Top 20 of Costa Rica

This weekend I know you were looking forward to hearing about my amazing adventure, however we decided to stay home in Santa Ana and relax and save our money. It was still a great weekend laying by the pool on Saturday and exploring Santa Ana on Sunday. School work has started to consume our lives now that we are full time teaching now. Between the junk we have to do for OSU and actual teaching we thought it would be smart to stay home and concentrate on that stuff. We are all well rested and ready to bring our A game this week because of University supervisor is coming to check up on us and observe our teaching.

Since I thought my weekly post this week was going to be boring I thought I would enlighten you with my thoughts and some things I have learned or experienced since being here. I am no Socrates or Aristotle bringing deep thoughts, but I hope you find these enjoyable and you just might learn something...
My Top 20 Things about Costa Rica
1. I can live without a TV. Although it is going to be tough when Glee comes back on.
2. I love the way people here live such simple lives. Their source of entertainment is the people around them and they just need the necessities in life. It really makes me realize I have way too much stuff and what is really important in life.
3. I take my car for granted. I think having a car is one of the things I miss the most besides friends and family of course. Not having to wait on a bus will be beautiful thing.
4. I can get up at 5:30 and function, but that means going to bed really early too. Even on the weekends making it out past 10 is an accomplishment. Needless to say my social life doesn't really exist, goodbye to those late nights and late mornings in college. It makes me feel like I have already graduated and started working, the only thing missing is a paycheck.
5. Costa Rica's McDonald's has pastries. U.S. needs to get on the ball with that.
6. Air conditioning is not a necessity although it would be nice on the really hot days. But thank God for fans!
7. I am a Gringa here and I stick out like a sore thumb with the Ticos.
8. There are quite a lot of Americans living here, I was pretty surprised and I love meeting them. Even though I love it here I cannot imagine moving to a foreign country, but who knows what the future holds...Just kidding my mom would flip.
9. Costa Rica is probably the prettiest place I have ever been to or probably will ever be.
10. Being away really makes me appreciate my family and friends more.
11. I am overwhelmed with how hospitable and kind most people are here.
12. It is crazy how many things from the US are exported here. Being a picky eater I am very grateful for my beloved cereal and granola bars so I don't starve. And the movies at the theater are almost all American.
13. The pineapple here is like a little piece of heaven. It puts American pineapple to shame and don't even get me started on the canned kind.
14. One thing I will not miss is the whistling and being stared at by men. Don't worry it's not because I am considered incredibly attractive here, it's cultural. Any woman can be here for 10 minutes and will get whistled at. Some may say it is a self-esteem booster though.
15. Friday night I experienced my first earthquake, but slept through the whole thing. I was a 4 point earthquake that shook the whole house is what my house mom told me the next morning.
16. Ziplining through the rain forest was the best $40 I have ever spent.
17. It is much more windier here than I thought.
18. Stop signs here are more of a suggestion than law.
19. I laughed when our teachers first told us to be careful when crossing the street because people had been hit by cars. Now I don't laugh, I say a quick prayer before I cross the street. I don't think I could even put into words how crazy the drivers here are, so just trust me they are crazy.
20. Pura Vida- The slogan for Costa Rica. It means pure life or basically if anything is wrong, there is no need to worry, just relax. I will use it in a sentence if you still don't get it. "We were suppose to be there 30 minutes ago. Oh well, pura vida"

That is all I have for now, I know that was a lot of things but I just started writing and couldn't stop. I hope y'all have a great week! Pura vida!

This week on the Real World Costa Rica...

A few weeks ago we decided that we could be on the Real World on MTV, but don't worry we are not near as crazy as those people. We just thought that we were a group of random people from OSU that happened to get thrown together as a group to live and experience Costa Rica together, kind of like the Real World. Anyways, this weekend we went to La Fortuna and saw the Arenal Volcano. We left on Friday night and got to our hostel which was very nice this week, much nicer than last weeks. On Saturday we woke up and went to the Baldi Hot Springs which was a very cool place and felt like a resort. They had around 20 different springs that were all different temperatures. There was one that was even 109 degrees, needless to say only my toes made it in that one. It was nice and relaxing though to hang out by the pools and play on the water slides. After being lazy a group of decided to go on a hike and see the volcano. We hiked for about an hour before reaching the top and seeing a great view of the volcano. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy that day so we could not see the top, but I still thought it was pretty amazing. It is still an active volcano and we were able to hear it go off and see smoke rising out of the volcano, just in case you were wondering we were about 2 miles away so completely safe. Also, on our hike we once again saw monkeys but this time spider monkeys and those things are crazy how they can jump from tree to tree so quickly. I tried to take some pictures, but I was too slow to capture anything worthwhile. After a long but great day we went to a buffet and stuffed ourselves. We probably looked like we hadn't eaten in days and I think I single handedly ate all the pineapple in that place. Then we returned home Sunday to prepare for another week.

In case you were wondering my real purpose of being here is student teaching so I guess I will update you on that, but it is not near as exciting. I have officially taken over all the classes 7th-9th. Today was my first real day and I think it went pretty well, the kids are very interested in learning so that is always a good thing. On Friday we met up at a mall to go to La Fortuna and while I was passing the food court I heard about 10 of my 7th grade girls calling Miss Kristen. So I talked with them for a while and discussed our weekend. Even though I shouldn't have favorites, the 7th graders are by far my favorite.

Oh and yesterday marked one month in Costa Rica! Where has the time gone?

Beachy Weekend

This weekend we went back to the beach, but this time in Manuel Antonio. It was a great place however we did not go into the national park where I hear it is even more beautiful. But we have plans to go hopefully go back another weekend. It was a very nice relaxing weekend where we just hung out and played on the beach. We got asked to play soccer or futbol with some people visiting and true Costa Ricans. It ended up being a blast even though we pretty much looked like idiots compared to them. I hate to admit it but I have a lost a little skill since my soccer days in sixth grade. Saturday night I thought we had found a really cool restaurant to eat at but it ended up being a bust where no one ended up liking their food, at least the view was nice overlooking the ocean. Sunday morning we slept in until about 7:30, (yes you read right, slept in, we are use to waking up at 5:30) and hit the beach one last time before going back home. After a few hours we packed our things and were headed back to San Jose. Luckily we made it after some sickness on the bus and babies throwing up. It was probably one of the worst bus trips I have been on. We made it out alive from San Jose and were very happy to come home to our "moms" cooking us homemade meals.

Three weeks have already gone by and I can't believe how fast the time is flying especially on the weekends. Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Miss you!

Field Trip Friday

Today at school we went on a field trip to a place called BioPark. It was actually pretty neat because the park simulated all the different climates of Costa Rica and we got to see some different animals and such. Here are some pictures of the kids that were in my group for the scavenger hunt we went on. It was a nice break from the classroom. I must say that these weeks at school sure are tiring, I find myself exhausted by 9:30 every night. I guess this is what the real world will be like shortly when I graduate. (yikes) It's funny too because lately a lot of people have asked me what I am doing after I graduate and I hope to find a teaching job somewhere in Oklahoma or Texas, (hopefully Texas though) but I also have no clue if that will happen. It's weird having no idea what is in store for the next few months ahead. I can't say that I like not knowing, but I pray something will work out that I will love. However, I am having a lot of fun getting to know the kids and spending time with all the faculty at school. Middle school kids are definitely my favorite because everyday I find myself laughing at their little comments and they impress me everyday with how smart they are.

I have begun the process of fully taking over the class with lesson plans and things of that nature. Since I have seventh through ninth graders it is quite overwhelming preparing 3 lesson plans for different classes. But thankfully, my teacher is very helpful with everything. And yes, we are still matching every Friday. We even matched yesterday without even planning it and got made fun of the whole day. It is finally Friday and I couldn't be happier to be going to the beach tomorrow!

Tica, Tica

Another week has flown by, and here are some pictures from this weekend. Friday night we left for Monteverde and after a long bumpy drive on gravel road and a lot of medicine, we arrived. Saturday morning we ran in a 10K across Monteverde and it was one of the hardest runs I have ever done. I was thinking it was probably harder than any half marathon I have ever run. Not only were we running on hills, but we were also running on mountains. Add that with the altitude, heat and gravel roads. But we all finished and were pretty worn out! Since we were in the rain forest we had to go on a canopy zip line tour. It might have been one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. There were 15 ziplines, a tarzan swing and a superman zipline. The Tarzan swing is where you are strapped to a rope and you fall about 10 feet and just swing. After I was strapped in, the guys working just pushed me right off without telling me. That was probably the scariest part of the whole tour. The superman zipline was the best part, we were strapped in by our backs and feet and literally flew like Superman. After hiking and running we all woke up on Sunday morning very sore, but it was well worth it. Sunday we rode back to Santa Ana exhausted and not ready for another week at school, but we all made it this morning! It was a great weekend and one that I will never forget! And thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes on Sunday, I really appreciated it because I truly missed celebrating my birthday with all my friends and family.

Just Another Day

This was the first week with kids and I had a blast with them. I have 7th, 8th and 9th graders. For the most part they are all good, but the 9th graders are a little bit of a challenge. The kids make fun of me when I say y'all and that I am from Texas. In the schools the kids just call all the teachers Miss. I think it is really funny and I am glad I can go by Miss or Miss Kristen because I think Miss Richards sounds too old. (sorry mom) The schools here are very different than in the states, for example at lunch none of the kids eat in the cafeteria they are just all over the campus with really no supervision. They are just a lot more laid back, but that is also the culture. Also, all the students in the school are really wealthy and in my classes almost every student has a laptop. In my class the teacher speaks english but when the kids have to do projects they talk in spanish to one another. It really isn't that big of a deal, but today a boy realized that I could not understand them and so he decided to give me lessons. He said "Do you know what hola means?" And I just smiled and said yes. He said "good, that is all you need to know." Luckily, I do know more than that and am slowly learning more. Right now I am observing and helping out Floria for the first 2 weeks then I will take over. Floria and I have a lot of fun together, she cracks me up and every Friday we plan on matching. Tomorrow we are wearing pink for Valentines Day just in case you were wondering. I know it has only been two weeks, but I must say I am in love with Costa Rica. Some days we run after school and as I am running I just look at the beautiful mountains we are surrounded by and I cannot believe I am here. It really seems unreal that I am in a completely different country.

This weekend we are going to Monteverde which is in the middle of the Rainforest and about 3 hours away from our homes. I am really excited and I cannot wait! Hopefully I will take some good pictures and tell y'all all about it. And I have heard and seen all the snow and cold weather that has hit so I thought I would just let you know that it was 80 and sunny today. Another reason why I love Costa Rica. Well that is all for now, enjoy the weekend!

First Weekend

This was our first weekend in Costa Rica and it was amazing after a long orientation weekend at school. Saturday we drove a little over an hour to Playa Hermosa which was by far the best beach I have ever been to in my life. It had black sand and the most amazing views I have ever seen. Since I am not a photographer my pictures do not give this place justice. The beach is on the Pacific Ocean and had some great waves where we spent hours in the water. After the day was over most of us were sunburned and exhausted. I believe I ended up going to bed at 9:45 on a Saturday night. Crazy night, of course.
Sunday we decided to go to San Jose and go to the Mercado Central, but unfortunately we got there and it was closed, so we decided to just walk around. Bad idea, I have never been in a nastier city than San Jose. Luckily, we survived and we have never been happier to get back on the bus to Santa Ana with everyone was exclaiming "get me the heck out of here". Hopefully, we will not have to take many more trips back to San Jose. Today was also election day in Costa Rica and they have been saying that the first woman president could get elected. Santa Ana has been crazy lately with loud cars driving around for their parties with their flags and honking 24/7, so I am pretty ready for the election to be over with. However, it has been interesting to experience because it has been very different than the US.

It was a great weekend, but unfortunately it is over and we have to go back to school tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last day of orientation and then the kids finally come on Tuesday! Our professors left today so now we are all on our own!