Pura Vida en Costa Rica: Parque Nacional de Manuel Antonio

So I have been to the Caribbean coast when I went to Manzanillo Beach and Puerto Viejo. Now after this weekend, I can say I have been also to the Pacific coast. Wow, how weekends fly by here. It seems like we were just getting on the bus to leave for our relaxing weekend trip and now I am already home, well "home", writing about it. Last weekend, we were practically running from place to place without much sleep or rest. Especially after this past week which was mid-terms, it was very refreshing to finally have some time to relax. How lucky I am to have been able to relax in Manuel Antonio which I would also like to call paradise!

Danielle and I each bought these sun hats at a pharmacy of all places. Luckily, unlike all of the other tourist shops which were very expensive, we got our hats for 3000 colones, or $6. I think I will wear this on the plane home and really make everyone jealous of where I came from (all that sun!)

Behind these rock formations were three sloths that everyone ventured over to see and take pictures of. When I was there, I didn't see them, but I stole the pictures from my friends, so I will show those.

This was certainly a much needed relaxing weekend. After two very strenuous weeks of class and studying non-stop--between classes, during lunch at school, during breakfast and dinner at home, you name it, I was studying something. And after all of that, I still didn't feel caught up.

Short Story of First Week of Class:
They originally placed me in an intensive language course that was equivalent to a 200 level Spanish course. My freshmen year at St. Thomas, I tested into a 212 class. And since then, I have taken 24 credits in Spanish at 300 level and above. Those first three days of class were painful! I was bored and felt offended that we were just learning how to speak in complete sentences and how to conjugate past tense verbs. I found myself writing while sitting in class in my notebook how frustrated I was feeling. Then, finally, after doubting my abilities I went to talk to our resident director. Rebecca told me they can not switch students in the intensive courses, it's not allowed. She told me to talk to my professor and ask her for more work and what else I can do to personalize it more for me.

Conveniently, my professor was there so I spoke with her and she suggested I sit in on an Avanzado 1 class and see how it goes. I went the next day and stayed there. It took me those first two weeks just to catch up with all of the work, but finally after our mid-term on Friday, I can finally relax...a little....until Monday...which is tomorrow...Apparently I have the hardest professor here who gives the most work. It keeps me very busy to a point where I feel it's impossible sometimes, but at least I know I will improve now and be challenged.

Crash Party for International Students:
Wednesday we had the new student CRASH party for international students to intermingle with Ticos. It began at 6 and there was food, music, dancing, and beer. If you would like to see a video which Veritas made and posted on youtube--HERE it is! Guess who made an appearance at 00:21! It was raining pretty hard that night so my housemates and I were deciding if we should go or not. Berto came to visit us after he was done with class and helped me study a little for my midterm, hung out with my housemates and I, and came with us to the Crash Party! We decided to go around 8 or so and stayed for dancing and a little socializing. It was very fun! And a nice break from studying mid-week.

Manuel Antonio

On our way to Manuel Antonio, we stopped at a bridge over a river where there have been known to live crocodiles!!

Can you find the four crocodiles in the picture below?

The corner restaurant in Manuel Antonio.

VillaBosque in Manuel Antonio, this was by far the nicest and cleanest hotel we have stayed in. We basically had it all to ourselves. We had four people to a room. We had hot showers (my first of the trip!), books to read, clean towels each day, a towel turtle, air conditioning, an outdoor pool on the "roof", and free internet. The best thing about it, though, was the location. We were right between the beach and Manuel Antonio National Park. It was just a short walk to each, making it doable to do both in one day or even both in one day, come back to rest, and go back later.

At the hotel, we met a nice waiter, a boy with down syndrome who told us his cousin was from the United States. He asked if we knew him. I said "No, I don't know if I do, Ashley, do you?" And we asked what his cousin's name was and he said, "Walker, Texas Ranger".

Friday Night
After we got to the hotel Friday night, we went out to a restaurant that had live music. They served us all fresh fruit smoothies, I ate fish and rice and vegetables, and later we danced! We women very much outnumbered the men so I danced with my girl friends most of the time except for one dance which I practiced bachata with my friend Octavio from the group.

A Walk in the Parque Nacional
Saturday morning, we woke up had breakfast and headed out on a hike through the national park to the beach. On our way from the hotel to the entrance, we saw this graffiti artwork, many tourist shops, and I was just hoping to see some monkeys!