En un abrir y cerrar de ojos

In the blink of an eye


Well, my last days of study abroad 2011 in Costa Rica have been just spectacular, as has this entire experience! 
On Wednesday, I turned in my very last take-home test for Costa Rican Health Care and Tropical Medicine! Katie and I then went to kickboxing class at the gym. It kicked our butts (no pun intended)! We then visited the Museo de Los Niños (Children's Museum)! It was SUCH a cool museum! If I was 5 again, I would have been all over that place like white on rice. Katie and I still managed to bring out our niña side though :) 

"Once upon a time..."

Human Kaleidoscope!!


We actually weren't able to cover the whole museum. We got caught up talking to a few of the museum workers. We held great conversations in Spanish! It's amazing how much my Spanish has improved! Afterward, we went back to our respective houses for dinner. Antonio made this really good soup- Sopa de pollo y verduras (chicken and vegetable soup). It had squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken, rice, and eggs! Yum! Afterward, I went with a bunch of ISA students to Los Profesionales (the usual) and had a really fun night! 


Yesterday was my very last day of Costa Rican Health Care and Tropical Medicine class :(. A speaker came and lectured about snake bites and antivenom. I ended up with an A in the class! Yippeee! After class, I went to ISA and FINALLY got my passport back from the U.S. Embassy! I was getting a little nervous! It was a gorgeous day, so Katie, Caroline, and I walked to Cosechas, a little smoothie place that Emy recommended to me. 

It was delicious! We then took Katie's little 9-year-old Tico "sister" Caroli to the park and played with her for an hour or so. Caroli actually taught me a form of a patty-cake that they say. I hope you all remember the "Double This" patty-cake game. Instead of our "double double this this, double double that that, double this, double that, double double this that"; Chiciticos (Tico children) say "choco choco la la, choco choco te te, choco la, choco te, choco choco la te." (Like chocolate). So cute! Caroli is such a doll! 

The 3 of us had a lot of fun playing games with her little sassy self! 
Last night, some ISA girls that live next to Veritas hosted a piñata party as a farewell for all the ISA students. It was a blast! They actually made a piñata and everything. 

Apparently their Tico "mom" and "dad" host a farewell party for every group of students that they host! After the party, we went to Los Profesionales for the very last time :(. Then we hit up another bar called Castros that has a lot of salsa and techno dancing! It was a great final night to go out in San José!


This afternoon, ISA hosted a mini carnival for all of us! After the carnival, a lot of us went to the park and just hung out for the rest of the day until dinnertime! It was great getting to spend time together before everyone leaves. Saying goodbye was just awful, though. All of us have been around each other 24/7 for the past 5 weeks, so we've grown to be very close. I met so many great people! 

Then, Antonio, Emy, Darrian, and I went to a bar and hung out for our last night!

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better study abroad experience. I had the time of my life, learned a lot, and made a lot of new friends! I'm so incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me along the way, especially my family! Love you all! ¡Cao!

El Día de la Virgen de Los Angeles

The day of the Virgin of the Angels
[August 2nd - A national holiday]


August 2nd is a Catholic holiday in Costa Rica that honors the Virgin Mary. People from all over the country walk to the city of Cartago in her honor to see the Basilica de la Virgen de Los Angeles. It's an amazing holiday! I'm sad I wasn't able to participate in the walk. Here's some more information about it:
http://www.facesofcostarica.com/catholicism/aug2.htm


Yesterday morning, Jackie and I walked to the Museo Nacional (National Museum). 

It only cost about 2 mil colones ($4) and we learned quite a bit about the history of Costa Rica! The Museo actually used to be a fort until Costa Rica got rid of its army in 1948! We were able to see the actual holding cells that the captains used to put the soldiers in when they were misbehaving. 

The cells still have the wall graffiti too! 

This is one of the ancient stone spheres found in Costa Rica. They are an archeological mystery. Nobody knows the exact date or purpose for their creation. All they know is that the ancient peoples made them. 


The Museo also had a butterfly exhibit and gold and jade exhibit. The other exhibits educated tourists about the changes in Costa Rican architecture, the 3 different regions of Costa Rica, and the first inhabitants of Costa Rica. I really enjoyed it! 
After the Museo, Jackie and I grabbed some lunch, then headed to the Artesian Market. 
Had to do a little more bargain shopping:) 
When I got home, I did my take-home test for the Tropical Medicine class, hit up the gym, then ate dinner. Antonio made a new dish. It was pasta stuffed with crema de hormigos y queso y pavo (cream of mushroom, cheese, and turkey) with tomato sauce. It was a different taste, but it was pretty good! After dinner, I showered up quickly and headed to Multiplaza del Este with Darrian and Jackie to see Harry Potter 7 (Part B).

 I haven't read the books, but I definitely want to now! Despite the fact that I just ruined them by watching the last movie- haha! We hit up the TCBY in the food court. Compré una taza de yogur de fresa con almendras y moras. (I bought a cup of strawberry frozen yogurt with almonds and blackberries) Yum! However, blackberries are probably the one and only fruit that is better in the States than here. At the Multiplaza del Este, a small box of popcorn and a student movie ticket costs half as much as just a movie ticket in the U.S.! How ridiculous is that! I definitely took advantage of that opportunity! 

¡Eso!

¡That's it!
[Costa Rican slang]


I've been gone all weekend long, so I haven't been able to update my blog. Let's start with Thursday...
Thursday
In my Tropical Medicine class, we did our presentations. My group presented a power point on cardiomyopathy.  Last day of la clase de Español! I was relieved, but sad at the same time :(. Our little class of 6 girls and Ronulfo became a family these past 4 weeks. For our last class, we played a Spanish board game and he gave us our notas finales (final grades). I got an A! Woo hoo! We also got out extremely early, so Tien, Caroline, and I headed to Pequeño Mundo to do some bargain shopping! I got a long strapless dress for just $12! Pequeño Mundo is one place I'm definitely going to miss when I get back to Arkansas (Not that I don't love the States:))! We then headed to a nearby outdoor mall and got some Pops ice cream. I ordered the cas sherbert. Cas is a type of fruit that is kind of citrus-y. It's very refreshing! On the way home, it started pouring down rain. And, of course, Tien and I both forgot our umbrellas. So we hopped in a cab and ended up paying a $6 cab fair that would have cost us nothing if not for the rain! Pura Vida, right? Haha. Once I got home, I dried off and got ready for dinner. Some friends and I went to Hooters. Haha, let me tell you the reasoning before you start judging. Nicole works at the Hooters in Colorado and she wanted to see the one in San José. Legitimate reasoning to chow down on some American cuisine, right? We actually ended up staying there for awhile, then headed to a bar called Kongos on La Calle (The Street). Great ending to a great day!
Friday
For Tropical Medicine, we took a field trip to InBio Park. The Park is so cool! Located in Heredia, it presents all the different ecosystems of Costa Rica. We learned quite a bit! Fun fact: Costa Rica is home to stingless bees! 

 Mariposas!

 Only 11 years old!

Stingless bee hive!


After the tour of InBio, our class headed back to Veritas. Nicole and I then grabbed our backpacks and made it to the bus station just in time for our 2 o'clock bus to Puerto Viejo! This past weekend we had no planned excursions, so a large group of ISA students headed to Puerto Viejo for the weekend. Once we arrived, we took a taxi to Rocking J's, our hostel for the weekend. It was such a unique place! It was covered in mosaics! 

They gave you the option between a hammock, tent, or room to stay in. Friday and Saturday night I stayed in a tent with Nicole. Sunday night I slept in a hammock. You're also given a pretty big locker to put your belongings. The downside was the bathrooms and showers. The showers were FREEZING cold! It was my first hostel/living out of a backpack experience, and I survived! Rocking J's had a little restaurant/bar inside it with a lot of different types of food. All of it was amazing! After eating dinner, they had a DJ come into the bar, so everyone danced and hung out. 
Saturday
Woke up and walked to Puerto Viejo Bakery with some friends where I had a delicious breakfast of a parfait! 

Yumm:) It was gorgeous and sunny so we hurried back, changed into our swimsuits, and went out to the beach! 

It started getting cloudy around 2, so I walked into town with some girls and checked out some of the little shops. Puerto Viejo is on the Caribbean, so the town is extremely Rastafarian. Organic food, inspirations by Bob Marley, traveling by cruiser bikes, dreads, the whole enchilada.

My new boyfriend...hottie huh?
Kidding!
J (the owner of Rocking J's) lets the hostel dwellers contribute to his mosaic pathways, tables, chairs, etc. So when I got back to Rocking J's, Sam, Nicole, and I decided to take him up on the offer and make our own mosaics! It took awhile, but I enjoyed creating a mosaic of a sun. When we were done, we showered up, ate dinner at Rocking J's, listened to the band, and played some cards.
Sunday
The majority of the ISA students staying at Rocking J's left to go to Bocas in Panama around 7 in the morning, but Jackie, Sydney, and I stayed in Puerto Viejo. The U.S. Embassy still has Jackie and I's passports, so we were unable to go to Panama, and Sydney just wanted to stay with us! We were bummed at first, but the three of us ended up having a ton of fun together! Jackie and I went running on the beach in the morning, then got Sydney and went to Puerto Viejo Bakery again for breakfast! The whole day was sunny and hot! We laid out for awhile and jumped in the lagoons, then decided to rent bikes. 

Everyone else in town was cruising with cruisers, and we wanted to fit in :). It only cost 10 mil colones ($5) to rent bikes for a full day! We only rented them for a few hours, but it was still considerably cheap! We rode the bikes all around town, enjoying each and every minute of riding along the Caribbean coastline:). We took a break, got some ice cream, and sat in some tables by the beach. Then we rode back, dropped off the bikes, did a little shopping, and headed back to Rocking J's to get ready for dinner. We went to a delicious Caribbean-style restaurant called Salsa Bravo. We got an appetizer of hummus and french bread, and I had a tropical shrimp salad for my main course. I decided this weekend that I'm in love with Caribbean-style food :)
Today
Sydney, Jackie, and I got breakfast at..you guessed it..Puerto Viejo Bakery! It was just too good! I got banana pancakes (yes, inspired by Jack Johnson). 

We went into town, got our bus tickets, and checked out this adorable boutique called Luna May. The style reminded me of Francesca's (I was home! Haha). The owner actually came up with her own dress designs and design patterns. I had to refrain from buying the whole store. I ended up getting a dress with a matching belt that I can't wait to wear! 
We then walked back to the hostel to check out, then walked back into town to the bus station. We arrived back in San José around 4. It was a long trip, but I had a blast! I never thought I'd be so happy to see a bed and have a hot shower when I got back to Emy's house! 

¿Por qué no?

Why not?

Yesterday was just a fantastic day altogether! At Veritas, the international students studying medicine held a Health Fair with different stands set up. At the stand run by the students in my Tropical Medicine course, we measured BMI, blood glucose levels, and blood pressure. It may sound boring, but I actually had a lot of fun during my shift! Dr. Abarca taught me how to properly prick a finger and use a blood glucose meter. Some people weren't so fond of being pricked, if you can imagine! Dr. Abarca told us to assume that every person is infected with HIV, so I had to be extra cautious with the blood samples and needle. I learned that a normal blood glucose level, after 8 hours of fasting, should be between 60 and 100. 
After my shift, I grabbed a quick lunch with my friend Anne and headed to do my second and final patient simulation. Easy as pie! After my simulation, I headed down to check out the other stands at the health fair. To my benefit, the professor of the Alternative Medicine class was performing acupuncture at their stand. Of course I waited in line for about 30 minutes! It was worth it too!  Not only did he give me acupuncture, but he popped my joints and gave me a massage as well. I felt great afterward! 

I then headed back up to my Spanish class, and Ronulfo (my teacher) corrected a few grammatical mistakes that we had made as a whole. He then gave us some advice for practicing and improving our Spanish: watch Spanish-speaking movies with English subtitles, read libros de los niños (children's books) in Spanish, and talk in Spanish with each other via Facebook or whatever method we use to keep in touch. Although our class was significantly more difficult than the others, I'm really glad that Ronulfo challenged us. I realized yesterday that I have learned so much! I struggled a lot with verb tenses, and he helped me a ton! Although the class was for 5 hours Monday through Thursday, it didn't feel like it because we were always doing different activities to practice our Spanish. In my Spanish courses in the States, I could write in Spanish easily. Speaking, not so much. In Costa Rica, the main focus of my Spanish class was conversation. I'm so grateful!
Last night, all of the ISA students went to Café Britt for a farewell dinner (this week is Summer 4's last week, because they are only taking Spanish). We got a coffee tour, and then they served us dinner! They gave us free samples of chocolate-covered coffee beans...let's just say it was a little difficult for me to fall asleep last night :)

¿Cómo anda?

How's it going?
[Costa Rican Slang]


Yesterday was such a great day! No school! Woo hoo! Yesterday was the Costa Rican national holiday of the Anexión del Partido de Nicoya (The Annexation of Nicoya), or commonly known as Guanacaste Day. July 25th celebrates the day that Guanacaste joined Costa Rica, which means that many schools and businesses were closed. Howeverrrr, the malls were not!! And we all know what that means :) (Sorry, Dad)
To start my day, I went on a run with Katie around El Parque de Dos Lagos (The Park of Two Lakes). They're not really lakes, however, they're just two ponds. But it was a nice run! For a country that places such a strong emphasis on environmental awareness, it's kind of ironic that the parks have excessive amounts of litter. 
After the run, I ate breakfast, showered, and met up with Katie, Nicole, Lily, and Caroline at Veritas. We grabbed a taxi and headed downtown to the Artesian Market. 

That's just one end of it! I got some pretty awesome stuff, which I won't describe because most of them are gifts :). We then grabbed lunch at Quizno's (why hello, Westernization), and searched for Museo de Los Niños for about an hour in the pouring rain. What a smart idea I had to not bring an umbrella! I should have known better by now! After realizing that we received 5 different directions from 5 different people, we gave up our search, hopped in a taxi, and headed to the San Pedro Mall. We decided that it was a perfect day for a movie! We saw Quiero a Matar Mi Jefe (I Want to Kill My Boss), which is the U.S.'s movie Horrible Bosses. The film was actually in English with Spanish subtitles. We thought it would be the reverse! Anyway, it was a hilarious movie. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good laugh. The movie didn't start until 4:30, and we arrived at the mall around 3. So, we decided to walk around and check out the stores and such. We found a smoothie stand called "Sweet Fruits" and got amazing smoothies made with fresh fruit! 

After the movie, we all headed back home. I ate dinner with Emy, Darrian, and Tonio, studied for my Spanish test, and hit the hay. 


After working out at Diamond Gym this morning, I ate breakfast, got ready for school, and headed to Veritas. In Costa Rican Health Care and Tropical Medicine, we learned about the different types of worms and their effects on the human body. Yuck! Tropical diseases are not very pretty, I'll tell you that much. They're incredibly interesting to learn about, however. I really like my teacher in that class. He's a practicing physician, but he told us from the start that he doesn't believe in tests. However, we have take-home tests and analyses that we have to write. It's not that bad of a work load, especially when you're in Costa Rica. I mean, who can study when they're in a foreign country? 
Anyway, tomorrow is the Health Fair, which makes up a large part of our grade for both Medical Spanish and Costa Rican Health Care and Tropical Medicine courses. My group had to translate a brochure from english to spanish about the proper way to wash your hands. I was assigned the responsibility of making it. It was actually kind of fun! I had never made a brochure before, and Pages has a good program for it. 
Dr. Abarcas let us out early today, so my friend Anne and I took a taxi to the Terminal del Caribe to buy our bus tickets for this upcoming weekend. Because we don't have an excursion planned for this weekend, a group of ISA students is taking a bus to Puerto Viejo. Beach time!! Pray for good weather! After buying our tickets, I went home, worked on the brochure for tomorrow, ate lunch, then headed to Spanish class. 
In Spanish today, we took our second and last "examen corto" (short exam). Corto...yeah RIGHT! It took us an hour and a half to complete this time! The first exam took maybe 30 minutes at most. As a result, I didn't get out of class until 6:30. I was completely brain dead. Luckily, Emy had dinner ready so she, Tonio, Darrian, and I sat down and ate a dinner of sauteed veggies and arroz de calamares (rice with squid). Interesting combo, but interestingly delicious! After dinner, I visited with Tonio and Emy for awhile. It's amazing how much easier conversations in Spanish are getting! When talking in English to other Americans, I actually find myself using some Spanish words and thinking in Spanish! It's crazy, but I'm so thankful for this opportunity to be learn another language! I'm earnestly hoping that it will benefit me in the medical field. 
After dinner, Darrian and I went to the dance class that Veritas offers. This class is getting pretty difficult, no lie! Before tonight, I hadn't been since the very first class! I was so lost, but they helped me catch up quickly. I'm becoming the regular salsa/merengue dancer! (Not really, but I'm working on it!) 
Ahora es tiempo para dormir. ¡Sueños dulces!
(Now it's time for bed. Sweet dreams!)

¡El Fin de Semana en Monteverde!

The Weekend in Monteverde!


About 4 hours after our departure from San Jose on Friday, we arrived at Los Establos Resort in Monteverde! The Resort was gorgeous! We had an amazing view of the Monteverde Cloud Forest and (when it wasn't cloudy) the Nicoya Bay! 

After checking in, we went to our assigned rooms, basked in our nice living quarters briefly, and headed down to the resort restaurant for a huge buffet dinner! All our meals were included this past weekend, which means all of us probably gained about 10 pounds after less than 3 days of the hotel meals. The buffet was big and delicious, and who can resist overeating at a buffet? After dinner, we took a shuttle back up to our rooms (the resort was on a very steep incline), and some of us laid down to look at the stars. I wanted so badly to take a picture of it! It was kind of cloudy, but we could see the majority of the Milky Way. Absolutely gorgeous!
The next morning, I woke up, ate breakfast with some friends, and some of the students then headed out to the canopy tour! It was a blast! After about 7 or 8 ziplines (I lost track), we did a Tarzan swing. It was such a huge adrenaline rush! The workers don't give you time to back out, however. So as soon as you walk up, they start fastening you in, and before you know it, you're free falling for about 5 seconds until the rope catches you and you swing back and forth. The workers also try to distract you while they're fastening you in. When I walked up, one of them told me that I had "ojos lindos" (pretty eyes) and asked me what colors were in them. I loved the compliment until I got to the bottom and the other girls were talking about how he told them they had "ojos lindos" as well -- haha!  

After the canopy tour, we returned to the resort to eat a quick lunch, then headed out to the Cloud Forest to go for a hike! I'm still sore from it! We hiked for about an hour and a half, reaching an elevation around 4,500 feet! The trek was well worth it! I actually stood on the continental divide once we reached the top! Actually, only 2% of the Earth's surface is covered by cloud forests. We didn't see a lot of wildlife because we went around 3 (most wildlife comes out at dusk or dawn), but the vegetation was beautiful, as was the Divide!

We returned to the hotel, and a bunch of us went to the so-called "heated" pool. No es cierto! (False!) It was colder outside of the pool than inside, guaranteed. However, my cold-natured body acquired permanent goosebumps Saturday! It was chilly and rainy all day long (hence the rainforest)! As soon as I got back to my room, I filled up the bathtub with piping hot water and jumped right in! Perfect after a long day! I got ready, headed down to dinner, hung out with some friends for a little while, and headed to bed. I wasn't feeling too hot. I'm not sure if it was my lack of sleep or the cold weather, but I felt a bit of a cold coming on, and I wasn't about to push it. Can't be sick in Costa Rica!
The next morning, a few friends and I ate breakfast and walked around for a little bit. I went back up to the room and laid in my amazingly comfortable bed, packed up, ate lunch, and then headed back to San Jose.  It was such a relaxing weekend! 

¡Lo Siento!

I'm sorry!

I've been so awful about updating this! It's been a busy week. Okay so...

Wednesday

Woke up and went to the gym! I tried a pilates class...kicked my butt, even in Spanish! Haha. I came back home, ate some breakfast, and finished up a paper for my Costa Rican Health Care and Tropical Medicine course. The paper was a page of my opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of socialized and privatized health care. Then, I ate lunch at a pizzeria with some friends and headed to Spanish class! After class, I ate dinner and got ready to go to the movies with some friends. Well, Wednesday night is half-price at the movie theatre. So naturally, the movie was sold out. So instead, Michael, Darrian, Jon, and I walked around the mall and got some ice cream at Pops.

I got blackberry sherbert! ¡Delicioso! We took a taxi back to mi casa. Michael and Emy played some Wii while the rest of us watched. She plays every night, so she beat him, of course! I think it was a shot to his pride - haha! Afterwards, Michael, Jon, and I headed to the bar Los Profesionales.
Yesterday
Woke up and went to a cycling class at the gym. Common phrase of cycling class: más fuerte (stronger). Then, I came home, ate some breakfast, did a little homework, ate lunch at Musa Confusa (my favorite), and headed to Spanish class! Yet another 10-minute presentation, this time about tropical diseases. I spoke about Malaria. Tropical diseases are pretty gruesome! In Spanish, we're working a lot on our verb tenses. There are SO many verb tenses! It's ridiculous! Anyway, class was let out early so that we could get "bonita" for the Crash party at Veritas that night. It was really cool! There was a live band, art exhibit, and food vendors. After the Crash party, some of us went to La Calle (literally, the street) and went to some bars! Quite an interesting night, but it was a lot of fun!
Today
My Tropical Medicine and Health Care class went to Hospital Clinica Biblica!

"It's a girl" - Melts my heart

Amazing verse. Especially in a hospital.

More to come after the weekend at Monteverde! ¡Adios!