Tope en Cuidad Colon

On Sunday, I went to one of the coolest things in my entire life: a Tope. It is pretty much, a gigantic parade, of .......wait for it.......................HORSES!! Now, personally, horses have been my favorite animal since forever, so seeing 500+ in a parade, was just a dream come true! Now, to explain why and what exactly is a Tope.
Pretty much every town has their own festivals during the year. I went to one in Palmaras for example(in the summer), to the concert of Shaggy, and I also described the Torres. But, that's pretty much what it is, a big festival celebrating the town, with lots of food, live entertainment, Torres, "amusement rides", a miny carnival, and to start off the festivals, there is always a Tope. The festivals of Puriscal start in the middle of March, so on Sunday I went to Ciudad Colon, about 30 min away from my house, and enjoyed the parade of horses. At the beginning, there were only payasos, or really tall clowns! These were a bit scary..! Then after that the horses started coming, and there were so many! The people would ride their horses in the parade, stopping occasionally to let people take pictures with the horse, or, take pictures on the horse! Also, there is a lot of typical food, which all smells and tastes soooooo gooooodd!! There are always chicharones no matter where you go!

Me, Hanna (Sweden), and the famous guy named Brian from the hit show "Combate"! Even though I think the show is lame, we still had to take a picture with him!

This is an example of the really scary clowns that are in the parade....the faceeee!!! (Me and my friend Jose)

Horses!!! Some people really go all out with the decorations!

Another "tall clown", but this one is prettier! From left to right-Me, Hanna (Sweden), Maren (Germany), Erica (Italy), Felicites (Austria), Hannah (Germany), Jose (Costa Rica), Matti (Austria).

Ahhh!!-the grounds moving!

Earthquakes. That is one thing that is really frequent here! And since I have only experienced one earthquake in Seattle, having them here is really exciting! Now, I know that's a bit bad to say, because they are destructive, but it is an act of nature, and it really is an experience that makes you appreciate life, and the world! Since I've been here, there have been about 7 earthquakes, but I've only felt about 4 of them. I live in Puriscal, which is in the mountains, so it is a lot more calm, and there aren't as many plates under us, as for example, Guanacaste! But the ones I have felt were pretty strong and really exciting! I remember my first earthquake, and I was on the 2nd floor of my school, and the floor started moving and at first I thought it was a joke, but then I looked out the window and I saw a sign moving-and then everyone in the room started screaming and running around, and I just kinda stood there laughing! Who would have thought the people who lived with this their entire lives would be scared, and a newbie would be as excited as ever! My second earthquake I was sitting in my house with my family, and all of a sudden the lamp above our heads was moving, and my mom started screaming and everyone ran outside, and then it stopped. All the other earthquake stories are like that, except one night I slept through one haha!
Apparently, there have been a lot more earthquakes this year than the past year, and my family and I always joke about, "Ohh Costa Rica is excited to have Abby here!!"

Empieza de Quinto!

On Monday, I returned to school with all my classmates and started the new year. I am in the last year of high school here, sooo I have a new uniform!! At first I thought it was super ugly, but then I saw the uniform of the other high school, and it looks like they are the conductors of a train....so now I am quite happy my uniform is what it is!

White blouse, wine-red pants, brown shoes

I haven't done much in school, but it's the first few days, and I wouldn't exactly expect a lot. But one thing that really makes me think is almost every single teacher has told the students they need to really start thinking about their future, which really scares me because I have NO IDEA what I want to do.....ahhhh!!! 

So, my summer vacation is over, but that doesn't really mean anything because it's still super hot and I swam in the pool this morning, so I still feel like I am in vacations! I didn't exactly do everything I wanted, aka teach English classes, or do a surfing camp, but I did travel a lot more than I thought I would. I went to Mira Valles, and went in the mud baths, I went to Playa Conchall, one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. I went to Guapiles, and rode horses all day long, and also went to Tortuguero. To top it all off, I went to Manuel Antonio, which is one of the cutest touristy towns I have ever been to! Also during the summer, I really grew closer with my family, not only my Mami, Papi, and siblings, but with my aunts and uncles and cousins. It was a great way to really start to understand the culture in Costa Rica. I remember when I first came here, I thought that the culture of Costa Rica was very similar to the culture of the US, but that is so wrong. 

Anyway, I am back in school, I have a whole new group of classmates, and I know, these next months are going to fly by fast. I am excited, but devastated at the same time, haha, it's kinda hard to describe! But, until next time, adios y pura vida! 

Reasons why I love Costa Rica

I've decided I'm going to write a list, aka Part 1, of why I love Costa Rica so much. This place is my new home, and I can't imagine leaving, because there are so many amazing things here.

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• The people: The people here are some of the nicest, most caring people in the world. They make sure you are happy, and they have some of the biggest hearts.
• The food: Words can't describe how well-fed I am here!
• Nature: There is green everywhere! I feel so tropical because of all these different plants and flowers. 
• The sky: That might sound a bit weird, but the sky is SO BLUE! And at night, you can see millions and millions of stars, and in Seattle, seeing maybe 20 stars is a rare treat. 
• The animals: One of the coolest things in the world, is driving with the family, and then all of a sudden you hear monkeys-it is amazing. And they are super friendly too, and veryyy talkative! Also, my neighbors have chickens and roosters, and its pretty funny just seeing them walk into our yard. 
• SUN!: Yes, that is always so nice, to wake up to sun every single day. I'm pretty sure when I go back to Seattle I will be having sun withdrawals. 
• Being able to swim in a pool every day
• Going to the beach whenever I want to 
• Sunsets: The sunsets don't last long, but if you are at the beach during sunset hour, it is one of the prettiest things in the world.
• The music: There is so much culture in the typical music, and then there are so many different types, and whenever you hear music here you want to dance.
• My family and friends
• The random things you find: I was driving in Punteranus, and there was a gigantic sculpture of a dinosaur, I guess Jurassic Park was filmed here. 
• Being greeted wherever you go: When you walk down the street in the US, or your neighborhood, you don't usually stop to say hello, but here, you start a full on convo and everything!
• Volcanoes 
• Pinata: If you have a reason to use a pinata, it is used: birthday parties, school dances, graduations, neighborhood party, party, party, party, party, party!
• Waterfalls
• Hammocks: They are legit everywhere!
• Surfing!(: 
• Horses: I love horses, and a lot of people own horses, so I have gone riding a lot!
• Spanish 

So that's all I've got for right now, but I'll make another one later adding onto this.