Feliz Navidad!

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!! (aka Merry Christmas!) Wow, the "dreaded" day has come-and to be honest, I am really happy it is Christmas, and surprisingly, I'm not really homesick! I feel great, and I feel like I have overcome a big obstacle in my life! How many people can say they've been over seas, away from their families during Christmas (also add the fact you're an emotional teenage girl haha)-not a lot!(;  My Christmas was definatly different, but in a good way. It was a real twist, but it was fun, and I am glad I got to spend it with such amazing people.

So here in Costa Rica, the Christmas celebrations are really on the 24th. So people usually go to Church (my family decided not to, which was REALLY weird for me), and then they go visit family. We first went to my uncles house-and of course, we ate....A LOT! During Christmas, the typical food is tamales, agua dulce, and chicharones. After that we went to my aunts house, and ate more tamales, more meat, and we ate my pineapple cake! At my aunt's house, it seemed like the entire family had assembled together, but there were only about 30 people-aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, neighbors, you name it! It was a great way to celebrate!

One of the BEST tamale I have eaten!

Me and my tia

At my uncle's house, eating tamales 

Me, my tia Ligia (aka my favorite Tia!), and Lupe

After that, we went back home, and ate more! Then we gave out the presents. My family and I did Secret Santa, which was a lot easier on me, considering the fact I only have so much money. That was really fun to see, because my family jokes around a lot, so opening presents were super funny! After the presents, my mom decided she wanted to have a "dance party" so we spent the rest of the night dancing, eating chocolate, ice cream, and just having a fun time!

My Mami with her new purse

The family, minus my Papa who is taking the picture

Lupe and my Papa

Today...was, to be honest, a bit boring. I skyped my family, and saw them open the package I sent them, which was really fun to see! Although the coffee I sent spilt EVERYWHERE, they liked the gift and hey!-it's the thought that counts!(; But as I said, today I didn't do anything Christmasy, and that was one of the weirdest things for me! I went and played soccer with my cousins, and then hung out at the house!

So, Christmas in Costa Rica-it is different, but it is an expierence I will take with me in life. The thing about Christmas here, is everyone prepares for it about 3 months in advance! You know those people who start playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving, and everyone gets mad at them?! Yeah, here, Christmas music is playing after Independence Day, which means mid-September! Christmas here is such a big thing, that involves lots and lots of family. And as I said, its big on the 24th. Although my family didn't have a tree, I still felt the Christmas cheer! Hope everyone had a great Christmas, if you want to send me a gift, feel free to send sun screen!(;

5 months...!!

So, it's been 5 months....WHAT?!!! How is that possible?! It has gone by so fast, and I know these next months will fly by! Anyway, this post is pretty much just an update on my life, what I've been doing this past week, all that stuff!(:

Last weekend I went to Guanacaste with the other exchange students from Puriscal, and it was gorgeous! We went to Playa Conchal, and stayed in the cutest little houses! It was pretty much my Christmas present to myself, and I really enjoyed having the tranquilla atmosphere. We visited 3 different beaches: Choncal, Grande, and another one that I don't know the name of-and all of them were gorgeous and hot! I still can't believe I'm going to the beach, and it's December- I keep telling myself it should be really cold! 

Today I went to clases de baile : Dance class! It was my first class, and I know I will be going back-it was so much fun! We learned reggae, salsa, and cumbia. I really did surprise myself, I always thought of myself as the horrible dancer-but man, I can salsa!(: It was really fun, and I highly recommend to anyone to take a fun dance class with some friends, because even if you mess up, you just laugh it off!

Also, just in case I didn't mention it before, I am starting to learn the guitar, my brother is teaching me! I'll post a video soon, but I am really happy I have started learning that, because I love music, I love singing, and so now, adding an instrument, makes it so much better! Also, I've always wanted to learn. I remember last year I tried teaching myself, and I ended up breaking the string on my dad's guitar! That wasn't the best guitar experience  so I stopped. But now, since I have a brother who plays ALL THE TIME, I thought it is a good way to learn properly! 

So, I hope everyone has a great Christmas if I can't make a post then. Feliz Navidad!(: 

p.s : Hopefully we don't all die tomorrow(;

Appearance/Hygiene

In Costa Rica, appearance and hygiene is everything. The way you present yourself, presents who you are as a person, aka: People judge you HARD CORE on how you look. You may say, "ehh, everyone does that." But here, it goes a little farther than that. Por ejemplo: If you have dreadlocks you automatically put into the "that person smokes" category. If you have a low cut shirt, or you can see lots of cleavage, you are put in the "tierrosa" category....you can guess what that means. All in all, people like to present themselves in a good light.

It is pretty much a requirement to shower AT LEAST once a day. There are people who will shower three times a day if they need to, and it's because its really hot in some places! Luckily  I live in a place that isn't too hot, or too cold, so I shower once every morning, and I am good for the rest of the day! The way you smell also is important, so people put on perfume/cologne every single day, and sometimes you can smell it a mile away! Another thing is people brush their teeth after every meal. One day I went out to lunch with my friends, and after we ate, they all went to the bathroom to brush their teeth, and put on more makeup, and i felt like a freak because I hadn't brought my toothbrush let alone makeup....I felt like a scrub! 

The clothing, you would think, would be people wearing shorts every day-at least that's what I thought! Nope...the majority of the teenagers go out with skinny jeans on. Also, people dress up. Por ejemplo: when my mom goes to the supermarket-she has on her dress, her heels, her makeup, shes got her hair nicely styled....and she's gone for how long? An hour?! I wonder what she would say if she saw the people of the US in Walmart (aka sweatshirt/sweats/pjs!) 

The majority of the woman here, like to wear tight things, this can be a good thing, and a bad thing..............some people should not wear tight clothes, and I don't mean to be rude, I'm just being honest! Also, I've noticed people like wearing shirts that say things in English. Some are cute, others funny, and some just plain weird, and I wonder if they even understand what's written across their chests. The other day I saw a woman with a shirt on that said, "Warning: I am easy". .....ummmmmm! The clothing is "Ropa Americana" and there isn't as wide a range of styles. In the US, you could have a hipster style, preppy, casual, athletic, punk, vintage, formal, hippy-cowgirl (*cough *cough-Graceeee!), but here, its skinny jeans. Heels are also worn A LOT! 

So that is the "fashion" I guess you could say. All in all, I haven't bought a lot of cloths here (only a sweater) because I brought a lot of cloths with me, and I don't even wear some of them. I remember when I was packing with my friend Carrie, and she kept asking me if I needed some of the clothes, well....nope. But oh well! I'll just make sure to give out clothes once I leave!

Summer Vacation!

That's right, be jealous!! School has officially ended, and I have all my grades, and I am now able to relax (even more), and do A LOT more stuff!! Now, just a reminder, I started school at the end of July, all of August, and it has just stopped. So FYI I lost half of my summer in Seattle, so now I get a summer down here!!

So, what am I going to do with this break from school??? Well, December is defiantly filled up! The first week of December, I went with my cousins to a place called Eco Musas. It is about 2 hours from Puriscal, and it consists of a big pool, with a water slide, zip-lining, a waterfall, nature walks, horseback riding, and a lot more!

My cousins in the water slide

Went swimming in the waterfall!

These past days (aka Friday and Saturday) I went to the hot springs!! If anyone plans on taking a trip to Costa Rica, I HIGHLY recommend going to the hot springs, in a place called Mira Valles. It is right underneath a volcano, and the hot springs are pretty much natural hot tubs-but SOOOO much better!! While I was there with my family, we also took mud baths and found a water slide  Then, we went to Playa Hermosa, (Beautiful Beach), which honestly was, the prettiest beach I have seen while I've been here-it was GORGEOUS!

This was us after the mud bathes, in front of the hot spring!

Next weekend, I am going to Guanacaste for 3 days with AFS Puriscal, and then the weekend after that is getting ready for Christmas!!

For January and February, I am going to see if I can teach kids English. I have a little cousin, who wants to learn, and my aunt wants to help get a group of kids together for sessions of English. My friend and I will probably have a class once or twice a week, for a good price....I mean come on-I've got to make some money!! Also, I really want to try and find a community service opportunity!  ANDDD, I also want to find a surf camp, because surfing is SOOOO much fun!!!

So, those are my "official" plans for the summer, but I know my family is trying to see if we can take a trip to Panama, and I also know my aunt wants to take me many places! I am really excited for summer, not only because it means I don't have to go to class, but it means I can fully engulf myself in the culture!

Buena gente

Wait....it's December?!! Wow has time gone by fast! It is crazy to think that it is the first week of December, because I remember the day I met my family like it was yesterday, and now they really are, truly are, my family. We are all veryy close, and I also feel like my Spanish has improved A TON-legit, I understand everything! The other day I was talking with my aunt, and she asked if I understood even when people talked fast, and the thing is, I don't notice when it is "fast" anymore, because it has become so normal! Now, I am just focusing on my grammar and the conjugation of verbs-YAY. haha!

Anywayyy-to anyone who hasn't been to Costa Rica, anyone who plans on going to Costa Rica, or people who just want to know-the world's nicest people live here. I'm dead serious. The Ticos and Ticas who live here, will break their backs to help anyone and everyone in need. It is the nicest, most caring thing I have ever seen, and it's not just select people, but everyone! EXAMPLES!!!

The other day, I called my aunt up and asked her if she could go to San Jose and help me get a package. Immediately she cancelled her plans and said she would go with me-even though I told her we could go another day. While we were at the post office in San Jose, the people who had the package (in plain sight may I add) said they couldn't give it to us without an "official signed document from a lawyer saying I lived with her". HA-nope sooorrrryyy don't have time for that! But these people were so nice, that they let us leave with it anyway, they said it was fine, that I was a learning child, and that this experience  isn't meant to be spent at a lawyers office! Then, as we were walking to the bus stop, we saw a girl who needed help. She was an exchange student, I believe from China, (not with AFS), who needed help getting to her school. And bless her heart, my aunt took her under her wing and made sure she got where she needed to be! (First example, haha don't worry the others aren't as long!)
My English teacher helped me get my official transcript for school, and waited at the school for about an hour (my bus was late), for me to arrive just to give it to me (which took 2 seconds).
The people here are always asking about how family is doing, and they always seem to know when something bad has happened. If someone is hurt, the entire family is there in a matter of minutes.
There is a woman from the United States who lives next to my cousins. Her Spanish isn't that good, but she is able to communicate  When her husband died, my cousins and thier family were at her house instantly, doing everything possible for her. The family has now taken her under their care, and they are all very happy.

I guess these are only a few examples, and you may say, "Oh, people in the US do this", and yeah, I'm sure they do, but there is SUCH a difference here, it is hard to explain. In the US, when you walk down the street, and you see someone, usually, you try to avoid eye contact, as to avoid an awkward situation-don't lie, we've all done this. But here, it is completely different! When you see someone in the street, walkin' by, even if they are a complete stranger-people will say, "Hola, buenos dias! Pura Vida!". It is incredible, the love can be felt everywhere. It's as if everyone is family, and I completely love it.

Costa Rica, is such an amazing place. More than 4 months here, and I feel like I've lived here my entire life, as well as lived here for a week (if that makes any sense....probably not....the other exchange students agree with me!). The people here, are amazing. Sure, there are some who want nothing to do with you, but those are the ones who are having bad days. We are human, that's what happens, but with what I've seen, those bad days are pretty rare!