back in the States

So i have been back in the states for almost 2 weeks, but 2 days after I got home on aug. 1st i left for vacation for a week. I am finally back home and its kind of weird. The last week i was in Costa Rica i was really wanting to come home. thats all i really thought about.  But after my last day of classes and after graduation i wanted to stay. i was so glad to be done with classes i just wanted to stay and be with all the people and go on more adventures. I really miss everyone there now. Since i was there for so long, i got close to the people at the school, my host family, and my friends at the school. And now that i am back home i am starting to miss Costa Rica. I am going through the transition period of being in another country for 2 months to returning back to the states and reality.  

I am so glad i did this. it was an amazing experience! i learned so much about myself, God, and another country.  It was a challenge, however, living in another country and having to speak the language as soon as i got there.  I miss talking in spanish now, and i actually miss hearing it all the time. its nice to watch tv though in english (i dont miss spanish tv). i need to keep up with my spanish so i dont loose it which i feel like i am. one of my family members speaks spanish so i am hoping i can talk with her to keep it up and she has told me that she is only going to talk to me in spanish now. that should help, i hope. i have tried to talk in spanish here a couple times and one lady just looked at me weird and gave me some attitude, and one man was surprised and said "que bueno" to my spanish speaking. : ) people aren't so friendly here. 

Now it is time for me to start getting ready to go back to school.  I need to get into that mode now and back into reality. 

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers while i was gone. i believe it really helped and made my trip a safe one! 

This is the end of my blog for Costa Rica, but i know i will be going on more adventures and trips so maybe ill have blog for those one day.

: )

take care everyone!

one more week!

these past 2 months have gone by so fast! i only one week left! this has been the best experience and an incredible summer! i have learned so much about myself, the culture, the people, and have become closer to God through the mist of it all. i feel like He is all around me through his creation. its an awesome feeling! i dont feel this way at home, and i hope i can continue to feel the way i do now when i get home. 

this past saturday was the Independence Day of Guanacaste which is the province Samara is in. July 25th is the day Guanacaste received their independence from Nicaragua. my school celebrated it on friday and some of the students did a dance, there was a slide show about Guanacaste, and we sang a couple Costa Rican songs. it was cool. On saturday there was a big festival in Nicoya which is the bigger city in Guanacaste and about 45 minutes on a bus from Samara. i went last night. there were booths of different types of jewelry and other stuff to buy, food, ice cream and churros stands, 2 trampolines, a couple carnival rides for the kids, and a concert. about 4 different bands played and they were pretty good. : ) it was defiantly a Costa Rican experience. 

i am really going to miss it here. i have been here for so long, i feel like i am one of the locals now. haha! i have never lived in a small town were everyone knows everyone. its neat because ill be walking around town or out at night with friends and i always see someone i know, even the locals that i have meet while i have been here. Everyone is so friendly here and very relaxed and chill. its going to be a huge culture shock going back to the states where everyone is in a hurry and always has somewhere to be at a certain time. another thing about Costa Rica is that nothing is on time. its called "La hora Tica." you could wait 45 minutes to an hour for your food at a restaurant, and the bus is always late but at least 45 minutes. even some of the restaurants and stores dont open when they say they will be, which is annoying. haha! this is something i had to get used to. no one is in a hurry and they are so casual here. i like that. : )

an adventurous weekend to say the least....

This weekend i went on a coffee tour on friday at a place called Diria Cafe. It was very interesting, and we tasted the coffee after. it was so good. it had chocolate, milk, and ice cream in it. YUM! and while we were enjoying the coffee we watched a traditional Guanacastan Costa Rican dance. the last dance they did, they had us dance with them! it was fun and i couldnt stop laughing and smiling! : ) On saturday some friends and i decided we wanted to get out of Samara and go to Liberia for a movie because that is the closet place with a theater and its 3 hours away on a bus! we got to the bus stop in Samara a little before 10am because the bus was supposed to be there at 10, but had to wait till 10 45 until it came. we got on the bus and headed for a place called Nicoya which is half way to Liberia to get on another bus. once we got there we only had to wait 15 minutes for the next bus. the bus ride wasnt too bad. all the windows were open because it was hot, but other than that is was fine. After many stops we finally made it to Liberia and had to take a taxi to the theater. We got inside and checked the movie times and the next movie wasnt for another 2 hours. we got lunch and while we were eating lunch we watched a performance of traditional Costa Rican dances with a band. 2 traditional dances in one weekend! it was some nice entertainment : ) then we headed up to the theater after getting some movie snacks at the store, and to our surprise there were tons of people there waiting in line. (when we first got there to check the movie times there was NO ONE there) I really wanted to see transformers, but it wasnt in english i know that i would have been frustrated watching the movie because 1 i would only understand parts of it and 2 the mouths would not match the words.....so i saw Harry Potter. It wasnt too bad. i havent seen any of the other movies so at times i was lost but it was good entertainment and funny hearing the reactions of the Costa Rican. This movie was in english with spanish subtitles, much better : ) after the movie was over we got a taxi to the bus station again and just made it in time to catch the bus. i had to stand for most of the way to Nicoya, but it wasnt bad. i kind of enjoyed it! we got to Nicoya and it was too late for the buses, so we got a taxi. the taxi is much more expensive but a lot quicker. we got to Samara at 9 15pm. that was a LONG day. i got home and my youngest sister was getting ready to go to a birthday party with the rest of the family, so i jumped in the shower and got ready to go to the party. it was fun being with my familia tica. we danced and ate and had a good time. it was also a great time to practice my spanish and interact with the locals. im glad i was able to spend time with my family like that before i left. after that i went to Tabanuca for Reggae night. it was their anniversary so there were many people there dancing and hanging out. One of my sisters, her aunt (tia), cousin (primero), and her boyfriend (novio), showed up later, so i danced and hung out with them for awhile. on sunday some friends and i bought a dead chicken and took a taxi to Playa Cabrillo to feed to crocodiles under a bridge there. it was incredible! we put parts of the chicken on a rope and took turns dangling it in the water for the crocodiles : ) there were 3 of them and they were HUGE!! i got some great pictures and a couple videos of it. we attracted many ticos. we had quite a crowd watching. it was awesome! 

so that was my costa rican weekend. my time here has been great, but im looking forward to go home. i have just less than 2 weeks here. 2 more weeks of spanish classes. i am really going to miss my familia tica though and hope to keep in touch with them.

I have to say that i really feel the protection of God around me all the time. I never feel like am in much danger. thanks to all of you who have been keeping me in your prayers while i am here! i greatly appreciate it!!!! Muchas gracias!!!

Muy Tranquilo

Things have been pretty laid back this week. the weather has been pretty humid lately and it looks like a storm is about to roll in. this week i have been to yoga class twice here and school and i am so sore from it, ha! i also went to art class and started making a bracelet (i havent finished it yet). all of the ticos are on "winter vacation" these past two weeks and there have been so many people on the beach! this friday i am going on a coffee tour. Costa Rica has amazing coffee and we are going to see how they make it and brew it, and then we get to try some with a snack and enjoy it while watching a traditional Costa Rica dance! it sounds interesting and very different and only something you can do here! 

so the food i have been eating... for breakfast i ALWAYS have pineapple with either a banana, strawberries, mango, or papaya (which is dont like at all). for lunch i eat around school at the restaurants and have nachos, quesadilla, arroz con pollo, platano con guacamole, etc. and for dinner i eat at my house and always have rice with either pollo, carne, potatoes, beans, gallo pinto, and to drink either chocolate milk, tea, water, or rice milk (which i dont like at all). 

oh when my family was here to visit, my dad installed a shower head with a wand and everything. he would totally do something like that. he is such a giving man! i love him : ) before all they had for the shower was a pipe sticking out of the wall. its very nice showering with a shower head. my tica mom was very happy and said "perfecto!" 

i have 2 1/2 weeks left. i am getting ready to come home, but trying to take it all in while im here! i really do love it here and will want to come back in the future! i am having an AMAZING experience here! : )

On my Own

Well, my family left on saturday. It was a good visit and they are safely back at home now. It is now time for me to get back into the swing of things and get used to sleeping in a warm room with only a fan, and taking cold showers. I got used to sleeping in an air conditioned room and taking warm showers.  I have about 3 weeks left. I started classes back up again today and i will continue to be in classes for the next 3 weeks.  This weekend after my family left they dropped me off at mi casa which was bitter sweet.  It was weird that they were leaving without taking me with them, but i was ready to continue my adventures. I am getting ready to come home, but i still want to go on another excursion before i leave. 

Sunday was a relaxing day. I laid out for awhile, and then went surfing for about an hour and a half and caught 11 waves!!! it was so fun! then i played volleyball which was the most competitive game i have played here yet. it was GREAT! it ended up being a fun day!

Today i had class in the morning. My spanish has definitely improved since i have been here. however, i am not even close to being fluent. 

I thank the Lord everyday for keeping me safe. His angels are definitely watching over me. He is amazing and I still cannot fathom His greatness!