Study Abroad

Just another day in class...

So today we had class from 10:00-12:00 for our Intercultural Communication class, and then from 1:00-5:00 for Spanish. "Why so long?" you ask. Well, this weekend we are going to a resort up in Tambor, Costa Rica, and since we´re leaving on Thursday morning, we have to make up the class time that we miss. We´ll be in Tambor through Saturday afternoon, and I´m really looking forward to it. I hear it´s absolutely beautiful.

At the beginning of Spanish class, we took a test, and then had a lesson on some grammar topics. Our class meets toward the back of the building, which is open and looks out over the ocean. It´s a great view, but it makes concentrating hard at times. At one point during the lesson, I got a little distracted as I was gazing out toward the water. There was something moving across the surface, and as I continued to space off, I realized I was watching a group of dolphins. Wow! I wish I had been closer to see them better. I´ve never seen dolphins before, let alone in the middle of class. Just another day in Costa Rica, I guess. I wonder what I´ll see tomorrow.

Oh So Perfect :)

Renee and I started out Saturday with some surf lessons.  It was a lot of fun and the instructors were pretty cute which was fine with us.  We entertained ourselves for almost three hours surfing and decided it was time for a nice lunch on the beach.  After lunch, we realized we were a little tight from surfing and got a massage on the beach.  It was the best massage I have ever gotten.  We relaxed with a lot of the others from our group on the beach for the first part of the afteroon.  After that it was time to head up to the Whitt resort and hang out at the pool.  All the girls attempted to get ready for Deb's birthday supper in the same room.  It was very interesting with all of us in there.  The meal was very nice and very delicious.  There were fireworks, live entertainment, and a cake with tons of frosting.  The day could not have been any better.

Costa Rica Overview

I'm just now finding the time to post my first blog. I attempted once while we were in San Jose, but you can see how well that worked out.

The first two weeks of our trip we were in San Jose. Big City. Dirty. Dangerous. Amanda, Renee, and I stayed in a house with a retired insurance worker and a housewife. They were so nice. The man would always tell us stories from his younger years and always warned us about going out late. He knew some English, so that helped with the language barrier.

We went to 2 movies in San Jose at their VIP movie theater. Literally, there were lazy boys instead of seats. We saw What Happens in Vegas and Sex and the City. Both were in English with Spanish subtitles.

I went bungee jumping. Wow was that an experience. I was relatively calm up until the person before me got done. Then, I freaked out. Wasn't sure if I was being completely sane by doing this or not. I did it. Although I did not get an adrenaline rush like I was hoping, I did it.

After two weeks, we came to Quepos and town about 30 minutes by bus from Manuel Antonio. The second day here we went on the Manuel Antonio State Park tour. It was pretty cool to see all the animals up close. Five of us were laying on the beach when all of a sudden we heard, "Watch Out!" I jumped up and a raccoon was stealing the chips out of Renee's bag. A monkey then stole the chips from the raccoon, but broke the bag in the process. All of the monkeys came over to us, and we got a lot of great pictures.

The host family here is very nice. There's Yeselenia(?), the mom, Genesis, the 17 yr old daugher, and Isaac, the 11 year old son. Genesis has a baby who's 4 months named Dilan. She's been married and divorced. The mom is going through a divorce right now, but has a "partner" who hangs out around the house. They're all very nice, and we've had delicious food. Isaac reminds me of my little brother, Brett. They like the same cartoon and love to do the same things.

Other than that, the beach has been amazing. I just stand out in the water and watch the waves come in. I could stand out there all day. It's so pretty.

Hot Hot Hot!

Our first week in Quepos/Manuel Antonio went pretty quick! We went to the beach and had class Monday through Thursday. Then Friday we went White Water Rafting (it was really like Brown Water Rafting - haha) down the Naranjo River. It was labeled as a class 4 or so river and was pretty intense. My group of Jerry, Erica, Jenna, Sarah, Jessica and I did very well and our guide was very impressed! It was quite a rush (not as much as bungee jumping) and very fun!

Last night we celebrated Deb's birthday will a little birthday bash at their resort and hotel! It was very nice to be in the pool and get all dressed up and eat a wonderful dinner. Deb's chair was decorated and she got an amazingly decorated birthday cake also! It was a very fun time! Happy 50th Deb!!!

The majority of the weekend has been spent relaxing and taking some time on the beach, but tonight I will have to close up the weekend with a bunch of homework!

This next week we get to look forward to going to the amazing resort from Thrusday until Saturday afternoon! I believe we are all very very excited for that! I can't wait! Then it's back to Quepos to finish up classes and pack all of our stuff and head home back to Nebraska! Time has flew and Costa Rica has been amazing, but home and AC will be amazing also! Haha!

White Water Rafting!!!

This morning we went white water rafting and it was amazing!! We were split up into groups and I was in a raft with 4 other people, and luckily none of us fell in!! There were a couple of times where I couldn´t believe we didn´t fall in though!! At times it seemed like our whole raft was under water and we were all barely above the water, but then we all ended up still in the raft!  On the ride there, some of the guides were freaking us out because they said just last week they saw a crocodile in the rapids and also a 6 foot snake, but we didn´t run into anything like that!  The guides were all super nice and helpfult though!!  We were rafting for 6 or 7 miles, so we got to see some cool scenery too.  So overall it was super fun so I´d recomend it to anyone who gets the chance!!!

White Water Rafting

So today we ventured out and went white water rafting.  It was very exciting and I´m pretty sure everyone enjoyed it.  The tour guides informed us right before getting out of the bus that four days ago they saw a croc in the water and a week ago they saw a seven foot snake so a few of us were a bit nervous.  Turns out we didn´t see any threatening animals and it was a lot of fun!  Nobody managed to fall out except for Rachel at the very end on the calm water.  She claims to have gotten knocked out but noone else saw it that way...sorry Rach! haha.  All in all it was a great morning.

Brown Water Rafting

So today since we didn´t have class, a bunch of us decided to take a white water rafting trip. I´ve never done this before, but thought, "Hey, why not?" and signed up. We hopped on a small bus and made our way out to the river. After a quick briefing on rafting safety, we hiked down to the starting point. As we got a little closer and saw the river (and the rapids), I started to wonder what exactly I had been thinking when I chose to do this. No going back now, though!

There were six of us in my raft plus the guide, and it was a team effort to raft down the river. Our guide Danny was calling the shots, shouting commands on how to navigate the river. I´m glad he knew what he was doing! It was so fun! The rapids at the beginning were crazy, and he said it´s the best he´s seen the river in a while (his definition of "best" being that there were a ton of fierce rapids). Since it´s their winter down here, and thus a rainy season, it´s the perfect time to go white water rafting...actually, it should be called brown water rafting due to all of the mud in the water. Not trying to be technical, but seriously, there was nothing white about it.

After a while we got through the area with the rapids and were able to basically float down to where they were pulling the rafts out. It was beautiful to see all of the trees spread out for miles around us. There was a palm oil plantation nearby, and the trees stretched on forever. After a serious rafting ride, it was cool to be able to unwind before the end of the trip. What a beautiful view. ¡Pura Vida!

Hello

I have not blogged for some time now, but a lot has changed since the last time I did.  We moved into Quepos.  It is a small town on the central southern kind of Pacific coast.  It is definitely a little different than living in San Jose, the biggest differences being the weather it is really hot and the beach, it is really nice.  Going to the beach is pretty sweet.  However, it is not so sweet that we have afternoon classes.  So instead of going to the beach when it is dark outside.  Because it is almost dark when we get out of class.  We just wake up early in the morning and head to the beach and everyone gets really burnt.  We are trying to put the sun screen on but it seems we cannot do it fast enough.  It is fun trying to read our assignments on the beach.  You can definitely tell that is what we are doing because I think all of our grades have dropped a little or maybe alot since we have come to Quepos.  We are not trying to make this happen we are trying to read on the beach, but you know it is just not the same as sitting in your room reading.  It happens but that is ok we will all pull through.  Two more weeks in a different country and I will be home wishing I was looking forward to something this big all over again.  Do not worry about these last two weeks, we are not just going to let them slip away.  We are going white water rafting tomorow and saturday we are having a party for Deb Whitt because it is her birthday.  Then next weekend we are going to be spending thursday, friday and saturday in an all inclusive resort.  We all will have alot of fun in the next two weeks.  See everyone soon.

Hey There!

   Hey everybody, this is Josh Rasmussen just checking in. This is my first blog on here, so i'm sorry if things dont work out perfectly, I'll try to work out the kinks. So, here I am with a little extra time on my hands in Manuel Antonio. I'm actually waiting to go to dance class (a free class offered by COSI to students). I'm pretty excited about it. Anyways, I've been in Quepos/Manuel Antonio for about 4 or 5 days now, and it's pretty wonderful. It rains every once in a while, including now, but for the most part the days are nice and sunny. The first day we went on a tour of Manuel Antonio National Park, which was fun. Other than that, things have been pretty boring so far...if you can call being in a foreign country "boring" haha.  Anyways, this weekend things will definitely heat up. It should be nice weather and we are going white water rafting. Maybe I'll sign up for some other tours too, who knows. The people here are extremely nice. I love my host family, and my teacher is great. The food here is absolutely wonderful, and even though I'm a vegetarian I'm truly getting my fill on all the local food. I'm also improving drastically on my spanish. If anyone is serious about learning spanish, immerse yourself in a culture that speaks it and you will see a greater increase than any class would teach you. It can be frusterating at times, but for the most part the communication here usually works out. Well, I probably better get to my dance class! I'll hopefully post more after the exciting weekend! Take care!

Josh

My Quepos Life!!!

I really like it here in Quepos.  We are getting familiar with the area.  Since we have been teaching the taxi drivers, I have enjoyed running into them on the streets or in the stores.  They are all very friendly and helpful.

It feels awesome to almost have a week of Spanish class down today.  It has gone fast.  My teacher is great.  Last night we went to cooking class at COSI.  I enjoyed hanging out with the other students and getting to know other students.  And the food was great!!  Tonight is dancing class.  We are going out with our mama tica tomorrow night for karaoke and dancing.  Right now though I am excited to hit the beach tomorrow and no classes.  I am ready for a break.

Adios,

Tammy:)