Coffee, Imperial, Rice and Beans

Ok so we FINALLY got time to update this darn thing! Sorry, we know you've all been antsing to hear some news but we've just been so busy! Where do we start....

Week One:

More tours than we have ever wanted to take! We walked around all of San Jose once with our director (Esteban) to see all the monuments, churches, and parks, then later to explore on our own, then again a few days later when the big group from U Illinois joined us. All together we are a group of 32 students!

We came to San Joaquin de Flores on Tuesday to meet with our families and have our first lunch with them. Christina's house: kinda small, mom called Eulalia, son Jorge, daughter(not in house) with granddaughter Fiorella, dog Pidulitu, and a green parrot. Christina's house & the church/center of town

Katie's house: bigger, mom Dona Imelda, dad Don Johnny, who have 2 children that live close- son Juan Pablo (30), daughter Andrea with son Josue...Christina loves their names.

We've both had rice and beans with EVERY MEAL. And in the most imaginitive ways...rice omelet anybody? Rice in lentil soup accompanied by a noodle cheese pancake..? A whole plate of rice and beans with small side of chicken for dinner. Platanos are a nice addition to any meal if you want a little more starch in your diet. Ha. Y arroz con leche (basically rice pudding for dessert).

The last 3 days of our first week we went on a few excursions. We went to Lankaster Gardens and took some gorgeous pictures of all the orchids, plants, and flowers they had there.

We have visited at least 10 churches since we've been here, but couldnt tell you the names of half of them. We also visited a coffee plantation where we learned how coffee is made and we even got to pick some coffee beans ourselves!

For the night we stayed at a spa in the mountains which we were told had hot springs...ha. All we found was a lukewarm pool with a trickle of hot water running into it. But we had the place to ourselves so we made a party of it anyway! We ran up to the hotel restaurant and bought a bottle of cheap vodka, a jug of juice, and an ice bucket while the boys bought 60 beers. Pool party! Try doing that in the states.

The next day we explored the paths around the hotel which followed a river through tropical forest and ended in a pretty waterfall. Scott, another student, thought it would be smart to jump the rocks across the creek. Scott, being Scott, didn't quite make it, fell, and broke his thumb. He had to get surgery 2 days later. Kinda funny but kinda not.

Noteworthy observations from our first week:

• Toilet paper, despite the name, does not go in the toilet here


• Hot water means cold water with a little splash of warm for fun-there's one handle and turning more means more water, but more cold water.


• There is one whole isle of pads at the store, with only one 8 pack of tampons to be found


• There are over 30 kinds of tea at the store, all of which claim to cure a different serious health problem
  Most ticas constantly look like they're about to go to the club and wear huge heels on a regular basis


• 4 beers cost under $6


• A cab ride home costs about 50 cents


• Katie and I officially suck at public transportation-the first time we took the wrong bus, the second time we took the right bus but got off 2 stops too early and had a nice walk home


• When walking outside you have to watch the ground or else you may fall in a hole or worse...a hole with raw sewage, as demonstrated below by Teo






• They may make fun of americans for being drunks but EVERYONE here is a total pothead. They smoke out in front of the church, not caring that the cops are 20 feet away. If they catch you, they either tell you to move along or $10 will keep you from getting arrested


• All the houses have gates and bars on the windows and require unlocking at least 3 locks/padlocks to get in


• The colones to dollars ratio is about 500/$1, which makes us feel like we're millionaires when hitting up an ATM! ($200 = 100,000 colones)

More to come we're sure...

Week Two:

First week of classes. All of the classes seem pretty chill and easy. Some professors have already promised A's as long as we show up. Works for us! Christina is actually pretty excited about her Business Spanish class-it's pretty much just to teach us the vocabulary we need to talk about business subjects, but in the process we talk about current events and it's actually been pretty cool so far. As for Katie, her favorite is History of Culture of Central America-it's about pre-columbian history(Mayans, Incas, Aztecs, etc.) The classes have not kept the entire group from going out to Bar Alex every single night. =)

We've met some locals and are starting to get into dancing (Christina a little more than Katie..). For Kyle's 21st birthday, his family threw a big party at their house complete with food, karaoke, dancing, and a power rangers pinata. So far, the best night we've had here! Christina broke the pinata...=)

Yesterday 28 of us took a bus about an hour away to Palmares-a 2 week long annual festival. During the day there are cowboy hats galore, tico cowboys on horses, and bull fights. We went for the night life. It was kinda like a state fair with rides and food but with a couple huge concert/dj pavilions and bars. Fun, but we spent way too much money.

That's about it so far! Week three starts tomorrow. Probably just more classes and Bar Alex, but we'll update as soon as there's more fun stuff to talk about! We miss you all so much and hope you're enjoying the WONDERFUL cold and snow while we hang out at the pool tomorrow! Mwa ha ha. Love Katie and Christina.