Kayaking through the ocean

I will preface this by saying, I made it out alive. We decided to do what we thought would be a nice journey kayaking out to an island. The island looked really cool and we wanted to go check it out. Here is a pciture of the island we ventured out to.

We rented out the kayaks this morning and set out to the island. As you can tell in this picture, the water looks pretty calm so we were not worried at all. We decided to loop around the entire island and that was where we made a major mistake.

The calm water made us think the water would be the same the whole way around the island. We were very wrong. After I got about half way around the island my kayak started going over some huge waves. They were not breaking yet so it was okay but it made me a little nervous. Next thing I know, some massive rocks/cliffs start appearing in front of us. We tried turning around because we weren't too sure how to get around them. Once we started turning around we realized that the waves were starting to break on these huge rocks. I turn to look back behind me and I see a wave 2 times the size of me coming quickly towards me. I see that it is starting to break and I panic. I paddled as fast as I could to the side of the wave to get out of the white water.

I have never been so scared as I was in those few minutes. I started thinking about what would happen if the wave broke on me and threw me into one of the rocks or cliffs. (Mom, I debated telling you this but it is part of my abroad experience so just focus on the fact that I am safe haha love you!) It took about 2 hours before my heart came out of my stomach. I was almost in tears when it was happening and everyone in my group was really shaken up. It was quite the experience and I am just very happy that I made it out alive and kicking! Costa Rican adventures got the best of me today.

Surfing and Snorkeling in La Playa Samara

We are officially in paradise. This is Samara and it is absolutely breathtaking! We are staying in an all inclusive resort on the beach and I am in heaven. Surfing, snorkeling and kayaking are all included in the program fee so we are all about to live it up these next few days. My group mates and I are staying in little houses along the beach that the resort owns. They are very nice and we were shocked when we walked inside. Here is a picture of our place,

I am about to head out to surf and snorkel today and we are going kayaking to an island in the ocean tomorrow. The pool here has a swim up bar so I know we will be planning on hitting that after the exhausting yet fun day we have ahead of us! Miss you all but LOVING it here!

Jumping off the waterfall

Here I am about to jump off the waterfall, I couldn't get any higher because I was slipping on the moss was that was growing. The swimming hole was so cold, it took alot to swim across it in order to climb the waterfall and jump off. My brothers would have been in heaven at this waterfall and it made me miss them a lot while being there and thinking about sharing the experience with my family.

As you can see ^ I was a little nervous about making sure I jumped in the right area. My mom has told me way to many horror stories of people jumping off cliffs or bridges into the water and landing on logs or various things. The guy who led our hike instructed me where to jump then I double checked and jumped before I got too scared. It was really fun but my whole body went numb once I hit the water. My family and roommates have been telling me they are proud of my adventurous side coming out and can't wait to tell them even more of the cool things I have been able to do!

Moonlight hikes and nights in the jungle

We headed back to the jungle for a few days after Puerto Viejo and it was not an easy change of scenery. Once we got use to the beach, surfing and lighting, it was hard to go back to the secluded jungle. Luckily, we are only going back for 3 nights before heading to La Playa Samara. I should not hate on being in the jungle because we loved it at first but once we got to explore the Caribbean coast here in Costa Rica, it was hard to leave.

Sleeping and hanging out in the jungle has tested me in many ways. Before this trip I was pretty scared of even the smallest of bugs. Now I realize that bugs and insects are the last thing I need to be worrying about. We walked out of our bungalow today to see an eye lash viper snake sitting underneath our hammock. This is a poisonous snake that could potentially kill us if we got bite and did not get to the hospital immediately. Here is the group that all came running when we saw it,

Needless to say, I have gained more bravery than I ever thought I would. I do enjoy waking up to the monkey noises and watching them in the trees. We went on a night hike through the jungle with just our head lamps and we were able to see some sloths and monkeys then too. Before this trip I don’t think someone could have paid me to go into the jungle with just a head lamp on to simply see animals that would potentially scare me to death. I have now conquered some of those fears although I still get a little nervous being out in the dark jungle.

Service project at La Playa Chiquita Escuela

We had the privileged of doing a service learning project at La Playa Chiquita Escuela. They showed us what we would be helping with and introduced us to a few of the kids. Within the first 5 minutes of being there a sweet little girl named Maya kept staring at me. She didn’t speak any English so I tried using the Spanish I do know to communicate with her. After we finished talking a little she ran off and I was kind of confused. Then she started running back with a handful of flowers that she handed to me. I almost started crying because it was such a precious gesture.

Our tasks for the day were to help finish the new building that the school had just been given. We were working with cement, sanding and painting. I was able to do all three things but enjoyed making the cement structures in the windows the best.

For lunch the families of the school served us a lunch made especially by them. It was very good and the adorable little kids were coming in asking if we wanted seconds or more juice. The whole time I was at the school I had the biggest smile on my face. I have realized over the past few years that I am very passionate about children.

After our work was done at the school we had the afternoon free. A few of us decided to head to the beach to swim and try surfing again. The waves were VERY big today and there were even red flags in parts of the water where people weren’t allowed to swim. We went over to the more calm area in order to be safe. It was a very fun afternoon but after all of our activities we were beyond exhausted.

These were the size waves that we were riding. Sadly, I wasn't able to get any pictures of me surfing because we were all in the water but hopefully I can get someone to take some on La Playa Samara!

Going out dancing!

While in Puerto Viejo we went out dancing a lot. There were so many cool little places to go hangout on the beach, we were in heaven. We went to Johnny’s, Mangos, Oshiis and some belly dancing bar. It was very fun to test out our Costa Rican dance moves in these places. A lot of them are half in door and half outdoor. Almost all of them are right on the beach and we enjoyed going to them during the sun set because it was the most beautiful sites. This is one of the belly dancers from a bar we were at,

People in Puerto Viejo are very friendly and were not as aggressive as other people we had encountered so we were relieved. This was the first city that we actually met friends that were locals and were able to continue hanging out with them. We got the biggest kick out of all trying to speak the others language. They were able to show us the fun places to go as well as make sure we didn’t go anywhere unsafe. Here is the crew that normally went out dancing,

We were shocked to realize that in one of the dance clubs, Mango, they only played popular American songs. Our whole group died laughing listening to the Costa Ricans singing along to these songs. Other the other bars played only Reggae music so this was a little change from what we had gotten used to. The music scene here is incredible and dancing is very popular. We thoroughly enjoyed our nights out but the late nights catch up with me when we go surfing the next day.

Surfing La Playa Chiquita and La Playa Negra

Surfing has to be my favorite part of the entire trip! This was my second time going surfing so I did a little better than I thought. The waves were much bigger than I could have ever expected but I did my best to stay up on as many as I could. Our two surf instructors on this day were pro surfers. They had long crazy hair but they were pretty cute for Costa Ricans. Our group was all a little nervous but they did a good job of calming us down. Only four of us actually went surfing because the others were scared that they may get hurt since there was a reef where we were surfing. The surf instructors took us out on La playa Chiquita and La Playa Negra. Both beaches were just beyond beautiful. The one beach had a massive cliff to the left of where we were surfing which was intimidating. We practiced outside of the water at first and then once we got the positions down we went out into the water. Here is a picture of our surf boards and instructors before we went out in the water,

My board was smaller than the one I used the first time which made it easier to carry around but little did I know it makes it harder to get up on. Jordan was my surf instructor and he took me way out to where the waves weren’t breaking any more and explained that he was going to push me into a wave and yell “get up” when I needed to get in position. I was able to catch the first wave but I did not get my feet fully centered so I fell after riding it for a little. Here is us with our surf instructors after the first day,

The next few I was able to get up on and ride all the way in. I slowly progressed to bigger and bigger waves until I started getting scared that I was going to die in the washer machine that the waves create. Sadly, one of my friends that went with us was not able to get up at all but she just enjoyed watching all of us try for these huge waves and get crushed by some of them. It seemed to be the bigger the wave, the harder the fall. The big waves were the most fun ones to ride. After we felt confident with our surf guides on the big waves, they let us try some on our own. I paddled out to a decent size wave and hoped up when I felt it pulling me in like my instructor told me. At first I didn’t think I was going to catch it because I hesitated but before I knew it I was riding the wave all the way into shore. After about 2 more hours of this we were exhausted and ready to call it a day. It had to be the happiest I have been in about a year and I can’t wait to surf again in Samara!

Day with the Bri Bri indigenous tribe

Visiting the indigenous Bri Bri tribe in Puerto Viejo was a very eye opening experience. The leader of the community, Timutao, led us on a hike through the indigenous territory to a beautiful waterfall. Here he is,

The walk to the waterfall was not long but it was pretty difficult. It seemed more like rock climbing than hiking. Almost everyone in our group fell while doing this hike. Luckily, I did not because I was being super cautious with my camera in my hand. One girl even fell between my legs while I was hopping up on a rock and she fell through my legs. We all laughed and thank goodness no one got hurt. Once we arrived at the waterfall, it was not all down hill either. You had to climb out on the rocks to get into the swimming hole under the waterfall. While in the waterfall, Timutao wanted to pray over our group. He stood up on a rock and sang a prayer in his local Bri Bri language,

Soon after, we went to eat lunch with the indigenous people. They prepared us a lunch like they would eat on an average day and we were a little shocked by the way we would be eating it. The meal was served in a banana leave with no utensils. It was a very interesting meal but we tried it and enjoyed learning more about their culture. Here is a glimpse at our meal,

Interviewing teachers & soccer game with children

We went around and interviewed various people in the community of Talamanca. I personally went to speak with two teachers, one retired and one that managed the school of 40 kids. The first interview was with a retired teacher named Angela. She allowed us into her beautiful home to ask her some questions and hear her story.

Angela talked to us about the education system and how every culture is able to interact while at school. All the cultures come together at school, everyone is welcome and they all learn the same things. Angela believes that uniting the kids within the schools helps bring interracial peace. Costa Rica has nationwide uniforms that all look the same based on what grade you are in. This helps students to not divide themselves based on how much money their parents have. When they all have to wear the same thing, you are not able to see how much money the family has which helps create equality. Here is a picture of my interview group with Angela at her house,

The next place we went was a school of 40 kids where we had the time of our life. We started out by speaking with Sandra, the manager of the school. She told us her story, where she is from, how she became interested in teaching and how she is currently commuting 2 hours to get to work. We also talked about schooling here in Costa Rica and how very few kids not only go to college but high school as well. High school is becoming less and less popular among these children.

While we were speaking with Sandra the children realize that we were in there and all coming running in. One little girl came up to me and shook my hand. I was so impressed with her manners and soon after all of them started shaking our hands. They were just so excited to be meeting Americans for some reason. We were able to join the kids during recess. This had to be my favorite memory of the trip so far! The kids decided they wanted to challenge our group to a soccer game. These kids were anywhere from 5 to 9. They split into teams and then played process of elimination in order to choose our group members for their teams. I was beyond thrilled when a sweet little girl chose me first. She obviously was not aware of my lacking soccer skills. Both the kids and our group were having a blast running around that field. Here we are with the class after our soccer game,

A night in the jungle

Once we arrived at our lodge in Talamanca we were a little surprised by the bedrooms but adjusted better than expected. We were staying the night in the middle of the jungle with nothing any where near us except bug, rodants and monkeys. This was one of the nights that was meant to test our boundaries and try something different. I know this was out of my comfort zone as well as a few others in our group but it was a really cool experience. I have rarely been camping, let alone spending the night in the jungle with no enclosed roof and a bug net surrounding my bed. We walked out from seeing our rooms and my friend Danielle had a lizard jump onto her head. She handled it really well but it made us realize that we had an interesting night ahead of us. I just tried to take in the experience as an adventure that would help me overcome some fears and take a peek at the naturalist side of life. Here is a picture of one of the beds in our room with us inside the net,

Spending the night secluded in the jungle was a great experience but I will not miss the mosquito nets and bugs on steroids. Where we stayed was very secluded and seemed like a scene from a scary movie at first. I knew that this was going to be something hard for me with my fear of bugs but I handled it better than I thought. The rooms were definitely rustic and all natural. The lodge, I guess you would call it, had an open roof type thing going on and the sides were screened in with big wooden doors. Inside the room there were bunk bed style beds with massive mosquito nets covering all four ends of the bed. The mosquito net gave me confidence that I could make it through the night without getting scared there was a bug or lizard in my bed but I was a little wrong. A secada (not too sure on the bug, let alone the spelling) got into my mosquito net while I was sleeping and starting making some crazy noise. I tried to stay calm and just overcome my fear because that’s what this trip is about. I got on my hands and knees underneath my net and grabbed the net on the side where I could hear the bug making noise and pulled the net out to attempt to let the bug escape. Eventually the bug flew out and I pulled the mosquito net tight really quickly.

Monkey noises greeted us throughout the night as well but that didn’t bother me because I have loved being able to see and hear the monkeys. Once we woke up in the morning I realized that I did not have it the worst while sleeping.  One of the rooms had what they thought was a bat in their room, which was very likely with the area that we were in. I could handle a bug over a bat any day. Needless to say, being secluded in the jungle and spending the night with creatures that I’m afraid of was pretty difficult for me. Overcoming some of these fears and getting through the night without a tear or shriek made me confident that these adventures are truly helping me get in touch with a whole new side of myself.

Poas Volcano

Climbing the Poas Volcano was difficult but well worth it. We drove about 30 or 45 minutes to get to the area where the volcano was and then we climbed up to the top in order to look down on it. Once we got out of the van to start climbing the volcano we realized there was a major temperature difference… it was pretty chilly in this area. Luckily we had brought light jackets and worn pants. Once we reached the overlook area we were stunned. I looked around and just took it all in. We were looking down into and around at a massive volcano. In the center there was a crystal clear body of water which was letting off some type or sulfur or smoke. Sadly, my luck was not on my side the day we climbed the Poas because my camera died half way through taking pictures at the top and my sunglasses were stolen when I set them down to take a picture. I guess I learned my lesson the hard way about putting things down in Costa Rica. Here is a little glimpse of the volcano,

After climbing to the top of the volcano, we hiked another 30 minutes to the lagoon near by the Poas. The hike up to the lagoon was very interesting because it was so deep in the rainforest that it looked as if it was dark outside. No sun was shining through on the trail at all but once we got to the lagoon, the brush opened up and we saw the beautiful body of water with the sunlight reflecting off. See below for a picture of the pretty lagoon,

Rafting down the Pacuare River

Today we went white water rafting down the Pacuare River. The rapids were class 4 and it was an 18 mile journey so it got a little intense. Since I had been rafting a few times before, the girls in my group made me sit in the front. Although the front is fun because it is the most adventurous, it is also the scariest. Your body and face are what end up breaking the rapids as you go through them.

A few of my group members fell out on the 2^nd rapid but I managed to hold on tight enough to stay in. Our guide decided he wanted me to do something calling “riding the bull” which is when you sit up on the very tip of the boat and hold on the ropes as you go through the rapid. I didn’t last long before falling back into the boat. One of my friends had a water-proof so we were able to take some pictures on the way down, except in the rapids because that would be just asking to be thrown out. These were the girls that I were in my boat for rafting,

Half way through our rafting trip, we stopped at these little tiki huts for lunch. All of the guides had brought food down the river in these water-proof cylinder bins. The picnic area was incredible and the fresh fruit was delicious.

The scenery, as everything in Costa Rica has been, was incredible!! The rainforest was surrounding us on all sides and about every mile there was a huge waterfall, each unique and leaving us awestruck. The wildlife and plush green jungle is something that we just do not see while in Georgia so experiencing these sights has just made me fall in love with Costa Rica.

Mercado Central

Our group spent the afternoon at Mercado Central which is the humongous market in San Jose. It seemed as if we were in a maze the second we walked in. The atmosphere seemed a little nicer than a flea market and everything you can imagine was being sold. I was a little apprehensive about bargaining with the locals but some of my group members were able to lower the prices. My goal while at the market was to get my family a little something to help share my Costa Rica experience with them. I believe I was pretty successful with the gifts I found for them but it also made me a little homesick thinking about my family while picking them out something special. Here is the entrance to the market,

The market was a little overwhelming because you have ticos yelling at you as you walk by trying to get you to see what items they had to offer. We realized after the first 30 minutes that not making eye contact was key. While in the market we noticed how much of a luxury cell phones are and how we rely on them in so many situations. Since we all had different items we wanted to purchase and diverse taste in the little shops we wanted to see, it was hard to all stay together. People kept getting separated and wondering off. I tried sticking with at least one person at all times in order to stay safe. Although I have not felt unsafe here yet, I still want to be cautious after all the crazy stories my mom has put in my head. You can never be too cautious in a foreign country.

Bar Nenas (Discoteca)

Last night we went to a latino discoteca called Bar Nenas. The person working at Chavo's restaurant, where we ate dinner, recommended it to us. We were not sure what we were getting ourselves into but it was only a block from our hotel so we figured we could just walk back at any time if need be. A group of us girls got all dressed up and split some wine before heading out. I may be one of the more girly people in the group but it has been nice not having to get ready like this a lot while being here. While in the rainforest in Monteverde, makeup, cute clothes and heels are thrown out of the picture which created such a relaxed feeling but it was fun to dress up again. Here is a picture of some of us girls before Bar Nena,

Culture shock really sets in when you are in a confined area with people from another country and you are the minority. Everyone starred at us as we walked in but we have become accustom to it after being here for over a week now. Spanish music was blaring as we walked in and I thought of Brett right away. This bar would have been right up his ally but I was a little confused of what the words were since the Spanish was too much for me to comprehend. Placing myself in these culture shock situations for me has been a great experience. I have been trying my hardest to speak and comprehend the language as well as understand their culture. Being the minority and having to conquer language barrier, currency differences and various societal norms gives you a whole new sense of confidence in yourself. I am so happy to be diversifying myself because I never realized how closed-minded I was until this trip.

Culture and Identification

Joaquin Lizano who studies interracial communication opened our eyes to a whole new side of the Costa Rican culture today. He spoke with us about how equality differs for everyone whom was enlightening to hear after all of our talk about race within our group and classes. Joaquin believes that we are equal in front of the law but historical rooting’s can make things less clear. Some of the objectives he talked about were differences, cultural adjustment and Costa Rican norms.

Some of the norms in Costa Rica that we are not used to are personal space, driving and sense of time. Personal space in Costa Rica is much smaller than what we are used to. Joaquin gave us an example of a local man from Costa Rican giving directions to an American. He said it is very likely for the Costa Rican to be touching your arms in order to make a statement while giving the directions which we are not used to. The touching of our arm causes our attention to go from the directions to the fact that some strange person is touching us. Driving is very different here as well. Joaquin explained their driving habits and it made a lot more sense to us. While in San Jose, we have realized that the drivers are very crazy and honk their horns non-stop. Joaquin told us that honking a horn here is a way of communicating, they will honk to say please let me over, honk to say thank you or even honk as a compliment to a beautiful women. Costa Rican sense of time is something our group realized was a huge difference after Joaquin explained how Costa Ricans are about it. Costa Rica is considered polychromic which is more relaxed about time whereas, the U.S. is monochromic which is more industrialized and more efficient with time. For example, we would be frustrated with someone being 5 minutes late where a Costa Rican could be an hour late and not be considered rude or late. We are not used to this culture but being uncomfortable is part of immersing ourselves in the culture

Joaquin ended with talking to us about the benefits of studying abroad. He talked about the greater confidence and assertiveness that comes from being part of a collective culture, having better listening abilities, better sensitivity to other cultures and more tolerance and patience. Confidence comes from putting yourself in a spot where you feel uncomfortable and overcoming it, that is how we learn about the differences.

Identity plays a major role in the comfort levels between races. We must understand how people perceive us and how we perceive them. The subject of identity negotiation goes back to what Joaquin said about crossing our comfort zones in order to conquer our confidence in new or different cultures.

Defining culture has become very relevant not only in Costa Rica but within our group as well. Being a split group of race, we have tried defining our cultures to one another in order to help the others understand where we come from and why we are the way we are. Through this defining process, we are able to open our eyes to see the new, different culture in an entirely new light.

Danielle (one of the girls in my group) led us in a hands-on activity in order to insist our identity shaping process. We all wrote down 5 I AM statements and 5 THEY THINK I AM statements. There is so much of our identity that we over analyze and this exercise made it very prevalent. It was interesting to see the things that were obvious to others about us and some things that were news to others about that individual.

Through our group conversations/interactions we are crossing the uncomfortable racial barrier and seeing ourselves, our lives and others through new eyes. Breaking the racial barrier and understanding other cultures give you a peace about opening yourself to new adventures and situations.   

University of Costa Rica

Waking up today to the sound of an alarm clock was a nice change compared to waking up to the crazy animal noises we were hearing while in Monteverde. Today we walked to the University of Costa Rica for our first interracial speaker. The University is right down the street from our hotel and it is pretty cool to see how different the college life is here compared to Athens. They are still in school because their summer is technically over already so they were all out at the bars near the University while we were walking back from class. Here is part of our group outside of our classroom for the day...

At the University we had a professor named Daniel Rojas who spoke only Spanish talking to us about the indigenous tribes here in Costa Rica. We had a translator that was in the room with us but it was still pretty difficult to follow along with what he was saying and listen to hear at the same time. It was important for us to learn about these indigenous tribes because once we arrive in Puerto Viejo we will be staying with a family of indigenous people from the Bribri Tribe.

While walking through the University of Costa Rica campus, everyone starred at us which kind of made me giggle because I felt uncomfortable. I guess we can’t really get mad at them though because we would watch all of the locals as they gathered at the bars during the middle of the day. San Jose is a lot wilder than I thought it would be. I think that may have to do with how close we are staying to the University. We checked out a few bars that we went to go to while we hear to dance and listen to jazz music. Jazz clubs are very popular here.

Tonight we went to the nicest restaurant yet, it looked out over the entire city of San Jose. Seeing all of the lights surrounded by the mountains was just amazing. The restaurant kind of jetted out off the side of a mountain to make for a spectacular view. Everyone split bottles of wine and we stayed there for the dancing show that they were having. Local Costa Rican men and women came out after we ate and started dancing in these crazy outfits and it was very entertaining.

Last night we realized that our hotel room looks out over a McDonalds so we decided to go check it out when we got home. Surprisingly, I didn’t  buy anything in my hopes to stay away from American food while I am here because I know once I have it once here then I will gravitate towards it. Instead we just took a few pictures because it had to be the nicest McDonalds I have ever been in.

We are all about to gather in the common room to hangout and learn to play a game called Spades so I have to run. I miss you all and hope all is well in America!

Next Stop: San Jose

Today we left the rainforest for the week and headed to San Jose which is the capital of Costa Rica. While driving to San Jose, we passed the Pacific Ocean which was surrounded by mountain. It has to be the most gorgeous site to see a vast body of clear blue water in the center of a plush mountain range. It was about a 3 hour trip and the drivers here are not the best in the world. While we were going through downtown San Jose we almost got in a bad accident because a huge tour van came into our lane without seeing our van. It made my heart drop a little but I am just glad we are safe. On our way through the city we stopped at a local outdoor restaurant for lunch. This was my first bad experience with the Costa Rican food. Luckily I did not get sick from it but it smelt like something I have never smelt before. Other people in my group loved their meals but the meal I ordered was not very appetizing. After we ate lunch we headed to see these alligators that our guide wanted to show us. We walked along a skinny strip above the high way towards a river that led into the Pacific Ocean. Before we knew it we looked down and saw these humongous alligators on the shore of the river. They were so big that they almost looked like they weren’t real. I did not go down any closer to them because alligators are not something I am willing to mess with. Here is a picture overlooking the city...

We arrived at our hotel midafternoon and it has to be one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever been in. It is called Hotel Milvia and it is this yellow, pink and bright colored hotel with the center of the hotel open with a garden and waterfall type fountain. All of the rooms surround the open center area and they are all decorated with a very unique style. I have new roommates now that I am in a new place and it is cool to spend a week living with each different person in my group. There are 3 of us rooming together this time. Lina, Danielle and I are roommates. Lina and I are the only two girls that are in Greek sororities and some of the other girls are in the multi-cultural sororities. When we got to San Jose, we had some down time in our room so we ended up all gathering in my room and talked about the difference between our two groups lives while at UGA. It is crazy to see how you can go to the same college but live completely different lives. Tonight we are going out to eat at a place in walking distance from our hotel and maybe walk around a bit to explore the city. It will probably be an early night because we have our first speaker tomorrow at the University of Costa Rica campus which is right down the street from our hotel. I hope my luck is better with ordering on this next meal because I have butchered a few of my meals because of the language barrier. Some of my Spanish skills have come back to me while being in Costa Rica but I still have a little trouble forming full sentences and understanding what the locals are saying. I wish I had my brother Brett here to help translate for me!

Canopy Tours in Monteverde

Today we went on the canopy tours in Monteverde which was ziplining through the rainforest. Words cannot do justice to this experience. Breathtaking views in every direction took away the nerves of how high we were on the zip line. The canopy tour included 13 different ziplines, each getting faster and longer as we proceeded. Then we finished off with the optinion Tarzan Swing which was a free fall drop until you almost hit the bottom of the rainforest ground and then your harness catches you and you go swinging out into the rainforest. I was very hesitant when it came to the free fall drop but I figured it was a once in a lifetime experience that I needed to try. The guide has you climb up this tall, narrow set of steps all the way to a platform overlooking the rainforest. He then hooked my harness to the rope and grabbed the back of the harness and kind of throws you over the edge. Some people jumped off the platform but I was scared and couldn't jump so he picked me up and just kind of dropped me into a free falling position.  Here is a video of me doing the Tarzan Swing... (coming soon, my internet is not fast enough to upload it while in the rainforest so I will upload it when I get into San Jose)

The views from the zip line and the tarzan swing were gorgeous in every direction. As you zipped through the plush green rainforest it gave off an invigorating feeling. Wildlife surrounding you, trees and foliage in colors that seem enhanced because they are so beautiful, make you want to stay zipping on that cable for hours. The breathtaking sites took away every nerve within me.

Although I had an incredible time on the canopy tour, some people in my group did not have the best experience. One of the girls in my group, Stacy, did not keep her feet up like they told us to while landing on the first platform after zip lining and her legs hit into the platform and she got cut up pretty bad. Another girl in my group, Sarah, was going down the zip line with two people and they started going a little sideways and she was in thr front and ended up slightly hitting into a tree. They are both perfectly fine except a scrape or two but it made me very happy that I followed the directions as best I could. When you get nervous it is hard to remember everything they told you, especially once you start looking around at the amazing things surrounding you while flying through the air. The canopy tours and tarzan swing forced me to overcome my slight fear of heights and it was beyond worth it! The adventures are just beginning... I can't wait to see what the rest of them have in store for me!

Bar Amigos

Last night we took taxis to a local bar in San Luis to watch the Costa Rica verse Mexico soccer game. Costa Rica lost 1 to 4 but it was still very cool to observe the culture from the sports bar angle. Costa Rican men get very into the soccer games and they all had their Costa Rica jerseys on while cheering for their team. We were able to enjoy a delicious meal while watching the game and even purchase a few of the local beers to try them out. The one I tried was called Imperial. Here is a few us while watching the game...

After the game, they had a live band playing music and everyone migrated to the dance floor. Our group was a little hesitant about dancing in front of the locals because we were scared we would stand out nut then realized we were already getting starred at simply because we were American so why not try out dancing? We gave it a shot! The other night we were given dance lessons by a local Costa Rican man named Giovanni and a women who is a naturalist here in Monteverde. They taught us the meringue which is kind of like a tango type dance. Costa Ricans LOVE to dance and once we stepped on the dance floor the men started swarming asking if they could dance with us. After a few girls danced with some entertaining locals we started using the phrase, No no baile con mis amigas... Lo siento. After we said this they would leave us alone. Immersing oursleves in the Costa Rican culture has just been incredible. Pura vida!

Pura Vida!

Today we did our first service learning project. We were educated on carbon off-set, what it does and why it is important. This was all new information to me but was pretty interesting. Costa Rica is centered on the saying Pura Vida (which means Pure Life in English). With trying to keep carbon out of the atmosphere in order to stay pure and clean, some measures need to be taken in order to off-set the carbon that we bring in by flying here and traveling around while being here. They showed us an equation that they use in order to determine how many trees need to be planted in order to off-set the carbon of each individual. Just flying here from the U.S. requires 4 trees planted per person in order to off-set the common that we brought in. So today we each planted 4 trees with some of the locals in order to give back to the community for allowing us to come to their country and enjoy their ways of life. We got very dirty and got to know each other really well while out in the middle of a field planting trees. Many of my group members were not pleased with the idea of us having to plant trees but once we were educated on why we were doing it and after the experience, we realized that it was a really cool opportunity to work with the community and give back to them. We also had a pretty fun time doing it. Some “that’s what she said” jokes started getting said and I may or may not have been the one that started the first one but it was great to all be laughing and making jokes together.

                                  Me and Lina with our first tree we planted!

After an exhausting morning we all went back to our bungalows. My roommates and I were planning on taking naps but ended up getting in a pretty in-depth conversation instead. We all talked about our first impression of each other and compared our lifestyles and families. It was great getting to know my roommates on a whole new level and all being able to open up with each other in a way where we were able to see the deeper sides of ourselves and each other. I was personally able to understand a lot about the African-American culture that I had not understood before and they were able to have a glimpse of what my life is like. Being able to share about my family made me miss them a little bit but it was cool to see how a lot of our family lives were pretty similar. Watching my friendships form and grow deeper with my group is a very satisfying feeling because I have truly enjoyed becoming friends with people that are very different from me. I am slowly seeing what not only Costa Rican culture is like but also African-American culture.

Our long day has brought us to a very fun night. Although we are up high in the mountains right now, there is a city with a bar called Los Amigos about 20 miles away. We were informed that there is a huge soccer game on tonight, Costa Rica verse Mexico. Our group has decided to go check out the bar and watch the game with another group that is up here. The local men have told us that the soccer games get pretty wild and it is quite the site to observe the local ticos watching the major games. Our group is planning on getting a few drinks at the bar and just enjoying relaxing while watching the game because these past few days have been exhausting with all the hiking and activities.

Initial Interracial Communication Discussion

Yes, I am here for class aside from all the amazing adventures we get to go on. So I wanted to use this post to talk about the eye opening discussion we had for our first interracial communication discussion. My group is exactly half white and half black. They said this is the most diverse group they have ever seen come through this program. I was a little nervous about our first interracial communication talk because I did not want anyone to feel uncomfortable or step on anyone’s toes but it actually went really well. It got to be pretty in-depth and being able to hear everyone’s viewpoints was quite intriguing. We talked about the difference between race and culture, how we separate ourselves and equality verse equitability. A lot of the things we talked about were centered on the idea of white prominence. We also talked about service learning and how we should not think of it as volunteering for people who are less fortunate than us, instead we should appreciate that they are allowing us into their culture in order to learn from their ways of life and get to know them one on one.  The perspectives about doing service to others seemed to be different depending on our race. I used my example of volunteering at the Athens Boys and Girls Club as an example of how I had not thought of thanking them for allowing me into their community and culture. Some of the African American girls in our group talked about how young black girls see white people coming through buying the kids things because they feel bad which just gives off a vibe that the Caucasian culture resides around materialism. This is something that we need to be aware of because that may not be the way we want to come off but it is taken as that when miscommunication occurs. One of the girls in my group talked about how many young black girls have a desire to be white because of the materialistic or physical features.  They want our hair or our skin but really it goes down to the root of always wanting what you can’t have. Interracial couples are another aspect we discussed. I had never thought of mixed couples being as big of an issue as it seemed to be to some people in my group. It was really cool to take in their input on the topic. My group talked about how some black women will see a white girl with a black male on a date and get worked up over the fact that a single, black male is being taken by a white women when she does not look like his mom necessarily may.  They found this as disrespectful to their culture where white males and females may not think anything of it. This discussion proved that there are so many perspectives and points of views in this world that we will never see or know unless we put ourselves in the position to learn and comprehend life through different eyes.

Exploring San Luis de Monteverde

San Luis de Monteverde is incredible! Today was the first day we really got to explore what it had to offer and I am beyond pleased with what I have seen. Our day started early at 6am with cow milking. This was an optional activity but I am so glad I tried. I was not very successful because I did not feel comfortable yanking the utter as hard as you needed to get the milk out. I ended up getting it all over my legs instead of in the bucket. As we were walking out of the cow milking area, one of the baby cows started head butting people in my group and we all died laughing. Here is my attempt at milking the cow...

We then had breakfast at around 7ish. It was very interesting because we had rice and beans served on the side for our breakfast meal. We also had fried bananas which were amazing. After breakfast we headed out to hike to the San Luis waterfall. It was about a 3 hour hike and was not the easiest thing I have ever done before. It was the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Everything here is so green that it almost looks like it is fake. I have taken so many pictures already because every direction I look I see something new and breathtaking that I want to capture. We climbed up the rocky path which was probably one of the best workouts I have gotten in a while. The path was pretty steep and the rocks were slippery. We walked across quite a few sketchy bridges where only one person could cross at time. (Mom you would have fainted trying to do it) haha It was scary the higher they got but hey this trip is all about the adventure. We arrived at the waterfall at the perfect time because we had become hot and sweaty enough to be able to get in the freezing cold swimming hole. Almost the whole group got in but it was the coldest water I have ever felt. My legs went numb as soon as I jumped in. We were able to jump off the side of the waterfall which was awesome. Sadly, this adventurous route led to my first battle wound of the trip. I was coming downhill from the waterfall and was trying to take pictures because it was so pretty and slipped and fell down the rocks on my leg. I cut up my leg pretty bad but luckily someone had a first aid kit and was able to lend my some things to clean it up and cover it.

While hiking our group was able to get to know each other even better. It is really great being able to become friends with new people that are different than my friends at school. It makes me feel like I shelter myself off at school and don’t allow myself to put my personality out there to meet new, different people. I get so set in my ways of being friends with my roommates and sorority sisters that I forget there are so many other cool people I could be getting to know as well. This trip is incredible already and I am excited for what tonight has in store for me! We are taking dance lessons from the local women.

Here is the huge and beautiful San Luis waterfall that we hiked to today! It is the highest waterfall in Costa Rica! This is only half of it because I could not fit the rest in the picture.

Arriving in Costa Rica

After packing, repacking and weighing my suitcase about 20 times to make sure it fit the weight limit, I have arrived in Costa Rica. I wore two layers of clothes through the airport so that my suit case would be exactly 40 pounds. Carrying my sweatshirt, cameras, purse and wearing my backpack full of goodies... I was ready to just arrive. We landed in San Jose and got our first Costa Rican meal at a cool local resturant that was about 20 miles away from the airport. I was lost on what to order so I just kind of pointed and hoped that I was going to like it. The food was very different then what we were use to but it was really fun to try all the new foods. After lunch we all piled in a van to head to our first destination. My first stop is the UGA Costa Rica Campus in Monteverde. This is the view from campus looking over the valley and it is just breathtaking!

In order to get up to the Monteverde de San Jose Valley we had to wind up very narrow, bumpy roads for 3 hours. The view was amazing the whole way up but I laughed thinking about if my mom and little brother were in the van with me. My mom would be nervous about the driver getting too close to the edge and Kyle would have been motion sick within the first 10 minutes. It was quite the drive but well worth it. We had orientation here once we arrived and I was shocked to hear that it is likely to wake up in the morning to monkey's on the back deck of our bungalows. We thought they were joking until some of the people from the other groups here told us that they thought that too until they saw the monkey's themselves. With that being said... I could wake up to a monkey on my deck in the morning.

We got our room assignments as soon as we got here and there are four of us to each room. Luckily, I was blessed to have an incredible group so it will be fun rooming with each of them at our different stops. Our group has already started to really bond and get to know each other which has been eye opening to see how so many diverse people can get along so well. Costa Rica is breathtaking and I will add more posts and pictures later! To my family, I miss and love you!!

Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone

Many people close to me were a little surprised by my choice to go to Costa Rica for my study abroad trip. With all the incredible trips and countries to go to, people did not understand why me (being the girly person I am) would choose hiking, bugs and humidity over wine and museums in places such as Italy. Another shocking factor was that I was going with no one I had ever met before. Going to a place I have never been, experiencing a culture I am not use to and spending everyday with people who are not currently a part of my life is a little scary but that is what I want. I choose this trip because I want to test my independence and grow as a person without the societal pressures that come from your family, friends, school and community. Being in another country, doing things I never thought I would or could do and being separated from the people that I love, will hopefully allow me to see what life is like away from the comfort of what I know. On my trip to Costa Rica, I look forward to the new friendships I will make with my group as well as the people in Costa Rica. Our group is pretty diverse which I think will be great for us to all become friends with people we may not have crossed paths with while at UGA. I hope to broaden my view of cultures aside from my own by not just learning about them but by communicating and working hands on with the locals in Costa Rica. I am excited about trying new things such as surfing and zip lining through the rain forest and I hope that my group and I stay healthy and safe while abroad. I hope you enjoy following me on my adventure to Costa Rica where the unknown will be present everyday.

Studying Abroad in Costa Rica- Summer 2011