Muchas Gracias!

I just want to say thank you to everyone for their love and support in what I'm doing here. It means a lot to me. This has truly been such a rewarding and life changing experience for me and one of the best things I have ever done. I wanted to come to Costa Rica to learn more about myself and help children who were less fortunate than myself. I wanted to experience new people and places, learn a new language, challenge myself by letting go of my comfort zone, and gain a greater appreciation for other cultures and the world at large. There are some people who don't travel because they claim they have "real world responsibilities", but a lot of it is the fear of the unknown that holds them back. This journey was one of the biggest risks I took in my life. I was scared at first, but knew it took a lot of courage to do. I didn't want to look back and regret not doing something like this later. Life is what you make it out to be and I wanted to spend my time doing something I'm passionate about and dedicate myself to causes I care about.

I have met some amazing people here of all ages who took similar risks as myself. We wanted something different in our lives and haven't looked back since. I met a retired couple who sold everything they had and opened up an orphanage in the jungles of Ecuador, and a 70 year old couple who has always wanted to learn Spanish, a mom who always wanted to be a teacher, and father and son who after years of not talking reconnected and are traveling around Costa Rica together for 6 months, and even an 80 year old grandma who went zip lining through the rainforest! haha! You are never too old to do anything you really want to do. All you need to have is the courage and confidence to take that risk. And trust me, it will be one of the best investments of your time and effort that you will ever put into anything you do. I feel extremely grateful for everything I have in my life and blessed for this opportunity. It's been amazing! Thanks to everyone for reading my blog and following my journey. I wish all of you much happiness and success in all your future endeavors!

Pura Vida!

Festival de la Luz

On Saturday in downtown San Jose, they had the Festival of the Lights Christmas celebration. There was a parade, live music, floats, and best of all...a snow fight with paper, haha. They sold these bags of white confetti and everyone was throwing it at eachother. It literally looked like it was snowing here last night, really cool to see.  

Puerto Viejo

This weekend I went to Puerto Viejo! It's a laid back beach town on the Caribbean side and about a 4 hour bus ride from San Jose. It was in the 90s and our hostel was right across from the beach. It was awesome falling asleep in a hammock listening to the ocean, I didn't want to leave! We rented bikes one day and beach hopped to all the different black and white sand beaches. I even tried surfing! Most of the restaurants and bars are right on the beach. At night, we listened to some reggae music and had a beach bonfire. Also, the stars at night were amazing! Puerto Viejo was one of my favorites places that I have visited in Costa Rica. There were so many times this weekend when I looked around and couldn't believe that I was here. I feel so lucky and it's something I'm going to remember forever :) 

Tortuguero National Park

 

On Saturday, I went to Tortuguero National Park on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It's one of the nesting sites for the giant green sea turtles. To get there we had to take a boat ride through the jungle, then into the rainforest. There was a ton of wildlife we saw including crocodiles, monkeys, sloths, etc. We also stopped at a banana plantation on the way back. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Teatro Nacional

Yesterday I went with some friends to see a Christmas show at the National Theater in San Jose. The theater is beautiful inside and was built after the one in Paris. There was a live band, singers, and dancers singing to all different kinds of Christmas songs. 

Playa Hermosa and Jaco

This weekend a group of us went to Playa Hermosa which means "beautiful beach" and Jaco, one of Costa Rica's most famous beaches. Enjoy the pics!

Top 20 things I love about Costa Rica!

1) The people and the lifestyle here. Everyone is so welcoming, nice, and really accepting of Americans. Their lifestyle is much more laid back than the States and people enjoy life more. They work to live, not live to work.
2) The country's motto: "Pura Vida!" which means "full of life" :)
3) The weather...in the 80s-90s, beats the cold in Chicago!
4) The kids I teach in Tibas at Mision Santidad. They're awesome!
5) The beautiful beaches, waterfalls, volcanos, and rainforests. Baldi Hot Springs and Monteverde are my favorite!
6) Family. That's what it's all about down here. People really value time spent with family. My host family's relatives all live literally either next door to us or down the street.
7) Los Monos= aka MONKEYS!!!
8) All the people in my program-really inspiring individuals
9) Mi familia tica-"my host family". They're some of the nicest people I have met, so welcoming!
10) The language-love it, wish I knew more, but 3 hours of Spanish a day is going pretty well, lol
11) Salsa dancing!
12) Pickup lines the Ticos (Costa Rican guys) use here to attract girls..."you're as sweet as mango" hahaha!
13) $2 movies
14) The coffee...sooo good!
15) Saprissa-The Costa Rican soccer team. It's like a religion here for people.
16) Imperial-La Cerversa of Costa Rica
17) My host family's Saturday morning pancakes....yummm!
18) Churros
19) Transportation is so cheap here, 30 cent bus rides, $15 bus ticket to Panama!
20) All the fresh fruit-bananas, mangos, papayas, and guava jelly :)