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 :)

Tibas

I was leaving the church I teach at this afternoon in Tibas and saw my first rainbow in Costa Rica :)

Viernes Negro

Today in downtown San Jose, there's signs everywhere for "Viernes Negro" which means Black Friday! There are a ton of sales! I was surprised they had this too, but besides being so crowded, it's definitely not as crazy here as it is back in the States. The bottom picture is a line of people standing waiting to use the ATM in the building on the right, haha

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday back in the States. A group of us decided to cook our own Thanksgiving dinner at the last minute last night. We went to a friend's apartment and had chicken instead of turkey, boxed mashed potatoes, some vino, salad, and apple pie. Better than any rice and beans yesterday, haha! Here's some pics!

Manuel Antonio!

My sister came to visit this weekend and we went to Manuel Antonio! It's this laid back beach town on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. We visited the National Park and saw a ton of wildlife, monkeys, sloths, lizards, everything! We went kayaking in the mangroves around sunrise, swimming in the waterfalls, and even went ATVing in the mountains. Really fun, I would definitely go back again! Enjoy the pics :)

I also learned a lot more about the visa process from our tour guide. He said it's extremely hard for a Costa Rican to obtain a visa to leave the country. You have to have proof of about $10,000 in the bank, evidence of employment, license that you're married and have kids, a house/apt.,etc. This proves to the governement that you will return because you have something to come back to in Costa Rica. The government fears that once people leave, they won't come back. Our tour guide said that to get an appointment in the visa office costs $200 alone! That's how much he makes for 1 month's salary and he speaks English, it's crazy! The visa process is so corrupt too. Visas are offered to people who don't have the right indentification, but since they know someone who works in the government office, they are able to get a deal...sounds very familiar.