Week Number Two in Review

This week has continued to be packed full of adventures and fun. Of course, school has been a part of my very busy schedule here in Costa Rica as well! Here is what happened this week (9/9-9/15):

Monday: I had Spanish class at COSI from 9am to 1pm and class for NCC in the afternoon from 2-4pm. I then stopped for a quick bite of pizza at Miguelito’s before heading to Zumba.

Tuesday: Today consisted of Spanish classes in the morning, beach in the afternoon, and watching soccer with mis padres Ticos (Costa Rican parents).

Wednesday: Once again I had class at COSI in the morning and class for NCC in the afternoon. After classes, I went to El Avión (a local restaurant) to watch the sunset. The evening turned out to be rather cloudy and we didn’t see too much of a sunset but it was still enjoyable and beautiful. 

Sunset at El Avión

Thursday: Spanish class in the morning and a mangrove tour in the afternoon along with Trivia at Dos Locos (a local bar) at night kept my Thursday very busy. The mangrove tour took us to an island where we swam and enjoyed the beach for a bit. The homes on the island were very run down compared to those in Quepos or Manuel Antonio. After some time on the beach, we loaded a boat that took us through the mangroves. In order to get to the mangrove we had to go through the Marina. I later found out that this is where my dad works during the day. In the mangroves, we saw birds, fish, and a baby crocodile. It was cool to be able to see such an important part of an ecosystem up close. 

The Marina in Quepos

Baby Crocodile

That night we went to Dos Locos where they were having Trivia Night…thankfully in English! My team (Theresa, Kayla, Tara, Jacob, and I) ended with a total of 23 points. The winning team had 20 points after one round if that gives any idea as to how little we knew. Nonetheless, we had fun and are hoping to improve each week.

Friday: Friday the 13^th. I learned that Friday the 13^th isn’t unlucky in Central America; rather they have “martes trece” or Tuesday the 13^th. We took a quiz today in class which we will be doing every Friday. However, the quiz this week compared to last week was very difficult. I struggled and didn’t do so well on the quiz. This was the first time that my patience has been tested while I am learning the language. I was getting very frustrated, but after taking a deep breath and relaxing I realized that my emotions were just a part of the process of learning a foreign language. After class I came home to work on my homework so that I could have a weekend full of fun as I had big plans ahead. Sunday is Independence Day!

Saturday: The group from NCC went on a catamaran trip today. We boarded a large boat that had a waterslide off the back named the Tsunami and 4 large nets in the front to take in the sun. Sounds like a great start to me! We cruised around the ocean for a while before stopping to snorkel. On our way, we saw 4 ballenas (whales) that I attempted to take pictures of but none of them turned out. We anchored in a bay to snorkel for a while. The water was very foggy due to the excess amounts of rain that Costa Rica gets during this time and our tour guide told us that we might not even get to see anything. However, once we got into the water we were quite literally swimming in a school of small blue and yellow fish. This was really neat! After I had my fair share of snorkeling, I decided to plunge down the Tsunami. This experience was very similar to that of the waterfall because as I approached the slide it seemed much steeper than I had expected. I knew I better go down the waterslide right away or I might talk myself out of doing so. In a matter of seconds I was skidding across the water and out into the ocean. After spending a good amount of time in the bay, we boarded the ship again and headed back to shore.

The Water slide on the Catamaran

We were all glad to be back on shore (some of us more than others as the boat made a good majority of the group very seasick). The boat luckily did not affect me. A small group of us went to get ice cream in Quepos. I tried a scoop of chocolate almond ice cream. ¡Que rico! Later we went to spend some time relaxing at the pool behind COSI.

Tonight we had dinner very early (5:45pm) in order to attend El Desfile de Faroles for Independence Day. Here is a little history lesson for on El Desfile de Faroles(the lantern parade)…Maria Dolores Bedoya ran through the streets of Guatemala holding a lantern in her hand. Her goal was to gather as many people as possible and stand in front of the town council to demand freedom. The next day, September 15^th, was deemed Independence Day. I attended the parade that night which was scheduled to start at 6pm and la hora Tica as my Mama Tica told me. This meant that the parade was supposed to start at 6pm but it is Tico Time here so the parade will start whenever it is convenient and everyone is ready. The parade finally started at about 6:45pm. The parade consisted of niños (kids) and their parents walking behind a band. The kids carried faroles (lanterns) that they made at home with their parents. The streets were full of people and it was very eye opening to be able to see the enthusiasm and loyalty that the Ticans had for their country. 

El Desfile de Los Faroles

Sunday: INDEPENDENCE DAY!! Today began with breakfast at 7:45. The parade was supposed to begin at 8 am and la hora Tica. The parade started at 9:15 am. The noise, hustle and bustle of the Tican culture, and the mass amounts of people from all over could be seen and heard from miles away. All of the kids within Quepos are required to participate in the parade. As you may imagine the parade included vast amounts of groups of students from various schools around the area. My host brothers, Samuel and Antoine, participated in the parade as un campesino (a farmer) and a drummer respectively. All of the kids were so cute and the fact that they marched in the parade on the hottest day in Quepos showed their dedication to their culture. The parade lasted for 2.5 hours. 

Samuel and I after the parade

Antoine and I after the parade

After the parade, I went to the beach to relax and enjoy the weather. Dinner was delicious as always! My Mama Tica made Tres Leches (a dessert consisting of cake doused in three different kinds of milk) for both the special day and her son, Felipe, who absolutely loves this dessert.

This week has been packed full of many new adventures and experiences that continue to open my eyes to a whole new and moving culture. Until next week…¡Pura Vida!