Feliz Navidad a Todos

Merry Christmas, Everyone!
So, it's Christmas and I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt. That right there makes my Christmas different from any other..let alone, I'm not with my family, there is no real christmas tree, and I haven't seen one traditional christmas movie since last year. But, I am ready for a new experience. Apparently Christmas isn't very well-liked here, so I don't think I am in for much today. Although, my family and I went out to dinner last night at a chinese resteraunt! (All I could think about was A Christmas Story..).  It was really nice to go out and have more family time! I honestly feel like I'm the obviously adopted child in their family! My host sisters have become my real sisters, and I always look to my host parents for advice as if they were my real parents! Today I believe we are going to my host cousins house to "celebrate" although I am not expecting more than just having more family time and talking, which is nice!

Now, For Some Updates

Thursday and Friday nights I was in a place called Puerto Viejo with a couple friends from the states! Seeing as I still haven't been able to make it to Guanacaste, I was excited to see the beaches in Limon(the province that Puerto Viejo is in) since apparently they are second best. They most definitely were gorgeous even though it was raining a fair amount of the day we had to go to the beach. The hostel we stayed in was called Rocking J's. It was the coolest hostel I have ever been too! The people are really nice, you can rent hammocks or tents to sleep in for 7 dollars, and for years people have been painting the hostel to leave their mark!

 This is me and my friend Ryan after climbing a palm tree on the beach!

After me, Kelsey, and Ryan painted the inside of a shower! I guess you could say I miss Vermont..

 The food in the province of Limon is different from the rest of Costa Rica. Here, you can see the traditional rice and beans of Limon!

 Some artwork of other people staying in Rocking J's

 aaand some more artwork!

 And one more! I just thought this one was kind of funny since usually it's the other way around..

 The hammocks that we stayed in!

 You can also rent tents!

Yarelin's First Birthday
So, I have experienced a fair amount of birthdays this year, and written about them, but I thought I would mention this one as well. The other day was my cousin's daughter's first birthday!

 Two little boys playing a game where there are two balloons on the ground and the first one to find one and sit on it wins a lollipop!

 Yarelin is the baby in the pink dress!

So, I apologize for the lack of writing, with this post it was easier to explain with pictures! Merry Christmas to everyone reading this post, I hope it is absolutely amazing and enjoy your time with your family as much as possible.

Feliz Navidad! Pura vida

Tieta

Snow In Costa Rica..Tico Style

Last weekend I went to a parade in San Jose! There were more people there that I had ever seen in my life. The name of the parade translates to Festivals of the Lights..or Lights Festivals. I went with my sisters and a friend, hung out with them for a while, and before the parade started, a few friends and I went to find more exchange students. On our way to meet up with another friend from the US, we had to walk and push our way through thousands of people. When we finally got to a street that didn't have as many people, it became apparent how obvious it was that we were from the United States. People had bags filled with tiny circle papers about the size of snow that they would throw at people. It's a little hard to explain without it sounding really childish..although I guess it kind of was! Literally all of the center of San Jose looked like it had a blanket of snow on the ground, and the people were covered in the little pieces of paper as well. The minute we stepped on the street, we became targets for getting this "snow" thrown at us. We would just be walking, minding our own business, then about ten people would thrown the pieces of paper in our faces and yell "Gringos!". By the time we made it to our friend, we were absolutely covered. We had papers in our hair, mouths, and even in our eyes. Although, we soon decided to join the fun. It was definitely a different experience seeing this, but it turned out to be entertaining..even though I was still picking the papers out of my hair the next day.

 two of my host sisters (Sofia&Faby)

 My friends and I after accepting the fact that we were targets, and taking a picture to remember that interesting night.

The next day, my friends and I went to a concert in Cartago, but unfortunately didn't get to enjoy a lot of it. One of my friends got sick right before, so we only stayed for a little then went to my other friends house to stay the night. It's really interesting seeing where other exchange students live and how their life differs from mine, even though we are in the same, small country.

Sorry this is such a short post, It is just a quick update to keep people interested! I have less than 4 weeks left, so I am planning on spending it with my host family, and getting some last minute travel plans to work! Until next week,

Pura Vida.

Tieta

Exploring Panama

Thursday afternoon I left for San Jose to meet with other exchangers before we left for Panama. We met around 6 so that we wouldn't be in the bus stations when it was dark. For dinner, I had my first bagel since I left South Burlington, Vermont! We walked around the mall for a bit, and by 10:00 pm, we were all set to load up the buses and head to the border. We got to the border very early in the morning, and had to wait about 4 hours for them to open. It was then another long wait for us to get through customs and paperwork! It ended up taking us 20 hours from when we left San Jose to get to our hotel in Panama. The hotel wasn't the nicest I've been in, but my friends and I quickly found the roof and the gorgeous view it gave of Panama City at night..which made up for that!
The first thing I noticed about Panama was the obvious difference between the lower class and higher class. Driving through Panama City, there would be run-down houses clustered together on dirt roads-with skyscrapers and nice stores literally 2 feet behind them.
The first full day we had there was Saturday. That day, we went to an open "lake" where we were greeted by an indigenous tribe in nothing but cloth and standing in long canoes. We put on our life jackets, got on the boats, and we were taken through a mini canal leading to a beautiful waterfall. After swimming for a bit, they took us to their "town". We ate fish with our hands that still had the tail on it, and plantains for lunch. The food was delicious, and it was interesting to see their school, town hall, houses, and basketball court/soccer field all be literally 5 feet from eachother. We had a man who lived there explain how life was 50 years ago, and he compared that life to how they are living now. To our surprise, their life is much more advanced in these days than it was 50 years ago! He also did a demonstration on how they used to tell if women were virgins or not. I don't know if I can fully explain it, but the main idea is this: The girl is kneeling on a rug, and they take something like a necklace and put it over her head and around her neck. They then put a piece of  the necklace in her mouth, and if something rises, that means she isn't a virgin. I was a bit confused on how that actually works, but he did a demonstration on one of the exchange students, and I guess the result of it turned out to be true! It was interesting to say the least, seeing that! We then went swimming in the river to wash off, and got back in the boats to go to the buses. This first day was my favorite, although my friends and I felt a little weird about it. We sometimes got the feeling that it was as if we were in a zoo or a museum. The way people took pictures of the houses and school was weird when you think about how it is their daily life, yet a tourist attraction as well. That night we were taken to a MASSIVE mall in Panama City to eat dinner and look around.
The next day, we went to the Panama Canal which was cool! We walked around for a few hours, then watched a boat go through it. Later, we went to a different mall for the rest of the day. (Things are really cheap in Panama, so a lot of people wanted to go to the malls) At night, they took us to a point that was filled with yahts bigger than you could ever imagine, and fancy resteraunts. It was gorgeous, although there wasn't much to do and everything was very expensive. It was also one more reminder of the differences between how the rick people live compared to the people strugging to make a living.
On Monday, we were taken to a mini ciry that made us feel like we were in Italy. It had been built by an italian, so that explains why we felt that way. That was also really cool, although it was really hot and we didn't feel like we were in Panama anymore! Then, we went to the same mall as the first one. My friends and I didn't feel like walking around again, so about 5 of us went to see a movie. That night, we set out for the border once again. This time the drive was only 18 hours..which was an improvement. It's almost impossible for me to sleep on buses, so I was extremely tired when I finally returned to my host family. Overall, it was a great trip and I now have more stamps in my passport!

Just a side note: I have dreams in spanish now! Apparently I was talking in my sleep the other night and my host sister overheard me saying things in spanish!

 This was what awaited us when we first got off the buses

 The waterfall that we swam in!

 Welcoming us into their homes

 The river we later went swimming in

 Testing to see if she is a virgin

 Our lunch!

 Panama Canal

 A boat coming into the Panama Canal

 Panama City in the background!

 In the city built by an Italian

Some houses were a little run-down..



I hope everything is going well with my readers. I will be back in the United States in less than 4 weeks!

Tieta

End Of Stay Orientation&Coffee Picking

The Rich Life of Costa Rica
Last weekend I had my end of the stay orientation. We stayed the night in San Jose after doing things to prepare us for the changes we will experience at home, then they took us to a GORGEOUS hotel at a beach called Punta Leona. The hotel was more of a residency than anything. The rooms looked like apartments, and most people who stay there rent golf carts and 4-wheelers to get around. The beach was private, with warm water, a gorgeous view, and constant music playing from the bar right next to the beach. There were two pools, a disco, a mini golf course, and a soccer field all included in the hotel. Although, the best part..was the food. Unlimited delicious food and deserts with every meal! It is very safe to say that over half of the exchangers could barely walk after the meals. (I would say lots of us have been deprived of quality eating depending if your host family has money or not..and even then, everyone eats beans and rice at every meal everyday.. so it's good to get a break from that.) When I see hotels like this, and the tourists who go there, it just makes me glad that I am here on an exchange. People who stay in Punta Leona aren't seeing the same country that I see everyday. I believe that Costa Rica is absolutely gorgeous, but in a different way than what tourists would think. I see the struggles that my family goes through to buy a carton of milk, while rich tourists see the beautiful beaches while getting waited on hand and foot. For the past two days, I have experienced what it is really like to try and earn money if you aren't married to someone with a steady job.

Hay Muchas Nicas...Y Nosotros
(There are lots of Nicaraguans...and us.)
Tuesday morning two of my host sisters and I woke up at 5 in the morning to pick coffee in the coffee fields near by. We loaded up on bug spray, met up with neighbors, hiked up to the coffee fields, and my host sisters explained to me "the rules of coffee picking." The biggest rule is to not pick the green ones. When your basket is filled, empty it into a sack and keep picking. When everyone has finished their row of coffee, we begin to pick up the beans that fell off onto the ground.
So, I got started and shared a row with my sister since it was my first time. To say the least, I was the slowest out of everyone. Although by the end of the day, they said I picked a fair amount for my first time! After picking our first row, we crawled on the ground going over our tracks to pick up every single coffee bean that fell. For the record, the rows are extremely long! After we finished that, we made our way to a different part of the field and began to eat lunch. We ate with our filthy hands, sitting in the middle of the field. After about 20 minutes of eating and taking a break, we started picking once again. This time I was a bit faster and was able to finish my part of the row and begin to help others finish theirs, which got me more coffee! We stopped for a break to actually drink some coffe and eat some bread, then once again continued picking. After about 11 hours straight of picking, I earned myself 3000 colones (6 dollars). After that day, I was sore, tired, and had spider bites and splinters all in my hands..and had to go to bed early because yesterday we woke up at 4:30 to head out at 5 in the morning. Yesterday we went to a different part of the coffee fields and had the pleasure of them all being wet because of a little rain we had gotten in the middle of the night. Even though this made us all wet since you are constantly on the ground as to not miss a branch of coffee beans and always brushing up against the plants, it helped keep our hands just a little bit cleaner! We ate lunch after finishing our rows(I had my own this time) and then began to retrace our steps in the field to pick up the fallen coffee beans.(That is my least favorite part since you end up getting very close to insects and spiders where you're better off not knowing they exist. Anyways, we ended early that day and got to come home around 1 which was nice! So, in 9 hours of picking coffee, I earned myself 3 dollars. (I was feeling lazy yesterday and our rows unfortunately didn't have much coffee in them.)
The reason why my title to this part of the post is "Hay muchas nicas..y nosostros" is because that was what one of my sisters told me as we were walking up the first day. In this part of the year there are Nicaraguans everywhere in Naranjo because of the coffee. Nicaraguans often work for less money than Costa Ricans, and therefore take a lot of jobs from the Costa Ricans. For this reason, Costa Ricans generally don't like Nicaraguans and always make fun of their accent. Although in the coffee fields, we were working side by side with the Nicaraguans. And there were definitely a lot more of them in the fields than Costa Ricans.
Although my pointer fingers are still swollen from picking, I am really happy I went with my host sisters, cousins, and neighbors. I think it is a good experience to have and makes me appreciate the whole minimun wage thing that we have in the United States!

 this earns you about 2 dollars!

 coffee beans!

Loli, A family friend of ours who came with us!

So, I am off to Panama later today. I will take lots of pictures and try to write a detailed blog post about it in a couple weeks! :)

Pura Vida.

Tieta