First Week and Puerto Viejo!

So the rest of my week of school went really well! I am picking up more and more Spanish everyday! Class for me is up and down. Sometimes I am overwhelmed and sometimes I feel awesome. Mostly I am just really grateful that I do not need this class to graduate, I just want to learn Spanish :).

Wednesday night my study abroad program, CEA, took all of us in the program (23 in all) to the Jazz Cafe again! It was totally different than the other day when we went though. There was a blues band that played a lot of American oldies, that was pretty fun and unexpected. There was a dancer for some of their songs too. By the end of the night people were standing and sort of dancing and singing along. It was a lot of fun!

I have been getting to know the people on my classes much better, the people in my program, and my roommate especially. I am making some really good relationships and have had some really cool conversations already!

On Friday right after class, the CEA group hopped on a bus and headed out for the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica to a little place called Puerto Viejo. The bus ride was long and windy, but it had tons of gorgeous jungle greenery EVERYWHERE! We got to Puerto Viejo around dinner time and it was beautiful!! Driving by the Caribbean coast, watching the sunset over the water in the adorable, tiny, colorful town... it was amazing! Puerto Viejo is very Jamaican influenced. There are lots of people speaking spanish with a Jamaican twang, not wearing shirts, dread locks, and listening to reggae. The vibe is very laid back... hangout... swim in the water. Our hotel was right across the street from the ocean, which was about 75 or 80 degrees. I have no idea how hot the air was but it was HOT. There are hammocks everywhere and I have a new found love for them. The first night we all went for a evening swim in the ocean and checked out the town and local hangouts. We had to get up pretty early the next day because we were going snorkeling! We all got in a boat and headed out to a coral reef. The water was an unbelievable turquoise and all around was this green, uninhabited, jungle coast. Snorkeling around was really awesome. I saw lots of sting rays, bright fish, huge fish, sea urchins, and really colorful coral. We all got back on the boats and rode over to a little beach where the snorkel instructors cut up fresh pineapple, watermelon, and cantaloup for everyone to eat. (By the way, the fruit here is so much better than the fruit we normally eat in the US. Therefor the fruit juices are way better too). After that we had the rest of the day to enjoy Puerto Viejo. My roomate Monse, a friend Elaine, and I all rented bikes and rode around the town in the afternoon. We found a little trail that went through the jungle along the beach and that was really fun to ride down and a little bit sketchy! The nightlife in Puerto Viejo is pretty chill like the rest of the lifestyle there. There a lots of bars with tables right on the beach, little tikki torches, and reggae music playing. Both nights I sat and watched the ocean a lot and I always saw really intense lightning. So cool.

Sunday was our last day in Puerto Viejo and also the day of the Finals for the World Cup! I slept in until about lunch time and we all headed over to a restaurant for lunch and a World Cup party. It was so fun! Espana!!! The whole town was in the streets and at different restaurants watching the game. We drove back home afterwards. I slept most of the way and went to bed pretty soon after we got back too. I feel way better now that I have slept that much though.

School today was definitely a good day. Class went by crazy fast. I couldn't believe it was over when it finished! I think that is a good sign though. I think that it means I am comprehending more.

Thats pretty much it! Yay!