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I have had a wonderful year in Costa Rica. As my time here comes to a close I would just liketo say how glad I am about everything.This has been the year of my dreams, and I have learned so much. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

May

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May Flowers bring? May Beetles! And by the hundreds!!!!!!!! I must say I did not enjoying picking 30 off of me yesterday, and they are going to stick around for the rest of the month.

Besides that, I am going to go home in exactly 42 days. I am not sure what to think, other than that I am not ready to leave yet. Having two lives in complicated, it turns out. Either way, I figured that I would check in and say that all is well. I am trying to take every chance that comes my way so that I can see everything that I can.

Things about Costa Rica

There is no army, it`s a peaceful country.

Costa Ricans are very house proud. If there is a tiny bit of dirt or dust on the floor, it must be cleaned, daily. If not...

¨Cold¨ is when it is less than 70 Fahrenheit.

Motorcycles are very popular.

¨Tico Time¨ means that when someone says, ¨get here at eight,¨ everyone gets there at nine-thirty.

Life is short, you only get one on this earth, make it worth it.

People don`t spend their lives trying to get more things, they take care of what they have.

If you go a whole day without eating rice and beans at least once, what happened???

Women usually stay at home once they are married, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the kids. If they have a job, they do that as well. The man doesn`t share chores with his wife very often, even if she has a job too.

¨Pura Vida¨. Literally translated, it means ¨pure life.¨ It`s somewhat like aloha in Hawaii, it means: hello, goodbye, I`m good, and more.

3 Months Left

Less than 100 days left in Costa Rica! I am going to take advantage of every oportunity I can! Here are some fun facts about my month:

1. A sudden heat wave has stuck Tilaran, I don`t know where it came from, but I want it to go AWAY.

2. Because of this heat wave, I broke down and bought a skirt for school.

3. I am fluent in Spanish!

4. There might be an earthquake in Costa Rica! But far away from my house, luckily.

5. I am still visiting as many places as I can

6. I am tan! I hope it will last.

7. Classes are getting complicated.

8. Life is beautiful.

9. My friends here are amazing.

10. Pura Vida (Pure Life)

February

Hola! All is well down here in Costa Rica. I am completely back to school, and used to my schedule again. I have now been in Costa Rica for 7 months!!!!! I can barely believe it. In some ways it feels like I just got here yesterday, in other ways it feels like I was born here. I guess that`s the problem with having two lives.
Anyways, I remain as crazy as usual. I went to the beach on Valentine`s Day, and plan on going around part of Lake Arenal this weekend. I want to see as much of this beautiful country as I can. Church is going well, every once and a while I sing a solo for church services, which I enjoy thoroughly. School is fine, I wouldn`t say I like being on campus by 7 am, but I deal with it, and learn a lot. My classmates are great, and are already helping me in many ways, helping me understand what`s going on, eternal patience, etc. Although my friends here are not anything like my friends in the USA, my friends here are amazing in their own ways. I hope that everything is going well! I will be home in 4 months!

New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! All is well here. I am happy to be back in Costa Rica, and I am not-so-happy to say that I am half way through my time here. I`m not ready to go home yet. Of course, I miss people, family, friends, my own bed, American food, and all that good stuff, but I know that when I leave Costa Rica I will be gone. Tilaran`s version of winter is being blown away by tons of wind. I`m amazed that the trees, houses, and power lines haven`t fallen over. Anyways, things are wonderful here. My host family and I enjoyed Christmas and New Years. Here are some differences.

In Costa Rica:

-Christmas gifts are more for children, and not that big of a deal.

-Why would I put stuff in my stockings? I don`t even have a fireplace.

- Christmas diner was rice, beans, and chicken.

-New Year´s Eve is a quiet occasion.

-What is a Hannukah? Did you just sneeze? ¨God bless you.¨

-Kwanzaa is a car brand, like Honda, right?

-Two stores in the entire city sold Christmas trees.

-People wore shorts to the Christmas church service.

-Everyone goes to the beach for New Years.

Nicaragua

Hello again! I have been back from Nicaragua for a while now. To tell the truth, I forgot to write about it. Anyways, it was a great trip. Two days after getting back from Panama, I got on a bus to Nicaragua. On the way there I saw huge windmills, and Lake Nicaragua, which contains not only volcanoes, but sharks. Just by driving by the lake, I could see MASSIVE volcanoes. I never saw a shark, but I can`t say I didn`t try. The next day we boated to various islands on the lake, and went on some tours of Granada. The following morning was the most exciting part of the trip. We went to ¨the mouth of hell¨ which happens to be an active volcano with craters, called Volcan Masaya. There were three craters, two of which merged into one gaping whole from which smoke, sand, and rocks are emitted. The other crater seemed a bit safer, until we got close. It is green, with trees and plants, but steep, and there is no form of railing. The edge of the path ends, and if you fall, you die. And, being the fool that I am, I ran around the edge on slippery paths. It was soooooo much fun! the entire trip to Nicaragua was filled with adventure, danger, and just fun. I almost forgot, when I was on the boat visiting islands, some monkeys boarded my boat!