Mood: Fabulous
Music: Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies
All right, where did we leave off? Cerro Danta, right? Okay then.
Saturday and Sunday were nothing especially interesting. Sunday, Emily and I spent approximately 6 hours working on the ten pager we had due Tuesday (that we started at 14:00 on Sunday). I was really pounding it out (heh heh) until her host dad turned on Ms. Universe. Fortunately, I was already at the conclusion. Also, size 14 periods (with size 12 text) are a gift from god. Thanks, Emma Jean.
Monday, I had my meeting for volunteering (which I'm trying to turn into an internship - I already wrote up the proposal and everything). IFSA set me up a meeting in the Asamblea Legislativa with la Diputada Doctora Lesvia Villalobos Salas, a member of the Partido Acción Ciudadana. Or, for those of you who don't know Costa Rican politics, I've now got a congressional internship two days a week with a member of the most liberal party in the country (wait, did I actually leave AU?). The best part? Dra. Villalobos lives 50m from me, so she drives me to San José on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I don't have to take the bus.
Tuesday was boring. Actually, that's not true. I'm just so used to Tuesdays being boring that I say it automatically. No, actually, Tuesday wasn't bad. Instead of having class in Costa Rican Cultural Identity, we went on a field trip (yeah, my university still has field trips, because we're all teh ballers) to San José, and wandered around the mercado central and the National Theater. Since we gringas in the group had already had that field trip about three weeks ago, we just got to tag along and hang out (just being there was five percent of our final grade, haha). Emily, Vallerie, and I made two new friends that are in our class - Jorge Pablo, who is kind of timid and lives in San José, and Cristian, who is an absolute riot. Shame he's so young, otherwise he would have potential ;)
Yesterday was my first full day in the Asamblea with Dra. Villalobos. She set me to reading and taking notes on the Constitution of Costa Rica, so I'll better understand what's going on. After that, I get to work my way through two more books: one of the rules of the Asamblea and one of some other thing that I forgot. And then I get to read through all of the bills currently up for debate, and only then do I get to start working projects. But you know what? It's not bad at all, because this gives my volunteer work an academic component, which will hopefully make it easier to get it changed to an internship.
Then, last night, I may or may not have kissed the cute Nicaraguan shopkeep...
Today, we didn't have Advanced Spanish, instead we went on a field trip (not only do we have field trips, we have -lots- of field trips) to the Museo de Cultura Popular. Basically, we got to see a Costa Rican house from the late eighteen hundreds, talk about medicinal plants that they used, and cook prestiños, which are kind of like elephant ears, but not really. I'm baller at dough-making, fun fact for those of you who didn't know.
Now I'm in the library until class at 14:00. Tomorrow, a bunch of us are leaving early (like, 4 AM early) for La Fortuna for a weekend vacation. We're planning on hiking Volcán Arenal and through the Monteverde cloud forest. More on that on Monday.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
semillas de ajonjolí - sesame seeds
desfile - parade
hígado - liver
hostigamiento - harassment
seglar - secular
indigente - poverty-stricken
dozavo - one-twelfth
potestad - legal authority
yacimiento - (mineral) deposit
alegar - allege
derogar - abolish, appeal
abrogar - abrogate, annul
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Never Let a Lady Fall
Mood: Amazed
Music: Pitbull – Toma
I survived dance class.
Actually, I more than survived. Turns out I can dance, kind of. Bolero clasico and bolero piratiado are no problem for me, as long as I keep counting. 1...2...3...4...1...2...3...4... Merengue wasn't too bad either, but salsa, well, was a disaster. But hey, three out of four ain't bad.
Today, we went on a hike to Cerro Danta. So. Much. Walking. To get there, it's a bus to Heredia, then a bus to San Rafael, then 20 minutes up to Monte de la Cruz, where I went before, then another two hours farther up to get to the camp. But I got lucky. Just after we passed Monte de la Cruz, the owner of Cerro Danta passed us in his truck, and he gave me and Ashley a ride, because we were dying. We still had to hike 2 km, though, because the truck couldn't go any farther.
Once we got there, we split into two groups, and one group went on the “long” hike (it's supposed to take two and a half hours, but we did it in one) and the other group went on the short hike to the waterfall. The long hike was really cool; we had to use ropes at certain points to keep ourselves from falling, and we crossed like four rivers. Apparently, the forest we were in is considered one of the most dangerous forests in Central America, because so many people go missing in it. But we had a guide, so it was all good. It's a wildlife refuge, but we didn't see anything because people talked the whole hike, haha. But apparently you can see dantas, tapirs, quetzals, pumas, and jaguars. We only saw hummingbirds and caterpillars. Still cool though. And we crossed the continental divide. The guide told us that if it weren't cloudy, we'd be able to see the Caribbean on one side and the Pacific on the other.
We ended up going the short hike to the waterfall, too, once we got back from the long one. It was actually two waterfalls, though, one right next to the other, which was amazing to look at. They told us there's another waterfall in the park, the tallest in Costa Rica (200 meters), but that it takes eight hours to hike to it.
After that was lunch, and then the hike back. I went in the back of the group with the owner, Don Warren, and his employee (assistant? volunteer?) Andy, because Don Warren walks at a pace I can keep up with, while Yanori practically runs. Anyway, the three of us made it to the car, and Don Warren asked Ashley and I if we wanted to ride back down. Of course, we said yes. Then, he asked us where we were staying, and we told him, and it turns out he lives about five blocks from Ashley, and offered her a ride all the way home. I was joking around, saying, “Dang, wish I lived in San Pedro!” and he said, “You live in Santo Domingo, right? I drive home that way, I can drop you off, too.” Free rides home = awesome.
Well, Abuelo and Abuela, and Tio Marcos and Tia Isabel just showed up, so I'll leave off. Not that I had any more to say, haha.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Music: Pitbull – Toma
I survived dance class.
Actually, I more than survived. Turns out I can dance, kind of. Bolero clasico and bolero piratiado are no problem for me, as long as I keep counting. 1...2...3...4...1...2...3...4... Merengue wasn't too bad either, but salsa, well, was a disaster. But hey, three out of four ain't bad.
Today, we went on a hike to Cerro Danta. So. Much. Walking. To get there, it's a bus to Heredia, then a bus to San Rafael, then 20 minutes up to Monte de la Cruz, where I went before, then another two hours farther up to get to the camp. But I got lucky. Just after we passed Monte de la Cruz, the owner of Cerro Danta passed us in his truck, and he gave me and Ashley a ride, because we were dying. We still had to hike 2 km, though, because the truck couldn't go any farther.
Once we got there, we split into two groups, and one group went on the “long” hike (it's supposed to take two and a half hours, but we did it in one) and the other group went on the short hike to the waterfall. The long hike was really cool; we had to use ropes at certain points to keep ourselves from falling, and we crossed like four rivers. Apparently, the forest we were in is considered one of the most dangerous forests in Central America, because so many people go missing in it. But we had a guide, so it was all good. It's a wildlife refuge, but we didn't see anything because people talked the whole hike, haha. But apparently you can see dantas, tapirs, quetzals, pumas, and jaguars. We only saw hummingbirds and caterpillars. Still cool though. And we crossed the continental divide. The guide told us that if it weren't cloudy, we'd be able to see the Caribbean on one side and the Pacific on the other.
We ended up going the short hike to the waterfall, too, once we got back from the long one. It was actually two waterfalls, though, one right next to the other, which was amazing to look at. They told us there's another waterfall in the park, the tallest in Costa Rica (200 meters), but that it takes eight hours to hike to it.
After that was lunch, and then the hike back. I went in the back of the group with the owner, Don Warren, and his employee (assistant? volunteer?) Andy, because Don Warren walks at a pace I can keep up with, while Yanori practically runs. Anyway, the three of us made it to the car, and Don Warren asked Ashley and I if we wanted to ride back down. Of course, we said yes. Then, he asked us where we were staying, and we told him, and it turns out he lives about five blocks from Ashley, and offered her a ride all the way home. I was joking around, saying, “Dang, wish I lived in San Pedro!” and he said, “You live in Santo Domingo, right? I drive home that way, I can drop you off, too.” Free rides home = awesome.
Well, Abuelo and Abuela, and Tio Marcos and Tia Isabel just showed up, so I'll leave off. Not that I had any more to say, haha.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
¿Sabes qué? He estado pensando en ti toda mi vida
Mood: THER ARR NOOOO INTURNETS!!!!11!!one!!11!!
Music: Third Eye Blind – Jumper
Life gets kind of boring when you're broke.
Of course, it's my fault that I'm broke, but hey, I've been having adventures, right? Okay, so I've spent too much on stupid stuff, too. I think the temptation to take a taxi is the hardest to resist, especially when I'm tired or it's raining. That, and snacks. Snacks and Imperial. It adds up.
I realize that my finances probably aren't all that interesting to you, dear reader. They've just got me kind of stressed right now. There are some things I need to get – contact solution, pants and shoes for dance class (more on that in a minute), a new pair of jeans (I found there's now a hole right up the butt crack of one of the two pairs I have here) – that I've been living without, but I won't ask for money yet. Especially considering my parents' feelings regarding how much I've already spent...
I've said it once, I'll say it again. We should switch back to the barter system. Seriously, I've got some very pretty shells I can trade you, and I'm pretty good with a needle and thread.
Whatever. Moving on.
So, it's been a while since I last updated. Interestingly, I find that I don't think about blogging as much when I don't have wireless. Oh, I haven't mentioned that yet? Yeah, I don't have wireless anymore. Whoever we were “borrowing” our connection from learned to password protect their network. Lame. So now I share the family computer with Natalia and Sofia, which means waiting until they've finished. And since Natalia's obsessed with the new novela, she will sit and watch it online from 8 AM to 11 PM on her days off. Really, I'm not kidding. That was Saturday. Anyway, when it finally is my turn, I try to keep it short, because hey, it's not my computer right? But that means I don't think much about my blog. Oops. But I'm here now, returned to tell you about the handful of things worth mentioning from the last week and a half.
Let's start with fútbol. Last Wednesday (08/12), la Sele played Honduras in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers... And it was a disaster. The ticos lost 4-0 to the catrachos. Well... A disaster for the ticos, anyway. I can't pretend that I won't always love the Honduran national team, no matter how much I scream for the Costa Ricans at the time. Hell, you have to root for Costa Rica (at least out loud), unless you want to get jumped by a bar full of angry ticos, ha. It's like being a Michigan fan in Columbus when they play the Big Game in the Shoe, no joke.
But I do have to admit that the selección catracha played kind of dirty. It's not nice to elbow the goalie in the face and take him out of play in the first minutes of the game. I mean, I think the Hondurans would have won anyway, just that by taking out the first-string goalie, it was more a massacre than a win.
I can't be too upset, though. The Hondurans really needed this win to stay in the running, and my ticos are still in the lead. Not to mention Costa Rica only needs one more win to qualify, while all the other teams need at least two. The only problem is that our next game is against Mexico, and they're the CONCACAF powerhouse. Right now, the standings are CR-12, HD-11, US-10, and MX-10 (I'm not even going to bother discussing El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago; I'm calling it right now, they aren't going to make it). For the next round, I'm predicting wins for Honduras, Mexico, and the US, which would put the scores at HD-14, US-13, MX-13, and CR-12. Which means that we MUST win the next game after Mexico in order to qualify. There's no question there.
Whoa. When did I turn into ESPN Deportes? Jeez, I should just buy my World Cup tickets now. Anybody want to go? Wait, I'm broke. Anybody want to go to Umberto's and watch it on the big screen?
Anyway, Corin, Alex, Kate, and I went to a little bar called El Pedregal here in Santo Domingo to watch the game. It was a good thing we got there early, because otherwise we never would have gotten seats. The bar itself only had about twenty bar stools, but there were easily fifty people packed into the place. Alex, Kate, and I were drinking, and at the end of the game, we had a shot to drown Costa Rica's sorrows. We were joined by Big Boobs McGee (no, seriously, she was falling all the way out of the tank top she had on, it was ridiculous – see below), a random tica woman who was trying sooo hard to get with Alex. Or “Alejaaandrooo,” as he decided to be that night. Keep in mind that by the end of the game, the three of us were all in a state where we thought poll dancing at a bus stop was a good idea. Also, I distinctly remember picking up a cat. Oh, and Kate tried to climb a tree. Nobody remembers why.
Moving on.
So, let's talk about something that's very uncomfortable for me. I did something I'm very ashamed of.
I signed up for a dance class.
Done laughing yet? Take a minute, catch your breath. Good? 'But Sarah,' you must be wondering, 'Why on earth would you do something like that? You hate dancing almost as much as you hate the religious right and even more than you hate asparagus. Why would you do that to yourself?!?' Good question. Well, you know what they say – know your enemy. No, but for real, I may only be in Costa Rica once in my life, and dancing – salsa, merengue, swing criollo – is a huge part of the Costa Rican culture. That, and if it doesn't work out, at least I'll have given it the good ole' college try, and will be able to say that I gave it a shot, and it's really not for me. Just don't laugh too hard when I somehow manage to break my ankle.
Anyway, my first class was this past Thursday. It went... as expected. I was uncoordinated and sweaty, and the second biggest girl in the room. I was very, very far outside my comfort zone. By the end of the class, I was torn between crying, throwing up, and running to the registrar to drop it. But I won't do it, because if I drop the course, then I won't just be fat, sweaty, and uncoordinated, but a quitter to top it all off. I WILL survive this dance class, and maybe, just maybe, I'll come out of this having learned to manage my two left feet. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Ummm... Next: tramites de migración. Friday, everybody in the program had to do a bunch of things for the process of converting our tourist visas to student visas. First, we had to go to the Banco de Costa Rica and make 4 separate deposits to various government accounts. What a nightmare. Seriously, if you think a bank in the States on pay day is hell, try one in Costa Rica. Security guards, metal detectors, waiting 45 minutes in line. Oh, right, and the whole doing it in Spanish thing. Which normally doesn't bug me, when it's something like ordering food, but when it's something that's vitally important to remaining in the country, it makes me nervous that I'm going to screw up. But hey, it all worked out in the end. Next, we had to go get a copy of our passport to turn in to Immigration. And not just a copy of the information page and our entrance stamp, but the entire passport, cover to cover, even the blank pages. WTF? Why would Immigration need a copy of the blank pages?
Then, we had to go get some passport sized photos taken. This gets its own paragraph, but for a reason completely unrelated with the whole visa process. See, the owner of the photo studio that we went to is very nice, very handsome, and very much asked me out... We were talking about his taste in music while he was getting our photos printed, because his iTunes was playing Johnny Cash, and I asked him which song was his favorite. We canvassed Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty before moving on to how he studied in the States, and once did a motorcycle tour all the way from California to Costa Rica. Swoooon... And then, he informed me that there's a really cool biker bar in Heredia where they play all of the aforementioned music, and told me that if I'd like to go, I could just swing by the photo studio some time and he'd take me on his motorcycle...
And I jizzed in my pants.
I'm sorry, where was I? Immigration? Oh, right. Whatever, I think I already got through the important parts. Anyway, as far as the handsome photographer, I'm not sure if I'll actually take him up on it or not, because we aren't exactly sure what his marital status is. There's a picture in his portfolio of him and a girl kissing, and we think she's his girlfriend, but she might also be his wife. Or she might be an ex, who knows. Well, I will soon, thanks to the lovely Yanori, one of the assistants who works with the program. See, I told her about it, and as the photo studio is across the street from the program office, she's just going to stop in under some pretense of getting copies of some one or other of our photos, and as she casually flips through the portfolio, say something like: “Oh what a pretty wedding! Is that you?”
Good lord, I just devoted two full paragraphs to someone I saw for fifteen minutes. Oh no, I'm turning into Telemundo – it's all soccer and novelas!!!!!!! Save meeeee!!!! Ha.
What else? Oh, on Sunday, Kate, Kelsey, Ashley, and I went to Jacó, a beach on the Pacific coast. To get there, you have to bus into San Jose, walk to the central bus terminal, and then get another bus to the beach. It takes about two and a half hours, altogether. It wouldn't have been so bad if we'd gotten seats, but as they were all taken, we ended up just sitting on the floor in the space for a wheelchair, haha. The beach was very nice, but it had a lot of rocks. We spent the afternoon snacking (on Cacique-filled watermelon and tamales, yummm), napping, and playing in the waves. Which pretty much made for the perfect day. Well... until it started raining, which kind of sucked balls. But whatever, it wasn't the end of the world. We got back to Heredia around 8, and I just crawled into bed and crashed.
And that's pretty much it for now. Like I said, adventures are kind of limited when your budget is tight. Still though, I'm having a great time, and there's really nothing to complain about.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Refranes:
El que solo se ríe, de sus maldades se acuerda. - He who only smiles is thinking 'bad' thoughts.
Si el río suena, piedras trae. - If the river babbles, it contains rocks.
Para atrás, ni para coger impulso. - Don't even think about looking back.
Agua que no es de tomar dejala correr. - If it's not healthy, let it go.
Cada cabeza en su mundo. - To each his own.
Al vivo con una ceña, y al tonto ni a patadas. - [Said to] someone who refuses to see the truth
Al que cae el guante, que se lo plante. - If the shoe fits, wear it.
Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. - Closed eyes, closed heart.
PS - I find it funny that I've now grown so accustomed to Spanish-language keyboards that I constantly type things incorrectly when using my own computer. Just a random thought.
Music: Third Eye Blind – Jumper
Life gets kind of boring when you're broke.
Of course, it's my fault that I'm broke, but hey, I've been having adventures, right? Okay, so I've spent too much on stupid stuff, too. I think the temptation to take a taxi is the hardest to resist, especially when I'm tired or it's raining. That, and snacks. Snacks and Imperial. It adds up.
I realize that my finances probably aren't all that interesting to you, dear reader. They've just got me kind of stressed right now. There are some things I need to get – contact solution, pants and shoes for dance class (more on that in a minute), a new pair of jeans (I found there's now a hole right up the butt crack of one of the two pairs I have here) – that I've been living without, but I won't ask for money yet. Especially considering my parents' feelings regarding how much I've already spent...
I've said it once, I'll say it again. We should switch back to the barter system. Seriously, I've got some very pretty shells I can trade you, and I'm pretty good with a needle and thread.
Whatever. Moving on.
So, it's been a while since I last updated. Interestingly, I find that I don't think about blogging as much when I don't have wireless. Oh, I haven't mentioned that yet? Yeah, I don't have wireless anymore. Whoever we were “borrowing” our connection from learned to password protect their network. Lame. So now I share the family computer with Natalia and Sofia, which means waiting until they've finished. And since Natalia's obsessed with the new novela, she will sit and watch it online from 8 AM to 11 PM on her days off. Really, I'm not kidding. That was Saturday. Anyway, when it finally is my turn, I try to keep it short, because hey, it's not my computer right? But that means I don't think much about my blog. Oops. But I'm here now, returned to tell you about the handful of things worth mentioning from the last week and a half.
Let's start with fútbol. Last Wednesday (08/12), la Sele played Honduras in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers... And it was a disaster. The ticos lost 4-0 to the catrachos. Well... A disaster for the ticos, anyway. I can't pretend that I won't always love the Honduran national team, no matter how much I scream for the Costa Ricans at the time. Hell, you have to root for Costa Rica (at least out loud), unless you want to get jumped by a bar full of angry ticos, ha. It's like being a Michigan fan in Columbus when they play the Big Game in the Shoe, no joke.
But I do have to admit that the selección catracha played kind of dirty. It's not nice to elbow the goalie in the face and take him out of play in the first minutes of the game. I mean, I think the Hondurans would have won anyway, just that by taking out the first-string goalie, it was more a massacre than a win.
I can't be too upset, though. The Hondurans really needed this win to stay in the running, and my ticos are still in the lead. Not to mention Costa Rica only needs one more win to qualify, while all the other teams need at least two. The only problem is that our next game is against Mexico, and they're the CONCACAF powerhouse. Right now, the standings are CR-12, HD-11, US-10, and MX-10 (I'm not even going to bother discussing El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago; I'm calling it right now, they aren't going to make it). For the next round, I'm predicting wins for Honduras, Mexico, and the US, which would put the scores at HD-14, US-13, MX-13, and CR-12. Which means that we MUST win the next game after Mexico in order to qualify. There's no question there.
Whoa. When did I turn into ESPN Deportes? Jeez, I should just buy my World Cup tickets now. Anybody want to go? Wait, I'm broke. Anybody want to go to Umberto's and watch it on the big screen?
Anyway, Corin, Alex, Kate, and I went to a little bar called El Pedregal here in Santo Domingo to watch the game. It was a good thing we got there early, because otherwise we never would have gotten seats. The bar itself only had about twenty bar stools, but there were easily fifty people packed into the place. Alex, Kate, and I were drinking, and at the end of the game, we had a shot to drown Costa Rica's sorrows. We were joined by Big Boobs McGee (no, seriously, she was falling all the way out of the tank top she had on, it was ridiculous – see below), a random tica woman who was trying sooo hard to get with Alex. Or “Alejaaandrooo,” as he decided to be that night. Keep in mind that by the end of the game, the three of us were all in a state where we thought poll dancing at a bus stop was a good idea. Also, I distinctly remember picking up a cat. Oh, and Kate tried to climb a tree. Nobody remembers why.
Moving on.
So, let's talk about something that's very uncomfortable for me. I did something I'm very ashamed of.
I signed up for a dance class.
Done laughing yet? Take a minute, catch your breath. Good? 'But Sarah,' you must be wondering, 'Why on earth would you do something like that? You hate dancing almost as much as you hate the religious right and even more than you hate asparagus. Why would you do that to yourself?!?' Good question. Well, you know what they say – know your enemy. No, but for real, I may only be in Costa Rica once in my life, and dancing – salsa, merengue, swing criollo – is a huge part of the Costa Rican culture. That, and if it doesn't work out, at least I'll have given it the good ole' college try, and will be able to say that I gave it a shot, and it's really not for me. Just don't laugh too hard when I somehow manage to break my ankle.
Anyway, my first class was this past Thursday. It went... as expected. I was uncoordinated and sweaty, and the second biggest girl in the room. I was very, very far outside my comfort zone. By the end of the class, I was torn between crying, throwing up, and running to the registrar to drop it. But I won't do it, because if I drop the course, then I won't just be fat, sweaty, and uncoordinated, but a quitter to top it all off. I WILL survive this dance class, and maybe, just maybe, I'll come out of this having learned to manage my two left feet. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Ummm... Next: tramites de migración. Friday, everybody in the program had to do a bunch of things for the process of converting our tourist visas to student visas. First, we had to go to the Banco de Costa Rica and make 4 separate deposits to various government accounts. What a nightmare. Seriously, if you think a bank in the States on pay day is hell, try one in Costa Rica. Security guards, metal detectors, waiting 45 minutes in line. Oh, right, and the whole doing it in Spanish thing. Which normally doesn't bug me, when it's something like ordering food, but when it's something that's vitally important to remaining in the country, it makes me nervous that I'm going to screw up. But hey, it all worked out in the end. Next, we had to go get a copy of our passport to turn in to Immigration. And not just a copy of the information page and our entrance stamp, but the entire passport, cover to cover, even the blank pages. WTF? Why would Immigration need a copy of the blank pages?
Then, we had to go get some passport sized photos taken. This gets its own paragraph, but for a reason completely unrelated with the whole visa process. See, the owner of the photo studio that we went to is very nice, very handsome, and very much asked me out... We were talking about his taste in music while he was getting our photos printed, because his iTunes was playing Johnny Cash, and I asked him which song was his favorite. We canvassed Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty before moving on to how he studied in the States, and once did a motorcycle tour all the way from California to Costa Rica. Swoooon... And then, he informed me that there's a really cool biker bar in Heredia where they play all of the aforementioned music, and told me that if I'd like to go, I could just swing by the photo studio some time and he'd take me on his motorcycle...
And I jizzed in my pants.
I'm sorry, where was I? Immigration? Oh, right. Whatever, I think I already got through the important parts. Anyway, as far as the handsome photographer, I'm not sure if I'll actually take him up on it or not, because we aren't exactly sure what his marital status is. There's a picture in his portfolio of him and a girl kissing, and we think she's his girlfriend, but she might also be his wife. Or she might be an ex, who knows. Well, I will soon, thanks to the lovely Yanori, one of the assistants who works with the program. See, I told her about it, and as the photo studio is across the street from the program office, she's just going to stop in under some pretense of getting copies of some one or other of our photos, and as she casually flips through the portfolio, say something like: “Oh what a pretty wedding! Is that you?”
Good lord, I just devoted two full paragraphs to someone I saw for fifteen minutes. Oh no, I'm turning into Telemundo – it's all soccer and novelas!!!!!!! Save meeeee!!!! Ha.
What else? Oh, on Sunday, Kate, Kelsey, Ashley, and I went to Jacó, a beach on the Pacific coast. To get there, you have to bus into San Jose, walk to the central bus terminal, and then get another bus to the beach. It takes about two and a half hours, altogether. It wouldn't have been so bad if we'd gotten seats, but as they were all taken, we ended up just sitting on the floor in the space for a wheelchair, haha. The beach was very nice, but it had a lot of rocks. We spent the afternoon snacking (on Cacique-filled watermelon and tamales, yummm), napping, and playing in the waves. Which pretty much made for the perfect day. Well... until it started raining, which kind of sucked balls. But whatever, it wasn't the end of the world. We got back to Heredia around 8, and I just crawled into bed and crashed.
And that's pretty much it for now. Like I said, adventures are kind of limited when your budget is tight. Still though, I'm having a great time, and there's really nothing to complain about.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Refranes:
El que solo se ríe, de sus maldades se acuerda. - He who only smiles is thinking 'bad' thoughts.
Si el río suena, piedras trae. - If the river babbles, it contains rocks.
Para atrás, ni para coger impulso. - Don't even think about looking back.
Agua que no es de tomar dejala correr. - If it's not healthy, let it go.
Cada cabeza en su mundo. - To each his own.
Al vivo con una ceña, y al tonto ni a patadas. - [Said to] someone who refuses to see the truth
Al que cae el guante, que se lo plante. - If the shoe fits, wear it.
Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. - Closed eyes, closed heart.
PS - I find it funny that I've now grown so accustomed to Spanish-language keyboards that I constantly type things incorrectly when using my own computer. Just a random thought.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Look at that big rock. It's just sitting there!!!
Mood: Sleepy
Music: Aquagen - Everybody's Free
I did a lot of adventure-seeking this weekend. On Friday, Alex, Stephanie L., Kelsey and I took a bus to Barva and went looking for some cataracts that Kelsey heard about on a travel website. After surprisingly little searching, we did find them. We had a little picnic, drank some wine, and did some exploring. Of course, I fell in the river. Show of hands, who's surprised? It was nice to spend a quiet afternoon with tranquil people, that's for sure. I was about ready to take a nap right there on the rocks, but ended up going home and taking one there instead, ha.
Today, Stephanie L., Kelsey, Emily and I went bungee jumping. It's a 260 foot jump off a bridge, outside a town called Naranjo. Coolest thing I have ever done, kid you not. Seriously, the guy counts down from five, and you swan dive off of a bridge. There's nothing like it. And the fall, oh man, it's the coolest feeling. It's not like when your stomach drops on a roller coaster or anything like that. It's a completely new sensation, it's hard to describe. Just look at the pictures, ha.
So for all of you panickers out there (AKA my wonderful host Mami), don't worry, I'm alive, and I have the pictures to prove it.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
P.S. - Apparently I can only load five images to a post. More pictures (and if my connection cooperates, the video of the jump) can be found on my facebook page.
Music: Aquagen - Everybody's Free
I did a lot of adventure-seeking this weekend. On Friday, Alex, Stephanie L., Kelsey and I took a bus to Barva and went looking for some cataracts that Kelsey heard about on a travel website. After surprisingly little searching, we did find them. We had a little picnic, drank some wine, and did some exploring. Of course, I fell in the river. Show of hands, who's surprised? It was nice to spend a quiet afternoon with tranquil people, that's for sure. I was about ready to take a nap right there on the rocks, but ended up going home and taking one there instead, ha.
Today, Stephanie L., Kelsey, Emily and I went bungee jumping. It's a 260 foot jump off a bridge, outside a town called Naranjo. Coolest thing I have ever done, kid you not. Seriously, the guy counts down from five, and you swan dive off of a bridge. There's nothing like it. And the fall, oh man, it's the coolest feeling. It's not like when your stomach drops on a roller coaster or anything like that. It's a completely new sensation, it's hard to describe. Just look at the pictures, ha.
So for all of you panickers out there (AKA my wonderful host Mami), don't worry, I'm alive, and I have the pictures to prove it.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
P.S. - Apparently I can only load five images to a post. More pictures (and if my connection cooperates, the video of the jump) can be found on my facebook page.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Me Fui al Monte (de la Cruz)
Mood: Tranquil
Music: Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Apparently, Wednesday is everybody-be-boring-and-do-homework day. But, if you know me, you know I don't like homework, so I jumped on a bus and had an adventure. I went an hour outside of town to Monte de la Cruz, in San Rafael de Heredia. It's just a bunch of little picnic spots and trails that crisscross a mountain, with an overlook over the whole Central Valley. Since I was the only one, there's not a lot to say, just take a look at the pictures.
On the way home, I was feeling a little homesick, so I gave in and ate fast food. I went to Taco Bell... Don't judge. Anyway, it turns out Taco Bell is different in Costa Rica, so it was still a cultural experience. I ordered the chicken quesadilla combo, which was more or less the same as at home- quesadilla, ground beef hard taco, and pepsi... Except that it came with fries. Fries? At Taco Bell? WTF? The quesadilla was weird. It had ranch dressing in it instead of quesadilla sauce, and, wait for it... REAL CHICKEN!!!?!?!!!11!!one!!! I wasn't really sure what to make of it. But the taco and the pepsi were normal, at least. And they played Journey on the stereo, so it still kind of felt like home.
And now, Mami is trying to make me eat again. Oh lord.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Music: Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Apparently, Wednesday is everybody-be-boring-and-do-homework day. But, if you know me, you know I don't like homework, so I jumped on a bus and had an adventure. I went an hour outside of town to Monte de la Cruz, in San Rafael de Heredia. It's just a bunch of little picnic spots and trails that crisscross a mountain, with an overlook over the whole Central Valley. Since I was the only one, there's not a lot to say, just take a look at the pictures.
On the way home, I was feeling a little homesick, so I gave in and ate fast food. I went to Taco Bell... Don't judge. Anyway, it turns out Taco Bell is different in Costa Rica, so it was still a cultural experience. I ordered the chicken quesadilla combo, which was more or less the same as at home- quesadilla, ground beef hard taco, and pepsi... Except that it came with fries. Fries? At Taco Bell? WTF? The quesadilla was weird. It had ranch dressing in it instead of quesadilla sauce, and, wait for it... REAL CHICKEN!!!?!?!!!11!!one!!! I wasn't really sure what to make of it. But the taco and the pepsi were normal, at least. And they played Journey on the stereo, so it still kind of felt like home.
And now, Mami is trying to make me eat again. Oh lord.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
It's Okay, You Can Sit On the Grass
Mood: Inclusive
Music: Mago de Oz - Hoy Te Toca Ser Feliz
Two things to comment on today.
Numero Uno: Now I'm one hundred percent sure - History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America is going to be my favorite class. Last night, we had an awesome discussion that intertwined Christianity, the Cult of the Goddess, and feminine free will.
Okay, show of hands, who knows about Lilith? [Of course YOU would know who Lilith is.] For those who don't, they say Lilith was Adam's first wife, before Eve. God made her out of clay, same as Adam, and not from his rib. The thing is, Lilith was independent, and believed that she and Adam were equals, and that she was not to be subservient. She wouldn't obey Adam, so God threw her out of Eden and started again with Eve. Of course, Lilith isn't in the Bible, because an all-knowing, masculine god would never screw up like that.
But here's the thing: Lilith IS in the Bible. As the story goes, Lilith marries a demon and transforms into a serpent, and makes her way back into the Garden. And of course, anyone with even a basic knowledge of Christianity knows the rest of the story - Serpent tempts Eve, Eve eats from the Tree of Knowledge, original sin, we're all screwed.
Now, keep in mind, Lilith stands for female independence, our right to free will. And it was Lilith, a woman in serpent-form, who showed Eve, another woman, how to find unlimited knowledge. Here's where it gets (more) interesting. The serpent has been the symbol of the Goddess, of Mother Earth, for 35,000 years. The monotheistic religions took the symbol of the Goddess, united it with a known representation of feminine free will, used this combination to tempt another woman, and through three women all together, completely ruined the human race forever by not letting a man have his way.
And even better, this whole discussion was in Spanish. Goddess, I love my life.
Numero Dos: Today, IFSA-Butler brought in a Costa Rican doctor, licensed by the University of Costa Rica (keep this in mind for later), to give us a talk on preventing tropical diseases. Everything was well and good as he talked about Dengue fever, and he was going strong as he hit malaria... But then he instantly lost all credibility with me when he blamed malaria on the illegal Nicaraguans. I'm sorry, but malaria isn't contagious. Care to explain that one to me?
He then continued on to inform us that we shouldn't take our anti-malarial medications, which were prescribed in certified travel clinics, and recommended by the CDC, because "they just don't work". We also shouldn't eat any salads while outside of the central valley, because we'll get Leishmaniasis. It's okay to sit on the grass, though, he promised.
But you know what makes me almost certain this guy was a hack? He didn't know the facts about A-H1N1 Influenza, even in his own country. First, he said that the biggest symptom of Swine Flu is "congestive mucus". Wrong. Swine Flu comes with a DRY cough, and a RUNNY nose. It's not congestive at all. [Source: http://www.vidaestudiantil.una.ac.cr/salud/influenzaah1n1. This is the handout our university gave us, taken directly from the bulletins handed out by the Ministerio de Salud/Ministry of Health]. Second, and perhaps even stupider? He informed us that the death toll from A-H1N1 in Costa Rica was at 12 people. Wrong again. When he gave us that talk this morning, the count was at 22, and three more died today, for a total of 25. [Source: http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/agosto/04/pais2048833.html. An article from La Nacion, the Costa Rican newspaper.]
Sorry, Dr. Embustero, but your threats of malaria don't make the cute Nicaraguan boy at the corner store any less attractive.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
garua - drizzle
somera - slight/superficial
recalcar - to stress/emphasize
corregimientos - country subdivisions (ant.)
aunar - to combine
Music: Mago de Oz - Hoy Te Toca Ser Feliz
Two things to comment on today.
Numero Uno: Now I'm one hundred percent sure - History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America is going to be my favorite class. Last night, we had an awesome discussion that intertwined Christianity, the Cult of the Goddess, and feminine free will.
Okay, show of hands, who knows about Lilith? [Of course YOU would know who Lilith is.] For those who don't, they say Lilith was Adam's first wife, before Eve. God made her out of clay, same as Adam, and not from his rib. The thing is, Lilith was independent, and believed that she and Adam were equals, and that she was not to be subservient. She wouldn't obey Adam, so God threw her out of Eden and started again with Eve. Of course, Lilith isn't in the Bible, because an all-knowing, masculine god would never screw up like that.
But here's the thing: Lilith IS in the Bible. As the story goes, Lilith marries a demon and transforms into a serpent, and makes her way back into the Garden. And of course, anyone with even a basic knowledge of Christianity knows the rest of the story - Serpent tempts Eve, Eve eats from the Tree of Knowledge, original sin, we're all screwed.
Now, keep in mind, Lilith stands for female independence, our right to free will. And it was Lilith, a woman in serpent-form, who showed Eve, another woman, how to find unlimited knowledge. Here's where it gets (more) interesting. The serpent has been the symbol of the Goddess, of Mother Earth, for 35,000 years. The monotheistic religions took the symbol of the Goddess, united it with a known representation of feminine free will, used this combination to tempt another woman, and through three women all together, completely ruined the human race forever by not letting a man have his way.
And even better, this whole discussion was in Spanish. Goddess, I love my life.
Numero Dos: Today, IFSA-Butler brought in a Costa Rican doctor, licensed by the University of Costa Rica (keep this in mind for later), to give us a talk on preventing tropical diseases. Everything was well and good as he talked about Dengue fever, and he was going strong as he hit malaria... But then he instantly lost all credibility with me when he blamed malaria on the illegal Nicaraguans. I'm sorry, but malaria isn't contagious. Care to explain that one to me?
He then continued on to inform us that we shouldn't take our anti-malarial medications, which were prescribed in certified travel clinics, and recommended by the CDC, because "they just don't work". We also shouldn't eat any salads while outside of the central valley, because we'll get Leishmaniasis. It's okay to sit on the grass, though, he promised.
But you know what makes me almost certain this guy was a hack? He didn't know the facts about A-H1N1 Influenza, even in his own country. First, he said that the biggest symptom of Swine Flu is "congestive mucus". Wrong. Swine Flu comes with a DRY cough, and a RUNNY nose. It's not congestive at all. [Source: http://www.vidaestudiantil.una.ac.cr/salud/influenzaah1n1. This is the handout our university gave us, taken directly from the bulletins handed out by the Ministerio de Salud/Ministry of Health]. Second, and perhaps even stupider? He informed us that the death toll from A-H1N1 in Costa Rica was at 12 people. Wrong again. When he gave us that talk this morning, the count was at 22, and three more died today, for a total of 25. [Source: http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/agosto/04/pais2048833.html. An article from La Nacion, the Costa Rican newspaper.]
Sorry, Dr. Embustero, but your threats of malaria don't make the cute Nicaraguan boy at the corner store any less attractive.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
garua - drizzle
somera - slight/superficial
recalcar - to stress/emphasize
corregimientos - country subdivisions (ant.)
aunar - to combine
Monday, August 3, 2009
Manana Es Para Siempre
Mood: Anti-Monday
Music: Makano & Monica - Su Nombre en Mi Cuaderno
All right, let's talk about my first "real" week here. And by real, I mean the first week that didn't feel like an awesome vacation, but instead involved long classes and taking the bus everywhere. Okay, so Saturday was still kind of vacation-y, but whatever.
Monday:
I went and swam laps at the pool with Kelsey. It was nice to swim again, but as Kelsey swims for the team at AU, she put me to shame, ha. The only not nice thing about the pool is that there are constantly large, hairy old men also swimming laps, and like all old Costa Rican men, they seem to think it's their god-given right to stare at gringas. The fact that we were in swimsuits only made it worse, of course.
After the pool, Kelsey and I found a pupuseria near UNA, but, horror of horrors, the pupusas weren't going to be ready until four o'clock. I wanted to die inside a little, but the lady informed me that it was only like that on Mondays, since they aren't open on Sundays to prep.
I had my first class at 5:00 - The History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America. I'm pretty sure this class is going to be my favorite. The professor is very accommodating to the gringas in the class - she doesn't mind when one of us asks her to explain something three times over. She's also a feminist "from the highest hair on her head to the calluses on the bottom of her foot" (her words, not mine). She reminds me a lot of Amy M. back home, ha. Also, the readings seem interesting - the one I read for class today was called "The Creation of the Patriarchy", and it discussed how women were actually forced into a subservient role long before the creation of social castes. Good stuff (the reading, I mean, not the forced subservience of women).
Tuesday:
I had class all day, from 8:00 AM straight through to 8:20 PM. Okay, not quite that late, but only because the prof for the last class let us go early, being the first day and all. As if twelve hours of class wasn't bad enough, it's only THREE classes. Here in Costa Rica, classes are only taught once a week, usually in three hour blocks. My classes for the day are Advanced Spanish (8:00 - 12:00), The Costa Rican Cultural Identity (1:00-3:30), and Costa Rican Spanish (5:00 - 8:20). Okay, so I do have a couple of breaks, but that doesn't mean that Tuesdays will not constantly make me want to drop out of school and go work as a guide for a canopy tour.
Wednesday:
DAY OFF!!! God knows I deserve it after these Tuesdays I'm going to have. Honestly, I didn't do anything interesting on Wednesday - I only went with Sofia while she ran errands for a couple of hours, in order to get out of the house for a while. We had delicious gelatto though.
Thursday:
Last school day for the week. I had Advanced Spanish again, from 8:00-11:00 AM. It's my only class that meets twice a week, and that's only because it's through the IFSA-Butler program and not through UNA. We watched the most awful movie, an Argentinean film called "El Asadito." This movie was actually the WORST movie I have ever seen. Released in 2000, but filmed in black and white, this movie has terrible lighting, little action and even less plot. It's just a bunch of fat, old, hairy, shirtless Argentinean men sitting around for 18 hours, arguing about nothing. Of course, I couldn't actually tell you what they were arguing about for about half of the movie, because this particular Argentinean dialect happens to be completely unintelligible. The half I did understand came from IMDB and an indie film discussion forum. Apparently, there are people who actually really liked this movie. I hope they're all sterile.
Moving on. From 2:00-5:00, I have Cultural and Development in Costa Rica and Latin America. Well, it's technically from 2:00 to 5:00, but the prof likes to end around 4:15, which is nice. We already got assigned group projects in the class, but fortunately my group isn't until the ninth week of school. We've got a presentation on the presence of the US in Latin America. It's going to be easy, as long as I remember not to go off on a tirade against United Fruit company, ha.
Thursday night, a bunch of girls from the program got together for drinks at Heredia's most popular bar, Bulevar, to celebrate having survived the first week of classes (nobody, and I mean nobody, has class on Fridays). I was excited for us to order a beer tower, but somehow, the beer taps for draught beer weren't working, so beer towers were unavailable. It was upsetting. However, there was a "6 bottles of Imperial for ¢5000" promotion, so it was okay in the end. We didn't stay out too late though, because a bunch of people were leaving Friday morning to go to the surf competition in Jaco.
Friday:
A mostly lazy day. I did go into Heredia; 5 other girls and myself met up with a girl who works for a tourism company. She got us a discount on a canopy tour - 2 people for $50. We made reservations to go Saturday at 13:00. After that, Corin and I wandered around Heredia for a couple of hours, just poking our heads into stores and eating ice cream and chatting. Like I said though, it was a lazy day, so when I went home around 6, that was it for the day.
Saturday:
Sarah M., Sarah L., Meghan, Jen, Liz, and I went on the canopy tour. It's in the province of Cartago, outside a town called La Carpintera. The tour has eleven platforms (so ten ziplines) and 2 rappel lines (one of which is a 90 foot drop - sooo awesome). The hike up the mountain was kind of grueling, and I think we all thought we were on the brink of death (except for Liz, who followed two steps behind the guide and didn't need to take a break the whole way up). But we finally made it to the top, thank god. The first lines were pretty easy, but poor Meghan was really scared, and ended up going across attached to one of the guides on about 7 or 8 of the lines. As for me, well, I think it may have been one of the coolest things I've ever done. I was all ready to let go of the line entirely and slide across upside down, ha. I did let go once for a half second, but Leo (the main guide) gave me hell for it when I got to the next platform, so I didn't do it again. The guides were both really nice, and at the same time very bad ass. Leo is in his mid-forties, and has been doing this his whole life. He has a degree in engineering, and actually designed all of the lines. As a side note, he has a ponytail. Ranier, his assistant, is nineteen, and a bit of a practical joker. He thought it was great fun to let Liz and I fall almost all the way down the 90 foot rappel line, both of us shrieking the whole way down. Of course, he and Leo both knew 100% what they were doing, so they stopped us with about ten feet to go. The last line was probably the most awesome, as it was the longest and the fastest. I was upset that it was over, ha. But it was totally worth the $25 dollars. Hell, I would've paid double that, it was a great tour. If you're reading this and are interested, send me a comment and I'll get you the info for the company.
Also, we saw a sloth. And that was it for my week, ha. The end.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words for the week:
rifa - raffle
eje - axis
juicio - trial
soborno - bribe
tocador - dresser
cajón - drawer
estantería - shelves
apretarse - to make out
abatido - miserable
sicario - hitman/thug
mora - blackberry
defenestrar - to throw out the window
bucal - oral (as in mouths - adjective)
lesbica - lesbian (adjective)
travestis - transvestites
borroso - blurry
nuboso - cloudy
capa - film
genero - gender/genre
rollos de genero - gender roles
peripecia - incident
afán - zeal
coterraneos - compatriots
susodicho - above-mentioned
indagar - investigate
P.S. - Congratulations to my host Abuelo and Abuela on their fiftieth anniversary, and also to my own parents on their twenty-eighth!!! Love you Mom and Dad!!!
Music: Makano & Monica - Su Nombre en Mi Cuaderno
All right, let's talk about my first "real" week here. And by real, I mean the first week that didn't feel like an awesome vacation, but instead involved long classes and taking the bus everywhere. Okay, so Saturday was still kind of vacation-y, but whatever.
Monday:
I went and swam laps at the pool with Kelsey. It was nice to swim again, but as Kelsey swims for the team at AU, she put me to shame, ha. The only not nice thing about the pool is that there are constantly large, hairy old men also swimming laps, and like all old Costa Rican men, they seem to think it's their god-given right to stare at gringas. The fact that we were in swimsuits only made it worse, of course.
After the pool, Kelsey and I found a pupuseria near UNA, but, horror of horrors, the pupusas weren't going to be ready until four o'clock. I wanted to die inside a little, but the lady informed me that it was only like that on Mondays, since they aren't open on Sundays to prep.
I had my first class at 5:00 - The History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America. I'm pretty sure this class is going to be my favorite. The professor is very accommodating to the gringas in the class - she doesn't mind when one of us asks her to explain something three times over. She's also a feminist "from the highest hair on her head to the calluses on the bottom of her foot" (her words, not mine). She reminds me a lot of Amy M. back home, ha. Also, the readings seem interesting - the one I read for class today was called "The Creation of the Patriarchy", and it discussed how women were actually forced into a subservient role long before the creation of social castes. Good stuff (the reading, I mean, not the forced subservience of women).
Tuesday:
I had class all day, from 8:00 AM straight through to 8:20 PM. Okay, not quite that late, but only because the prof for the last class let us go early, being the first day and all. As if twelve hours of class wasn't bad enough, it's only THREE classes. Here in Costa Rica, classes are only taught once a week, usually in three hour blocks. My classes for the day are Advanced Spanish (8:00 - 12:00), The Costa Rican Cultural Identity (1:00-3:30), and Costa Rican Spanish (5:00 - 8:20). Okay, so I do have a couple of breaks, but that doesn't mean that Tuesdays will not constantly make me want to drop out of school and go work as a guide for a canopy tour.
Wednesday:
DAY OFF!!! God knows I deserve it after these Tuesdays I'm going to have. Honestly, I didn't do anything interesting on Wednesday - I only went with Sofia while she ran errands for a couple of hours, in order to get out of the house for a while. We had delicious gelatto though.
Thursday:
Last school day for the week. I had Advanced Spanish again, from 8:00-11:00 AM. It's my only class that meets twice a week, and that's only because it's through the IFSA-Butler program and not through UNA. We watched the most awful movie, an Argentinean film called "El Asadito." This movie was actually the WORST movie I have ever seen. Released in 2000, but filmed in black and white, this movie has terrible lighting, little action and even less plot. It's just a bunch of fat, old, hairy, shirtless Argentinean men sitting around for 18 hours, arguing about nothing. Of course, I couldn't actually tell you what they were arguing about for about half of the movie, because this particular Argentinean dialect happens to be completely unintelligible. The half I did understand came from IMDB and an indie film discussion forum. Apparently, there are people who actually really liked this movie. I hope they're all sterile.
Moving on. From 2:00-5:00, I have Cultural and Development in Costa Rica and Latin America. Well, it's technically from 2:00 to 5:00, but the prof likes to end around 4:15, which is nice. We already got assigned group projects in the class, but fortunately my group isn't until the ninth week of school. We've got a presentation on the presence of the US in Latin America. It's going to be easy, as long as I remember not to go off on a tirade against United Fruit company, ha.
Thursday night, a bunch of girls from the program got together for drinks at Heredia's most popular bar, Bulevar, to celebrate having survived the first week of classes (nobody, and I mean nobody, has class on Fridays). I was excited for us to order a beer tower, but somehow, the beer taps for draught beer weren't working, so beer towers were unavailable. It was upsetting. However, there was a "6 bottles of Imperial for ¢5000" promotion, so it was okay in the end. We didn't stay out too late though, because a bunch of people were leaving Friday morning to go to the surf competition in Jaco.
Friday:
A mostly lazy day. I did go into Heredia; 5 other girls and myself met up with a girl who works for a tourism company. She got us a discount on a canopy tour - 2 people for $50. We made reservations to go Saturday at 13:00. After that, Corin and I wandered around Heredia for a couple of hours, just poking our heads into stores and eating ice cream and chatting. Like I said though, it was a lazy day, so when I went home around 6, that was it for the day.
Saturday:
Sarah M., Sarah L., Meghan, Jen, Liz, and I went on the canopy tour. It's in the province of Cartago, outside a town called La Carpintera. The tour has eleven platforms (so ten ziplines) and 2 rappel lines (one of which is a 90 foot drop - sooo awesome). The hike up the mountain was kind of grueling, and I think we all thought we were on the brink of death (except for Liz, who followed two steps behind the guide and didn't need to take a break the whole way up). But we finally made it to the top, thank god. The first lines were pretty easy, but poor Meghan was really scared, and ended up going across attached to one of the guides on about 7 or 8 of the lines. As for me, well, I think it may have been one of the coolest things I've ever done. I was all ready to let go of the line entirely and slide across upside down, ha. I did let go once for a half second, but Leo (the main guide) gave me hell for it when I got to the next platform, so I didn't do it again. The guides were both really nice, and at the same time very bad ass. Leo is in his mid-forties, and has been doing this his whole life. He has a degree in engineering, and actually designed all of the lines. As a side note, he has a ponytail. Ranier, his assistant, is nineteen, and a bit of a practical joker. He thought it was great fun to let Liz and I fall almost all the way down the 90 foot rappel line, both of us shrieking the whole way down. Of course, he and Leo both knew 100% what they were doing, so they stopped us with about ten feet to go. The last line was probably the most awesome, as it was the longest and the fastest. I was upset that it was over, ha. But it was totally worth the $25 dollars. Hell, I would've paid double that, it was a great tour. If you're reading this and are interested, send me a comment and I'll get you the info for the company.
Also, we saw a sloth. And that was it for my week, ha. The end.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words for the week:
rifa - raffle
eje - axis
juicio - trial
soborno - bribe
tocador - dresser
cajón - drawer
estantería - shelves
apretarse - to make out
abatido - miserable
sicario - hitman/thug
mora - blackberry
defenestrar - to throw out the window
bucal - oral (as in mouths - adjective)
lesbica - lesbian (adjective)
travestis - transvestites
borroso - blurry
nuboso - cloudy
capa - film
genero - gender/genre
rollos de genero - gender roles
peripecia - incident
afán - zeal
coterraneos - compatriots
susodicho - above-mentioned
indagar - investigate
P.S. - Congratulations to my host Abuelo and Abuela on their fiftieth anniversary, and also to my own parents on their twenty-eighth!!! Love you Mom and Dad!!!
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