Dear Lauren and Readers [and Amah since I heard you have been following :) ],

I have not written in quite some time, as I've been busy. I wrote most of this blog last Tuesday the 20th. It recounts some of the happenings of the previous week. I will post again soon about my most recent adventures.

Start of older blog:

I have reached a point where I feel I can communicate fairly well.

I am currently sick, which is no fun at all. I got over the feverishness, but can't seem to shake the deep cough. The only think I want when I'm sick is my family (and maybe close friends) to take care of me. There is nothing more comforting than having your head in your mother's lap, or on one particular occasion, getting a giant get-well card, soup and flowers from friends. However, it is not practical to hop on a pane for a week (though I dreamed that I did just that) so I am here suffering through. Today I asked our program coordinator Claudia about it and she gave me the name of some medicine I could get at the farmacia, but first she wanted me to try rábanos (radishes). By the time my class was over she had had someone purchase some for me and she instructed me to slice them thinly, sprinkle with sugar and let sit to extract the liquid. Apparently radish extract is an active ingredient in most of the commercial cough medicines anyway. I drank that before my second class and hardly coughed at all for those three hours. Success for home-remedies! I'm currently waiting for another radish to 'juice', because my cough is coming back now.

This past week or so has been quite fun otherwise. Wednesday night we went downtown to watch the lantern parade. All the children had made candle lanterns in celebration of the Costa Rican Independence Day, which was Thursday. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all share this same holiday, and there is a torch that goes through all of these countries lighting torches in each town. We saw the runners carrying it through San Ramón Wed morning. Very cool, here is a photo my friend took.

Thursday I was feeling lousy but still mustered the energy to go see the parade with marching bands from all the schools. Very fun to experience another holiday. Here are some photos:

The kids are all so adorable

I can't resist taking photos of them

That night I wrote a not-so-great paper and prepared a not-so-great presentation from my sick bed, for my Friday morning class. Thursday night was my worst night of sickness, and Friday morning I somehow convinced myself (with the help of my friends) that I was well enough to go on the planned trip to Jacó beach. All thirteen of us went, which was very cool.

Jacó is a super touristy surfing destination, which I did not attempt since I wasn't feeling 100%. The beach was nice though, and the water here is so warm! Almost too warm for me, as I've always liked cold water. I enjoyed my night and day there, though it really was extremely touristy. All the prices were in dollars and the people spoke English. For lunch a bunch of people went to a pizza place, but Hannah and I wanted less expensive comida tipica so we found a soda and got casados. This is like the value meal of Costa Rica. It has rice, beans, protien, some sort of picadillo or ensalada (or both), and some plátano. Yummy! We went back to San Ramón (we travel everywhere by bus, which tends to be a long process) on Saturday evening. I had a fieldtrip with some of my classmates for my Plant Taxonomy class the next day.

Alright, I promise to post more updated info soon!

Pura Vida!

Ellie

26 days in

¡Hola!

Today is day 26 of my beautiful Costa Rican life.

Bit of a scare this morning as the events of last night unfolded. A group of students (5) went to San José last night to see the Red Hot Chili Pepper's concert, and one girl got separated from the rest. The 4 stayed well after the concert looking for her and eventually had to come home. We spent a very tense hour trying to sit in our class while the program coordinator Claudia called all the hotels and hostels in the area. Eventually (miraculously) she found her, and drove to San José to pick her up. I felt so much stress, then so much relief, and I didn't even know about it until 8am. I can only imagine the stress level of those who were at the concert. I heard that they didn't really sleep. Tomorrow morning we get a safety talk from USAC. I think this was enough of a shock to ensure that we will all take necessary precautions so that nothing of this sort happens again.

I really enjoy the 12 other students on my program. We have become quite a family, which is why we were all so worried. Part of me feels a little bad, because I didn't come here to make american friends, but the other part says "screw it! these people are support!" Besides, I do have some good tico friends now too. Libia invited Hannah and I over to dinner the other night. It was so much fun to talk and laugh with her! I think that my tico friends will be my best opportunity to learn spanish.

Hannah and I spent a good deal of time today trying to figure out trips to take on weekends. I am so blessed that she is on this program. She mentioned that we have similar goals for travel: wildlife, culture, and beautiful locations for adventure. She read my mind. I have found a dear friend in her and will happily continue the relationship for years as she is from CA.

Fun note: the other day I was served the only thing so far that I would not eat. It was a soup with garbanzo beans and ...cow stomach...

Eeeuuchh! It seemed to be entirely fat and membrane. Totally inedible. I consumed most of the broth and and the garbanzos, but left a pile of stomach high and dry in the bowl. Often I clear leftovers from my plate into the trash (usually its a bit of extra rice), but that day I left it so she would get the message. There's been no sign of the dreaded substance since, so I hope I will be done with it for good.

My host family doesn't really eat meals together, which is disappointing. I often eat alone, or sometimes Nena comes to sit with me. I have no idea when that woman eats. I think she snacks as she cooks and then eats small meals in front of the TV later on. She watches a lot of TV. Her three activities at home seem to be cooking, cleaning, watching TV.

The other night my host sister's invited me out to celebrate Cendry's birthday (30th!). It was alright, but everyone spoke very fast, and I was already tired, so it was hard to focus on the conversation. I hope they don't think I'm too weird, just sitting there, zoning out. I really do want to socialize with them, but it is just so hard with the language barrier! I never realized how much I rely on words to express myself and share who I am. I feel like I haven't learned nearly enough Spanish for the amount of time I've spent here. I had lunch today with my friend Hannah and her host family. It was incredibly nice of them to invite me into their home and I enjoyed the delicious meal, but found myself insanely jealous of her relationship with them. They speak very good English, and she hit it off with them right away. They also have two young children, and so they eat every meal together. I would love to have that strong family connection. I guess it is something I would have to work on and initiate myself.

Last night I was blessed by the appearance of a gecko! I have often heard them in the evenings (their call sounds like someone making kissy-face noises) but had yet to have the chance to see one up close. He was hanging out on my ceiling for hours, and it was comforting to know that the mosquitoes that always manage to find their way to my bedroom had something else to contend with aside from my half-hearted drowsy swipes.

I had another evening visitor the other night. There was a very loud humm as something large and black zoomed in my door and crashed landed on my floor. I quickly captured the fellow, photo graphed him, and set the dear thing free outside. You may think he's ugly, but I grew quite fond of my beetle-friend.

Saturday I went out with my friends to a club called nightfever (no clue why it is in english). It was "ladies night" so the girls got in free and got free drinks between 8-10pm. A very economical way to party. I really haven't "gone out" with the group much, because it typically isn't my thing, but I really had a blast! The club had a dance floor that I graced for hours. I absolutely love to dance. Medicine for the body and soul. Our tico friends Sergio and José joined us and they are both good dancers (I actually have yet to met a tico who can't dance). Sergio is a truly beautiful person. He told me that night that he was gay (which is quite obvious, so it it was cute and funny). Now I have a close friend who is gay in two countries! Sergio loves to dance and told me that I was a very good dancer and a quick learner. Way to stroke my ego :) He can feel free to dance with me anytime! Latin American dances are so fun, and all about the hips. I've never met guys who can move their hips as well as the ticos.

Today I had a chance to jugar fútbol. The group has played a couple times, and haven't gone. I've never been into sports and I honestly didn't even know the rules. I think I've played like once or twice in elementary school. Part of me was afraid to play because I didn't want to let people down. However, the group is so much fun and not at all judgmental and I had a blast! I don't now how much good I really did, but I definitely enjoyed myself, which is what it is all about. And I got some exercise to boot! I will definitely play again (I think they want to make it a bi-weekly thing). Who knows? Maybe when I return I'll be a fútbol champ!

Finally went to the market last weekend with Nena. So cool! They do it every Friday night/Saturday morning, and it is where Nena buys all the groceries for the week. So many interesting fruits and vegetables, and all so inexpensive! Please enjoy!

Two long rows like this grace the lot of "Centro Agricultural" the market's designated spot

Nena buys the squeaky white queso

Nena buys delicious Pan Dulce (kinda like cinnamon rolls, but not really).

Efforts of many chickens somewhere

Kinda random and seemingly out of place fishies

The red ones on the right are mamones chinos. Super yummy! I mentioned them and Nena bought some :)

This woman's shirt cracked me up. And I couldn't share it with anyone at the time....

Platanos (plantains). The material for many a tasty dish

See what this girl has?! Man with machete and piles of coconuts, I want one!

:) Delicioso

Dear Ellie,

Costa Rica sounds amazing. It almost makes me wish I was going to a Spanish-speaking country. I know a trip to South America is definitely in my future - the culture sounds so vibrant! But I guess that may also be because we have so much to learn about cultures that aren't our own.

I wish we had more local festivals and celebrations in the US. Holidays in Japan such as Obon (お盆) brought parties of native Okinawans, people from mainland Japan and, of course, us camp staff who happened to be around into the streets for music, dancing and laughter. It's always a good feeling when something like these celebrations can make random people seem like friends and family. One of my fellow camp staff was telling me that the Japanese people even encouraged her to dance inside one of the costume dragon heads they were twirling about in.

I am currently in Chico, spending my days lazily hopping from air-conditioned place to place. I can't wait for the cooler English weather and the opportunity to wear jeans!

More and more interesting conversations have been cropping up on the Facebook page for my hall at the university, including the best thing I've heard all year -- there's a Hogwarts Formal. Coincidentally, as I have mentioned before, the hall also looks like Hogwarts. I couldn't be happier.

"Freshers week," which is basically orientation week for incoming students, also includes a series of evening events requiring costumes. Unfortunately, this also means I will have to save space in my suitcase to pack for nights themed "Cavemen," "Iconic Figures," "Toga Party" and more. Let me emphasize that these are university-hosted events, and that on the information post they informed us the drinking would begin at 7 p.m. I'm going to love England.

Can't wait to hear more about the amazing time you're having over there.

Love,

Lauren

Typical Day

Dear Lauren and Readers,

Thought I'd write a bit about my daily schedule. Every morning I wake up (between 6:30 and 7) and roll out of bed. I have no alarm clock, so I just rely on my own body and the light that comes in the crack I leave in the curtains. I pull back the curtains fully every morning for maximum light and open my window. I greet the dogs which anticipate my appearance and pop their heads in to get love (I decided Anusca just had a seizure or something. He has seemed fine ever since). I have class almost every day at 8am, so I get ready for school. If I have extra time in the mornings I sometimes write in my journal.

My host mom Nena goes to her exercise class every morning at 7, so she leaves my breakfast on the counter which I either heat in the mircowave or just eat. Breakfast always includes fresh fruit and usually either a fresco (blended fruit drink) or café if I requested it the night before. Breakfasts range from gallo pinto con queso (the typical cheese here is white, does not melt and seems to squeak slightly against your teeth) to bean empanadas to cereal.

Getting in or out of the house requires passage through three ports: The outside gate encompassing the house and yard which locks automatically and always needs a key (if you are coming) or the push of a button in the living room (if you are going). The gated metal door just before the front door, and the front door itself. At night the security gets even better, as the formidable looking and sounding dogs are released into the front yard. All this security, but there is really very little if any crime here.

I go to class from 8-11, come home for two hours during which I eat lunch, then go back for my spanish class from 1-4, umbrella in hand. Lunch varies, but often includes rice and beans plus some something (fried platanos-plaintains, meat, fried shrimp packages, soup etc). There is always another fresco with lunch (today I had manzana-apple, but one of my favorites is maracuyá-passionfruit).

Here is my class schedule:

M 8-11: Society and Environment

1-4: Spanish

T 8-11: Tropical Ecology

1-4: Spanish

W 5-7pm: Latin American Dance

Th 8-11: Plant Taxonomy

1-4: Spanish

F 8-11: Natural History of Mesoamerica

After classes I don't have a typical plan. My day could include going somewhere downtown, homework, socializing, taking walks with my binoculars, dancing, etc.

The classes here are so far quite a bit easier than those at Chico. Of course, with all my classes only meeting once a week (except spanish), I've only had most of them twice, so they will probably pick up a bit.

Pura Vida,

Ellie

Dear Lauren and readers,

I decided to address it so, I hope you don't mind. It feels more inclusive.

Doggie Update: I think Anusca may have rabies. He was acting very very strange the other day (like spasms and twitches and drool) and I'm definitely going to avoid him for awhile. Of course when I brought my host mom to see, he was just lying there calmly like nothing happened. Apparently an animal can only live with rabies for 10 days so if he is still alive on the 10th I will know he is fine. I'll be rooting for him from afar.

I just got an email from my good friend Mary (I think you met her?) from Senegal. She is studying there this semester and recently arrived. I absolutely love her. The email got me thinking about the way people live and how we are all so different but all fundamentally the same. Even when there are language barriers communication still manages to occur. I love it when I can talk to my host mom and we understand each other. Apparently there is an event this weekend where they bring cattle pulling carts down the roads and I said "En españa tienen..." and she knew exactly what I was talking about. We both had a good laugh miming people running from bulls. Things like that make me smile so so much.

I finally made friends with some ticos (costa ricans). USAC

has a "tico friend" program where the students learning english sign up and are paired with one of us. They are supposed to help us with Spanish and getting adjusted and seeing San Ramón, and we help them with English (which they don't really need from what I've seen). Most of them want to be English teachers. My tica friend is Libia and she is extremely nice. She really likes to dance, and so do I, so we've danced a lot. I actually managed to recruit one of the tico guys to our dance class on Wednesdays. We are in desperate need of men for that class,

and ones that can already dance are preferred. It seems like all the ticos already know how to do salsa, meringue, bachata etc. It seems like they learn young, like how we all know the macarena. It is amazing how quickly I accept people as friends here. I feel like I have known the other USAC students for much longer than two weeks, and the ticos for longer than four days. Come to think of it, my first week here felt like it was about a month.

I finally had a talk with my host mom about not giving me so much food. She goes for walks in the morning, so she leaves my breakfast on the counter and I get ready and go to class while she is gone. This morning I had

huevos con jambon between 2 tortillas, a piña fresca (like a very watery smoothie), two bananas (granted they are small) and a huge bowl of cereal. We agreed that tomorrow I would just have some cereal, and some coffee. I'm growing to like the coffee here a lot. Here is a photo of my host mother by the way. She is in purple and walking with her sister who lives next door and is hosting mi amigo Andrew.

Wednesday was San Ramón day, so the saint (San Ramón) invited all his other holy friends to come party with him. They all arrived on Tuesday in the Entrados de los Santos which was a huge parade and city-wide holiday. Each of the nearby provinces and cities brought a statue of their saint, adorned with real flowers, to San Ramón. The photo is my favorite saint of the day, in a wheelbarrow with lots of flowers. The statue of our saint-San Ramón- paraded through the city, stopping at intersections where the newcomers were waiting to officially welcome them. Then the parade would move on and the welcomed saints would join, carried upon the shoulders of the

representatives from their towns and listening to music from the band they brought. I joined the parade and walked along right behind San Ramón himself, listening to San Ramón's band and the band of the saint behind us. Once the saints got to the church they were placed in their positions along the inside. The fiesta de San Ramón goes on for more than a week, with events and bands

playing each day. Every year they build a covering where vendors

and the bands and people can be and stay dry from the afternoon rains. The event was such a beautiful taste of Costa Rican culture and I absolutely loved it. That night, after dancing, my friends and I split a piña from the ice cream stand at the park. It was filled with fruit, jello, and ice cream and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. Yummy!

You asked about the weather and boy am I glad to be here and not in the CA valley heat! The temperatures are mid-60s low to upper 80s high. The only thing that is less than perfect is the humidity, which is fairly high, but not unmanageable. It usually rains for a few hours every afternoon. The first thing I bought myself here was an umbrella!

On the wildlife front, I saw my favorite Costa Rican critter thus far, the three-toed sloth. We went last weekend on a USAC fieldtrip to a coffee plantation, then to a wilderness park, and some of us saw this guy hanging out in a tree. There was also a neat butterfly garden. There are lots of photos up on facebook if anyone is interested.

You should be in Chico by now, so say 'hi' to everyone for me!

Pura Vida,

Ellie