We will always have costa rica...

So sorry it has taken so long to post!!!

Okay, I'm leaving tomorrow and since you all know me you probably know that I've already finished my 5th panic attack about the whole ordeal. I want to go home cause I've got so many great people and events waiting for me. First Disneyland with all my great friends, and then off to my mom's wedding! But I also really don't want to leave.

I had my last day with the kids at the orphanage. I made them all scrap book pages for above their beds. They each got two pages with their pictures and a note I wrote for them. The little ones did not care much for the notes, but they loved the pictures of themselves and my drawings. The older ones let me read their notes to them and were really sweet and appreciative. I'm really glad I was up all night finishing them.

Porto Viejo, the carribean side feels like it happened ages and ages ago. Which I guess it did. The beach there was great. It was beautiful and warm and the water was very calm. Will assured me their were no dangerous sharks on the East side so I went swimming. Of course after I went swimming I ended up chilling on the beach and reading my book (thanks Nana). I thought the occasional pain I felt was just the absurd amount of sand on my body. Turns out it was sand fleas, who were not deterred by my herbal bug repellent. They made quick work of me. Weeks later I still have a few marks. If I would just stop scratching them, they were probably heal. Of course, I can't control what I do in my sleep. I'm considering taping over my bites so I can't scratch them in my dreams. We went biking in Porto Viejo and generally just chilled in the very cool town. Lots of people from all over the world. The only good mexican food in Costa Rica and also Japanese food and more.

I went to Harry Potter with Ashley. I can't believe I missed Harry Potter with all my LA friends. Snape made me cry in so many ways. I plan on seeing it again, when I get back I plan on seeing it again a few times, if anybody wants to join. Bring tissues.

I traveled around San Jose to all the towns around here. The town I'm in is a big university town, with lots of students. Other towns have huge houses, and some others are like shanty towns. All of them though are covered in wonderful bright colors, which I think I should bring back to the United States. Why don't we paint our houses with yellow, green, pink and orange?!

I had to buy a new suitcase to bring back all the stuff I have accumulated after I visited the San Jose Aritist Market. There was art and hammocks and so much more. I'm off to finish packing, get my last cupcake, and go hang out with my tico friends as long as I can before I leave at 6 tomorrow morning. I come back at 5:30 on Thursday. I'm not sure how I'm gonna make the plane ride though, cause my ipod broke, and occording to the spanish apple here will not be waking up again. Somehow I will make it through.

Good luck to Erica and all the other law students taking the bar! Good luck with finals Liz. And to everybody else, can't wait to see all of you!!

Pura Vida!

Evil Elfes and Transformers

So many things to talk about. First Monte Verde...

It was amazing. It is in the mountains north of here. I'm probably spelling everything wrong, but whateves. We stayed in a little 7 dollar a night hostel right in the center of this little tiny town. Breakfast was at 6:30 and ended at 8. I do not understand this early waking hour here.

I spent most of my time with Lorine another co-volunteer from the orphange. She is from France and speaks english, spanish and french. It is quite impressive. I will attempt to upload some videos of her, but not going to be possible right now. We went hiking through the rainforests during the day on our own, and then a night we took a guided tour through the rainforest at night.

The night tour was an experience. It was weirdly similar to what I imagin a night scuba diving would be like. Not that I would ever scuba dive in the ocean at night, I've seen jaws. But it was pouring rain and the rainforest was so dense that the rain didn't really hit us. It made me feel like I was in a submarien. The sounds were all muted and weirdly seperate. And we were all alone with the night animals in our section of the rainforest.

We saw so many insects! There were several walking sticks that looked like actually small branches but with a little mouth on the end. They came in so many shapes and sizes too! I also got to hear some more stories about urban myths in Costa Rica. I had one story happily confirmed. The other day I was talking to one of my kids Gerad. I started playing with an elf doll and tried to give it to him. He gave me the most serious and suspisious look back. I asked him what was wrong and he said he didn't want it because it was a duende. He eventually explained to me that elfes are evil and will try to take him. Apparently they only take you if you are out at night once the sun sets, if you are safe in your bed the elfes cant take you. My guide who grew up in a completly different area in Costa Rica confirmed that the elves haunted most of her childhood.

Back to the night tour, the worst part was an ant house. It was about 20 feet long and 5 feet wide and it just looked like a pile of dirt. When I think about accidently stepping on it and falling into the ant home of millions of these huge biting ants, I can't really think about anything else. Kinda of similar to swimming in the pool and thinking of sharks. I want to get out of the pool, even though I know it's irrational. I feel like the ants followed me back here.

By the end of the night my jacket was zipped up to my neck, my hair was covered and my pants were tucked into my socks, I didn't want to risk anything coming in. I just wish I brought a face mask or something.

In other bug and animal news. The orphange has been a blast this week. Yesturday there was a preying mantis. The kids wanted to kill it because it was evil too apparently. I tried to stop them, but then it flew up and landed on little Chaney's arm. She started screamming and panicking (which is so not her, she is usually pretty calm). I tried to be the responsible lifeguard I know is deep inside of me and took it gently off of her. Of course this ended up with the bug on me, so then I started screamming and paniking. Next it disapeared. We all looked for it and little Reiner turned around in slow motion so all the other kids could see this monsters bug climbing up this little quite two year olds back. He never talks, but he just lost it. He started running and screaming and would not stop. I am not sure where he ran off to inside, because i finally grabbed the poor bug and helped him escape from all of our paniky feet.

In mammal news, the cat tuna got stuck on the roof yesterday. His name is actually short for acetuna (not spelled right, but nothing here is) and it actually means olive. So not a fish, but an olive. In a group effert of the other co-workers, I stood on one of the kiddie chairs, held, a broken toy house door over my head, until the brave cat stepped onto the shaking door so I could lower him down for one of the others to grab. All the kids broke into applause. We then spent the next 20 minutes doing cheers for the gato. As the cat (gato) started regretting ever coming down as a bunch of 4 year olds tried to pet him.

In last news, I met a new friend at a super cool bar right next door to my house here. There is live music and it is different every night. I've seen alternative, ska, reggae and all in spanish for the most part. Will (my new friend) makes great Dakories filled with pinaapples. On our first meeting though, he made a failed bloody mary for my friend Cassandra. That's when we learned the different meanings of Caliente and A picante. Caliente means hot temperature and A picante means spicy. Cassandra asked for her bloody mary Caliente. Much hilarity ensued, mostly for me because I didn't order a bloody mary. I have also now seen Transformers 3D in spanish. So I feel like I'm getting to know the local scene here, mostly thanks to Will. I think I would just stay in and read Harry Potter in spanish other wise. I have decided to read Harry Potter in spanish, so far I've made it through 2 pages. in other exciting news, I'm currently waiting on my laundry. I caved and had it done. I could take the moldy ocean smell on all my clothes anymore! We will see how they did!

I am off to the Carribean side this weekend. I will try to post some pictures before I leave!

¿Cuán alto el sicómoro crecer? Si lo cortas, entonces nunca lo sabrás

¿Cuán alto el sicómoro crecer?
Si lo cortas, entonces nunca lo sabrás

Pictures from Monte Verde. These pictures are from a hike with my friend Lorine though out a rain forest called Santa Elena north of San Jose. I want to post so

much more. But I was out way too late last night, so I'm going to bed : ) But first is a bug that I thought was a Caterpillar, it's not, eww. Next is Lorine and I when it started raining. Lorine lost her poncho, but she is a resourceful one. Then me, in my beautiful hiking outfit. Next is a cool nest that from far looks like someone climbing the tree and last is pretty rainforest.

Kickboxing, trees and a sloth

The rest of the pictures are all over the place, this is my third time editing, hopefully you can match the comments and pictures.

This is a random pic of a the bathroom sign at our hostel last weekend. I think it means ladies and I think it's pretty.

This is the front of the house, security level one!

I have to use three different keys to get in and two to get out. I don't think this would be fire chief approved.

A sloth in Manual Antonio. He was much easier to catch in photo then the monkey. Much slower

Cupcake store next door to where I live. Very dangerous. But oh so cute.

A cool log with moss in Manual Antonio.

More manual antonio.

So Ashley and I went to take our kickboxing class where they insisted on talking us on a run around San Pedro. Ashley and I got completely lost because we fell behind. We eventually stumbled onto the

main street, took our best guess and were able to find the class just in time for the actual kickboxing to start.

It was extremely difficult. I would like to say it was difficult only because of the Spanish instruction, but at one point the guy just started talking to me in English and I still could not figure out which arm to punch with. We are both really sore, but content now.

My mama tica's hijo, picky. Ants walking along on may way to work with some seriously big leaves. Pura Vida!

update

gave up trying to post more pictures or videos, but got two posts below.

Pictures!! The few I had time to upload...

Manual antonio igauna

The first day at the beach..... all white and energized and not covered in sand.....

The first day back less white, a much less energized considering how much sand I have to carry everywhere it makes sense.Proof that I am in the right place.

video attempt

I will attempt to post a video here. It's of me in National Park and Beach of Manual Antonio.

Transcript: "Hola Amigos, Pura Vida!"

I am on lava rocks, every times I climb on lava rocks I think of the time in Hawaii when Teddy found an eel in the tide pools in the lava rocks. He looked over at it and the eel fffing jumped out of the tide pool, snapped at Teddy's face and jumped into the ocean. Still scared to even look at the tide pools.