Happy birthday to me!

Today is my birthday!! (Ok, technically it isn't anymore since it's past midnight; but y'all get the idea.) My birthday has always been special for me because I fully believe that my birthday should be entirely and only about me. The end. So I have to admit I was a little depressed last night thinking about being away from my family and friends back home who would humor me and my (justified) selfishness on my birthday. However, so far I have been pleasantly surprised today! My host mom, father, and sister were excited to tell me happy birthday this morning, and all of my fellow exchange students have been telling me happy birthday all day.

A few of my friends went with me to get lunch and desert, but really what happened was they watched me eat. But that's ok, because I'm the birthday girl. The terrible picture of me to the left is a picture from a cafe slash pastry shop near campus called Trigo Miel. The giant slice of cake I am eating is pure chocolate. For real. I wish I had a better picture and one of all of us, but as usual, I was a total slacker when it came to taking pictures. I stole this one from Abby's blog (which is really cute and everyone should go read: http://mipuravida.tumblr.com/).

The picture to the right is a birthday card that my sister made me which was just too stinkin' cute to not make the blog. (By the way, Kendra, it is definitely my computer background.)

Then, this evening, I went out to the kitchen after skyping with my parents and grandmother and my host mom and sister were sitting down waiting for me to come in and see the cake on the table for me! They sang to me and then we had dinner and I opened presents.

My mom got me a pair of yoga pants which is really awesome because I am going to start going to yoga classes with my sister. My sister got me a shirt with the word tuanis written in big writing with a definition underneath. Tuanis is Tico word which means great, nice, what have you. Apparently the word is adopted from the phrase too nice. Also, a pin with the Tico word mae on it, which is like dude in English. Everything was perfect.

Then, as if my day wasn't already fabulous enough, my friends from school back home called me up on skype and video chatted with me for a while. Seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Of course, I wish I didn't have to be away from my family and friends at home, but I'm glad I got to spend it with the people I did.


Also, I need to update everyone on my last trip. During my long weekend (two weekends ago), three friends and I took a trip to a beach on the pacific coast called Montezuma. It was a cute little touristy hippie town with a bunch of cute cafes and restaurants and of course, the beach. After leaving at 4:30 am in a taxi for San Jose, we caught a bus, then a ferry, then another bus, and finally reached our hostel, which was a cozy little place right on the ocean. It was absolutely breathtaking.

The second day we were there, we went on an all-day trip by boat to a nearby island for some snorkeling, food and fresh fruit on the beach, and relaxing in the powdery sand. Sound like paradise? Yeah, it was. The snorkeling was fun, though it didn't offer too much of a variety when it came to types of fish.

Mostly we saw these aqua colored fish with yellow stripes like the ones in the picture above. I did get some pretty good pictures with the awesome waterproof HD camera my parents gave me before the trip for my birthday. The one that I ruined while snorkeling. Yeah. That one. Oh well, I suppose that happens.

We also hiked up to some nearby waterfalls one morning. It was a lot more treacherous than any of us thought, especially since we only had three pairs of tennis shoes between the four of us. But we all agreed that the hike was worth it when we saw the beauty of the incredible waterfalls. I have included a picture, but honestly, it doesn't even begin to do it justice.


After a swim and some jumping we headed back down with the help of a local who told us the way we came was extremely difficult and there was a much easier way. Go figure.

Ok! Now that this post has officially reached a sufficiently obnoxious length (you know I wouldn't have it any other way), I will leave you itching in anticipation for my next exciting post.

Paz. Amor. Pura vida.

Pictures from Sarapiquí

Hello all! I am finally getting around to posting pictures from the group excursion the first weekend.

Ok, well this picture is not from the excursion, but this was from one of the days my host mom took me to orientation. We were walking with a few other students and their host moms when we passed KFC. Without hesitation, my host mom sat down right next to the colonel and snuggled up, prompting me to take a picture. Then later that evening, she urged me to show the rest of the family. Yeah, she's pretty cool.

I have to admit I was a little worried about my host family before I came. Nothing having to do with them specifically, scary ideas like them not liking me or them being super crazy and the like. I must say, though. I was definitely pleasantly surprised. My host mom is so great and even though my host dad works during the day and I don't see much of him, he is still really nice and accommodating. Also, my host siblings are great. I have a 30 year old brother, and 28 year old sister, and a 16 year old brother who all live in the house. They all speak English which is really convenient when I don't know how to say something in Spanish, but also really dangerous because sometimes I will start speaking in English to them.

These are some pictures from the first place we stayed at in Sarapiquí. The river was just down to the right of this area. One of my favorite things about Costa Rica is the scenery. Obviously, it's beautiful out here, but it is also like this in unexpected places. For example, When I am sitting in Spanish class on Monday and Wednesday mornings, I can't help but stare out the window sometimes because it looks like a rain forest right outside. In the united states, you have to go to a wildlife preserve or a national park to see things like this. Here, all you have to do is look out the window.

Until next time!