On the last day of rush, my phone decided it would quit working. This was really odd since it was less than two weeks old. (Basically, when I returned from CR, my phone had corroded, so Asurion-my insurance company- sent me a new one. Then that one quit working.) Needless to say, I was upset since I was in Athens and had no way of communicating with anyone. I couldn't talk to Tom or get in touch with friends well at all for about 3 days, then Mom brought me dad's phone to borrow, which was great, except that I only have about 4 numbers in my phone memorized-Tom's Cell, Mom's cell, Dad's cell (which I was using), and Home. I have mom&Dad's down because they are exactly the same except for the last number. Anyway, I have been accidentally rude by taking no calls on my cell phone because it hasn't been working, and I am sorry if you left me a message and got no return calls because I haven't gotten the messages for the last week and a half or two. But I finally got ANOTHER phone from Asurion yesterday evening, and it's a different model, so maybe it won't crap out on me. I'll try to return calls and stuff this coming week! I still have to get this phone to have all my old numbers and then activate and program it.
BUT YAY FOR MY NEW PHONE!!!!!!!
Love,
Meghan
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
The beginning of the end...
Last week, I went back to school for the last year of college...and as far as I am concerned right now, for the last year of any school in which I will be enrolled. I am in a new apartment with new roommates, just because I wanted a change for my senior year, and so far it's been great. It has taken quite some time for my things to get put away in any type of order, but it's getting there. It's overwhelming to move out of a place with two years worth of stuff into a smaller room and bathroom and to find a place to put everything. But it's getting there. I definately got a lot of help from Claire, one of my roommates and best friends.
I was a rho chi again for my senior year rush, and I had a fantastic group of girls. I am so proud of them for trying it out; rush is so hard-you are emotional and stressed and tired all the time. But of my 19 girls in my group, 15 went Greek, and I am really excited! ALL of my girls are great and I hope they love being at UGA. There were 1300 girls coming through rush this year; that's the most UGA has ever had rush! =)
My classes and outside life is going to keep me very busy this semester, as usual. I kind of think that when I graduate, I'm not going to know what to do with myself. Work, obviously, but I've always lived with friends in college, and I've been a student since I was 3 or 4 years old, so to not be going back to that will be a really foreign experience, and I kind of think I might freak out a little bit. It weirds me out just to think of it.
Well, I'm going to work on my room some more, then I'll get ready for bed-I'm exhausted!! I miss everyone at home!
Love,
Meghan
I was a rho chi again for my senior year rush, and I had a fantastic group of girls. I am so proud of them for trying it out; rush is so hard-you are emotional and stressed and tired all the time. But of my 19 girls in my group, 15 went Greek, and I am really excited! ALL of my girls are great and I hope they love being at UGA. There were 1300 girls coming through rush this year; that's the most UGA has ever had rush! =)
My classes and outside life is going to keep me very busy this semester, as usual. I kind of think that when I graduate, I'm not going to know what to do with myself. Work, obviously, but I've always lived with friends in college, and I've been a student since I was 3 or 4 years old, so to not be going back to that will be a really foreign experience, and I kind of think I might freak out a little bit. It weirds me out just to think of it.
Well, I'm going to work on my room some more, then I'll get ready for bed-I'm exhausted!! I miss everyone at home!
Love,
Meghan
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Week 4 Email
Welll....I'm not really sure I sent one. Can't find one anyway for week 4. I'll try to update on the end of my trip at another time. =)
Week 3 Email
Hi yall!
Let me say, first off, that I miss home so much! I really am loving my experience, but there is just no place like home. And that means people, food, my house and bed and pets, my car, stores, and easy contact with others....It's funny how I haven't lost weight with all the walking I have to do. I think it's all this rice...
Around July 3rd, I started getting an upset stomach, and it continued for 5 or 6 days, which was no fun. Other people were getting sick too, and not just in our group, but also my "dad" and one of my "cousins" here. My mom here made me tea with a bush that grows outside their house, and it helped at least as much, if not more, and any drugs I was taking to help my poor stomach. And my lil sister here, Kimberly, gave me a foot massage. It was about as good as a 6 year old could do, and I told her that it was my favorite part of the day. She is such a cutie.
My family is getting very comfortable around me. The parents talk to me a lot, and so does the oldest son, Wilfreddy. He is 14, and really nice. I was on the back of the family motorcycle (actually, it's a dirtbike) the other day where he was dropping me off at a house for a cousin's (10 year old that another girl in our group has in her homestay) birthday party, and he forgot to tell me the muffler wasn't covered, and I burned my leg. Lucky for me, I had cortizone with aloe, neosporin, and a prescription creme from dad, not to mention 3 boxes of bandaids packed. Let's just say I am a doctor's kid and I am also very accident prone, so i know to be prepared. lol I've been keeping it clean and taken care of, but Wilfreddy felt really bad for forgetting to tell me; apparently that muffler is infamous for scarring burns. We'll see, i guess. Everyone at the ecolodge was worried, especially my teachers, who suddenly remembered a policy that we can't ride on our families' dirtbikes, even if that is how they get to areas 2 miles up a mountain. Needless to say, they were worried about what mom and dad would say and wanted me to call mom and dad about my leg, and I told them that my parents wouldn't be too surprised about my hurting something. Mom and dad laughed when they heard that, and mom said "I guess they don't know that you fall down just walking out your apartment door, huh?" lol It was nice to talk to people who know that it wasn't worth getting all worked up over.
Friday, my group got a break to go to Manuel Antonio, four hours away. It's a beach town, and we all couldn't wait to get there. We swam in the beach, went out to eat, did some shopping (my bargaining skills have improved), ate snowcones on the beach, got a lil sun (Nothing next to what I would normally have in Georgia by now), and went to dance areas every night. It was only after we finished our stay that someone told us how sharks are rampant at the beaches there, and I am glad I didn't know. I didn't get attacked, and I didn't feel anything swim up against me. I did get bowled over by the waves though. There is a BEAUTIFUL national park there that we went to, and we saw even more moneys there than the rest of the city (though they are everywhere there) and more iguanas too (also common). The beaches are gorgeous, and it was fun to lay out and swim there. That is where I got knocked over, and it was kind of funny. Basically, everyone was laying out except for myself and two other girls, Katie and Suzie. The waves were not overly strong, but getting stronger, and since there are rip tides frequently drowning ppl in Costa Rica, we were getting out. I was in about to my midthighs (I'm short, so not that deep), and walking out when all in a sudden I got pulled back VERY STRONGLY. I looked over and saw that everyone in the water was like me. Katie and Suzie and I were fighting it but it sucked us back. I was bending forward as hard as I could since I was still standing, when suddenly a huge wave came behind me and pushed me (and the others) over, and it was HUGE. It washed up all the way to where people were laying out. It did is so quickly that it washed over half of our stuff before we could even react. Not that I could do anything from my place on the ocean floor. We kept trying to get up and getting knocked over. Water was pouring out my face, and my swimming suit was on sideways and full of sand before I could get up. I finally got straightened out, washed the sand out of my towel, hung it on a tree, and once again thanked God that I had bought a waterproof hiking bookbag before the trip to hold my stuff (ipod, camera, books, etc) when going around. It was funny looking back to see suzie and katie and myself getting pushed over every two seconds, but it was really out of no where, and a lil scary because of that. Asha, another girl in our group, lost an earring because it was so strong, and pulled it out, and other people were chasing down coverups and shoes that the ocean had stolen. Last night, my roommates and I were eaten alive in our sleep by bugs, and woke up from itchiness. I guess somethings are standard across all of Costa Rica.
As far as the dancing every night, I went with the group but I didn't actually dance. I started to one time because I thought it would be the meringue (sp??) with all this twirling and stuff, like all the other people on the dance floor. But the dude kept trying to talk to me and figure out where I was staying and not doing twirly dancing even when I said I wanted to. He wanted to dance with his hands on my waist even after I told him I wanted to dance like the other ppl, so I just left him on the dance floor. He ended up not being gay like the other good dancers that night. He followed me off the dance floor and I told him "I have a boyfriend, it's not like that. I don't want to dance. I'm tired. NO" (in spanish) so he finally left. That was SKETCHY, so I ended up leaving not much later. I didn't want him to try to talk to me again. That night, some of the kids in my group had a lot to drink and thought it would be a great idea to jump into the ocean at 3am. And to leave all of their things unattended on the beach while they did so. They came home without their wallets and cameras, their purses, and one of the guys had on field pants that were zipped down to shorts, so they stole only one of his pants extensions. Not sure how to explain that last part except that their are a lot of weed lovers in Costa Rica. Anyway, that was the dumbest idea they had during that trip, and they definately paid for it. Oh well.
Tonight, we are back at the Ecolodge, and tomorrow we go back to our homestays. We will be there for 6 more days, I think, and then we are done with classes and going to travel then it's home to the good ole US of A!! I hope to hear back from you all and to hear what is going on in your lives!! I miss you all!
Love,
Meghan
Let me say, first off, that I miss home so much! I really am loving my experience, but there is just no place like home. And that means people, food, my house and bed and pets, my car, stores, and easy contact with others....It's funny how I haven't lost weight with all the walking I have to do. I think it's all this rice...
Around July 3rd, I started getting an upset stomach, and it continued for 5 or 6 days, which was no fun. Other people were getting sick too, and not just in our group, but also my "dad" and one of my "cousins" here. My mom here made me tea with a bush that grows outside their house, and it helped at least as much, if not more, and any drugs I was taking to help my poor stomach. And my lil sister here, Kimberly, gave me a foot massage. It was about as good as a 6 year old could do, and I told her that it was my favorite part of the day. She is such a cutie.
My family is getting very comfortable around me. The parents talk to me a lot, and so does the oldest son, Wilfreddy. He is 14, and really nice. I was on the back of the family motorcycle (actually, it's a dirtbike) the other day where he was dropping me off at a house for a cousin's (10 year old that another girl in our group has in her homestay) birthday party, and he forgot to tell me the muffler wasn't covered, and I burned my leg. Lucky for me, I had cortizone with aloe, neosporin, and a prescription creme from dad, not to mention 3 boxes of bandaids packed. Let's just say I am a doctor's kid and I am also very accident prone, so i know to be prepared. lol I've been keeping it clean and taken care of, but Wilfreddy felt really bad for forgetting to tell me; apparently that muffler is infamous for scarring burns. We'll see, i guess. Everyone at the ecolodge was worried, especially my teachers, who suddenly remembered a policy that we can't ride on our families' dirtbikes, even if that is how they get to areas 2 miles up a mountain. Needless to say, they were worried about what mom and dad would say and wanted me to call mom and dad about my leg, and I told them that my parents wouldn't be too surprised about my hurting something. Mom and dad laughed when they heard that, and mom said "I guess they don't know that you fall down just walking out your apartment door, huh?" lol It was nice to talk to people who know that it wasn't worth getting all worked up over.
Friday, my group got a break to go to Manuel Antonio, four hours away. It's a beach town, and we all couldn't wait to get there. We swam in the beach, went out to eat, did some shopping (my bargaining skills have improved), ate snowcones on the beach, got a lil sun (Nothing next to what I would normally have in Georgia by now), and went to dance areas every night. It was only after we finished our stay that someone told us how sharks are rampant at the beaches there, and I am glad I didn't know. I didn't get attacked, and I didn't feel anything swim up against me. I did get bowled over by the waves though. There is a BEAUTIFUL national park there that we went to, and we saw even more moneys there than the rest of the city (though they are everywhere there) and more iguanas too (also common). The beaches are gorgeous, and it was fun to lay out and swim there. That is where I got knocked over, and it was kind of funny. Basically, everyone was laying out except for myself and two other girls, Katie and Suzie. The waves were not overly strong, but getting stronger, and since there are rip tides frequently drowning ppl in Costa Rica, we were getting out. I was in about to my midthighs (I'm short, so not that deep), and walking out when all in a sudden I got pulled back VERY STRONGLY. I looked over and saw that everyone in the water was like me. Katie and Suzie and I were fighting it but it sucked us back. I was bending forward as hard as I could since I was still standing, when suddenly a huge wave came behind me and pushed me (and the others) over, and it was HUGE. It washed up all the way to where people were laying out. It did is so quickly that it washed over half of our stuff before we could even react. Not that I could do anything from my place on the ocean floor. We kept trying to get up and getting knocked over. Water was pouring out my face, and my swimming suit was on sideways and full of sand before I could get up. I finally got straightened out, washed the sand out of my towel, hung it on a tree, and once again thanked God that I had bought a waterproof hiking bookbag before the trip to hold my stuff (ipod, camera, books, etc) when going around. It was funny looking back to see suzie and katie and myself getting pushed over every two seconds, but it was really out of no where, and a lil scary because of that. Asha, another girl in our group, lost an earring because it was so strong, and pulled it out, and other people were chasing down coverups and shoes that the ocean had stolen. Last night, my roommates and I were eaten alive in our sleep by bugs, and woke up from itchiness. I guess somethings are standard across all of Costa Rica.
As far as the dancing every night, I went with the group but I didn't actually dance. I started to one time because I thought it would be the meringue (sp??) with all this twirling and stuff, like all the other people on the dance floor. But the dude kept trying to talk to me and figure out where I was staying and not doing twirly dancing even when I said I wanted to. He wanted to dance with his hands on my waist even after I told him I wanted to dance like the other ppl, so I just left him on the dance floor. He ended up not being gay like the other good dancers that night. He followed me off the dance floor and I told him "I have a boyfriend, it's not like that. I don't want to dance. I'm tired. NO" (in spanish) so he finally left. That was SKETCHY, so I ended up leaving not much later. I didn't want him to try to talk to me again. That night, some of the kids in my group had a lot to drink and thought it would be a great idea to jump into the ocean at 3am. And to leave all of their things unattended on the beach while they did so. They came home without their wallets and cameras, their purses, and one of the guys had on field pants that were zipped down to shorts, so they stole only one of his pants extensions. Not sure how to explain that last part except that their are a lot of weed lovers in Costa Rica. Anyway, that was the dumbest idea they had during that trip, and they definately paid for it. Oh well.
Tonight, we are back at the Ecolodge, and tomorrow we go back to our homestays. We will be there for 6 more days, I think, and then we are done with classes and going to travel then it's home to the good ole US of A!! I hope to hear back from you all and to hear what is going on in your lives!! I miss you all!
Love,
Meghan
Week 2 Email
Hey there yall!! I don't have long to type... I need to get back home before it is dark. And it's a bit of a walk.
I have now moved in with my homestay family, and they are very nice. The parents are SO sweet, and they have 3 kids. The oldest is 14, and he speaks perfect English. The other two are an 8 year old boy and a 6 year old girl. They are fun, but tiring (what kids aren't)? And the 14 year old is so helpful. I mean...I don't know...I already am struggling to cover all the language barrier plus keep up with class and not be rude. So, his help is a blessing from God. But yall remember, I still need prayers.
Speaking of God, I wanted to let yall hear about something cool that happened at my homestay right after I moved in. I actually am pasting this from and email I wrote April earlier...last night I just was struck with how much comfort the Lord can give me. I opened my bag at my homestay house (I moved in yesterday) and was looking for something, so I took out my big bible and the dad asked me what it was. I told him it was my bible, and this look of awe came over his face. He asked if he could hold it, so i said of course, and gave it to him. I wanted to cry at the look of wonder on his face. He held it with such reverence...and he touched it as if it was more precious than gold...which it is, actually. And he looked all over at it, but he couldn't read it since it's in English. So he showed it to his wife. Then his oldest son, who is 14, looked all over at it as well. They all told me that they thought it was beautiful by saying "Que Linda!!" as they turned the pages, which means "How beautiful"/"That's beautiful!" It was so humbling to realize that I often ignore my bible when it is maybe the most important thing I own.
Then that night, oh my gosh, the bugs are ATROCIOUS. (sp?) Anyway, they are awful. And they were all in my room, and you would have laughed at me freaking out (silently so as not to wake the family) and batting them away. But I felt so alone, even though the family is just great. And I didn't want to read anything long because the light from my flashlight kept attracting bugs. So, I put aside my book and my journal, and I read in my bible. I looked for and read the passage by Paul about learning to be content in every circumstance. I was so grateful for it, and I was finally even able to fall asleep despite the bugs...until one bit me on the neck at 4:30AM. But we won't go into that. lol. Suffice it to say I am really learning to appreciate my relationship with the Lord more than ever...being removed from all that is comfortable will do that to you, won't it?
I have NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER had more appreciation for all the blessings I have in my life in Georgia. I knew I was blessed, and even spoiled, but I never knew what it was like to live in any other way. Well...now I do. There are bugs in the house all the time, and actually, they get into every place in Costa Rica...the UGA Ecolodge, the hotels...everywere. There are rice and beans with every meal. And I mean-EVERY-meal, even breakfast. And they are the staple. The house I am in is smaller than half my basement, and none of the walls are thick or even go all the way to the ceiling (maybe are 9 ft tall), so everyone can hear into every room in the house.... I have never had my mom talk to me while she cooked and i took a shower, but that happened with the mom this morning. Speaking of showers, I have found the cure for long shower takers. It's called: Cold Water. I guess, to this family, the water is hot compared to the water some families have, which comes from a mountain waterfall. (no joke). The roads here are the most rocky I have ever ridden on, and no gravel driveway is worse in GA. I would say April's driveway is comprable to the roads here. I am also going to eat everything (yes, I swallowed zuchinni last night), including fish if need be, except crab meat since I am allergic. I feel that I should since I am in their house.
That being said, I feel like I am exactly where I should be. The family is nice and was so excited to have me. They actually think my Spanish is alright (it's pretty bad), because the people that have lived with them before barely tried to speak Spanish. Besides the 14 year old, no one speaks English, so it's helping me to learn. I have the little girls' room to myself. And the first thing they did when I put my bags down was take me outside to see their dog's 4-week old puppies!! There are 3, and they are PRECIOUS!! They have also got a pretty cat, 2 horses, and some cows and chickens. I don't want any jokes about how it's no different than UGA from you people, because it IS. It's a lot more like Covington than Athens. =) And of course, the fact they love God made me sure He was over this trip. Yall don't know how much I appreciate your prayers.
Amazingly, I haven't gotten sick so far. I assume that is due to prayers as well, because I am normally SO sick. Everyone else here seems to have awful allergies and fevers and all kinds of stuff, stuff I normally get at home. It should be even worse here, but so far I have been fine...I've only even had ONE upset stomach, which is nothing compared to what I expected.
This weekend was very full. Friday night, we all went to Santa Alana. We all did salsa dancing (our teachers want us FULLY emerged in the culture), and I was very pleased at the tastefullness of it all. I only danced 3 times, no worries, Tom!! just teasing! =) It was fine, we were like...a foot apart. Lots of spinning and stuff, and our teachers went and did the same stuff we did. In fact, they were really good dancers. I stepped on feet a lot and turned the wrong ways, but it was fun. Saturday morning we all got up and went to a mountain to walk a suspended bridges hike through the cloud forest, and I saw my first Costa Rican monkey!!! It was really cute, and I don't think he liked us very much. That afternoon we repacked then took off with most of our stuff to move in to our homestays. The rest of our stuff is locked up here. This morning I woke up early, showered, ate, and came back to the Ecolodge because we all went on a zipline tour of the same mountain, and it was SO awesome. We were SUPER high up (maybe 436 ft on one of them) and sometimes came down at speeds up to 40mph. You could slow yourself down, but I always made myself go as fast as I could until they made me slow down! I was also waving at people and looking behind me and flapping like a bird at times...I got a lot of "Girl, you're crazy!" and at the end, one teacher asked if I was the bionic woman. hahaha I am grateful not to have a fear of heights. Now my fear of sharks...that might keep me on the sand at the beach. We go in 2 weeks to the beach, I think. I also rode to get groceries on the 14yr old's dirtt bike with him. (see previous comment on roads) That was my first time on any motorcyle-ish thing, and it was rather scary, but he was really good and slow.
Ok, if I don't leave now, then I will get stuck walking those roads in the dark, and I don't want that since they have a good amount of snakes here.
Much love,
Megs
I have now moved in with my homestay family, and they are very nice. The parents are SO sweet, and they have 3 kids. The oldest is 14, and he speaks perfect English. The other two are an 8 year old boy and a 6 year old girl. They are fun, but tiring (what kids aren't)? And the 14 year old is so helpful. I mean...I don't know...I already am struggling to cover all the language barrier plus keep up with class and not be rude. So, his help is a blessing from God. But yall remember, I still need prayers.
Speaking of God, I wanted to let yall hear about something cool that happened at my homestay right after I moved in. I actually am pasting this from and email I wrote April earlier...last night I just was struck with how much comfort the Lord can give me. I opened my bag at my homestay house (I moved in yesterday) and was looking for something, so I took out my big bible and the dad asked me what it was. I told him it was my bible, and this look of awe came over his face. He asked if he could hold it, so i said of course, and gave it to him. I wanted to cry at the look of wonder on his face. He held it with such reverence...and he touched it as if it was more precious than gold...which it is, actually. And he looked all over at it, but he couldn't read it since it's in English. So he showed it to his wife. Then his oldest son, who is 14, looked all over at it as well. They all told me that they thought it was beautiful by saying "Que Linda!!" as they turned the pages, which means "How beautiful"/"That's beautiful!" It was so humbling to realize that I often ignore my bible when it is maybe the most important thing I own.
Then that night, oh my gosh, the bugs are ATROCIOUS. (sp?) Anyway, they are awful. And they were all in my room, and you would have laughed at me freaking out (silently so as not to wake the family) and batting them away. But I felt so alone, even though the family is just great. And I didn't want to read anything long because the light from my flashlight kept attracting bugs. So, I put aside my book and my journal, and I read in my bible. I looked for and read the passage by Paul about learning to be content in every circumstance. I was so grateful for it, and I was finally even able to fall asleep despite the bugs...until one bit me on the neck at 4:30AM. But we won't go into that. lol. Suffice it to say I am really learning to appreciate my relationship with the Lord more than ever...being removed from all that is comfortable will do that to you, won't it?
I have NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER had more appreciation for all the blessings I have in my life in Georgia. I knew I was blessed, and even spoiled, but I never knew what it was like to live in any other way. Well...now I do. There are bugs in the house all the time, and actually, they get into every place in Costa Rica...the UGA Ecolodge, the hotels...everywere. There are rice and beans with every meal. And I mean-EVERY-meal, even breakfast. And they are the staple. The house I am in is smaller than half my basement, and none of the walls are thick or even go all the way to the ceiling (maybe are 9 ft tall), so everyone can hear into every room in the house.... I have never had my mom talk to me while she cooked and i took a shower, but that happened with the mom this morning. Speaking of showers, I have found the cure for long shower takers. It's called: Cold Water. I guess, to this family, the water is hot compared to the water some families have, which comes from a mountain waterfall. (no joke). The roads here are the most rocky I have ever ridden on, and no gravel driveway is worse in GA. I would say April's driveway is comprable to the roads here. I am also going to eat everything (yes, I swallowed zuchinni last night), including fish if need be, except crab meat since I am allergic. I feel that I should since I am in their house.
That being said, I feel like I am exactly where I should be. The family is nice and was so excited to have me. They actually think my Spanish is alright (it's pretty bad), because the people that have lived with them before barely tried to speak Spanish. Besides the 14 year old, no one speaks English, so it's helping me to learn. I have the little girls' room to myself. And the first thing they did when I put my bags down was take me outside to see their dog's 4-week old puppies!! There are 3, and they are PRECIOUS!! They have also got a pretty cat, 2 horses, and some cows and chickens. I don't want any jokes about how it's no different than UGA from you people, because it IS. It's a lot more like Covington than Athens. =) And of course, the fact they love God made me sure He was over this trip. Yall don't know how much I appreciate your prayers.
Amazingly, I haven't gotten sick so far. I assume that is due to prayers as well, because I am normally SO sick. Everyone else here seems to have awful allergies and fevers and all kinds of stuff, stuff I normally get at home. It should be even worse here, but so far I have been fine...I've only even had ONE upset stomach, which is nothing compared to what I expected.
This weekend was very full. Friday night, we all went to Santa Alana. We all did salsa dancing (our teachers want us FULLY emerged in the culture), and I was very pleased at the tastefullness of it all. I only danced 3 times, no worries, Tom!! just teasing! =) It was fine, we were like...a foot apart. Lots of spinning and stuff, and our teachers went and did the same stuff we did. In fact, they were really good dancers. I stepped on feet a lot and turned the wrong ways, but it was fun. Saturday morning we all got up and went to a mountain to walk a suspended bridges hike through the cloud forest, and I saw my first Costa Rican monkey!!! It was really cute, and I don't think he liked us very much. That afternoon we repacked then took off with most of our stuff to move in to our homestays. The rest of our stuff is locked up here. This morning I woke up early, showered, ate, and came back to the Ecolodge because we all went on a zipline tour of the same mountain, and it was SO awesome. We were SUPER high up (maybe 436 ft on one of them) and sometimes came down at speeds up to 40mph. You could slow yourself down, but I always made myself go as fast as I could until they made me slow down! I was also waving at people and looking behind me and flapping like a bird at times...I got a lot of "Girl, you're crazy!" and at the end, one teacher asked if I was the bionic woman. hahaha I am grateful not to have a fear of heights. Now my fear of sharks...that might keep me on the sand at the beach. We go in 2 weeks to the beach, I think. I also rode to get groceries on the 14yr old's dirtt bike with him. (see previous comment on roads) That was my first time on any motorcyle-ish thing, and it was rather scary, but he was really good and slow.
Ok, if I don't leave now, then I will get stuck walking those roads in the dark, and I don't want that since they have a good amount of snakes here.
Much love,
Megs
The first week in Costa Rica...
Hey yall! I know I said I would post to this from Costa Rica, and that didn't happen...long story short, the internet there is iffy at best, and it was easier to just email. So here are the emails I sent out from there each week... (ignore the ">"s because they just showed up when I copied the email. I will try to fix it later when I have more time.)
Howdy yall!> I'm in Costa Rica right now at the Hotel La Amistad, and although it has> only been a few days, I feel like it's been a week already. San Jose is an> interesting city, and it could not be more obvious that all of us are from> the US. I feel like we walk around with signs on our foreheads that say "I'm> foreign, please stare. And hitting on my is acceptable." If you ask someone> something in Spanish, they tend to reply in English. And my first day in the> city, I had a bunch of teenage boys asking the guys we are with for my name> and telling them to have me call them. They said "Hey!! Beauuutiful! Bonita,> hey, Bonita!" Which was kind of weird, considering in Athens there are> so many girls, that when we walk into a room, it's no big deal. I guess San> Jose is more like Tech in that sense, haha.> The city itself is such a mix of everything. There are McDonalds> everywhere and some other places like Pizza Hut, Church's, Burger King, and> stuff, but if you are from the US, it's strange. Also, there are so many run> down looking buildings and poor people, tons of markets and people selling> lottery tickets EVERYWHERE, but then there will be a beautiful and well kept> building in the middle of it all. One such building is the Teatro Nacional,> where we did a tour yesterday afternoon (In Spanish) and then returned that> night to hear an orchestra perform. It was beautiful, and it was fun to> hear. After the intermission, there was a baby that would NOT quit making> noise, and the mom didn't take it out. The music in that part was supposed> to be dramatic and very serious, with a lot of solos, and after about 1> minute the director stopped the music, turned around, and asked Very> Politely (again, in Spanish) for the lady to take out her child. He said> that he loves children but that it is very hard for the soloists to> concentrate with that going on and for the audience to pay attention, and> for the respect of his performers and the audience, could the baby please be> taken out. Almost everyone there started clapping, and it made me think of> how people feel when someone is told to shut up in a theater when they> continue to talk on their phones during a movie.> Today, about half of our group went somewhere in San Jose-very early in> the morning- to run a 10K race. That's 6 miles through the city. Not for me.> But, we were all really proud of the ones who did it; they all finished, and> I was really impressed. They all got medals and t-shirts for participating,> and that is just a cool story anyway. I slept late and told them good job> when they got back. haha. We all went to eat at a pizza place-I felt bad for> the waiter who took our order in Spanish, haha- and then we returned to the> hotel, where I got on the internet.> Tomorrow we will go to the SLRS-the San Luis Research Station- which is> owned by UGA. It has an ecolodge that we will stay at, and one of the girls> informed me that she read that it is Jessica Alba's favorite vacation spot.> That doesn't really mean anything to me except that it should be beautiful> there...not really a Jessica Alba fan. But, I am excited to be in the> mountains and to see the classrooms and stuff. It costs $5 an hour to use> the internet there, and we have to walk to a pay phone to call, where as> here it is $2 an hour for the internet and we have phones in our hotel> rooms. The downside of moving there is that we have to start class....a> necessary evil of STUDY abroad, right? ha. Oh well, maybe then I can get> some more practice in. While everyone here speaks to us in English, our> teachers only speak to us in Spanish. In about a week I will be moved in> with my family, and I am sure that is when the real Spanish help will kick> in, though I do pity them for their time trying to figure out what I am> saying. I hope I get a family with kids, but it seems like everyone here> wants to have a family with kids as well. There are a couple of couples with> no kids that want us, so we will see who ends up with them. Whatever> happens, I am sure it will be great to be there at last.> Alrighty, I have to run.> Much love,> Meghan>
Howdy yall!> I'm in Costa Rica right now at the Hotel La Amistad, and although it has> only been a few days, I feel like it's been a week already. San Jose is an> interesting city, and it could not be more obvious that all of us are from> the US. I feel like we walk around with signs on our foreheads that say "I'm> foreign, please stare. And hitting on my is acceptable." If you ask someone> something in Spanish, they tend to reply in English. And my first day in the> city, I had a bunch of teenage boys asking the guys we are with for my name> and telling them to have me call them. They said "Hey!! Beauuutiful! Bonita,> hey, Bonita!" Which was kind of weird, considering in Athens there are> so many girls, that when we walk into a room, it's no big deal. I guess San> Jose is more like Tech in that sense, haha.> The city itself is such a mix of everything. There are McDonalds> everywhere and some other places like Pizza Hut, Church's, Burger King, and> stuff, but if you are from the US, it's strange. Also, there are so many run> down looking buildings and poor people, tons of markets and people selling> lottery tickets EVERYWHERE, but then there will be a beautiful and well kept> building in the middle of it all. One such building is the Teatro Nacional,> where we did a tour yesterday afternoon (In Spanish) and then returned that> night to hear an orchestra perform. It was beautiful, and it was fun to> hear. After the intermission, there was a baby that would NOT quit making> noise, and the mom didn't take it out. The music in that part was supposed> to be dramatic and very serious, with a lot of solos, and after about 1> minute the director stopped the music, turned around, and asked Very> Politely (again, in Spanish) for the lady to take out her child. He said> that he loves children but that it is very hard for the soloists to> concentrate with that going on and for the audience to pay attention, and> for the respect of his performers and the audience, could the baby please be> taken out. Almost everyone there started clapping, and it made me think of> how people feel when someone is told to shut up in a theater when they> continue to talk on their phones during a movie.> Today, about half of our group went somewhere in San Jose-very early in> the morning- to run a 10K race. That's 6 miles through the city. Not for me.> But, we were all really proud of the ones who did it; they all finished, and> I was really impressed. They all got medals and t-shirts for participating,> and that is just a cool story anyway. I slept late and told them good job> when they got back. haha. We all went to eat at a pizza place-I felt bad for> the waiter who took our order in Spanish, haha- and then we returned to the> hotel, where I got on the internet.> Tomorrow we will go to the SLRS-the San Luis Research Station- which is> owned by UGA. It has an ecolodge that we will stay at, and one of the girls> informed me that she read that it is Jessica Alba's favorite vacation spot.> That doesn't really mean anything to me except that it should be beautiful> there...not really a Jessica Alba fan. But, I am excited to be in the> mountains and to see the classrooms and stuff. It costs $5 an hour to use> the internet there, and we have to walk to a pay phone to call, where as> here it is $2 an hour for the internet and we have phones in our hotel> rooms. The downside of moving there is that we have to start class....a> necessary evil of STUDY abroad, right? ha. Oh well, maybe then I can get> some more practice in. While everyone here speaks to us in English, our> teachers only speak to us in Spanish. In about a week I will be moved in> with my family, and I am sure that is when the real Spanish help will kick> in, though I do pity them for their time trying to figure out what I am> saying. I hope I get a family with kids, but it seems like everyone here> wants to have a family with kids as well. There are a couple of couples with> no kids that want us, so we will see who ends up with them. Whatever> happens, I am sure it will be great to be there at last.> Alrighty, I have to run.> Much love,> Meghan>
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