Ya Casi Me Voy....

I'm Almost Leaving....
I can't believe how the time has passed. I knew my exchange would go by quickly, but it never really sets in until the time has come. I'm leaving Monday, and all I can think about is how I am leaving my new life. Everything about being in Costa Rica has become my normal life for me, and once again, I am picking up and leaving it. Honestly, I'm much more sad than happy, although it will be interesting to start my time in Tennessee with my parents. With my days here dwindling, I made sure to do one more thing before I left. Last weekend I went to the prettiest beach I have seen in my entire life, as well as the prettiest waterfall I have ever been too.

Montezuma
Montezuma is on the Nicoya Peninsula. I went there this past weekend with 7 other people. There was me, my friend Ryan, two kids from Switzerland (Kaya and Valentin), two kids from Italy (Greta and her friend who was visiting her), and two ticos who were classmates of Kaya's. We spent the night in San Jose on Saturday so that we could get an early start on Sunday. We set out at around 5:30 in the morning and headed for Puntarenas to catch the ferry to Guanacaste. We got to Montezuma around 12:00 in the afternoon and immediately headed for the beach. The water was incredibly warm, the sand was white, and we could not have been happier with the small amount of tourists that are aware of Montezuma. After spending some time at the beach, we found our way to a gorgeous waterfall. Although, we didn't even see the best part until the next day. That night, we had a bonfire on the beach and got to know some of the other tourists staying there from Chile! One of the things I love best about traveling in Costa Rica are the travelers that come here and stay in cheap hostels just like us. You always seem to meet awesome people with amazing stories of their travels. The next day, some of my friends took the early ferry back to Puntarenas, while me, Kaya, and Ryan stayed in Montezuma for the day. We went to the beach in the morning, then decided to hike to a second waterfall that is above the first one we went to the day before. The second waterfall was absolutely amazing. There was a rope swing, and plenty of places to cliff jump (although I wouldn't dare go off the biggest one..) After, we made our way to the bus stop, but unfortunately got to the ferry 5 minutes late to catch the 6:00 ferry to Puntarenas to head back to San Jose. We ended up having to take a later ferry and spending the night in Puntarenas since it's dangerous to be out at night in San Jose. While Kaya left the next morning, me and Ryan stayed to say goodbye to some Italians, and some friends who live in Esparza. It was sad knowing that I probably won't see another Costa Rican beach for a while, or be able to enjoy smoothies and coconut water right next to the beach. So, that was my last trip in Costa Rica until I return to visit my host family once again. I have to say, it was an amzing trip to end on.

Today I went to the pool with my family and some neighbors. It was awesome to spend that time with them, and I even saw a girl who I had been friends with in school here. We played a lot of games, and I started to realize just how different my life is now, compared to how it used to be.

I'm still trying to think of a way to thank my family for everything they have done for me, although I don't think there is a way to thank them enough. they're my second family and I couldn't have asked for a better one.

I'm not sure if I will update my blog again before I leave, or after I return to the US. If I don't, I hope everyone enjoyed experiencing my exchange with me through this blog, and I hope it was interesting enough for people to keep up with it! I'll be in the US on Monday, and it's obvious this experience will never leave me. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible..I just had the best 6 months of my life.

Pura Vida.

Tieta Keetle

Verdad que no estoy loca?!

First of all, I would like to say Happy New Year!! Last night was spent with my family and family friends! What started out to be an awkward night with no music in our house, turned out to be really fun! We went from house to house through out the night , ate food, finally found music for our house, and danced into the new year. After, my sisters and I went to a neighbor's and danced more until about one in the morning, then enjoyed to fresh air and stars until about 2:30 in the morning. It was another new experience for me, but I enjoyed it!

Over the past weekend, I went on a trip to a beach called Manuel Antonio with my friend, Ryan from Colorado. We quickly learned a lesson in reserving a room a little in advance, because we spent the majority of a time looking for a hostel to stay in for the night. (We always had a back-up plan, so we weren't in any danger of not having anywhere to stay). We ended up staying in a random tent at a hostel, which was interesting! Anyways, Manuel Antonio is supposedly the prettiest beach in Costa Rica. I definitely believe that! Although, it was covered with tourists, which was something I wasn't very used too and took away from some of the beauty.
So for a while now, some of the exchange students and I have been talking about getting tattoos. Not just for the fun of it, a lot of us have been greatly effected by our experiences here. I personally have taken the expression "Pura Vida" to heart, and decided to get that on my foot! So, when I was with Ryan we had been talking about it and realized how quickly we are running out of time here, so instead of spending two days at the beach, we left early in the morning Sunday to go to San Jose to get our tattoos! It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, and I couldn't be happier with it! I only hope that when I'm older, I haven't forgotten all of the lessons I've learned while I've been here which would explain why the expression Pura Vida means so much to me.

 My tattoo!

By the way, the title of my blog post says I'm not crazy, right?! Since that's all my host sisters were calling me!

Sorry once again for the short blog post, I'm tring to enjoy everything I have here for the next 13 days....!!

PURA VIDA!:)

Tieta