Dear Lauren and readers,

England looks absolutely amazing. Makes me miss it and my grandmother, especially the stuff about London. Sorry for not writing for so long. So much has happened here. Classes have sped up so I've been busy with that as well as experiencing as much as I can. I still haven't embraced the "learning spanish" bit as much as I should have. I need to study a lot on my own to improve and I just haven't sat down and really set my nose to the grind stone.

It has occurred to me how vastly different our experiences abroad will be. There is a certain amount of "grouping together" that arises when people study abroad. We treat it like it is something in common... "I'm studying abroad too!" or "My (insert relative) studied abroad also!" But in reality experiences in different countries can't be compared. You are seeing ancient brick buildings and hogwarts-esque halls. I am seeing rainforest and coffee plantations. You are eating bangers and mash and drinking ciders. I am eating rice and beans and drinking tropical fruit juices. We are living in worlds so different. One thing I know about this experience is that it isn't enough for me. I absolutely love Costa Rica, but when I return home I won't be able to say "oh yeah, I studied abroad" like it is a done deal. Experiencing one culture is great, but among my many bug bites is one from the travel bug. I want to be a life-long voyager, learner, experiencer. Well... those are my musings of the moment...

I've been having stupendous adventures here. I looked back and realized that haven't talked about anything since we went to Jaco. There is certainly a lot to write about, so here goes. We'll see how far I get before I have to go...

In general I've been getting closer to my family, though still not as close as I would like. I don't know why it seems so hard to connect with them at times. (Well, it could have something to do with language, but I do feel like I have improved a lot). But anyway, I feel much more connected when more of the family is over, which happens occasionally. After the Plant Taxonomy class day trip to the botanical gardens (way back on september 18th) a bunch of the family was over for lunch, dinner, and quite a few games of bingo, for which Nena had prepared prizes of various little things. I won a handkerchief, mini mug and bath squishy thing. Here is a pic of my winning card (we ran out of markers so had to improvise with whatever was handy).

The next weekend the group went to La Fortuna (home of the famous Volcán Arenal, which is a huge tourist attraction because you can often see the lava.... except that it completely stopped errupting a few months before we arrived. Who knows how the town will fare now that the main attraction is gone). Highlights of La Fortuna included white-water rafting; lunch on a beautiful site with a view of the volcano and brilliantly colored birds at a feeder not 12 feet away; buying the makings for our own ice cream sundaes at the market and creating sweet masterpieces at the hostel; taking a night-hike down a road through the jungle and getting to hold a red-eyed tree frog; soaking in the free hot-springs at night just outside the entrance to the expensive hot-spring resort; swinging off a rope-swing into a pool of water at a beautiful swimming hole; swimming under and sitting behind a waterfall at said pool; finally getting a clear view of the volcano without clouds.

PS: why is this blue all the sudden?

Alright, time for bed. (Hmm, back to black. Computer seems to be doing whatever it wants)

More tales to come. Dulces sueños a todos.

Love,

Ellie

Dear Ellie and Readers,

England is still as exciting as ever. I can't believe I've been here for almost three weeks now! I had the urge to travel this past weekend, so my friend Blanche invited me along with her to celebrate her friend's birthday in Brighton. We woke up at 7:30 and spent all day on trains, buses and tube meandering our way down to the ocean side.

We stopped in London on the way and ventured from Paddington Station to King's Cross to look for Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter reference, for those who don't know). I was so excited when we found it that I literally giggled with joy. Unfortunately, due to construction throughout London to improve the train and tube stations before the Olympics this summer, they had actually moved the wall and attached half of a trolley to the outside of the station temporarily. Killed the magic of it a little.

We also took a quick detour to admire the muddy River Thames and the regal Tower Bridge. The Thames actually flows through Reading in a less brown state, but in London it reminded me of the same cold, dark, gritty river portrayed in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Speaking of which, the walls of the tube station at Baker Street are tiled with Holmes' profile (picture below). Fun fact of the day for you there.

When we finally made it to Brighton we were exhausted but determined to enjoy the ocean air, some fish and chips and ice cream cones on the rocky beach. We were lucky enough to have a wonderfully sunny day. Blanche's friend took us through an area with some shops which reminded me of the streets of Berkeley with their odds and ends bohemian wares.

Altogether it was a very adventurous weekend - the first of many I hope.

Much love xx

Lauren

Train tickets to Brighton through London.

My first Telephone box - with the Brighton beach in the background!

Fish and chips by the sea.

Brighton beach

The Tower Bridge in London.

Wooo Harry Potter!!

The Baker Street tube.

Dear Ellie,

The past 9 days have been absolutely insane for me. I arrived in London on Sept. 30 safe and sound, and made it to Reading without a problem. I made English friends literally the minute I stepped off the plane, and my nervousness that had built up the few days before my departure immediately dissipated.

I've settled nicely into my tiny but very charming dorm room. My window faces the back of the old court building, and even though it's not the gorgeous courtyard view that some of the older students were fortunate enough to get, it's pretty beautiful. Almost all of the buildings here are aged and built in red brick with green vines crawling up the sides and cute little red, black or blue front doors. Sometimes I find myself wandering aimlessly through residential neighborhoods just to look at the houses.

I start classes on Monday, but my first week has been sparingly academic. I have partied every night since I've been here ― and it's been absolutely amazing. My first night in Reading I went to an English pub and ordered bangers and mash (aka sausages and mashed potatoes) and my first pint of pub beer. Both were delicious. I was also introduced to the revolution that is alcoholic cider. My new favorite drink is a cider black (cider with blackcurrant juice, which is a sort of syrupy sweet grape juice).

Most other nights we've been out have been “fancy dress nights,” which are basically costume nights, because the week before classes is Fresher's Week. Themes have included Noah's Arc theme, for which I went as a panda, caveman theme, for which I went as a caveman, and What's your occupation?, for which I went as a British policewoman in a borrowed costume. You should've seen the looks I got with an American accent in that costume.

There is so much more I want to tell you, but it's time for me to get ready for my 9^th consecutive night out. Wish me luck!

Much love xx

Lauren

The courtyard of Wantage Hall, my dorm.

First pint and meal at English pub called the Queen's Head.

My bedroom and view.

Party in the student union, the club on campus.
International students of Wantage Hall formal. (note: Trevor and Sam are in there)

Building on campus.

Wantage Hall dining...where I eat my meals.