Finally some pictures up

To start from last Thursday

Classes are Monday - Thursday so Thursday is kind of like a Friday for us. It wasn't a very pretty day out and a bit cold so a few of us decided we'd go see a movie after class. Our selection was limited because we needed one that was in english with spanish subtitles. The only one that worked out was National Treasure 2, a horrible horrible movie. It was unintentionally hilarious and I kind of felt bad for the other four people in the theater because we were cracking up throughout the entire thing.

I woke up early on Friday morning and threw all of my stuff in my backpack and hurried to Brendan’s where a cab was going to take Alex, him, and I to the bus station. I barely made it in time. I was pretty awake for 5:30 in the morning. At the bus station a woman was charging to use the bathroom and I thought she was scamming me so I went in anyways but when I came out some woman was paying her so I gave her some colones but I wasn't very happy. I had planned on reading The Audacity of Hope on the 4 hour bus ride to Puerto Viejo but I ended up talking to Aly who was sitting next to me for pretty much the entire time. Everyone else was asleep but we had some good conversation. Once we got over the mountains surrounding San Jose and were closer to the Carribean the air became much more humid and I was sweating like crazy. There were a total of 11 of us going, six of us had originally planned to go and then five girls decided they would come along after their plans fell through. The six of us were staying at a place called Rocking J's. From the pictures on the internet and the description in Lonely Planet, I didn’t expect too much of Rocking J’s, but it truly was something else. A huge compound with a restaurant/bar, options of renting a hammocks ($4 baby), tents, private rooms or even a tree house. We naturally went with the hammock. There were lockers for us to stow our stuff in. The entire compound, from the walkways to the columns and walls and bathrooms were completely covered in mosaics. You can actually use art supplies to add your own artistic contribution; we would have if we had more time. There was a little hut with hammocks for taking a nap during the day. Rocking J’s is on the beach and just outside of it is a bonfire in the little bit of woods between the compound and the sea. It is definitely the most unique place I have ever stayed at. As great as it was we definitely stuck out. To fit in we would have needed dreadlocks, tattoos, a surfboard or at least a tan. Picture a hippie mecca by the beach. We got some food and some drinks and headed to the beach. Animals in Puerto Viejo just sort of wander around. During the course of the day several different dogs passed us and at one point two albino horses. Crazy. In a tree a few yards away from where were sitting was a sloth. After a fun night out Jared and I came back to Rocking J's and found all the guests in togas. So naturally we fashioned togas with our sheets but I didn't stay long at the toga party, I was so tired I ended up passing out in my hammock. Jared stayed up and they had a bonfire and everyone sat around singing, I wish I had stayed up. The next morning I woke up feeling very refreshed but covered with bug bites on my hands, and feet and a few on my face. That day was spent at this really nice beach that we biked to. The beach was spectacular and there was a surfing contest going on. The sun was beating down and it was probably the hottest time at the beach I’ve ever had. I threw on sunscreen in a very poor manner and headed out to get the waves. There were flags lined up along the beach telling you where you could or could not swim because of rip tides. In the ocean I could feel the two currents hitting one another and there was definitely a bit of a pull out to the sea. The waves were the biggest I’ve ever seen or felt. I wanted to get out to some big ones and do some body surfing but that was tough. You would keep getting hit by progressively larger waves and they would push you back to the shore. When I did get out far enough to ride some it wasn’t really bodysurfing. I had a couple good runs but overall it was nearly impossible. The waves break so high where you’re supposed to catch them so you just get thrown down and not actually pulled forward with the wave. The few times that I did catch a wave it literally just threw me around like a rag doll, it was no smooth ride. The combination of the heat and repeatedly being hit with a barrage of waves got me dizzy really quickly and so went and sat with everyone else on the beach and drank some coconut water. That night we went out for Claire's 21st birthday. All of the food we ate in Puerto Viejo was absolutely delcious.
We went to this Middle Eastern place and I had a falafel for the second time in my life (I don't know where you can get one in Charlotte) and we drank Sangria (ugh). That night it poured but we were safe from the rain in our hammock compound. I was drained from the weekend so by the time I got back to San Jose I was ready to pass out.
Monday was one of the hottest days in San Jose since we've been here. We tried to play futbol in Curridebat but got dehydrated very quickly.

Around 4:20 pm on Tuesday someone was shot and killed in my neighborhood of Vargas Araya about 4 blocks away from my house. A 23 year old was killed during a botched “bajonazo” which apparently is putting a gun to the head of a driver in an attempt to steal the car. What happened was two young men on motorcycles tried to block off a Land Cruiser so they could carry out the bajonazo. However the man in the car had bodyguards and gun shots were exchanged and one of the assailants was hit and in an attempt to get away became a victim of crossfire. I just missed it happening on my way back from class. I remember walking right past the witness they were interviewing on TV. I feel safe here during the day (although some kid in the program last year got mugged on his way to class at 8:30 am) but night can be very sketchy. There is somewhat of a neighborhood watch: guys wearing reflector vests and carrying clubs (though I did see one of them staggering around drugged out of his mind las night). I usually don't walk around at night unless its walking one of the girls home our on Wednesday's when my class ends at 7:30. My trick is to walk really confidently, like a man on a mission. It's all about being smart and using your head. Crime may be on the rise in San Jose but violent crime is low when you compare it to some cities in the U.S. (i.e. Baltimore).

We're all staying here this weekend, there was talk about going to Volcan Irazu, a volcano right outside of San Jose but we didn't really plan that in time. I've a lot of reading and project to start. I'm hoping to do some volunteer work with a microcredit organization so I have to craft a resume this weekend as well. If the microcredit program doesn't work out because my spanish level is weak then I'm hoping I can do something like habitat-esque. We'll see.

Pictures from Costa Rica so far