Following is a blog that I wrote back in June-since I had problems with the internet and did not have access to the internet last week in San Jose...here is a look back into the past.....
Wow! It has been a long time since I’ve blogged…there is so much to say. I can’t even remember so far back because I’ve done and learned so much. But first of all I have to say that the time is flying by. I am halfway over with this experience and I am already starting to feel sad that I will have to leave. Costa Rica is an amazing country- they have everything from waterfalls to volcanoes to some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! The most fun thing is that the most random things happen here and you never know what is going to happen next. For example, my friend and I were waiting to catch a bus to go see a beach that is about 20 minutes away. While we are waiting at the bus stop there is a semi truck that drives down the road and knocks down a power line. Sparks are flying everywhere! The thing was that the people didn’t even pay attention to what is happening, like it is an everyday occurrence (it’s not).
Last week for our healthcare class we observed nurses in the clinic. It is so different from what I have seen before and so many of their instruments are so outdated, but they still work just fine. I was able to go out with an ATAP to people’s houses and observe his unique job. He goes from house to house documenting people’s names, state of health, any new births or deaths, and gives the people anti-parasite pills so they do not get sick. They way they do things here are so different, but very efficient. The U.S. should learn something from the Costa Ricans.
Random things that happened/I learned last week…
• There was a highly venomous corral snake within inches of my feet during Spanish Class.
• On my way walking home from the bank I was caught in a treacherous storm.
• I realized that Costa Rica has many teenage pregnancies.
• Costa Rican’s do NOT like to exercise, at all.
• It likes to rain almost every afternoon during their winter season (which is now).
Last weekend was the best weekend trip that we have taken in Costa Rica. We rode with our private bus driver, Henry, to a beach in Samara. When we arrived at the beach one of the girls began to barter with a man who was offering to rent us his horses to ride on the beach. She was able to talk him down to about $4 U.S. dollars and we were able to ride for as long as we wanted. It was beautiful while we rode the horses along the beach for about an hour. One of the girl’s horses had a lot of attitude. It tried biting my horse and I almost fell off when my horse started freaking out. A while later I checked to see if the attitude-stricken horse was near me. As soon as I looked back I saw the horse just plop down on the ground, with the girl on its back. I have never seen anything so funny in my life. It’s like it thought “ oh I’ve had enough, I’ll just lie down right here”. I still laugh about it when I think of it.
Later that day we drove up to a small town on the ocean, named Brasilito. We found a hotel right on the beach, and again, got an amazingly cheap deal. I’m so glad that I am with people who can barter! We ate dinner and then went out to a dance club, where most of us learned how to dance the Costa Rican style- which is a mix of salsa and meringue (in my opinion). The next morning I woke up and walked the beach and simply enjoyed the beauty. We then drove to what the tourist books call the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica. It’s named Playa Conchal (translated Shell Beach), which simply had an entire beach of seashells. We moved further on the beach to soft sand and hung out, swam, and relaxed all day. It was perfect.
On Father’s day I felt very sick and pretty much lied in bed all day. The upside was that I was able to read an entire Nicholas Sparks book during that day. I am feeling much better now and am enjoying another week in Costa Rica. This week my group is going into the schools and doing health assessments, including hearing and vision tests, height and weight, and teaching about hand washing and healthy eating. There is a lot to do for Spanish class this week, but it is bearable because I don’t have any classes next week.
I’ll try to do my best to update my blog more often.
Until next time! Pura Vida.
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