What to look out for...

So, this coming weekend/week you can expect to see plenty of activity on the study abroad blog. Here's what is coming to a computer (smartphone or tablet) screen near you!

1. Finally, the post from Tamarindo that happened back in September
2. Last weeks exploits with Kyle at Playa Negra
3. And, the biggest news is the 4 post saga that are the adventures of Panama

I hope you are all doing well, and get excited to hear about the craziness that has been happening. Spoiler alert: it is off the fun charts. And, as a teaser for Panama, I will leave you with Taylor playing DDR in the mall.

My Academic Future Found Me Here

A few weeks ago, I received an email from DU detailing how exactly registration looked for all of us who are abroad. It was a bit of a wake up call that I needed to finally confront what my future was going to look like at my university. So, this week I have spent a decent amount of time looking up various classes to take across all that I'm studying. The hardest part was when I was looking through my prospective Psychology classes. That's when it hit me that there is obviously a very thin line of what I want to study. I was drawn to the developmental and clinical classes available, but the rest of them seemed less-than-interesting to me. So, in calssic Sam Anderson-Lehman fashion, I'm changing my studies up a bit. You see, as soon as I looked at my future course load as well as course offerings in the Spanish department, I find myself drawn much more towards studying that. So, I'm gonna announce it here that I'm going to upgrade to a Spanish major and continue my Psychology studies as a minor. 

Now, why do I even bother putting something like this on my "going on Costa Rican adventures" blog. You see, it points back to what kind of adventures are going to happen when you leave something you're comfortable with. I remember back to Pioneer Passage (DU Convocation) when a speaker told us about coming to the table of knowledge without bringing our own sandwich. The idea stuck with me and came back when I was here in Costa Rica. The was that my classes worked out, I don't really have a clear focus of studies here. There isn't anything dictating how I am viewing the table of knowledge that has been set before me. To put this in simple terms; I have been bitten by the culture of the Spanish speaking world. So, this week I was forced to face my future, and make some important decisions. I know that they are the right ones. How do I know? I have never felt so confident about an academic decision since I switched to GWST. Now, off I go to discover even more abotu what is being offered to me here in Costa Rica.

Being a Lazy Mon

So, this past weekend I went out to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean Coast. It is by far the most interesting place that I have been since arriving here in Costa Rica.

We found a really nice hostel to stay at for our two nights there. The Cabins & Hostel Yucca was a really cool spot. it wasn't anything too fancy, but it was a great place to be. We stayed in a 12 bed (6 bunks) dorm room along with another group who is teaching English in Liberia (that's Costa Rica, but more on them later). Along with that space to sleep we also had access to a community kitchen equipped with free coffee, so I don't think anyone can complain about that. To bring it to a whole other level, the hostel even had a few dogs and some cats that would hang around. Truly made it a comfortable to place to find yourself. However, the best part might have been that we were just a mere 30 meters away from the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

The first day that we were there was spent with half of the time on the bus out, but once we got there the fun began. We went straight to the beach. The beaches on this side of the country are just so fun. The sand on that side of the country is much larger and made from shells, it looks really cool. Also, the water is super clear. Along with that, there are rock reefs all along the coast that make for nice and tranquilo beaches. You can sit down on the sand under the water without worry of being attacked by waves. If that isn't relaxed enough for you, there is a woman that offers massages from a popup tent on the beach. So, we spent our whole afternoon on the beach as the sun set and we went back to our hostel. Afterwards we headed out to a sweet soda (which is a greasy spoon here in Costa Rica). The food was amazing, and so inexpensive. That night we enjoyed the night life that is offered in Puerto Viejo which is full of colorful characters and offers of various drugs and goods to generate the "local economy".

After a great sleep, I woke up early in the morning and headed to the small beach right outside of our hostel. I set up my good ole' ENO hammock on a couple of palm trees. I spent the next three hours drifting in and out of sleep like the waves that kept coming into the beach and drawing the water back out. Occasionally I would even find myself with one of the dogs coming up beside me for a little bit of TLC. Obviously, after a relaxed morning like that, there was only one thing that I could do...go to the beach and relax more. That is pretty much the story of the daylight. Hanging out at the beach and wandering around the the town of Puerto Viejo. That night, we made some pasta in the kitchen the almost all of the group decided to stay in for the night. However, I wasn't tired, so I decided to hang out with the other group of students at our hostel. This eclectic group hails from Germany, Australia, Holland, and the USA. They were great conversation, and we found ourselves sharing all about our different cultures and personal opinions surrounding them. All-around it was truly insightful. Outside of that, we wandered the town stopping at any place that looked like it would be a good time. We only were out for a while but we enjoyed each other's company for sure.

Sunday morning came, and everyone was getting ready to leave. I took the morning to hang out at the hostel and just relax. The other group (including Kyle) was going to be coming in that night, and I decided that I was going to spend one more night in this crazy town. After the rest of my group from Heredia left, I packed up and headed down to Rocking J's hostel. This place is the thing of legends among Central American backpackers. It is covered in paintings and mosaics done by its various part-time inhabitants. there are tents and hammocks for accommodations among with the usual small cabinas and some specialized suites. I got to my hammock (for $7) a night, put my stuff in a locker, and I headed off to Cocles. Cocles is a beautiful beach that is a short walk in the woods from J's. The beach is long and sports some beautiful sights, people, and waves. I went to go hang out there for a while among those who had heard about the greatest beach in the Puerto Viejo area. There was an enjoyable mix of locals, vacationing Ticos, and soul-searching gringos out on their journey to Latina nirvana.

After returning from the beach, I took a short nap in my hammock and was stirred awake by a familiar voice. I heard Kyle talking and I immediately started to heckle him for waking me up. I was reunited with the group that I had become accustomed to traveling with and Kyle treated me to some wings at the restaurant in Rocking J's (which were soooo good). Soon after we walked into town to find some good seafood. We ate at a local spot and enjoyed some delicious fettuccine de mariscos. It was your typical bowl of great seafood broth, assorted sea creatures, and some pasta. We then headed across the street for an evening of live music at the local watering hole called "Lazy Mon". The music was fun and the company was even better. Perhaps the most vivid memory of the evening goes to a fire show that was performs. A group of 4 male fire dances with various flaming props performed to a bangin' dubstep mix. Who would've thought that I would find myself at a beach bar watching a fire show to dubstep. Pura vida, mae. There is nothing else that can be said about it. After a long and comfortable nights sleep in the hammock (my favorite way to spend a night), I woke up talked with some people and took my leave back to Heredia.

My Weekend for Others

So, as I continue to put off writing my blog post about my trip to Tamarindo that was a week ago, I decided I would fill you all in on what happened this weekend. This weekend was passed through volunteering and a charity 5K for cancer research. Now I present to you: my weekend devoted to others *insert appropriate music here*.

So, I won't bore you with my first two days of the weekend (Thursday and Friday). They are mostly spent wandering around the area and trying to find things to do and such. Saturday, however, was the Global Day of Service being put on by the system that my university here is a part of. We went down to a green space that had grown over and had only a path running through the middle. The day before, a group had started working on it, and we were supposed to finish. We planned on clearing the tall grass and planting a decent number of trees. The work was hard and involved a lot of being bent over. There was a crew with weed trimmers, and we would pick up all of the grass after. This was just way difficult because there was so much, and we kept running out of bags to put it trimmings in. We probably filled up 40 bags of grass. Crazy. We planted a few trees as well. Definitely put a dent in the work, but there is a lot to be done. The project ran late and destroyed my afternoon plans. When it comes to community service you just can't quite plan things out though.

You can tell we were very serious the whole time

So Much Pink

 And now we come to what I really enjoyed this weekend. Me and some of the girls from the group registered to run a 5K for cancer research. It was really like any race for the cure type of thing. With over 30,000 people there in San Jose, it was really a sight to be seen. It is always great to see that many people coming together for a great cause. On top of that the running was great. The course took you down the main street of San Jose, around the large park, and into el Estadio Nacional (national stadium). Really great run, and I didn't do too terribly. Mix in some great friends to make a winning recipe. It also helps that afterwards they had free powerade, bananas, peanuts, and massages. Pura vida mae.

Before

During

After

Pride. Politics. Pioneers.

As I continue to wait on the arrival of photos from this previous weekend (canopy tour in Tamarindo), I figured I would post up here how This whole Presidential Debate thing went down from abroad. I'm not going to get into politics; just my experience.

So, for those of you who may not be aware, the University of Denver hosted the first Presidential Debate tonight. It was such a huge deal for everyone in the Pioneer community. We got a chance to show ourselves off as well as associate ourselves with something as prestigious as the office of the President of the United States. And, of course, I spent this amazing event watching from a tube television, within a house, in Costa Rica. My day started off as usual; eating breakfast and watching Buen Dia with my host mom. Then, all of a sudden, I see a shot of the beautiful Ritchie Center, and my face lit up like the lights at Barton Lacrosse Stadium. I couldn't control myself as I began to point and explain that they were showing my university where the debate would be that night. Truly an exciting day. The rest of my day was filled with exciting photos of activities that were happening on campus, and they all culminated as I watched the debate live.

I feel like I should feel like I missed out, but I think that the whole focus wasn't on the event (as I console myself for not seeing the Lumineers). The energy could be felt through social media. There was a definite buzz that I felt, and that is what make the University of Denver such a magnificent place. As Pioneers, we push forward and get excited about bright futures. The debate was just that. It brings us the future the DU community. The future of the school. The future of the country. And, the future of our lives.

#WeAreDENVER

Pura Vida.

Playa Dominical

Alright, so this is a wee bit late. I'm gonna tell you though, it's been preeeetty busy down here in paradise. Two weekends ago, my program went on a trip to a beautiful beach on the southern Pacific coast called Dominical. Now, many of you have probably never hear of this place because it is absolutely tiny; in the best way possible. Just as with the last trip, I will post a video of stolen pictures below :).

The trip started off as any other trip as we loaded onto the bus and headed on our way bright and early in the morning. We had a packed Friday that involved traveling to Dominical with a stop at Marino Ballena National Park. This national park was beautiful. It is a massive beach that leads to a natural formation of lava rocks that looks like a whale's tail. And, ironically, this is also a location of where humpback whales come to mate. It was a gorgeous view and coastline that is not far from a beach where they shot some of the movie Apacalypto. After a brilliant walk and a hint of rain, our tour guides found us some coconuts so that we could sample the fresh stuff that we never get on the main land.

Our resort was pretty darn cool as well. When we got there, it was raining, but we never let that stop us. We immediately headed to the pool to hang out before our dinner time. The group really has gotten into a good habit of always  meeting up poolside whenever we are at these resorts, and in true form we were almost all there. The water was nice, and as we headed back to our cabanas, we were all realizing that we were living the life here in Costa Rica. Pura vida.

The next day was spent on the beach. All. Day. Long. The day was spent talking with friends and making new ones. We played plenty of soccer on land as well as body surfed on some fantastic waves. As I had mentioned we made some new friends; ticos to be precise  They (the lifeguards) invited us back to the beach that night for a bonfire and a chance to just chill out on the beach. You really don't get too many chances like that, so we jumped on it. Truly a great end to the day.

Now, I realize that I haven't said much about the weekend, but there really wasn't much to it. Dominical was just one of those places where you could forget everything and just have a good time. That's really what everyone there was doing. When in Rome, I guess....err...Costa Rica.

A mess of a mes

Well hello there, blog...sure has been a while. Now, those of you who read this are probably hoping for updates on my exciting adventures to the beach for the past two weekends. This will not be that post. As some of you may know, today marks the day that I have been living in Heredia for a whole month. And it is with this in mind that I have decided to give you a solid introspective of what it has meant to me thus far.

Studying abroad hasn't been exactly what I had planned. It started with a rocky end to a fantastic summer, and then off I went to Costa Rica. Well blog, I know that study abroad is supposed to be about studying, but I'm beginning to feel that this is so much more than that. For the avid reader, they know that I didn't exactly have the easiest time with my course choices. Heck, it was downright dreadful. So I should probably take a note from that. Maybe that isn't what I should sweat about. So here's to focusing on my life.

In the past month, there have been specific moments that have opened me up and jumbled things up in my life. One of these was a conversation that I had with my good friend, Kyle. For maybe the first time we just talked about who we are. Truly was a challenging experience for me. Second was the release of the new Mumford and Sons album. Even though it seems as though this is something quite superficial; I find myself challenged more than ever listening to that album. It challenges my heart to think about my past and promises made to me. I have a different experience every time that I hear those tracks. Finally, was the death of the Ponds on Doctor Who. Yet again, I'm just rolling with the strange things. Just the way that I had fallen so in love with those characters, and then have them taken away in such a great moment left me thinking. And then that moment happened. You know; that moment when you hear a quote that cuts to your core. "You must never travel alone." boom. I don't 100% know what that is meaning to me right now, but here I am traveling in Costa Rica. I must always know that I'm not alone, yet I must also continue looking for companions in the forms of friends, family and otherwise (the puppies here help).

So that's where I am. Heredia, Costa Rica. Slightly lost. I'm just trying to not travel alone. So here's to two and a half more months here in paradise. The planned excursions are over, and my future is in front of me: completely open.