My first adventure of 2010 was FINALLY going to Rio Celeste (“blue river”, though if you want to get technical, it would be “light blue river”)…basically everyone I have talked to in Guatuso has asked me if I have been to Rio Celeste, and when I would tell them no, they would be very incredulous and sometimes offer to take me themselves so I can finally experience one of the few tourist attractions the county of Guatuso has to offer… So, I finally went…me, my host mom, Jen from Upala, and friends of the family who have a truck. So since we went in early January, it was a cloudy morning, especially up in the mountains where we were going. And since it had been raining so much the past couple days, the trail to Rio Celeste was all mud lol it was very fun hiking uphill through puddles of mud. I was glad I wore my hiking boots! I can’t really describe the beauty of Rio Celeste…just look at the pictures on facebook….the water is a color I have never seen in a body of water….apparently no one knows why or how it changes color…just another mystery of nature I guess. But the trip was a lot of fun, we laughed a lot and I feel accomplished now that I have finally visited the famous Rio Celeste.
My second adventure was a trip to the beach with my host family…and when I say my host family, I mean the entire extended family on my mom’s side, which includes 9 brothers and sisters and all of their families, plus the grandparents, plus 2 other families, plus me and a couple other “random” people. I was a little nervous…especially because I thought we were ALL (there were 50 some people) staying in the same house the entire 5 days…..ummm…yeah…
Thankfully my fears were unfounded because we stayed in a compound-type place where everyone was spread out between 4 or 5 different cabinas (cabins). It was a really great trip, very relaxing and feel I grew a lot closer with my host family (and the extended fam). We spent a lot of time in the ocean, and one night we went out and had a crazy dance party with some gringos that were at the same bar that night...super fun!
The adventure has continued with finding and moving into my own apartment! It happened pretty quickly, though I had been thinking about it for a while. I found a nice little apartment next door to the family I am renting from...so far so good...though my first week I had to wage a war on the cockroaches...but I am slowing wearing them down....
My “End of Summer” Camp was also a success! We had a blast and I will hopefully be doing one again (with more adult help) come summer vacaction (mid-July for those wanting to plan donations...wink wink...)The pic to the right is me sprinting it out during the relay races we had for camp with the younger kids haha...I tied for second fastest...that's an accomplishment right there...
And now that the school year has begun again, I am back to work planning different projects and programs. I have a lot that I want/would like to do in both the high school and the elementary school…we’ll just have to see what works out and what doesn’t. My first project right now is a theatre workshop in the high school…I can’t believe I am attempting this haha…lets hope all those years in the drama club will pay off… the reason I want to do it is a) to give the kids another recreational option, increase their self-esteem, public speaking skills, etc but also b) because my region in CR is putting on a Arts Festival and I would like to bring a group from my high school to participate. The festival is a really cool idea that was actually started a few years ago by a group of Costa Rican artists…it basically consists of a series of workshops about peace and violence issues, plus learning an art technique (whatever form of art you want). Each volunteer facilitates the workshop in his or her community and then they all get together and have a big festival to share what they’ve learned and just have fun basically. So the plan is to bring my theatre group to the arts festival, which will be March 20th. Wish me luck!
So that’s mas o menos where I’m at right now…I hope all the snow is melting away up in PA…its sunny and pura vida here in Costa Rica…sending sunshine and warm vibes…
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