Just another midsummer daydream...

This town is funny. It's sort of a melting pot of a lot of different cultures. Because of the world class surfing and tranquilo beach lifestyle that Santa Teresa has to offer, people from all over the place have landed here and set up shop. Obviously there is still a predominant Tico population, but there are also tons of Gringos, Canadians, Argentinians ("tinas"), and Israelis ("izzys"), as well as a smattering of people from various other countries worldwide. And now there are certain areas of town that are sort of the designated areas for these cultures. Last year when I first came here, I was shocked to see such a Gringo-esque shopping center at the crossroads in Playa Carmen (the entrance to town). I had seen stuff like this in places like Tamarindo, but the Mal Pais/Santa Teresa area is a little bit smaller/less developed, so it was kind of a surprise to hang out in a commercial center with outdoor seating and lounge areas that reminded me of being in California. Nice to have around though for those days that you crave American food and air conditioning...we fittingly deemed it "Gringo Plaza." Not that all the businesses are owned by Gringos, but that is definitely the place where you can find the most Gringos hanging out.

Only shot I have of Gringo Plaza...
but the dogs are a dead give-away that we're still in CR ;)

So now we've come up with names for all the culture heavy areas in town. There's "Little Tel Aviv" at the other fancy shopping center at the start of Santa Teresa, where most of the businesses are run by Israelis and you can be sure to hear Hebrew being spoken. There's "Tina Town" down by the Brunella's Hostel complex where the Argentinians abound with their funny accents (where "Y" and "LL" is pronounced with a "J" or almost "J-SH" sound) and weird "Is that a mullet?" haircuts. And then there's the always good for a laugh "Tico Town" down by the Pizza Tomate in Santa Teresa, where you can almost always find the local boys hanging out in or outside the restaurant on the street, or in the gutter by the Supermarket, probably drinking guaro and smoking puros. And finally there's us, living somehow in the middle of all these places, making friends with everyone, and trying to remain neutral...so we call ourselves "Little Suiza" (Switzerland) AKA "Maya Town" since we are right by the big and fabulous Super Maya (which we have also deemed our "pantry" since we never have to buy lots of groceries in advance because the supermarket is just steps away from our gate...the lazy cook's dream).

Little Suiza...mi casa ♥

Life has been pretty fun lately, living with my two fabulous roommates from New York. We are loving our little home, our morning surf sessions, and our ladies nights. We cook a lot of yummy meals together and make poor man's Sangria with Chilean boxed wine and OJ from the super. We laugh a lot. And we have nicknames for everyone.

Trinity & Lauren, my fab roommates

Surfing is interesting. It's a lot of fun, and I've definitely been getting better, making progress on my pop up, balancing, paddling, and riding skills, but getting out past the break here in Santa is freaking hard. When I lived in Samara and when I visited Tamarindo it was way easier to get out. The waves were smaller and there weren't so many waves in a set to fight past in order to get on the outside. But here it's big. The waves are way more powerful. It's a work out just trying to get past a few of them. So I've been taking it slow and most days I just practice on the white wash. But at least I have a good time and I get a good workout just getting out there. I finally got out with a little help and motivation from a friend the other day, but then I got really scared as I saw big waves rolling in and crashing in front of me. How was I supposed to get back in? I kinda freaked out and didn't want to try any of the big waves that were coming by, so I paddled towards the shore during a lull and finally rode a wave back in on my knees. But this is how you learn, poco a poco, little by little, so I'm not trying to push things. I need to be super comfortable with my technique before I start trying to catch the big waves. And I love surfing the white wash because I can easily get like 10 good rides in a session!

Surfer Chics ;)

My English classes have been going well. Most of my groups usually have around 8-10 students in attendance, with anywhere from 10-15 registered for the class. It's tough to get students to come every week, and a lot of them will skip a week or two here and there without thinking twice about it. But it's fine, I just do a good bit of review each class from the previous lesson, and try to keep everyone updated on the homework. I've done at least 2 songs in each group so far this semester, which are always a big hit, and we've played some new Q&A games as well as board games and team races at the board. I've been drilling the intermediate students on the irregular verbs in the past tense for the past month (it's pretty much all memorization with the irregulars), and the advanced group is working on past participles and conditionals. It's funny when I forget the correct English, like last night with the verb SWIM. Simple past = SWAM. Past participle = SWUM. That just sounds weird to me. I have never swum in the ocean? But apparently that's the way it is. So I have to be careful...but it's good for my English and even better for my Spanish, when my students are translating everything into Spanish out loud as they write down the English. "I would if I could, but I can't so I won't." = "Lo haria si podria, pero no puedo entonces no lo haré." Impressive, no?

Playa Montezuma

In other news my girlfriend Terri from ATL came to visit last week and we had a BLAST. She loved it here and fit right in...so wish she could've stayed longer! Here are a few gorgeous pictures from our day trip to Montezuma...it was the most perfect sunshiny day for the trip and a visit to the waterfalls! Que suerte!

Terri on the rocks in Montezuma

Gorgeous turquoise waters!

This next month and a half or so will be the month of visitors. I have four more friends coming (two just arrived last night and are staying down at the end of Santa Teresa on a secluded beach, and one will be here in 2 weeks and is getting married on the beach in Mal Pais), and four of my cousins are also coming together at the very end of the March for a cousins reunion trip! It's bound to be an epic month. So stoked. I love summer.

Bueno chicos...nos hablamos. Happy Spring back home in the States, hope you are finally getting some warmer weather! Love from Costa...xx

Hola amigos! Time for a quick catch up session on the last month...I've been on vacation!

We had final exams in all my classes and the students generally did really well. Then my girl Grace came to visit from Atlanta and my vacation began. Unfortunately I spent the first weekend sick with a sinus infection and a bit of a fever. I felt bad that I got sick just at the same time that Grace arrived, but she was a good sport about it and went and did some activities on her own while I rested. It's funny, I haven't gotten sick much in Costa Rica, and the only other time I did get sick was right after the TEFL course I took back in August. This time it happened right after my first semester of teaching ended. Looks like a pattern to me…post stress release sickness…but at least my body knows to wait until I'm finished working!

For July 4th weekend, Javier and I went to Samara to visit friends. It was so nice to have a mini vacation, and Miss Geo (the car) did great on her first road trip!

Javi & I on the beach in Samara

We rented a room at Sol y Mar just down the street from where I used to live with Marisol. My friend Krista from Chicago was in town for a few days with her boyfriend and then a few days later my "little sister" Mareike arrived from Germany.

Mis chicas, together again

It was great to be reunited again, and Marisol invited us all for a BBQ party at her house. Samara was beautiful as always, and I ate some of my favorite ceviche from the street vendor there…YUM!

Carne a la parilla

When we got back I had two graduation ceremonies to attend for my students in Santa Teresa and Montezuma. It was an honor to present my students with their hard-earned certificates. I am so proud of them and how far they've come! There were a few representatives from the ICT and the Municipalidad de Cobano that came to speak to the students about the program, and I spoke on a microphone both in English and in Spanish! What a great feeling to know that I've helped change so many lives. This is what teaching is all about:)

Students with their "titulos"

On Saturday Javier and I made the move from Cabuya into our new house in Mal Pais and we really love it! I finally have my own kitchen to cook in and we have a washer and dryer, hot water showers, TV, and internet. It's a small house but it's nice and clean and perfect for us.

Our new home!

Last time I wrote about another place in Santa Teresa, which was beautiful, but when we found this place it was obviously a better option for the both of us, and at a better price. The best part is we have baby coconut trees here so we've been drinking young coconut water everyday…fresh and free!

View from the front door

Class started back in Montezuma on Monday and we had a registration day for the seven new classes in Santa Teresa which will be starting next week. So far it looks like I will be teaching around 80 students total and there will be two brand new beginner groups in Santa Teresa. I'm excited to get going and I've got a lot of new ideas for more conversation oriented classes. I've got to get these guys speaking more comfortably! I am also making a new rule for myself: no Spanish in the classroom! In my TEFL course, I was taught to do all my classes in 100% English, but when I started teaching beginners that had no English I found it was necessary to explain some things in Spanish. Now that they have the basic foundation however, I've got to cut out all the Spanish and go with pure English. I think this will be a tremendous help for them, although it may be hard for me to get used to. I guess I secretly like practicing my Spanish with my students, but I'll have to save that for outside of class!

"Rom Dom"

Ok gotta run, we are cooking some fresh fish Caribbean style in coconut milk for dinner...pura vida

BU-YA! Back to Cabuya...

The Road to Nowhere
So I spent my first few nights in a hotel in Mal Pais waiting to be placed in a homestay (meanwhile enjoying the beautiful wide beaches and hanging out with some uber chill surfer dudes who live there part of the year). Then I came to Montezuma and stayed a few nights with the local partner William who runs the waterfall canopy tour here. Unfortunately my homestay options were not totally worked out yet and as it is here in Costa Rica, things were moving kinda slow (Side note: I think this was a rare case as most of the other volunteers were placed immediately and really happy with their homestays). I had been in contact with the family that I stayed with back in November when I was here and finally decided to go and live with them again in Cabuya, which is a little tranquilo town sort of in between Montezuma and Mal Pais. I can't tell you how good it feels now to finally be all set up in my own space with a sweet family who has been very welcoming...mi casa es su casa kind of vibe.

Mi habitacion
My room is a private cabina just in front of the family's house surrounded by gardens. It's really comfy and has tons of space, a set of bunk beds for visitors (hint hint), and a clean private bano. They've even made some improvements on the place since I was last here like lining the ceiling with wood to keep it cooler during the day and adding a bigger bed. Last night I did some decorating with the few things that I had to make it feel more like home. I'm eating all my meals with the family, which means rice and beans with every meal, but the company is great and there's always Salsa Lizano! My new family is: mom Yessenia who works part time in a hotel in Montezuma, dad Lukas who works at the local super (grocery store), brother Jaudi (16) and sister Kataryn (14) who both seem really mature for their age, and little sister Tiffany (5) who is the cutest and most friendly of all.

Tiffany (right) with friend Sofia & the neighbor's dog Lula
It's really different here in these small towns because it's basically just a few big families who have been here forever, own the land, and live and work in the community. Quite a change from city life. Next door lives Lukas's mom and brother with his family, and Yessenia's sister lives down the street. The local partner in Mal Pais is a primo (cousin) and so was my taxi driver the other night! Everybody knows everybody and there's a strong sense of community here. I'm stoked to call this place home for a while.

I ordered my new moto the other day and it should be arriving at the dealership in Cobano by Monday or Tuesday! It's a brand new silver-grey (I hope) Honda Wave 100cc!!! It's semi-automatico which means there are gears to change but there's no clutch. Just need to practice driving it around the hood until I get good...I'm trusting that it will come quite naturally and I'll be riding like a pro in no time;)

Last night I had a meeting with the Camara de Turismo in Mal Pais to determine my class schedule over there. We will be doing placement tests this week to group the students and classes will begin the following week. I'm still working on getting things organized for my classes here in Montezuma, but like I said before, everything moves a little slower here so I'm not surprised. The kids schools are closed right now (this is like their summer break) so trying to find the right person to coordinate with has been tough, but I'm sure we'll get it figured out soon. And at least this way I have a little more time to plan my classes!

Sign in Cabuya
Although Mal Pais is only 7 km from Cabuya, the road between the two is so unbelievably bad that it's almost unpassable. I'm planning to take the longer way around when I go during the day, but there's no way I can come back at night. So it turns out I'll be spending two nights a week in the Mal Pais-Santa Teresa area when I have my classes over there (Wednesdays and Thursdays) . At first I was a little bummed when I realized I'd be away from "home" so much, but now I'm excited because I'll have the chance to get to know that area a little better now (and have some beers with my students after class). The Camara offered me a place to stay there (with a local family) on the nights that I teach and they are even going to give me a little gas money, so it should be an easy once a week trip.

Other than that everything is good, I've been making friends and running into people that I met here before, spending time on the beach and at the fabulous Montezuma waterfalls, and gathering materials for my classes. Soon everything will be set in motion!

"Una Puma"
I'll end with a little bit of Tico slang I just learned:
1,000 colones = un rojo (because the bill is red)
2,000 colones = un delphin (because there's a dolphin on the bill)
5,000 colones = un toucan
10,000 colones = una puma
There's a joke too...do you know about the ecological tour of San Jose? A guy at a bar with pumas and toucans in the pockets and a fox on each knee. Jajaja.

“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

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I’ve always loved this quote…life is so much better when you take chances. It feels so good to actualize a dream...especially in Costa Rica...what an amazing place!!!

I’m really happy now because yesterday I bought a bike! I feel like a teenager with my first set of wheels, so excited to be able to get around the town easier…and it has a basket for my stuff…love it! He doesn’t have a name yet…


I wish I had it on Friday when it torrentially downpoured! Here I was thinking, ‘oh, the rainy season isn’t so bad…’ and then the biggest rainfall came in on Friday afternoon. It started with really a high tide…here is my video:



I was stuck at the school for a while during the storm, and when it let up I started walking home with a trash bag over my stuff. There was so much water in the streets, and when I turned down the street towards mi casa, it was a full-on river! I was literally walking through at least a foot of water for several minutes, laughing at myself…I’m in the middle of Costa Rica stuck walking in a river, losing my flip flops, and soaking wet! Later on that night it cleared up, and we ended up going out to the bar to watch the big game – Costa Rica vs. Mexico in the Gold Cup – we lost, but of course everyone still celebrated. I danced a little salsa (I’m learning) and had my first drink with Guaro – the national liquor of CR, made from sugar cane but strong like tequila...que bueno! On the way home that night the frogs were so loud I couldn’t hear myself think…or maybe it was just the guaro talking.

Samara is such a small town: everyone knows everyone, they all know my Mamatica, and if they don’t know eachother there is only like one degree of separation. It’s very different from what I’m used to but I like it. It feels like an authentic Costa Rican experience. I’ve already met some of my TEFL instructors (at the bars, naturally), and I’ve already met some of my future students (during the TEFL course we practice teaching with locals). I can’t believe by the middle of next week I will already be teaching!

Yesterday, the 25th of July, marked the 185th anniversary of the annexation of Guanacaste. Before that this region belonged to Nicaragua. I asked my Mamatica if there was a fight over the territory, and in typical Pura Vida style, she informed me that it was an easy, friendly decision…but of course! People just give things to Costa Rica, like the bridge from Puntareanus to Nicoya, which was provided by the amigos de Taiwan. Anyhow, we went to the town of Nicoya last night, where there was a big celebration in the square, with street food and kids games, and live music and performances. We saw some typical dances from the region, and at the end of the evening was the most popular band from this area, Mal Pais:



Que mas? The food…the food has been a lot of fun. I haven’t always liked everything but for the most part it’s great (and when I don’t like it, there’s always Lizano sauce to make it better, right B?). Some of my favorites were a banana leaf tomale filled with corn stuff for breakfast (pictured below), tortas de yucca (which we made in cooking class), and the typical sopa negra (black bean soup with cilantro, onions, eggs, and in my case, hot sauce…so good!!!)

















A few more pics below...thanks for reading and sending encouraging words! Love to all!

Mi Casa

Krista and I on the road to Nicoya

My first visitors, Junx & Cayce