Study Abroad

A long journey home

After a long five weeks in Costa Rica we were all ready to come home and see our loved ones.  We were also excited because we would be back right in time for the holiday.  Well, while we waited for two hours to check in our bags at the San Jose airport we discovered that our plane wasn't going to leave until three in the afternoon! We were originally supposed to leave at ten that morning!

We finally left at three and then arrived in Texas at 9:30 p.m.  We had to stay the night at the airport on cots! Which we very uncomfortable.  We were finally able to check in our bags at 4:30 in the morning on the fourth and left for Nebraska at ten that morning.  We were all so happy to be in good ol' Nebraska when we arrive to Omaha that afternoon.

Overall, the trip was absolutely wonderful and I learned more than I would be able to just by taking classes in the States.  The trip back home was horrible and I thought that we would never get back home.  But now I am missing Costa Rica.  I missing the food, the weather, everything.  I can't wait until I have the opprotunity to go again!

Disaster in the Airport

The last day in Costa Rica was here…at least that is what we all hoped.  We left our hotel this morning and got to the airport at 600am.   To our surprise we find that our flight has been delayed because of a tropical storm. Our flight will not leave Costa Rica until 430pm.  The most depressing part is that we will have to sleep in the Dallas Airport overnight and the airport is refusing to provide us commendation.  On the good side they did give us a wonderful $10 coupon for lunch this afternoon good for any restaurant in the airport minus alcoholic drinks.  So all of us are now stranded in the airport at this time.  We have been running around like chickens trying to find calling cards to let our families know we will be a day late.  I feel very comfortably speaking for the entire group when I say we are ALL ready to come home.  So get the food cooking and our beds made… we are coming home.

Adios

   Well, this is probably my last time using a computer in CR. Sooo...thank goodness, because these keyboards are kind of getting annoying to use! haha Well, I have mixed emotions today. I've had such an amazing experience down here, but at the same time I'm ready to see my family and friends. Oh my..... Let's see here. I've learned a ton of spanish while i've been down here. I've had a ton of great expereiences also. I've made some friends, and learned a lot about myself also. I've learned that you have to make the most of your experiences, which i think i have. It's been great living here because it gives you a whole new perespective on life, that you wouldnt have had otherwise. The communciation barrier is definitely something to be acknowledged, but not scared of. All in all, communication is a basic human element. If you need to communicate, for the most part, you will be able to because people will be able to understand you for the most part. It's nice to be assured that in the end, life is life. The people down here are just like you and me. they breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat (although maybe a little different food!). Life will go on. All in all I want to thank all of Costa Rica for an amazing time, I've been truly blessed. At the same time, I just want to tell everyone at home.....be ready cause I'll be home in less than 24 hours!!

Adios,
Josh

Adios

   Well, this is probably my last time using a computer in CR. Sooo...thank goodness, because these keyboards are kind of getting annoying to use! haha Well, I have mixed emotions today. I've had such an amazing experience down here, but at the same time I'm ready to see my family and friends. Oh my..... Let's see here. I've learned a ton of spanish while i've been down here. I've had a ton of great expereiences also. I've made some friends, and learned a lot about myself also. I've learned that you have to make the most of your experiences, which i think i have. It's been great living here because it gives you a whole new perespective on life, that you wouldnt have had otherwise. The communciation barrier is definitely something to be acknowledged, but not scared of. All in all, communication is a basic human element. If you need to communicate, for the most part, you will be able to because people will be able to understand you for the most part. It's nice to be assured that in the end, life is life. The people down here are just like you and me. they breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat (although maybe a little different food!). Life will go on. All in all I want to thank all of Costa Rica for an amazing time, I've been truly blessed. At the same time, I just want to tell everyone at home.....be ready cause I'll be home in less than 24 hours!!

Adios,
Josh

Happy Times and Sad Times

Ya!!! Finals are over.  After 4 weeks and a few days of non stop classes and non stop home work…ok ...so there was a little fun in-between but the important part is we are finished. YAAAAAAAAA! After the Spanish final we went outside and received our certificates from COSI stating we graduated. Luckily we all graduated even me as hard as it may sound.  Unfortunately, like all good things in life must come to an end there was some sadness this afternoon.  Today is the last day for one member of this group and one close friend of mine, Eric Rickord my room mate.  At five o’clock today he will take the bus in Quepos and head to San Jose so he can fly out tomorrow morning by himself.  He had to leave early because he is in a wedding this Friday.  After all the tearful good buys, Eric left leaving empty places in all of our hearts and an empty bed in my room. You will be misted Eric.  God’s speed and good luck. Adios Chico

Happy Times and Sad Times

Ya!!! Finals are over.  After 4 weeks and a few days of non stop classes and non stop home work…ok ...so there was a little fun in-between but the important part is we are finished. YAAAAAAAAA! After the Spanish final we went outside and received our certificates from COSI stating we graduated. Luckily we all graduated even me as hard as it may sound.  Unfortunately, like all good things in life must come to an end there was some sadness this afternoon.  Today is the last day for one member of this group and one close friend of mine, Eric Rickord my room mate.  At five o’clock today he will take the bus in Quepos and head to

San Jose

so he can fly out tomorrow morning by himself.  He had to leave early because he is in a wedding this Friday.  After all the tearful good buys, Eric left leaving empty places in all of our hearts and an empty bed in my room. You will be misted Eric.  God’s speed and good luck. Adios Chico

Happy Times and Sad Times

Ya!!! Finals are over.  After 4 weeks and a few days of non stop classes and non stop home work…ok ...so there was a little fun in-between but the important part is we are finished. YAAAAAAAAA! After the Spanish final we went outside and received our certificates from COSI stating we graduated. Luckily we all graduated even me as hard as it may sound.  Unfortunately, like all good things in life must come to an end there was some sadness this afternoon.  Today is the last day for one member of this group and one close friend of mine, Eric Rickord my room mate.  At five o’clock today he will take the bus in Quepos and head to

San Jose

so he can fly out tomorrow morning by himself.  He had to leave early because he is in a wedding this Friday.  After all the tearful good buys, Eric left leaving empty places in all of our hearts and an empty bed in my room. You will be misted Eric.  God’s speed and good luck. Adios Chico

Barceló Resort

It was a 4 hour trek to the resort, which started at 6 am on Thursday. We stuffed ourselves in a bus that was crammed with luggage and our whole group. 2 hours later, we were in Puntarenas and caught the ferry to Tambor Island. It was another hour drive to the resort itself. We pulled up to the main gates (yes, there were GATES!) and i was pretty sure that I had died and gone to heaven. We worked our way past security and to the main desk where we checked into the ALL INCLUSIVE resort. There was nothing this place didn´t have, snack bars, bars, food, pools and a whole lotta sun!! We spent Thursday and Friday and this morning in the pool. In fact, there is a good chance that my skin is permanently wrinkled from the water. The food was an all you can eat buffet and I think that I ate all I could eat. There was an ice cream bar, which is like, the most amazing thing EVERRR. We spent most of Thursday and Friday afternoon playing water volleyball while the mornings were spent laying on top of the waterfall and catching some rays. Everything was simply beautiful there, we had a bright blue pool surrounded by palm trees with a backdrop of the endless ocean, it was simply perfect.

Thursday night we sat on the beach and watched the waves roll in and the heat lighting as it lit up the sky. Friday night, we all spent at the discoteca (spanish for night club, there was no disco music!!). That was so much fun but I am pretty sure that we all made fools of ourselves...  This morning we had to take one last dip in the pool and enjoy our last trips to the free snack bar and bar.

It was hard to leave today, especially hard to leave the air conditioning and hot showers!! We made it back just fine and now we have to go back to the reality of school on monday.

PURA VIDA!

Las Cascadas!!

Today was simply amazing if you ask me...

Eric, Josh and I decided to be adventerous and go waterfall repelling, and I think that might have been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The day started out at 7 am when we got picked up in the coolest vehicle EVER. Its a big quad-cab Chevy truck, but the bed of the truck is lined with a bench and is covered by a canvas, totally fun. So it was an hour drive to where we needed to be. It was quite a trek into the mountains. I think that I got my money´s worth on the car ride alone!! Once we really got back in to the mountains, we still had about half an hour to go. Ok, the roads in the mountains are NOT roads. They are mud trails. Sometimes, we were driving through shallow river, other times we were stalled, because workers were scooping mud out of the road so we could keep going, other times we decided to take on some rocks, and i thought I was going to fly out of the truck bed!! Eric and Josh decided to risk theirlives and stand on the back of the truck with our guide, I declined the offer.It was an adventure getting there, to say the least. It was one ride that I will never forget because of the sheer beauty. Everything was so perfect, untouched. It looked like it was all done by the bes landscaper money could buy, it was the defintion of beauty to me.

Once we got to the place, they had breakfast for us. Fresh pineapple, watermelon, and arepas (hispanic version of pancakes) overlooking a beautiful canyon is not a bad way to spend your morning! We geared up in our harnesses and helmets and set out to find some waterfalls. There is a bridge that we had to walk over that I was even scared on. Have you seen the movie Shrek? You know that bridge him and donkey have to walk over to get to the castle? Just like that. It went on forever and I was pretty sure that at any moment I was going to fall through, just like that. But I made it somehow. We had to walk a little further, but all the while, our guide was like the guy on the Man vs Wild TV show. He pulled Starfruit out of trees, citronella leaves galore, we ate the heart of a palm tree (i dont recommend!), we felt sandpaper leaves, ate some kind of leaf that tasted exactly like cinnamon, smelled a licorice leaf, smelled a Ben Gay leaf, and I am pretty sure there is more, but I cant remember them all!! Our 2 guides, Eric and José Manuel were an absolute blast. They were super funny and just a blast to be around, they seemed to know everything one would need to know about the forest. We arrived at a little waterfall and swam around in it for a little bit. We scaled 2 waterfalls, but the first one was a little one, even though I didn´t think it was too small at first!! That was the practice one, and when I made my way down to the big one, I think that I might have cried. It was straight down. All I could see was a lot a lot of water and some rocks sticking out here and there.

The tour guide, Eric, knew that I was freaking out, so to calm me down, he just hummed the music from jaws in my ear as he was strapping me in!!! How nice, right? I managed to conquer my fears and I did it. We all repelled down a MASSIVE waterfall. And the feeling we had when we made it to the bottom was unlike any other. It was incredible!!

We headed back up and ate some lunch before we had to start our crazy ride back to reality. The ride was more enjoyable on the way back becasue I was on such a high!! I wish I could paint a better picture for you, but there aren´t words to describe it!!!

LOVE THE BEACH!!!

Got to hit the beach on friday and saturday. It was awesome.  Saturday also included Debs birthday party with live music.  Friday night we went out with our mama tica, she is awesome.  We went to live music at Sargento Garcias and then off to the karoake bar to watch mama sing.  Sunday was a just lay around and roast in the heat day.  While hanging out on our porch a big iguana fell out.  It crawled back up and we found another one up in another tree by it.  They were both about 3 to 4 feet long. 

Now I am excited to go to Tambor.  My mama tica has been there before and it sounds amazing.  I cant wait to relax and chill for a few days with my friends.

Pura Vida!!!