Today I had my first class, but it was my Spanish class with all the other study abroad students, so it wasn't very different from my Spanish classes in the States. But tomorrow I have "Anthropology and History," so we'll see how that goes.
To pick up where I left off:
Thursday morning we had to be at school by 7 am--super early. We had a mini tour bus that held all 17 of us students, plus the two women who were our guides/chaperones, and of course the bus driver. We drove for about an hour and a half to this huge pineapple farm, where we toured the fields and the plant. It was really neat to see how they grow, sort, and package the pineapple, all by hand. We got to eat some pineapple straight from the field, and it was delicious! After the tour we got to drink pineapple juice from a hollowed-out pineapple, and eat more slices of pineapple and pineapple bread. Muy rico.
After we left the pineapple place, we drove to where we'd be staying for the next two nights, the Tirimbina Field Station. To get there, we had to leave the main road and drive on this windy, dirt-and-pebble road that was barely more than one lane. I wondered where in the world we were going, but the station turned out to be really nice. The food was excellent, and the view was beautiful. After a siesta, we had a workshop about interacting with our host families and safety in Costa Rica. That evening we played a big game of Phase 10, which was really fun.
Friday morning we got up early and went to the other side of the forest, to the national park. There we got to take a "Chocolate Tour" and see how they grow and make chocolate. We crossed over this huge suspension bridge, walked through the rainforest a bit--watching out for snakes and bullet ants--and finally reached the chocolate trees. Our guide pointed out the tiny flowers that would eventually turn into giant yellow pods. Under a shelter built there, our guide and a man that was working there took us through every step of the chocolate-making process, from the opening of the pod to drinking hot chocolate and eating candy. It was quite delicious! We walked back through the forest, ate lunch at the main headquarters for the park, and then got back on the bus. Back at the field station, we changed into our suits and headed down to the river to cool off. It was amazing, walking in this river through a rain forest. It felt like something out of a movie, with huge trees and vines and the sound of insects and birds. Later we had more workshops about adjusting to culture and taking care of your health.
Saturday morning we left the field station and drove a ways to a place where we got to ride horses! I was excited, since the last time I'd ridden a horse I think I was about 8 years old. They gave me a nice horse, whose name was Gitana (Gypsy). I found out later that she was 7 months pregnant! She was very sweet, and kept a pretty steady pace for the most part. A few times she would break into a run, which was a little scary, but fun too. I'd let her run a bit, and then slow her down. At one point we had to cross a river that was pretty deep, and the water came up to my knees. Needless to say, we were all hot, sweaty, muddy, and sore by the end of the ride.
After riding, we got to cool down with cas, which is juice made from the cas fruit. I don't know what the fruit looks like, but the juice is really good. It's a little acidic, and very sweet. Then we got onto the bus and drove to El Hotel Tucana, the Toucan Hotel--a very nice hotel. When we arrived we ate lunch first, since our rooms weren't ready. It was a little weird walking into a super nice restaurant/dining room in our muddy, smelly clothes. The food was excellent, and afterwards we got to go swimming. There was a pool and several hot tubs, as well as hot springs in the river. I went down to the river with April, my roommate, and we sat in the river for a while with some other students. The water was weird, because when I sat on a certain rock, the water on my right was scalding hot, but the water on my left was freezing cold. We had to keep changing positions and stirring the water so we wouldn't burn ourselves. After swimming I took a hot shower (it felt sooo good, the field station only had cold water) and relaxed a bit before dinner.
Sunday morning we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, then drove to a zoo/animal rescue center. We got to see a jaguar, a tiger, some snakes, monkeys, parrots, ostriches, and these weird animals that looked like giant hamsters. We spent about an hour there, and then started for home. We ate lunch at a restaurant along the way, and finally arrived back at the University in Heredia around 3:00. It had rained a bunch on our trip back, but when we got to Heredia it wasn't raining. I was glad, because I had to walk back to my house, not having any cash on me to take a bus or a cab. Unfortunately, just as I started walking, it began to rain. And it kept raining most of the way home. Since I was wearing flip-flops, this made the sidewalks even more treacherous, since there are slippery parts. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, with my huge backpack and bright green rain jacket, slipping along down the sidewalk in flip-flops, absolutely drenched. But, gracias a Dios, I made it home before the rain began to fall even harder.
My host mom was getting ready to leave for church, so I had most of the evening to unpack, rest, and skype with my family. It felt wonderful to be able to talk to them.
Well, that about sums up my weekend. It's only 9:00 now, but I'm already tired. I have class tomorrow morning at 8, which means I need to leave here around 7:15, since it takes about a half hour to walk to school. Hopefully from now on, I'll be able to keep up to date with this a little better so the entries don't have to be so long. :)
Until next time!
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