Manuel Antonio

Midterms are over! And went better than I thought! I am happy with my grades. Linguistics continues to be tough and a lot of info at once!! But very interesting too!

To celebrate this weekend, some friends and I went to Manuel Antonio Beach, a very touristy place in the tropics in the province of Puntarenas. It was beautiful! But a little expensive given it's a tourist town.

We saw monkeys, sloths, iguanas, tons of different species of birds, and lush vegetation. The best part was zip lining through it all!!! So much fun! 

Nevertheless, we were happy to get back "home" to San José! We have clearly grown accustomed to "our city". I love la Universidad de Costa Rica! From the teachers, the campus, the people and their friendliness to the overall integrity of an amazing Central American university, I am privileged to have this experience. 

It is quite humbling to be in the role of student once again. I now completely understand the distractions my students have in today's world given the constant use of social media. I've also learned a lot from my teachers and their methodologies. I can't wait to utilize some of the things I've learned indirectly in my classroom!

12 days to go! I am missing home, but going to enjoy as best I can everything we have left! 

Side note: this was quite difficult to write in English. Words are coming to me quicker in Spanish than English at this point. Total immersion. I love it! Can't wait for the "reverse culture shock" when I return :)

Estudios

Will catch up on all the fun stuff later once midterms are over and I can breathe for a minute...

For now this...

Cartago

Today we went to Cartago, a province and the original capital of Costa Rica, after class. It's only about 18 miles from San Pedro, but because of the traffic in the area of campus, it takes a while to get out of the city. 

First, we saw Las ruinas de Cartago (the ruins of Cartago), dedicated to St. James, the apostle. The area has been rebuilt many times after several earthquakes over hundreds of years.

Then we went to la Basilica de Los Angeles, a church and the national sanctuary, built in the early 1900s. It was extremely moving because mass was in session, and we were able to sit for a moment and see the devotion of the people. 

It was a great afternoon. Four classes in, and I am struggling a bit with Linguistics. It is a lot of information in a short time, and I've forgotten A LOT since grad school! But the teachers are amazing and so passionate and helpful. I don't have a lot of homework tonight, but I am going to make some flash cards to study for a midterm I'll have next week. 

¡Hasta pronto!

El Poas, La Paz, y el primer día de clases

Yesterday morning we left around 7 am to head up into the mountains to see Poas Volcano. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so we couldn't see it, but the hiking was great and it was still really cool to be in the cloud forest. 

After we left Poas, we road down the mountain to La Paz waterfall gardens. It was beautiful seeing all of the wildlife native to Costa Rica.

The most beautiful part of course was the waterfalls. Our legs were literally shaking by the time we got to the bottom from all of the hiking we did, but it was totally worth it! 

Today was our first day of class. My teachers, Gina and Mariana, are great! Composition class is more relaxed. Gina is super fun and excited to have a more advanced class. Mariana, my linguistics teacher, is clearly passionate about her subject and I realized how little I actually remember on this topic! 

Time for homework! I have reading to do for linguistics and I am going to do some reviewing on my own of things we saw today on our diagnostic test that I know I should know!!! 

¡Qué lluvia!

It's been raining off and on for about 24 hours now. From misty to downpour to nothing. Still, the weather is wonderful because the rain cools everything down even more. We are about 4,000 feet above sea level, so there is always a breeze and it's not hot at all. A big change from South Georgia!! Currently at 6 pm it is 71 degrees and breezy :)

Last night we went to see "Intensa Mente" (Inside Out- the title does not translate equally) with our madre and her two daughters (Shirley, 35; Laura, 23) and it was great! 

Today we took the bus all by ourselves to and from campus :) for orientation! 

Tomorrow we have our fingers crossed for good weather because we leave early to visit Poas Volcano in the cloud forest as well as a waterfall.

Hasta luego... Es la hora de comer otra vez :) 

En el bus yendo a la U 

Encontramos este lugar bonito en el centro de campus.

El girasol -- al frente del campus 

Se come, se come, se come

Been here less than 24 hours and we have eaten so much amazing traditional Costa Rican food! This morning we had gallo pinto with breakfast, a traditional dish made with black beans and rice and a sofrito of peppers and onions. ¡qué rico!

Last night we had a chicken dish with rice, beans, potatoes, and carrots, maduros-- super ripe bananas/platanos, and a juice made with a fruit called cas, similar to a guava. Yum!!

We are getting ready to head to the bank to exchange some money and then to our first day of orientation on campus...

...en el aeropuerto...

I have made it to the Atlanta airport! My flight leaves in about an hour, so I currently sit chatting with a young college aged girl who is heading to Costa Rica for a volleyball program. It is fun to see her excitement as I too did this at her age. 

It's funny. Ten years ago as a student in college I was fearless. Today, as an adult, I felt so anxious getting through security. Now, though, waiting at the gate, my excitement is building. Hannah Sullivan from Tuscaloosa Academy is connecting here to Atlanta and will be on my flight, so that should ease my anxiety.

When we arrive in San José today, a bus will take us to the University of Costa Rica where our host mom will be waiting for us. I am eager to learn more about her! We have orientation Friday and Saturday, a trip to Poas Volcano on Sunday, and classes will begin on Monday. 

Pictures to come soon! 

¡Adiós!