tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84052776589318229252024-03-20T22:50:04.845-07:00Un semestre en Costa RicaEsther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-91878599597080839402009-12-10T16:52:00.000-07:002009-12-10T16:52:17.592-07:00SamaraOur program gave us the Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving off of school even though they don't celebrate it here. Some of us decided to take a girl's trip to the Pacific for some relaxing. We left Wednesday after school and went to San Jose. There we had to buy tickets for the bus. We had checked the schedules ahead of time and wanted to take the 6:30pm bus. We arrived at the station at 4:50 and found out that the only bus to Samara was at 12:30pm. We quickly decided to take a bus to Nicoya (about 45 minutes from Samara) since it was leaving a 5:00. We ended up packing into a taxi from Nicoya to Samara. Our hotel there was great. We rented an apartment that had sleeping space for 6 people, 2 bathrooms, living room and kitchen. The trip was really relaxing. We went to the beach several times (and I finally was able to swim!), bought some souvenirs and hung out in the apartment playing cards. <br />
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Some of the girls cooked spaghetti and garlic bread for Thanksgiving dinner. They had bought 2 packages of spaghetti because they weren't sure how much we needed. We ended up eating pasta all 3 nights and finally finished it. We also had brownies with ice cream for dessert. I made popcorn on the stove for everyone the next night. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanksgiving dinner<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">these are the coconuts I wrote about last time, you can buy them almost anywhere<br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I will be home tomorrow night!<br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pura Vida<br />
</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-67777757337533123192009-11-25T10:14:00.000-07:002009-11-25T10:14:27.244-07:00MontezumaTwo weekends ago seven of us went to Montezuma. It was a real adventure and me with no camera. We left on Friday directly from the university. We took a bus to San Jose where we asked directions to the bus terminal for Puntarenas. There were not enough seats for us on the bus that was leaving right then so we had to wait about 45 minutes for the next bus. Soon after we left San Jose, I reached into my purse for my camera and it wasn’t there. I don’t know if it had somehow fallen out or if someone took it, but I no longer have any way to take photos. The photos on this post are ones that my friends took. Anyway, it was about 2 hours to reach Puntarenas where we asked for directions to the ferry. There we had to wait 1 hour until the ticket office opened, and then another hour until the ferry left. My friends bought coconuts from a street vendor. They cut a hole in it and insert a straw for you to drink the juice. After drinking the juice, they break open the coconut and eat it. The ferry ride was about 1 hour 15 minutes. When we arrived in Paquera, we got a bus and rode for about half hour, switched buses and rode for another half hour until we arrived in Montezuma. Then we spent a little time walking around and comparing hotel prices until we decided on one.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">first people on the ferry<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the line is where the salt and fresh water meet<br />
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Montezuma is a small, eclectic community. Many people there speak English and there are a lot of little shops with clothing, jewelry and souvenir type stuff. The town is literally only a couple of streets which was really nice because you could walk around after dark (it is dark by 6pm) and feel totally safe.<br />
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Saturday morning we got up and ate toast and orange juice at the hotel for breakfast and hiked out of town to go to the waterfalls. The first falls were a few minutes’ walk from the road. After we passed these falls there wasn’t really a trail. We had to walk across the rocks in the river and along the bank. The second falls was very high with a pool at the bottom. We stopped here so my friends could go swimming and jump off a tall rock. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Montezuma Waterfalls, danger, some people have died here, don't climb or jump"<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">first falls<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">hiking upriver<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and along the bank<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">second falls<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rachel jumping<br />
</div>Another group (middle aged couple and 3 twenty-something boys) and my friend asked them if they knew how get to the third falls because we had heard that it was difficult to find the trail. The man said that he knew how to get there and pointed out where we needed to go. They then said that they were going there shortly and we could go with them. We decided that it would be easier to follow them since they knew where they were going.<br />
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So we started off climbing straight up, using roots to pull ourselves up. One friend and I were right behind the other group when they reached the top, but our other 5 friends were still near the bottom. We heard some guy yelling at them that they needed to go to the left, not up. So our friends veered off and we just hoped that we would run into each other again as it would have been very difficult for the two of us to climb back down. <br />
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We never came across the path the guy said was supposed to be there. He said it didn’t matter because there should be a road at the top of the hill which we could follow to a path that went to the third falls. We came out of the woods in a pasture with a very nice view of the ocean below. We hiked through the pasture to a dirt road, followed the road to a paved road and turned left as that is the way the guy said we needed to go. By now my friend and I didn’t believe that this guy knew where he was going but we didn’t know where we were. We saw a local and asked him how to get there and he said we needed to go in the opposite direction. So we turned around and hiked downhill on the road for quite awhile until we ended up walking back into Montezuma. By now we had been hiking for over an hour. The other group went to their hotel but my friend and I continued on because we were worried that our friends were worried about us.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">view from the pasture<br />
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So we walked back through town, out the other side, to where we had begun our hike. Just past the path to the first waterfall was a road that we were supposed to follow to get to the path that led to the third waterfall. So we started up this road. We walked several kilometers up a VERY steep hill. We kept stopping to ask people about the location of the path to make sure we were going in the right direction. We finally reached a zipline place where we were told we had to pay to use their trail to the falls or we could walk about a kilometer back down the hill to another path. So we turned around, went back downhill and took a dirt road that we thought the path was on. We followed the road until we came to a dead end in a little grassy area. We were at the top of a hill overlooking the ocean, surrounded by tropical forests and there at the edge of the hill was the most random site I think I have ever seen: playground equipment. At least that is what it looked like. It was a round-shaped jungle gym that was made with metal bars shaped in triangles (I don’t know what they are called). I did see a small path off to one side, but it seemed overgrown. So we turned around, walked back to the main road and went back up the hill to the next side road. We followed that road which ended up at someone’s house. We asked the lady there how to get to the falls and the directions she gave us was to the same place we had just come from. So we went back to the main road, down the hill, followed the dirt road to the dead end and the little path.<br />
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By this time it was early afternoon; we had not had any food since our toast in the morning and had been sharing a bottle of water. We had been hiking for over 2 hours nonstop, up and down hills. My friend said she couldn’t go any farther so I went down the path to the falls to see if our friends were still there. I couldn’t find them, so I returned to my friend and we headed back to town. My legs were beginning to get a little shaky and it was hard to walk back down the steep road. We arrived back in Montezuma and were walking through town when I saw our friends walking out of the grocery store. It had been about 3 hours since we had last seen them and they had no idea where we were. So it all ended well and we had a real adventure.<br />
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After that not much else happened. We got food from the store for a very late lunch (best fruit I ever tasted in my life) and then went to the beach. We didn’t stay there long as it was cloudy and nobody wanted to swim because the water was cold and the waves were really high. We watched part of the Costa Rica vs. Uruguay game during dinner and then fire dancers in the street after dinner. Sunday morning we got up at 5am to make sure we got a seat on the 6am bus. When we got to the bus stop we found out that it doesn’t leave until 7am on Sundays, so we spent an hour on the bench at the bus stop.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">monkey by our hotel<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">fire dancers<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sunday morning<br />
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Only 16 days until I come home!Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-35582283508948633342009-11-18T18:25:00.000-07:002009-11-18T18:25:56.073-07:00Punta LeonaTwo weeks ago we went to Punta Leona for a one night trip. It was really relaxing compared to our other trips in which we always had to get up early and had a full schedule. Not so this time. We stayed at a nice resort and just relaxed. I shared a 2 bedroom apartment with 3 others. The grounds had a very large swimming pool, a kiddie pool, sand volleyball courts, mini-golf, foosball, ping-pong and beach. Hmmm...now that I am writing this I can't really think of much to talk about. Mostly all we did was go to the beach during the day and hang out in our apartment at night.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">playa blanca<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">baseball on the beach<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">view from our balconey<br />
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The animals are not afraid of people. That night we had a raccoon almost walk right in our open front door. At breakfast, the monkeys were hanging out in nearby trees. When some people left their table, the monkeys would come down, climb on the table and steal the leftover food.<br />
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Oh, and I got burned by a sour gummy worm. Some people were at our apartment in the evening and someone found a candle. So of course the candle was lit and people were playing with it. One guy stuck the gummy worm in the flame to watch it bubble up and melt. The heat got to his fingers and he kind of flipped the worm and some of the melted part flew across the table and landed on me.<br />
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</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-5975031845932311572009-11-18T09:23:00.000-07:002009-11-18T09:23:14.038-07:00locked outThe people here are a little crazy about the security of their houses. There is a fence with bars across the front of our property with barbed wire above it. I have 3 keys to get into the house: 1 to open the lock on the front gate, 1 to open the barred door (like our screen doors, minus the screen, plus the bars) which you have to turn 2 times to open, and 1 for the front door which you have to turn 3 times to open.<br />
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So at about 9:15am, I am home, by myself, and stepped outside to check how warm it is and the wind blew the front door shut behind me. There is no doorknob, you have to have a key to open it. If this happened in the states, I would just find an open window and climb in; not possible here. All the windows have bars on them. So I thought that I would just have to wait several hours until someone came home or possibly walk to school for my class at 1:00 (I didn't have any money in my pockets for the bus). Then I realized that my family had put the lock on the gate when they left this morning and, therefore, I couldn't get out. So there I was, stuck between the gate and the house with no way in and no way out.<br />
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I was standing there thinking that I was going to be stuck there for a good 4 hours until someone came home. I started to get a little panicky because I had a lot of homework to do and I would miss class. I started looking around their garage area to try and find any tool that I might use to try to unlock the door. As I was moving some stuff around, a key fell to the ground. Lo and behold it opened the front door!<br />
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Now I am safely back inside, my heartbeat has returned to its normal pace, and I thought I would share my mini-adventure with everyone.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">front gate and barbed wire<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">barred windows and front door<br />
</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-84203529558128948212009-11-05T14:09:00.000-07:002009-11-05T14:09:28.457-07:00Tortuguero, Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro, Panama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Last week we took a group trip to Tortuguero, Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro, Panama. We left on Monday at 6:30am. We rode the bus for several hours. At one point we stopped at some banana fields. We watched how they brought the bananas in from the fields, removed them from the bunches and cleaned them. Next we went by boat for about an hour to reach the hotel. The hotel is by itself across the river from the town of Tortuguero.<br />
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The hotel was large and very spread out. The main building housed the reception and dining areas. It was then about a 5 minute walk to our rooms. The rooms were in groups of 4-6 with walkways connecting them and rocking chairs on the porches. <br />
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Monday afternoon we went across the river to Tortuguero. It is a small town where there is a conservation center to protect the sea turtles and the beach where they lay their eggs. At the beach you could see the areas where the turtles had dug out the sand to create a nest for their eggs.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tortuguero<br />
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Tuesday we took a hike in the (very muddy) rain forest. We also took a boat tour through some canals and looked for wildlife. Some people went kayaking in the river and saw a crocodile. There was also a tour at night where you could go to the beach to watch the sea turtles come up on the beach and lay their eggs.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">boat tour (it was raining)<br />
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In the evenings we hung out in my friend's room playing cards. It was a lot of fun and our best option as there was nowhere else to go even if we wanted to.<br />
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We left Tortuguero on Wednesday, rode the boat for an hour back to the bus. We boarded the bus around 9:45am and reached the Panama border around 3:15. During this time the air conditioning on our bus stopped working and you could not open the windows. Needless to say we were all very hot and sweaty. After almost 2 hours like this, we switched to another bus. About 10 minutes before we reached the border, the driver pulled the bus over because there was something leaking out of the bus. We then had to get all of our luggage and switched onto a public bus to reach the border.<br />
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We spent about an hour mostly standing in line, then walking across the bridge and standing in line again. The bridge was interesting. There were rails down the center of it, some of the boards were loose and we saw several large trucks drive over it while we were there.<br />
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Panama is an hour ahead of Costa Rica, so by the time we left the border (in buses again) it was after 5:00pm and beginning to get dark. The last leg of our journey was a half hour boat ride to the island of Bocas del Toro. It was pretty cool as it was completely dark out and all you could see was the stars.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">view of Bocas del Toro from our hotel balconey<br />
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Thursday and Friday we went out all day in the boats to visit different nearby areas in the Caribbean. We went to Isla de Pajaros (Island of the Birds), which we could not actually walk on but everyone went snorkeling there. We also went to la playa de las estrellas (beach of the stars), so named for the many starfish there, and la playa de las ranas rojas (beach of the red frogs). We also went to Bahía de los Delfines (Bay of the Dolphins). Our driver drove the boat in circles to create waves which the dolphins like to jump over. Everywhere we went was beautiful and the water was amazingly clear. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Isla de los Pajaros<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">snorkeling<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at playa de las estrellas<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">playa de las ranas rojas<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">island where they filmed Survivor Panama<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">mountains in the clouds<br />
</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-25946359965207526582009-10-09T17:47:00.000-06:002009-10-09T17:47:50.962-06:00cuisine classI have forgotton to write the last few weeks about my cooking class. It is a lot of fun and we have made many different things. In the last few classes we have made: pasta from potatos, cheese bread, sesame bread, a type of cookie (with caramel centers and either coconut or chocolate on the outside), spaghetti and some type of dessert with bananas. Everything is made from scratch. My class only has 5 girls in it and we have it at the house of one of the university staff. We have a good time (trying) to make the food and understand the teacher (who only speaks Spanish). This past Tuesday, when we made spaghetti, it didn't turn out so well. When we cooked it, it became a big mass and looked kind of like potatos. Our teacher told us she had never seen that happen before and we had to make it over again.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lauren and Miriam licking the chocolate off their fingers<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">making spaghetti<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Michaela seperating spaghetti strands<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">our bad first batch<br />
</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-73766599286232823452009-10-03T18:33:00.000-06:002009-10-03T18:33:51.781-06:00San JoseHere are a few photos from the capital city.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Teatro Nacional<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Museo del Oro (Museum of Gold)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Welcome, Mercado Central, Founded in 1880"<br />
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</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-50985635379165993092009-10-03T08:22:00.000-06:002009-10-03T08:22:35.945-06:00GuanacasteLast weekend we had our second trip for my Latin American Cultures field study class. We went to the province of Guanacaste which is in the northwest along the Pacific. The area is warmer and much more humid than where I live.<br />
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We went first to the site of the mines of Abangares. These mines are no longer in use but they have many of the old tools and equipment that was once used there. We hiked through the forest (and uphill) to see different areas that they used for the mining processes. Between the hills and the humidity, I almost had to pull out my inhaler. I don't think I have ever been so sweaty in my life.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">we hiked up to the top<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Tulita"<br />
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Next we stopped at a house in the country where a man makes pottery using the techniques and designs of native peoples. He showed us all the tools he uses, what types of earth/rock he uses for color and the native designs and what they represent. We also watched him make a vase.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">cows in the road<br />
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We then stopped in the small town of Santa Cruz and spent some time in their central park. Next we continued on to Nicoya where are hotel was. We went out for dinner and I even ate pizza (four cheese without tomato sauce). We were going to see a colonial church but apparently it was closed (I can't remember why).<br />
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On Sunday we spent a lazy day on the beach. My teacher brought fruit and bread for breakfast (yummy). I mostly just did some reading for school, walked on the beach and took pictures.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">casado con bistec<br />
</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-50046204517117461802009-09-24T15:53:00.000-06:002009-09-24T15:53:23.499-06:00creepy, crawly thingsAll three of these were in my bathroom last night. By the time I took a shower, they had all migrated there. The gecko was on the ceiling above me and the two insects were in opposite corners of the shower on the floor.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My host father found this in the living room the other day.<br />
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</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-76419425354874544062009-09-23T11:01:00.000-06:002009-09-23T11:01:27.127-06:00Romeo & JulietLast weekend some of us went to San Jose (capital) to see Romeo and Juliet at the National Theater. We met at our university so we could take the bus together. I had just arrived there when I realized I had forgotton my ticket for the play. Since the bus we were taking goes by my house, I left ahead of everyone else so I could hop off to get the ticket. I then ended up waiting 45 minutes at the bus stop until the bus came that had the rest of the group.<br />
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Once we arrived in San Jose, we went to the hotel/hostel where we were staying. This place was really cool-all bright colors and open air. There were three parts to the place: the main house, chalet and annex. After settling in and getting dressed up for the theater, we went out to eat. I had fajitas that were delicious! We then walked over to the theater. We went through a plaza area where there were literally about 100 couples sitting. Everywhere you looked there were couples-apparently it is the place to go.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"A home away from yours, Welcom to Kap's Place, Pura Vida"<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">entrance hall<br />
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The theater was absolutely beautiful; hopefully I will be able to get some better photos of it when I go back next week. We sat in the nosebleed section-3rd balcony. The ceiling above the top row was only about 5'6" high. This is because we bought the cheapest tickets at 5000 colones ($8.60). The play was good but we were all very tired after (one girl even fell asleep during the play and I have to admit that I was tempted to also).<br />
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</div>After this we went back to the hostel and hung out for a little bit, watching some Latino show where older ladies were dancing in some type of competition. I think this was only amusing because it was 1am. Sunday morning we just relaxed, checked out all the brochures they had about things to do/see in Costa Rica, and then headed back to Heredia.Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-3270971402982903162009-09-16T10:35:00.000-06:002009-09-16T10:35:59.947-06:00el Dia de la Independencia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Yesterday was Independence Day (no school!) and I went to downtown Heredia with some friends to check out the festivities. We watched about 45 minutes of the parade and decided to ditch that to find some shade. The parade seemed to repeat itself: each school had a banner followed by little cheerleaders, xylophones and drums. They were still working their way through all the local elementary schools when we quit watching. I think after that they had the high schools. After the parade we sat (in the shade) in the central park and watched people. The little girls with their traditional dresses were very cute! We then went to get some lunch. I had Subway (the first fast food I have had since arriving here). Some of the others went to a pizza place and we found out that the owner there is from the U.S. and talked to him for awhile. I came home around 2:00 and just bummed around the house the rest of the day. It is nice to have a day off every once in awhile.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsePx8opfOAQZ1yihK6arCv7sFJnyKdWxze7CA63y-3uQDqiK1QcvMD-_kPurRN_wAugPcEvMLGRrjEdCnaemZ6p2hqoj_dc-vGWnLEDDMeuKxnH9dt96luDgAMiW5BLmLBjAneft4AkI/s1600-h/IMG_2695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsePx8opfOAQZ1yihK6arCv7sFJnyKdWxze7CA63y-3uQDqiK1QcvMD-_kPurRN_wAugPcEvMLGRrjEdCnaemZ6p2hqoj_dc-vGWnLEDDMeuKxnH9dt96luDgAMiW5BLmLBjAneft4AkI/s320/IMG_2695.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQs5AIaF-FXmmI01BsXBpGOwwMljpa7e2AsHQd1ST2qFXl79fHhkilhGOLsO0Ex4jqgAeILqnNjsciZ98pkGahn1k9Qj_Q39cI3furUHeoR-f4RuJKF-QXMahM7-EIQ5qjbyUhbMPxOs/s1600-h/IMG_2694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQs5AIaF-FXmmI01BsXBpGOwwMljpa7e2AsHQd1ST2qFXl79fHhkilhGOLsO0Ex4jqgAeILqnNjsciZ98pkGahn1k9Qj_Q39cI3furUHeoR-f4RuJKF-QXMahM7-EIQ5qjbyUhbMPxOs/s320/IMG_2694.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Costa Rica: a country of peace"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafwl-tROdNceWBLwB8cjMRPHAGWSt35CgjvoeL-YTBde-0Wsl3DwkosLwkQBz1ck177hSeO44K7fNFyq4qT7rEl3S6DZJsj2H6dOXbzbg-CfBlco5tK6TSdr_vuYVDgGfWDZUjvnnjW0/s1600-h/IMG_2735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafwl-tROdNceWBLwB8cjMRPHAGWSt35CgjvoeL-YTBde-0Wsl3DwkosLwkQBz1ck177hSeO44K7fNFyq4qT7rEl3S6DZJsj2H6dOXbzbg-CfBlco5tK6TSdr_vuYVDgGfWDZUjvnnjW0/s320/IMG_2735.JPG" /></a></div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-52900995628501407672009-09-10T15:11:00.000-06:002009-09-10T15:11:53.363-06:00Manuel Antonio<div style="text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last weekend some students decided to go on our own trip. We went to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific Ocean. We rented our own bus and filled it to bursting with 29 people. The trip was about 4.5 hours (up, down and around like usual). We stayed at the Backpacker’s hostel. The room I stayed in had 5 bunk beds and was attached to another room with 4 bunks…and only 1 bathroom! The hostel was pretty cool. The common area is open air on three sides and contained a little kitchen, picnic tables, foosball, a few couches, a stereo and games. Also on the hill next to this area was a rope to swing on. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLdAQplAuNIFFyv-XtSEfnpXV0KEZmblrVpUT1Se-6u_as4QVt6yqg2ehpGny4gNI9v041BBOAeAsFgduxpPu1R8tiR89kR80hAWyAq92mS5u9GPt7Xgzz4ibqSilOTgsahUxJ-e0Z1c/s1600-h/IMG_2418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLdAQplAuNIFFyv-XtSEfnpXV0KEZmblrVpUT1Se-6u_as4QVt6yqg2ehpGny4gNI9v041BBOAeAsFgduxpPu1R8tiR89kR80hAWyAq92mS5u9GPt7Xgzz4ibqSilOTgsahUxJ-e0Z1c/s320/IMG_2418.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">making pancakes for breakfast</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AzlGd2dWeHGat9TsspccZsqzjJEje4ynUbfPsCmt3XJtdDnhj9_s3zzBLmU9wDeoZBuU1-tQ0LzSMqlhmfejC8viGKeASantt9MQwzh2Ug_uqN-rz_35mu-AQFb5WxFn5LNslGLMwv0/s1600-h/IMG_2421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AzlGd2dWeHGat9TsspccZsqzjJEje4ynUbfPsCmt3XJtdDnhj9_s3zzBLmU9wDeoZBuU1-tQ0LzSMqlhmfejC8viGKeASantt9MQwzh2Ug_uqN-rz_35mu-AQFb5WxFn5LNslGLMwv0/s320/IMG_2421.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDATxSUZLEaxwv0vZVfLN1QSxsY40jhkvEaoBHSO3mnN8zShh5iAC5S4itzi27yULrlxhNFTCbguRBlEvjg2pSIOxgHIuffHCq3LYLhu-kJiPXfbUzUufOxTNK9Jyq9GjJtPfAsi5EBmw/s1600-h/IMG_2647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDATxSUZLEaxwv0vZVfLN1QSxsY40jhkvEaoBHSO3mnN8zShh5iAC5S4itzi27yULrlxhNFTCbguRBlEvjg2pSIOxgHIuffHCq3LYLhu-kJiPXfbUzUufOxTNK9Jyq9GjJtPfAsi5EBmw/s320/IMG_2647.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">me on the rope swing</div><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We got up at 6:30 Saturday morning and hopped a bus to take us down the hill and to the park. Most of us paid for a guide to take us through the park. The guides are very knowledgeable about the plants and animals. They carry telescopes with them and set them up often when they spot creatures for us to look at. They are very good at seeing the animals, big and small, that I never would have seen walking by myself. We saw sloths, monkeys, spiders, insects, lots of crabs, a deer on the beach and iguanas.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMaHSaF2tRS3b9p8_J3zlq3xLetZgReo7R7fRyuvIGDQEvoHRiZ3YcIxHX4VLAe8icj56iFqRQlNyFls0fuEC9WhlkyKsGyw4IaoyheAb1vGfg_nZ59Wwqupe9GegTqR1q-t7hOVv3wgk/s1600-h/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMaHSaF2tRS3b9p8_J3zlq3xLetZgReo7R7fRyuvIGDQEvoHRiZ3YcIxHX4VLAe8icj56iFqRQlNyFls0fuEC9WhlkyKsGyw4IaoyheAb1vGfg_nZ59Wwqupe9GegTqR1q-t7hOVv3wgk/s320/IMG_2434.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">sloth (my guide took this photo through the telescope)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2SfPhGwfYvSjPET3ha6uYI0LqpXOmYI0JEHCj1aSgRWmeNDAgDDktrnko4VPU9GOWzVNNN6jDELdjnU3opwrXuiggBPpFPcYDb7xyAP9dDBcUHE8k_t9-szkxHHm0EBjfwEUJoD1FJk/s1600-h/IMG_2457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2SfPhGwfYvSjPET3ha6uYI0LqpXOmYI0JEHCj1aSgRWmeNDAgDDktrnko4VPU9GOWzVNNN6jDELdjnU3opwrXuiggBPpFPcYDb7xyAP9dDBcUHE8k_t9-szkxHHm0EBjfwEUJoD1FJk/s320/IMG_2457.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZJ4S82dQKx5I1GuXYRigvb6s_vuFSHD5lLQ4NtXhLDaNzI7VuZr4coWVLt_OFWUUI4krAD7-aoFFuZ1ipy6Ho0HjR_JQ7_ArQmzR8B68MUSoprVmjLIll4hs-bkdDR1hjvgP7LhuGks/s1600-h/IMG_2475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZJ4S82dQKx5I1GuXYRigvb6s_vuFSHD5lLQ4NtXhLDaNzI7VuZr4coWVLt_OFWUUI4krAD7-aoFFuZ1ipy6Ho0HjR_JQ7_ArQmzR8B68MUSoprVmjLIll4hs-bkdDR1hjvgP7LhuGks/s320/IMG_2475.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AqOWhuHYfZI2te0albkUWPKwjECxIWLGHrkykUMnaekb_5K7Lh45GFSgGurcYPIwviPW4GFenCi-R4m9AUR6xJPtcq3mFZYH3FW_BoZr4CvX4qvpzqiPRicgDriSx8VaDYSTDLIKIWU/s1600-h/IMG_2591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AqOWhuHYfZI2te0albkUWPKwjECxIWLGHrkykUMnaekb_5K7Lh45GFSgGurcYPIwviPW4GFenCi-R4m9AUR6xJPtcq3mFZYH3FW_BoZr4CvX4qvpzqiPRicgDriSx8VaDYSTDLIKIWU/s320/IMG_2591.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWN1WS0AOcSBviYehbzyjLTFDMEN0-3M-uzbiMRvZlpDwXLWK5Ob0G-DCQwQoNsVCmlsTbUUwA-issPWuvSo8JwatdJlDZQ1PVeU6HBjFHaIW37gkvQaZBYHZHYN83nGJ-T3rAFsx4b24/s1600-h/IMG_2597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWN1WS0AOcSBviYehbzyjLTFDMEN0-3M-uzbiMRvZlpDwXLWK5Ob0G-DCQwQoNsVCmlsTbUUwA-issPWuvSo8JwatdJlDZQ1PVeU6HBjFHaIW37gkvQaZBYHZHYN83nGJ-T3rAFsx4b24/s320/IMG_2597.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIO1frFSF14ZIzSk6c3DMcbCAVnmTYMkEIWT2D7mLpD1trn59isfFG-KOYHS5JHcQinVJiCrK_a6TwyaIvr9xGarFMbMEOQyhAiPqcW0dqTisMb0dqDJ7RUSCGIEcLwWutxRjdUiTldQ/s1600-h/IMG_2641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIO1frFSF14ZIzSk6c3DMcbCAVnmTYMkEIWT2D7mLpD1trn59isfFG-KOYHS5JHcQinVJiCrK_a6TwyaIvr9xGarFMbMEOQyhAiPqcW0dqTisMb0dqDJ7RUSCGIEcLwWutxRjdUiTldQ/s320/IMG_2641.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The beach we went to was inside the park and it was beautiful! We spent the afternoon at the beach, me mostly in the shade. I also went with two others and climbed the rocks along one side out to a point. I climbed the large rock there and that is where one of the guys took the picture that I have on my profile.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnMGPld20ycEf0QvyjSIil_D_Xv71kqY7zQfVFxbH4Fi9juuzdIN6chIbjZ6nsizhCI_zAXidQLJKlx8pelCLhSzEZ5hEAHx12MV4As8SBog_4zethHQdeMutNEOW2NeKYSja8c4UBSs/s1600-h/IMG_2490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnMGPld20ycEf0QvyjSIil_D_Xv71kqY7zQfVFxbH4Fi9juuzdIN6chIbjZ6nsizhCI_zAXidQLJKlx8pelCLhSzEZ5hEAHx12MV4As8SBog_4zethHQdeMutNEOW2NeKYSja8c4UBSs/s320/IMG_2490.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRhYfF_K9HSmhzX8Jc9j8Mja0HfFdlvciwweIojyFlokQ3o-VC96fb8jHo-Al6mEqTQK7m0etTmaYONa0JT2l-MpLJkEZ78aCcvO3ZKlVJx7Gcbw0w8pINxXbr3e6sberNozQaW0N16U/s1600-h/IMG_2499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRhYfF_K9HSmhzX8Jc9j8Mja0HfFdlvciwweIojyFlokQ3o-VC96fb8jHo-Al6mEqTQK7m0etTmaYONa0JT2l-MpLJkEZ78aCcvO3ZKlVJx7Gcbw0w8pINxXbr3e6sberNozQaW0N16U/s320/IMG_2499.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLgMCbtdMuWZiUqQSdAQiIXye2A-pk17Ufe0d0P8FSEkwlkLHNR__E4pQlSQXefIttdpdT9YB5WYpyCB7R6pyywVXlqkKr5qp_qdM0lkDH8d5yHfohtQ72bGl0JzWA8DoLgvhTmNHImY/s1600-h/IMG_2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLgMCbtdMuWZiUqQSdAQiIXye2A-pk17Ufe0d0P8FSEkwlkLHNR__E4pQlSQXefIttdpdT9YB5WYpyCB7R6pyywVXlqkKr5qp_qdM0lkDH8d5yHfohtQ72bGl0JzWA8DoLgvhTmNHImY/s320/IMG_2521.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_JDxurY9_1LtJ4A2gPDufWuDl5aW-IxoCQe8RNlYWNmUp7ICBpNDuQQfehL2fip45wYVoEBbKSLvO2UV9zrU3wEWXrWmvq1VqQfJ0P4g611AwULeoIPCsDYHwBjDigC_Dea86cIqJr0/s1600-h/IMG_2588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_JDxurY9_1LtJ4A2gPDufWuDl5aW-IxoCQe8RNlYWNmUp7ICBpNDuQQfehL2fip45wYVoEBbKSLvO2UV9zrU3wEWXrWmvq1VqQfJ0P4g611AwULeoIPCsDYHwBjDigC_Dea86cIqJr0/s320/IMG_2588.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of us decided to walk back to the hostel. When you ride the bus, you don’t realize how far it is. It is almost all uphill and took us about an hour. We picked up some food from the grocery store and ate dinner at the hostel. I spent the evening at the hostel with several others and watched the futbol game (Costa Rica vs. Mexico).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fOBtPtTieqGZjhiQyJOinKSVWMLBjgkSyKeLEiomp1pAaouwBVwlzToAY_NVFfugsvxBrBUM_a_TKLV6rJrunfuCr9-kbeZz4CkibjJn8eD1pkDYRMbKyrqj8hVH0dBQ_lxkXjzYnio/s1600-h/IMG_2614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fOBtPtTieqGZjhiQyJOinKSVWMLBjgkSyKeLEiomp1pAaouwBVwlzToAY_NVFfugsvxBrBUM_a_TKLV6rJrunfuCr9-kbeZz4CkibjJn8eD1pkDYRMbKyrqj8hVH0dBQ_lxkXjzYnio/s320/IMG_2614.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Still more monkeys than people"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfF9gU2dotEUAtbXdP8lXDHseCemKAkmhfankxQ6Utiurp5B9F2tRiQjQEO_RdO4CJY87FuJPezmAT0UscbY21zx4ZsUTDsjiPHdUCda1aEX_6AjA3NjVQhyqWZVZJ113xcX-QPJTOlY/s1600-h/IMG_2634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfF9gU2dotEUAtbXdP8lXDHseCemKAkmhfankxQ6Utiurp5B9F2tRiQjQEO_RdO4CJY87FuJPezmAT0UscbY21zx4ZsUTDsjiPHdUCda1aEX_6AjA3NjVQhyqWZVZJ113xcX-QPJTOlY/s320/IMG_2634.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">playing uno at the hostel</div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next morning we went back to the beach for a few hours and then returned home. I was happy to see everyone on Skype Sunday night. I also really enjoyed looking at the pictures from family camp.</span>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-25653199446744257342009-09-02T15:30:00.000-06:002009-09-02T15:30:33.897-06:00shrimpThis one is for my dad. We made camarones y arroz con coco (shrimp and rice with coconut). I know that I like fried shrimp, but I wasn't sure about this because the shrimp is only cooked for a minute to get the flavoring on it. It is still basically raw. Ironically I liked the shrimp but disliked the rice (which I normally love).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistNw2d1zckgzSSSGScOwdPBy6WGxU7vQQTMCC2N_OZEphDO-HTn-XeJOBJyA3y-vWGpEtYwIYgHBrDTgibjX_vgP0WowKHeAXA7qnV4ahUSS0Fj9iB5_7qVk1U9aa_DSTZ4fGK-Z1Vcs/s1600-h/IMG_2374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistNw2d1zckgzSSSGScOwdPBy6WGxU7vQQTMCC2N_OZEphDO-HTn-XeJOBJyA3y-vWGpEtYwIYgHBrDTgibjX_vgP0WowKHeAXA7qnV4ahUSS0Fj9iB5_7qVk1U9aa_DSTZ4fGK-Z1Vcs/s320/IMG_2374.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The sauce that is on the rice is what we cooked the shrimp in. We also made fried platano which looked and tasted very different than what I have had at my house.</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-55960836508301721192009-09-02T15:08:00.000-06:002009-09-02T15:08:55.727-06:00Guayabo, Orosi and CartagoOn Sunday I went on a field trip with my Latin American Cultures Field Study class. We visited the Guayabo National Monument. This area was discovered when people where clearing the land for pastures. The tribes that made this village lived in the area from 1000 B.C. to 1450 A.D. There are the remains of the Monticulo Principal (main mound-I have not found a way to add the accent marks and such on this site), the ceremonial mound, aqueducts (that are still working) and a road that is the entrance to the village. We also saw a tomb where they would bury the dead. The closer to the center of the village someone was buried, the more important they were. Also they were important if they were buried deep. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyhZnupTXyRhr60FSe1lOZUAoD_R1F2S61HLUHk4DYGJZTUCu-RLCjDa5-jF5tL_Wc2rCBYRfo8gsag4EERNh64Dvb0j37mn9ORkRyWkH6C96p7koeOaSh8ikpv9TwACQV_Z6tBzDePY/s1600-h/IMG_2226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyhZnupTXyRhr60FSe1lOZUAoD_R1F2S61HLUHk4DYGJZTUCu-RLCjDa5-jF5tL_Wc2rCBYRfo8gsag4EERNh64Dvb0j37mn9ORkRyWkH6C96p7koeOaSh8ikpv9TwACQV_Z6tBzDePY/s320/IMG_2226.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">view on the way to Guayabo</div><br />
This road reminded me of the road to Hana on Maui. It was narrow, had one lane bridges, usually a drop-off on one side and was all curves and up and down. Our bus driver is very skilled!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7snZyMi6QAG2TFIEsbvkO61hUWA56Udawlp8WgFalg_FN9x97E6cTUKapIDRMsxrqvewVz-W1WqJxrJLhFMn5hPWvOSSPkW9bZaMFAmbJaslGCEwkB6BbVMmvtuA4_80yAUR7VJDUxc/s1600-h/IMG_2234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7snZyMi6QAG2TFIEsbvkO61hUWA56Udawlp8WgFalg_FN9x97E6cTUKapIDRMsxrqvewVz-W1WqJxrJLhFMn5hPWvOSSPkW9bZaMFAmbJaslGCEwkB6BbVMmvtuA4_80yAUR7VJDUxc/s320/IMG_2234.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">monolito - alligator</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This rock had the figure of an alligator on one side and a jaguar on the other. These animals represented strength and power on land and water.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd00p-f-jP4gLhXALpkhtME_cBIpUpYCV3EnpGmZwNuh_HLBIPs8g2xnxlZoD6Y0dLcC-8H_vbJRIgpUCrzoapFBgFuG4x4YjJpchj3fndGrbzLqzBmWPWYa6rT_VQE9q8po7aNZWFBLA/s1600-h/IMG_2248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd00p-f-jP4gLhXALpkhtME_cBIpUpYCV3EnpGmZwNuh_HLBIPs8g2xnxlZoD6Y0dLcC-8H_vbJRIgpUCrzoapFBgFuG4x4YjJpchj3fndGrbzLqzBmWPWYa6rT_VQE9q8po7aNZWFBLA/s320/IMG_2248.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">el paraguas del pobre (poor man's umbrella)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpy0rCbbw0VO1n5AbhdsCD2711DXaqRFq_Rp66mriUtuoW61WYBmnyVUhrqDy1CqXF_h2DvoZVjTxZ2GM98JXYsxcbfxCXEzabKIvUXuPLlDsQZDadVhQIUGtkCCeAy91KzhZ_ARgtXs/s1600-h/IMG_2252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpy0rCbbw0VO1n5AbhdsCD2711DXaqRFq_Rp66mriUtuoW61WYBmnyVUhrqDy1CqXF_h2DvoZVjTxZ2GM98JXYsxcbfxCXEzabKIvUXuPLlDsQZDadVhQIUGtkCCeAy91KzhZ_ARgtXs/s320/IMG_2252.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">view of the village from above</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLmM7IPv6usqrcgzPR6Cj_OTfTHuzljCXjOUgEZyE_zfLxNChk7ughJQhWYJdKP2zSC-5Q282snB8yq4eVdAZQC_ETR9xA061y88AGP68wpKRhLF20BrslfcvT2v7X0mR9DZLRxcLe2U/s1600-h/IMG_2265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLmM7IPv6usqrcgzPR6Cj_OTfTHuzljCXjOUgEZyE_zfLxNChk7ughJQhWYJdKP2zSC-5Q282snB8yq4eVdAZQC_ETR9xA061y88AGP68wpKRhLF20BrslfcvT2v7X0mR9DZLRxcLe2U/s320/IMG_2265.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tanque de Captacion</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the beginning of the aqueduct system. The spring that feeds this purification tank is 126m away. After this tank the water flows (underground) to the tanque de sedimentacion. The water then goes into the aqueduct were they got their water for daily activities. There is no water currently in the aqueduct as it has been diverted for use of nearby villages. The tanks and aqueducts have been designed to keep the flow always the same even in the rainy season so as not to overflow. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk_lVBDnB2BUf5M6VfGARnDJa7fumy7IYcZQeXVcFjkQAw3ta_1C5M_mL07Twse_3DhrzvZmhpGDWVwlYZ1F46FngCb9aRj_nZrr0_IBnBPAYv2AgIf8qaK6VotrA677hRLcUk8ajRYw/s1600-h/IMG_2286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk_lVBDnB2BUf5M6VfGARnDJa7fumy7IYcZQeXVcFjkQAw3ta_1C5M_mL07Twse_3DhrzvZmhpGDWVwlYZ1F46FngCb9aRj_nZrr0_IBnBPAYv2AgIf8qaK6VotrA677hRLcUk8ajRYw/s320/IMG_2286.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Calzada Caragra </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This road leads from the entrance of the village to the main mound.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPwzSkFE3YguOOQpp-mPd8ZXMSml0Ty9Q4w8zbPvR507CvxwfoFaxPh0oh4eUkYqc2znieltTEutkO5kGJXKInUNZTFZQYWKhSvPX0_TcAaZcXvnJn2YdsJpGXTGlX9H9gUjPO5H3CPc/s1600-h/IMG_2288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPwzSkFE3YguOOQpp-mPd8ZXMSml0Ty9Q4w8zbPvR507CvxwfoFaxPh0oh4eUkYqc2znieltTEutkO5kGJXKInUNZTFZQYWKhSvPX0_TcAaZcXvnJn2YdsJpGXTGlX9H9gUjPO5H3CPc/s320/IMG_2288.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Monticulos Rectangulares</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These are the only two rectangular mounds and they mark the entrance to the village (there are 48 round mounds total).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPuJH2i6Xd-9KVmWr_0QiczR2dH7WjbHppxDKyCSJgAUb0DdCgjCBBmh4y2VuIsE39Kqa9hRkmHKx34hSUbNDDzveQVOnqtZMsT6JoE0stwwJEB0vGNg-GNciDNBOf8IKqTgh363OAFg/s1600-h/IMG_2274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPuJH2i6Xd-9KVmWr_0QiczR2dH7WjbHppxDKyCSJgAUb0DdCgjCBBmh4y2VuIsE39Kqa9hRkmHKx34hSUbNDDzveQVOnqtZMsT6JoE0stwwJEB0vGNg-GNciDNBOf8IKqTgh363OAFg/s320/IMG_2274.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluG8MzYB0wIp0skZQH1uX4cC72rj9rW4-mek8WW4ys8Xqy-JM7OW2OwlCEEBE3CN6XouhAIZv9IhyB_GZvyui9jsbOInp6Tg-0-FlEmBFbuUtzajoe-rbRJ0mg_Q7OVUUZPEpQ6mtaME/s1600-h/IMG_2292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluG8MzYB0wIp0skZQH1uX4cC72rj9rW4-mek8WW4ys8Xqy-JM7OW2OwlCEEBE3CN6XouhAIZv9IhyB_GZvyui9jsbOInp6Tg-0-FlEmBFbuUtzajoe-rbRJ0mg_Q7OVUUZPEpQ6mtaME/s320/IMG_2292.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizqIB0KmGzAmrO3m1SRugTsbhKtmFK95PbBsZuJnFSFYX3djJp8r1SZMh2oV5wbFXZZTilCrSWvjR3v6QoxX6l3I4nwNoEimBw6QZZi9rJOYn83mKW9YhChW0p7oNqmlSyNOKmJBNH0w/s1600-h/IMG_2302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizqIB0KmGzAmrO3m1SRugTsbhKtmFK95PbBsZuJnFSFYX3djJp8r1SZMh2oV5wbFXZZTilCrSWvjR3v6QoxX6l3I4nwNoEimBw6QZZi9rJOYn83mKW9YhChW0p7oNqmlSyNOKmJBNH0w/s320/IMG_2302.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXD54Pg8EQdFAqVTZPzhEDUikNDoO2aKdAvNbmntqBk1bWyg0v7IPm-JgLBR2c6CfYkfE8Gw0R0vjiKqK2MZ0PN_QbXhlawP5-BoCPmtvvKZ9i-7ntMi6Kg2rkMlhQiEPwz0txlelz-cg/s1600-h/IMG_2309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXD54Pg8EQdFAqVTZPzhEDUikNDoO2aKdAvNbmntqBk1bWyg0v7IPm-JgLBR2c6CfYkfE8Gw0R0vjiKqK2MZ0PN_QbXhlawP5-BoCPmtvvKZ9i-7ntMi6Kg2rkMlhQiEPwz0txlelz-cg/s320/IMG_2309.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">coffee fields</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Next we went to see la Inglesia de San Jose Orosi. This church, built in 1734, is the oldest church in Costa Rica still used today.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqAf1yh5kCRmvvf4qcSAIbsYQme26p0KAfWdiqogYO2rrXQZ2IMfnZ_ey5gxtVuD4evFRvf74AVrUMXoFeWxW-HCRTrQVRGmJajRMZbzPxVLNW6Mw9_4oGv9EySZnoZ_c6I5unnOqGNo/s1600-h/IMG_2315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqAf1yh5kCRmvvf4qcSAIbsYQme26p0KAfWdiqogYO2rrXQZ2IMfnZ_ey5gxtVuD4evFRvf74AVrUMXoFeWxW-HCRTrQVRGmJajRMZbzPxVLNW6Mw9_4oGv9EySZnoZ_c6I5unnOqGNo/s320/IMG_2315.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufivIEgTaTHM8oz5IpC3s8zdS-8JIG-xyTnVAX1if6udJfTWnakLNkBfPmuU4tFWb7oOgoY7E573R4pdQfdGwuYWmWBwsHRH_fc6G-CbSFbvitiNMYDSGCiRqZZTzKQRKhzMYysCqlSQ/s1600-h/IMG_2319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufivIEgTaTHM8oz5IpC3s8zdS-8JIG-xyTnVAX1if6udJfTWnakLNkBfPmuU4tFWb7oOgoY7E573R4pdQfdGwuYWmWBwsHRH_fc6G-CbSFbvitiNMYDSGCiRqZZTzKQRKhzMYysCqlSQ/s320/IMG_2319.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7AHbtJaMQHZEmBexVvDt6G3AkUZRtx2beq0fqvIWSKmAfNF_ftAbuOwz8ga_BppGfo85yEMJDoOiTVtwNXJX4pp2d3eS79fvb3kHncQFSr8zabQwsyYyhFVYqkUAiK4zwTueqSqTs2k/s1600-h/IMG_2325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7AHbtJaMQHZEmBexVvDt6G3AkUZRtx2beq0fqvIWSKmAfNF_ftAbuOwz8ga_BppGfo85yEMJDoOiTVtwNXJX4pp2d3eS79fvb3kHncQFSr8zabQwsyYyhFVYqkUAiK4zwTueqSqTs2k/s320/IMG_2325.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqW7x0zo2qjdKuqL-1NsMgeHZ2hkXkspAxaS5Pv6WJfdciattNM9gE5OT7gKJQqgyFfeKaEc2YOM2ZRwjxQB_H6yRZQJr39_Lq5TPciZ7Qud680SJIXE1NC_BFQ-uGle1k9QVxtlIRbRQ/s1600-h/IMG_2330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqW7x0zo2qjdKuqL-1NsMgeHZ2hkXkspAxaS5Pv6WJfdciattNM9gE5OT7gKJQqgyFfeKaEc2YOM2ZRwjxQB_H6yRZQJr39_Lq5TPciZ7Qud680SJIXE1NC_BFQ-uGle1k9QVxtlIRbRQ/s320/IMG_2330.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These original paintings from France lined both side walls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkx_uzqb5vQRnPok8Ip8APCoy2ZU4w5a41NkLZQqsNduN9qpma2YT_WK0dqENU5hEnLgNsluTggj5LmvQySq9LbkbioGlbwqpl3-_j_6cxKdCViUt7xi3neCLDfeDmsrm_kBd_E2UCK_k/s1600-h/IMG_2336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkx_uzqb5vQRnPok8Ip8APCoy2ZU4w5a41NkLZQqsNduN9qpma2YT_WK0dqENU5hEnLgNsluTggj5LmvQySq9LbkbioGlbwqpl3-_j_6cxKdCViUt7xi3neCLDfeDmsrm_kBd_E2UCK_k/s320/IMG_2336.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The last place we went was the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAgw3h2uuwoTuTXDxOs0OhUdvEgYMixGah02P-S3mQzhgAm_CxsB1X7NqS0EjggaAJLr9zse31wDmRvjuBn0cPmOhqn9n747MekaKOIV8rj94C9DZNww5GMFNrkqaveXXZTVCUM1Pivs/s1600-h/IMG_2355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAgw3h2uuwoTuTXDxOs0OhUdvEgYMixGah02P-S3mQzhgAm_CxsB1X7NqS0EjggaAJLr9zse31wDmRvjuBn0cPmOhqn9n747MekaKOIV8rj94C9DZNww5GMFNrkqaveXXZTVCUM1Pivs/s320/IMG_2355.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_-y3Am2UsV19T70uWIhzk76K-9gI9DlyCfsfm4EGB3zcbrgtoE5kopsHgo0rhujwQsgn5N2P09-jG8EV5xkL0TLjl6g7z1Ahj8WucB-VXIEs3wF05iD2_L029T-v0UNFKk2oiy29ztI/s1600-h/IMG_2353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_-y3Am2UsV19T70uWIhzk76K-9gI9DlyCfsfm4EGB3zcbrgtoE5kopsHgo0rhujwQsgn5N2P09-jG8EV5xkL0TLjl6g7z1Ahj8WucB-VXIEs3wF05iD2_L029T-v0UNFKk2oiy29ztI/s320/IMG_2353.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZoVfXSyeg0Gs0WT2uGantEwL0uGh44wQiSz5vjlpu4vs8U2GD9hHO_FmVssK6RyZDnu29p3isSI2BigrGVtJgnzpYESK-YHkW_oaT8zxHWNHrtCk6UYcfFtXjTJ59FFbJ1wSpHE6ML4/s1600-h/IMG_2350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZoVfXSyeg0Gs0WT2uGantEwL0uGh44wQiSz5vjlpu4vs8U2GD9hHO_FmVssK6RyZDnu29p3isSI2BigrGVtJgnzpYESK-YHkW_oaT8zxHWNHrtCk6UYcfFtXjTJ59FFbJ1wSpHE6ML4/s320/IMG_2350.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">where the people get their holy water</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwN2I3q-L1nomji_qmBoUd4X8IXc1XYG-d_7aiUBevFwe5vqu3IFxcp7mKMxDj27_hOE0jZlu7cS3v2ZYp-9q5uhzLTYIxGayjtB0tyrOgut66LHMFSE01tpPLTjEjKUMH7TcTaNGZpY/s1600-h/IMG_2343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwN2I3q-L1nomji_qmBoUd4X8IXc1XYG-d_7aiUBevFwe5vqu3IFxcp7mKMxDj27_hOE0jZlu7cS3v2ZYp-9q5uhzLTYIxGayjtB0tyrOgut66LHMFSE01tpPLTjEjKUMH7TcTaNGZpY/s320/IMG_2343.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">According to the legend, in 1635 a peasant girl found a small stone statue of the Virgin holding the Christ child. Twice she took the statue home and placed it in a box, and twice it mysteriously reappeared at the spot where it was discovered. The Catholic Church agreed that the Virgin wanted a cathedral built on that spot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Two side notes:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 1. I got to try sugar cane</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> 2. One of the girls from Nevada had Hawthorne Heights on her ipod!</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-27787089238693017132009-08-31T21:14:00.000-06:002009-08-31T21:14:06.346-06:00mi casa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3XGyPnaqIEexPUpk7aMKGtFUFx-sXf_jKRhPBVtJKSLt0uJVsOXQybzO2rB9nRi9cM6Z7YShMYmpgKRBLlZWsXWqXj4KqTYddl3LJhapMo_1w5GJY6Gp5C0u2VS2d0G6JvOwH-X_ThY/s1600-h/IMG_2358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3XGyPnaqIEexPUpk7aMKGtFUFx-sXf_jKRhPBVtJKSLt0uJVsOXQybzO2rB9nRi9cM6Z7YShMYmpgKRBLlZWsXWqXj4KqTYddl3LJhapMo_1w5GJY6Gp5C0u2VS2d0G6JvOwH-X_ThY/s320/IMG_2358.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">living room</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSiOOYMnB-bK-jhyphenhyphenmchGXVQ1sIkInmorh1A7lkJaLJZhmjDWDqZFrojzS-ZXCeSyAg0stgUzIrcRHHIvtV7Yi9JjwalmW9xauUrb_rNqXQ3W7Tci3WCImM2lJireoTWVFClsqkZq2DCI/s1600-h/IMG_2362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSiOOYMnB-bK-jhyphenhyphenmchGXVQ1sIkInmorh1A7lkJaLJZhmjDWDqZFrojzS-ZXCeSyAg0stgUzIrcRHHIvtV7Yi9JjwalmW9xauUrb_rNqXQ3W7Tci3WCImM2lJireoTWVFClsqkZq2DCI/s320/IMG_2362.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">dining area and kitchen (in rear), door to my room on right</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1WkNzNvOOnMCZTGHKn5-t7prs08wod_1vVafTzeOITUitDZW596xLBA_JGR94axNI9h9s5I1nEWKsXYtYB-URLwOXwtF6uSMrOg9lK4SDDEU_ez3HbafSc-tGW8hWmFd5O7_ofZOb80/s1600-h/IMG_2366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1WkNzNvOOnMCZTGHKn5-t7prs08wod_1vVafTzeOITUitDZW596xLBA_JGR94axNI9h9s5I1nEWKsXYtYB-URLwOXwtF6uSMrOg9lK4SDDEU_ez3HbafSc-tGW8hWmFd5O7_ofZOb80/s320/IMG_2366.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">backyard</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My host mom is an artist. There are several of her paintings in the living area and one in my room. She also made the quilt on my bed.</div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-63336439469277654042009-08-31T16:12:00.000-06:002009-08-31T16:12:24.387-06:00INBio Parque and Irazu VolcanoFirst a correction on a previous blog-the mall is called Paseo de las Flores.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Saturday we went on our first field trip. We met at 8:00am and went to the INBio Parque in Heredia. Side note: the address is 400 meters north and 250 meters west of the Shell Service Station in Santo Domingo, Heredia, or 2.5 km east of La Valencia on the road to Heredia. The park was pretty cool. Our guides spoke in spanish but I understood most of what they said. The park had several different areas with different types of plants and/or animals. They also had a butterfly garden.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG3M5gttWLY1aJuWzyQq9FW6d4KaiKmXa2yt51Q6ZiSD4kjiOV8HWc8ouATWRTEhUV0dNe7RQ5X2j6tAloPbliPbrZI3Ybj-MGSwBw1X5EJ8C3Z5c5gU6E3sKayKC6Wx-xqqzr5k-Bb8/s1600-h/IMG_2120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG3M5gttWLY1aJuWzyQq9FW6d4KaiKmXa2yt51Q6ZiSD4kjiOV8HWc8ouATWRTEhUV0dNe7RQ5X2j6tAloPbliPbrZI3Ybj-MGSwBw1X5EJ8C3Z5c5gU6E3sKayKC6Wx-xqqzr5k-Bb8/s320/IMG_2120.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">USAC students</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQP1pIxUWRLYNPqKaw9DfyltE1-NZo-sBqdqFlr4WOLRM-badY6Qy-GRSZRh4bhRe2bhemuPiNH3_BVtgPsLffnhTlv3KXjZ7-X8cJZs-WPMQLHplrFB5FtbwKp_60iunKLJhR1yAIs0/s1600-h/IMG_2127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQP1pIxUWRLYNPqKaw9DfyltE1-NZo-sBqdqFlr4WOLRM-badY6Qy-GRSZRh4bhRe2bhemuPiNH3_BVtgPsLffnhTlv3KXjZ7-X8cJZs-WPMQLHplrFB5FtbwKp_60iunKLJhR1yAIs0/s320/IMG_2127.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRefh5Orbk9UPGTmNXmksXvlOsoyhavUx25Gwo3qanQ1aqCwhBYy34VEA-MR_mpxwf1e5B-9fjerBwZ5AUYh-rhoYJs6v3GFGdXurq268FoY9jBLsbvBjWFFqGuCkQI50InH_KLn6tv0/s1600-h/IMG_2139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRefh5Orbk9UPGTmNXmksXvlOsoyhavUx25Gwo3qanQ1aqCwhBYy34VEA-MR_mpxwf1e5B-9fjerBwZ5AUYh-rhoYJs6v3GFGdXurq268FoY9jBLsbvBjWFFqGuCkQI50InH_KLn6tv0/s320/IMG_2139.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJSKdEETLBQ-xKRgoLtC2_koJWkbPJSnlKcW-F4JjIItFNbj1LhtWHEWsrQyzG5jD1Lox6W4ayP0oATwuiyNPE9HCIhalz5DHeItp5qVjolJ5fpJIzfM7HhCBfw-ey-rRRYtPnA3vOdE/s1600-h/IMG_2142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJSKdEETLBQ-xKRgoLtC2_koJWkbPJSnlKcW-F4JjIItFNbj1LhtWHEWsrQyzG5jD1Lox6W4ayP0oATwuiyNPE9HCIhalz5DHeItp5qVjolJ5fpJIzfM7HhCBfw-ey-rRRYtPnA3vOdE/s320/IMG_2142.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTU88mZpBiGgZDNTX9EopQSPLH8sOKWUOL3q6bDLfQqfyv9Xe-qAuiKmHhLGXSbglBmckcS9m4j1ON6MSUMK8Zyc6HiGiTMEiIhLBpiKCRHRJ07_PRrPwx_0nayZiVDa1qjjLrMJqizCE/s1600-h/IMG_2151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTU88mZpBiGgZDNTX9EopQSPLH8sOKWUOL3q6bDLfQqfyv9Xe-qAuiKmHhLGXSbglBmckcS9m4j1ON6MSUMK8Zyc6HiGiTMEiIhLBpiKCRHRJ07_PRrPwx_0nayZiVDa1qjjLrMJqizCE/s320/IMG_2151.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANUULHxIjx_ntEViipV13vtYgSZ6nXIKEDL1FBJ3WAXmbdgvIDLdGJvqFD2U1Gk6W_jsBhknKEnqzw432Xuxp04SJs-K8_UPywul9fc2zGXzE3Gf6IZ2cgo3sMlOHaYS1q3QJ73_l144/s1600-h/IMG_2154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANUULHxIjx_ntEViipV13vtYgSZ6nXIKEDL1FBJ3WAXmbdgvIDLdGJvqFD2U1Gk6W_jsBhknKEnqzw432Xuxp04SJs-K8_UPywul9fc2zGXzE3Gf6IZ2cgo3sMlOHaYS1q3QJ73_l144/s320/IMG_2154.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMR6bNj0R2eOvR7TsofRDPntJS7ve2mBsW6Vpr_mUNmy33k121ot_DuufxerxmZLZTmRMnukATKXQAPSpjomr5gh7XBxN8V_SYLusDTYUth6ntvmxz4RqUgXx2P5wTXVD0uLV8kJHPF4/s1600-h/IMG_2156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMR6bNj0R2eOvR7TsofRDPntJS7ve2mBsW6Vpr_mUNmy33k121ot_DuufxerxmZLZTmRMnukATKXQAPSpjomr5gh7XBxN8V_SYLusDTYUth6ntvmxz4RqUgXx2P5wTXVD0uLV8kJHPF4/s320/IMG_2156.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OVauEOIcubQ6eRsZFqInJNglqb7t5wtG-jXynYCqnz5p-yCV-PGBNtJWyyCfCsI5bjVHa6PgJ4iHuEF26UHrYNP83KEPdaqqIb9U5pUtrRYpDZc1QbavYdD8TDddLCF3ScfdEQ0GlGk/s1600-h/IMG_2161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OVauEOIcubQ6eRsZFqInJNglqb7t5wtG-jXynYCqnz5p-yCV-PGBNtJWyyCfCsI5bjVHa6PgJ4iHuEF26UHrYNP83KEPdaqqIb9U5pUtrRYpDZc1QbavYdD8TDddLCF3ScfdEQ0GlGk/s320/IMG_2161.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_aakGFzUJ5n1hYPneAFVBCaM2IIi7JyThM-xm_o3c1RiQeVqOl2vvFHt3j1nwQvPMqQwvE-i-RMkx8GTP8dZGgRHZpOPM39j1ZQw5Kdsr9KKKhyphenhyphengrjXa04cHUnjl_MmYyZbVBXPF6lE/s1600-h/IMG_2184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_aakGFzUJ5n1hYPneAFVBCaM2IIi7JyThM-xm_o3c1RiQeVqOl2vvFHt3j1nwQvPMqQwvE-i-RMkx8GTP8dZGgRHZpOPM39j1ZQw5Kdsr9KKKhyphenhyphengrjXa04cHUnjl_MmYyZbVBXPF6lE/s320/IMG_2184.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgRUbcDXIr-hxk7Fbse732cucc3j2JT0oDqZgyhxbe_dtgrARjiWjr33iRaWsTjAxBpeX1MsA4SCbWUe2FcqjJhaWGdpmUERkb_hRY-9BOMLKB45WOBHX2GXAeqgWLKRmyNeuOeWufrY/s1600-h/IMG_2188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgRUbcDXIr-hxk7Fbse732cucc3j2JT0oDqZgyhxbe_dtgrARjiWjr33iRaWsTjAxBpeX1MsA4SCbWUe2FcqjJhaWGdpmUERkb_hRY-9BOMLKB45WOBHX2GXAeqgWLKRmyNeuOeWufrY/s320/IMG_2188.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After this we went to lunch at a restaurant where the walls and ceiling were covered with business cards and notes. Here we had a traditional dish called "casado" (married). This dish usually includes beans, rice, salad and meat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NcbjIpgeKMXf8hhMhRREz6mK_RWvuHvQTk3fLpk63WjZ17WK6CdjRnm-If_YexHAaAEFqJ9okkUBSuDwiwCMPd3pzwNeX7uVRxtkb3Aifzb2mYISZUp-nycS9v317UytH67uqJBO2As/s1600-h/IMG_2195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NcbjIpgeKMXf8hhMhRREz6mK_RWvuHvQTk3fLpk63WjZ17WK6CdjRnm-If_YexHAaAEFqJ9okkUBSuDwiwCMPd3pzwNeX7uVRxtkb3Aifzb2mYISZUp-nycS9v317UytH67uqJBO2As/s320/IMG_2195.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After lunch we drove up to the Irazu Volcano. It was very foggy but the clouds cleared for about 1 minute while we were there and I was able to get a picture. The weather at the top was very chilly and off-and-on rain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzZHP5d9lvUJWa5Y8o7pBKL43jtAaBrSKXo3XYzYrWAWkH8ZfVqJVlpuyn3GX8Q8T0pwC3JZjA6XV2OGG1SjE0rHsxEflVjr6f3bBzrh42BVPFAE-D_y1mwMrO1SOTiKfv-r61-7I5-k/s1600-h/IMG_2202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzZHP5d9lvUJWa5Y8o7pBKL43jtAaBrSKXo3XYzYrWAWkH8ZfVqJVlpuyn3GX8Q8T0pwC3JZjA6XV2OGG1SjE0rHsxEflVjr6f3bBzrh42BVPFAE-D_y1mwMrO1SOTiKfv-r61-7I5-k/s320/IMG_2202.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">before the fog lifted</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sfBI7_mYLigAEk4-ovpTRPbr1v1le7tNjiJneAgNV1TPdtERhsaIEQ4A6PNHSK6nifMi2ZzObb4388wLwVB3JeWHnlYsiwDUj5h5nU_vLbfI7jeDOkla8l-KaYSvWlt4XoKxXfDLgbs/s1600-h/IMG_2211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sfBI7_mYLigAEk4-ovpTRPbr1v1le7tNjiJneAgNV1TPdtERhsaIEQ4A6PNHSK6nifMi2ZzObb4388wLwVB3JeWHnlYsiwDUj5h5nU_vLbfI7jeDOkla8l-KaYSvWlt4XoKxXfDLgbs/s320/IMG_2211.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Volcan Irazu</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4lOBByIciVgB2yZRLFVHfwtAuXpwhmD6KxzqeImrKeWLqAGI8QQLmRxRCAkNt3mM7-G2gZaqd83jsoBPJQC-07il1TPB_gSV7bD3PjK3RY6BM38izkqzwwqnBT68WJXxfiYmRxIxyys/s1600-h/IMG_2219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4lOBByIciVgB2yZRLFVHfwtAuXpwhmD6KxzqeImrKeWLqAGI8QQLmRxRCAkNt3mM7-G2gZaqd83jsoBPJQC-07il1TPB_gSV7bD3PjK3RY6BM38izkqzwwqnBT68WJXxfiYmRxIxyys/s320/IMG_2219.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5z80L4A5F_bwVbL_T_XX9iXrWFFWLFrSce9FXKs1ZeqOxXuFYpCwMAabGQ3HzAiPhezX3OK1JMkzNEpADXmifY-d2W3LUjkRjiPgaJe7Cl_tJ0g_zhAEz4DQYrRu_ysKmGRUmkJRPZnw/s1600-h/IMG_2208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5z80L4A5F_bwVbL_T_XX9iXrWFFWLFrSce9FXKs1ZeqOxXuFYpCwMAabGQ3HzAiPhezX3OK1JMkzNEpADXmifY-d2W3LUjkRjiPgaJe7Cl_tJ0g_zhAEz4DQYrRu_ysKmGRUmkJRPZnw/s320/IMG_2208.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">area where there is no growth, only volcanic ash</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-74891210946714249062009-08-28T17:20:00.000-06:002009-08-28T17:20:29.400-06:00que hora es?Yesterday I went to a mall (La Plaza de las Flores) with some other students. We ate at the food court (I had Chinese) and just wandered around. We then returned to downtown where a few of us bought watches. At home I use my cell phone as my watch; since being here I never know the time. I feels odd having something on my arm. We also stopped in at Pops Heladeria (ice-cream shop). People do not eat much sweets here. Sometimes we have fried platano as a sort of dessert with dinner. <br />
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Tomorrow our whole group is going to the INBIO Parque and Irazu Volcano.Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-51280243195827241612009-08-26T21:47:00.000-06:002009-08-26T21:47:16.876-06:00moneyI found out today that Anja lives just around the block from me. We walked home from school together and went to the supermarket. The prices look a bit odd to me. 1850 colones for shampoo (the cheap kind); it is about $3.20. They have few bills and a lot of coins.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bUhdIcxJ1YBLPbVi1w_ei9FZyIxKMQIfrD1eJmzOco6h6HFyBJ4I8RGhMXQp-wy5_B0CzFcX5CNdRpbw34aZ4vDEoqWcu0GiSp7XPdzjbo9iQ3mMuVA3w6CSL-C_GJjunkE8rAveGO4/s1600-h/IMG_2111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bUhdIcxJ1YBLPbVi1w_ei9FZyIxKMQIfrD1eJmzOco6h6HFyBJ4I8RGhMXQp-wy5_B0CzFcX5CNdRpbw34aZ4vDEoqWcu0GiSp7XPdzjbo9iQ3mMuVA3w6CSL-C_GJjunkE8rAveGO4/s320/IMG_2111.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-86659787359780929112009-08-25T22:43:00.000-06:002009-08-25T22:43:10.121-06:00cooking class<div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>I walked home from the university for lunch and am guessing it takes about 30 minutes. I like walking and would do this all the time except that it was very humid. <br />
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A few of us walked to the Parque Central between classes. I thought this sign was funny especially considering the couple on the left.<br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheogTyAniXtUS4lkfVLR8YtHPfJvufu0eklrsYS0sMxouc24UNYnpsgsJ6nXR345vC55arPzWzZtXBcsylV4_-IePTZpMtCAqIRU93J1R9ON2Si77BupO39ykAaJkBnwQgH7qafFymDuQ/s1600-h/IMG_2077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheogTyAniXtUS4lkfVLR8YtHPfJvufu0eklrsYS0sMxouc24UNYnpsgsJ6nXR345vC55arPzWzZtXBcsylV4_-IePTZpMtCAqIRU93J1R9ON2Si77BupO39ykAaJkBnwQgH7qafFymDuQ/s320/IMG_2077.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98eHf9S_HNX6vbYIIUCX_kDuzescEmmCj9BMyt8sr_3xxjlGOOvJGpvCqcsGmOwDUmwXrRJQwBqCUa3WaNgs2Gw6kQS_NhMUgCJNGTuE7BGIlyOX5WNY3DTarcf7vQ6yMNl5CN5hFUZU/s1600-h/IMG_2081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98eHf9S_HNX6vbYIIUCX_kDuzescEmmCj9BMyt8sr_3xxjlGOOvJGpvCqcsGmOwDUmwXrRJQwBqCUa3WaNgs2Gw6kQS_NhMUgCJNGTuE7BGIlyOX5WNY3DTarcf7vQ6yMNl5CN5hFUZU/s320/IMG_2081.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lzm7xnLLt8RfvWibb2kk2j9noeZA1TcM4XiUMGio_v6Su8Dv5xszq_0wstPCmSgNhyuUD7qtogfWUSmJjKvoVIKUn5ZWdW1Wal4ZBFFHw4NIwXjGrIzF64YuCHYp68FYbt1YLUy9QDY/s1600-h/IMG_2087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lzm7xnLLt8RfvWibb2kk2j9noeZA1TcM4XiUMGio_v6Su8Dv5xszq_0wstPCmSgNhyuUD7qtogfWUSmJjKvoVIKUn5ZWdW1Wal4ZBFFHw4NIwXjGrIzF64YuCHYp68FYbt1YLUy9QDY/s320/IMG_2087.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Had my first cooking class today and made empanadas: ham/cheese, beef/chiles/egg, and tomato/cheese/basil. I have to say that I did not eat much of what I cooked. After class ended at 6:00 it is fairly dark. I took a taxi for the first time which is interesting because I did not have an address to give him. Most of the students have written instructions from their host parents that they can show the cab driver. I don't have this yet as I take the bus. I told the driver I needed to go to San Pablo (neighborhood/village) near to MasXMenos (supermarket) and then was able to direct him to my house about 2 blocks from there.<br />
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<div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUm0X3TtFtuQvzcE2RxHTs4j2qqRS2o72te3eCsXHafgxXebMJV0VH5TD1PYkUmkC0eY2SL-p-fEe-AKvRuGBLlJjgLvsNEBOj0aLrYsoxxccEHjapllsVkhK_GFUP7a22sDJv-9_59Os/s1600-h/IMG_2098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUm0X3TtFtuQvzcE2RxHTs4j2qqRS2o72te3eCsXHafgxXebMJV0VH5TD1PYkUmkC0eY2SL-p-fEe-AKvRuGBLlJjgLvsNEBOj0aLrYsoxxccEHjapllsVkhK_GFUP7a22sDJv-9_59Os/s320/IMG_2098.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>I was very excited tonight as my shower was lukewarm! It wasn't anywhere near what we would call warm but it was better than before. About half way through the shower the water actually got warm...for about 15 seconds and then it was freezing cold. Oh well, I tried to enjoy it while it lasted.</div></div></div></div>Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-1362977691003291742009-08-25T22:19:00.000-06:002009-08-25T22:19:34.635-06:00first photos<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqQSBzvPi7Uej-xkaxRzqUxR_RJBY31ZvTFcYY-JnA9RsMBL8L8P4LUJnM3w3-TIUPNylFlYAUr77f19WGLmoBeaX7OFnXm1hH4jyD5D_Rn6VKk5GtoQjg71ElYilZV3GBSN-3dAuhLQ/s1600-h/IMG_2061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqQSBzvPi7Uej-xkaxRzqUxR_RJBY31ZvTFcYY-JnA9RsMBL8L8P4LUJnM3w3-TIUPNylFlYAUr77f19WGLmoBeaX7OFnXm1hH4jyD5D_Rn6VKk5GtoQjg71ElYilZV3GBSN-3dAuhLQ/s320/IMG_2061.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5B2AP9r9XULESFbHJSaB8ncuYeyZf6hCozGLqc_BkbnrmoSO7jClvxwaW8l1uhPxDeQ8zQBsojTRaCM5sSsZRRTeN27OwxUMr8l-LyJIHYzDDw8hr2pgPvzJgpZlXPP7Iswl4PjfKDs/s1600-h/IMG_2068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5B2AP9r9XULESFbHJSaB8ncuYeyZf6hCozGLqc_BkbnrmoSO7jClvxwaW8l1uhPxDeQ8zQBsojTRaCM5sSsZRRTeN27OwxUMr8l-LyJIHYzDDw8hr2pgPvzJgpZlXPP7Iswl4PjfKDs/s320/IMG_2068.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5orBDlCxCPeCu5YE_MFTHAD938bsXQth1D5lWie9g864Bl_fxGfWmQ6xkcWpl_RCqdI1oiGzfXFgowXMghC5lXct6pyivlqyKiZtLMVbNtLXF5hqTbxA2ddnI9DpALsSfEdyQQyHlNIo/s1600-h/IMG_2069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5orBDlCxCPeCu5YE_MFTHAD938bsXQth1D5lWie9g864Bl_fxGfWmQ6xkcWpl_RCqdI1oiGzfXFgowXMghC5lXct6pyivlqyKiZtLMVbNtLXF5hqTbxA2ddnI9DpALsSfEdyQQyHlNIo/s320/IMG_2069.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwLLAjCNhdoheSRnn99dPZ_BrLiqYmPiH2swgC9NTw6jpzDfhKv2sp5-R8W4ecKSxBHLtCnGEfBZ4Qplbsv1yMCMVOZfhZsBR9oA7BH9Lsrkk1zuas55lHOGIQ4igYSyYnE3HFhcRfTE/s1600-h/IMG_2075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwLLAjCNhdoheSRnn99dPZ_BrLiqYmPiH2swgC9NTw6jpzDfhKv2sp5-R8W4ecKSxBHLtCnGEfBZ4Qplbsv1yMCMVOZfhZsBR9oA7BH9Lsrkk1zuas55lHOGIQ4igYSyYnE3HFhcRfTE/s320/IMG_2075.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6a4clhmM4a9zK0OjMyVxZe7P6JUFfdRNK01gUGYj12rEcod6yrVnodtjv6IgSKOYulvG791zEF2WotA915RwFQIlEgLaosFpj1eqcNwG8obXC01jIqjq17kRaYlOQZHpVxD1MTgXzYQw/s1600-h/IMG_2070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6a4clhmM4a9zK0OjMyVxZe7P6JUFfdRNK01gUGYj12rEcod6yrVnodtjv6IgSKOYulvG791zEF2WotA915RwFQIlEgLaosFpj1eqcNwG8obXC01jIqjq17kRaYlOQZHpVxD1MTgXzYQw/s320/IMG_2070.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />
Here are some photos I took my first day here. For those who don't know about the angel it has gone many places. It has been passed from friend to friend and has been to Cambridge, Yellowstone, London, New Zealand, Washington DC, Hong Kong and now Costa Rica.Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-36888133518193474352009-08-24T21:21:00.002-06:002009-08-24T21:52:48.877-06:00first day of classesToday was the first day of classes. My host mother took the bus with me to show me the ropes of the public transit system. I only had Spanish this morning and the professor seems great. All the people I have met connected to the USAC program are very nice and helpful. My host mother then came when I got out to show me where the bus stop was that I needed to go to to return home. There are no street names here. Everything is related to by km and landmarks. For example for their address they may say: 50km N of Pops (ice-cream place), etc. This is why all our mail is sent to a PO Box for USAC and then one of the directors brings it to their office where we have our own mailboxes. My address is:<br /><br />Esther Shively<br />P.O. Box 541-3000<br />Heredia, Costa Rica<br /><br />Anyway, got a little off subject. The bus I took today costs 320 colones (about 60 cents) and it is the expensive bus. I get on 1 block from my house and off right in front of the university. To go back home I have to walk 4 blocks over and 4 blocks down (I don't know which direction that is yet).<br /><br />I have a long enough break from classes to come home for lunch. I went back this afternoon to check out another class which was at the Public Library. When I left there I knew how to get back to the bus station but wasn't for sure if I got on the right bus. I just kept praying that it was and that it would stop at the right place where I needed to get off. I was pretty worried because they don't stop at every station unless there is someone there or someone signals to get off. There was no cord to pull on this bus like the previous one and I didn't see a button to push. As we went right past the stop at my street I told the girl sitting next to me that I needed to get off (in espanol). Apparently someone else signalled the bus to stop and I got off one block down the street and all was okay.<br /><br />My schedule:<br />Monday: Spanish 8-10:30am<br />Tuesday: Spanish 8-10:30am, Tropical Ecology 1-3:45pm, Latin American Cuisine 4-6pm<br />Wednesday: Latin American Cultures 1-4pm<br />Thursday: Spanish 8-10:30<br />Friday: Spanish 8-10:30<br /><br />The reason I have a lot of Spanish classes is that it is actually three 3 credit classes in 3 months: Spanish Comp 1, Spanish Comp 2 and Advanced Spanish. Each class is about 1 month long.<br /><br />We have our first field trip this Saturday to the INBIO Parque and Irazu volcano.Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405277658931822925.post-22981790673771697792009-08-24T19:21:00.000-06:002009-08-24T19:30:20.159-06:00in the beginning...Hopefully I have correctly set this up. I have just been connected to a wireless network and some websites are in Spanish, including this one. Apparently I have done okay so far as I have created an account.<br /><br />I am posting the following from a Word document that I have been writing in until I had internet access.<br /><br />Friday 5:00pm: I have arrived. The trip was fairly uneventful. Our flight from Houston to San Jose, Costa Rica, was delayed about an hour. I met several people who are in my program: Lauren (Nashville), Jessica (Boise) and Michael (Columbus). I will meet everyone else tomorrow when we have orientation and a tour of the university and city. My host mother and her sister picked me up at the airport. They are very nice, speak English and when they speak Spanish I find that I can follow along somewhat. <br /><br />A few interesting things I noticed during the drive: a cactus hedge that looked like it was recently pruned (?!?), Ronald McDonald in the passenger seat of a truck, and what looked like a funeral procession-a van with a large flower arrangement on top and a group of people walking behind it in the street. <br /><br />Their house is very nice. I have my own room and bathroom!!! They also have an internet connection and I will soon be connected in my room.<br /><br />I have only been here several hours and have tried new things already. As soon as we got to the house, Marielos (my host mother) offered me a tropical fruit that she called a water apple. It was different; the taste made me think of a tropical flower. I also ate noodles with pieces of ham (I think) on top and broth. To drink she gave me juice made of a fruit called “cas” that she got off the tree in their front yard.<br /><br />Friday 9:00pm: dinner: salad (lettuce with white cheese cubes), fish and rice. I also tried another fruit which I did not like. I found out after that they soak it in rum.<br />I am very tired. I have been up for 19.5 hours with only 1 hour of sleep last night. I will write more tomorrow.<br /><br />Saturday: breakfast: egg on a piece of ham, toast and a plate of pineapple, banana and papaya.<br /><br />I went to the Universidad for orientation from 9-4 today. They gave us all the information about classes, textbooks, safety, maps of the campus, Heredia and San José, and a tour of the campus. One very important piece of info they told us: public bathrooms (including at the university) do not have toilet paper-you have to bring your own. For lunch we had salad, rice with meat and veggies, some kind of beans (I tried but I could not eat this), and juice. <br /><br />The evening has been fairly uneventful. After returning to the house, I took a nap, walked down the block to a small Chinese store with the mom, and then used their computer to check my email.<br /><br />Apparently there are two temperatures of water here: cold and less cold. Last night my shower was freezing and tonight it was barely tolerable. My showers are as short and I usually try to avoid being in the water as much as possible. I have been using my fleece sweater to wrap my cold feet in when I go to bed.<br /><br />There are only two seasons here: summer and winter. Summer is only about 4 months long. Currently it is winter which means cooler temperatures and more rain. It is usually in the 70’s during the day and around 60 at night.Esther Shivelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08668996228061931973noreply@blogger.com3