I had an amazing time in Costa Rica for 5 glorious weeks. I tried to break up this blog post by weekends, because that's when I did exciting things (for the most part).
Daily Life:
School 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Monday to Friday.
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| Picture of some of the students and teachers at my school. |
Then after school I would go back to my hostel and work on homework for my online graduate class called Crisis Intervention. After working on homework, I would sometimes meet up with friends for ice-cream. Yummm, yes please.
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| Really popular ice-cream choice in Costa Rica |
Our school also had activities that they hosted...
Monday: City Tour of Santo Domingo
Tuesday: Cooking Lessons
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| I loved the cooking classes! |
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| I learned how to make a lot of Costa Rican food :) |
Wednesday: Social Night (always did this)
Thursday: Football Game (never did this)
Friday: Salsa Dancing (never did this)
Week 1: I arrived in Costa Rica a week early so that I could settle in, explore, find my school, and also work on homework for my graduate class. I ended up meeting a lot of cool people in my hostel, but Axel and Andres (pictured below) were my favorite. They are biking across Costa Rica into Panama (and after, who knows!) and they were the sweetest. After I said goodbye to them, I went on an adventure 2 weeks later and actually saw them biking along the road! I couldn't believe it.
For the first week, I sat on top of the rooftop terrace, read, wrote, and studied for my class.
I also wandered around a bit, but it wasn't uncommon for it to start raining around 1:00 pm and for it to continue past midnight! I was starting to go a little crazy from the rain toward the middle of the week.
One morning during my first week, my hostel owner and his girlfriend took Axel and me on a "Secret Waterfall Tour." We went down this huge meadow, down into the forest, and then came to this amazing clearing.
We hiked a bit more, went under some barbed wire, and then came out to another clearing with a gorgeous swimming area. We forged the river and hiked another 20 minutes to get to a really amazing waterfall. It was SO much better than doing homework!
Then that weekend, I went with some new friends to Poas Volcano and La Paz Waterfall Gardens. It took about an hour an a half to get there, and it was a gorgeous drive. I loved both the volanco and the waterfalls so much, but the Waterfall Gardens was my favorite. They also have rooms dedicated to butterflies, birds, exotic animals, insects, frogs, etc. It was really cool to explore around...and we also got a huuuuge buffet lunch.
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| View on the drive up to the volcano |
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| Volcano! |
Then we hiked past this to get to a lake (it was cloudy, so we couldn't see it though)
But there were some huuuge plant leaves.
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| Some of the leaves around the volcano were bigger than me! |
It looks like I'm not holding anything, but I'm actually holding onto a HUGE butterfly.
Then the big exotic cats got fed later in the day, which was really cool to see. Some were really into the food, but others were just content to do nothing.
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| I was pretty pumped. |
And then we went to see the waterfalls!!
We arrived home soaking wet but we had an amazing time...and then school started for me on Monday!
Week 2: Week 2 was pretty relaxed. I went to classes, went to San Jose with a friend, and had an overall great week. Got lost trying to get to El Club for Wednesday Night Social, but eh, no big deal (not this time anyway)
That weekend a group of friends and I decided to go to La Fortuna and see bullet ants, red tree frogs, sloths, raccoon-esque animals, and another volcano. We also swam in local hot springs and went to a huge swimming hole.
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Back row: Andrew, me, Edwin
Middle Row: Nick, Laura, Megan
Front Row: Michael, Corrine, Austin
Front Seats: Manfred and his girlfriend.
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| At a bridge during our trip. It's a one way bridge and someone refused to back up and our driver did too, so while we were at a stalemate, we got out and took pictures! |
Amazing swimming hole with an awesome rope swing!
I did the Tarzan swing into the swimming hole! The current was SO strong, but it was such a great time. Also, Corrine had me laughing so hard that I thought I was going to die laughing.
After that we relaxed in the nearby small swimming areas and chatted. Edwin's selfie does a great job capturing how awesome it was.
We stopped to get some food from the side of the road and I GOT A COCONUT.
And then I fed these cute little guy called coati. They were super friendly and very good beggars.
After that we went to the local hot springs for hours...we drank, chatted, relaxed, and explored the area. It was so perfect!!
My favorite part of the entire trip.
We spent the night in La Fortuna. We went out to eat, then we found a couple of different places for nightlife before turning in.
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| Typical Costa Rican dinner- it's really good. |
I also found a friendly cat during dinner time.
Week 3 was pretty typical, aside from me getting ridiculously lost and accepting a ride from a potentially dangerous guy. I quickly (and rightfully so) earned the reputation for getting lost really easily and for also acquiring a Costa Rican boyfriend (not true, but still funny).
One day during the week, a small group of friends and I went back to the Secret Waterfall. I had a great time showing them around the forbidden area.
Unfortunately I had an insane amount of work to do for my online graduate class, so I wasn't able to go to an all-inclusive resort with some of my friends. Bummer!
Week 4: This week passed just like the others with small adventures happening every day, but the focus was mainly on school work (Are you sensing a theme? :)) BUT this weekend, I did go to Manuel Antonio with some of my friends.
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| 4 married men, a priest, and a psychologist walk into a bar.... |
We stayed at a beautiful hotel with a gorgeous view, 2 pools, and a 50 meter walk to the beach.
It was perfect. Beach day/ pool day/ and then out for dinner and drinks later at night.
I walked along the beach in the morning, and also at sunset...there's nothing better!
After an amazing two days at the beach, we came back to Santo Domingo for the final week of classes.
This is a picture of my view on the way to school every morning.
The week passed quickly. I went to San Jose again, and I finished up all the work for both my Spanish class and for my graduate class.
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| yay for productivity! (and more ice-cream) |
My friend and I traveling to Heredia (a nearby city) and ate SO much ice-cream, Costa Rican food, and sweets.
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| All this for 4 dollars. |
And then on Friday I graduated!
I still have a couple of weeks before school starts, but my summer is winding down.
It's been an absolutely priceless summer...I am so thankful for everything that I have been able to do (and for what I still have left!)
To review...
-Successfully defended my Master's Thesis in May
-Participated in REHPS Program in Parkston, SD with Emma in May to June
-Road-Tripped from St. Louis to Atlanta with my mom
-Went to Destin, FL with my parents for a week in June
-Visited Milledgeville, GA to see my 2nd parents and my professors.
-Spent 5 weeks at a Spanish Language School in Costa Rica
-Took a graduate school course for my specialization in Disaster Mental Health
Soon I'll be...
-Graduating in August with my Master's Degree.
-Road-Tripping with my mom from Atlanta, GA to South Dakota.
-Taking Prelims - a 3 day comprehensive exam over the last 2 years of graduate school.
And then...I'll be starting my 3rd year at the University of South Dakota and I'll be on placement at the Student Counseling Center! So very excited for what happened this summer and for what is to come.
