Carpio

Where the bus stops in Carpio.

Myself with Camilla.

Dave.

My girl Camilla.

Madeleine and the girls.

Emily cooking in the "soup kitchen."

Untitled. 

Waiting in line for food.

Today was incredible. We went to Carpio, which is a town with 35,000 residents about a half hour from downtown San Jose. As you can tell from the photos, it's a very impoverished area. Much of the garbage from the city is dumped here because the government told the residents that if they agreed to have garbage dumped there, they would build them roads. After the deal was made, the government did build a road which leads from the street to the garbage dump, only benefiting the government. Many of the residents of Carpio are Nicaraguans. People come from Nicaragua in search of a better life and more job opportunities. Many of them end up living in places like Carpio which is extremely sad to realize that this place is better than where they lived in Nicaragua. 

The kids in Carpio are amazing. As soon as we got off the bus they were running up to us grabbing our hands and asking us our names. We played simple games with the kids in the dirt roads. They all want to be hugged and carried around, especially on someone's shoulders. You could tell they were so grateful that we were there and loved the attention. Many of the kids are pretty young, and it's sad to see the eldest of a family, whether 15 or as young as 7 or 8 take over the roll of being a mother to the younger children. There is a lot of gang activity in Carpio, hence why only the very young children come to play games in the street with us.

Usually the soup kitchen.. if you could call it that.. takes place on Wednesdays but this week we did it on Thursday. They light a fire in the middle of the road using plastic bags and scraps of paper and whatever they can find in the road. Once the fire is lit, someone cooks rice and a variation of meat, vegetables or beans. Then we pack everything up and bring it down to the river where people of all ages, mostly children, line up with bowls, plates and cups to receive food to bring back to their homes for their family. Whether you gave these kids a morsel or a mountain of food they would never complain or ask for more. They are so appreciative for the little that they have and it was so refreshing to witness this. 

Puerto Viejo, Limon, Costa Rica

Walking through the forest on the short walk to the beach.

Our bedroom (along with 40 other travelers).

Please do not smoke marijuana here. Go to the beach. Thank You.

The whole hostel was covered in artwork and mosaics done by travelers.

Fisherman on the beach.

Puerto Viejo, Limon, Costa Rica.

Boat on the Caribbean.

Sorry for the lapse in updates, Its been a very busy week! This weekend I went to Puerto Viejo which is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica about an hour North of Panama. We stayed in a hostel called Rocking Js, (http://rockingjs.com/ check out the website). We paid $5 each per night to sleep in a hammock in a room with 40 other people. It was definitely an experience! The hammock itself was comfortable, it didn't rock as much as you would think. I'm sure it was a little unhygienic, but it was cheap! The only downfall was that living in the same space as that many people, it was hard to get some peace and quiet. There were a few bathroom stalls, showers and changing rooms. There was also a kitchen which came in handy in the end of the weekend when we were all low on funds and made many egg sandwiches.
Friday night we layed low and hung out at the hostel. We went to a bonfire by the beach and drank and smoked with the owner of the hostel. He showed us his pregnant horse, and his dogs tricks. He also showed us "the pimp chicken" who was just hanging out with us. It was a good night.
Saturday we walked through town which had a very relaxed Rasta vibe. There were so many little shops and bars and many Rastas riding around on bicycles offering us "the good shit." We hung out at the hostel and bummed around in our hammocks for a while, then had a Mexican bbq for dinner. It was delicous! Then the owner of the bar/restaurant at the hostel asked us if we wanted to go to a rave. We figured why not and headed over there around 11. It was by far one of the most interesting experiences of my life. It was a beautiful hotel in the rainforest owned by Italians. It was held at an open air space where there was a bar, couches, tables, a pool and a small dancefloor with a DJ playing Euro trance/techno/electronic music. The people there were mostly in their 20s and 30s, a few even older. There was only about 50 or 60 people there, all wealthy people from around the world. Some people were natives of Puerto Viejo and worked in the area in tourism, such as snorkeling etc. Everyone was so nice and just having a great time dancing and swimming and talking.  We left there at around 5am and went back to the hostel and watched the sunset on the beach.It was a great night.
Sunday we had a late start, based on the fact we didn't go to bed till around 730, we got up, got some breakfast and layed on the beach and napped all day. We walked through a tiny forest for about 10 minutes to get to a nicer beach, pictured above. It was so relaxing.
Monday we did pretty much the same thing, except it was way more sunny and I got a great tan. We caught a  bus back to San Jose at 4 and didn't get back home till around 930. It was one of the worst bus rides ever but it was worth a great weekend.

Casa De Pueblos

Myself with Yoscar (who we called Yohan for a week w/o realizing)

Madeleine with Yoscar

Emily with Valerie

El día de la Independencia

(PAZ = PEACE)

Yesterday I celebrated Costa Ricans Independence Day (along with the rest of Central America.) There was a HUGE parade that went down the main street in San Pedro. Bands, twirlers, dancers, drummers, marchers.. everyone showing their pride for their country in the hot morning sun. I loved the little girls in the traditional Costa Rican dresses.. they were adorable. After the parade, we went to the movies because the mall was one of the only places open yesterday. We saw "El Origen" otherwise known as Inception. It was the second time I've seen it and I tried to pay attention to the spanish subtitles to work on my Spanish. The movies only cost 1,000 colones ($2) on Wednesdays so the theatre was packed! They also make popcorn and drizzle fresh warm caramel on top.. delicious! 

Last night we went to Bar Nova again.. (Shelly continue reading at your own risk.. I don't want you to worry) We had a great night until our friends were robbed just a block down from the bar. A group of guys in a pickup truck stopped and got out and punched our friend Ben in the face, then kicked him in the face AFTER he already gave them his money and broke his nose. Emily tried to fight for her bag but they hit her as well and ripped her bag so hard it broke the strap and then they sped away. We spent the rest of the night at the hospital so Ben could have someone check out his face. Everyone is fine now, just a traumatic experience.. I feel so terrible that had to happen to good people like them. Costa Rica is beautiful, and most Ticos (Costa Ricans) are sooo nice and helpful, it's sad that a handful of people give the city a bad name.

La Fortuna

(If you click on the photos they will open larger in another window.)

Arenal Backpackers

This weekend a few friends and I went to La Fortuna, which is about 4 1/2 hours from San Jose where we live, although the trip there took about 7 hours. The bus tickets cost only about $3.. and all I will say about that is you get what you pay for! Anyway, we finally arrived on Friday night and we went to a few bars in the area and had a pretty mellow evening. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and changed hostels to the one pictured above.  Only $15 per night in a dorm room setting, but there were 6 of us so we basically had a private room. There were hammocks and a small garden as well as a bar and restaurant lounge. I would have loved to stay there for more than 2 short days!

Canopy

So our next adventure in La Fortuna was to do canopy (zip-lining). There were 12 cables which were intertwined through a beautiful resort and surrounding forests. The picture above is me "superman'ing." The position appears extremely.. awkward.. but it was an exhilarating feeling gliding over the trees and resort with my arms outstretched. All of the zip lines were amazing.. although I was a little disappointed that the only wildlife we saw was a pit viper snake! I was hoping for monkeys but I am sure another weekend will fulfill that wish.

View of Volcán Arenal at Los Lagos resort

After canopy, we headed into Los Lagos resort. They had hot springs from the volcano which are supposed to be great for your skin and metabolism. I couldn't believe how hot they really were! And the water felt.. kind of heavy, it was strange but felt amazing. The springs were so hot we would have to cool off in some of the cold spring pools and then go back in. The volcano, Volcán Arenal, is the most active volcano in Costa Rica. We didn't get to see any lava, but we did see a few bursts of ash. Either way it was an beautiful view!

La Fortuna Waterfall

Sunday morning we were lazy and took a taxi to the waterfall.  Although not so lazy, because once we arrived we needed to hike down what felt like hundreds of steep steps (and thousands on the way back up). Once we got down and saw this image we knew it was worth it. We immediately jumped into the ice cold water and tried to swim to the back of the waterfall. We got about halfway there when security called us back. The water falls pretty far and hits the pool with great force, making it extremely hard to swim. It was a wonderful way to end a great weekend :)

Gotta have at least one awkward solo shot... 

La Iglesia!

Today the kids were calm because the two bullies didn't come. And good thing because all three of us volunteers were slow moving after going out last night :) We went to a bar called Nova in the city of San Pedro. It was "ladies night" and for 2,000 colones ($4) vodka drinks were free from 9-11. It was a lot of fun, a lot of dancing and the music was great.. mostly reggae and they gave us New Yorkers a shout-out by playing Empire State of Mind. It's funny how a lot of people here don't speak much English, but 90% of the music they listen to is in English.  Also, got frozen yogurt yesterday.. blows TCBY out of the water (is that even the saying?) You take a bowl and they have the pumps of frozen yogurt and you do it yourself, flavors like chocolate, vanilla, mint, blueberry, and some other fruits I've never heard of. Then there's a counter w/ all different toppings, fresh fruit, sprinkles, cookie crumbs, nuts, hot fudge, marshmallows.. you get the idea.. and you put everything on yourself. It was phenomenal :)

Yesterday the kids made a "bus" on the stone bench with plastic chairs. Of course they all fought over who was going to the be the conductor, and Kevín won, he's my favorite, a little troublemaker. They were so cute honking and making noises like the loud buses that stream through San Pedro from early morning till dark. When I asked them where they were going, I expected a reply like the park or playground or even school, but the replied "La Iglesia!" which means the church. It's such a culture shock working with children from a developing country. They are content with the simple things in life. It's amazing how these kids can be so creative with no more than a few chairs and a small yard to play in.

Fe y Coraje

Arjen

This is the place I work at. The sign reads "Fe y Coraje" which means faith and courage. It's a community center where they offer classes such as english, boxing, driving, pre-natal, and from 9am -12 daycare. I work with 2 other american girls and we play with 10-20 children between the ages of 2-5. They are adorable, and crazy! It's very sad though because there is very low funding if any i think, so there are barely any supplies. A few coloring books, paints, crayons.. that's about it. Today Emily (another volunteer from long island actually) and I went into town and bought a huge soft ball to bring to the kids tomorrow. They will be so excited. Nine to noon sounds like a short day, but it feels like forever! The kids are precious but there is no supervisor, only us three volunteers so we have a lot of responsibility and need to use our spanish to the best of our ability because none of the children or parents speak english. Although the job is tough, I am already falling in love with the kids and I know that our presence means the world to them. 

Day 1

Possibly a series of the two longest days of my life. My flight went well and I got to my homestay easily. I'm staying in a beautiful house that belongs to Marlene and Edwin, and they have two children a 23 year old daughter, named Massiela, and a 16 year old boy who I haven't met yet. They don't speak any English and I've been doing alright with my Spanish but it's tiring paying close attention to every word and intonation someone is saying! Right now it's rainy out, as it will be every other afternoon for the next two months but that's alright.. gotta pick up an umbrella tomorrow! Also an alarm clock.. not sure how I'm going to wake up tomorrow?

En route

Figured I had to start this blog sometime.. I'm currently en route to Costa Rica.. about 2 more hours till I'm there. It's a strange feeling leaving somewhere you love so much and going somewhere you are excited about because you want to be excited but you can't help but feel a little sad and lonely. It's been so hard saying bye to everyone, especially this morning :(
A good friend shared this lovely quote with me last night and I wanted to post it on here:
"To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars & buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; await occasions, hurry never... This is my symphony."
-William Henry Channing