cooked (with the help of my tica mama of course) We had to do a mini presentation in espanol, and of course it just so happened to be the very day that our class was being filmed! It was just in order to evaluate our prof, so I don't know why they were up in our faces so much. Oh wells, I think I did pretty well and the delish potluck made the day all the better!

Oct 14, 2007

La Fortuna/Volcan Arenal


I absolutely love this pic, although I can't take the credit for capturing it. This was where we stayed this past weekend...with Volcan Arenal in the back!

For our first ISA-organized excursion to the region of La Fortuna, we left at 6 in the morn Saturday, and I have no idea why, because where we stayed was absolutely incredible and all of us would've loved to stay an extra night. So that day was super jam-packed with various activities. First of all, we visited a park which consisted of various abstract creatures and things made from large bushes and shrubs, and all constructed solely by one old man. It was pretty amazing; and the place reminded me of a Dr. Seuss maze.
These look like they could be cute monster creatures playing around with each other.
Next we had breakfast at a cute little restaurant, then traveled through a windy road amongst gorgeous valleys and hills, and finally arrived at La Catarata la Fortuna. Wow, I don't think I've seen such a waterfall so BEAUTIFUL.
We had to hike down over 200 steep steps (and of course back up, which was quite a workout I must say!) in order to reach the bottom of the waterfall, where we were able to jump in and cool ourselves off in the refreshingly cold water.
Then we had lunch in a cute little town right by where we were staying the night, where you could see Volcan Arenal in the background!
We finally arrived at our hotel, and it was absolutely amazing. It was like a resort, with tons of pools and slides, and with huge rooms that were pretty much like our own villas.
What an amazing view of Volcan Arenal we had! Luckily, although it would've been cool to witness and see, the volcano is inactive right now, and it wasn't dangerous at all.
After we unpacked, we went to Baldi Hot Springs, the most relaxing, romantic and sensational place I've ever been to. There were over 20 pools, all varying in temperatures, saunas, water slides, and poolside bars!

It was amazing. Some even said they'd return there for their honeymoon!
After dinner at Baldi, we finally returned to our hotel, where we just hung out and got to know each other better. We even played "never have I ever," which to those of you who have never played, is a game in which everyone finds out some of your deepest darkest secrets, with the help of some drinks of course. It made me miss my TL babies!

Because that day was non-stop, I passed out pretty early, which was good though, because I needed to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn again the next day...to go canyoning down the waterfalls! It was the first time I had done it so it was quite nerve-wrecking, especially because the first one was a 165 foot jump!

After the initial jump though, it was soooo much fun! And at least we looked super cool in all our protective gear!
AND we had some really friendly (and some cute!) tour guides to help us through it all ;) The whole tour was definitely worth the money and getting up early for.
They even invited us to come party with them that night! Unfortunately, we had to leave with the rest of the group, although once again, of course, we didn't want to leave to return back to boring and gloomy ol San Jose!

Oct 12, 2007

Semana Numero Dos

This last week was pretty mellow for me... I've basically just been attending my classes every morning, which isn't as bad as I had expected at all. I actually enjoy waking up early every day because it frees the entire day up for exploring around town, hanging out with friends, resting or cualquiere I feel like doing. I love my spanish class and I'm learning a lot, which is good, but my Marine Bio class is a bit boring right now...It's because at the moment we're learning about geology, physical/chemical features of the ocean, blah blah. I'm sure it'll get more interesting once we start studying the different marine animals in the ocean, not to mention our field trips! I've been attending the free latin dance classes the school offers as well, which are sooooo fun! We've learned the merengue, salsa, bachata, and cumbia so far, which I've definitely been putting to good use at all the clubs. And it is absolutely hilarious watching some of the gringo boys try to shake their hips!

Oh I forgot, I did feel deadly sick one night. Actually, it was morning. Starting at about 4am, I was puking my guts out and had to run to the bathroom all morn. Luckily though, I have my own bathroom! I must have caught some kind of stomach bug, but surprisingly and gratefully, I actually felt completely fine by that afternoon. So I'm all good now! :)

I went shopping at a couple of really nice malls, where I saw Bourne Ultimatum (2 for the price of 1 every Wed!), which was such a badass movie that I even had the urge to beat someone up! haha. One night we went out to a super delish peruvian restaurant.
I had fish of course.
Then on Thursday our school hosted their annual Dia de Las Culturas, which was a festival for Costa Rica's Dia de Las Razas (Race Day), a national holiday that not only commemorates Colombus' discovery of America, but also the fact that Costa Rican culture has been strongly influenced by the settlement and presence of Indians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. So there were traditional foods being served, live dance and music performances, such as this heartfelt one, which was performed by students from a special-ed school.

They also had a sexy lil belly dancing performance.
I wouldn't say it was the most awesome set of performances I've seen, but it sure beat sitting in an uncomfortable chair for 4 hours.

That night, we went to Jazz Cafe for one of my friend's birthday, where a really good live jazz band played.. in quite a romantic ambiance I must say. Dim red lights, candles everywhere, couples making out...
Then we went to Castro's club yet again, where we danced a bit, and then decided to make absolute FOOLS out of ourselves singing drunk karaoke! Someone even called out "basura" to us, which means trash, while we were up there doin our thang. haha, we totally deserved it though. We probably won't be showing our faces there for quite some time...

Oct 8, 2007

Historical Day in CR: Referendum on CAFTA/TLC

Oct. 7, 2007 marked a very important day for the people of CR. They were able to vote Si o No on the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Before yesterday, it was the only country that had not yet ratified it. Unlike the other 5 countries that had already signed on, withOUT the votes of their people, the ticos were able to decide democratically on their future. Supporters of YES generally are governmental or corporation related, in favor of the U.S., while those against it are basically everyone else: environmentalists, universities, trade unions, the church, farmers, and those who are NOT in favor of the U.S. In this pic, the protestors are saying that CR needs to vote NO b/c Si would imply that there wouldn't be peace without social justice.

All the directors and professors told us to refrain from talking to any of the CRs about their opinions on the subject, as most of them are EXTREMELY passionate about whatever they are voting on. but that doesn't mean I can't or shouldn't observe this locura (craziness)! Unfortunately, I didn't return from my weekend trip in time to witness any of it live. But I definitely watched in on the tele.

Here are the results: Si won with just 51.6%. So you could see how completely divided CR is on this topic. It's definitely very cool that I was here/am here to witness such an important moment in this country's history. We'll see how differently things will be in the following months...

Oct 7, 2007

Puerto Viejo!


This weekend was my first trip out of San Jo, one of my many mini vacays during my time here in CR. It was awesome...and I didn't want to leave! Look how beautiful it is there. So don't be surprised if you find me living there some day. We went to the CUTEST beach town on the Caribbean coast of the region of Limon, called Puerto Viejo, where it was so humid and hot that there was no point in me ever showering. So I didn't really. haha. But neither did anyone else, so it's all good! The bus ride there was about 4 hours long, which wasn't too too bad, since I slept for most it, but about halfway through it, you could tell how dramatically different the temperature was from San Jo.

The people there were mainly from Afro-Caribbean descent...the only music they listen to is Bob Marley! well and a few other reggae jams. All were super chill, friendly, and smoked ganja all day long! But when we were at one of the clubs, it seemed that a lot of them were on some other craaazy drugs. Maybe that's what allows them to create such beautiful works of art! Here are some of them. A wall painting of dancers in this one
And this is my friend's new smoking device, handmade.
We stayed in this place called Rocking J's, which was only $6/night to sleep in our own tents, first time for me in quite awhile, but was pretty much all that we would've asked for. However, I never really got any sleep because one, we didn't go to bed until really late, two because there was a freakin rooster that crowed from 3 in the morn until the break of dawn, and three, it was unbareably hot to keep sleeping past 8 in the morn. Oh wells, sleep is overrated anyways.

The first night we went to a cute little restaurant, where I ate the yummiest and freshest tuna that I've had in quite some time. I went with 9 other really nice, friendly and chill peeps, who I got to know pretty well this weekend. And here's the gang! It was such a fun bonding experience.
The next day, we laid out on the beach, snorkeled, went out to eat, and shopped around town. Here is me with my new amiga, Kate. The water was so incredibly warm and clear! But unfortunately, I didn't get to see as many cool fish as I had hoped.
and then later that night, one of my friend's friends invited us over to his house for a BBQ. It was so interesting hanging out with local Ticos, experiencing what the "party" life of the people living there was like. To sum up how crazy and hilarious it was, all of the gringo boys were caught with their pants at their ankles, having to dance around in circles!

All in all, it was a relaxing, fun and unforgettable weekend. I already can't wait to go back! And now I have to wake up early to go to class at 8 in the morn...