After arriving in Costa Rica and settling into my new home
for the next 4 months, I figured it was time to take in all that the Pura Vida
lifestyle has to offer me. Some firsts for the week include: Zumba, early morning
workouts, walks to the nearby beach, dance classes, a Tican soccer game, and
exploring the depths of the rainforest. That is besides the obvious task of
attending school each day.
I signed up for a months worth of Zumba classes here in
Quepos. The classes are 3 days a week (MWF) from 6-7:30pm. Zumba here consists
of 30 minutes of yoga and abs, 30 minutes of cardio, and 30 minutes of dancing.
In total, one month of Zumba cost me 5000 colones or $10. In addition, I began my workout routine with
a couple of other people from the NCC group this week. We start our workout
consisting of walking, running, sprints, and/or pushups etc. at 6am and are
finished by 7am. As if Zumba was not enough, I decided to take dance classes at
COSI this past Wednesday (September 4th). This past week I learned
how to Salsa and Merengue. Let’s just say that it is much harder than it looks!
Although it appears I have kept myself very busy, I also find time to relax…on
the beach.
This weekend was also one of many firsts. The weekend
started on Friday with the BIG soccer game (Costa Rica vs. U.S.). Soccer or
fútbol is a huge part of the Tican culture. I, of course, made it clear that I
was cheering for Costa Rica…I am not sure what may have happened if I rooted
for the U.S. Fortunately, Costa Rica won 3-1. The team spirit and enthusiasm
for their home country is unreal! The remainder of the night was filled with
Ticans roaming the streets cheering and singing “¡Ole, ole, ole, ole, ole, ole,
ole, ole, Ticos, Ticos!”
On Saturday, I went to “la feria” (the market). I have never
seen such a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. I walked up and down the
street taking in all that the vendors had to offer. I ended up buying an
Imperial tank top, a towel, and a fruit called mangosteen. I figured I should
expand my knowledge of fruits and try something new while I am here. In
addition to mangosteen, I also tried a fruit called mamones for breakfast that
morning with my Mama Tica. I liked both of the fruits that I had added to my
taste bud vocabulary that morning!
On Saturday, a small group of my friends and I went to
explore the depths of the rainforest in order to find a waterfall that we had
previously been told about. According to the word on the street, you could jump
off this waterfall. After about 45 minutes of hiking in and out of the river
and over and under various branches, we had found the waterfall! The next step
was to find the courage and bravery to jump off of the waterfall. After
watching others take the plunge, I decided it was my turn. I stood at the top
of the falls thinking, “What am I doing?” I kept counting…uno, dos, uno, dos,
but I couldn’t seem to get to tres in order to jump! I finally told myself I
just had to do it before I talked myself out of jumping. The adrenaline rushed
through my body as I took the plunge into the water below. However, when I was
finished one jump wasn’t enough and I decided that many more were in store. In
fact, I had so much fun at the waterfall on Saturday that I decided to go back
again on Sunday. This weekend was tons of fun and I can’t wait for the days to
come!
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| Me with the mamones vendor! |
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| Mangosteen |
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| Mamones |
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| La cascada |
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| Climbing to the top to jump again! |
~Kailey
