EL FIN

My amazing month experiencing the Costa Rican life has come to an end. I am so sad to have said goodbye to some amazing people such as my host family, my teachers at the University of Costa Rica, and of course, my roommate Teresa, a fellow Spanish teacher. The program through MLSA was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone.

I spent the last week of my time in San José studying for final tests, which I passed with flying colors. The last Friday of the program, we had a final ceremony and it was great to reunite with everyone from MLSA.

I will miss a lot about my time in Costa Rica. I will miss the ¨Pura Vida¨ mentality and living the Costa Rican culture everyday. I will especially miss the delicious meals my host mom, Hannia, prepared for me daily. I will also miss the people and experiences I had traveling with different people on the weekends.

After reflecting on my Costa Rican experiences, I can honestly say that this trip opened my eyes again to the importance of learning and experiencing another language and culture different from one´s own. I can´t wait for my tenth year of teaching to begin so that I can share my passion with my students and fellow colleagues.

Thank you again to the National Spanish Exam and the MLSA program. This was a life - changing experience.

Montezuma

I spent my last weekend here in Costa Rica travelling to Montezuma, a southern beach town off of the peninsula. I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely return.

I arrived to Montezuma after three bus transfers and a ferry ride across the Nicoyan peninsula. It was late, so we grabbed a bite to each at a local seafood soda and then slept peacefully in our hotel. Friday, however, it rained almost the entire day, so I was able to relax in town by reading my novel and studying for classes. The town itself is extremely small and there are not many Ticos that are from Montezuma. In fact, most of the town was comprised of young travelers from around the world, who occupied a lot of the hostels. It was a unique experience getting to know people from Europe and South America specifically.

The weather Saturday was much better than Friday. We decided to go to another beach about thirty minutes from where we were, one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. We took a mini bus to the nature reserve, Cabo Blanco in which we then hiked up through the dense jungle to eventually find ourselves at a secluded white sandy beach. It was not the easiest of hikes, in fact, probably one of the hardest I have ever taken, but it was most definitely worth it. Along the hike, we saw different species of monkeys than we had in Manuel Antonio. Upon arrival to the beach, the only obvious living species on the beach were hundreds of hermit crabs. It felt like I was being attacked by them, but they were harmless little creatures.We enjoyed the breeze, bamboo, sand and sea and rested before our hike back down.

That evening we enjoyed a unique Mediterrean meal at a popular tourist restaurant, however I didn´t entirely escape Costa Rican food of course as Sunday I enjoyed a vegeterian casado, one of the best I have had yet!

Manuel Antonio

Another great weekend has come and gone. We finished class on Thursday and shortly thereafter left for Manuel Antonio by bus. We were excited to see the Pacific west coast!

It was dark and rainy when we arrived to town, but that didn't damper my excitement for what the weekend had in store. I unpacked my bags and went to bed right away so that I would be well rested for our adventurous Manuel Antonio National Park day.

Friday was a beautiful sunny and hot day. Costa Rica is currently in their rainy and cold season, but this was not apparent to me in Manuel Antonio. It was incredibly hot and humid, and I enjoyed every second of it! We had a rich and delicious breakfast buffet outside with views of the stunning pacific coastline. Filled with gallo pinto, eggs, ham, savory and sweet breads, we then took a cab to the forest and began our hike.

I was amazed at the colorful flora and fauna the forest had to offer but what was most interesting and certainly entertaining however were the monkeys. They were everywhere and did not seem to be scared of humans. In fact, some monkeys got so close to people in an attempt to take some of their food items as they ate!



We later swam in the ocean and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the wildlife surrounding us! As we left the park we saw sloths, and they certain lived up to their name in Spanish (perezoso - lazy) as they moved incredibly slow up the tree branches.

Night came and we had a lovely dinner at the hotel and enjoyed some salsa dancing at the nearby town, Quepos.

The following day it rained so it was relaxing to read in Spanish and take in the views of the shoreline as it stormed. People did not hesitate to swim in the ocean however. I saw parasailors and kayakers alike!

We left Sunday on a gorgeous morning. Manuel Antonio certainly had a lot to offer and I am very glad I was able to take a break from the city and enjoy my time on the beach!

La Isla Tortuga

What an amazing weekend! After our Café Britt excursion on Saturday, we left early Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. to Isla Tortuga (Turtle Island) for the day. I didn't know what the day would entail with such a large group of students of UCR, but I can say that the trip definitely exceeded any expectation I could have possibly had.

Upon arrival to the port town, the catamaran company prepared us a delicious typical Costa Rican breakfast, gallo pinto. After our breakfast we loaded on the sunscreen, enjoyed the live music they played for us, and set sail. 

The boat ride to the island couldn't have been more perfect. The sun was shining, the wind was in our hair, and it didn't hurt that the crew served us fresh tropical fruit the entire tip! As we approached the island, which is shaped like a turtle, the views were breathtaking. We arrived to the island and as soon as we were able to, we prepared ourselves for snorkeling. Life in the sea is something incredible. I saw such a variety of vibrantly colored fish and coral, I felt like a fish myself swimming in the sea.

After snorkeling, the company cooked a fantastic lunch for the entire group on the island and a group of my friends and classmates of mine sat together to chat about all of the wonderful experiences we had had in Costa Rica. 

Teresa, my roommate from Texas and I have enjoyed our time getting to know each other while speaking in Spanish the entire time. She has been wonderful to get to know and I know that we will continue our friendship after our experience here in Costa Rica. Tara, a student from Kentucky, has also become a friend and it has been fun to travel and get to know her and her love for selfies!

After our wonderful lunch and friendly discussions, Teresa and I sunbathed on the beach while listening to the waves crash against the shore. The beach was a bit rocky, but that didn't stop me from taking a dip in the Golf of Nicoya. The time passed quickly that day, and we set sail again back to the port, Punta Arenas. 

Although it was a tourist destination, I would certainly recommend the excursion. It rained quite heavily on our way back to the port, but getting wet from the rain was definitely worth seeing the rainbow after the storm. 

Primera Semana

A week has already gone by here in San José and so much has happened! After our amazing first weekend in Costa Rica at the Laz Paz waterfalls and Volcano Poás, we started our first week of classes at the Universidad de Costa Rica. I am currently enrolled in a composition and as well as conversation course, both of which have been wonderful and the teachers are very knowledgeable in their specific areas. It has been fun getting to know other teachers and my classmates in both classes.

Classes are from 8:00a.m.-1:00p.m. daily, with a 10 minute break in between each class. The time flies as we are very busy in each class writing or speaking the entire time. In my conversation course, for example, we learned colloquial words and expressions such as; "Mae" (dude) and  !Qué dicho! (Great, How wonderful). After class I typically eat lunch with my roommate, Teresa, another teacher who received the NSE scholarship, or other classmates and we continue practicing our Spanish speaking skills with one another throughout the day!


The afternoons are spent studying, reading, exploring the neighborhood of Sabanilla in which I live, watching Spanish television, drinking coffee at cafés, or running in the University park. San José is a busy city with lots of traffic, so while exploring, I have to make sure  to look in all directions before crossing any street! This week it has been fairly cloudy and rainy here so I am always prepared with an umbrella and rain coat in my back pack!

In the evenings, my "Mamá Tica," Hannia, cooks a delicious meal mainly comprised of rice, beans, meat and fried plantains. Hannia and her family have been so generous and welcoming. Her son, Carlos Daniel (18 years) and daughter, Valeria (15 years) have been fun to chat with too! Since the moment I arrived, I have felt extremely comfortable in their home and can´t thank them enough for their generosity and for sharing their home with me. Hannia has a lot to tell about her life as a Costa Rican native. It's amazing to learn so much from someone in such a short amount of time.

This week, we traveled by bus to a town called Cartago, in which we visited the Basílica de la Virgen de los Angeles. There we learned the story of how the Virgin appeared to a young girl in town, and as a result, the Basicila was created.

Today we traveled to Heredia where Café Britt, a Costa Rican coffee plantation and company are located. We learned about the process of growing and cultivating coffee beans, extracting the shell, roasting them and finally, tasting the product to ensure the best quality. I found it fascinating to know that dark roast coffee contains less caffeine since the beans are roasted longer and therefore the caffeine is extracted naturally from the bean as time passes. It was also explained that the beans in the plantations are picked by hand since the plantations in Costa Rica are too small for machines to navigate through.

Tomorrow we will take another excursion and continue our adventures here in Costa Rica!

Pura Vida

Todavía no puedo creer que estoy en Costa Rica, uno de los países más bonitos del mundo. Llegué hace unos días y mi familia afintriona me dio una gran bienvenida. Entonces en seguida, empezamos a conocernos mientras bebíamos café.

Hoy fue la primera excursión del programa de MLSA y lo pasé muy bien con los otros estudiantes experimentando la belleza de la naturaleza que Costa Rica ofrece. Salimos para el Volcán Poás a las seis por la mañana para ver el crater activo. Estábamos muy emocionantes para ver algo tan maravilloso pero el guía nos dijo que era posible que no fuéramos a ver nada. Al fin y al cabo, tenía razón porque no vimos nada por las nubes y el viento en las montañas. Salimos entonces para otro lugar, La Paz, donde se puede ver unas cataratas grandísimas y disfutar de ver la variedad de animales que se localizan. 

Mientras en el parque, vi y saqué muchas fotos de los animales como las pumas, los monos, los colibries y las mariposas. Había unos sanctuarios para todos y no podía dejarme de sonreírme al ver la belleza de todos de los animales. 

Solo he estado aquí en Costa Rica por dos días, pero estoy segura que será una de las experiencias más fantásticas de mi vida. 

¡Noticias emocionantes!

I am so very excited to announce that I  was offered the 2016 National Spanish Exam Teacher Study Abroad Scholarship to study in Costa Rica this summer! I received a phone call this week from Mr. Cessna from the National Spanish Exam offering me the scholarship and of course, I graciously accepted.

I received the call during the middle of teaching a class and told my students that I would shortly find out the results of the study abroad scholarship of which I had applied. They encouraged me to listen to my voicemail during class, but I patiently waited until class ended and told them the outstanding news the following day! After the phone call and accepting the scholarship, I ran to the office to share the exciting news with my colleagues and gave my boss and mentor a huge hug as she encouraged me throughout the process!

This summer is going to be filled with amazing cultural and learning experiences and I am sure full of outdoor adventures and excursions! I will be living with a host family and attending Universidad de Costa Rica. I am currently in the process of choosing the summer courses, submitting my paper work and booking flight information. I have a lot to prepare for, but this is going to be an incredible experience and I cannot wait to share it with my students, colleagues and all of you!

Thank you again to the scholarship committee of the National Spanish Exam! I am so very grateful for this opportunity!

¡Muchísimas gracias!