{The Tranquila Archives}

The second weekend in Costa Rica our group took us to the waterfall La Fortuna which was pretty amazing.  This was the first time I had ever seen in person a waterfall, and the fact that I got to experience this while hiking in Costa Rica was pretty precious and I relished every second of it.  The hike down to the waterfall was about thirty minutes, and you could smell the richness of the earth around you.  As we sauntered down the path I took several moments to just stop and take in the scene around me.   This is real. life. This is really happening. Don't wake me up. The hike down to La Fortuna At the falls, and swimming in the river The much steeper hike back up The fauna near the volcano We had lunch and dinner in the town of La Fortuna, but for dinner I stayed behind with the guys in the springs because I was enjoying soaking in the water more than I wanted to go back into town.  For lunch we were looking for the ch...

This post is about my second full week in Costa Rica.  I can't say I'm sorry I'm so behind, I'm in Costa Rica!! Oh well ! entonces.. This week the extra-curricular classes start, like cooking, yoga, dancing, and I don't know what else.  I signed up for the cooking class, and the dance class is free after my night classes tues/thurs, so when I'm not tired I stop by to those. Que Chiva! I am becoming utterly obsessed with the Latin Culture. Any culture that regularly includes cilantro and black beans in their diet is heaven in my book.  And we all know how sexy Latin dance is, so that's a no-brainer.  What amazes me so much is the 'theory' of Machismo is so prevelant here, and yet the men are so much more apt to be friendly with one another, dance, even sometimes helping in the kitchen with the dishes, and opening doors; while in the states you have guys who are utterly terrified of such things for fear of appearing to be gay.  Come on guys ! ...

Imagine clear crystal water, filled with corals and brightly colored fish swimming around, taking cover beneath the giant coral boulders as your shadow passes by.  Imagine swimming in an aquarium that is the Pacific Ocean, floating through the community of a vivid sea life:               giant black & blue sea urchins                 striped and speckled blue, white, and yellow fish;                                             white and pink corals. it was so beautiful. For our first excursion in Costa Rica our study abroad program (CEA:  http://www.gowithcea.com/ ) we took a bus from San Jose to the Pacific Coast and drove along to Manuel Antonio, stopping along the way at Tarcoles River, which is a popular tourist spot due to all the crocodiles easily spotted fro...

This first week has been nothing but Hammer Time.  We touched down sat afternoon.  Sunday Morning I had to be at the CEA office at like 8 am (the plus side being that I'm going from eastern to central, so really its 9 am) for orientation and a walking city tour.  We got to walk around San Jose and learn about the different areas and how to get there.  ( btw, in costa rica addresses=directions.  as in, right at the KFC, 50 mts south of tealand. thats an address. yay .)  If anyone wants to send me mail it has to be a letter, otherwise it's not worth it. I'll find out the address and post it later. Monday we had orientation at Veritas University where they talked to us a little more about the Costa Rican culture like how different concepts of personal space are and the Pura Vida lifestyle and Tico Time.  It lasted until about noon and was just really funny and informative and I won't recount every detail.  After a pizza lunch at CEA offices (whi...

Sorry for the delay on posting, this first week in Costa Rica has been full of adventure, but even excitement can be time-consuming.  Besides, I'm living in paradise, who has time to get on the computer anyways ? So my first-ever airplane ride was super fun.  I met a wonderful couple on the plane who I still need to email btw, and they decided that I needed to sit by the window to see the beautiful sights since I had never seen them before.  We talked a lot along the way and it was really nice, especially since my nerves were doing the cucaracha.  The lady also told me not to worry ab where the airbags were bc if we crashed we wouldn't make it to find out, which I found to be truly hilarious.  Take off felt like a roller coaster that never goes back down the hill, and after about 4 hours of flying I was ready to get off the plane.   Flying over Cuba I had met Taylor in the Charlotte Airport, so when we got to San Jose we navigated the...

I was in IB, so needless to say I am truly a procrastinator.  Packing for a trip abroad has been extremely difficult because I am working so much and also trying to spend as much time with friends as I can before I leave! And I mean I have never gone on a long trip, or even flown before so this whole process is all very alien to me.  My roommates give me the dumbest looks but like seriously how am I supposed to know what is classified as a weapon to airport security these days, or whether I am going to need heels for salsa dancing.  I mean, this is three months of my life in a climate and culture I have never been to.  How do you prepare for that ? GUESS WHAT THOUGH ?! I discovered the beauty of Space Bags. This may or may not be helping me bring as much clothes as I could without being super unnecessary,  but my suitcase still weighed 48lbs so I hope you guys weren't expecting souvenirs...

Feliz Navidad ! Today is Christmas! So far I have taken my Spanish placement tests (we won't talk about that), gotten everything straightened out with the registrar for graduation, registered for courses at Veritas, gotten my housing assignment, and unsuccessfully searched for my host family on Facebook. No luck there.  How I felt preparing for the Spanish oral interview Everything is slowly panning out for the trip in two weeks. After a trip home for Christmas with family, ill be packing up the apartment for another girl to move in while I'm away as well as packing to live in another country and climate for three months.   What a daunting task.  To prepare for the culture shock I will inevitably experience, I've been google searching everything I can possibly think I will need to know about this country, from its history and flags to the country's apparent fondness for Pura Vida (it's Costa Rica's Roll Tide). Thanks to Dr Song I've also be...