The Day of Bittersweet Goodbyes Has Come

       Today was officially the last day I will probably ever set foot in ACM - Costa Rica. I slept in and had a late breakfast around 9:00am of the usual breakfast: papaya, watermelon, pineapple, orange juice and a sandwich of butter and Costa Rican cheese. I had to get the UCR bus that runs every hour, so I trekked the 20 min. walk uphill towards the bus stop. Since I'm going touring my sisters, I knew it might not be the last time I take the UCR system bus. When I got to ACM, it was the most deserted I have ever seen it - the only student present was Donna in the upstairs computer room. It was sad because I had a feeling of, "oh, the other students just haven't arrived yet for class"...when realistically that wasn't the case. I did the same routine of making tea with honey and going on the computer after greeting the ACM staff. I really am going to miss them!

       I went to ACM because I wanted to see any friends today I could since many are leaving for the airport tomorrow. There were also some photos on the public server that I wanted to upload on my facebook Costa Rican albums. For some reason I had another migraine when I woke up this morning, so sitting down at the computer with my tea was nice after a fifteen minute walk from the bus stop to the ACM building. Donna and I then met up with Diana to eat one last time together at the local fast-food court area for the University of Costa Rica students. The weather here is changing. This morning it was beautiful and sunny, and then this afternoon it started getting pretty chilly with a lot of wind. Both my sweaters were in the wash, so I was walking around cold in my gym clothes, meaning shorts, sports bra and tank top.

       Yesterday night was when we all celebrated our last day of class by going out to dinner and then hanging out local bars after. It was super cold and we spent about half an hour waiting for some students in front of the church and then spent another half hour when everyone was together trying to figure out where the place was we wanted to eat. I split a lasagna with Christina to save money and because the Costa Rican portions are a lot bigger than what I'm accustomed to back in the United States. The bar was obviously horrible with smoke since it was in Costa Rica, but I decided to gruel through it because it was our last night together as a group. It honestly wasn't that great because of the smoke, loud music and the goodbyes we had to say as people starting peeling off. Carmelita was the first one to go, and that was hard since she and Christina were the closest friends I had here. They were my support group through everything here, all the ups and downs.

       Saying goodbye is always terrible and hard for me. I think I have been in denial the past week because it only really hit me today after realizing that tomorrow my sisters are flying in that my usual ACM routine is no longer in existence. I am truly going to miss my life here, I have grown so much. Four months I have spent everyday with the same people and grown to love each and every one of them in their own special way. I remember actually looking forward to this day...and now I just want it to go back to where Monday will be just another school day with my ACM family. I'm trying to make my last blog happy, but really I want to cry because I'm going to miss my life here so much. At least we all go to college somewhat close to each other, so in the spring a bunch of us are reuniting in Chicago for a weekend of new memories and laughs. I can't believe how wonderful this experience turned out to be and how glad I am that I chose to study abroad with ACM in Costa Rica. I will never forget it...never...

I Hear Christmas Coming Soon, Feels Close

       Hello again!! Wow!! The past week has really flown by! I can't believe I only have a little bit more than two weeks before I head back for California to see my mom and friends!! I'm so excited, I've really missed my mom - it's funny since I never said that while living with her. :] Anyways, not that much has passed since last week - I've been sick for the past five days, so I've been in bed most of the week. Gave me a great time to catch up on my academics though! I named this post "I Hear Christmas Coming Soon, Feels Close" because when I get back to the United States, it will only be a few weeks until Christmas! - here's one of my favorite Christmas songs from one of the most gifted actresses/singers of all time! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g4lY8Y3eoo
You can listen to it while you read the rest of this blog!

       Last weekend was amazing, even though I was sick through most of it. I'm mostly speaking of the family party ACM hosted on Saturday. It was very cool to meet the families of all the students I have heard about so much. There weren't that many dads there though, including mine. Most of the families consisted of moms, grandmas, children, and siblings. I'm not really sure what to make of the fact that mostly women were there....maybe a cultural thing? It started off with some snacks and meeting everyone. The food there was very delicious, I ate a delicious tuna sandwich in a fancy bread with lentils I think? It was very healthy and delicious, it can't get any better than that? After that, the students put on jerseys that stated ACM because we played soccer against the fathers that were there. There had to be some boy children though (interesting that none of the girls wanted to play) since again, there weren't that many dads. I was starting to feel sick by then so I didn't play...also because I don't know how. We ended up losing around 10-3. But it was to be expected since soccer is what all Costa Ricans do in their free-time here and only about four of the nine ACM students actually have played soccer before. After, some of us went in the pool at the place we were at, some sunbathed, and some ate delicious lunches with their families. Afterwards, I played pool with my sister and her cousin - which happens to be another ACM student - and his model brother. There was a professional Latin American style dance couple that performed for us and also taught us some salsa, meringue, bachata...etc. Overall, the day was very fun and even the hard-pouring rain midway through couldn't get our spirits down.

       So. The weather has really been off here lately, hence me being sick for almost a week because of the big climate change. It really is hard to predict the weather here! It makes planning for touring weekends difficult. I don't mind staying at home though, I'm saving a lot more money this way. My friends here on average spend about $50 a weekend traveling. Anyways, since I only have two more weeks here, I'm really trying to not let personal problems back in the United States get me down. I mean, how often do you get to live in Costa Rica (if you're a foreigner I mean). Haha, all of this academic work is also keeping me very busy! Doing classwork in Spanish always takes me ten times as long if it were in English!

       As you all know, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I'm used to not really celebrating it with my family, so you would think that being away wouldn't be so bad. However, I really miss my mom and wish I could celebrate it with her this year (it's probably because I have been living with a different family for the past three months). But I'm so grateful that ACM is preparing a special Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow with dinner plates that are usually at Thanksgiving in the United States. As you can imagine - Costa Ricans don't celebrate Thanksgiving the same way we do. They do have a Día de Gracias (Day of Thanks) here though. We will be having the awesome cook Ivette doing most of the cooking. But, some of us (and when I say us I mean others :P) will be making desserts. So it really is the next best Thanksgiving ACM could give us in a foreign country. I'm so excited to eat all the food!

       I am really striving for all As in my classes. The fact that I may possibly do so in two classes that are almost 95% of the time in Spanish just shows how much I have progressed throughout this program. This weekend I am determined to talk a lot with my host mom and practice my speaking fluency for my oral exam on Tuesday. It's going to be videotaped so the head of the Spanish department at Ripon College can distribute it to my Spanish professors for them to see how much I have improved...therefore, I am nervous as heck.

       My experience here has been very difficult, but extremely rewarding at the same time. I'm a little sad to see it end soon. I'm really going the group here, they're so awesome! We are all so different, yet all of us have remained friends throughout almost four months. It's going to be so different to go back to the United States and not spend every day with them in the ACM building....seeing Sarah and Mateo and Kallie cooking up a storm in the kitchen, seeing Anya doing breakdance moves, hearing Amanda speak Spanish everywhere, going to gym everyday for kickboxing and conditioning with Christina and Carmelita...etc. I'm wanting to tear up just thinking about it! But, life consists of many changes...this is just another block of my life about to end! It has been such a hard, amazing, frustrating, rewarding, tearful, loving one. :]

Releasing the Emotions

       It's only been four days, but I'm going to be so busy with schoolwork that I figure I should blog now that I have the time! Time is going by so fast right now. It feels like just yesterday that I arrived in Costa Rica! I can't believe that was almost three months ago. Well, I should really enjoy these past couple weeks while I can!

       Let's see. The weather here has been dreadful lately. We have had one sunny day in the past week, and the rest was darkness and rain. I really hope it clears up by the time my sisters get here after the program! It's supposed to be getting summer here too, not lots of rain. It's honestly not that bad though because I have not had to use my light therapy my entire time here in Costa Rica.

       Today I went to my fourth session of anger management at the San José hospital, one of the tallest buildings I think I have seen here yet (9 floors). I've decided to title this blog (hence the title) based on my emotions I've been feeling here during the program. One of the biggest things I am practicing here is tolerance. While this country is similar to the United States, it is also very different...especially for me the religious aspect. But I have fabulous insurance here - like everyone else ;) - so the therapy sessions are free! It has been very interesting for me to go to therapy here (in a different country) and see parallels in therapeutic practices with what I've experienced back home. I know that psychology is universal, but it's always interesting to see similarities in different countries around the globe. She also speaks English, by the way, otherwise I wouldn't be able to understand anything! We are doing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, which is a form I have never experienced before! Anyways. I believe that all students experience a change in their tolerance and acceptance level whenever they live in a different environment and culture, it's almost necessary! Especially when you are living in a host family that is very different from the one you have back at home, like mine. But this experience has been wonderful for recognizing what you are most thankful for. I never realized how comfortable and fortunate I am to have the independence I have in the United States. I have been so babied here with my host family it becomes quite annoying sometimes, but that coddling is very common in this culture.

       There are so many differences and similarities I can point out between Costa Rica and the United States I have observed throughout this experience. But that would take a VERY Long blog and would end up being more of a novel. I will say that it is very interesting to come from a country of many different cultures to one that Catholic-based and has one main culture since it is so small. I feel like there is a church on every street here (definitely more than schools I believe)!

       Tomorrow we are going to visit the Volcán Irazú and one of the most important churches in Costa Rica, La Basílica. Like many visits we have done here, the weather really determines if the experience is going to be as awesome as everybody claims it is. For example, many people here have said that the beaches are beautiful...but it can only be so much if it's down-pouring the entire day with no sun. The weather here is also very unpredictable and can change in less than an hour sometimes. Therefore, I hope that we have clear weather tomorrow so we can have awesome sights from atop the volcano. I have been so blessed with so much wonderful touring of sights that I have a hard time finding time to upload all the pictures on my facebook and organize my photo albums. I am so grateful for technology and photos because I don't want to forget with old age the beauty of Costa Rica after I leave. I'm also glad that my friends and family back at home can read this blog and follow me along my adventure! *stares at floor* And there is another cockroach crawling along on the floor towards the bathroom...another one... This would be the third one I have seen so far in the past three months! Haha, cockroaches are so common in the households here that my friends have started naming each one in their houses.

       So friends and family, I love it here but can't wait until I'm back at home in California with loved ones. Since I won't most likely be touring on the weekends anymore (to save money for when my sisters get here and also because I'm focused on academics and getting all As in my classes), I hope to write about the actual volcano trip, what happened, and anything else interesting that happens in a week. ;]

Some Sweet Experiences

       Well, it's just about that time where I need to update you all! This past week has been very eventful and fun. I've had so many "sweet experiences." Last weekend some friends and I went to Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva! There were some beautiful beaches there - and I was stupid and really burnt myself, so now I'm very tan.
     
       The hostel we stayed at was very hippie - let's just say the structure and artwork was beautiful, but I couldn't take a shower for two days because they were so grungy! The artwork was amazing because everything was done by past tourists for the past couple decades. There were people from all over the world with us at the hostel (Germany, Italy, Australia!)! I brought food to cook in the kitchens, since it seems most hotels/hostels here include a kitchen....but no towels for hands or body... But I decided to check out the food as well since the hostel had a restaurant joined with it! I had the best veggie burger in my entire life with also a bread I've never tried before: focaccia! And for dessert, I had coconut breaded fried banana with vanilla ice cream, fruit, carmel, hot fudge and granola!
     
       Anyways, we stayed from Friday afternoon until Sunday noon. The main item on our agenda was to go see Punta Uva  (the name of the beautiful beach nearby) and snorkeling in the clear blue waters. That was very pretty since the corral reefs are so close to the beach, we only had to wade out about ten feet before we just put our heads in the water and could see fish activity and corral. I ended up going with Anya and she is scared of deep waters. So even though we could literally stand up in the water, I still held her hand and guided her along until she was more comfortable. The hostel had two floors, the bottom being full of over 300 hammocks! The second floor consisted of over 100 single and double single tents with mattresses in them. So of course it rained a tad bit during our stay (it is still the rainy season here!), but it was fine because I relaxed so comfortably in those hammocks. Friday night we were able to see performers with fire around 10:00pm. The dark contrast with the night was very nice. I have seen fire performers here before, but these three were very different. The fire was huge and I thought several times that someone's hair was going to catch on fire. The women was once on the shoulders of the man and they were both juggling great balls of fire in the air. There was also a bonfire (very big and hot at times because one of the Americans didn't understand the concept of lots of wood=lots of heat) on Saturday night. It was awesome because we roasted marshmallows. And when I say we, I mean my friends who like charred ones asked me to do it. It's because of all my practice in Girl Scouts at campfires. It was quite interesting at times because it seemed like everyone was drinking...except me of course...and the songs/phrases that were coming out of their mouths *shakes head* We all had a lot of fun though throughout the weekend. I'm working more and more on my Spanish and I can feel myself improving.

A Long Time

       Sorry for such the long wait! I really have been so busy with schoolwork that I decided to wait until I found extra time to make a post! Last week I went on a trip to Pacífico Central and stayed a night with my friends in a hotel that was way overpriced for its quality! So here is a summary of that trip and how I've been doing for the past couple weeks!

       We first went there with the ACM group and a couple of professors to go on a tour of a tropical forest and learn about the different types of animal ecosystems that exist there. It was very extensive (the tour guide was awesome) and I learned a lot. It was amazing to see a line of huge ants crawling along the pathway and carrying pieces of plants to make a home for the queen ant. It was cool and awesome to see such teamwork for such small creatures. Seriously, by glancing down at the floor, all you could see were the pieces of plants in a long line, that's how huge and strong the ants are. After that we went to a gorgeous beach nearby! It was only about twenty minutes away! The only negative thing was that the water was very cold, like the beaches in California (especially the one near my house)! But the beauty made up for it.

       There were so many palm trees, as you can see from my picture above. All of us loved climbing them. Although you can't see the ground in the picture above, the tree is pretty high up from it. It is mind-blowing now to think about how high up we really climbed on that tree. I do remember being scared though whenever someone would jump off the branch and the whole thing would shake for those of us still on it!! So if you look at how the branch curves upward in the picture, you can see the destination that I was aiming for as I bravely climbed the branch with my friends. Of course, I asked Joey ahead of time if it was okay if I fell, just to be sure! Well, he told me since it was sand that would break my fall, it wouldn't be that bad if I fell...so I listened to him and started climbing farther than any of my friends!!! I still remember feeling my heart pounding as I looked at that upward point as my goal destination. Of course being the ambitious and daring woman I am, I didn't just want to reach it just to reach it...I also wanted to stand up alongside it! Well, finally my friend Christina saw me climbing and yelled, "Crystal, you are so brave, I could never climb that far up!" I yelled back, "I'm going to try to stand up alongside it for a great picture." It wasn't until she said, "No Crystal don't do it, you don't realize how high up you are right now" that I actually looked down. Let's just say I decided to stop there and have a picture taken of me where I was! It was a looong way down, a lot more than I realized!

       And then we had a wonderful surprise when Joey mentioned that there was something cool to see at the other side of the beach! Now I'm not really that much of a fan of birds - but this sight truly was amazing. There were more than nine Scarlet Macaws all together in these tree branches and not more than ten feet in front of us (see picture above!). I can definitely think of someone who would have passed out if he had gotten the chance to see this (wink wink). We also could hear them eating the seeds and making bird sounds. Their colors were so bright and beautiful! These birds are one of the most endangered birds on our planet, and I can't believe I got the chance to be this close to them!

       The next day, I went on an awesome crocodile tour! We got to be so close the crocodile that you could touch them! I was going to and then take a picture, but the crocodile swam away before I could! The guide fed them by swatting a piece of squid I think on the water to get their attention and then led them up onto an island of sand while holding up the piece of meat in the air. Then the crocodile all of a sudden would jump up with it's jaws open and snatch the piece of meat from the guide's hand. :]

       This past Friday ACM took us to Heredia to see Chris's farm and see first-hand the preservation of water. We first went on a beautiful hike for about half an hour to see beautiful views of natural landscapes. I'm glad my friends brought their cameras because the views were breathtaking, like much of Costa Rica. I forgot my water bottle though, which I tend to do a lot recently. :( The path was very rocky, but all of us were wearing appropriate shoes so none of us fell, thank goodness! Afterwards, we saw how the family uses water preservation to grow bananas in a land that wasn't meant for them. There were so many mosquitoes though that I couldn't even focus on what the guide was saying because I was too busy swatting them off my body and those around me! Afterwards, we had a very lovely buffet on Chris's farm! So all in all, the trip was lovely, but I have very horrible mosquito bites to suffer from because of it! I really miss home and can't wait to see you guys again!!! Until then!

Change of Thought

       So, it hasn´t been a while since the last time I posted, but I thought I should post today since I have the time. Not that much has changed since the last post, but oh well! I guess I can just go more into detail about Llano Bonito and Costa Rica! I´m already more than half-way through my time here. The time during the days are going faster, but at the same time, time still feels like it stops here and I don´t progress forward!

       I am very grateful that I don´t have to pay to take buses here, since everything is so close in this community! The place where I teach my computer lessons to the women in the Proal is only about a five minute walk from my host family´s house! That´s a lot different than the 40 minute travel distance time with a bus from my host family´s house in San José to the ACM building! When I give my lessons as private lessons, which has only occurred a couple nights since the women have only asked for those specific nights, the farthest house is also less than ten minutes away. I have no fear of walking alone at nights here in the fog too! This community is very safe and chill; whether or not you want to believe it´s because this community mainly consists of women, you can analyze that correlation.

       The picture above is an example of how the fog looks pretty here among the greenery! Just like how it rains here everyday, sometimes around six hours a day, there is fog everyday here as well!!! Not just at night, but during the days too! It reminds me of a scary movie sometimes when I´m walking along the trails here and I can barely see the tree right in front of me! But again, this community is so chill and safe, I have no fear of being mugged or attacked - no matter where I am in the community or at what hour. Vanessa and Judy, two staff members of ACM, came out to Llano Bonito today to see how Christina and I are doing in the community and with our volunteer work. Let´s just say by the end of the hour, they wanted to pack their things and move the ACM building here because the views are so beautiful! Also, the community members are so close, it seems like everyone knows everyone! It was funny because they told my host mom that they weren´t hungry (because it was lunch time for me) - but she still did the Tican way and convinced them to eat something. :) So Elliot would cringe at that time because they said that they weren´t hungry, but ended up eating a bowlful of vanilla ice-cream with chocolate pieces in them and strawberry jell-o. Haha, I eat so many calories here in Costa Rica with every meal.
     
       The reason why I named this post ¨Change of Thought¨ is because I was stating in my last post that I wish I had more to do here because I feel somewhat bored and as if I´m not helping the community at all! But I have discovered a way to help myself go more with the flow here in Llano Bonito. Instead of feeling like I have a volunteer schedule to attend or that I have any schedule at all, I now view my time here as purely vacational. In that sense, I feel more comfortable being what I consider ¨lazy¨ and just sitting around the house all day. I still wish that I could have more things to do here, but at least this way, I don´t feel like I´m not being a good volunteer. I pretty much don´t even ask anymore the next time I´m going to the Proal to help with computer classes or making shampoo...I just wait until they ask me to come over! I figure that if they want to learn computer skills, I should adapt to the culture here to teach them. Granted, that means that I´m not teaching them anything really since there isn´t any structure or time-schedules!...but one of my problems here might be trying to make a culture more structured when they don´t want to or change to be more efficient. So this is what I mean when I have changed my thought here in Llano Bonito with my way of living and teaching the computer classes! It seems to be working so far!

        The host family here is very different from the one I have in San José. LB family doesn´t have any pets because the mother has really bad alergies and shoos away any dogs coming near our house, while the SJ family has a pet bird and everyone loves dogs. LB family doesn´t like to leave the house that much and sits inside and watches TV all day, while the SJ family has a mom that is the same way, but the 24 year-old sister likes to take me out places, like the movies, city parades, bars...etc. All of these comparisons, by the way, are somewhat unbalanced because of the different locations (for example, there isn´t anything really fun here to do in Llano Bonito, instead of San José where there is much to do). Also, because the community is a lot safer than San José, my LB family never cautions me against the men in the community or walking around late at night or not wearing my shorts, whereas my SJ family is constantly telling me this. The interesting thing though is that the families in San José warn us about wearing shorts and strapless shirts and such, but we see the University of Costa Rica students wearing just that. I´m not sure if the families are just being extra-cautious, or because we stick out more and have the American easy-gringa stereotype because the naive people in Costa Rica believe since we´re from America, OBVIOUSLY we´re just like the stupid reality TV shows like Jersey Shore. Nevertheless, Christina and I don´t have to worry about those dangers in San José here. My LB family only has all females, while my SJ family has a father that lives in the house and a brother that lives in the backyard house. My LB family is a LOT less polite and formal than my SJ family (but still polite)! For example, I don´t feel pressured here to say ¨please¨ and ¨thank you¨ and ¨you´re very welcome¨ in all of my sentences here like I do in San José. :) I feel more comfortable here in that aspect because I feel like I can be more of myself. ;)

       My host mom here is so loud, she wakes me up serveral times in the morning around 6:00am when she´s getting her daughter ready for high school. I know the houses in Costa Rica seem to have very paper-thin walls so you can normally hear everything going on in the houses, but I know she normally talks very loud and somewhat cackles because the town members have joked around saying that by the time I get back to San José, I´m going to be screaming to my family members because I will have gone partially deaf! Sometimes, when I´m reading my very difficult Spanish book here and I need her to help me understand a Costa Rican phrase, she is sitting right next to me, but is talking so loud that my ears actually hurt. I also can tell if she is visiting neighbors down the road because I can hear her cackling from sitting in the living room in our house. I´ve often wondered if she has a hearing problem and that´s why she speaks so loud... Either way, she´s definitely what I would call an interesting character!

       The families here seem to coddle their children, or act like it I mean. They also seem a lot more touchy-touchy than in San José! My host mom here is constantly touching my hair and sitting right next to me to hold me in her arms and give me hugs. I know it´s not just me though because I´ve seen Christina´s host mom do the same thing! I´m wondering if that has anything to do with the feeling of family and sense of security here within the women of Llano Bonito. Or maybe it´s just because this community consists mostly of females and we tend to be more touchy-touchy anyways! It´s very different from my family in the United States and it´s taken a little getting used to for me personally! Since it´s my host mom and not my host dad, I really don´t mind, honestly!! It´s just very different. As far as being emotionally close though, I connect more with my host family in San José because they´re more of my intrinsic personality type!! But both host families are super nice and treat me well!

        It´s funny how I have certain things now that I look forward to in the day. They´re so simple and common, but feel like the highlights of my days. My number one thing I look forward to everyday is waking up and having hot chocolate on the kitchen table ready with my breakfast! The hot chocolate tastes much better here than any hot chocolate I can remember having in the United States (and Christina agrees) because the cocoa is more smooth and has a fluffier taste...if that makes any sense. I also look forward to using the internet everday so I can chat with Elliot, post on my blog, check my e-mail and facebook. Some things that I took for granted in the United States - but having to walk up a steep hill just to use the internet everday for only a couple hours really makes you more grateful. :)

       Another thing I look forward to everyday is running at night! I never thought I would look as forward to working out as I do here, but I do. It is something that I associate with doing back home in the United States and it makes me feel a little bit less guilty for eating so much here. And I eat here thoughout the entire day! The warm shower after is a real treat because I believe my host house here is one of the only ones in the community that has access to warm water. I´m so - so - so- grateful to have access to warm water, even if it´s only warm and not hot!!!!!! Since my body is warm from running anways, it really is nice!

       So. This trip to Llano Bonito has been just like my Costa Rica trip so far: one of the most difficult, but rewarding trips ever. I know that going back to the United States in December and chatting with my friends in Spanish will really help me realize how much my Spanish has grown! Or continuing to watch Eva Luna in the United States, since it is a novela (Spanish soap opera) that I can watch to help my Spanish progress even more forward. If anything, that is one thing I am doing the most here in Llano Bonito - working on my Spanish fluency and confidence. Although I talk to Christina everyday in English here, almost no one else speaks English. So I constantly find myself having to wrack my brain for Spanish words or how to word something differently when I can´t think of the word and my host family is waiting for me to continue my sentence. Sometimes their faces are so funny because they look just as confused as I am while I´m searching for how to say something in Spanish. Sooner or later, we find a way though. :) My professors at ACM tell me that my Spanish is greatly improving! That is the number one reason I decided to study in Costa Rica, so that is great news to me! Well, until next time family and friends. Since I´m almost half-way through the program, time is most likely really going to fly by now!! Miss you back at home. :)

Missing Home

       I titled this post "Missing Home" because it is what I feel most strongly right now! I´m having a great time here and this has been such a learning experience for me so far...but I miss Elliot and my family! At least the scenery is absolutely beautiful, like the photo above from Cahuita! Anyways, since I last posted, I was on my way to my rural stay, and that´s where I am right now. The city is called Llano Bonito and it reminds me so much of my trip to Jamaica with Joe, GGG, and Ripon College students! I chose this city because it is where I am going to conduct my research for my Music, Identity...and Culture? final research paper. I´m not exactly sure what my title is anymore or what question exactly I´m going to write it on because my professor encouraged me to reasearch a more specific topic, since I don´t have that much time left in the semester. Apparently this is like my Psych classes where I want to tackle on thesis topics instead of small research papers! Oh well, it´s best for me to listen to my professors on this one because I don´t want to stress myself out with more questions than I can research during my three weeks (now two) here!

       Those of you who know me know that I am somewhat of a workaholic and like to constantly keep myself busy. If I want to stereotype, I would say that that is one reason why I miss the United States, because it is one of the top countries for having the population work the longest hours for most days throughout the year. I definitely don´t think that is healthy or so much a good thing for most people who don´t even like their jobs or want to spend more time with their families, don´t get me wrong, but compared to the Costa Rican culture here where most of my days are spent watching TV for hours on end...yeah, I miss the busy life of the United States and feeling like I have a busy schedule at least Monday-Friday. I am in Llano Bonito with one of my ACM friends Christina and we feel like this is more of a vacation than volunteering to work with making natural products with the Women´s Organization here, or me teaching computer classes to the women! Joe says I should really try to find my inner relaxed and non-busy Crystal while I am here, since that is the way of the Costa Rican culture, and I really am trying. But I don´t like watching TV for six hours a day, only giving computer classes (my supposed to be busy job here) three days a week for two hours, and then free time for the rest of the 24 hours a day. My host family house here only has two channels on the TV (both are either news, soap operas or soccer) and no internet or computer, hence why we only watch TV all day! Just like Jamaica, however, this place makes me very grateful for the sources of entertainment I have back in the United States that is just a normal part of my every-day life. I go to Christina´s host family every day for a couple hours to use their computer for internet, but that still leaves me with a lot of free time throughout the rest of the day. If I was back at home, I would just go to a friend´s house or go our somewhere fun in the city...but the only fun place to go here without wanting to pay to take a bus somewhere for an hour are the local bars with pinball machines. Haha, and when we do go to a family´s house just to visit...guess what they are doing and what we just end up doing as well? Watching soap operas on TV. I sleep ten hours a day just to take off hours of the day from watching TV! Also, Christina and I joke around that the families are trying to make us overweight because of all the delicious food they feed us sometimes five large meals a day! That is one element I know I am going to miss when I get back to the United States...the excellent food here. It seems like ALL the women in Costa Rica are excellent cooks and I want to eat everything in front of me, which isn´t good since they put so much food out for us on the table. Every morning I wake up here looking forward to hot chocolate and a fresh, cheese tortilla thing, can´t remember the name in Spanish, and marshmellow frosted flakes, something I haven´t had in over seven years.

       The scenery here truly is beautiful though - very natural and peaceful. While in one of the houses here (for an interview for my research), she told me to look out the window, and all I saw was a valley of mountains, just like the photo below! The view was incredible! It was probably one of the best views I have seen here in Costa Rica (and I´m sure I have many more to come). I wish anyone who loves natural resources and is against logging or deforestation could see this place. I believe the photo below is of cocoa trees. It was awesome because the woman pointed out the cocoa workers on the mountain across from us; they were so far away they looked like mini-people.

       Here is another picture of what the valley and mountains look like here. :) You can see some houses if you look really hard. It´s very pretty at night when you only see the street lights across the mountain against all the fog here, and there is a lot. It has as much fog as Marina, CA!

       So, my journey contines on in Llano Bonito. Although I don´t have internet or cable in my host family´s house, at least I have warm water - warm, but not hot like in San José. Poor Christina has to bathe in ice-cold water. I´ve already done that in Jamaica for two weeks, I´m very grateful I don´t have to do that again! The showers are different here in Costa Rica though to where you have to only turn on the water a tad bit, otherwise you don´t get any warm water! I think a large group of the ACM students had to figure that out the hard way after taking a couple of cold showers. I didn´t though, since I asked my family in San José the first day if I had access to hot water! So during my first shower in Costa Rica, I messed around with the shower knob until I figured out how to access the hot water. That´s it for now...can´t wait until I see Elliot, family and friends near Christmas-time! :)

This is a Different Culture

       Time is going by very quickly here! I can't believe it's been a week since I last made a post. I've been having so much fun with my friends and host family...and of course doing a lot of Spanish for my academics. It seems like every weekend ACM has something fun planned for our cultural learning and program experience. Last week, we went to Limón and Cahuita for four days. I had such a great time because the beaches and hotel were absolutely stunning!

       First, we left the ACM building almost two hours late because one of our professors had something come up. The bus ride was longer than we expected because we got stuck behind log trucks...reminded me of Wisconsin actually. But we arrived there eventually, three hours on the bus chatting with Heidi...and we saw the hotel we were staying at for the weekend. They were almost loft designed with a very tropical atmosphere because it was surrounded by trees and greenery like in the photo in this post! Each of us got our own bed and the beach was only around two roads away. As soon as we unloaded our bags, we all got our bathing suits on (I of course forgot mine in my host family's house so I ended up borrowing Sarah's since she likes to generally overpack...I wasn't going to miss out on beaches in Costa Rica) and headed to the beautiful beach in Cahuita, with warm waters and sunny temperatures...perfect!

       The whole property was gorgeous and large. The couple who owned the hotel and property even had a beautiful pool and jacuzzi, along with a yoga lounge and entertainment plaza and long pebble paths to each one, etc. I'm not even kidding, the place was acres and acres of luscious, green property. It looked so natural and healthy! Although, that also included natural cockroaches in the bathrooms...but I don't mind them that much since they're all over Costa Rica! Matteo was telling my table at dinner that when he saw there was one in his bathroom, he took a quick shower and just kept an eye on it near the sink to make sure it hadn't moved. Later on Friday night, we all went out to a local bar in the town by bus and everyone got different alcoholic drinks to make comparisons between the alcohol in the US to the alcohol in Costa Rica. There was a dirty shirtless man outside who regarded Esther in a disrespectful manner and then tried to kiss her as she walked by him to enter the bar! Then as he saw me pass by, he did the same exact thing. My first instinct was to smack the heck out of him...but he was very muscled and I decided that wouldn't be the smartest course of action. I didn't buy any alcohol because alcoholic drinks can get expensive, even here! So I thought to myself, why not just try a little bit of some friends'? They were very nicely presented with the umbrellas and decorations, but very strong. Afterwards, we all danced together in the dancing area next to the bar and sweated it up while others in the bar saw us dancing and joined along beside us! Manuel (my Music, Society and Identity professor) came with us to the bar and was dancing with us too, while holding my purse the entire time! I had asked him previously to watch my purse while I was dancing and I guess he really took that to heart. The entire weekend truly was a blast, even though there were several last-minute changes and confusion with the communication between the professors and students with our schedule. The beauty of the trip really made up for that aspect though. :)

       We ended up having to stay the night in a hotel Sunday because of a horrible car accident on the road through the mountains we were taking to go back to San José. There was a horrible landslide (mainly due to all the rain we receive here every day!) and three cars were buried under the mud. We ended up leaving two hours late that day than we wanted and Chris (ACM director) told us that we might have been involved in the accident if we had left on time because it was very close to where we where stuck in traffic earlier on the same road. It was okay though since we all got to celebrate Christina's birthday gathered in the same small hotel room with a slice of cake and singing ¡Feliz cumpleaños a tí! exactly at midnight as she turned 20.

       As for my post title... :) I have found Costa Rica absolutely beautiful...and have also discovered my idea of the culture's faults, like there exists in any country. I wonder what's the worst fault I can think of the United States? Anyways, it takes time to reveal the pros and cons of living in a different culture than what you're accustomed to. It's interesting because I sincerely doubt that my military father could live in this culture because time importance and structure here is very pale compared to that of the military in the United States. I really miss home, but at the same time, I'm starting to feel warm, comfortable feelings towards my host family's home here! But then again, there are some cultural things in the host home that I haven't fully accepted yet into my daily-life usage. For example, Ticos are very polite and say "thank you" and "please" it seems in almost every other sentence. I thought I remembered my Spanish professor GGG at Ripon saying that Costa Ricans don't find that over-polite aspect appealing and he is originally from Costa Rica. But the more I think about it, the more I think that may be what his friends from Spain told him. Which means that I probably would have fit in more with Spain in this aspect! I just find the "never raising your voice" and "please sir, thank you sir" aspect very repetitive and another cultural aspect I'm getting accustomed to with time. But I'm getting better at adapting and will be fine overall! Well, I'm leaving for my rural stay tomorrow, so I might or might not have internet access. :( But I heard that Christina is right across the street from me in my community (since we are working at the same women's organization) and her host family has Wi-Fi, so maybe there is a possibility! :) Miss you back at home    

I Thank My Tican Family for Everything They Do

       There were several fun things that happened this week, and this weekend is going to be so much fun! The ACM group is leaving for Limón and Cahuita tomorrow to get a feel of the different sub-cultures in Costa Rica! It doesn't sound as if the differences are going to be huge, most likely very subtle. But since they are more of the tourist areas of Costa Rica, there will be at least some differences from San José! But going back to what was fun this week...on Friday night, I went to a Karaoke bar and then went dancing with a friend and some of her native friends she made recently. The Karaoke was pretty much a dud as far as the Karaoke goes because everything was in Spanish (imagine that Crystal) and I couldn't understand any of the songs the Costa Ricans were singing! My group did sing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey though, which was fun because the crowd was somewhat cheering (there weren't that many people left since it was nearing 10 pm and they were migrating to other places). Afterwards, Sarah, her friends Katie and Alejandro, and I went to a club that required our IDs, meaning that Matt and Anya had to leave since they left theirs in their host families' houses. I don't remember the name of the club we went to, but after talking to my Tican sister the next morning, I at least know it wasn't XXX, since that one is with prostitutes and strippers...and I would have left immediately if I saw those. The building was two stories and screens with music videos playing along to the songs blaring in the background. I had already put tissue in my ears to block out most of the loud music from the Karaoke bar, so the thumping base didn't bother me as we entered the club. Overall in the two hours we were there, I had five tequila shots, and I paid nothing because Alejandro was nice enough to buy all the drinks for us ladies! I have to admit, tequila really tastes good if you have the legit shots, with the lemon and salt (which we did) :) The whole time I was missing Elliot though and wishing that he was with me to dance with. I got a taxi by myself (which isn't advised here, but Sarah lives in the complete opposite direction), and soon realized that I didn't exactly know how to explain in Spanish where my host house is! I ended up telling him to take me to the church in El Carmen...without knowing that there are actually two...although I should have known since there seems to be a church at the end of every block here! I ended up paying $8 because we had to backtrack! I had an issue with a guy at the club and him not knowing that it's absolutely rude to just get up behind a girl and grab her waist, ESPECIALLY when she already said that she was with a guy and didn't want to dance with him. Besides that though, it was a fun night with my friends from ACM and I'm glad I went out. By the way, I had a lasagna meal (vegetarian of course) with a side salad and water all for $4! In celebration of Costa Rica's Día de Independencia (today), the ACM group did presentations yesterday (in Spanish of course) about the different typical Tican foods eaten on this holiday. :) We have a wonderful cook/caretaker of the ACM school building named Iveth (pronounced Ivet in Spanish...or at least that's how I've been pronouncing her name) who cooked a delicious banquet for us students and the professors based on the foods we researched.
      
       As for today, my Tican sister and I went to the town parade in celebration of Costa Rica's Día de Independencia and met up with her best friend...and I don't remember his name... :( But that makes sense, since it usually takes me several meetings before I remember someone's name! I kind of had fun, but there were so many people crowding around us that I mostly saw people walking in front of me than the actual parade. At least I'm taller than most of the Tican women here though because I believe the average height for the women here is around under 5' because the men are around 5'! So I could see over the heads of the people in front of me mostly, while my Tican sister probably couldn't see anything! There were a lot of children/high school bands playing national Costa Rican songs and girls with the national flag. :)
    
       As for the title of this post, I have been spending a lot more time with my host family since the academic miscommunications have been handled at ACM and I no longer feel like crying from the stress- finding myself with more bonding time. They say that my Spanish is improving, but I still feel like I sound very stupid from time to time with my lack of Spanish vocabulary and understanding of the difficult grammar aspects, like the subjunctive tenses. My Tican mom and I are starting to be able to talk just the two of us now, without my Tican sister, which makes me think that I must be improving because she doesn't know any English. It's so nice to be able to joke with my Tican family and laugh because I can understand what they are saying, whereas before I had almost no idea. This also shows that I'm starting to become comfortable and knowledgeable about the Tican culture, since I laugh at things that I wouldn't have understood before I came here. I will admit though, looking back now on my first week here when I couldn't speak my mind out loud in Spanish, it was funny how they stopped smiling after I started to say my joke because they lost track of what I was saying since I was taking too long to get out one sentence. They have been so nice to me, and I'm so glad that I was placed in this family to spend my time here with. I feel like I want to put an awesome quote here, but I'm getting tired and can't think of one. Every time that I eat somewhere else besides my home here, I think of how much tastier it would have been if my Tican mom cooked it. She is such a great cook, especially for someone who doesn't like to eat meat, like me! Last night, she cooked a dough kind of pastry with fried zucchini and rice and beans! And the night before was a regular pasta night, but I never knew that a pasta sauce could have so much flavor!

       Oh! This is a picture of one of the beaches we're going to visit this weekend- the one in Cahuita. :)

Tango :)

       The last thing you guys heard was that I was possibly going white water rafting this weekend. Well, that plan has changed since I really need to start watching how much I spend here on fun activities! Tonight, I am going to an Italian restaurant with some friends that one of the professors here recommended to us. Apparently it smelled awesome when they walked by it yesterday after class. Afterwards, we are going to meet up with more friends to go to a Karaoke bar. Since I am in Costa Rica, I have no idea what it is going to be like, especially since I have never gone to one in the United States either. I just hope that there won't be that much smoke, since smoking in public places is legal here. I wonder if all the songs are going to be in Spanish? I'm going to have a blast! :)

       On Tuesday, I went to my first tango class here (me wearing shorts and a tank-top). When I got there, I spoke to the male instructor Max, and he started laughing in less than fifteen seconds because he knew that I can't understand rapid Spanish that well after I said "I don't understand" after his first comment. He then asked for the female instructor (I don't remember her name) to come over, and then she started talking to me in intermediate English. My whole hour-and-a-half class consisted of me following the techniques by observing others around me, and her only speaking English specifically to me when I had a confused expression on my face. I could tell by the first fifteen minutes that this class was more in the upper intermediate level (which I'm in the lower intermediate), but I decided to just stay and see how well I could do. There was an even number of men and women (five couples), but only two men danced with me. One was really nice and even showed me some new technique moves! Although, he pulled me in way too close for my comfort so that our foreheads were touching and we were within kissing distance. It wasn't in a creepy way, I just don't like being THAT close to a complete stranger. After my class ended at 7:30pm, I got ready to take the first of two buses back home. I normally only take one bus ($.75 each way) to school every morning, but everyone here warns women against walking alone at night past sunset. But since I took two buses and apparently there is traffic at 8:00pm here, it took me an hour-and-a-half to finally get home, when it only takes less than fifteen minutes driving. I named this post "Tango" because I am very excited to continue taking classes while I am here in Costa Rica; so actually, I will be improving both my Spanish and Tango skills. I think the photo above is of the two instructors at Fantasía de Tango, but I'm not sure exactly.

       I've been very stressed out this week because of the amount of grammatica homework assigned every night for the past two weeks (10-30 pages). I haven't even been able to spend time with my family or friends here lately because I've been spending hours and hours on the homework load. I had a nervous breakdown yesterday and cried for over two hours at school because I've been so frustrated with my lack of Spanish proficiency! But it should be getting better now, since there was a serious miscommunication between the professors here as to the amount of homework load that should have been given in my class (now there should only be 4-6 pages every night). To look on the bright side, I've been practicing a lot of grammatica. :) I can't wait until my brain actually starts making sense of all the Spanish I've been cramming into it the past few weeks! I'm thinking the rural stay (three weeks of living in a rural community with only one student in each community, so all of us are spread out across Costa Rica) is really going to help with that, since most of the people in the rural communities in Costa Rica don't speak any English. I'm going to miss not being able to Skype or facebook chat with Elliot for three whole weeks, since most of the rural communities only have café internet access, and that costs money. But I will get through it, (along with missing my mom and loved ones) because they are always in my heart and thoughts. <3