Getting ready to study abroad in Costa Rica?

If you're getting ready to study abroad in Costa Rica, there is some things you should know!

• Ladies, bring tampons!! They are not impossible to find but they are definitely a pain in the butt to find!
• Bring a black belt to hold up your pants! Ladies belts here are only for fashion! (For the most part, of course :)
• If you're studying during rainy season (Sept-Dec), bring an umbrella and a rain coat!!! It will pour and pour and pour (no joke). You should mentally prepare for the rain so that you don't complain the whole time!
• Bring hiking shoes!! There will be many adventures to go on and when you go into those rainy cloud forests, it's best to bring good shoes!
• Ladies, bring mascara! It's expensive here and harder to find then I thought, so bring your favorite brand :)
• Budget your money from Day 1! What I did (at a later point) was wrap money for each week in a piece of paper and wrote down the amount I could spend for that week!
• Bring school supplies (they are a bit tough to find and more on the pricey side!) I suggest white lined paper or a notebook will do :)
• By the way most things here are not cheap (don't get the wrong impression just because it's a latin country).
• If you are studying in San Jose, take the safety measures seriously (many students have been robbed), just use some common sense and don't walk alone! Take a taxi if need be...I don't know know how much more everyone here could emphasize it, but people still don't listen.

I'll keep on adding to the list when I can remember more information! Just remember to be safe, keep up with your school work, and enjoy the beauties of this country :):)

Rio de Celeste

It's been a fun and crazy time this past week in Costa Rica! Today I went with a group of 7 to Rio de Celeste! Little did we know it was going to downpour on us the entire time and we were going to get muddy and wet. We hiked for about 3.5 hours and unfortunatly the river was not blue! If you don't know anything about Rio de Celeste heres a wikipedia definition, "It is notable for its distinctive turquoise coloration, a phenomenon caused by a chemical reaction between sulfur and calcium carbonate. The Celeste River also borders several hot springs and has one large waterfall." Unfortunately when it rains the blue color turns into a muddy color!

When we got to the hot spring, we didn't even want to swim! Some of us dipped our feet in and the sensation of warm and cold was nice. We were all starving by the time we hiked back! I tripped several times and landed on my hand. It really was a tough walk and it was extremely slippery. We had a good time nevertheless and made the best out of it. Sometimes mother nature works in mysterious days and today was not our day to see the blue river!

(Left: The river on a sunny day, Right: The river on our rainy outing!)

Last Days

It's coming to the point where it's my last days in Costa Rica! I've been out every night since Thursday and I've finally made some new friends (too bad it was the last two weeks that this is all happening)! We've been dancing, having a few drinks, and just having great conversations and I'm happy each day that I get to spend with them! I am a little sad that this is the end when it feels like the beginning just started but that's how it played out. Today is the farewell dinner for my program and that's when you know this is definitely the end. I'm grateful for all that I was able to experience here and for the new memories that I have made. I'm happy that my Spanish has improved but I definitely have a lot more work to do. I am happy to be going back home to see my loved ones and be with them for the holidays! I feel like there's so many more little things I appreciate in life now.

I'll be putting a blog soon about how and what to pack to Costa Rica for study abroad students and I'll also be going to Rio de Celeste and paragliding this weekend! Plus having my first Costa Rican sleepovers!!

Until next time!!:)