My Last few days~

So I am just now blogging about my last few days because we lost internet at my house!

Wednesday: pretty uneventful, we had class twice in one day, yuck, definitely not one of my top 10 days in Costa Rica!! We were going to go to watch our friend, Jimmy, play soccer again, but his game was canceled~dang it!

Thursday: Our last dayyyyy! :( Our last day was definitely a great one, we went to a research institution that had the different areas of ecosystems found in CR. We saw some animals (even a sloth!) and their natural habitats. The institution was a beautiful place and they do a lot of awesome things there. Here is their website, http://www.inbio.ac.cr/es/default.html, don't worry, there is an english tab, right at the top! :D After our trip to INBio we went back to San Jose, and Ash and  I got some KFC. We topped off the day with a nap and then hung out with our good friends, Jimmy and KP (pronounced caw-pay).

Friday, our day to travel home! :( We left our CR house at 8:00 am and heading to our university for the last time. We loaded up the bus with everybody's suitcases, which had way more items in them then before ;) and headed the airport. While at the airport, my empty bottles of coke got confinscated, I am sorry Bailey!!, as well as the beer I was bringing home. ahhhh nuts. but it's okay, our flight from CR took off on time and before leaving  I enjoyed a nice $6 cheeseburger and $3 small pop from burger king. Good time! ha We made it to Houston and then found out our play was delayed to KC. Happy to say that by 2 am I was in my own bed! Nice to be back Iowa!

My overall trip: awesome. This trip is one the best things that I could have ever done for myself, because of it, I truly believe that I have grown not only in an educational aspect, but I have definitely grown as a person and have developed more confidence in myself and the ability to leave a small town and experience something different and new. I cannot  wait to study abroad again, (soon) for a longer period of time. Even though I missed my family and friends, it was worth it, this was one of the greatest opportunities I will ever have.

My Last Tuesday!

Today was definitely more adventurous than yesterday. ;)
We met at our school at 8 like normal, but NO class!! :D Instead we headed up into the mountains to a rain forest. After another wonderful 2 hour bus ride, we were there! While at the rain forest, 3 tour guides (One was from England, here learning Spanish, we asked him about the royal wedding, he didn't seem as pumped as we were haha) showed us around and talked to us about the ecological things that they were doing. We got to eat a banana grown fresh in the rainforest, it was soooo good! We also experienced another river straight off the mountain, can you say crystal clear water? Love it. While on our hiking adventure we had to go in groups of 3's over the bridge, me, and my friends Kelsey and Courtney went. I was the last person to get over this ricketty bridge and as we are walking I happened to look down and see the tail of a snake. Not too worry, just like our speaker the other day said "When you see a snake in Costa Rica, don't stop to look at it and wonder if it is poisonous, because, it is, RUN." Well let's just say I am a good listener. I shoved Kelsey and screamed SNAKE and we all 3 ran. I am sure it was a site. But I HATE snakes. Lol After the snake incident, we were able to see some really cool ruins, and then hiked back up to the cabin for lunch. It was a gross lunch. Oh man, Paige did not it. I miss Iowa food. Our lunch today was: beans (don't  like), tuna salad (don't like), rice (I am SO sick of), chicken (with a freakin' weird sauce,  I didn't like), and a plantan (sweeter than a banana and fried, freakin' sick). Lol so today was not my day for eating lunch, I am SO excited to go eat at the little pizzeria by school tomorrow, it is so good. And now my mouth is watering...........
So after lunch we headed back to San Jose and got home a little while ago.
Today was definitely a cool trip, even though the bus rides suck, they are when I have been able to see some of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen in my life. Just like today, the view of cloud covered mountains. Some parts of Costa Rica are simply perfect.

My Last Monday Here!

Guys, this was an intense day.
Ash and I woke up, ate breakfast and headed to class.
After class, we came home, walked to the mini market to find lunch (My was popcorn, cookies and a pop--shows how successful that trip was!)
Ate our "lunch".
Attempted to watch a DVD-no luck with the tv and Grandpa def didn't know how to do it.
And took a nap, a 3.5 hour nap.
Woke up, ate some cookies.
It was a good day ;)
HA
and NO CLASS TOMORROW! :D
Just a trip!
Okay hopefully tomorrow is worth your reading. I feel like the author who just killed her whole book with 1 chapter. hahaha but eh its, aight, only 3 days left to read! ;)

Our Last Weekend Here.........!

Our last weekend here, was an intense one. Saturday we went to Monteverde and listened to a speaker and after we went ziplininggggggggggg throught the RAINFOREST!!!!!!!!!! Oh man, it was intense, I got a bruised shin because the first go round I couldn't stop and flew into the metal pole. HAHA. It was a good time, there was about 15 ziplines, a tarzan swing and a superman zipline. Can you say "Biggest weggie ever?!" After we got back from ziplining we had an amazinggg dinner at our hotel and then went out for a night on the town! We even got to jam to some American music in the bar! :D Yay!

Today was spent mostly in the bus..bleck...we had a brief visit to a little crafts shop, where a lady talked to us about how they teach the kids how to sew, etc. After that we headed back to the hotel for another good meal and then off on the road we went. And several hours later we are here! Don't worry guys, on the way home we got to witness cows walking down the highway, felt (and smelled) like home! <3

We only have 4 days left here, I can't believe how fast it has went!

12 and 13th!

The past few days have been pretty uneventful, and I am going to keep it short because I have to get up at 5:40 tomorrow!!!
Yesterday: Yesterday a few classmates, my teacher and I went to a pizzeria...it was to die for!!! After our quick lunch we headed back to the school to hop on the bus. We spent the afternoon at the U.S. Embassy and AmCham (it is the American Commerce). This sounds so weird, but as soon as I stepped in the Embassy I felt at home. After our tours, we went and got ice cream at the famous Pops. :D fabulous. That even Ash and I went to watch our friend, Jimmy, play a soccer game. It was a BLAST! His league is soo good! After we went with him to the bar with Paco and other classmates, and Papíchico and our friend, Bre. (Paco's 20 some year old "dad"..hahaha Paco is 45)

Today: Today we had class, again, then went to a coffee factory. It was really cool to see the machines that coffee is produced with. (Although, this is their off season, so there were no beans going through the process, just already bagged ones) Don't worry,  I bought a bag of it :D We got home late morning so I took a nice long nap!

That's really been all!
Time for BED!
Ziplining this weekend :D

Days 10 and 11!

Well yesterday was pretty uneventful. BUT I did get to skype, with one of my favorites, Joni Clinton and her class. :) So that was a good deal! Ash and I went to school, and afterwards had a grill out with all our classmates and Paco. It was so much fun! Highlight of the day: American ketchup, colby jack cheese, potatoes and onions, and these super fantastic Mexican cookies that Paco made. YUM:) perfecto!!! After the grill out Ash and I came back home and enjoyed a fabulous nap. (definitely the second highlight of my day). That evening we met out with our Mamá's old exchange student who know is married and lives here, and then went out with her friend, Jimmy. At the bar, we met up with Jimmy's friend, Capi. It was so nice to meet guys that weren't CREEPERS. They reminded me of my classmates from high school back home 
:(..which is good I guess! So we came home after hanging with them a couple hours, it was a good time. Looking forward to going to watch Jimmy play soccer tomorrow! :D

So on to today! First class, bleck, but no homework!! Yay:) After class Ash and I went to the market again to get a cute bag and I had to pick up my brother's other present. On the way home from the market we got Mickey D's, again! And then ice cream! As we are walking back this van pulls up beside us and is like "heyyy ladies, cute girls, you want a ride?" okay, we are used to this situation, they say stupid things and drive by. it's whatever...but...this guy just kept driving along side us. by this point, I am kinda freaking out, so Ash and I just stop and stare inside a window store and he is forced to keep driving.ughhhhhh, have I mention how much I hate creepers? THAT man wins the Creeper Award for the day. Hands down.
So anyways on to what's next, we had the honor of listening to this extremely smart, great, guy today. For 3 hours and 15 minutes. Literally. From 2 to 5:15. oh. my. lanta. Did I learn alot? Yes. Was it a little much? Yes. Lol so we finally got home, checked our emails and had some supper. We were hoping for a nap, but since the talk lasted for forever, it was a no go. haha oh well, there is tomorrow :)

Well that is all for now,
pretty uneventful 2 days,
better than a 6.0 earthquake I guess ;)

Day 9!!

Today was good, minus being extremely tired. This morning we went to class and then headed out on the town. Me, Ash and Paco. haha So first we stop so Paco (he is our teacher, by the way, short Mexican, longgggggg hair. bahaha) could get money out of his ATM and off we head for the Post Office. Across from the Post Office, I fell in love. (with McDonald's) yahhooooooooo. ,as we are waiting for our food, Paco fesses up that in the Pharmacy he realized he lost his debit card, in CR, oh boy. So we took our food to go instead and  had to walk allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way back to the ATM. (Paco had realized he left his card IN the ATM, not just lost it.) So we marched back quickly, (people here like to steal) and when we arrrived, the "guards" there said some nice, honest, lady (kind of a rare find here) had let them know our description. awe. Anyway so we retreived the card! and Ash and I finally could pop a squat and eat Mickey's. :) After we ate we walked back to a resturant that Paco wanted to go to, to begin with! (don't worry, my 2 cheeseburgers, fries and medium drink didn't slow me down any--what?!, I have been craving Mickey's since we got here, not kidding!) So Ash and I thought it would be rude to simply not eat at this cute cafe, so we split chocolate cake, and ohhhhhhhhmyyyyyygoshhhhh. it was soo good:) After our dinner outing we went back to the University, got on the bus and headed to the leather factory. The leather factory was really cool. It had the atmosphere of "family owned". There weren't more than 5 workers working, doing different jobs, but what they make and fix, is awesome. I am definitely happy that we went. :)
Well that is all we did for today,
I am excited to skype with CAM High School tomorrow !
:D
Hasta luego
(see ya later)

THE WEEKEND RECAP :)

Welp guys, I went allllllllllllllllllll weekend, with no phone and no internet. Awesome :) Not. Lol, but it was fine. So we woke up yesterday morning, very early, so we could arrive at the school @ 6:30 AM. I'm like you have got to be kidding me. But I must say, the ride was SOO worth it, our hotel was AMAZING. It had tons of hot springs, a wet bar, and adorable rooms! On our nice 3.5 hour trip to get there,  I got to check out a lot of scenary different then Iowa. Ready, set, here I go! 1. The farmers here, (the farms we passed by yesterday, anyway) farm, by HAND. They were literally in the field ripping the ground with a hoe. 2. I noticed that in some areas trees were planted along the road in a row, then on the trees had barbed wire on them...They made a fence with trees! How clever, and very "save the planet" :) 3. The cows here, are UGLY. They have droopy ears and big noses, and sometimes a hump on their backs. ew. :( But it is sad, because not only are they ugly but they are very skinny. :( Poor guys. Anyway so back to our resort, BEAUTIFUL. Pictures to come of facebook later :) We also had a superrr boring speaker yesterday. I swear it has and will be the longest hour and a half of my life, until I am in labor. hahaha, but serious. Also yesterday, we went on a hike to a waterfall coming fresh off the mountain. It was gorgeous! We got to get in the water and it was FREEZING. But, still awesome, of course! After the waterfall came the hotel, then we enjoyed some nice hot springs water. Talk about total opposites in one day.!!!! We had dinner at the hotel that night, then our coordinator for our univeristy here, her mom, (who is 81 years old!) thought we needed to go out on the town. Man, I hope I can shake it like that when I am 81. p.s. her nickname=cookie. If that helps you invision her :) hahaha Then today, I had one of the best breakfasts of my life and off we headed for home! We stopped to eat lunch at an iguana resturant--they had real live iguanas everywhere (not enclosed) and I was kind enough to share some french fries with them. :) (I feel like these are skills that I learned through the course of my mom's many years of daycare) HA. and then back in the bus we went, dying of heat, no worries. We finally arrived back home at 6:30 or so. phew.  I am exhausted. You would think  I wouldn't be after sleeping on the bus (with my mouth open, Ashlee tells me lol) buttttttt nope,  I am dead tired. So more later :)
byeeeeeee.
oh p.s. at our hotel, when we left today, there was monkeys in our tree!!!! Real life ones :) freaking sweet! :)

Day 6 and 7!

Yesterday blogger was down, so I couldn't upload what happened. Like normal, we went to school and then after school we went and visited the National Church (which was gorgeous) and we also went to the tax free zone of Cartago and listened to a speaker talk....Yesterday was uneventful, but that is good compared to the mini earthquake I just experienced. Yes, a legit earthquake, the walls were shaking and the stuff on them trembling and the tv stand was swaying back and forth. oh. my. gosh. After it was done with, our grandpa kept pointing to the sky and saying "ezus, ezus!" (Jesus, Jesus) implying he was protecting us...oh mannnnn. no me gustan terremotos. (I don't like earthquakes) Also today we went to a VOLCANO! :D It was so cool, it was active, you could see the smog rolling off of the pond of the volcano. Let's just say it is a good thing that the volcano is pretty cool because, well, it was a longggggggggg walk with many, many, many steep inclines. yuck. This girl is not in shape!! Lol! Today and yesterday the mornings have been soo beautiful and then it POORS in the afternoon!! :( I don't like that either.  I swear guys, this weather is crazier than the weather in Iowa. Well that is all for now,  I am so tired,  I can hardly focus. and it is 5pm. Lol off to the hot springs tomorrow for a nice relaxing weekend! ahhhh
p.s.  I took my first taxi today :D!
AND to top my day off, Paco canceled class when we got back this afternoon! Yay!

Day #5

What a great day!
Ash and I woke up and ate our breakfast, then walked to the bus stop to head to school! All we had to do today was class, so after class we decided shopping was in order!!! We stopped at a few stores then went to the mercado and oh.my.gosh. I LOVEEEEEEEE it. The things sold there are so beautiful and definitely have a piece of this culture in them and the best part, yes, soooo cheap. :) We spent all afternoon at the market, went to Burger King for lunch (yes they have those haha) and went BACK to the market! Don't worry, yet again, today we were able to hand out the daily "creeper award" and today this special award goes to a 20 or so year old guy who was sitting on the sidewalk, we walked by once and he was like "ohhh, hi hi hi hi" (its whatever, totally typical for here) but the catcher is that when we walked back by, we got barked at. Yes, that's right, barked at, like he was a dog. I'm like, are you kidding me? hahahahaha So he was the winner for today! Not too worry, today was also another day full of the honks, since we are "gringos"....I feel like that will never stop :) Us girls have decided that the American boys are going to have to step up their game when we get back, because here, well we are "the shit", everybody wants a Gringo, we are basically the "in item"...LOL After shopping, we took the bus back to our house and then let our friend Ashley come to, because well, unlike us, she stuggles with the bus! (Sorry Ashley, es la verdad! :)). So we hung out here for a bit, then walked Ashley home. Tonight was fun, just have been hanging with our family and then our Mamá's friends were here...they had motorcycles, and well, we took a tour, awesome!!!  I can now say I rode a motorcycle in Costa Rica! :D Well, that is about it for today,  I am off to relax, we have a super busy day tomorrow!
Hasta Luego!
(see ya later)
:)

Day #4

Where to start!?
 Today was intense. Have I told you that I LOVE Costa Rica.?! Mom, don't freak out....I kind of bought another pair of shoes, ...BUT they were only 6 American dollars! wohoooooo (Don't tell Grandpa Glen! hahaha)
But no, today has been great, our grandpa walked us to the bus stop and then off to school we went! After school, we hit up the town for SHOPPING, CR style: very barato! (cheap) I have found many cute items, and we are going again tomorrow, it is hard to pass up $5 dresses and $6 shoes!!!
For lunch we had these delicious sandwiches that were less than 2 American dollars! And I had an iced cappucino, that tasted like CHURROS!!! ahhh sooooooo good :D After lunch, we heading back to campus to go to museums......they were pretty cool! After our museums Ash and  I got a real life experience........Here we go...So we called our mom to tell her that we were arriving at the university, she told us she would take the bus to come get us (our family does not have a car), but we said no, it is no problem we can do it. hmmmmmmm let us rethink that one....We knew we had to wait for the bus that said San Antonio, not San Jose (which is the one we take to school). So we wait and wait and wait, and there is only San Jose buses...so we decided to ask someone on the bench who looked semi-American or semi-white (in Ash's terms) for help. He told us we had to walk up the street to a different stop to catch our bus. So we darted across the street (by the way, cars DO NOT stop, or slow done, nada, nothing, you RUN, FAST) so we approached the next stop and no luck.  I asked the woman if it was the right stop and she said no, no, it is over there (back across the dang street, and don't worry, yes we are speaking spanish to each other!) So Ash and I dart back across the street (going on about our 5th time, don't worry guys, we were truly labeled Americans by those watching us. hahaha). To double check,  I asked a guy if the stop was ours, he said something and I was like "uhhhhh, que?" ("uhhhh, what?") and he repeated it and i said, "oh esta bien!" I walk back to Ash and she goes "I. have. no. idea. what. he. just. said." I started rolling laughing and I go, "oh god, me either." So we proceed to watching the bus we need drive on by as we are STANDING there, c'mon CR!! LOL So we wait, *again* and then, we finally get a bus!! THANK GOD, now that we are on the bus we come to realize, we don't have the slightest clue where to get off at. (We hadn't rode the bus home yet) So we ride, and ride, I'm getting nervous, and nervous...and we ride, and ride...and there's our stop!! wohoooooooo we did it! :) We walk up the sidewalk to our house and our family is so excited, "you did great, you guys found home great, etc, etc"...We responded with...."oh if you only knew"....
Good life experience.
Check the bus route.
always.
and what side of the street the bus picks you up on. ;)
After we got home, we decided to see where some of our other girls live, so we went for a short walk, with our mom and younger sister; we toured around and visited the houses of our friends and then came home for supper. Supper was SO GOOD. We had chicken, rice, salad, potatoes and then 3 kinds of dessert, and to drink we had iced tea and lemonade! Food and drinks here are so amazing, very different, but awesome. I had no idea that I would like so many things!
More tomorrow!
:)

Day #3

Day #3!
ahhh estoy muy cansada! (i am very tired!)
Today was so busy, we were lucky and didn't have to go to class to 8:30. Ash and I woke up and got ready and then ate some breakfast...Our mom had fresh fruit, cereal and toast for us, it was very good:) The cereal was different, like the sugar had a "twist" ha, but it was good. After breakfast, our Mom took us to the bus stop and showed us which bus to take to school and what stop to get off at. Another interesting fact, Costa Rica does not believe in addresses!! No Joke!!!  Our address directs you to our house from the starting point of this one grocery store, then tells us to go 200 meters west, then 200 south, then 50 west. I am sure my parents will get a kick out of the fact that I have to use directions to find my destination in this HUGE city, I can't even use directions in Massena! hahaha Good thing Ashlee is with me! So anyways, we rode the bus to school and then went to class, after class we had a tour of the school and then lunch...cafeteria lunch...and it was AMAZING. I had the best ice cream of my life at school today...soo different than CAM ;) The school we go too is actually really small, only 4000 students and the campus is TINY. but esta bien :) After our lunch, we went to see a cathedral, which was HUGE, oh my gosh soo gorgeous, and we also went to the national theatre which was beautiful as well. (we took note that Julliard is coming like 3 days after we leave, dang it!)
After our tours we went to the mall, exciting right? NO, because it was all American things, I can buy that at home! yeesh ;) soo after the mall we went to this resturante, clear up about the city. The view is unexplainable, absolutely stunning. You look down below you and all you see are city lights, for miles..simply breathtaking..our dinner was delicious, it was buffet and had tonsss of food and I got my coke in a glass bottle wohoo! The resturant is like a lot of places in CR, it is indoor, but yet outdoor...Kind of like a sunroom in some of our homes in Iowa....There is a roof but there is tile around to outside in the open and a lot of the buildings have half walls or no walls at all, the pillars hold the roof on its own, surprisingly bugs aren't really an issue. After the dinner, we had a performance by CR dancers, don't worry guys I got pulled up to dance with some dude, but we rocked it! It was tons of fun, we even got our teacher, Paco to bust out his moves. Lol! Our bus driver could shake it too! :D After that we rode our tour bus home and our Mom picked us up.
That is all for now! I am exhausted!
Buenos noches todos!
(Goodnight all!)

MI FAMILIA :)

p.s.: mom: sooooooo about that beach time, I am only slightly burnt. :) (Since I know you are actually reading my blog, I figured you would want to know) haha

So my classmates and I pull up to our univerisity in our bus, standing outside of the building is a bunch of people we have NEVER meet, or seen, or have had any contact with. We get out of the bus and people our holding signs with names on them. I am like, oh.my.god. where is the nearest airport and how much is a ticket out of here? Surely I have enough cash!!!??!! Then Ashlee and I hear a voice calling our names, it was our Mama! She greeted us with a hug and a kiss on the check and I'm thinking..okay so this isn't that bad... I can wait and get a plane ticket tomorrow....but within 30 minutes everything was great! I am comfortable here, they are all so nice. The first thing we did when we got home was have supper. Now, for those of you who know my eating habits, grab the chair because you will fall out when you read what I ate. .......it was lasagna....with spinach...tomatoes...cheese....(and other unknown ingrediants..) and well, I liked it!!! And we also had bread..and salad...and this really good juice, I asked what kind of juice it was...PEAR! I don't like pears?! So, lets just say Grandma Dorsey was right. "You don't know that you don't like it until you try it!" (All I am hoping is she either lost the address to my blog or can't figure out how to type it in the search bar--I feel like either option has an equal and high possibility-- so that way she doesn't read my reflection on dinner. Lol--just kidding Grandma, love you ;) ).

Familia:
My family is SO great.  I have a mama, 2 hermanas (sisters) and mi abuelo (grandpa). I also have a tia y tio (aunt and uncle) and a little prima (cousin) she is 2!

My mom  is so sweet and absolutely adorable. She has curly, curly black hair and is short. She has the cutest style!!

My sisters are also very sweet, and gorgeous as well. They have helped Ash and I out with where to put stuff and what to do, they are teenagers as well. Millie and Nevilla. (I probably butchered spelling their names! lol)

My grandpa is so funny! He talks very rapido! And is just so cute! :)

We don't have any pets, but that is perfectly fine with me...it is often hard to adjust to animals that aren't "yours".

Tomorrow we start our first day of classes so Mama is taking Ashlee and I to the bus and showing us how we will get to school, so we know for the future.

First day of class tomorrow, best get to sleep!
Buenos Noches! (goodnight!)

Day #2

Night life of last night: not so great. haha Everybody was tired and the bars were so packed so most of us walked there, then came back home...Let me tell you, everybody is excited to see a "gringo" (white person/american)....We heard a lot of "hey Barbie..." .."hey sweetie"....and you just keep on walking....bunch a creepers! Lol So let's just say we are excited for a better night life soon! One of the best parts of last night was the outside bathroom of the bar....it had a sign that said "Pee Aqui" (pronounced a-key)....that literally means "Pee Here"...don't worry, it gave a visual of a stick figure peeing and holding his drink. hahahaha

Day #2 has been great so far! We woke up about 9, went and ate breakfast, then headed down to the pool to catch some rays. :) It was soooooooo hot and humid, but I didn't mind! Ash and I decided we were thirsty so I went to grab us something to drink, in the process of going to get our pops, I rounded the corner to find a HUGE iguana, I almost peed my pants, he didn't mind seeing me though, he just continued to lay and sunbathe......if only they were a cute animal! Speaking of which, Costa Rica is breaking my heart- there are homeless dogs everywhere :( so if anyone wants a dog, adopt it from Costa Rica!!!! After the pool, we went to grab some lunch, then headed up to our room. Don't worry, I showered off my stench of pool and sweat (yuck) and now we are packed, waiting to check out at 4, then we are off to meet our families!!!

Will hopefully post more about my family later today after I meet them!
:)

First Day Recap

So, from the beginning! I bid farewell to everybody on Friday afternoon, I definitely cried like a baby (no help to my mom or my mother-in-law! LOL. After leaving my house, Con took me to Corning to meet Ashlee and Kathy, and off to KC we went! Ash and I stayed in a SKETCHY hotel, but it was alright since we got up to get ready and leave by 4:30 am anyway! ahhhh! Off to the airport we went. We flew, KC-Houston, and then Houston-San Jose...So our first day has def been a long one and is yet to be over, we have to go out and see what the town is like during the night life!.....

We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica at about 11:50 (10:50, Iowa time) BUT we had to take a bus to reach our hotel and that took FOREVER, don't worry, we had to put our luggage on top of the bus, yes the ROOF, & I'm like ohhh great, mine will be the one to fall off! (I was already VERY concerned that my zipper was going to break during one of our flight transfers) Although the longgggg bus ride was much worth it because our hotel is SO cute, it is right on the beach-it is a little Best Western. (Who knew Costa Rica had Best Westerns?! ha) hmm also, I can now say that I have experienced the Atlantic Ocean! :) And for all of you concerned about me going to dinner with a random guy (previous life story from my CA trip), I have NOT and will NOT, because one, Colton would probably kill me (with good intent lol) AND because we meet some creepers at the beach today, well not met, but they walked by and let me tell you guys, creeper may just be at a whole new level here. ;) So we spent some time at the beach, went to the "beach bar" (p.s. they have coke in glass bottles, I am pretty much estatic!!) and then went and had supper at 7 (8 Iowa time). Supper was so good, it was a buffet of a ton of different Mexico/Costa Rica/Spain types of food. And Miss Clinton & Con would be so proud because I tried things that looked weird, and welllllll they were good!!!!

"Fun" fact (if you would consider this "fun???", nahhh): In Costa Rica, you do NOT flush ANY toilet paper or ANYTHING like it. You put it in a trash can....I don't really think I like this idea, but experience the culture I guess!

 I am excited to meet my Costa Rica family tomorrow!
Speaking of families: Happy Mother's Day to my Mom tomorrow! Love and Miss you!

I AM HERE!

Hello everyone! We have arrived safely to COSTA RICA! :) Just spent some time at the beach, now off to dinner with the ladies, will post more later!

One Month!

Exactly one month from today, I will be on my first trip abroad....Look out Costa Rica, here I come! :D

First day!

Today is my very first blog! I am anxiously awaiting my trip to Costa Rica, only 7 weeks to go! I am very excited about this "chapter" of my life, I plan on it being my first of several study abroad trips while I am here in college. I can't wait for the beach! :)