Puerto Viejo de Limon

While I've done a lot of traveling on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, I had yet to visit the Caribbean side, which everyone says is quite different from the life/culture on the Pacific side.  Since my last class was slated to be on December 15th, but my family wasn't coming for Christmas until December 24th, I had a little over a week to travel!  A few months before classes ended, I began planning a trip that would take me from Liberia up to Tortuguero (in the northeast corner of CR) for a few days, and then down through Limon to Puerto Viejo (in the southeast corner of CR, just a few hours from the Panama border).  While I knew I'd miss seeing the sea turtles in Tortuguero (the big attraction for that area) because they've already laid their eggs, I've heard it's still incredibly beautiful.  And of course Puerto Viejo's Caribbean, laid back, total beach/surf town culture totally precedes it.  Needless to say, I was super excited for my trip.

December...the month of Goodbyes

Hasta Luego Nicaragua

The first weekend in December I made my final trip up to Nicaragua with my host mom to say goodbye to my Nicaraguan family.  I brought a few small gifts with me, for Ana and her family for hosting me on my trips to Nicaragua, and one for my little bestie adoptive cousin Nasa.  Since Nasa is seven and a big fan of Disney Princess stuff, I bought her her very own set of Disney Princess playing cards, and a Disney Princess picture frame with a picture of me and her inside so she wouldn't forget me :)  And she LOVED the gifts (yay!).  She walked around showing everyone the frame, and we, no surprise, got a LOT of use out of the playing cards.  I might be Go Fish-ed out for the rest of my life! hahaha  We also taught Nasa's uncle to play, and I jokingly mentioned that he could take my spot as the Go Fish go-to after I left.  I'm not sure he was so much excited about that...muahahaha  But it was a lot of fun to visit the family in December.  They had their Christmas tree up and some lights so it felt festive.  We also ended up taking a little ride in the horse-drawn carriage again to visit all the other members of the family, which was nice.  I felt like I got to see everyone one last time and say my goodbyes.

Thanksgiving...Costa Rica Style

I had my first visitor when Miss Jane Munro came to visit me over "Thanksgiving Break."  She came in on Sunday, November 20th and left me again on Sunday, November 27.  In just one short week, we managed to cram in a WHOLE LOTTA FUN!  We took a crap ton of pictures, many of which you get to see here (but lots more are on facebook), and made a lot of great memories!  It was also interesting having Janie come visit me, because I think I actually went through a little bit of reverse culture shock!  When Jane came, it was like my two worlds (Cali and Costa Rica) collided and it made me hyper aware of how much I've assimilated to Costa Rican culture.  Not that Costa Rica is drastically different from life in the US, but I realized that there were all these subtle little things that were just different.  In the end, it ended up being great that I sort of went through that.  Until Jane came to visit, I'm pretty sure I was in denial about having to go home.  But having her here made me realize that there are things that I'm looking forward to doing when I get back to the States.  I started getting excited about seeing my family and friends and just jumping back into life in California.  But moving home and culture shock are all a topic for a different blog.  This post is all about our week of partying and adventures over Thanksgiving week in Costa Rica.  Let the pictures and the stories begin!

Living Like a Local

Wow, HOW is it the end of November already?!?!?!  The closer I get to having to leave Costa Rica, the faster time seems to fly by!  (Which is definitely not a good thing!  I'm already starting to go through withdrawal and I haven't even left yet!).  Anyway, even though I haven't been blogging a lot lately, it's not because I haven't been doing anything.  In fact, I've been crazy busy the last few weeks, mostly hanging out and partying with my students/friends (because at this point, they're all my friends in addition to being my students.  I love them!)  In this post, I'm just going to give you a sampling of all the stuff I've been up to lately.  Brace yourself ;)

Halloween in Costa Rica!

First things first.  Today is November 2nd, which means I will be flying back to California in exactly 2 months.  That makes me exceedingly sad.  Don't get me wrong, on the one hand it will be nice to see my family and friends and get back to "life as usual" but I've had such a WONDERFUL experience here that my heart hurts when I think about leaving.  Okay, I just had to get that out.  Also, on the plus side, I have lots of adventures planned for the next two months, so it's pretty much guaranteed that there will be lots more pics and more posts to come.  When January 2nd does come around, I already know I will have gotten the most out of my time here, which makes me very happy.

So, now, Halloween in Costa Rica!  For those of you who know me, you know I'm a pretty big fan of Halloween.  I don't really know why per se, but I guess I just like that Halloween ushers in Fall and I like all the stuff that comes with it.  I like the crispness of fall air, especially before the nonstop rain comes, and leaves changing colors/dead leaves on sidewalks (is that weird?).  I also like candy corn, Halloween decorations (I can't get enough of fake spider webs and skeleton cut-outs), costumes, trick-or-treaters, carving pumpkins, scary movies, haunted houses, and, possibly most important, I like to watch Hocus Pocus every year when it's on the Disney Channel because it's pretty much one of the best 90s movies of all time.  (I also might own it, but that's only so I can watch it if I happen to miss it on the Disney Channel...Also, it was $5 at Target and I'm a sucker for those deals.)  I also like throwing and/or attending Halloween parties, group costumes with my friends, and seeing all the ridiculous costumes on other bar-goers.  It's just a pretty much guaranteed good time.

Playing Go Fish in Nicaragua And Other Stuff Too

So at the beginning of October I went with my host mom to Nicaragua to visit the family, per the usual.  And, since we left the same day Rebecca was heading up to Nicaragua for her three month volunteer stint up there, she came with us.  That was a lot of fun because it gave Rebecca and I another chance to hang out and chat!  Yay!  It was also sad because it was our last time to hang out.  (Well, hopefully not last last....hopefully it will work out so we'll get to hang out in Nicaragua or Costa Rica in the next few months...but last 'for sure' hangout!)  Anyway, we hopped on the bus around 3 to head up north.

Kristi and I take on the Tenorio River Rapids!

Kristi, my EVOLC program coordinator, came to visit me on Thursday September 22 so she could observe one of my classes, check out my casa/family and just generally hang out!  I was super excited about her visit because Kristi is great, both at her job and as a person/friend :)  I was, however, super nervous for her to observe one of my classes.  Despite the fact that I've learned a lot about teaching in the past few months, I for sure still have a lot to learn and perfect.  I spent a long time before Kristi arrived thinking about my lesson, and by "thinking about my lesson" I really mean stressing about my lesson, even though she totally told me not to worry and that I'd do fine.  But really, I think anytime anyone is observed in the classroom, it's just meant to be one of the less successful teaching days....   

Surf's Up!

Aside from getting to partake in all the festivities for Independence Day, we all also got a nice long weekend!  (Okay, let's be real.  I basically get a long weekend every weekend, but not everybody else does, so this was nice).  After our day of hiking together, Rebecca invited me to join her on her weekend trip to Playa Grande.  She had gone to Playa Grande the weekend before to do some surfing, and since I love the beach, any excuse to go somewhere, had fun hanging out with Rebecca, and didn't already have plans, I happily accepted the offer to go with her to PG.  It was nice that Rebecca already knew the lay of the land, because she not only knew how to get to Playa Grande, but also knew where to stay, etc.  So easy and amazing!

Off to PG!
We couldn't leave too early on Friday morning because I had finally been given the name of a Spanish teacher and had an appointment to go take an entry exam with the professora in the morning.  Instead, Rebecca and I met at noon and headed over to the bus stop together, where we grabbed some food and waited for our 1:00 bus to arrive.  Although you can take the Tamarindo bus to Huacas and hop on another bus down to PG, we decided that we would take the bus all the way to Tamarindo, and then take a little "water taxi" over to PG.  (PG is the beach just north of Tamarindo, so they are right next to each other).  We happily hopped on the bus, and when it started to pour about an hour into the ride, we hoped it would stop by the time we reached Tamarindo.

Rincon de La Vieja: To the Top and Back Again

I mentioned in my scuba diving story about how I was put in touch with another volunteer in Liberia named Rebecca and how we subsequently met for coffee and had a lot of fun discussing all things volunteer and living abroad related.  Because September 15 is Costa Rica's independence day, the schools are closed which means we both had the day off, and Rebecca invited me to hike around Rincon de La Vieja with her.  At the time, neither of us knew what a big "to do" Independence Day is in Costa Rica, so we set about making plans to head up to the mountain (and subsequently missed the festivals/parades in Liberia, but it's okay because we had a jolly good time hiking!).

We had both previously hiked to the Cangreja waterfall and around the short loop with all the volcano-y things (see previous post), but we were planning on just doing more or less the same hike again.  However, on the day of, we decided that since we had the time (aka, I didn't have to rush back for class) and because the weather was perfect, we would just go ahead and embark on the 16 km round trip hike (that's 5 miles each way/10 miles total for all you non-metric people.  Oh wait, if you're from the US, you don't know metrics.  If you're from anywhere else in the world, you probably know how far 16 km is...Can you guess what's not awesome about not knowing metrics?  When people tell me things are like x meters away, I still have zero idea how far away the thing is.  But I'm learning, so that's good?)  Also, because of the steepness of the hike, it usually takes 4 hours to get to the top and 3 to 3.5 hours to get back down.  Just FYI.  So anyway, Rebecca and I happily set off on our little adventure around 8:30 or 8:45 in the morning, expecting to be back by 4, which more or less was the case.

Independence Day...Costa Rica Style

Independence from Spain is like a big celebration here in Costa Rica.  In fact, I think it's one of the biggest celebrations of the year, festivities-wise.  And since I'm in Costa Rica, I really didn't know about it's existence until like the day before everything started, because that's just how people roll here.  I always learn about things at the last minute, and never get all the details until I'm pretty much at an event.  But that's part of the fun and spontaneity I guess!  Anyway, there are three main days of celebrations for al Dia de la Independencia....

September 13, 2011: The Torch
The "Torch of Freedom" is a torch that gets carried from Guatemala to Cartago (in Costa Rica) to commemorate these Central American countries' independence from Spain.  Basically, Central America gained independence from Spain when the Spanish were defeated in the Mexican War of Independence on September 15, 1821 and that has since been the day that Costa Rica celebrates its Independence as well.  After Spain was vanquished (by Mexico, not CR, and announced by the colonial seat in Guatemala), there were a few movements to form federations which eventually disbanded and yada yada yada for more information, you can click here.

I Was Scuba Doving!

During my last quarter at UC Davis, I had the brilliant idea of taking a class on Scuba Diving.  Best. Idea. Ever.  Of all the classes I ever took at Davis, that one was probably the most fun.  My "grand sis" in my sorority, Stephanie, was in the class with me, which made it even more fun because she's awesome and we got to be buddies and to this day, we still occasionally bust out our Scuba hand signals :)  By taking a 10-week long class, I learned a LOT about diving, logged tons of pool time, and took two unforgettable weekend trips to Monterey for our practice dives.  My scuba classmates were amazing and we had SO much fun.  Whenever I go to Monterey/Carmel for a weekend trip, I can't help but remember all the good times I had diving there, despite the freezing cold water and 7mil full body suits.  Despite my wonderful diving experiences, I somehow managed not to dive again...until now.  

The Perk of Having Adult Students...

...is that you can hang out with them!  When I signed up to teach English out here in Costa Rica, I wasn't anticipating that I would become friends with some of my students.  That has turned out to be sort of an extra fun bonus.  I mean, I knew right away that I liked my students.  They all have great personalities and we all have a lot of fun in class, and chatting during breaks.  But I really wasn't expecting to hang out with them outside of the classroom.

Rincon de La Vieja

Rincon de la Vieja is a national park located about 25 km from Liberia, but it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get there since the road is almost all gravel.  There are technically two entry areas: the Las Pailas sector and the Santa Maria area.  For my day trip, I went up to the Las Pailas area to do some hiking.  I was in a van on the way up there with three other travelers from Germany (Sandy, Henry and Viktor), and ended up spending the day hiking around with them.  It was really nice to have other people to hike with, and I had a lot of fun getting to know my fellow hikers :)

The name:  So, when I was originally looking up info about Rincon de La Vieja, I found this little blurb about how it got it's name, and want to share it with you:

The name Rincon de la Vieja is translated as 'Old Woman's Nook' and refers to the legend of a young girl whose lover was thrown into the volcano by her father, after which she became a recluse with healing powers.

Golfo de Papagayo and the Discotheque!

Last Thursday, Elba informed me that we were going to the beach on Saturday morning.  Since I greatly enjoy going to the beach, I was very excited and asked Nieves which beach we were headed to.  I assumed we were going to Playa Hermosa since Don Hernan was driving us and that's his favorite, but Nieves wouldn't tell me anything except that it was una sorpresa (a surprise).  Yay!

On Saturday morning, the plan was to leave at 9, 10 or 11, and we did, impressively, get out the door around 10:30.  Since we were going for more or less the whole day, Nieves and Elba had spent the morning preparing lunch (they know better than to let me in the kitchen to helpl! ha!) which is why we left a little later in the morning.  After driving for about 45 minutes we arrived at a driveway with a somewhat random series of sculptures out front, that I was told were "juevos de gente" (eggs of people).  

Solo Travel Is Fun!

I just took my first completely solo weekend trip since arriving in Costa Rica!  My family is coming down here for Christmas, and we decided to spend xmas week in Tamarindo/Playa Langosta, so I was given the task of heading down there to scope out the location in advance of the big trip.  And let me tell you, solo travel in a tourist-friendly country is super fun!

To Tamarindo!

I informed my host family earlier last week that I was planning a little two night/three day trip to Tamarindo for the weekend, and after getting their approval, went ahead with booking my hotel, etc.  I think my family was a little concerned about me going solo because they kept telling me that there are lots of "drugs, robbers and bad people" in Tamarindo.  While that may be true, and it did make me a little nervous, I knew that Tamarindo is one of the touristy-est destinations in Costa Rica, so I figured it couldn't be that bad.  Of course, when I was looking at hotel reviews, there were a few people that referred to Tamarindo as a "cesspool" so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Regardless, I decided to head out on Friday afternoon.

Random Thoughts

...not by Jack Handy...and surely not so clever.  Instead of doing a blog post on a specific trip or event, I just want a place to write random observations and thoughts.  I don't know if I'll have multiple random thoughts posts or just keep updating this one.  That's tbd :)

Teaching Makes Me High
When I decided to come to CR to teach English, I was pretty sure I was going to like teaching English, but I don't think I realized how much I was going to like it.  Now that I have a few weeks under my belt, I'm definitely getting a lot better at lesson planning and at teaching.  I'm no longer nervous, I know my students way better, and feel a lot more confident in the classroom.  I definitely feel like I'm actually teaching my students stuff, and I just generally like it a lot.  I for sure rate teaching with high scores in job satisfaction :)

My Second Trip to Nicaragua!

My host mom, Nieves, goes to Nicaragua once a month to visit her mom and her brothers/sisters who live in the area.  In part because it's her responsibility to take care of me (hehe) and in part because she wants to make sure I have lots of experiences while I'm here, she has offered to take me with her each month.  I'm not 100% sure I'll go every time, but I thought it would be fun to go another time, and visit her family again.

I'm a Teacher!!!

Yay!!!  I am officially a teacher!!!  I finally had my first class last Tuesday night, and I immediately loved it!!!!  My students are so sweet and fun and teaching is crazy fun and crazy hard, all at the same time!!!  Now that I'm more settled in my schedule and have the time, let me tell you about my first week(s).

My First Day
Okay, so my first class was actually supposed to be on Tuesday morning (July 26th) at 10am.  However, the only students who signed up for that class were teachers from one of the schools where I was supposed to be teaching.  However, I was never given contact information for any of them, so I had no way of letting them know that the location of the classes had been changed.  But wait, let me back up for a minute...

Trials and Tribulations with My Bike. And Spanish

I think the problem with blogging, if there is one, is that it's easy to only write about the good times with the fun pictures and amazing events.  With that in mind, I thought I'd share a couple of my less fortunate moments while in CR.  Not that any of these are "bad" things...just less...exciting...(Actually the real reason I'm doing this post is because I told some of these stories to my mom and she thought they were so funny that I needed to blog about them. And by "funny," I mean my mom was able to laugh at me and my dorky moments.  I don't know if they will translate in writing, but here you go, nonetheless)

Also, for those of you who don't know me well, I should tell you that I am a total klutz.  If there is a table to run in to or a crack to trip over, I will end up with a bruised knee or a stubbed toe.  I'm just not one of those people who are graceful under pressure (or graceful in general), and this combined with potholes, gravel, crazy drivers, uneven sidewalks, etc. etc. etc. means that pretty much every day finds me stumbling over something.  So, this blog post is not about those day-to-day trials and tribulations that are only amplified by this new environment.  Instead, this post is about a few distinct moments where I was just literally an idiot.  (Yes, sometimes I also lack common sense...)

A Parade, a Trip to the Beach and a Fiesta

My first day as a teacher was supposed to be last Tuesday, July 19th.  Unfortunately, in Costa Rica, things rarely begin when they are "supposed to" so it didn't come as a real shock when I found out that my classes wouldn't actually begin for another week (my first class is tonight!!).  While I was a little disappointed, since I was ready and rearin to get started, it meant I had an extra week of "vacation." (yay!)  However, I still had some responsibilities (like some things to do in the office, meetings with school directors, etc.), so I couldn't exactly get out of town for an extended period of time.  Instead, I hung around in downtown Liberia (I think the ladies at Musmanni know me now), did some reading, hung out with my host family, went to the movies (Harry Potter 7 part 2!  Soooo good, so sad it's over), played some cards, and did a little bit of nothing.  But my most eventful day occurred on Sunday... here's what I did:

My Day In Nicaragua!

So as I mentioned, after the wedding we just went home (to Nieves's sister's house) and went to bed.  The next morning, we got up bright and early, had breakfast and just hung out for a bit.  It was raining off and on, so we were all just sitting on the patio in the delightful rocking chairs or chatting in the house (let's be real, I did and have been doing a lot more listening than speaking lately.  Shocking since I talk a lot in English, but my lack of Spanish vocabulary means I spend a lot more time just trying to understand what is going on around me!)  Here is a pic of the view from the patio of the house where we stayed:

A Wedding in Nicaragua

The first night I was in Liberia, Elba and Nieves told me that the family would be going to Nicaragua for a wedding on the weekend of June 16th and asked if I would like to go.  Always one to enjoy weddings, new cultural experiences, and excuses to add a stamp to my passport, I gladly accepted the invitation.  The plan was to leave for Nicaragua at 10am last Saturday and we would return on Sunday evening (actually, the family wanted to stay until Monday, but I was supposed to start classes this morning so I couldn't.  Today I learned that my classes will not begin until next week, but that's a whole different story!).  Anyway, we didn't end up heading out until around 2 because there was some car trouble and this is, after all, Costa Rica.  Things definitely don't run on a tight schedule around here!  So around 2, Don Hernan, Nieves, Elba, Luis and I crammed in to the car and rode over to Cece's house to pick up the five cakes she had made for the wedding (we were driving so we could transport the cakes....otherwise I think we would have bussed it), and then we were off!

Downtime in Liberia

When I'm not "working" and doing student interviews, I have plenty of down time to hang out here in Liberia.   And I'm not gunna lie, sometimes it can be a little boring because I just don't always know what to do with myself.  Since the weather is so hot and because I'm still acclimating to the warm temperatures, I find that it makes me kind of tired, so I've been taking a lot more naps than I really ever would at home.  I also watch TV, hang out with the family, meander downtown (aka, grab some coffee at musmanni) and read.

Side note: I just started reading Wuthering Heights for the first time in like 15 years, and while I can't put it down, I also don't really like the characters.  I'm already half way through and Catherine just died, and I'm not sad at all.  I don't really like Catherine or Heathcliff, so it's hard to feel bad for them/moved by their twisted love story.  The first time I read the book, I remember being really in to it and the tragic love story aspect, but this time, not so much.  Still, it's a good read.  Also, I tend to be really anti-social when I get in to a book, but I think my family here finds it weird.  I have to be careful not to become too anti-social because I don't want to hurt their feelings.  Elba told me yesterday that I shouldn't read so much because it's bad for your eyes....I think that was a sign that I need to be more social.  whoops!

Getting Around Town

You all know that I am in Liberia to be an English teacher for the locals.  While I have not yet begun teaching classes (first class is 7/18), I have started doing "assessment interviews" with students who want to join my classes.  This has been extremely helpful and fun because I get to meet my students one-on-one in advance of classes so I know who's who, and it allows me to see what my students know, so I know what I should/should not teach during my time here, what we need to review, etc.  It's also been sort of a nice segue in to teaching because I just have to show up at my "office" and meet with students.  I have a little desk in the Del Rio Condominium office, which is more or less a real estate office for some condos they are building across the street.  I'm not 100% sure how this office is connected with the CALITUR office (Liberia Chamber of Tourism/my employer), but it is.  This is where I have free wifi and air conditioning.  Love.

Anyway, the point of this blog is not to tell you about what I've been doing, but rather, to tell you how I get around.  So, I started my interviews on Monday morning, and was given a bike so I can go back and forth between my house and the office.  I do 3-4 interviews in the morning, and then I go home for lunch, and come back for 3-4 interviews in the afternoon.

Mi Casa y Familia de Liberia

Okay, so I finally wrangled my family into letting me take pictures of them!  Just like in the states, nobody wants to get their picture taken and nobody thinks their pictures look good!  I really really like the family that I'm living with here in Liberia!  Everyone is extremely nice, friendly and very funny!  They do a good job of making me feel included and are trying their best to teach me Spanish.  (This is a very difficult task, as they constantly have to try new methods of explaining things so that I understand!  I think it's probably almost as difficult for them as it is for me!  That being said, I can understand a lot more Spanish than I can speak, so I usually get the gist of what they're saying (when they speak slowly), even if I don't know the correct words to respond well!).

I will intermix the pics of the house with the pics of the family so you get a full idea of where I'm living :)

Liberia: Around Town

Hey Everybody!  So last Saturday, Esteban took me on a little tour of Liberia and I took a bunch of pics to share with you.  Hope you enjoy!

The first stop was the "Museo de Guanacaste" which is actually a really old prison, so it's super creepy inside (more pics to follow).  This is my tour guide, Esteban.

From Training to Liberia to a Little Dose of Culture Shock!!!

On Thursday morning, I arrived at the Aliarse office nervous for two reasons: I was presenting my first English lesson and I was leaving the comfort of San Jose and Kristi to go to my new home in Liberia.


My English lesson that morning actually went really well.  My students were energetic and seemed to have a good time, and I think I legitimately taught them something new.  That’s not to say I don’t have a lot of room to grow as a teacher!  Again, my hat is off to teachers in general!  It is WAY harder than it looks!  Not only are you just trying to impart information, you are also thinking about a million other things at the same time (like if/when you should be doing error correction, if your lesson is on time, if your students are speaking enough, etc., etc., etc.).  Muy dificíl, but still pretty fun!

More Training Days in Costa Rica!!

The morning of training day #3 was volunteer visa day.  Kristi took me to what was essentially a police station so I could get fingerprinted and put into the CR system.  Although they didn't initially let Kristi come in with me (there's a short interview that they do), I was SO glad she was around to escort me through town, as Kristi is practically fluent in Spanish :)  It obviously makes a huge difference to travel around an unknown city with a native speaker who knows where you are at any given moment in time.  Thank you Kristi for making the very large city of San Jose much less overwhelming/intimidating and actually very enjoyable!!!

Training Days in Costa Rica!!

Training: Day 1
About two weeks before I arrived in Costa Rica, I heard from my program coordinator, another Emily, that she was heading back to the states and that a new girl, Kristi would be taking over her position. So, my first real interaction with Kristi was when I met her at the Aliarse/EVOLC office on Monday morning. She is also a tall, blue-eyed blonde and is super friendly, welcoming and a great teacher. Needless to say, I was very happy with the new person in charge, and that put me instantly at ease. We spent the day talking about Costa Rican culture, safety, what to expect in a home stay, etc. AND, we did a little Spanish practice. Since my Spanish is pitifully poor, this was a good thing. However, when Kristi gave me a sheet of questions written in Spanish (and English) and told me I was going downstairs to the park to ask random people the questions in Spanish, I tried not to have a minor panic attack! Talk about instant immersion! Fortunately, ticos live up to their friendly nature, and I was surprised at how easy it was to approach them and ask them random questions about their country's history. Good lesson!...

I'm Here!!

Okay, I have been in Costa Rica since last Sunday, but there has been so much going on, I just haven't had time to get it all up on the blog, so get ready for information overload!!!  But don't worry, I'm going to use multiple posts to relay all my experiences so this won't be one gigantic post :)

When I left the San Jose, California airport and embarked on my long trip down to CR, I had many HOLY SHIT moments, where I questioned my decision to take on this little adventure! This stint abroad has been in the works for about a year, and until last Sunday, was sort of just something that was going to happen in the future. Let me tell you, it became very real when I landed in a foreign country and made my way through the streets of San Jose Costa Rica to my hotel. Fortunately, traveling here was a breeze: all my flights were on time and customs/immigration was easy peasy.  There were a few moments when I got a little scared on my cab ride to the hotel because, as the driver explained, we were not going through very good areas.  He identified a few ladies we passed as "gang members" but they looked more like prostitutes, and that's probably what they were (apparently prostitution is pretty common here).

Visas, Visas, Visas

I have received a request to write about my experiences with the procurement of my volunteer visa.  If you have no interest in visas and how you would go about obtaining a volunteer visa in Costa Rica, I suggest you stop reading this blog post now, as it’s probably going to be one of my least entertaining stories :)

Step 1: Get Official Documents

There are two documents you need to obtain in the States before you head to CR to get your volunteer visa.  The first is a birth certificate and the second is a police clearance letter, which essentially states that you are not a felon/wanted person.  While all the documents are easy to come by, they take some time to obtain.  To get a certified copy of your birth certificate, you just go to your state records department website and download/fill out a form.  Of course, you have to get the form notarized before you mail it back to the state.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of notary, let me explain.  A notary is basically a person that is pre-approved by the state to verify that you are who you say you are.  Verification is a very important theme with document procurement.  When all is said and done, it takes approximate three weeks to get your birth certificate (if it’s digital) even though the website says it only takes two weeks.

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello blogosphere! ...and family and friends!  I thought I'd start my blog by explaining what I'm doing and why.

The background
As many of you may already know, I finished my MBA last spring and to celebrate, I went to Costa Rica for 10 days with my mom on vacation.  We hit up many of the touristy hot spots, including Arenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio.  Long story short, I immediately "clicked" with Costa Rica and loved the "Pura Vida" attitude toward life.  Toward the end of our vacation, my mom and I were hanging out in a local bar, and we sat next to this guy who had spent ten years living abroad teaching English; two of those years were spent teaching in Costa Rica.  This little event planted the seed of moving to Costa Rica to teach English in my head.  (Well, actually, I've always wanted to live abroad and have considered joining the Peace Corps many times over the years, but I thought living in Costa Rica for six months was the perfect "baby step" for living abroad!).  Over the next seven months, I slowly researched opportunities to figure out if moving abroad was viable, what kinds of jobs/opportunities would be available to me, and I talked to people I knew who had done similar activities.  In the end, I found the perfect program for me: a volunteer-based organization called EVOLC (English Volunteers for Change in Costa Rica), applied for the six month volunteer program and ultimately got in to the program.

The program
I recently found out I will be living in Liberia, Costa Rica for my six month volunteer program.  Liberia is located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, which, like most of the country, is a pretty big tourist attraction.  Liberia is a larger city, is known as the Ciudad Blanca (white city) and has its own international airport.  It's also only about 30 minutes away from the closest beach, so I'm hoping to hang out by the ocean as often as possible, but we'll see how realistic that is once I arrive and get settled!  I will be doing a homestay, which means I will be be living with a local family.  Hopefully living with a family will force me to become conversationally proficient in Spanish as quickly as possible!  I'll be teaching M-F about twenty hours a week, and then I'll have about 20 hours per week to do lesson planning, grading homework, etc.  I plan to spend the rest of my time exploring my surroundings and soaking in the beautiful country sights.

What to expect from this Blog
I have never been much of a journaler, but I'm going to give blogging a try since it seems like the most efficient way to stay in touch with everyone in the States.  I promise to post plenty of pictures, and I'll try not to be too wordy.  (However, I do tend to write a lot, so again, we'll see how that goes!).   If you have any questions or want specific information about my little adventure, please let me know!

Cheers!