Animals

So, this post is about animals because my little sister Josie wanted to know what type of animals and bugs are here, so Josie, this is for you.(:

In Costa Rica, the national animal is the sloth. I have been here for 2 months, and I still haven't seen one-there must be something wrong with me. Sloths are really slow-moving animals, so you'd think I'd be able to catch one sleeping in the trees or something, but no. Que mal!(;
But anyway besides the sloth there are a lot of different types of birds here. My family owns two parrots, both of which are crazy funny! If you say, "Hola" to one of them, he will say it back to you!

My family also has a pet deer, "Babe", who was suppose to be pregnant but isn't looking like it so I guess she won't be having babies of her own soon. But she is a sweetheart and will always come to you if you call her.
Okay, back to the birds! They are all very colorful! Reds, yellows, greens, blues fly around and then of course you have the pigeon..which has to be one of the grossest birds everrr....but whatever. I'm sure they have these in every country, which is horrible. Getting off track again! So, my dad here told me there are more than 800 species of birds, which is pretty crazy!! I have seen a toucan, which was kinda far away, but at least I saw it, and I have also seen lots of humming birds. These have to be some of my favorite birds because they bring really good memories of my entire family hanging out at my grandma's house, but other than that they are so cute! There are also some weird looking birds I have seen, with oddly shaped "tails" or crazy patterns, but no matter what they always seem to fascinate me, of course with the exception of pigeons. I have also seen some peacocks, which were in a cage in the pet store. That didn't seem very right, but I made no comment. I'm the kind of person who is used to seeing the peacocks roaming around the zoo, without the cage, just walking around. I didn't expect to see them in tiny cages here. But hey, it's not right, it's not wrong, it's just different.

So this is my only "good" picture of the toucan I saw, it's not much but its a toucan!(;

 

Besides birds, there are the other really great animals here. So as I said the sloth is the national animal, and I swear if I don't see one soon I'm going to be hitting myself! There are also....MONKEYS!!!! I was totally off guard when I first heard them, and then I looked up and what do you know, a whole clan of them-like 10 in one tree!! There is also an animal called a coati, which is kinda like a raccoon. When I was with AFS on a trip to Volcan Iruza, we had a surprise attack of a coati. He just kinda ran up to us and wouldn't leave us alone or our food! There are also all the farm animals like the cows, the pigs, the goats (which I milked!), the rabbits, and HORSES! I'm pretty sure every girl has a thing for horses, they are just so amazing! I remember when I was a little girl, I made my dad watch, National Velvet almost everyday! So, of course, when I was given the chance to gallop in the wind on a horse on the beach, I couldn't just let that pass(; I've also ridden more horses here in my neighborhood because many neighbors have horses.

It isn't exactly a clear picture, but here are the monkeys!

Me milking the goat!!

My friend Emma, Ryan and I with rabbits

The coati that was such a "celebrity" at the volcano!

 

And then of course you've got the crocodiles! And I swear, these things are gigantic!! A great place to see them is right under the bridge leading to Playa Jaco. They are everywhere! When I first saw them all I was saying to myself was, "don't fall in, don't fall in!!" They were crazy big! I also saw some others at a national park, but they weren't as impressive. There are also many iguanas here-tons actually! They climb on trees, they sit on benches, they sun bathe, they follow you around. They are everywhere! Then there are some frogs. The ones I have seen have been pretty big and made me jump, but all in all they are just kinda fun to watch. There are also snakes! Luckily, I haven't had to deal with one too close, but I have seen one and usually I am not afraid of snakes, but this one freaked me out! It is also turtle season, the babies are about to be hatched, and they will make their way from their eggs to the beach! My mom here told me we would all go to watch this amazing miracle, but until then I have only seen the turtles at the national park in Heredia. These things are pretty funny, lazy, and obviously like to sun bathe!

 

Some crocodiles

 

 

An iguana

 

 



 



There are a lot of fish here, but I have only seen the ones in the river near my house, and one in the ocean that accidentally swam into me-I kinda flipped out! But there are dolphins here, and I plan on swimming with some before I leave, and there are also lots of beautiful colorful fish that I will hopefully see soon because I am going snorkeling soon!



And of course you can't forget the bugs! Beetles, flies, ants gallor! And the spiders. Oh god the spiders. At first, I could not handle it. Thankfully I live in a place where it isn't that hot, and not too cold, so the bugs aren't that bad, and there aren't lots and lots of spiders, but I mean it's not like you can just tell them to leave, because they wont. The first time I saw the massive spider sitting on my backpack I flipped. I legit could not go near it, I could not touch it, I was petrified. I had to make my dad kill it. But after being here for so long, the spiders aren't really that big of an issue, they are just there. And I let them be unless they are gigantic, which usually they aren't, and if they are I kill it. Fruit flys can be a bit of a problem for me, because I just hate having bugs around food, but if I see them I usually open a window, clean the counter, put away food, and they are gone before I know it. There are also the gorgeous butterflies that legit are EVERYWHERE and it just brightens your day when you see one. In Seattle, butterflies are hard to find, they don't come often, (especially compared to here) and if anything you will see a moth instead of a butterfly. But here, they are everywhere! Blue, red, yellow, purple-everywhere!

The gigantic spider in my room!

So that's all I can think of right now, I will most likely think of more later but whatever, it doesn't matter!(: Josie I hoped you liked it, I miss you chica but I will see you soon! Go to the zoo soon or something! Love you girl! Oh and also I am suppose to make a "shout out" to Kyle Hinton-read my blog loser...(;   So for now, hasta luego!

My house and the Cabanas

So, I live in San Juan, Puriscal. I live with  my mama, Isabel, my papa, Rafael, my 13 year old sister Lupe and my 19 year old brother Rafa. I really love my family here, we all get along and do a lot together. My sister and I act as if we have known each other forever! She is super funny and loves to joke around. My brother is at home about 3-4 nights a week because he works and goes to the university in Heredia. But when he is home, he always has his guitar in his hands, playing ALL THE TIME! Luckily for me, I have always wanted to learn how to play, so he has started teaching me!! My mom is very nice and caring and wants to make sure I feel at home here, which I do. My dad is so funny, and is helping me find a soccer team right now! All in all I really like my family here, and I am feeling at home. So, I have made a video about my house, soo enjoyy!(:

 

Dia de la independencia

FELIZ DIA DE LA INDEPENDENCIA! Yes, today was Independence day in Costa Rica. I believe it is 191 years of independence from Spain, that's just what my aunt told me. But anyway, these past two days have been full of activities preparing for the day of independence.

(I just thought this was super cute, and no one else gets this unless they live in Costa Rica, sooo here you go)

Yesterday, I went to school early so I could get ready for the festivals of the day. All the students in my school selected a place in Costa Rica with their group to represent. My group had selected Guanacasta, and so we had to represent Guanacasta, which is on the Pacific, and is GORGEOUS! We made lots of decorations, people cooked food, and we were told to wear a specific type of clothing. As I arrived yesterday morning, I saw our stand set up, and my companeras in their traje typical. Traje Typical, is the picture below. It is meant for dancing, which I did not do haha....but it is made up of a simple shirt, and a skirt that is made with a LOT of material, it was very heavy. So I got dressed, and then the other groups came, and the festivity began. Everyone was in the gym, and it was pretty much a big food fest where everyone went to "different places in Costa Rica" and ate the typical food they ate there. For example, in Guanacasta, we had a lot of food that was based on corn. But, if you were to go to Cartago, there was more sweets and refrescos.

Me and my friend Fernanda

 

Our Guanacasta stand before all the food was on it

Anyway, after that I went to the park later at night. There was a big festival which consisted of typical dancing, bands, and the lighting of a torch. This torch signified the beginning of Independence Day in Costa Rica.

 

Then, the next day/today, I went back to Santiago for the big parade in the park. It was gigantic! There were so many people and the parade seemed to consist of so many people! It was made up of children, schools, dancers, bands, gymnastics, and a lot more. I thought it was really cool and it was a great representation of the culture here!

 

Typical dancing

One of the many bands that played

 



Independence day in Costa Rica is a lot different than the 4th in the USA. I haven't heard a single firework and I am starting to get worried(; But I also talked to other exchange students, and they told me that the US is known for their Independence Day, so all in all today was a fun filled cultural learning day!(:

T.V

I have noticed, that here in Costa Rica, I watch A LOT of T.V! The T.V always seems to be on, even if people aren't watching anything. So, here are the most frequently watched shows at my house...!

First thing you should know, not every channel is in Spanish, there are some in English, and I try and stay clear of these channels as best I can because I want to learn Spanish. Next, some people don't have cable (luckily I do) but if you don't have cable the channels only go to 11.

Now, here they have Fox, Discovery, History, Disney, Cartoon Network, all the usual "American" channels. They even have E, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which I hate. Honestly I could not despise a show more than that-it has no point!! And they are famous for no reason! But, getting off track, some of the programs in the channels are in Spanish, and then sometimes there are subtitles underneath in Spanish because the show is in English. Fox is pretty good at having their channels in Spanish. I have forgotten the voice of Homer Simpson because I watch a lot of The Simpson's here, and let me tell you the Spanish version of him is reallllyyyy weird....!! Discovery channel is in English a lot of the time, along with the History channel, but that doesn't stop my family from watching them! Also, movies are usually on later in the day on these channels, and it could randomly be in Spanish or English, it all depends on the movie.

Besides these shows, my mom here LOVES telenovelas. These are soap-operas, and they are totally mushy, and sad, and romantic, and just crazy. Honestly, you would have never thought it was possible for all this stuff to happen to one person, they just over-exaggerate soooo much!! However, my mom thinks those are stupid, and she only watches the serious, linda telenovelas. Some are Colorina, Vivo por Elena, Cada Quien Susanto, and Casos de la Vidareal to name a few.

My dad personally likes soccer, which is on about 10 different channels. My sister likes a lot of channels, but one is the music channel. She will put this on-which plays a collection of pop, rock, Spanish, English, everything- and dance around the house!

And then, there is channel 11. Channel 11, is everything. It is news, it is history about Costa Rica, it is telenovelas, it is comedy, it is everything. And lets not forget, channel 11 is Combate, yes Combate. What is Combate??? Apparently a lot of people here like it, so if you were to ask them this, you would get a slap in the face(; Combate is a t.v show incorporated into a big competition. There are two teams, Azul (blue) and Naranja (orange). These two teams compete against each other in a variate of games including swimming through tubes, running across a plank in a pool, collecting items, giving random people kisses on the street, you name it, and it is all timed! Personally, I don't really like it, I think it is kinda stupid, but if I were to say that out loud to people, other than my sister because she agrees with me, they would be offended! So, I just keep my thoughts to myself and cheer whatever team I like. And then of course, sometimes the teams combine, and they travel to Nicaragua or Peru, and play the other teams there-that's when it gets really intense!!

So, this is what I usually watch here. It is a great way to learn Spanish, and they are actually pretty funny. Whether it is Fox or Channel 11, T.V here is a part of the culture, and it is just a way to hang out with the family and bond. So, hasta luego!

2nd AFS orientation

Last Friday, I left for my second AFS orientation here in Costa Rica, and it was A LOT different than my last one! It was so great seeing other people from the US and other people I had met during my stay. It lasted from Friday to Sunday, and a lot happened in that short amount of time. All in all, the orientation was a good expierence and I had fun.

So, on Friday, I left at 8 am on a bus with all the other exchange students from Puriscal. We were all a bit sad that day because the people who were here for 6 weeks left that day. But, we put on positive attitudes and got ready for the weekend! We arrived at the AFS office at 9:30 and there I saw the people from the USA and it was sooo nice talking to them and hearing about how they were doing. SIDE NOTE: There are about 140 exchange students in all, and AFS didn't want to have one big orientation, so they split us all up into two groups on two different weekends. So, because of this, I only saw two others from the US, but it was great talking with them. We paid for our Visas that day(I wont even mention how much it cost......) and began our orientation. I am going to be honest, when the AFS people talked to us, it was boring. But, they talked to us in Spanish, and I understood everything they said!! The past orientation was in English, and it was cool to have this in Spanish (and a bit of English) and to see how much I have improved in only 6 weeks! After a few hours, we all got our things and walked to the hotel we were staying at, about 500 metros away from the office. It was a cute hotel, with a lot of space. I do feel a bit bad for the other residents staying there, because there were A LOT of crazy teenagers there speaking A LOT of different languages: Danish, German, Sweden, Italian, Spanish, English and so many more.  I loved hearing everyone talk. Even if I didn't understand what they were saying, it was so cool and it made me want to learn more languages.

Here are some AFS friends

(from left to right: Hannah-Germany, Sarah-Norway, Jakob-Denmark, Hanna-Sweden, David-Denmark, y yo)

 

 

This was our lovely hotel: Hostal Toruma

The next day (sabado) we went to the INBio parque in Heredia. It was very beautiful. The first part of the morning was dedicated to AFS work/AFS talking to us about what to expect in the following months. We also did some activities inside, one of which was to get together with your local chapter and describe what it was like to live there. Well, Puriscal is obviously the best place to live(; so it wasn't that hard explaining our lives. I could also tell that me and my friends from Puriscal were a lot closer than some of the others, which made me feel like I have really good friends. We also had to put on skits about what school was like, and we talked about differences and culture shock. BUT the best activity was the scavenger hunt! We were put into groups accoding to countries (My group was USA, Canada, Australia, and I think Iceland.), were given a piece of paper, and were told to go find the answers, and the first group who finished them all by lunch would get a prize. Now, usually when it comes to scavenger hunts I get really into it, but we only had 2 hours to do this, and I wanted to see the entire park, not only little bits of it, so me and the other US kids kinda "lost" our group and went exploring. This.was.such.a.good.idea. We saw so much more than we would have seen! The park is a collection of different types of plants, fish, bugs, frogs, a petting zoo, butterflies, spiders, and supposedly a sloth, but I couldn't find it. :( Anyway our group didn't win......but that's okay. When we got back to the hotel, we were told we were going to have a talent show-which got half the people stocked, and the other half upset. Thankfully I was one of the people who were super excited. I did a collection of .........songs.....with the US kids, the Puriscal kids, my friend Sarah from Norway, and my friend Neels from Germany. We rocked it! Legit we won, and although it may or may not have been a bit.....crazy....everyone loved it and we got free cookies!

 

Our Puriscal poster

 

Emma and Ryan and I (USA)

It was a great weekend, I learned a lot, but I think I learned more from the exchange students than the volenteers. It was very helpful talking and listening to what the AFS people told us, yes I did learn things, but I learned how to overcome obstacles, ideas, or difficulties from the people who had actually expierenced the problems. Talking to the others made me feel a lot better and made my stay here feel more..real! I am really enjoying Costa Rica and hey guess what?! I can independently travel now! Playa here I come!!!

Pura Vida!