Tantalizing Tamarindo

My excursion to Tamarindo was tantalizing! It was amazing and interesting and full of firsts. First time seeing the deep blue ocean. First time feeling the soft sand of a beach between my toes. First time feeling the cool waves rush up against my skin. First time ducking my head below water searching for any signs of life along the coastline. First time taking a boat through the open water, without a care in the world, enjoying the sun, the views, and the breeze flowing through my hair. Those firsts were unlike anything I have ever felt before (literally).

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We boarded the bus for Tamarindo Friday afternoon upon the conclusion of the morning Spanish classes at noon. I attempted to take a long nap on the bus, but I am awful when it comes to sleeping in moving vehicles, so I watched the movies they had playing and chilled until our arrival around 5pm. I stepped off the bus with this image of this dark, soft pristine beach in the background of a beautiful hotel; luckily, that is exactly what I saw. The glistening of the light on the ocean and the outdoor pool, the clean, fancy-looking lobby. It was so much to take in. I had finally seen the ocean for the first time and it was more incredible than I could have imagined. Breathing in the salty hair, feeling disgusting from all the humidity, looking at the clear, deep blue water and the clear night sky; it was just great.

I headed to my room to unpack and get ready for dinner. The hotel provided us with a buffet dinner, which consisted of pasta and the like. We were also treated to cultural dancers, who reminded me very much of when I participated in baile folklorico back in the states when I was little.

The rest of the evening consisting of figuring out what form my fun take for the evening. This fun took the form of hanging out with other ISA students in one of the other rooms in the hotel, wavering back and forth between paying two mil to enter the local club, The Crazy Monkey, or walking back to the hotel alone. After analyzing the club from the outside for a couple of minutes, I decided it was not worth the money and chose the later option. Luckily, one of guys also decided to turn back, so I had a walking companion back to the hotel. We ended up talking to some other ISA students upon our return, and I eventually settled on a nice night of getting cozy in the hotel bed and watching American Horror story. As many of you know, I like to go out sometimes, but clubs, bars, and drinking are just not my thing, so I was very much content with the remainder of my evening.

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On Saturday morning, I was determined to get an early start. I had planned to fit in some time exploring the beach and ocean before I boarded a catamaran for a tour. I got up early, around 7am or so, chowed down on some breakfast while watching the waves of the ocean, and prepared to experience the beach for the first time. I took off my sandals and grabbed a towel and stepped onto the smooth, soft sand of the beach for the first time in my life. It's hard to explain my emotions as I felt the sand of the beach run between my toes and the crash of the waves upon my body as I made my way into the ocean for the first time. Many children go to the beach when they're young, so they don't always have the memory of the first time they went. For others, it's so common for them to go to the beach that they don't have as much of the excitement each time they return. For me, being almost 21 years old and never having stepped foot on a beach, I was able to create a memory, filled with happiness and excitement and those rich sensations of touch, and I will be able to remember that moment vividly for the rest of my life.

I spent about 4 or so hours just soaking up the sun, playing in the sand, and cooling off in the warm, clear, salty water of the Pacific Ocean. It was soon time for my catamaran tour, another adventure filled with firsts for me. The catamaran tour was not only my first time on a catamaran, but my first time on a boat, period. I stepped onto the speed boat that quickly took us to board the catamaran. I made a snug spot for myself near the front of the deck and looked over the side. The feeling of the breeze flowing through my hair, the saltiness of the air on my skin, and the incredible views is something I didn't expect whatsover. We traveled through the water, eating chips and salsa and taking advantage of the limited, but open bar. I had a couple of house drinks, which was a fruit juice mixed with Cacique, also known as Guaro, a Costa Rican brand of liquor. I also had a rum and coke. Besides drinking, I had the opportunity to just enjoy the view.

During the tour, we headed to a small coastline where we had the opportunity to snorkel, kayak, swim, or walk on the private beach. I chose snorkeling. Even though I suck at swimming, I was thrilled after dipping my head into the water and seeing the rocks near me, as well as the many different types of fish swimming around. I was so into the view that I ended up swimming straight into a giant rock. I quickly recovered and decided to go sit on the beach for a little while and soak up the sun. Upon my return swim to the boat after an hour, one of the guides was holding a puffer fish beneath the water. With snorkeling gear, I had the amazing opportunity to see a puffer fish for the first time. Unfortunately there was not enough time for me to hold it, as the other students did, but is was enjoyable nonetheless.

Upon our return to the boat, we were treated with lunch and music. We made our travels back to shore just in time to watch the sunset on the catamaran. It was beautiful. 

I ended the evening with getting tacos at a nearby stand and hanging out with friends from ISA. I didn't go out to the bars like the other students, mostly because I had drank all day on the boat and also, they're just not a thing to do all the time for me. I don't really get that much enjoyment out of it.

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Sunday was pretty carefree. I spent the morning saying goodbye to the ocean that was my first, saying goodbye to the beach that was my first, and browsing the shops in the little beach town. Everything was super expensive and super touristy, so I decided against getting anything there. 


Until next time, Pura Vida.

La primera semana: exploración, entusiasmo, y diversión

I had a fabulous first week living and studying in San José, Costa Rica. This week was filled with exploration, excitement, and fun, and I would like to believe that I settled in a lot easier to this new place and culture that I had anticipated. Costa Rica is a natural beauty, with views for days, and the Pura Vida lifestyle of the Ticos is something I can definitely get on board with. In the United States, we are always in a hurry, worried about everything, and fail to take time to not only appreciate our country, but also to simply live. Pura Vida is a lifestyle that embraces life and all that it has to offer, and throughout my stay in Costa Rica, and hopefully my immersion into this beautiful culture, I hope to learn more about it and embrace it. While settling into this new culture, I also began classes, including my intensive studies in Spanish, and I anticipate that I will enjoy every piece of my study abroad experience, including my courses and professors.

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On Monday, I started off the morning first with breakfast with my familia Tica (Costa Rican family/host family) and then headed to Universidad Veritas to start my half-day of orientation. When we arrived, we were seated into a large auditorium to undergo a presentation about everything we needed to know about being international students: how the classes worked, our resources on campus, activities to get involved in, safety, etc. Unfortunately, it was almost an exact repeat of the orientation provided to us the previous day from ISA (the program I am studying abroad through). I sat in one of the back rows, and behind me, was an entire row of ISA boys. At one point, I looked back, and saw them all asleep. Considering we had gone through all of the information the day before, I couldn't blame them.

At some point, we had a campus tour, but I can't remember if it was before or after the formal presentation. The campus is much smaller than I am used to. Weeks later, I am still deciding whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. The campus spans a lofty three buildings, only one of which I utilize for classes. The building across from where I have my classes houses the auditorium, a cafeteria, and the room where the dancing club is held. Students also have classes there, just not me. The third building houses a little store and I am assuming more classes, but I haven't ventured into it quite yet.

La banda y los masquerades

Los masquerades - un abuelo y un pasayo

After orientation, Veritas hosted a surprise welcome activity. We though the extent of the activity was pizza and socialization. That was not the activity. Out of nowhere emerged a band consisting of brass and percussion instruments followed by people in large costumes with giant heads, known as "masquerades." 

conga line

These groups are a large part of Costa Rica's culture, especially when Costa Rica celebrates Día de la Masquerada on October 31. They danced and encouraged the international students to form a conga line, which did happen This lasted for a food 10 to 15 minutes or so. As the music died down, they exited without an explanation. I spent the rest of the day confused by what had happened.

The local currency is colones.
One U.S. dollar is approximately 527 colones.
In my opinion, la plata (money is not called dinero here)
 is much better looking that the money in the U.S.

Sometime after the activity, I finally figured out what. I needed to get done the rest of the day. First, I needed to exchange my U.S. dollars into the local currency, since I wasn't able to do that on Sunday. I headed to the bank with some other ISA students and made that happen. Luckily, VISA cards are widely accepted here, so I've been able to use my credit card for everything. The only fees that happen are some minor foreign currency conversion fees. I didn't take out a lot of cash before leaving the U.S. because I didn't want it to get stolen. Little did I know, that would happen anyways later in the week. For me to pull out cash here using my debit card, I get charged hefty fees, so I didn't want to resort to that. I keep the local currency on hand for the event that a place does not take cards. In my couple of weeks here, I've run into very few places where that is the case.

The live band

Long Island Iced Tea

During the evening, my roommates and I went to a popular gringo (American/Americanized) bar. I tried my first Long Island Iced Tea and socialized with other people in my program. Little did we know that they had a live band playing that night. We ventured into the dance floor and listened to the band, that played tunes I was actually familiar with, as well as tunes I was unfamiliar with (all in Spanish of course). It was a ton of fun, though I wasn't a big fan about how Americanized it was. The other areas of the bar played a lot of music that is super popular in the United States right now, and there were few Ticos in sight. Despite that, I had a good time overall.

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On Tuesday, classes began. I entered my first classroom, a tiny room with one fan and 15 desks squished together. It was smaller than my freshman year dorm room! My first class of the day was Spanish, from 8am to 12pm. Because the language classes are four week intensive courses, we have them every day for four hours each day. With my placement exam, I was placed in Básico 2 (Basic 2), though the ISA placement exam put me at Intermédio 1 (Intermediate 1). I had already started off the morning not very happy about this, especially considering I've taken Spanish on and off since first grade. I browsed through the workbook we received and determined that I had to get out of that class; the material was only present tense, something I learned long ago, as well as concepts I learned in SPAN 2001 back home. After two hours, we had a thirty minute break. This concept of breaks to get coffee or snacks is very common here, at least in all of my classes. When my professor returned to the classroom, I asked about moving up a language level. Her response? I had to take another placement exam, which I did. I spent the rest of the day hoping that I would not be stuck in a class learning concepts I had already learned and felt comfortable with.

lugar para estudiar ADENTRO de la universidad

At noon, I headed to the ISA office for our weekly meeting. The ISA office is around the corner from Veritas, so it is super convenient. We learned that our first of three weekend excursions would be to Tamarindo, which is a beach town about four or five hours away. I became really excited, as the excursion would be the first time that I would see an ocean and step onto a beach. I couldn't contain my excitement. 

Afterwards, I spent time at the office changing into a communications class, Intercultural Communication and Competence, where a spot had just opened up. It had started already when I arrived, and I was famished from not having eaten since breakfast, so I reluctantly sat through the class, counting down the minutes until I could eat again. Next was my Human Rights in Latin America course. Before the professor arrived, I managed to head downstairs to the on campus deli and grabbed a ham & cheese sandwich. I was in the middle of eating the sandwich when my professor arrived in the classroom. What an awkward first impression! However, as class started, and my hunger subsided, I came to the conclusion that I would love the class and the professor. Having taken an international law & human rights course back at home, I was already on the right track.

After a bit of homework and dinner, I decided to check out the dancing club that was offered to international students. The club meets twice per week for an hour and a half each. It consists of learning traditional and popular dances of Costa Rica and practicing them with partners. I thoroughly enjoyed learning some steps of bachata, salsa, and a couple other dances I cannot recall. I think I'll become a regular at the club.

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Sandwich de jamón y pavo con jugo de frutas

On Wednesday morning, I was told that, indeed, I should have been placed in the Intermediate 1 Spanish class. I had passed the placement exam. As a result, I was moved into the new class and was finally at peace with that aspect of my adventure. Later that day, I ate lunch at The Whisk, a nearby artisan restaurant, with a couple of my ISA buddies and ran some errands, including getting copies of my passport made for ISA and changing into a different communications class, Creative Conflict Resolution, making my schedule what I envisioned before I arrived in Costa Rica. I stopped at the Auto Mercado, a local supermarket, and grabbed some food for lunch and snacks, before heading back to my homestay for the night. I did have class at 6pm until 8pm (Creative Conflict Resolution) so I missed dinner. Luckily, my mama Tica has agreed to put my dinner upstairs on Mondays and Wednesdays so I can eat after my class. Overall, it was a perfect day.

La cena -- yum!

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On Thursday, I attended my classes as a good student does, and stopped at Mr. Charles' Restaurant for lunch with a couple of friends. The evening is when things really took off for me. In multitasking with preparing and packing for my excursion to Tamarindo and studying for my first Spanish test, I somehow found time to Facebook video chat with my cats, who I miss so much, attended the dancing club, and followed the dancing club to show off our moves at Club Castro's. It was a night of sweat, fun, education, dancing, and so many other things. It was such a great day; I just hope to have many more days like this day.

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Friday was the day. It was the day that I would visit my first beach, take my first steps on the sand, and see an ocean for the first time. It was the day, that is until I realized that somehow, I had lost/or someone stole from me 30 mil colones (the local currency, around $60) that I had just exchanged. Then, my day took a turn for the worst. Upon further reflection and a hefty cleaning of my homestay, my money was gone for good. I believe that I accidentally took it with me to Castro's the night before and was pick-pocketed from my purse. I did find my purse unzipped a couple of times; I had assumed it was from the movement while dancing, but now I'm not so sure. I am so careful and was so eager to not let this happen to me, but it did. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how eager or how cautious you are, you can be a victim of a crime. It just happens.

On the brighter side of things, stay tuned for my later post about my excursion to Tamarindo.