Manuel Antonio - or "the monkey ate our potato chips!!"

Alright, I'm falling a little behind. But do not worry, if all goes according to plan I should be almost completely caught up before this next weekends adventure :)

So, TWO weekends ago we went to a little beach town called Quepos. Quepos's claim to fame is that it is the nearest town and therefore the entryway to the Manuel Antonio nature reserve. Manuel Antonio is the smallest of all the national parks in Costa Rica, and is located on the pacific coastline. In fact, a large part of Manuel Antonio is actually just the beach. We figured this weekend would be the perfect one to go, as it was Jackie's last weekend to travel with us, plus we felt we deserved it after two weeks of volunteer work and tramping through the cloud forest of Monteverde. We wanted a nice, relaxing weekend.

Which it was. To an extent.

In true Jillian/Stanley/Jackie traveling fashion we did not book a hostel before our arrival, deciding instead to find one once we got there. However, one thing we did not bank on was the intense heat and humidity. We arrived at 5 pm, just around sunset, and it was like walking around with a wet blanket thrown over you. Within minutes we were all covered in sweat as we tramped up the mountains and around the roads, hearing the sound of creatures that sounded like they belonged on the television show "Lost," and hoping to find a hostel. Once again we deferred to our handy "Lonely Planet" travel book. While we checked out the places they suggested, we eventually saw the wisdom at staying at a place with a pool - something we had originally scoffed at. "Why would you need a pool?!" we asked, "you're right by the ocean!"

Well, as darkness descended upon us around 6 pm (as it does in all of Costa Rica, no matter the season or place) we realized why. The beach was not safe in the dark, but nor was it smart to have 3 sweaty, sticky American twenty-somethings sitting around a hostel that doubled as a sauna. After about an hour of trudging, we finally settled back at where we started (don't worry, we shopped around) at the Manuel Antonio Backpacker's Hostel. It was only $12 a night and included breakfast and had a pool, which we promptly decided to use as soon as all the logistics and settling in were squared away.

The sign out front

View from the front...the bus stop was right in front of it

This was the out door communal kitchen and social area where we made our pancakes in the morning

You needed an awesome wristband to stay there. Though upon later reflection we decided they also served to provide identification if, I dunno, your body washed up on shore or something.

By this time it was around 7 or so, so we figured we'd drop off our backpacks and clothes and head on down to the supermarket to buy our lunch stuff. However, right as we're about to leave the hostel, there's a power outage, and all the power in the entire strip is gone. I've decided I blame Stanley for this. He was, after all, trying to turn the fan higher when the power went out. It is the only logical explanation that it blew the power for the entire town :)

So we haltingly make our way down to the supermarket - made all the creepier by the Lost-esque noises - and thankfully the power comes back on pretty quickly. After loading up on supplies for our typical peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we head back to the hotel, change into swim gear, and then go out for dinner. We go to this little soda run by a guy called Joseph, and he, literally, uses the freshest ingredients. Meaning we ordered and then his little sous chef ran to the super market to buy some of the ingredients he needed. So while the food took a while, it was AMAZING. I ordered a burrito and it was honestly the best burrito I've ever had. And Stanley's burger was probably the best I've had while in Costa Rica, just a step or two below 5 Guys.

However, after this we decided to ignore the half hour rule and just headed down to the pool, which we had to ourselves. After splashing around for about an hour we called it a night, as the next day was going to be the day we ventured into the nature reserve itself.

After an early morning of pancakes and souvenir browsing, we made it to the reserve. It was a little steep to get in, $10, but we had heard the beaches there were brilliant and worth the price. However, it wasn't just the beaches that made it worth it. We were in a genuine rain forest and saw some beautiful things while we were there!

Random shack with a giant bamboo plant behind it

There was also a ton of wildlife! During our walk we saw a bunch of animals and were even able to catch some pictures of a few of them.

Capuchin Monkey, just chilling in the tree. There were a whole bunch of them just swinging around!

The exposure on this is bad, but that lump on the left side of the V is a 3-toed sloth! He moved faster than Planet Earth had led me to believe...

These are my favorite: Squirrel Monkey's!!! They're adorable and they were EVERYWHERE. I thought I'd steal one to take home as a present for Valin, but thought better of it...

There were lizards, everywhere, of every size, shape, and color. This is one that we took a picture of when they were still rare and exciting enough to warrant taking a picture.

Yup, that's a crocodile eating a bird. We were right there, don't even worry about it.

We played on the beach a little bit, not actually getting in the water, but decided we wanted to explore other parts of the reserve, so we hiked up and around. Of course, it hadn't been our plan to hike, but as discovery and adventure was beckoning, we answered its call. Once again, we were covered in sweat within minutes of setting out, but finally ended up on a slightly more secluded beach, just broken off from the main beach by a large rock out cropping. Here we swam for a bit, had lunch, and made a new reptilian friend.

Okay, it might be hard to see him, but this is an iguana that decided he really liked us, or at least our potato chips. Stanley received the bright idea of having us feed him and since we had forbidden him from actually swinging over a cliff with a vine or going down to get a closer shot of the crocodile, we figured we'd give him this one. However, after a few minutes of trying to get the iguana to come close enough to take the potato chip from his hand (as you can tell from the picture, he was really close to us...probably around only 3 to 4 feet away), he decided to drop the chip - and just in time. The iguana bypassed the chip entirely and decided what he really wanted for lunch were some Stanley fingers. Luckily we all escaped unscathed, and just in time too, as the tide was coming in, necessitating us finding a new place to play.

We hiked to another beach on the island and but saw some beautiful things along the way...

View from one of the overlooks on our hike

The isthmus between the two beaches

The beach was even smaller than the one we'd been on before, with some intense rocks on the right side or it. Once again, Stanley and I decided to go off and explore, meaning swimming through the rising tide to climb in the rocks and see how far we get. One thing we didn't count on were the crabs swinging and climbing over the rocks, almost like monkeys in trees. There were so many it looked as though the rocks were moving. I went first, as I was wearing my Chaco's to protect my feet, and Stanley followed behind. While we didn't make it as far as we wanted, we go pretty far before we realized the tide really was coming in, necessitating our fast return to shore. After a few close calls, we were reunited with Jackie, who promptly told us that while we were gone a monkey had come out from the trees, rummaged through our bag, and stolen our potato chips! Sure enough, we checked and the bag was gone!

Jackie on the smaller beach we found

However, upon further discussion and looking at a picture Jackie managed to snap of the culprit, we realized it wasn't a monkey at all, but rather a Coati! From what I heard they're not the easiest animal to spot, but this relative of the raccoon had decided our potato chips were enticing enough to make an appearance.

After this adventure, we decided it was time to head back into the town and possibly check out the local, public beach. Here we snapped a few more pictures and watch the sunset while deciding - using our handy, dandy, Lonely Planet book - where to eat.

The typical and very necessary "foot" picture

Footprints in the sand...

The beach slowly began emptying...

Sunset hidden behind the clouds

Once darkness hit, we found our way to the Hotel Vella, where we had one of our more expensive meals (about $12 a pop), but considering it was fish and steak, it was most definitely worth it. Plus, the place was beautiful and once the rain started pounding we were just glad to be inside!

After taking a cab home, we stopped and got some ice cream for dessert, upon which we realized somehow Jackie had lost her bikini top. Yeah, we don't know either. But we were excited for the next day when Stanley and I would head to church and then spend our last few hours at the beach.

After another breakfast of pancakes, Stanley and I headed to where we were told the local branch would be meeting. We got there fine. The branch was small, 25 members at most, and the meeting was all in Spanish, but it was great just to be there and sing the (somewhat) familiar songs and attend sacrament meeting again.

So while getting there hadn't been too difficult, getting back to our hostel to check out and meet up with Jackie proved more problematic. Where the bus dropped us off was not the bus stop for our hostel, but rather the pick-up spot for another bus. So, once again, we had many kind strangers/spirit guides help us find the bus back to our hostel so we were able to pack up and check out in time so we could head down to the beach for a few hours before having to catch our bus.

This time, instead of paying to get into Manuel Antonio, we just chose to play around on the public beach. After renting some chairs and an umbrella, we were ready to go!

Pre-swim Stanley and Jackie

View from our beach chairs

We split our time between drying out and swimming amongst the crashing, salty waves, but eventually time passed too quickly and we found ourselves, 3 hours after arriving, having to head back up to our hostel so we could shower, eat and catch the bus back to San Jose and real life.

Post-swim picture. Look how relaxed and happy we all are!

The strip by the public beach

Safety first!

After sneaking back into our hostel to shower (we thought we'd do a service to the rest of the humans and not smell like beach and dead animal on the bus ride home) we grabbed one more bite to eat in paradise before we had to head back to loud, hectic San Jose. We decided that to repay the hostel for letting us illegally bum their showers we would eat at their restaurant. The food was mediocre, but we had some fun at least.

I feel like this is a good summation of our friendship...

But after that, it was time to board the bus for the 3 hour ride back into the city. So it was with one last fleeting look at the beauty around us that we wished Manuel Antonio good-bye and loaded the bus, backpacks in tow...

View from our hostel

Until next post, when I talk about last weekends trip to Arenal!

Toodles!

-Jillian

Monteverde - otherwise known as 'when travel plans go awry' or 'dies minutos my ass!'

Here's the sitch folks. We took our first excursion this last weekend and It. Was. A. Blast. We ended up choosing Monteverde - an area known for it's greenery and cloudforest - because my roommate Nick wanted to go there before his life got sucked into his TEOFL course and we heard there was wonderful zip-lining there. However, Nick ended up ducking out at the last minute leaving me, Stanley, and Stanley's friend Jackie from the construction site sitting on a hot bus for 4 and a half hours on our way to the green getaway. The bus trip only cost $5 (I love public transportation here!) and I read The Kite Runner and listened to podcasts (thanks Stanley) the entire way, until we realized we were almost there and should 1) figure out what hostel we were going to stay at and 2) figure out what there was to do in Monteverde. So the travel guides came out (LonelyPlanet and Foder's Costa Rica editions) and we begin looking.

However, all of this proved to be pointless as the minute we stepped off the bus a man named Bryan approached us and said he had one room left at his hostel and we could have it for $6 per person per night. This included computer access, breakfast, a shared bathroom, hammocks, and a private room with 3 beds. He invited us to come and look at it and honestly, for $6 it was wonderful. The rooms were clean, the beds were standing, and the door had a lock. Plus the hammocks were just as wonderful as promised. Bryan was also wonderful as he was able to set us up with things to do in Monteverde, telling us that going to the waterfall would be silly as it got cold there (it did) and getting us a deal on zip-lining and getting into the park, as well as arranging transportation to and from the activities.

He also told us of this wonderful place to have dinner called Rico y Ticos, which served big portions for little dinero. After hitting that up and ordering a fabulous dinner of fajitas (I know, my first time eating out and I choose fajitas...) Then we decided to hit up the grocery store so we could save some dough and pack in our lunches to the park. PB and J all the way. That ended up being $3 a person - for two lunches!! With that, we went to bed, excited to wake up at 7:00 the next morning and go hiking through the cloudforest.

After a quick shower, a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with pineapple marmalade, and putting together 3 peanut butter and guava marmalade sandwiches, we found ourselves chilling on the porch in the hammocks, reading books, and waiting for our shuttle to come and take us to the cloud forest.

This is a Stanley-Tamale.

So many hammocks! And they were really difficult to get in and out of, but so worth it when you managed to settle in with a good book

Dogs. They're EVERYWHERE. Seriously though, you know it's going to be a good, quality establishment if there's a dog (or two) sitting out front.

The trip up a windy, bumpy, dirt road in a packed van brought us to a little stand where we showed the receipt Bryan had given us, showing we paid to get into the park, we signed the guest book, and went in.

The clouds coming in over the mountains. Monteverde is a cloud forest, meaning that, unlike a rain forest, it doesn't rain horribly often, but rather the humidity and the cloud-like fog that hangs in the forest every afternoon keeps the ground and trees fertile and moist. The area is so fertile, in fact, that if you cut down a tree it will continue to grow.

This is what we were hiking through. I feel like if we had a machete and those awesome safari vests we could pretend we were in an Indiana Jones movie.

Needless to say, there were a lot of creepy-crawlies here. This is what we believe to be a millipede. They were everywhere!

The place was gorgeous, though a little more devoid of wildlife than we had hoped for. However, the foliage and conversation made up for it as we tried to figure out how to work our cameras and properly capture the beauty that surrounded us.

We came to a clearing just in time to catch a huge cloud moving over the mountain

This is what we were walking over the entire time. Even by looking at this it's obvious how fertile the area was.

This tree was huge. I was trying to figure out how to show just how tall this was, but wasn't able to capture it. The shot was take from the base of the tree looking upward.

It was so hot and muggy in the forest! When we first set out I was concerned about getting cold, but that was quickly dispelled as we began climbing. While the air might have been cooler and more damp, we were working up a sweat as we hiked through the high altitude.

Not sure what this is, but it was awesome.

We crossed 3 different rivers, with one of the bridges called "peligroso" or "dangerous!"

Classic hiking through the forest shoe-shot. Notice the various types of footwear. It's because we're awesome.

The entire path really was hiking. Even when we were heading down the stair and steps were huge.

Cloud-forest birds-nest

We found all these leaves that had tiny little holes in them. It turns out there were tons and tons of little bugs just eating their way through.

While the bugs were big the plants were even bigger!

After spending 3 hours in the forest we decided to come back to civilization (well, as civilized as Monteverde was...it was a rather small, but delightful town) and explore the town itself. We had heard about an artisan co-op where a large group of local artists came together to sell their goods, as well as a cheese factory that had delightful cheese and ice cream. We decided to stop at the hostel and see exactly how far away these places were. After the nice man told us not to waste our time or money on a cab as we could easily walk there - it was only 2 kilometers, or roughly a mile and a half - we set out. What the nice man at the hostel didn't tell us was that the entire walk was uphill. Seriously. After hiking for 3 hours our bodies were a little sore. But we persevered! Plus, we saw some beautiful flowers along the way.

Note: I am not sunburnt. I just have awkward tan lines.

This is our spirit guide, whom we decided to name Spot. He followed us from the top of the first hill all the way to the cheese factory and the co-op, eventually disappearing into the mist. Totally serious. :)

On our walk we also saw some awesome little shops. It was like the Costa Rican equivalent of Park City - large resorts and hotels on the top of the hills. We also saw a cute little art store where we stopped to make sure we were walking the right way. The man there assured us we were, telling us we only had dies minutos to go...

...25 minutes and 2 hills later Jackie turns to Stanley and I and says "dies minutos my ass!!" While Costa Ricans are incredibly helpful and kind, they sometimes give misinformation without meaning to. They would rather do that than be unhelpful.

We finally made it to the cheese factory and had some delicious ice cream!

By the time we started back, the fog had settled in for the evening, making everything from our clothes to our beds damp...

Another thing we noticed while traipsing through town were the large amounts of pizzarias. As true, pizza loving Americans we took this as a sign as needing to have pizza for dinner. So we went to a place we thought served pizza - it didn't. So after buying our food there (which ended up being about $6 per person) we decided we needed a pizza chaser and ordered a 12 inch cheese pizza from a place called El Dorado.

Jackie and the pizza. And Stanley's foot.

Jackie and I had gone to get the pizza (it was just down the hill from our hostel) and while we were there we saw something strange. The man left the main room, walked down the stairs, and came back with a little baggy filled with some white powder and put it in our box. We took the box back to the hostel and promptly decided that while it was obviously parmesean cheese, we were going to pretend there was cocaine in there as well. So laughing and discussing about how the evening would go now that we'd all ingested cocaine, we demolished the pizza in 20 minutes.

Don't judge. We had done a lot of walking that day.

So after the pizza had gone the way of the world, we settled in for the night. I finished The Kite Runner (amazing book, by the way) and fell asleep, excited for zip-lining the next day.

We awoke and started getting the room together as we would have about a half hour from the time we got back from zip-lining to when we needed to head into town to catch the bus.

Our room, small and incredibly functional.

But, before we went zip-lining we decided we should probably go and buy our tickets for the return ride back to San Jose. As we walk down into town there are a bunch of people in running attire and numbers getting ready to run some race. Also, as we approach the main block in town, we see this:

Little "murals" made from natural objects like flower and wood bark, made to depict religious things like crosses, angels, doves, etc.

We're still not sure what was so special about that Sunday, but it was beautiful!

Unfortunately, the runners and the special church things that were happening all ended before 2:30, meaning all those people were wanting to catching the San Jose bus and had bought their tickets before us. So the man at the bus-stop told us we could take a 3 o'clock bus to Puntarenas which was only an hour out of the way, but they had buses leaving to San Jose every 20 minutes or so. We decided to do that, bought our tickets, and headed back to the hostel to get ready for the one thing I had been looking forward to the most in my trip to Costa Rica - zip-lining!

For those who know me, you know I'm afraid of heights. I can usually conquer this fear by convincing myself that everything will be safe and I will not die. This experience tested that resolve for me.

Everything was great, but on the first line I stopped before I got all the way there. The people told me I must have been braking, pulling down on the line and killing my momentum. I hadn't thought I was doing that, but after the guy pulled me to the next platform, the next line went well. However, the real problem came in the next line. It was a huge line, usually taking 45 seconds to get all the way across, and they doubled me up with Stanley as we needed extra weight to get to the next platform.

But, once again, something happened with my pulley - it jumped the line, meaning the friction was stopping us from making it all the way to the end. The zip-line guy came to pull Stanley and I the significant distance to the platform and realizes he can't do it because I'm pretty much stuck. So - I'm not sure what he was trying to do - he kept having me try to pull up on the wire, all the while trying to unhook my caribeaner from the pulley, essentially unattaching me from the zip-line.

You have to understand, at this point I'm dangling probably 100 yards above the canopy top, over a canopy, with a guy trying to unattach me from the wire. It was all I could do to not completely freak out. Eventually another employee came and helped us, attaching me to another pulley and we somehow managed to make it back to the platform.

I was pretty shaken after this and my arms were exhausted. You can only pull up on the line so many times without realizing how futile it seemed and killing your arms. But we still had most of the zip-lines, the Tarzan swing, and the Superman to go, so they fixed my pulley and on we trudged.

While we thought we had hiked a lot the day before, it was nothing compared to this! We essentially hiked up an entire mountain, wearing harnesses over our hips and our chests and carrying around various metal accouterments. It was completely worth it though! The Tarzan swing was wonderful. I was the first one to go, so no one knew what to expect. The employee attaches 2 hooks to my harness and tells me to sit. They had been telling us to do that before we go on the zip-lines, so I do so without thinking, only to have him completely push me off the platform! I free-fell a few feet before the hooks and pulleys did their work, eventually swinging me out over the canopy top.

The last great thing we did on the 1 and a half hour zip-line excursion was the Superman. It was the longest line going over the canyon and they attached us like we were lying face down so it felt like we were flying.

Stanley getting prepped for last and final line - Superman style!

Zip-lining was so much fun, and more than worth the $40 we paid for it!

After the bus ride home - where we became good friends with two Panamanians from Miami - we packed up our stuff and headed to the bus stop, stopping at the grocery store for some munchies and water for the trip.

We loaded the bus and another spirit guide - this time in the form of an older American gentlemen who was also heading to San Pedro - started talking to us, telling us we could cut about an hour or half hour off our trip by getting off a stop early and catching a San Jose bus there, at Barrancas. We decided to do this and endured one of the most uncomfortable but beautiful bus rides of my life. It honestly looked like a mix between Guilin, China and the Pacific northwest. As we were coming out of the mountains we were even able to see the Pacific Ocean.

After a 3 hour bus ride and a 15 minute wait, we boarded another bus for a 2 hour ride to San Jose. I listened to music and sorta fell asleep for this journey, but we eventually ended up in San Jose, though in an apparently sketch district. We ended up grabbing a taxi to Maximo where we said good-bye to Jackie, and Stanley and I walked the rest of the way home.

It was a fabulous, and I absolutely cannot wait for this next weekend for another trip!

Toodles!

-Jillian

First from Costa Rica!

Here I sit, in the Maximo Nivel building (the organization we're volunteering with), waiting for a certain blue-eyed someone to finish up his first day building houses so we can go shopping. And while sitting I figured, what would be a better way to spend my time then by telling the awesome story of our flight over, as well as the first 24 hours? The answer came: sleeping. However, as the only place to sleep is a really hard wooden bench, I think I will save that for a little bit later.

I will start off by saying that the day we left, we were running late. This was my fault. Anyone surprised by this? Possibly, BUT in my defense, I slept through my alarm which set my plan for the day back about an hour. So when Stanley came to pick me up I was feverishly trying to make us breakfast (using up some of the perishable food) and pack my carry ons and make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. He quickly calmed me down, and finished cooking the eggs, all the while shouting questions at me to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything.

Needless to say, between that, a quick stop at Wal-Mart, and a fill-up at the gas station, we were about a half hour late to Stanley's dad's house. However, we got to the airport in time and with only a few hold-ups (such as the workers at Frontier who didn't seem to realize we did, in fact, know how to work a computer, and my bag being open and flinging food everywhere in the airport lobby) we found ourselves waiting for about a half hour before loading our plane to Denver.

We were excited, needless to say, and celebrated by eating a cold piece of Little Ceasar's pizza leftover from the night before (this was part of the food that had gone spilling on the floor. Don't worry, it was in a Ziploc and yes, we were soundly judged).

After a short trip where we both managed to fall asleep and thereby miss the toasty chocolate chip cookies (which, if you know Stanley or I, you know how much of a travesty this was), but safely landed on the ground in Denver full of anticipation for our 8. Hour. Layover.

No, that was not typed wrong. 8 hours. Of waiting. In an airport. IN DENVER. Again, it is lucky Stanley and I are easily entertained people, because after trying, unsuccessfully, to sleep for an hour and a half, we were semi-forced by the awkward humans encroaching on our sleeping space to go and explore the Denver airport.

Let me just say, for those of you who have never been to Denver, it can be quite fun. There are 3 concourses and a terminal, all with a train linking them together. We were situated in concourse A, which had your typical things: Ben and Jerry's McDonalds, Panda Express, 7 different versions of Travel Center with their overpriced blankets and magazines. Concourse C was simliar, but concourse B? It was a gold-mine of entertainment. Mostly because it had more stuff. Also, while in concourse B we discovered an awesome game called "Stand stationary on the moving walkways and wave to the people at the gates, seeing how many of them you can get to wave back." Once we mastered that game, we added a fun twist, instead calling it "stand stationary on the moving walkway and wave to people WHILE commentating on it like a 3rd person commentator at a sporting event." Seriously. Best way to spend your time at an airport. Plus, we made lots of people smile, which is always nice.

After riding the train (dancing to the music that came on whenever the train stopped or started, of course), exploring all the concourses, and having to go BACK through security because we got off on the wrong side, it was officially 8:30 and we had successfully wasted 3 hours.

Yup. We still had 3.5 to go.

So we filled it by eating food, having some Ben and Jerry's and watching our favorite movie "The Devil Wears Prada." After which, we retired to our terminal to call our families while Stanley did some reading and I finished up on some last minute assignments.

We loaded the plane and departed almost exactly on time, which sorta blew my mind. The ride itself would have been good, had it not been completely impossible to fall asleep. I spent the first 3 hours of the 5 hours flight wondering why my legs felt so antsy and wishing I could feel the coldness from the window. Eventually, overcome with tiredness I passed out for the last 2 hours, but this time, thanks to Stanley waking me up, we managed to get our cookies. And dude. They were really good.

So we arrived at 5 am, tired, cranky, and just feeling all over musty and airplane-ey. We made it through customs and immigration to be picked up by a woman named Ingrid who talked very quickly in Spanish because Stanley, bless his heart, said he could understand it. Luckily he could understand about 80% of it, but I was left smiling and nodding most of the way. We met another volunteer who actually turned out to be one of my 4 roommates. Her name is Breena, she's from San Diego and is going to be volunteering with me on my project.

We were dropped off at our family's houses and it turns out Stanley lives about a 2 minute walk away from me, which is really, REALLY nice. We separated under the agreement that I would head over to his place as soon as we had eaten breakfast and settled in.

This only sorta worked. Breakfast wasn't to be ready until 8, so I figured I'd settle in for an hour long nap and wake up to eat. This failed miserably and I rolled out of bed hating myself for keeping my host mom waiting to make breakfast. She didn't seem horribly put out by it though, but it was hard to tell considering she only speaks Spanish. There we met Nick, the Canadian guy who's staying with the family as well.

Anyway, after breakfast I went over to Stanley's only to be greeted by a fairly stern man who told me Stanley was sleeping and I could not go in to wake him up, but at my request said he could tell Stanley I came by.

After this I decided I too needed more sleep. So I slept AGAIN from 11 until 1, only to be awakened by STANLEY coming over! We ended up walking around the neighborhood where we lived, which is the residential part of a city called San Pedro, right outside of San Jose proper. It was a lot of fun, and we got to see some various markets and restaurants. Stanley, however, needed to be at Maximo for his orientation at 2:30, so we called it quits around 1:50 so he could go into the city with his "mom" and we could unpack with the promise that he would come on by after orientation and we'd finally be able to go shopping for the stuff we'd forgotten.

After unpacking, I figured I would tuck in for another little nap (remember, I was making up for an entire week of sleep deprivation here) and that Stanley would be by in about an hour and wake me up to go. We figured the orientation would only last an hour or so.

However, we were incorrect. I bleerily remember waking up to see some new girls coming in (there are 6 girls in the house total, plus Nick, so it's a full house) but then rolled over to fall asleep again, only to wake up a little while later to hear Stanley calling "Hola!" into the back of the house. I stumbled (literally) into the hallway where we talked for a bit. I looked at the clock and saw that I had slept from 2:30 until 5:45. And it felt GREAT.

I will digress for a moment to explain why we were in the hall. In the book it mentions no visitors being in the rooms, and this had been enforced by Stanley's "family's" reaction to me, a female, coming over to visit him. My mom, however, seemed to be totally okay with him being over and in my room as we soon learned when she came by and asked why we were standing in the hallway. We must have looked startled because then she pointed to the room and was like "oh yeah, you can go in the room, it's totally fine!" (she obviously didn't say that since she doesn't speak English, but that was the equivalent). So we got to hang out for a little bit and meet the other girls who I would be living with.

Stanley then went home to have his dinner while we had ours. After which we all walked over to the supermarket to buy some snacks for our rooms. Stanley and I then parted ways with the promise to see each other at the bus stop in the morning at 7:20, and then I spent the rest of the night talking with my new housemates until we went to bed around 10. Which, don't worry, I slept like a log and am still tired today. Apparently it takes more than one day to make up for that much lost sleep.

So yes, that was day 1 and travelling. Today has been mostly orientation and looking around and finding stuff. I'm super excited to begin volunteering and can't wait until I become more at home in the city!

Toodles!

-Jillian

p.s. New layout: Thoughts? Feelings? Impressions?

Ugh...

I seriously cannot remember the last time I was this tired.

Actually...I don't know if I've ever been this tired.

Holy. Hell. I've averaged roughly 3.5 hours of sleep a night since last Saturday. That's 6 days folks. And it wasn't like I was just chilling when this was happening. I worked - both mentally and physically. Seriously, I worked a double on Saturday and trust me, those trays are heavy. And I spent 5 hours yesterday in the sun with a hoe attacking the driest piece of land you can imagine.

But there is news.

I'M FINISHED!!

Or I will be in about an hour. All I have left is to tack on a few sentences to my conclusion and drop in citations. And then I'm done with all that is required of me.

That being said, I still might try and turn in some extra credit stuff if I have time. Those are super low pressure and will help me improve a percentage or two, which will be nice.

But seriously. All I have to do is pack and that's IT.

Lagoon and napping in the car, here I come.

Toodles!

-Jillian

Another update

I am taking a break from comparing and contrasting Marx and Kant, cuz frankly it gives me a headache.

Alright, things that have been accomplished in the last 13 days:

5 page paper on D&C 25

14 page paper on Modernization Theory and Costa Rica

3 page paper describing economy in China

4 quizzes

2 more work weekends

Court Hearing in Draper

Buying Costa Rican currency

Hanging out with friends

2 page paper on The Hunger Games

Get computer fixed (Thank you Kirk and Becca!!)

Things I still need to complete in the next 4 days:

finishing the 8 page paper comparing Marx and Kant (I've got about 2 pages right now)

1 final consisting of: 1 5-page essay on Communism and the economy; 1 5-page paper on whether economics or social variables affect a nations likelihood of adopting democracy

1 multiple choice final

1 final consisting of: 20 multiple choice questions; 2-short essay (roughly 1.5 pages each) and one long essay (roughly 3 pages)

1 day of community service in Draper

Packing/shopping for Costa Rica

Possibly re-doing my midterm and any additional 2 page essays for extra credit

I just have to say, while I've still got a lot going on, I have so many wonderful friends in my life who are helping me out. I honestly feel so blessed to know such selfless people who are willing to sacrifice their time and resources to make my life a little easier.

Alrighty, let's get back to it! This will be so much easier once I get my computer with my notes back...

Before Costa Rica...

Before Costa Rica I need to:

Take 3 written finals

Write a 5 page paper discussing democratization and why it fails in certain instances

Write an 8 page paper comparing the Marxist view of history to Kant's requirement for history

Write a 12 page paper discussing a theory of comparative politics and a case where the theory does not apply

Write a 3 page paper discussing China and their use of government in the economy of a communist system

Write a 5 page paper discussing the doctrine in D&C 25

Write a 3 page paper discussing how the Hunger Games and/or the Adjustment Bureau relates to modern political philosophy

4 or 5 more quizzes

Work 2 more weekends - so a total of at least 6 shifts

Code 20+ hours

Attend a court hearing in Draper

Most likely doing a day of community service to hopefully get out of paying $150

Laundry

Figuring out what I'm supposed to bring

Buy Costa Rican currency

Hang out with friends since I won't be seeing them for at least 6 weeks

So...now that I've written that out I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. However, it will all get done and in 18 short days I will have nothing to worry about except getting to the airport on time

Toodles!

-Jillian

This is my confession...

I have most recently become OBSESSED with these. They are Grandma's Homestyle Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookies - and they come in a 2-pack :) This little softy, chewy bundle of taste-bud pleasing happiness is only $.50 from the vending machines on campus. That's right folks, FIFTY CENTS. It's a 310 calorie package of wonderfulness and I may or may not have had them for breakfast today. It was coupled with an apple, so I feel alright about it.

But, just for a quick update, in 22 days I am jumping on a plane and going here:

...and here:

...and here:

I know, be jealous. :) But don't you fear, this will not be vacation time. Well, at least not ONLY vacation time. I will be spending roughly 20 hours a week volunteering with underprivileged youth, teaching them English so they can land jobs in the tourism sector and raise themselves out of poverty. I'm really excited for it. Also, lest you fear I'll get bored down there, I'm still working - coding for Womanstats. It'll be nice to have some source of income at least.

So you all know, I plan on blogging while I'm there. And probably changing this layout, because, frankly, it sucks and is ugly. It's a bit of an eye sore and you shouldn't have to look at it.

I'm feeling a little odd right now. The last 2 or 3 days have been super focused and super busy - 2 midterms, a paper, work, running, dates with friends - it's been crazy. And now I don't technically have anything due for the next 3 days (aside from working stuff that's not scheduled to be done until Sunday/Monday) I'm feeling very free for the day. Which is good, because I've got work, then a party with some friends from work, and then a much needed (and highly anticipated) playday up in Salt Lake with the symphony that night. I'm really excited for it and it will be nice to do that stuff without thinking about the things I need to be getting done - because everything that needs to be accomplished is already scheduled to be done at a later time. It's a rare feeling for me so I plan to treasure it and milk it for all it's worth.

Toodles!

-Jillian

Everything is Uncharted...

As my roommates know, I have become obsessed with this song lately.

I can live the life I want.

I am in charge of my life.

I can be the person I want to become.

And not only CAN I become that person, I WILL become that person. :)