Visit to Jorge

I have always heard stories about exchange students, because my grandma hosted many when my dad was growing up. One of them, Jorge, lived with them for 6 months, and is from Costa Rica. Last week was the first time I was able to go visit him! It was awesome to meet him and his two children, and hang out with them. We talked a lot about my grandma, my dad, and my aunts. It was a nice weekend and I think in 2 weeks I am going to go on a trip with them, which should be fun!

Jorge, his son Santiago, daughter Victoria, and I.

Religion

Faith is one aspect that highly influences the lives of Ticos. The majority of people here are Catholic, but there are also many Christians (Protestants), as well as Muslims and others. Families go to church regularly, and my family especially, says the rosary weekly. One thing that really interests me is that many teenagers are exploring, discovering, and realizing their faith, something not a lot of teenagers do back home.
A week ago, I went with some friends to a day camp that talked about exploring faith. It was actually pretty fun, I went with a group from my church in San Juan and there we had mass, concerts, and games. It was a way for young people in Costa Rica to connect with others and become closer. People were singing, dancing, and rejoicing. It was a different way to experience the culture here, and learn something new about the people.
Not many people are confident about their faith when they are teenagers. Questions are always arising, you are embarrassed, and you don't know if you actually believe. The thing I really liked about this camp, was there were so many people who believed. And I'm not just talking about Catholics but every type of religion; the people here are very confident about what they believe in. That is something I have learned here, to become more confident in what I believe. 

This is one of the bands that played. The sign above says, "Faith is the strong transformation of my life".

The camp was held in Tres Rios Cartago. Here is my friend Kristel, Diego and I.

Cooking

One way I involve myself in the culture is by cooking with my family. Whether I am at my own house, an aunts, or grandparents, there is always fresh food being cooked. In the beginning of my stay here, I could not cook...at all. I was able to make "pasta", and I thought I could make rice (which wasn't so), but I guess I knew nothing about the kitchen. Thanks to my Mami and my aunts, I can now say I have learned so much more about cooking. Whether it is meat to cerviche to tamales, I can say I have got the basics down, which is a start!

AFS dinner

One of the really cool things about AFS, is there is always something going on; you are always meeting, or interacting, with new people. Well, on Saturday, I, along with 4 other exchange students went to a very special dinner that AFS was hosting. There were AFS ambassadors from Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, and of course Costa Rica. Not to mention many volunteers who help out in AFS, roughly there were around 80 people that attended the dinner. It was very formal...very, very formal. The exchange students and I went to, I guess you could say, "entertain" everyone, but really, it felt more like we were demonstrating what we have done here, how we have grown, and what it means to truly immerse yourself in the culture. I sang "Eres Para Mi", while my friend Matti from Austria played the guitar. The other exchange students did a typical dance. I think we all felt really happy we went, and honestly it was an honor to meet a lot of the people there, especially the ambassadors.

Digna, Shey, Jonathan, Me, Matti (Austria), Hannah (Germany), Carmen (Germany), and Erica (Italy).

The typical dance.

Festival de las bandas!

Last night I sang again with THE VISITORS! But, this time we sang in a much bigger place, and there were other bands that played as well. It was awesome-it was so much fun and all the bands were great. It started around 6:30ish and ended at 12, but that was totally expected because there were about 7 bands that played in all. We played really well, and just an observation, my confidence in singing in front of people has gone up! I'm not as nervous as I used to be, and now I just make sure I have fun with it! We played really well, and more videos will be coming so you can listen.

All these bugs!

There are so many bugs right now, it is ridiculous! But hey, it's nature. and that's what you get for living in a tropical country! The rainy season is starting to come back, and with the rain, it is even hotter in the day, with a lot more bugs. The flies are out of control, but that is nothing compared to another: Abejones. They are kinda like big flying beetles, but they can't stay up in the air for so long because they weigh so much, so they just bob around-they are gross! So, my brother and I have made a game out of them to make it a little more fun, and a little less creepy. If you hit one in the air and kill it, you get 10 points, if you kill it on the ground, you get 5 points. I can't even start to describe how intense this has become between us!
All in all, the bugs aren't that bad, I mean sure they are annoying at times, but I have become used to it. Also I don't scream at all when I see a spider. Which is a big accomplishment for me because I used to have my brother Van come in my room back in the US to kill spiders for me! If I am able to kill a bug, I have no problem, on the other hand, when I am "defenseless", that's where it gets a little bad. For example, when I was in church there were thousands of abejones, because they are attracted to light. And I could not kill a single one, because I would look a little crazy running around trying to kill all the bugs that were there! But, bugs are bugs are bugs, and they are starting to calm down a little more!

Rafting!

Last Sunday, Lupe, Rafa, and I went rafting! There are many places to go rafting in Costa Rica, but we decided to go to the Pacuare River, which is located in Cartago, and close to Limon. We were in the water for 4 hours straight! It is defiantly something a lot of tourists do because we saw a lot of foreigners, and I understand why because it is an adventure! We started off at around 10, went through rapids, swam in the water, and almost fell off a couple of times! Then we had lunch, and continued our trip through the mountains, and through the Telemaca, which is one of the most inhibited places in Costa Rica that are home to indigenous people. There they live without electricity, and live a simple life-style.
Our trip went by pretty fast, we had an awesome guide, and he let us do a lot of fun stuff. The rapids weren't that bad, because we went in the time were there wasn't a lot of water. If you want to go rafting, I would personally suggest going around June, July, August. That is when it rains a lot, which means there is more water and more rapids. But, besides that, we had a blast. One of the coolest things that we did was something called "surf". Once we went down a small waterfall/rapid, we would paddle back to it, and be pushed away by the water-that was honestly one of the funniest things! I can't describe the 4 hour trip, but I would highly recommend going rafting one day. It doesn't have to be in Costa Rica, but it is something that will be worthwhile  I know I want to do it again, or try kayaking or something else to that extent.