Last week

My apologies for not writing in a long time.
We had a great weekend in Manual Antonio and were a little bummed at having to return. The weekend started in true Kelly/Katie fashion when we almost missed our bus Thursday morning. I have been in charge of the alarm clock since we've been here, but when I got home Wed. night Katie told me it was all set. The next morning we somehow managed to sleep until 9 (that is unheard of here) and woke up to realize our bus was leaving in 15 minutes. After we packed, yes we wait until the day of, we scurried along and thankfully made it. We got to Manual Antonio around 2:30 and went to the beach, where we met up with David. On Friday we went to the National Park, but to our disappointment we did not see any sloths. Later we went out for some delicious sushi and then to a bar with the best band I have ever heard live. I'm talking better than 311, Blue October, etc. Saturday we went kayaking and snorkeling and dinner again. It was a little sad returning to Potrero because most of the people we've been hanging out with are now back in the states. But today we started our adventures all over again. We decided to rent a car. Yes, we literally took our lives out of our hands. Anyone who has seen a tico drive knows what I am talking about. We decided to rent a car because we were craving chinese and heard Liberia had 2 chinese restaurants... and a mall. So we ventured out after school in search of these great treasures. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were to overwhelmed to explore much. This might be because we haven't driven in a month or been in a town with more than 2000 people in the same amount of time. But we did find the mall, which consisted of an overpriced surf shop and a botique with nice sunglasses. Undetoured to find a chinese restaurant, we headed towards Santa Cruz, a much smaller 'pueblo'. Our trip was successful and we came home satisfied.
Tomorrow we (Katie me and the car) are headed to Tamarindo to celebrate the fourth. It could be sad day for 2 reasons. The first is because it is Katie's favorite holiday and my 2nd. The second reason is we have to say goodbye to Tyler and Carolyn :( . But we are hoping somewhere there will be an estadounidense (US citizen) who will light off a few fireworks. Ticos celebrate their independence in Sept. So Happy 4th of July everyone!

ps . we watched Babel while in Manual Antonio. What was all the fuss about!? I think it might have just gone over my head.

Week 4

Apologies for not blogging more often. I was catching up on some much needed sleep yesterday, but Jess has insisted I keep her informed on the day to day here. Well, our weekend in Tamarindo was a lot of fun. We met up with some friends from Monteverde and spent a night out on the town. We had dinner at a nice italian restaurant that overlooked the town and it was very pretty. After that, we made our way to the famous Monkey Bar, which was packed, but had some good music. We spent all day Saturday at Diria and were too wiped out to go out Saturday, so we returned to the house and went swimming. Caroline and Tyler also were awesome enough to let us crash at their house all weekend.
This week will be a short one in Flamingo, because Katie and I will be headed to Manual Antonio on Thursday. After a weekend of trying to coordinate 12-15 people for every event, we are looking forward to a weekend with just two of us. I've also been in touch with David, a tico who was awesome to my family when we were in MA in March, and he's taken a day off work to show us around and make sure everything is going ok. We also got the best news EVER last night when my mom said they were going to let us stay at the Buena Vista Villas again. I can't explain how thankful Katie and I are. So thanks mom and dad!!
There are many reasons we are excited to be staying in a nice place for three days but the best example can be given with the events that took place this morning. When we first arrived at our hut, the shower gave us a little electric jolt everytime we touched the handle for the water. Well, we thought it was fixed until this morning. I took a shower and found out it was back. So I just put a towel over it to turn it. But when I got out of the shower, half of our bathroom was covered in water. Katie and I had a nice laugh, and then Katie went to shower. Well five minutes later she's screaming "Kelly get in here!". The shower was steaming hot and the shower head had turned red. She then told me she was feeling the electric jolts in her feet! Our bathroom now smells like something is burning. We told the front desk and when they asked what room she chuckled when we said 413. Apparently this has happened before.
On a happier note, school is going well. Perhaps when I return I can translate for my dad at work. Now that would be an interesting job. Our teacher is younger this week and likes to talk about really random things, such as when 'handsome' people get special treatment, and what places in the U.S. we can't get into because we don't have enough money. It does make for some interesting conversation. Well, I have to lay out by the pool now. It's the first sunny afternoon in quite awhile!

Liberia

So, Katie and I are using a using a computer in a cute little ice cream parlor that is near our hut. It reminds me of a Ted and Wally's or a Cold Stone. But it is not just an ice cream parlor. This place also makes coffee. But not only just coffee and ice cream. Oh no, this place is also a bar. Apparently, there are all sorts of liquor you can put into your ice cream. It's the first time I have ever seen anything like this, but ice cream and alcohol doesn't sound appetizing, so I've stuck with the ice cream.
Well, yesterday Katie and I decided to try our luck at the public bus system. We wanted to visit Tyler, Caroline, and Antim for the day in Tamarindo. Now, keep in mind I have never used a public bus, not even at UNL. So we are walking to the bus stop and see some people we know, so we stop to talk. As we're rambling on, a bus drives past us, so we panic and think we have missed it. We decide to wait another 10 minutes in case that was the wrong one, and luckily (or so we thought) another one comes. We were so ecstatic there was a bus, we forgot to ask where it was going. So 10-15 minutes into the trip, we notice the driver keeps saying "Liberia" to everyone that gets on. Being the clever ladies we are, we got off at the next stop, which luckily was the intersection where the bus goes left to Liberia and right to Tamarindo. All was well and we hopped into a cab headed for Tamarindo.
We spent the day at Tamarindo Diria again and decided we needed to come back at least twice a week because it is so relaxing and beautiful. The sunset last night was the best I have seen yet. After relaxing by the pool and on the beach for the afternoon we found a Mexican restaurant and it just so happened to be movie night. The movie was projected onto a dirty white sheet outside and a lot of locals came for it. The movie was Blood Diamond and we only got to watch half of it before we had to return to Potrero, but it is definately a movie I want to see when I get back home.
Our weekend plans are to head back to Tamarindo for at least a night. A couple of our friends from Monteverde are visiting before they leave and it will be a lot of people's last weekend in CR, so it should be a good time. In the meantime, Katie and I are going to check out Playa Penca today and do a lot of studying :) . Hasta Luego!

Exploring

Quick update: Me and Katie decided to explore after school today. We found a nice restaurant and then attempted to visit a dive shop. That is the last time we should walk any great lengths in the 100+ weather. Conclusion: Katie should never be a tour guide.

Part Dos

We have arrived at the beautiful, sunny, and hot Flamingo! Unfortunately, I have not been able to enjoy it due to either food poisoning or some kind of flu. Either way, I am feeling a little better and looking forward to exploring the town and the beaches. We left Monteverde on Friday afternoon with our friends Tyler and Caroline and headed towards Tamarindo. It was the first time we had seen sun for more than a few hours a day and it was wonderful. We stayed at a hotel our school had recommended and I think it will be the last time we take their advice on where to stay. Our room for four was about the size of a dorm room, and we were too afraid to even shower due to the uncleanliness. But we trekked on through and stayed the night. The next morning, however, we ran into a room of four girls who had left their room to eat breakfast only to return to find all of their luggage stolen. We decided our safety was worth it and splurged on a resort for the next night. It was a beautiful place right on the beach with three pools. I was only able to get out for a few hours in the sun before my illness kicked back in, but at least the rooms were clean. We are now staying in little apartments/huts and primitive was our first thought. However, we talked to some people we had met in Monteverde and they said it is pretty quiet for the first couple of days, but you soon learn to enjoy it. Being 10 feet from the pool and a 10 minute walk to the best beach around couldn't hurt either. We are also looking forward to going back to Tamarindo for a few days to surf and see our friends from Monteverde.
Scholastically speaking, our new teacher is a hoot. We were suprised to learn that the teachers spoke very little english, but now that we have grown accustomed to it they all have had great personalities. Our new teacher, Francis, loves to talk about her new nephew who is muy gordo (fat).
Anyways, I would love post some pictures, but the computers are extremely slow. Our friend Tyler brought a laptop and would hook it up to wireless at our school and load the ones from his camera all day. I think he averaged about 6 pictures an hour. But I'll make sure to tell you all what site he posted them all so you can see what I've been up to.
I hope Jess and mom have a good time in Florida! Tell Chris and the boys I say hello. Hasta Luego!

Week 2

To begin with, we just had the most AMAZING weekend. Arenal was absolutely beautiful. The drive there was curvy, bumpy, and extremely uncomfortable, but we got a pleasant surprise after about 2 hours of driving: we were transferred to a large boat and traveled for about 30 minutes. Our hotel was nice, nothing overly special, except the view of the second largest active volcano in the world right outside our window. We went out to dinner, but called it an early night because the next morning we had to wake up at 7:30 to go rafting. Rafting was definately the highlight/lowlight of the mini vacation. We had been on the water for about 30 minutes when our raft collided with a large rock, tipping us over. Three of us were able to make it to a shallow spot with a lot of rocks and hold on. We walked away with a few bumps and bruises, one of which now covers about half of my "backside" (no bueno). However, the other three weren't so lucky and were swept downstream into the rapids. The three of us who were safe ended up going down the rapid and were discussing how crazy/fun that was when we heard that Katie was not doing so well. She was pretty shaken up and basically rolled down the rapids after being trapped under our raft. Not good. But all was well and we continued on. I decided if I lived in Colorado, I would definately become a river guide.
After that adventure, we went to the hot springs. It was amazing, with over 20 pools with all different temperatures. Following that, we went to dinner and then to my first discoteca. It was pretty crazy and we danced with some ticos, and then headed saftely back to the hotel.
We're just finishing up our classes this week and then off to Flamingo Beach, which I am really looking forward to. We found out our friends John and Drew (from Texas) as well as Clayton and Brennan (also from Texas... weird) will be staying at the same apartments, so we're pretty stoked about that.
We have also been learning a lot of Spanish, so maybe one of my next blogs will be all in espanol (Fun!). I still miss everyone, especially my family.. and Kate. Don't worry Kate, I'll go to the piano bar with you when I get back and it'll be the time of our lives.
Much love
"

Monteverde

Hola! I realize it has been a few days since I´ve updated but computers are scarce and we´ve been pretty busy. To begin, we had our first day of classes on Monday. So far so good. My instructor, Rita, is this incredibly nice tica whose father owns a finca de cafe (coffee farm). She speaks very little english so all of the teaching is done in Spanish. We were tested the first day we arrived on our abilities and Katie and I ended up in the same class. I have one more semester of Spanish under my belt so that should tell you about our excellent school system (or my inability to actually learn the language). Monday night we met up with some other students for dinner at the treehouse. It´s a restaurant with a tree right in the middle and it goes out the roof. Pretty cool stuff. We then went to Amigos, a huge discoteca and had a few beers. Nothing too exciting but the whole experience was pretty interesting. Tuesday night, some friends who go to ole miss had a party at their casa, so we had a chance to hang out with a bunch of the students.
Overall, I think the town is pretty safe. It seems like a secluded mountain town and we´ve seen other students walking alone to their homestays. Which is the reason I decided to venture out alone this afternoon. I walked to the neighboring town of Santa Elena while everyone did a canopy tour, something I did with my family in March. But don´t worry mom, I stayed on the main roads! It was a walk down the mountain, therefore unless I want to have a heart attack, I think I´ll take a taxi back.
We´re taking salsa lessons tonight, but what I´m really looking forward to is our trip this weekend. About 12 of us went to a travel agency and booked a weekend in Arenal. Saturday morning we are going white water rafting ( and in the rainy season... very brave!), followed by an afternoon in the hot springs. We will also be taking a tour of the active volcano. Our hotel has three pools so it might be the first time I actually get any sun! The weather is extremely weird here. It´s usually very sunny in the morning, when we´re in class, and the clouds and rain begin moving in between 12 and 1. However, the clouds are incredibly neat. It´s similiar to the most dense fog I´ve ever seen, and because we are so high, I can sometimes look down the mountain and only see clouds. I was sitting in the kitchen the other day when they rolled in and I could see the clouds actually coming in our window. It was pretty phenominal.
Anyways, I better wrap up this novel. I´m having an amazing time and miss everyone lots!