Another week, more adventures, and new lessons in the
culture of Costa Rica have come and gone. With each week that passes I realize
how difficult it is going to be to leave my host family along with the
beautiful town of Quepos and Ticans that occupy it. The time is slowly
dwindling as I only have three more weeks here in Quepos. Nonetheless here is
what happened this week (9/30-10/6):
Monday: Classes
occupied the majority of my day today. However, after class today I came home
to get a start on my essay due for tomorrow. Upon my arrival home, two cute
smiling faces greeted me. Antoine and Samuel wanted me to play with them and I
obviously couldn’t resist. We played hide and go seek tag, soccer, and marbles.
Antoine informed me that in Costa Rica they do not have coupons for stores like
we do in the United States. I found this piece of information very interesting
and need to confirm this fact with my host mom. Sure enough, Antoine was right!
My Mama Tica said that they don’t have coupons here and that Antoine knew this
information because he saw it on the T.V. After playing with the boys, Mama,
Jan, and I all went to Zumba for a bit of exercise.
Tuesday: Spanish
class for four hours in the morning and homework in the afternoon occupied my
Tuesday. Despite a day filled with schoolwork, I was able to have a little excitement while seeing Toucans up-close and personal at
COSI today!
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| Hey look, a toucan! |
Wednesday: Spanish
class today was quite eventful! Our class decided to teach Gloria (our teacher)
about dancing and music in the United States. One thing led to the next and we
were teaching Gloria the very unique dance craze…twerking. It was quite
comical! NCC class continued that afternoon. After class I came home and talked
to my host mom for a while before going to Zumba. A delicious dinner followed
and we practiced some “trabalenguas” or tongue twisters that evening. It was
reassuring to see that it was difficult for my host mom to say some of them as
well!
Thursday: Spanish
class this morning consisted of practice upon practice upon practice of the
subjunctive tense for our test tomorrow. After class I went to Café Milagro
once again, but this time I tried their Skippy Shake (chocolate ice cream and
peanut butter). It was very tasty and delicious. However, I don’t think that
anything will ever be able to top the Espresso Shake for me. Tonight at dinner
my host mom’s sister and niece were here with us. It was great to have them and
talk with them for a bit. Tonight I went to Dos Locos for Trivia Night, but I
showed up late and didn’t partake in the questions and actual Trivia too much.
Following Trivia I went on an adventure to take money out of the ATM. I
successfully withdrew money, but learned a lot about the bank system here along
the way.
The ATMs here in Costa Rica are in a room, not through a
drive through or out in the open. You must open a fogged glass door to enter.
The door will then shut behind you and often lock for safety. I also learned in
my adventure that lines at the bank are very long, especially on Fridays (pay
day) and when the locals need to pay their electric bills. The only way to pay
your electric bill here is to go to the bank.
Friday: Today’s
quiz was difficult but also very rewarding. We corrected our quizzes in class
today and I was able to ask Gloria questions about the mistakes that I had made
on my quiz. I was able to really learn from my mistakes. Tonight we skipped
Zumba and Jan and I ended up going to La Feria instead. Tonight was Jon’s last
night in Quepos. We ate dinner as a big family with my host mom’s sister and
niece once again. Afterwards we took family photos. My host parents are both so
sweet and they said that we were their “hijos” or kids. After the family photos
Jan and I along with the North Central group went out for the night as one last
goodbye.
Saturday: Today
was a day of relaxation and a bit of homework on the Manuel Antonio beach.
After the beach and dinner, my Mama Tica and I talked about our families and
extended families. It was very interesting to hear about her family. She has
one sister and six brothers!
Sunday: Today was
a very long and eventful day. We went white water rafting on the Savengre River
about an hour drive from Quepos. We left this morning around 7:30 and returned
back to Quepos at 3:00 in the afternoon. The rapids were rough and a thrilling
adventure! We were out on the river for a total of 4 hours. We stopped along
the way at two different waterfalls, one for a photo shoot and to swim in and
walk behind the falls and the other for a snack. We also stopped to see a boa
constrictor curled up in a tree in its natural habitat. It was really cool but
at the same time a bit scary knowing the sheer strength and power of such an
animal. All in all, it was great to be able to experience wildlife and nature
here in Costa Rica. The strength of the river amazed me and I have now
experienced first hand the power of nature along with the respect and
precautions that need to be taken when enjoying the beauty that Costa Rica has
to offer.
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| A "High 5" after success through a section of the rapids |
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| A pit stop and photo at a waterfall along the way |
Miss you all and thank you for your support and continued
reading. Until next time, ¡Pura Vida!
~Kailey
