ISA Farewell dinner at Tiquicia

Farewell dinner at Tiquicia in Escazu .

Escazu must be the LA of Costa Rica or something lol Its super fabulous and high end.


Isa took us to a beautiful restaurant , that offered the most beautiful view of the cities night lights. No camera can capture the amazing view ... but i tried any ways. lol

Left my mark

Every one that has stayed in our host home has to make a personal page in the family scrap book and leave their hand print on the wall in the back yard. It was my turn to leave my mark , and I have been so honored and blessed to have ended up in the host home I was assigned. I never felt like a stranger, always as a part of the family. For some one who doesn't come from a big family, that meant the world to me. Saying my good bye's this morning left a little whole in my heart but all the great memories out weighs all that.

 

My contribution to the Heise- Barquero Scrap book <3

The time has come

3 months, 3 countries, 31 blog posts, 7 friendship bracelets, 100 mosquito bites, & endless adventures  and smiles& laughs later... Im heading back home . Im really trying to come with terms with the fact that these are my last moments here. And im literally chocking back tears as Im writing this , i didn't mean for this to be soo difficult. But when you learn to love , its so much harder to leave. I can't really explain what experienced these past 3 months here....

I have met so many beautiful people , and developed so many friendships that I wouldn't have otherwise in Boston. I branched out and discovered things that I didn't think possible.

And had the opportunity to see things from a different angle. As I depart this place, not a new person but a new spirit I hope that the Pura Vida mentality sticks with me for ever and always.

 I said one too many goodbyes, but in reality they are "see you later" for real though !  I am never going to stop my love for travel , my love for new experiences and my love for adventure. I truly believe study abroad is something that every one should endeavor.

 It opens so many doors, forces you  to leave your comfort zone. There is a large chance that I will NEVER see the people I met here ever again, but that is alright. We have lived for the moment and embraced all that Costa Rica has had to offer us.

I am a disaster of emotions , and I only have a few hours of sleep until I start my laugh- crying disaster once again.


The happiness I have discovered in Costa Rica has been irreplaceable and I hope to reconvene with it once again in the near future <3




Pura Vida - Tuanis - Que Chiva Mae ! 

Things I will & will not miss about Costa Rica

On the last day of intercultural communications class we all went around and made a list of the things we will and will not miss from Costa Rica .. (this is when I got my phone taken away because I was too busy looking things up on my Air bnb App lol )

Anyhow, I figured Id share my list with you all, instead of writing my 8 page paper 

Things I will miss: 

• Fresco de Cas, Maracuya & Guanabana
• Golden Monkey Beer !  
• Lizano sauce 
• Fresh Mangos 
• Soda Granitico
• Barbudos
• Chifrijo
• BATIDOS
• exploring san jose by foot 
• Musmanni market 
• Trits ice cream 
• My little fan in my room with the radio 
• Tica Fam & Grandparents 
• Thursdays at El chainis & profes 
• Adventures on the bus to the beach 
• "Oh , your spanish is good"// " Habla muy bien el espanol usted"
• "Que chiva , Que torta,Mae !"

Things I won't miss 

• The shower situation 
• Ants .. everywhere , all the time 
• ATM charges
• Converting money at high security banks 
• getting hounded by Taxi drivers 
• eating 24/7 just because 
• The central market 
• down town san jose 
•  being the "translator" 
• bathing in bug spray 
• mosquito bites 
• my stupid black purse ... (I gave it away to Dona Mercedes)

Pura Vida 

Spring Break 2013 -Nicaragua

Believe it or not i'm pretty tiered of writing down every single detail about my trip lol or maybe I just didn't find nicaragua all that exciting .. maybe its a combination of the two ! but this post will be mainly pictures, so here you go :]

We set for Nicaragua bright & early 

Touring las isletas

Me & Tyana @ el Mirador de Catarina

In The Capital , Managua

Granada

Our hotel in Granada

Playa San Juan del Sur

Elizabeth x 2 & Tyana

"chillin in VIP" Lol

Discovered Quesillo &  fresco de cacao YUM!

Dan, Tyrese, Me, Cory & Colleen

Monkey !

Orchids

Not good bye, see you later.

Tica grandparents in the Chevy Nova

Semana santa is here , and the final count down is really becoming FINAL... Im going home in 10 days .. T E N days. Its really an inexplicable feeling having to leave this place I've called home for 3 months, knowing I have a real life back in Boston ...

Dona Mercedes getting ready for the beach

Today I had to say my first permanent goodbye, which was to my "tica grandparents" dona mercedes who has grown in my heart so fondly that I love her like she was my very own grandma. Never have I enjoyed being in the company of elderly people like i enjoy sitting around the table having a cup of coffee with dona mercedes, dona mencha ( the neighbor) and don edgar.


Me and Anabel went for our last beach adventure to herradura, because we had promised mercedes we'd come back. WE brought her little dresses , and I gifted her my fedora and staple vera bradley satchel that I have worn every single day of my life in an jose. and as usual she prepared us mounds of food and fruits, always so hospitable. We went to the beach in the evening and watched the sunset , as she told us stories about when she first moved to herradura and how the whole family would come to the beach and campout with bonfires and tents. She's such a joy to be with, it really hurt me to have to part ways, and even more to know that she may or may not be around when I ever decide to go to Costa Rica and thats something that she isn't in denial about either. Anabel and I 's hearts would melt when she'd mention it. before she left she said "make sure you don't forget us" and Im tearing up as I write this... ( hold on a second as I compose myself ) ** lol

Humble abode in Herradura

but , any how, its impossible to forget such a beautiful soul. someone who has demonstrated exactly how life should be lived , with family , with unconditional love and worry free even in the toughest of times, working hard for yourself and for those you love.

After an eternal morning in the sun me and Anabel came back for lunch and kept our eyes on the clock as we knew the time was approaching to set on our way back to San Jose. They drove us to the bus stop in their antique chevy nova and dona mercedes got out of the car and gave us a hug and kiss, as i held back my lil bitchy tears telling her we'd miss her. What really breaks my lil heart is that later this evening  My tico dad said he had just gotten off the phone with his grandma and that she said that once we left she began to cry and didn't want us to leave. Isn't that just darling ? how we just grew so close over the course of a week or so ?


That's love and appreciation right there, and whether or not we meet again i'm so very glad to have crossed paths.

Don't think just do it ! Bungee Jumping

So on Saturday I did the craziest thing I've ever done in these 20 years of life .. I went bungee jumping! Since  I set foot in costa Rica I knew I was going to be petrified of doing it , and that I was probably going to cry but that I HAD to go bungee jumping before I left. I'd go to bed at night thinking about it and I would cringe and I was thinking to myself  "how in the world am I gonna pull this off?"

As the end of my study abroad experience came closer , Anabel & I finally booked our reservations at Tropical bungee. We managed to convince to get Mason , a classmate of ours to join us and help us keep our cool on the shuttle to the bungee office. The day had come ! As i signed my life away I was taking deep breaths, trying to convince myself I was gonna be okay , and then thats when we arrived to the bridge with the platform and my jaw dropped .

We were joined by Karrie, James & Doreen on this adventure . Doreen and James were a power couple from NYC and when I say power couple I kid you not .. a optometrist and a anesthesiologist ! They were young and ready to take CR by storm as was Karrie who was on spring break from LA , but she's from Connecticut. I couldn't have asked for a better group to have gone bungee with !  

the bottom ! Rio colorado 262 Ft.

Tropical bungee is in Naranjo, Costa Rica .. about an hour from San Jose. It is one of the top 10 best bungees in the world , with a 262 ft free fall. yes, 2 6 2 Feet ! We were greeted by jump masters Willy and Berto who were great ! They made sure we were aware that were were first off safe - and secondly gonna have a great time! They were very encouraging, especially Willy , because God knows I was ready to get off that platform and cry when the time came to jump.

Anabel didn't do much thinking... as she went first ! she got suited up , was trembling like crazy , once up on the platform she dint even give them a chance to count down ... she dove off  right away ! Lol
she got that over with real fast ! I , on the other hand went last ... (at least I knew that this equipment was working properly , since everyone else survived lol ). I got up there and made a mistake .. I looked DOWN ! I was freaking outttttttttt ! But there was no turning back ! I had to jump off .. I wiped my sweaty palms off on the side of my jeans , closed my eyes ... and just jumped off on the count down. before you realize it you're hanging upside down.. and losing a shoe.. yes i lost a shoe ! lol this was the comical part of the experience. I was just laying there upside down laughing at what I had just done.

For those few seconds you just have to shut your brain off, and go for it. The drop is only like 3 seconds and the whole experience is about a minute long , but it feels so much longer than that as your falling full speed, face first towards rocks trees and Oh, a River ! lol
 Bungee jumping is PURA VIDA TO THE MAX! 100% adrenaline for sure. Once you get it over with you cant believe yourself and you feel capable of all things on earth !

Here in Costa Rica I have experienced what it means to be alive in all shapes and forms. That feeling you get when you inhale deeply ad fill your lungs, and the satisfaction regained when you exhale..

how often we take it all for granted. Every breath is a new opportunity

When I first arrived in Costa Rica and told my Tico dad I was contemplating bungee jumping he encouraged me to do it , he told me " that knot you feel in your stomach , an those butterflies you get when your falling .. thats nothing but you feeling ALIVE"

So here I am Alive and Well . and loving every second of it .....

Anabel, Mason & I