I’ve now been in Costa Rica for 4 weeks, and I have loved it all. The people, the weather (for the most part), the animals, the plant life, the beaches, everything. We are studying the education system in Costa Rica, and we have been given the chance to work with the English teachers in two schools in Nicoya, Costa Rica. The kids are absolutely amazing, and they put a smile on my face everyday that I am with them. I help them with their English, and they help me with my Spanish.
Our first full weekend in Costa Rica, we went to Tamarindo for surf lessons; I actually did a lot better than I thought I would and I really enjoyed it, as well. The beach was beautiful, and the water felt amazing with the humid weather and the hot sun beating down on us.
Tamarindo was amazing, and I had so much fun enjoying the water and shopping in all the cute, little stores. I also saw the coolest looking squirrel that was sniffing around for some food from us. Tara tried to climb a coconut tree, but it didn’t work out so well. We still managed to get a fresh coconut when a local climbed up the tree like a monkey in less than a minute…the coconut was really good. We were also going watch the sunset, but ten minutes before it started to pour and we were all soaked by the time we made it to the van 75ft away.
Since being in Costa Rica, we have spent most of our days helping at the schools and learning about education. One of the discussions that I found the most interesting and eye-opening was how there are different types of education, not just the formal school setting. Education is around you every single day; you are learning from the people around you and you have learned from the experiences you have gone through. Just a little something to think about.
One of the cultural activities that we have done in Costa Rica is a marimba class (look up on Google what a marimba is, and I recommend listening to some marimba as well). It was a lot of fun, but it was harder than it looked like. The music was amazing; one of the songs that the two teachers played for us was a folklore and I was left wanting more.
On another one of the weekends, we took a trip to an Eco-Adventure Park in Guanacaste called Hacienda Guachipelin. The day was packed, from tubing down a river to a zip line course with a Tarzan swing, from horse back riding through fields surrounded by mountains to covering ourselves with volcanic ash before relaxing in hot springs. Luckily, none of us flipped over during the tubing, though a few of us got close. We did get stuck in some rocks, though, and had to have help to get moving again.
At the hot springs
The next day, we decided to go on a bike ride to a national park close to us called Parque Nacional Diria. We were told that this was supposed to take about 2 hours, but it took us over 6 hours… Nobody told us how many hills there would be, but let me tell you, there A LOT of hills. There may have also been some falling off the bikes, but we eventually made it to Parque Nacional Diria where we then had to hike to a waterfall. This hike was roughly 3 miles away (at least that’s what I was told) and included walking through the river and trying not to slip on the moss-covered rocks. Finally, we got to the waterfall, and it kinda made all that hard work worth it. The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous and the water felt amazing, but that biking was hard, especially if you haven’t biked for years (like me).
The reason we did this biking adventure 
At the school we are helping at, I get to go to 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 8th grade, 10th grade and preschool. I have had fun with each grade, and I have especially enjoyed the dance classes. Our classes have included Just Dance, salsa, cha cha cha, bachata and cumbia. I definitely get my workouts in on the days we participate in the dance class.
Our next little adventure was a weekend trip to Monteverde. I thought it was beautiful and the cooler weather was a nice little break from the constant heat and humidity. On the way to Monteverde, we stopped at a little lookout and there was a kitten there, which made the view even better.
The first thing we did when we arrived in Monteverde was climb in a tree. Sound crazy? That’s what I thought. Turns out I was wrong.
I went first, and it was so cool. Once I got to the top, I could see so much; when I looked back down to the people on the ground, it was hard to believe how far up I actually was. We also stayed in the most adorable place – a small cabin that had bunkbeds and it even had its own little kitchen. Just a few minutes after we got settled into our place for the weekend, someone looked out the window and saw a coati right outside our door. So, of course, I grabbed my camera and went outside.
I was able to get so close to it without it running away. Once I went back inside, it literally came right up to our door, like it’s nose was touching the door. The sunset (or the start of one) was also amazing, and I only had to walk out the front door.
The first tour we did was horseback riding Saturday morning; my horses’ name was Dominic (I’m not sure how it was spelt). While horseback riding, we saw lots of butterflies, three owls, and we even saw a sloth! It looked like a little ball of fur up in the tree.
We also found a really good coffee house in Monteverde called Orquídea that had amazing food and the BEST cheesecake I have ever had. We may or may not have gone there every single day that weekend. Saturday night, we had a night tour that started off with free popcorn; why every tour doesn’t do that, I don’t know. One of the animals we saw that night was a snake, and even though it wasn’t that big, it was really cool to see. I also learned a lot about ants, interesting, I know. Did you know leaf cutter ants know which leaves are poisonous to them and which ones aren’t? Neither did I. Also, another fun fact, the dirt you see on the outside of an anthill is actually the dirt the ants have brought out from below ground. Oh, and we also saw a lot of toads on the night walk. On Sunday morning, we had a “Skywalk tour” where we walked across five suspension bridges above the rainforest. To say it was spectacular would probably be an understatement.
Enjoying the view, and they’re all wearing blue 
Look how cute Tess is 
All smiles
And we saw monkeys. What could be better? Maybe some baby monkeys playing with each other in the trees. And of course I had to buy a stuffed sloth in the gift shop because I couldn’t just not get one. I’m very glad that I bought it because it is very soft and very cute. After lunch, there was still a lot of time before the van was picking us up. So, I went and got one more slice of blackberry cheesecake at Orquídea and I was very happy.
This past Tuesday, we had a dance class (an official one, not one at the school we’re helping teach English at), and it was so much fun. The dance we learned was folklore. They even gave us skirts to wear, and spinning around in it was one of my favorite things about the class.
Our Spanish classes have also been going very well, and Ronnie (our Spanish teacher) has been taking us all over town to practice our Spanish. So far, we’ve been to two different parks where we played basketball after class each time; I think I made about two or three baskets and I am very proud of them, and we went to a park/plaza in the center of town where Ronnie had us talk to the locals in order to work on our Spanish.
For Thanksgiving, we had a big dinner with everyone at the house, and we had a lot of Thanksgiving classics – turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato and apple casserole, apple pie, and apple crumble. We also had some pumpkin cake, a pecan bar, a banana cream pie and some plátanos maduros fritos courtesy of Tara. It was all delicious.
Friday morning, we had a nature walk that was very relaxing, and the guide even brought his dog which made it even better.
Annika didn’t want to get her shoes wet… 
Look at the colors 
On Saturday, our day was spent in Sámara. We had to wake up at 5:40 for breakfast so that we could leave by 6:00. Waking up early was definitely worth it, because the first thing we got to do was kayak to a beautiful little island full of iguanas and hermit crabs. Lots and lots of hermit crabs. At the island, we also got to snorkel and they gave us fresh pineapple that was delicious. After lunch, we went surfing and I didn’t wipeout as many times, so I would call that an improvement. I also got to do a little jewelry shopping and bought some more earrings and rings. Oh, and I saw a beautiful Great Dane in Sámara, too.
This is my last week in Costa Rica, and I plan to make the most of it.
Pura Vida
Finding Grace 
Once again, Grace, thank you for Gracing us with your spectacular synopsis of life with TBB! I love seeing all your photos and hearing your wonderful, colorful detail. Looking forward to meeting you in DC!
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Here is the comment box!! Not sure why it didn’t show up before. Loved reading this, Gracie. I can hear in your writing how much the program is pushing you to test your limits (both intellectually and physically it sounds like!) and I am so proud of you. Love to everyone in the group – see you soon..
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