New job & new opportunities

While I was home in August, I got a job offer from a school in San José called Politécnico Internacional.  I was hoping there would be full time hours, but I got a part time schedule emailed to me and decided to take it, in hopes of maybe picking up more hours or subbing classes when I got back to Costa Rica. It turns out the school is great, and a lot more organized than Maximo, although there is still a "Tico time" way of dealing with things...I didn't officially sign my contract until the second week of classes!  Overall though, I love working there.  The students are awesome and my fellow teachers and both academic directors are great as well.  The pay is better per hour than Maximo too, but only working part time has been a little challenging, as it's very difficult to save money since everything is so expensive here. The commute is also taxing. I think I've spent half my time here on a bus!!!

Sunday marked a year in Costa Rica, and it really got me thinking. No matter how much I love Costa Rica and my job here, I know in my heart that not everything that glitters is gold.  A year here has been the biggest decision that I've ever made...but I know there are other opportunities that I can take advantage of, and I've come to the realization that maybe I need to explore those.  In order to be able to save money, I took an online teaching position part time, recommended to me by Bridge.  It pays $10 an hour and I think it's going to be really fun! I'll get to meet people from all around the world and apply what I know as well as learning new skills I'll use in my in person classes. The best part about it is that I can teach no matter where in the world I happen to be. After three months, I could switch to a real full time job (40 hours a week), but I would get to teach in my pajamas! 

Right now, the option that I'm considering is to go home for Christmas, come back to Costa Rica for three months, then go back to the U.S. for the summer (until September).  I could work full time teaching online and be able to save money, while still taking occasional weekend trips outside of the Central Valley. I'm really wanting to teach somewhere new, so I think in the spring I'll interview for a school in Cuenca, Ecuador.  I would have to return to the States if I got this job anyway, since I need a visa to teach there and the closest Ecuadorian consulate is 4 hours away in Las Vegas. There is also the school in Liberia, but I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't work out, so I'm going to have a Plan B this time.

Back in the U.S.A. (Part 2)

About a week after coming home from Challis, my friend Kristin went with my dad and I down to Tempe for the "Livers of Steel" Tour aka the most fun I've had in the Valley in a long time. Three of my favorite groups (Wade Bowen, Micky & The Motorcars, & Reckless Kelly) all in one night was like a mini Braun Brothers Reunion all over again. To escape the miserable desert heat, Kristin and I went skating at Oceanside.  After that, we headed back to the hotel to change clothes and get ready for the concert.  They were playing at an unusual (but gorgeous) venue for them, the Tempe Center for the Arts.  

After eating dinner, we walked along the walkway for as long as we could stand the late afternoon desert sun beating down on us...I think we lasted about 15 minutes! The view was beautiful though. Tempe Center for the Arts is located right along Tempe Town Lake.

The concert was amazing...these guys are great musicians. They somehow manage to get better every time I see them! We ended up hanging out with some of them after the show...it was great getting to know them a little bit better.  They're so nice and it was awesome to go out on Mill Avenue with them!

The last couple of weeks in town were great.  It was bittersweet to leave, but I knew I'd be back over Christmas, so only a few more months!! It was so wet and green in Flag when I left...hopefully there will be a lot of snow and I'll come home to a white winter wonderland!!! 

Costa Rican despedida/Back in the U.S.A. (Part 1)

My contract with Maximo was up at the end of July.  I was sad leaving the great staff and friends I had made along the way, as well as my students.  Thank goodness for social media so I could keep in touch with all of them! As sad as I was to leave, I had made up my mind to come back in September for at least a few months.  I had a potential job lined up, but it wasn't a for sure thing when I left Costa Rica.  Two other girls from Maximo were leaving too, so we had a little goodbye party or "despedida".

Home was great.  It was so great to see all my friends and of course, my parents.  It had been 8 months, and being in the comforts of home again was refreshing. 

I had been a little down my last month of teaching, I think mostly due to burnout.  It's great to know that when I need to and when I can, I can go home again and clear my head...one of the best (and worst) things about Flagstaff is that nothing changes.  This is especially great if you've moved away.

The first week I did experience some culture shock.  This was to be expected, and I think the altitude that I knew for 24 years and loved was the most shocking part.  I was so tired the first couple of days, I didn't really want to do anything, but I got back to my old self just in time to go to one of my absolute favorite places Challis, Idaho for the annual Braun Brothers Reunion Festival.  It arguably beats Disneyland for the happiest place on Earth.

Dad and I got to hang out with our friends, The Departed, and see our old friends Gunda, Jerald, Jenny, Jared, Josh, and some of their friends and enjoy the best music not heard on the radio.  My favorites included:

Todd Snider backed by The Departed,

 

Wade Bowen,

and Randy Rogers Band!

I love this festival...knowing I might have to miss it next year is going to suck, because it's the best out there right now!

Santa Teresa

The first weekend of July, I needed to get out of town...it had been a little bit of a stressful week and I needed to clear my head.  In Costa Rica, what better way to do that than to go to the beautiful beach town of Santa Teresa?  Santa Teresa lies on the Nicoya Peninsula, and getting there is really nice, even though it's a little long.  I went with my friends Jenny and Sonia.  We actually decided to go to Puntarenas Friday night after Sonia and I were done teaching. 

This would shorten the trip the next day and we could take an early ferry across the peninsula the next morning and still have enough time to take in the sun and play in the water that day before having to head back to San Jose on Sunday afternoon.  We ended up only sleeping about 45 minutes when we were in Puntarenas, but we ate the most delicious treat I've ever had in my life and we went to a bar and watched a pretty good live band.

The next day, we caught the 5:00 a.m. ferry from Puntarenas and got to Santa Teresa around 9 a.m. It was absolutely awesome.  Our teacher friend Isla recommended we stay at the place where she was living, and it was awesome...she had a great view of the ocean.

After checking in with the owner, we changed our clothes, ate some breakfast and went to the beach.  It had been raining that morning, but the afternoon was filled with sunshine.

We each even got to drive Isla's ATV around Santa Teresa.  She told us she had to teach a night class, but to take a ride a few kilometers down the road to a beach called Playa Hermosa (not to be confused with the one near Jacó, or the one in Guanacaste!) to catch the sunset. I'm so happy we did, because not only was the sunset great, but we got to see a full rainbow!

I would recommend the Santa Teresa area to anyone wanting sun, amazing beaches, and a laid back, relaxed vibe. I hope to go back soon!

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

My second visa run led me to the tiny, touristy beach town of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.  I was fortunate that my friend from Flag, Lindsey and two other friends (one of whom is also from Flag) wanted to go with me.  My first border run experience was so fun, and I knew this one would be too...a new adventure in a new country!!!

We decided to leave a little later than I probably would have. Maximo gives me a paid day off of work, so if I had been traveling by myself, I probably would have gotten out of town around 5 or 6 a.m on Friday morning. We didn't end up leaving until 9:30 a.m.! The bus ride there took about 6 hours, and of course this doesn't include getting off at the border, which was actually a relatively smooth process! We met an expat on the bus named "Poker Dan", who helped us out a lot with making sure we got the correct amount of money when exchanging and explaining the process to us. He was...interesting to say the least!!!

That night, we didn't get to San Juan del Sur until about 6:00, so we checked in to our hotel and got some delicious, cheap pizza! The next day, we walked along the beach and drank and ate a lot! We had to take advantage of the super cheap food!  That night, we went to watch a concert in the streets of San Juan del Sur! It was great to hear live music again...there hasn't been much in my time in Costa Rica. I wish I had more time...I went back home with Bethany, while Lindsey got to stay in Nicaragua for another three weeks with our other friend, David (lucky girl!).

May Happenings

Wow, I can't believe it's June already...where is this year going? I'm eight months into living abroad, and I am finally accustomed to the way of life here.  I'm done with my contract at Maximo July 30th and am still waiting on the school in Liberia...I should know something next month.  I'm also looking at jobs in Antigua, Guatemala, Granada, Nicaragua and Tampico, Mexico...but more on that later.

May was a relatively low key month.  I made one out of town beach day trip on May 1st, which is Labor Day here in Costa Rica.  I had some fun in town adventures though! Sonia, Jenny, and I went roller skating one night.  It was a lot of fun...and more difficult than I thought it would be.  It's sort of similar to ice skating, but I think I would have done better with roller blades, since that's what I used when I was younger.

The last weekend in May, I went with some of the volunteers and one of the Tico staff members, Mario on a day hike near San Pedro.  It was a lot more challenging than I thought, but the views were spectacular...you could see most of the Central Valley from the top!!

The hike is called the Three Crosses, because there are three crosses about evenly spaced.  These made for good resting points...especially at the second cross, where the group stopped for a snack break.  Once you get to the top (and the largest cross), it flattens out a bit and gets a whole lot greener! How to get back down the mountain? Well, come back the way we had come, which was steep and muddy, or go down the mountain side stepping and butt sliding...the result being a flatter walk at the bottom next to a creek. We chose the second option, and boy am I glad we did! We had an amazing time just hanging out by the water and enjoying the afternoon.

Mario was right...the way down the mountain was worth it, and it was flat at the bottom...just a few places where we had to cross the creek, but other than that, it was nice to have a break from the strenuous climb back down the way we had come.  

After reaching the paved road in the "expat capital" of Escazu in San José, we stopped at a cute little café/soda for lunch while waiting for our transportation to pick us back up.  Overall, it was a great day to see some great views of the Central Valley while getting a workout in and enjoying the clean air of the mountains!

Monteverde

My first birthday in Costa Rica was amazing.  Even though I had to work, I had many birthday wishes from my fellow teachers and the staff at Máximo.  I was excited for the weekend because my friend Lori was going with me to the Monteverde Cloud Forest, which I had never been too.  She decided to rent a car, and the two TEFL trainers, Chelsea and Iani, decided to come with us.

Santa Elena is a cute little town nestled in the hills surrounding Monteverde.  We actually didn't even make it into the cloud forest, so that means I have to go back! We did go on a night hike (where we saw a bunch of cool animals), a ziplining tour (that included ziplining, Superman, Tarzan swing, and rappel), and we briefly stopped at the cheese factory for some ice cream...and I bought a huge hunk of feta cheese, since it's so expensive in San José.

It was such a quick trip...I'm definitely looking forward to going back and seeing more of Monteverde soon!

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Semana Santa in Latin America is one of the most important holidays of the entire year.  Most businesses take at least two days off, and all the schools and universities have the whole week off! I had to renew my tourist visa, which expires every 90 days, so I decided to go with some of the teachers to Panama.  I'd heard very good things about Bocas del Toro, which is an island chain about two hours from the Costa Rica-Panama border.  It definitely didn't disappoint!

It was so great to have 5 days off and relax! We stayed on an island called Isla Bastimentos, which is separate from the town of Bocas del Toro...you have to take a water taxi to get to it.  Isla Bastimentos is home to one of the most popular and famous beaches in all of Panama, called Red Frog Beach.  It was a great place to suntan and drink the famous pipas...not so great to swim too far out though. There are a lot of riptides, and I actually got stuck in one!

The first day was rainy and cold...we walked to the beach in the rain and even went in the water, but everything stayed soaking wet, including our clothes and towels, so we just hung out at the hostel for the rest of the day.  The next day, we decided to go into Bocas Town and have some lunch, as well as get money out from the ATM (Isla Bastimentos doesn't have anything, so you have to ride the water taxi in to even get out money!).  We enjoyed a delicious seafood meal on the water, which was a luxury, as the fish in San José can be hit or miss (and even a little sketchy at times).

We also got to go on a tour to two of the other islands a little further away from the actual town of Bocas.  It was still overcast and windy, so the waves were really choppy, but we got to go to Isla de Pájaros (Island of Birds).  It was beautiful...unfortunately we couldn't snorkel because of the rough surf, and we couldn't get out of the boat because the small island is only home to birds.

After Isla de Pájaros, we went to Isla de Estrellas (Starfish Beach).  By then, the sun had come out and we spent most of the day at this beach hanging out with a lot of starfish! I got to hold two before some men came by and yelled at us for holding them. 

The last night, my friend (and fellow teacher) Sonia and one of her students, Valeria, went out for a few hours to a bar in Bocas Town called Barco Hundido (Sunken Ship).  It was nice, out on the water, with peepholes where you could see lots of different fish swimming below.

Overall, I was sad to leave Bocas, and I would love to go back in the future! I would highly recommend Panama to anyone...I had a great experience.  The culture is definitely different from Costa Rica.  The people aren't as friendly initially, but once you get to know them, they love you! Everything costs a lot less here too.  Even though Bocas del Toro is touristy, the prices of food and lodging are much more affordable than most places in Costa Rica.

Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio is a national park on the Pacific side of the country.  It has the best of both worlds, combining amazing beaches with rainforest.  Every time I go there, I want to stay longer and I always see a different type of animal than I did on the previous visits.  I went the third week of March to meet up with my friend, Paola, and her family.  I had seen her the weekend before in San José, but it was a brief visit, as they were heading to Arenal the next day.  Luckily, I found the time to head to Manuel Antonio for a night to see her, and I'm so glad I did...we had a great time!

I met her, her husband Yuri, and their boys, Diego and Marco at the park.  I left San José later than originally planned, and she didn't have a phone, so they were left with nothing to do but wait for me at the park entrance.  Once I showed up, we paid for a guide (which I had never had before) and started into the park.  I'm so glad we had the guide, because he knew exactly where all the animals were hiding out. 

After the guide, we hung out on the beach for a couple hours just enjoying the beautiful weather that weekend.  The water was the perfect temperature, and it was great getting to catch up on the last three months since I was home in Flagstaff for Christmas with Paola.

After the park, we ate at a restaurant close to the park entrance, then hopped in their rental car for the short but windy drive back down the road to Quepos, which is the closest town to Manuel Antonio, and where I would stay for the night. On our way, we stopped at a really cool restaurant that utilized an airplane...it was appropriately named "El Avion".

The next morning, I met Paola and her family at their hotel for some breakfast and more beach hang out time at Playa Espadilla...this beach is the main public beach at Manuel Antonio, but their hotel was all the way on the north end, so it was nice and quiet.  There is also another smaller, more private beach called Playa Playitas (funny, I know). I had a great, relaxing weekend!

Liberia

The first week of March I headed north to my favorite province in Costa Rica, Guanacaste.  Whether it's because it's the first place I visited in Costa Rica or because I was with my parents at the time, I don't know.  Liberia has a very special place in my heart.  I've blogged about a language school there called Instituto Estelar Bilingue, which was the first school I interviewed with after I got my IDELT certificate...I actually was in contact with her while I was still in Chile. 

The primary purpose of my trip to Liberia was to see the school and meet the director, Bethany.  I arrived there on a Friday night after a very comfortable ride on an air conditioned bus (almost unheard of!).  I got settled at the hotel and wandered the two blocks down the street to the school.  

Bethany actually told me there was a job opening at the end of April, as that's when one of her teachers would be leaving because it was the end of their contract.  I would love to head up there that soon, but as I've already committed to going home in August, I told her September would be better.  

Conveniently, the Fiestas de las Civicas were also going on in Liberia that weekend, and I took the opportunity to explore the town a little more. I love the culture, it's very different from San José and the Central Valley.  There is a more relaxed vibe here.  No one is in much of a hurry to do anything.  The people are happier and live longer, and I can understand why.  They have orgullo, or pride for not just their country but also their province, town, and all the people that live there. 

I think I understand why Guanacaste is my favorite.  It reminds me of home.  For the 72 short hours I was in Liberia, I felt more at home than I had since returning to Costa Rica on New Years Day.  The people greeted me like they'd known me for years.  I got to observe a kid's class that Bethany teaches on Saturdays, and it was great to be able to see the teaching style a bit before I actually teach there.  I really hope this job works out in September, because right now, I need more relaxation, less stress, and a little more of the "Guanacasteco" culture in mi vida. :)

Here are some pictures of the "tope" or parade in the streets of Liberia:

My parents visit Costa Rica! Part 2: La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano

My third trip to Costa Rica and I finally got to see Arenal! I now know what all the fuss is about.  The volcano is only a mile high (5,500 feet), but it towers over everything else around it, including the small, tourist town of La Fortuna.  

We stayed at a really nice little eco-lodge on the edge of La Fortuna...it was a dirt road off a dirt road kind of place.  There was a pool and a river on the hotel grounds, and the day we arrived it was pretty hot, so we opted for these options instead of the infamous hot springs nearby.

The next day, we went horseback riding to La Fortuna Waterfall. It was an amazing tour with amazing views! 

We even got to check out one of the native tribes living near the active volcano, and swim in the cool water near the falls.

We didn't even make it into the national park or Lake Arenal, but it was an amazing weekend in La Fortuna. The scenery and volcano views are to die for! I would love to go back and explore more when I have another long weekend!!!