Comin Home

Wow. I'm coming home today. Home. What a relative word. Technically, this is my home now as it has been where I have lived for the past four months. But nowhere without my family and friends is really ever "home". I guess it really is true that home is where the heart is. And I left my heart in STL! lol. Ok, I'm done with the cliches. To everyone that has emailed me, messaged me, or even just thought about me....THANK YOU. You have all helped me so much! I loved hearing from each and every one of you. I will see you soon! I wanted to write about what I was feeling on this fine morning of my departure...but I don't really know! I think I'm a little sad to leave, but also excited to come home. And nervous. I'm a little nervous to come home. I hope it's easy to get back to my other life. :-) All I know is that I woke up feeling queasy this morning....and NO...I didn't drink last night! Well...time for some last minute packing and a shower...gotta be fresh and clean to return to my home town! Love you all. -Meg P.S. Here is a picture of my toe about a week and a half ago. I never told u guys the story. Ask me bout it when I get home!

I CANT WAIT

I can't wait to come home and....

Be able to use 20 dollar bill to pay for things with (seriously, here in Costa Rica almost NOWHERE can break the equivalent of a 20, yet that is what the ATM disperses. Hmmm)

Be able to walk down the sidewalk without looking down in front of my feet every single second to make sure I don't break an ankle

Be able to walk around BY MYSELF any time I want without fear of getting mugged

Be able to be sick in my own bed (this is a newly developed wish, as I JUST became sick today)

Be able to wear whatever clothes I want out in public without fear of being harassed

Be able to breathe in without choking on car exhaust

Be able to do homework using and actual BOOK instead of my computer (my eyes hurt)

Be able to get into my house without unlocking three different doors (but I DO feel safe here)

Be able to watch ESPN in english

Be able to wear sweaters and pants and jackets and hats and scarves (notice I didn't say COAT Gma!)

Be able to shower and still feel clean hours later

Be able to walk around without getting stared at (yes Ma, I know. Preposition at the end of a sentence. Sorry. Didnt know a good way around it)

Be able to walk around or eat at a restaurant without keeping a death grip on my stuff

Be able to use sugar that DOESNT have ants in it

Be able to eat something OTHER than rice and beans

Be able to have a nice, juicy, steak

Be able to drink hot chocolate and coffee without sweating

Be able to sleep with more than a sheet on top of me

Be able to sleep without automatically and involuntarily rolling left into the ditch in my bed

Be able to sleep saying goodnight to my hundreds of creepy crawly roommates

Be able to cross a street without the cars speeding up when they see me

Be able to buy shampoo and conditioner for LESS than 5 dollars a bottle

Be able to sit in my room without the deafening roar of traffic lofting through my window

Be able to take an entire shower without the water shutting off or going ice cold on me

Be able to generally tell when a car is going to turn thanks to that genius invention called a BLINKER

Be able to walk around my house without looking out for pee or poo (i hate that lil dog)

Be shorter than most of the guys around me

Feel carpet under my bare feet

Hug all my friends and family

Be able to throw toilet paper in the toilet

Use a nice, clean bathroom in public places

Well, I feel better.

Love,
Meg

Espanol

Lo siento a todos, pero voy a escribir en espanol. No se porque...pero quiero hacerlo. Puedo escribir en espanol...pues un poco. Puedo entender...mas o menos. Y puedo hablar en espanol...o a menos la persona entiende mi punto. PERO, no domino el espanol. Que lastima. Todavia no puedo decir exactamente que quiero. Es dificil y frustrante. Necesito decirles sobre Nicaragua. Pero pienso que no es una buena idea para hacer esto en espanol porque ustedes no van a entender. Le amo a todos.

Acceptance

Today is a great day. It is Thanksgiving. They do not celebrate it here, but that does not matter. I still reflect today on everything for which I am thankful. At the top of the list, as always, is my family and my friends. You have all been very supportive and positive while I have been away and I'm so grateful. I'm healthy, and I'm happy. And what's more, I have had a great time in Costa Rica and learned so much. As I was walking home from class tonight I let myself get lost in thought (something I generally avoid since you should always be aware while walking by yourself in San Jose). I cannot explain the serene feeling that came over me as I thought about my life at this moment. I no longer expect anything to go as planned. Nothing you think will happen in Costa Rica happens, and everything you don't expect does. I have learned more than ever to go with the flow. Things will get accomplished, and in the end it will work out; the path will just be different than you plan. So I have stopped planning. I don't mean all types of planning. It is still necessary to have a general idea of what you are going to try to do that day. But as far as details go? Forget about it. You may as well enjoy the ride, because there is no avoiding it. If you ask directions to one place from five different people on the street, you will get five different answers. So you either pick the one that sounds most promising, or you try to create a frankenstein compilation of their answers, and start walking. If you get lost, you will always be able to find your way home eventually. Just like life: If you get lost, you will always find your way back. So pick a direction and start walking. Nothing says you have to stay on the same path. I no longer expect teachers to stick to what they say, for a class to follow the syllabus, or for planned events to have any sort of structure. And you know what? Despite all my fretting over such disorganization...I'm still happy, I'm still alive, I'm still excelling, I'm still learning, and I'm still sane. I lost my ipod over a month ago. I was convinced at that time that I could NOT live without my music in a foreign country where so many things stressed me out and where familar music was a huge comfort. Well I'm still living. It hardly even registers that I don't have an ipod anymore. And a cell phone? Forget about it. I don't need it. I haven't missed it once. Sure it would make meeting up with friends a heck of a lot easier, but it doesn't keep us from meeting up. Sometimes we miss each other, sometimes plans have to be changed on the fly, sometimes people get left behind, and sometimes people get lost. But we all find our way home, and the next day at school we laugh together about what an adventure yesterday was. Therefore, I no longer have expectations about my life. It is oddly liberating. I have still have hopes and dreams, of course. I hope to be happy and healthy and make a difference in the world. I hope to have a family of my own someday, and I hope to have a good job. But I don't need any of these things just like I don't need my music. Life is a constant adjustment. Plans can change in an instant and you have no control over that most of the time. So instead of perfecting my planning skills, I like the idea of these new coping skills I have started developing. And of course, coping does not simply entail the ability to accept whatever hand life deals you, but also the ability to problem solve as an attempt to still acheive your goal. I don't know what life holds for me. I actually haven't the slightest inkling. I have a great family, great friends, and an amazing guy in my life. I hope I can further my formal education, but I know that I will always be learning for as long as I live. I have no idea what the future will bring. But I know how my present stands. I am stronger than I was when I got here, physically and mentally. I am more at peace with myself. And I am more in love than I have ever been before. At the risk of contradicting everything I just said, I am going to marry him and we are going to brave life together. I don't care what life throws at us, I don't care if we are absolutely poor for years... I know everything will work out in the end. Like my Ma always says, make plans and God laughs (make plans in Costa Rica and God rolls). Love, Meg

Rafting, Zipline, Panama

Arg! It seems like more and more things happen everyday that I have to tell you about, but there just isn't enough time! And I don't feel like I'm doing my stories justice because I'm really impatient when it comes to journaling. But I'll give it another futile attempt :-)

I told you I went last week to see the movie Gestacion. It was AWESOME. It's only the second movie ever filmed in Costa Rica! And it was filmed right here in San Jose! The opening scene was Mall San Pedro where we always used to go to watch movies! That was weird to see. Lol. The whole thing was in spanish (obviously), but we understood most of it! Funny little side note tho: while we were waiting for the movie to start a lady came and sat in the chair right next to me. The theater was virtually empty, but she sat RIGHT next to me! lol. So different from in the U.S. At home if a theater is pretty much empty, you only go sit right next to a stranger if you want to mess with them. lol

Last weekend, as I mentioned, was zip lining and rafting. Zip lining was pretty dang fun. 12 cables, one over 600 meters long and 65mph! Flying through the treetops of the rainforest over a river...pretty awesome. And it was raining so we went even faster! It was a little chilly and wet, but I love that weather! Lisa took us to the place in her car too since there were only three of us so that was nice. The rest of the group had gone earlier in the month, but Collen and I elected to wait to go later with Sybil since she had a broken leg at the time. It was really really fun. Then the next day we went rafting!!! Now THAT was quite possibly the most fun thing I have experienced since I have been here. I really really don't think I can explain how beautiful and peaceful it was. The river we went on is one of the best for rafting in the world. It had class three and four rapids. The class four were most fun. And actually....I fell out in a class four. Lol. It was actually pretty cool. Our raft hit a rock that no one saw cuz it was under the water, and our raft jolted to a stop and everyone on my side fell out. Lol. So I body surfed a rapid. Got quite a few bruises on my legs from that and swallowed A LOT of water. The kyak came and picked me up, then transferred me to a raft that was passing thru from another company, and then THEY transferred me back to my raft finally. Cool stuff dude. And the scenery was just AMAZING. Serioulsy breathtaking. Stuff out of movies. Drifting through the rainforest in a valley, waterfalls careening down the sides all around us, birds, vines hanging, beautiful mist everwhere. Oh and sweet food! We stopped on the bank of the river to have lunch. Yummy! I can't wait to go rafting again sometime. Hopefully in another new country!

This most recent weekend, the group (around 25 ppl) went to Panama to a group of islands called Bocas del Toro. Now this place is what you think of when you think of paradise. Blue water, beautiful skies, mountains in the background misted over, starfish, colorful fish, palm trees, huts and hostels built ON the water, a pool that is really the ocean, a water trampoline, hammocks by the water and above the water, free coffee ALL day, and J this one is for you....banana pancakes on a lazy, rainy, sunday morning. I miss you. Cant wait to come home and make some banana pancakes with you EVERY sunday morning. ANYWAY...I also got introduced to a new game this past weekend! MAFIA! Its SOOO fun. Lol.

So some cool things bout Panama: Dani got stung by a jellyfish (a small one dont worry) but I saw it happen which was neat, four of us saw a whale while taking a wild crazy six hour deserted muddy road/amazing beach hike, and U.S. money is WEIRD! See, Panama's currency is US dollars. When we all first bought something and got coin back, we literally all flipped out. We refused to believe that they were real coins! They are so small and light! I remember when a quarter used to be big to me! Now it is itty bitty. But thats because colones (Costa Rica currency) is so much bigger and heavier than our coins.

Well Colleen and I are watching Die Hard (score!), so I'll write yall later. Love, love, love
-Meg

My Day Today

This will be about more than my day, but I'm going to start with that.

Today was a rollercoaster of emotions. Not extreme emotions. Just moods and thoughts that came and went. Some things awed me, some disgusted me, some made me feel blessed...

My day started out with me getting up extra early to finish a presentation I had to give this morning in my spanish class. My presentation went well as did class, seeing as how I did not fall asleep like I usually do. Then I had human rights class this afternoon. And once again, I was severly annoyed. But I tend to get over that rather quickly. It had to do with class conflicting with a soccer game we are going to watch next Wednesday....long and short of it is this: I'm in Costa Rica and have the chance to go to a soccer game for free and experience that part of the culture. He doesn't even think it's an option to skip class to go, even though I'm allowed two absences and have had none so far. To him it's a no brainer....as it is for me as well. Class or futbol?? Ya, you're right....definitely futbol.

After class I walked to an ATM with Sarah that was SUPPOSE to offer US dollars because we need them for Panama this weekend. Well the ATM decided it didnt WANT to give us dollars. This actually didnt phase me at all. I no longer expected anything to work or to go as planned in Costa Rica. Pura Vida. What DID phase me was what happened when I was walking to the gym after that. As I walked towards the corner where a large white SUV was stopped at a stop sign waiting to turn, I heard a very clear cat call whistle. Being immune to this by now, I kept walking and didn't even look up....until the car turned and came more towards me and I heard the whistle again. I looked up and saw a boy who couldn't have been more than twelve, riding in the backseat next to what was probably his little sister. He had rolled the window down and was looking right at me. He then proceeded to yell "how you doin fine bi***?!" I think my jaw hit the floor. I could only shake my head and keep walking. As I was walking, feeling sad for the boy that he had learned such behavior, something seemingly insignificant happened: a flock of parrots flew over my head and I ACTUALLY noticed. I had heard the girls talking bout the little bright green parrots they had seen in the city, but I had NEVER seen them before. But just when I needed something to smile about and snap me out of my sad pensive trance, they appeared! I know it seems silly, but for me, it made me realize that i am IN COSTA RICA. I'm so blessed and so lucky to be here. There are parrots (actually parakeets, I was just informed by my roomie) flying over my head and beautiful, smoke kissed mountains in whatever direction I turn. And the sky was as blue as I had seen in San Jose thus far. Perfect wispy white clouds....a sky I never would have seen had those birds not squawked and made me look up. And it was like a chain reaction. Once I noticed the birds I began noticing EVERYTHING. Mostly cool plants. In the states, the typical garden filler green plants tend to bore me. What's so exciting about one colore? But here, I'm not even sure if a monotone plant exists! Every ordinary looking green plant has a hidden surprise. Look closely and you will see veins of read, orange, or yellow running through. Or flip the leaf over and it will be bright purple! You never know.

I finally made it to the gym. Good workout. My arms feel like jello because I did arm circuit training with Ray and Brittany. They are nuts. We did tons of pull ups and pushups. OUCH.

Came home, ate, and then hopped in the shower. I turned on the water, closed my eyes tight, held my breath, and jumped under the freezing cold water. I almost cried with joy when I realized the water was NOT freezing cold, but in fact was rather hot!!! I couldnt believe my sensory nerves! The shower had been fixed!!! Halelujah!!! There are still some streams of freezing cold that populate the mass of hot water, but I'm alright with that!

Now I'm drinking some cafe, talking to Katy on skype (sort of...I should probably respond to her now...hold on), and thinking bout working on homework. I can't explain how I feel right now. Sore from the gym, mentally tired from homework, nutritionally satisfied, excited for panama, stressed about school, worried about the people I love, homesick, and somehow more sure of who I am than I have been in years. Strange.

And I lied. This is not going to be more than about my day. Initially, I set out to write about my amazing rafting and ziplining trip this past weekend as well...but I have realized I don't feel like descriptively writing anymore and that trip deserves some decent description. I love you all

Christmas Anyone???

Ya that's right, you read correctly: Christmas is here. I came home from the gym today and there was a Christmas reef lit up on the front door. SO WEIRD! Don't they know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet??? Oh wait...that's right...no, they don't, because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here! Makes sense I suppose...that whole pilgrims and indians thing didn't really happen here in Central America. On a different note...I'm running out of money! Quickly! lol. I just need to make it 4 more weeks! But with a trip every weekend, It's going to be tight. And may I just say budgeting is NOT fun while you are in a foreign country and trying to do as many things as possible while you're there!!! Therefore, I'm pretending I have more money than I actually do. I mean hey, that's what credit cards and overdraft protection are for right??! (I have a feeling my Ma and Gma are grimacing right now. :-) And on the note of spending money, I'm going to Panama this weekend! To Bocas del Toro, a series of Islands that is suppose to be like paradise. Surprisingly, it's only costing me around120 for three nights. Not bad. Then the next weekend is Nicaragua! I'm gonna have three countries under my belt after this semester! Awesome. And then I only have two weekends left. Maybe I'll use one to go back to Jaco and surf again! That was so fun last time. Hopefully our last weekend here all the girls that were here with me the first month are going to do a last trip sort of thing. Not sure where to yet.
Alright, well I have to go work on homework. I have a ton. As usual. Love you all!

Random Thoughts

Sup yall. So I have a lot of time to think here, and these are just some of the things that tend to pass through my head:

Why, please tell me WHY, in a country where it rains SOOOO much, do they put tile that becomes dangerously slippery when wet ALL OVER THE CITY?! I mean really?! Does the city get pleasure out of being constantly sued?! Actually, come to think of it, I bet the city of San Jose isn't even held responsible for stuff like that. There are random pot holes in the sidewalks every other step, various dangerous items strewn around the city like broken computers and downed trees, random holes in the street, jagged metal pole stubs....etc. Basically, when you walk around here, you must stare down at the ground directly in front of you to avoid killing yourself. Oh and how could I forget the perpetually slimy, slippery, sidewalks due to the mildew/algae stuff growing everywhere. I suppose this is understandable considering it's wet quite often here.

Why does EVERY single male you pass on the street or that drives past in a car (taxi drivers included) feel the need to say SOMETHING to every girl they see? I mean, I understand that it is acceptable here and all the ticas are used to it. So technically I shouldnt be complaining about it. And for the first month I think I handled it rather well. But now it's just utterly annoying. I AM NOT a piece of meat. I am a person, with a mind and a personality IN ADDITION to my physical appearance. Oh gosh...they have me sounding like a hard core feminist now! I think I have just reached my quota of "oh baby"s and "mamacita"s. I mean, I'm all for people being friendly with each other and saying hello on the street and such, but saying something that is equivalent to "you're hot and I want to bang you"...not so cool.

Every country has their "Mexicans". What I mean by this is that in the States, we have a large population of Mexicans (and others) that enter the country illegally and provide cheap labor. They do the jobs that US citizens dont want to do. I can't imagine how quick our economly would collapse if the undocumented migrants ( i would say illegals, but my human rights teacher hates that term and gets on us if we say it) were deported. Last week, I visited a coffee plantation and I learned that Nicaraguans are the "Mexicans" of Costa Rica. I had already had my suspicions of this since every single maid here seems to be Nicaraguan, and many Ticos have quite a bit of prejudice towards Nicaraguans. But at the coffee plantation, my inklings were confirmed. Nicaraguans constitute nearly the entire coffee picking labor force. And let me tell you, picking coffee is NOT easy. They work sun up to sun down in the blazing sun, filling huge baskets with coffee seeds. The baskets weigh 30 lbs when full and they get to lug this around with them. A really GOOD picker can pick up to 25 baskets a day. At the end of the day, they get paid 800 colones for each basket. That's about $1.50. So on average, they make $30 a day. How do you live off that? Although I do have to admit that the coffee plantation provides the workers with housing and electriciy and water. But who knows of what quality? Anyway...I just thought i would share.

How does a country with such an amazing reputation for environmental conservation have such a dirty capital city?! There is trash EVERYWHERE! And don't even get me started on the air pollution. Even though the emissions testing in the States screwed me over this past yr, I could not be MORE grateful that we have it than I am after being here in San Jose for 3 months. I think I might have smoker's lungs by the time I get home. And where are all the recycling containers? Shouldn't that be a priority here?

And last, but so, so not least, the internet. I understand that I am not in the US. I understand that internet is not always reliable. However, that does not change the fact that my internet crapping out on me constantly grates on my nerves. It makes it rather difficult to do homework considering all my classes are research oriented or require power point presentations with pictures and info from the internet. It also makes it quite difficult to keep in touch with people back home. For instance, I had attempted emailing J's dad about FOUR times before i actually got a message to go through. Thus, it took me a month to actually get my message out since every time one failed, I was too frustrated to try again right away. And facebook hates me. But I knew that already.

Do my teachers not understand the concept of organization? You know, the idea of handing out a syllabus or at least giving students a heads up on when exams will be? Or even just giving exams at all? I really have no idea how I'm doing in ANY of my classes right now because I have gotten NO feedback on any of the work I have done. We all know how much I LOVE to be completely clueless...especially about something as unimportant as my grades. I swear all we do in class is sit and talk about disjointed topics, random tangents, and irrelevant information....but then surprise! We have a test over all this random, unrelated info in a few days, oh and dont forget the five papers you have to write as well. Ok cool. Great. I suppose it is just obvious to them that I came to Costa Rica to do homework 24/7. That makes sense. Why would I come to travel and experience another culture? That would just be silly.

Ok I think I'm done sharing my thoughts with you for now. Not exactly because i WANT to be, but because I have homework to attend to. And then I'm going to see a spanish movie later! Gestacion. It was actually made in Costa Rica! Love you all.

My Host Family

So I realized I havent introduced you guys to my host family and I have been living with them now for a month! First I'll explain the dynamics. There is a Mom named Sonia and I'm not sure how old she is, but if I had to guess I would say 50 something. Then there is Aldo, the son. He is 26 and is a lawyer. The daughter's name is Laura. She is 24 I think and is an architect. The last person that actually lives in the house with us is Rosa. She is the maid from Nicaragua. She can't read or write, and her children still live in Nicaragua with her mom so she hardly ever gets to see them. It's sad. At first I didnt know how I felt about her because when I tried to talk to her, she seemed a little rude. But that was before I knew anything about her. It's amazing how learning about someone's life can change your perspective of them. She must be so sad and uncomfortable all the time. She has only been living here for about 7 months, so she may not be used to everything in Costa Rica yet. I know I'm sure not. The other day for the first time, she came into my room and had a conversation with me! She asked who were all the people in my pictures that I put up in my room so I got to tell her bout everyone! She told me J was really handsome and that Jimmy and Jack were super cute! So true. Lol. I like Rosa. It's still uncomfortable for me to have a maid. I don't like it at all because I just feel bad when I come into my room and stuff is straightened up. Plus I know where everything is in my slight disorder...but then she moves it. Lol. Oh well. I'm just happy to have met her.

Ok so back to the rest of the family. There is a dad. His name is Mario and he is Italian. But he and Sonia are separated. He visits for dinner every wednesday and friday night. Its a little strange that he still comes over to me, but I guess if they are happy like that then rock on. I don't really talk to Mario much. As for Sonia...sometimes I think she is ok and sometimes I just flat out don't like her. She can be mean and rude in my opinion. She is very moody. And at first we didnt get much food, but now its better cause we had our program say something to her. Mostly i'm disappointed because I expected to be more intergrated into the family. If my family hosted a student, we would include them in our lives. But for Sonia, it seems like its all about the money. We pay quite a bit of money to live here and she can make decent money off us, especially if she skimps on food. She has been hosting students for 15 yrs though, so they may have something to do with it. I just feel like we are a hassle for her and we are just something to be put up with so she can get her money. But oh well. I'm making the best of it. I was considering moving out because my roommate was going to. We were going to move in with a different family and hope it was better. I decided over this past weekend that I wasnt going to move though because I love my tico brothers (yes i know i only told u bout one...i'm getting to that). And then when I got home yesterday, my roommate had changed her mind bout moving. So we are both staying. Its only 7 more weeks.

Aldo is my ACTUAL tico brother cuz he lives here, but Alberto practically lives here. Lol. He is here like four times a week to watch some sort of game on the big tv. He is Aldo's best friend. They joke with me alot and I love it. It reminds me of my family back home, especially chris since he always messes with me. I give it to them right back though! I feel like I have the best bond with them outta of the girls that live here with me (there are three other gringas) because I'm always down there watching the games with them: football, soccer, baseball, whatever. And alot of times Aldo has other friends over like Jonathan, Diego, Cucho, Rashid, Juan Carlos, and Jose. They are pretty cool. They dont seem to mind me hanging around them. It just makes me feel more at home. And of course they give me grief for being from st. Louis and having the Rams as my football team. How embarrassing. Lol.

Laura actually isnt here that much so I really never talk to her. Mostly what keeps me from talking more is the hassle of being misunderstood. But i'm slowing getting over that. I actually talked to Laura last night bout how badly burned my face was. Ya...its bad. I didnt wear sunscreen this past weekend and normally that wouldnt be a problem, but I didnt realize I was surfing for 3 straight hrs and so the sun was reflecting off the water right onto my face! Ouch. One more member of the family to comment on....Isaac....the ugly poodle. Gosh I hate small dogs. He is so annoying too! Always whining and pooping and peeing ALL over the house. It's really gross. I have stepped in pee quite a few times...and u all know how often I walk around barefoot. Ya...ick.

Speaking of ick, the house has a spider and cockroach problem in addition to those tasty little ants I already told u about. I killed two spiders on the wall by my head last night as i was laying down to go to sleep. Awesome.

And did I mention the left side of my bed is permanently sunk in? Lol. Its an old memory foam type mattress and I think it has lost its will to return to it's original shape. When I lay down I automatically roll left. Lol.

There is also a weird, old, pagan, renainssance looking painting hanging in my room. The colors are pastel and faded, and it's framed in a cheap metal that looks spray painted gold. Definitely not my taste. And its always crooked! Drives me nuts. The rest of the room is very old fashioned. Think country home-ish. Robin egg blue walls, wallpaper, old wooden desk, heavy dark curtains, etc.

I never did tell you guys bout Isla Tortuga!!! We went a few weekends ago and it was really fun. It took awhile to get there and we only got to stay on the beach for four hours, but the trip there involved a nice boat so that was cool. On the island we played sand volleyball, which I rocked at! I showed up almost all of the other girls and a majority of the boys too! It was fun....wow I'm competetive. Lol. I ate ceviche which is barely cooked cut up fish soup. It was really good. I kayaked with Dani out to a big rock in the OCEAN!!! and I rode on a banana boat which is really just a big inflated tube that you straddle with like 5 other ppl and they pull you around behind a boat and flip you off a few times. It made me miss going to the lake every summer.

Well I'm gonna take a break for now. I feel like this post is long enough. But I might write later tonight to tell you bout this past weekend in Jaco for Halloween! It was crazy. Good times. Love you all!

-Meg

Volcan Arenal

Volcan Arenal was SOOO amazing! Its one of the active volcanoes here, but unfortunately it was too cloudy the night we were there to see the lava and the dragon spitting fire! I'm just kidding bout the dragon. The first day we were there, we went up into the mountain to a resort called Baldi Springs. It was huge and luxurious...quite different from what I have been used to here. It had 25 pools, hot springs, and swim up bars! Plus three AMAZING water slides. When i first saw the slides, I thought no big deal. They arent anything special. We have way bigger and scarier ones in the states. Oh, was i wrong. I chose the middle one first which turned out to be the craziest one! You literally flip around inside the slide. It's pitch black, you have no idea where you're going, you are thrown around like a rag doll, and then at the end there is a huge drop! Its so steep that you hardly touch the slide as you fall. lol. I actually head the back of my head really hard on the slide right when I came out. I had a slight headache and a little knot ALL day. Then I went down like 7 more times. Lol. It was great. So after this bodily abuse, I lived it up in the hot waters (for as long as I could stand, which wasnt really that long. Yall know how i am with hot tubs) and then cooled off in the cooler water. And now for the best part...I got a hour long massage and facial in the cutest little spa right there on the side of the volcano...for fifty bucks. Oh yes. And it was great. Needless to say, after some hot spring action and a lil rub down, my body didnt remember how harshly i had treated it earlier that day. Lol.

The next day we headed to the base of the volcano once again, but this time to the most amazing waterfall I have seen since I have been here. I can hardly explain it. It's like the waterfalls you see in the movies. The really tall, powerful, loud ones. And we swam in it. I was one of the first ones in. I couldnt wait. I kid you not, It was a full cardio workout swimmin in that pool. The waterfall was so powerful that you were constantly being pushed around, hit in the face with waves, slammed into rocks. It was amazing. We swam around behind the waterfall and climbed around on some rocks. One of the boys with us had a waterproof camera so he got some pretty amazing pictures I have on facebook. All in all, it was an amazing weekend once again. Then I returned home to the drudgery of San Jose: class, gym, eat, hw, sleep, class, gym, hw....well you get the idea.

Well until next time! Mucho amor a todos!

-M

Oh and I forgot to tell you! On the way to arenal we stopped in the cutest little town with amazing landscaping in the central plaza and the cutest church. And that's what the pics are of!

SORRY!

ok guys. I don't know whats wrong with me, but I just don't feel like posting anything lately! I'm so tired all the time from class and working out and going places on weekends! lol. I promise I will try to tell you more soon. I love you all!

Puerto Viejo

Que pasa? Last weekend we went to Puerto Viejo which meant we finally made it to the caribbean side of the country! Puerto Viejo is a beach in the province Limon, which is mostly a province of people of Jamaican heritage. They speak a weird mix of languages that I couldn't understand, but it sounded sweet! It was extremely hot and I was basically sweating the entire time, but our room did have air conditioning. That's right, AC. Amazing. First time I have seen AC (except for the ATM in Manuel Antonio) since I have been here!

Friday night we went to a really good Italian resturant and then some of the girls went out afterwards. I just walked along the beach and then hit my bed. We had to get up early saturday morning for...SNORKELING!!!! I think thats how u spell it anyway. We took another hike through the rainforest to a boat that took us out to sea! It was SOOOO cool. The water was much more clear in Puerto Viejo than the other beaches I had been to so it was great for snorkeling. I saw the coral reef, lots of ameobas, and LOTS of fish. My favorite kind of fish was this bright blue one that then had even BRIGHTER phosporescent blue spots! It pretty much just glowed in the dark! How do all of them not get eaten?? lol

After that we chilled for the rest of the day, shopping at jewelry stands on the street, and laying on the beach. Sunday morning I went for a run with Dani and then got on the bus to go home. All in all, Puerto Viejo was pretty sweet. Another very hippie beach town.

I still have yet to take surfing lessons! I better get on that! Though I think we are going to Jaco for halloween weekend and that is suppose to be a great place to surf. So maybe then! Love you all

Montezuma Beach

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. This is actually going to be about last weekend´s trip to Montezuma, a little hippie beach town on the pacific coast. However, before I start describing what is sure to be a long and involved story, I want to say I miss you all and I will be super happy to see you all in a few months. I have realized how much I rely on my family and friends to get through life! But in general, I will also be happy to be back in the US. Funny, I have grown to appreciate my own country more while exploring another. I suppose that´s common. I can´t wait for hot showers again (my showers here consist of literally 2 minutes of warm water. I have become a MUCH quicker showerer!). And while the extra protein IS appreciated, I will be happy to come home and eat food SANS insects. As well as sleep in a bed that is SPIDER free. Oh ya. Spiders. And yall know how I love spiders. I have bites EVERYWHERE. Its a constant part of my life now. However, I am no longer deathly afraid of them for the simply fact that I cant possibly be constantly jumping on top on couches, screaming, or refusing to hike through the jungles. Lol.

So on to Montezuma. We arrived late Friday night after 6 hours on two buses and a ferry (from which we got to see the most amazing sunset), hoping that our keys were there waiting for us since the hotel office closes at 6 (by the by, Ticos dont like to work long hours, if any at all. It´s hell trying to make travel plans because no one ever answers the phone!). I had talked to someone earlier in the week and told them we would be coming friday night, but they said to call back thursday just to remind them (how proposterous! The GUEST calling to remind the HOTEL that they were coming! That´s how we do down here tho. lol). So I called thursday, and as i suspected, no one answered my ten calls. So I faxed them and prayed they would get it. Sure enough, the keys were there for us and all was well. We had some good food and went to bed.

Saturday for God knows what reason I woke up at 6! So I snuck out the the beach to go read on the rocks. I watched some men fish for awhile with just a reel of line in their hands, no pole, then went out to the rocks where I found a TON of little cute shells to make some cool jewelry (if i get around to it lol). Some of the rocks looked alive their were so many crabs crawling around on them! I tried to get close to take a cool pic, but those suckers are quick! They must feel vibrations or something cuz they knew i was creepin on them. lol. Once everyone else was up we got breakfast (french toast! I was so stoked. They get tourists there often, so they had US food). Then we set off to find....THE WATERFALLS! We probably hiked about 7 miles, asked 5 different ticos for directions, and STILL failed. Miserably. We did find some cool secluded jungle spots with vines that we promptly began to climb. There are some cool pics from those spots. We also found little waterfalls, but not the big ones we were searching for. So we called it a trip, hit the beach, showered, dinner and so forth. And all of a sudden its night and the street (one of two in the town) was FILLED with ppl! Some tourists, but mostly locals. Blaring music from cars, drinking, hittin on the girls, dancing, eating, smoking. Pretty lively bunch. So I only stayed for about twenty minutes. Lol. Not too much into being stared at 24-7. That´s something I still havent gotten used to. It still bugs me. And its not that I´m pretty, its just that I´m white. Thats seriously it. They stare at all of us ALL THE TIME. I think its like a sport or a game for them. I honestly think they might have invented a drinking game with it like everytime u spot a gringo (white person) u drink. lol. Wouldnt surprise me in the least.

Sunday I slept in a bit till 8 and then got breakfast. Then four of us headed out to try once again to find those elusive falls! We headed out down the path that we had tried taking the day before because everyone ASSURED us that was the way to go. But we KNEW from yesterday that it dead ended! Incorrect. The path does not dead end persay...it just sort of ceases to be a path. Therefore, we pressed on through the jungle. I´m talking like rambo stuff. I felt like such a BA (for the generation that might not know this acronym...ask a youngen). After 45 minutes, but what felt like a day, of climbing steep rocks, dodging trees, catching spiders in the face, dripping sweat nonstop (its too humid in the rainforest for ur sweat to evaporate off ur skin in the least, so it just condensates on u instantly), and getting undescribably filthy...the gushing sounds of running water reached our ears! We knew we were close! My feet were aching for the cool touch of the water, not to mention the chance to be rid of bearing all my weight for a little while! Mind u, I hiked the whole way there barefoot. Oh yes...barefoot. Why would someone do such a ridiculous thing, you might ask? Well lets say that someone had simply walked around in her special hiking shoes yesterday (bought in Costa Rica for 100 dollars because everyone told her they were worth it...liars) and procured a huge blister on her left pinky toe. So the girl obviously didnt want to wear her hiking shoes again and didnt bring any tennis shoes. Then lets say that someone told her she would have no problem hiking to the falls in her flip flops. Naturally, the girl would wear flips flops. This is all hypothetical of course. I would NEVER do something this insensible. Ya....right. Ok so there I am in flip flops which honestly was working out great until I got drenched in sweat and covered in nice slippery mud (curteousy of the storm the night before). Then my shoes didnt feel like staying on my feet. Ergo...barefoot it was. Thank God for south city alley feet, eh guys?

Back to the story. We heard the water and two minutes later reached our first sign of civilization! A ziplining stand! We didnt care that no one was there, just that we were still close to human contact! lol. At this point, a snake decided to crawl across Dani´s foot. Luckily it was rather small and looked harmless and just wanted to get away from us. So we went on our way. Soon...EUREKA! Waterfalls! I immediately start stripping down, not at all deterred by the murky, muddy water I´m seeing in the swimming area. I tell the girls I´m going to jump and they all look at me like I´m crazy. Who knows if there are rocks down there! But I had heard ppl jump from the second waterfall ALL the time...I just wasnt quite sure we were at the second waterfall. So I go to the edge, look down, and....move down to a lower ledge. I look down again, and....move down to yet a lower ledge. By now I´m fairly confident that if i jump and hit a rock I prolly will just break something and hopefully not my back. So I jump! I´m all in one piece. No worries. Then the others follow. By the time they get down there I´ve found the rope swing! Very fun. But once it got caught up on the back of my arm and well....needless to say I have a nice bruise. Totally worth it. Then I see a blue rope leading straight UP the mountain. Well if there is a rope, it must be because ppl use it to climb right?! So off I go! Barefoot of course. I kid u not, I literally free climbed a mountain at a 80 degree angle barefoot. So great. It didnt really lead anywhere that we could find though I KNOW there was suppose to be a way to get down to the other big falls below the one we were swimming in...besides jumping from the top of our waterfall of course. Even I wasn´t up for that one. It was quite a long ways down. Anyway, we packed up, headed back, and make it in time to eat something before, get this....our horseback ride!

So I was really excited to go riding because I hadnt been in awhile and I do like horses. We were going to go across seven beaches and reach a more hidden, less visited waterfall. All I could think of was those commercials of ppl horseback riding on the beach having the time of their lives. Well, I should have known it wouldnt be that way! lol. Very naive of me. When I first saw the horses, my gut reaction was to not even go. Just to say sorry but no thank u. The horses were small, skinny, bug infested, scratch up, worn down, and very skiddish. I felt horrible for those poors animals. I´m used to riding big, muscular, healthy horses that are happy and like to run. These didnt even wanna walk, much less run. But we got on and went for about 15 min, the horses stumbling their way along the paths because they didnt seem to be able to see very well, until I couldnt take it anymore. I just felt so bad. The guide wouldnt even let them drink any water! It was so hot out there! So I told him I was going back and that I would return on foot if it was a problem. He told me to take my horse with and just tie it up when I got back to the starting point. So me and two others turned around and walked our horses back, letting them go at their own pace and drink from the fresh water streams. When we got back we tied them up in the shade and took off their saddles and blankets which we probably weren´t suppose to. Oh well. I´m glad it only cost me 35 dollars, but it was still a disappointment. Live and learn.

After sleeping a bit on the beach (and getting mauled yet AGAIN by mosquitoes...bug spray DOES NOT WORK!), we had dinner, half of which I ended up feeding to the cute, disgustingly skinny stray dog that had adopted me for the weekend. The animals in costa rica make me sad. So many strays and mistreated ones. Oh and speaking of animals, ticos have some sort of obsession with poodles. Ick. Get a real dog ppl.

During dinner the storm rolled in. I have never seen anything so spectacular in my life. We went to our deck to watch the lighting dance across the sky over the ocean. Sometimes a series of bolts would hit that looked like a lace pattern across the entire sky. It lit up the beach like day time, and the thunder shook our little beachfront hotel. For my storm lovers back home, you might have cried it was so beautiful.

Sorry for the abrupt stop before. A class came into the computer lab and I got kicked out. Where was I? Oh yes, the storms. After the storms we went to bed and awoke to a kick butt sunrise. I'm more one for the sunsets, but this was pretty sweet. We had to catch the bus by 6 to go home and as a few of us were waiting at the stop, Amy walked around the corner with disbelief all over her face. She held only a bra and a camera case in her hands. She said "ok so i'm just trying to roll with this right now, but I got robbed last night and this is all I have left". We couldn't believe it. It turns out that two girls staying in Amy's room had left late at night to walk around while Amy and Nicole were still in the room sleeping. They left the door unlocked and cracked open. Someone must have come in during the night and just grabbed whatever bags were closest to the door. Those bags turned out to be Amy's and Nicole's. They were already packed up with everything they had brought too since we were leaving so early. That's probably the 5th time since I have been here that one of our girls has gotten robbed. Once it was at gunpoint. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it back without being robbed. At this rate, it doesn't look promising.

Well that was a long post. Hope I didn't bore anyone! Love you all!

A Tragedy....

Hola everyone! So last sunday I went to see Romeo y Julieta at the national theater. I was really excited to go because I have grown to appreciate the dramatic arts more as I have gotten older thanks to my wonderful Gma taking me to the Fox and Disney World numerous times.

Well let me tell you, I have be ruined! I'm so spoiled by the Fox Theater in St. Louis that even a country's NATIONAL THEATER pales in comparision! I did not care for it at all. However, I tried to keep in mind that it was a traveling company and so was probably extremely low budget. Plus they could not carry an entire set with them if they were traveling. BUT STILL! I mean, the set was literally a few peices of plywood on wheels with the occasional blanket thrown over them. I have seen and entire house on stage! I have seen witches fly! Really fly! Mary Poppins even flew over our heads! I am beyond spoiled. Nevertheless, I acheived my basic goal of simply exploring the theather, seeing what it was like on the inside, and trying to engage in a cultural experience (though there was absolutely NOTHING engaging about it). The theater really is pretty from the inside (again, not holding a candle to the Fox). I will put those pics up soon.

Well, time to go to class and give yet ANOTHER presentation. This time with Colleen and TWENTY minutes long. Here's to trying!

I miss you all so much
Meg

Culture Shock

Hello everyone! Sorry its been awhile. Let's see, where to begin...

So we went to Manuel Antonio last weekend. It was pretty, but very touristy. Someone was always trying to sell u something and the taxi fares were JACKED! But we did have a sloth living in a tree right outside our hostel so that makes up for it. Lol. The hostel was much nicer than I expected. We had access to a kitchen, pancakes in the mornings, internet access, and decent beds. I was happy. Some of the girls think they got robbed though because they left their wallets in an unlocked cupboard over night and were missing money the next day. I don't think I did though so whew! I didn't get surfing lessons like I had planned because we really didnt have a lot of time there. I did borrow a friends and tried it twice. I stayed on my stomach the first time, and got on my knees the second. It was really fun so I think next time I hit the beach, I may get my own board...maybe lessons. Wh0 knows. The scariest thing that happened there was that some of the girls saw a crocodile in the ocean! Luckily we weren't swimming at the moment, but we had been swimming earlier! lol. Oh well. None of us got eaten so it's all good.

Sunday we came back and get this....we get football here! Like real NFL american football! Its amazing. I had resigned myself to not seeing a game until I got back, but I have seen four since I have been here! Tomorrow is Cowboys and Giants! Gotta love sundays.

Oh I got my presentation and test grade back. I think I got an 89 on my presentation which surprised me because I stuttered a lot. My test went really well too. So that's a relief. Now I just have one more presentation and one more test this week for this class before it ends. I guess I should start working on that pres...ick.

Tuesday we didnt have school because It was Costa Rica's independence day! We went downtown and caught the very end of the parade. We intended to see ALL of it, but three diff ppl told us three diff start times. Lol. That's just how it is down here. No one really knows what's up and no one really cares. Pura vida. Go with the flow. I have the cutest picture of these two little girls dressed for the holiday. I'll have to put it up later since I'm not on my computer right now.

Wednesday I went to a movie and get this...the ticket cost me less than two dollars! Wednesdays are half price here! Its my new favorite thing to do. The movie is called the Time Traveler's Wife in the states, but here it is Te Amare Siempre, which literally translates into I will love you forever. Not exactly the same title. Lol. It was in english, but with spanish subtitles. I wonder if all the humor and other emotions translate well? I think this wednesday we are gonna see The Ugly Truth. Speaking of which, everyone here now swears that I look like Katherine Heigel. I don't see it. But they wont shut up about it! Lol.

I went bungee jumping this morning. That's right. I jumped off a bridge with rushing water and huge rocks at the bottom. It was AMAZING. I have never felt anything like it and I cant wait to do it again. U feel like u can fly. The crazy part is u are seriously only strapped in and caught by your ankles. It was great. They taped it for us so I will put the video up sometime on facebook. So so worth the money.

Tomorrow we are going to see Romeo y Julieta at the national theater downtown. I'm pretty excited to see what it's like. They say it's a really pretty building and I'm wondering how it compares to the Fox. The only disappointing thing is that it is in English. But maybe it will have a different style to it since it's Latin American. I swear, no matter where u go, u cannot escape English. It's everywhere.

Well I guess I better go do laundry. My running clothes seriously SMELL. Lol. Love you all!

Meg

Almost Done!

Hola!
So another school week had passed! It it's getting a little easier to get up in the mornings...and most of the time I don't even drink coffee!!! Crazy! And if I do, one cup will more than suffice because they brew it STRONG here and I love it!

We had to give a presentation today in front of the class. It had to be in spanish obviously, but it also had to be AT LEAST ten minutes long and we couldn't use notes. It was not fun! I stuttered so much. It was so embarrassing! And now we have a test tomorrow! Speaking of which...I should probably study. Sigh. Until sunday (we are going to the beach this weekend!)

Love,
Meg

Dancing

Hola! Time to catch ya'll up!

So its my first weekend here. The school week dragged on FOREVER. I'm pretty sure listening to spanish for four hrs a day is helping my comprehension tremendously...but i'm still worried about my speaking. I haven't really gotten to practice that much yet. Except for yesterday when me and Judah met a tico (costa rican naitive) in downtown jose because we needed help finding the crafts market. He was super nice! Bout 24 ish i think and he lives and works at the beach we happen to be going to next weekend! And get this...he gives surfing lessons! So i met my surf instructor by chance! lol. I can't wait.

The crafts market is crazy. Just so busy and SO colorful. And i get so distracted by color so it takes me a long time to pull myself away. A lot of the vendors sell these amazing hamock chairs that you can hang anywhere and are super strong. I got to sit in one and it is so comfortable. Only ten dollars! Of course i haven't bought one yet because i would have no idea how to get it home. I really wanna buy a full sized hamock, but I have no place to put that in the states. lol. Speaking of the crafts market, they have tons of neat stuff and i wanna bring some back for friends and family so email me and tell me what u guys want! Jewelry, purse, tshirt, shot glass, pen, keychain, scarf...almost anything!!!

We walked around the city again today to try to get a better sense of direction. As u all could probably guess, i'm failing horribly at it. If we take a route i have taken before and actually paid attention to, i'm fine. But when they start saying "oh we could just take this street, it goes the same way" we always get lost. U guys should look up a map of San Jose. It's crazy. I don't think parallel streets exist here. Every street seems to snake thru the city and some just dead end at random times. There is definitely no hope for me here. lol

So last night we went to a dance club. I have been to the dance classes at the Universidad (tho there have only been two so far) and think i have the basics of salsa and merengue down. But i didnt get to try it out last night because none of the ticos asked me to dance. :( I think i'm so tall i scare them! They are all pretty short. I guess it didnt help that i wore heels. Next time, flats. Definitely flats. The other girls got to dance tho and they really liked it. They said the guys don't mind teaching u at all and they are great leaders. It's so crazy how all the guys down here dance and almost none in the states do. Sigh. Anyway, a few others and I left a little earlier than everyone else. I wanted to leave mostly because I felt like a giant and also because there was a really really REALLY creepy american guy that would not stop talking to me. He had started out hitting on Judah, but then she left so he came over to talk to me. Then I left so he went to talk to Sarah. Lol. He kept touching our arms every two seconds which would have been ok...if he was a tico. See, it's part of the culture down her to touch casually a lot. I mean A LOT. But he was straight from L.A. with a horribly sun damaged face and an inflated ego. Not cool. So hopefully next time will be more fun.

I have to go do laundry now. Ick. It's two american dollars a load here plus we had to buy detergent. But that's only till we move in with our families cuz then they do our laundry! Sweet!

Oh side note: ticos y ticas are OBSESSED with shoes. You cannot walk two feet without running into a shoe store. It's insane. I have already bought two pair. One pair of dressy tennies (guys of course) for fun cuz they are really colorful, and a pair of very sturdy (guys once again) hiking sandels. I'm not sure if my size even exists here in womens. Oh well. What's new.

Mucho amor,
Meg

So Tired!

Oh my gosh! I' m so exhausted. It's been non stop running around since i got here and up every morning at six. I'm about falling asleep while typing.

So today was the second day of class. I did get placed in the highest level possible (advanzado 1), so that's a relief that i'll receive credit back home. Class is four hours long every morning. It's a lot to take. Just imagine having to concentrate on every individual word someone speaks for four hours straight whilst sitting in the most uncomfortable chair one could fathom. Like seriously, who designed those torture devices?!

I also have blisters on my feet from walking so much in sandals. But i HATE tennis shoes unless i'm working out. Oh well. I'm sure my feet will adjust.

I'm going to the Costa Rican equivalent of a Walmart in about an hour to get a cheap watch and look around. I def should have brought my watch. There are no clocks ANYWHERE. I'm not even joking. It's the costa rican way of life though. Time is no where near as important here as it is in the US. I mean, we literally have clocks in every freaking room (even bathrooms) in the US. I have not seen a single clock since I have been here, not counting the alarm clock I brought from home.

Get this. We went to the rainforest yesterday! Well, not exactly...but sorta. It was the rainforest, but it was also kind of a touristy spot so the animals were on display for us. None the less, it was amazing. They had a frog habitat where the frogs were just hanging out on random leaves right by your head! And of course they were so colorful! The butterfly garden was really cool too. In the hummingbird garden I kept flinching because there were so many that I could swear one was gonna put my eye out the way they were all zoomin around! And they even sit still every once in awhile there! The coolest was prolly the toucan habitat cuz we got to go inside and feed them, pet them, and hold them! Such colorful beaks! The bus ride there was crazy though. Up all these dirts roads winding up the mountain, driving a foot away from the edge (you know, from certain death), and during the rainy hours of course. It was great! The girls and I had so much fun cat calling all the boys in the tiny villages we drove through in the mountain too! I suppose I should explain. Here, as in many Latin American countries, honking is a way of life. It means many things. But the most common is for the men to honk at girls walking on the street. It's not meant to be degrading, though it does take a little getting used to for us US ppl. It really just means u look nice today. So we figured we would turn it around on them and see how the boys liked being called at! lol. It was great. Many confused looks. But most enjoyed it of course. One of the girls called out to a guy on a bike...with his girl on the back. Lol. Bad move. When he pulled over to look as we drove by, his girl got off the bike and slapped him in the back of the head. It was pretty funny. They were both smiling so I'm sure we stupid Americans didn't destroy the relationship or anything. lol.

I think that's all I'm gonna say for now...except for that this ONE spanish class is shaping up to be A LOT of work. Too much freaking studying for being in Costa Rica! But whatever.

To Ma specifically, you can leave comments on any of my posts and I can read them, but I can't repsond to your post specifically...at least I haven't figured it out yet if I can. Isn't your email vendico3@aol.com? That's what I sent my last email to but you said you didnt get it.

Love Love Love
Meg

First Full Day

We had orientation at school today! The campus is so cute. Very colorful and small and artsy! It is the most expensive arts and design school in the country. The people are all super nice and I mostly got around all day with just spanish! Though I was only on campus, so it doesn't really count. The real challenge will be this weekend. I think a few of us are going to try to navigate our own way to Antonio Miguel beach. I'm gonna try surfing! Hopefully...if there is an instructor around anyway.

I took my two placement tests this morning. The written one went ok. Got halfway through it which is better than most did. The oral one seemed to go really well surprisingly! I think I will get placed in a level where I can receive credit back home, which is such a relief. I am sort of jealous of a few other kids in the program though cause one girl said she is getting like 23 hrs back a her school for just 5 classes here! that's insane and so not fair. And get this...class starts at EIGHT every morning. Lol. And I even dragged myself outta bed this morning to go for a run (although i don't feel right calling it that cause it was more like a ten minute pathetic attempt at a run) at SIX! I'm gonna try to keep it up. There are two die hard runners here who I'll go with every morning but def wont be able to do the distance they do.

I had my first taste of costa rican food today! Rice, chicken, beans, salad, and jugo de fruta natural (natural fruit juice...and they mean natural!). It was so much less bland than I expected! It was actually very tasty. Though I will prolly get sick of rice and beans...and soon! But that's ok cause there is a subway close! And even a chinese restaurant! Which i thought was really weird at first, but now I don't know why I did. I mean, the US has all sorts of different food! Why shouldn't San Jose?

And for those of you who heard me complaining before I left, it turns out that flip flops are perfectly accepted to go to class and walk around where we live! Which is a nice relief. But it is less common to see them in the actual city (we are right outside San Jose in Zapote). Also, my skirts are coming in handy because shorts really aren't seen in the city either. But I also wish I would have brought more basketball shorts!!! And T-shirts! I didn't forsee all this running! lol. I'll make due though I'm sure.

Also, for anyone who wants to call me, get skype! It's a free download and super easy to use. I just set it up last night! My name is MegEndicott (no spaces) or you can look me up by my email (mendico@siue.edu). I also have a webcam so u will be able to see me (not that you guys miss me that much already!).

Well, the rain just started so the temp dropped like ten degrees! The weather really does change a lot here but it's a consistent change...if that makes sense. It pretty much gets cool and rains every day at about 3. Some girls and I are gonna grab our umbrellas and walk to the store, a super market type place with food and shampoo and stuff. Gotta go!

Love yall,
Meg

Finally Here!

Hey everyone! So sorry I didn't let you know how packing went! Trust me, it was hectic. Probably cuz I waited till 11 the night before I was suppose to leave...lol. Oops.
So I'm finally here. For those of you paying attention, I should have gotten here yesterday. Turns out the airlines at STL airport think you need a visa to enter Costa Rica. So not what I had heard! And not what my program told me either! And they still say they have never heard of a U.S. student needing a visa to get in to Costa Rica! So I guess it was my lucky freakin day! lol. So long story short, after a few tears, I got my flight rescheduled for today so at least I don't have to miss any classes! I did however miss the tour of San Jose. I guess I'll catch up. lol.
So I'm sitting on the balcony of my apt right now. And its great. A nice cool breeze, city air (the fresh air comes later), and city sounds. It's just perfect. Two other girls (it more like a big house...think Big Brother or Real World...there are 11 of us) are sittin out here with me just chattin. Everyone seems pretty nice. There is only one boy in the group which I guess will have to do. lol. Ya'll know I get along better with the guys. But honestly, the girls seem pretty cool.
Well, gotta go. I wanna take a walk, shower, and sleep! Gotta be up at seven to go take two tests! lol

Much Love,
Meg

Two days left!!!

Oh gosh...I can't believe I have to pack tomorrow! Do you know they only want you to bring one big suitcase, one carry on, and one backpack?! ARE THEY INSANE? I'll be gone for four months! lol. I guess I'll make due. I'm sure I'll be able to buy most of anything I might need once I get there. Plus I have to save room to bring stuff home. Cardinal rule of traveling: You always come home with more than you left with! Lol. I'll let ya'll know how the dreaded packing process goes tomorrow.

Love,
Meg

Hey everyone!

So I'm starting this blog so all my family and friends can see what is going on with me while I'm away in Costa Rica for the semester! I leave saturday and I can hardly believe the time has come already. I'm very sad thinking about saying goodbye to everyone, but I know (or at least everyone keeps telling me) that this will be an awesome experience. Well, I have to get back to some last minute planning (you know me, a procrastinator till I die). Love to all!