tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79317801565458615572024-03-12T16:38:54.870-07:00I took the penny, here's my thoughtsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-88306771822868724812015-04-22T17:28:00.001-07:002015-04-22T17:31:52.468-07:00How to successfully get recipes from your Mama Tica<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When abroad-ers first arrive to the country that
they’ll spend the next few months in, they tend to have a few goals in mind.
Maybe something like, learn the language, take risks, open themselves to new
opportunities, mingle with the locals…etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These are very logical goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet, being the food
obsessed person that I am, my mind is never off of the thought of my next meal
or the next thing that my mouth could potentially love. So obviously, a primary
goal of mine, when I first arrived to Costa Rica, was food related. I am
striving to find meals that I enjoy (try finding food that I’ve disliked here,
that would be easier) and then accumulate as many of those traditional recipes
as I can for later use! I want to make sure that when I cook for myself back at
home, I’ll have some tasty Costa Rican food options to choose from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whether I'm at a soda,
a small family-owned restaurant, or at home with my host family, there is an
abundance of food that looks and tastes remarkable (probably because most of it
isn’t very healthy…but that’s beside the point). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since it’s not common
to ask a restaurant for recipes to their meals, I decided to ask my Mama Tica
for the recipes to her delicious delicacies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpCrJI-3YnxfsvNFtE70HXbigz4tLdGQ_WPTPfIGSbYELNLjTePJWocugq4Jsphyphenhyphennn6yj0Q3kd9G9TOVwy1uo7UMCqtOhySM6W82jUFLhy2b1RlZhz8mWU-2sVvzVVFtTc9cJ0mu64Uc/s1600/IMG_2289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpCrJI-3YnxfsvNFtE70HXbigz4tLdGQ_WPTPfIGSbYELNLjTePJWocugq4Jsphyphenhyphennn6yj0Q3kd9G9TOVwy1uo7UMCqtOhySM6W82jUFLhy2b1RlZhz8mWU-2sVvzVVFtTc9cJ0mu64Uc/s1600/IMG_2289.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You would assume that
this would be an easy feat, right? That the conversation would sound something
like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Me:
hola mama, podrias darle las recetas a algunas de las comidas que has hecho
recientemente?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hello
mama, could you give me the recipes to some of the meals that you have done
recently?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>MT:
si Megan morado, por supuesto!</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes
purple Megan, but of course!</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: 0px;"> (She calls me “purple megan” ever since I dyed the ends of my hair purple)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Womp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Life would be too
simple if that were the case. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The language barrier
wasn’t the problem, because I totally know my Spanish food lingo. More like she
has the recipes memorized but does not know the exact amounts, rather she
throws food and spices in, and judges it by taste. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, this complicates
the process to accomplish my goal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So what does one do at
this point?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Give up, possibly sulk a little, and
look up Costa Rican recipes online. Hope that the food tastes similarly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hang around the kitchen whenever she’s
cooking, and slyly note all that she puts into each meal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Call her “loca” (yes, we’ve gotten to
that point in the relationship where teasing is acceptable) and get her to
write down the recipe as similarly as she can to the original.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, the third option was
what I opted to do. As of right now, here are the few recipes I was able to squeeze out of
her...so far:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>To start off with the
simple stuff:</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Maracuya juice</span></u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">:
Simply cut the maracuya, passion fruit, in half. Scoop out the seeds and the
surrounding gelatin and put both in the blender. Add water, ice, and sugar if
preferred. Blend until smooth.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The best batido ever”</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:
Add coconut cream, bananas, pineapple, milk, honey, ice. Blend until smooth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pollo dulce</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:
Grill chicken. Heat and mix brown sugar and tomato sauce. Add the mixture to
the chicken. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Tico Tacos"</span></u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">: </span>Take Chalupes, Refried beans (1/4 onion, diced,1 clove garlic, diced, 1/4 bell pepper, diced, 4 cups cooked or canned black beans, pureed,1 lime/ juiced, water), lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, beef that is covered abodo sauce.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The recipes that
require more work:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Arroz con Pollo<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">&</span></u></div>
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Salsa de tomate</span></u><br />
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></u>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHSvFm1gG1EPz3GCgNvZ8jfZZlOxpShzUTLTAccu8Y1rx1YJODAfg2Zp18bVGMSB_Oz5FEroiiSiICE1e6dAnNHi9FnhzQC6GlACTjl62JxK8sTOaxUnCzMV8NTps8NqiLUNJfcxFj2k/s1600/recipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHSvFm1gG1EPz3GCgNvZ8jfZZlOxpShzUTLTAccu8Y1rx1YJODAfg2Zp18bVGMSB_Oz5FEroiiSiICE1e6dAnNHi9FnhzQC6GlACTjl62JxK8sTOaxUnCzMV8NTps8NqiLUNJfcxFj2k/s1600/recipe.jpg" height="640" width="486" /></a></div>
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></u>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-68968618049285777962015-04-10T10:29:00.000-07:002015-04-10T10:44:22.733-07:00A Semana Santa story as told through GIFs and pictures<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Semana Santa, or Holy week, is the six days leading
up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. During
this week, students had no school and most locals took time off work to spend
time with family and participate in religious celebrations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Due to school being out, I had a full week to travel
wherever my heart desired, or to wherever the bus schedule allowed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Here’s what I did:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">The first half of the week was spent in <i>Bocas del Toro, Panama</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">This trip was included with our program, ISA, so we
fortunately didn’t have to worry about paying for transportation or housing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We woke up at the crack of dawn… <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">to take a six hour long bus ride to the Panama border.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/de6f33ac67eb74692006a1400957097a/tumblr_mtcrmm2rt71sts1dho1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/de6f33ac67eb74692006a1400957097a/tumblr_mtcrmm2rt71sts1dho1_500.gif" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(Which
consisted of a Hunger Games movie marathon, rowdy ISA newcomers, and me, constantly trying to
keep myself from falling asleep with my mouth open.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the border, the next two hours was spent avoiding
the blazing sun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">crossing over rickety bridges<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and waiting through many slow moving lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soon enough, we finally made it to the water taxi
that would take us to our island-like destination. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeak2xXy9ma_1sf6thZFWjhlgd2sIgC6bXqn049wbVWAinb5gyl24EbXfg6sywtDAdjDptaQVOXWhlrgi3JIy-UlPWb5qXXs9K87ep92ANyOLwNnlxHgxz4v3fGFdgaD67jInZ-ri73k/s1600/water+taxi+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeak2xXy9ma_1sf6thZFWjhlgd2sIgC6bXqn049wbVWAinb5gyl24EbXfg6sywtDAdjDptaQVOXWhlrgi3JIy-UlPWb5qXXs9K87ep92ANyOLwNnlxHgxz4v3fGFdgaD67jInZ-ri73k/s1600/water+taxi+area.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To say that the water taxi rides were “really fun”
would be an understatement… so I’ll just stick to saying that the water taxi
rides were “<i>superfreakingawesome”</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the first water taxi ride, we flew through
the water, bouncing over waves, making it feel like we were on a </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">roller coaster</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of sorts (not to mention we saw dolphins along the way). For other trips, the taxi would
manage to glide along the choppy waves making for a relaxing ride to wherever
we needed to go. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After staying in hostels for the past few weekends,
it makes you really appreciate how awesome hotels can be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hotels have air-conditioned rooms, giant fluffy
beds, clean bathrooms, carpet floors, a pool… all beautifully average things
that a kid, now living a backpacker lifestyle, comes to savor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Throughout the next few days, my friends and I did
various things like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Go on an island tour on a stormy day and get
pelted by rain along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Somehow we managed to smile through it all)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjjf1_XD2BSpQi0VkCtEaZmR2-f1t8fdUAf0FgVCa_HaHvKoW0YSqdxWvms990di92oApyCAn4xmJ4ZQmvqbrmPjfIa50d2xzuFEgfGjbVz2_hD3lgS3qXAcEq1ubt1pPVDSAHrEMdmk/s1600/rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjjf1_XD2BSpQi0VkCtEaZmR2-f1t8fdUAf0FgVCa_HaHvKoW0YSqdxWvms990di92oApyCAn4xmJ4ZQmvqbrmPjfIa50d2xzuFEgfGjbVz2_hD3lgS3qXAcEq1ubt1pPVDSAHrEMdmk/s1600/rain.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Pick up starfish, look for sloths, and snorkel
through coral reefs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGY-dBXT57N9iDelvmBMyCoYORHRi9odvI08nkNgkxyXUOV67_C2lgslgi23MqvFAs4a_OjVVCjcAEqulElejOh8PNnDO4vY55Yf1OCZNVrh0v1V3yPo-_KyidVzd45bVa1IF-07UUAM/s1600/star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGY-dBXT57N9iDelvmBMyCoYORHRi9odvI08nkNgkxyXUOV67_C2lgslgi23MqvFAs4a_OjVVCjcAEqulElejOh8PNnDO4vY55Yf1OCZNVrh0v1V3yPo-_KyidVzd45bVa1IF-07UUAM/s1600/star.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Rent bikes to take a self guided tour throughout
the surrounding hilly yet tropical area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtawn4WYNtd3aDGWVFdIPybtYdcj-MllIFBE_dcA33CvkrLtJz7Ihk_UVpIVYaMrcACkFhY6WEZNc9yJJXwzayR2Xvx7-iMHRpZn1TO44drIHrA7Uk8Jvh7Kz8jmblpd6gEaUjTRJVZWg/s1600/bamboo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtawn4WYNtd3aDGWVFdIPybtYdcj-MllIFBE_dcA33CvkrLtJz7Ihk_UVpIVYaMrcACkFhY6WEZNc9yJJXwzayR2Xvx7-iMHRpZn1TO44drIHrA7Uk8Jvh7Kz8jmblpd6gEaUjTRJVZWg/s1600/bamboo.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">- Order the same "batido" twice a day (it truly was
the best fruit smoothie combination </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ever had). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXzBUYfyLwx53b1GSsy8uiwvw2b_SkQAzo1TJkhjltuCzJVJC1Uesj34qNQaaOD6vrMoyu0ZjCYpkorB60sA_kCfrrCqDnJVh1k5qnGkTCJnvvLjImAG3Vr9XsjwNEB7FUUHOrByxejU/s1600/YAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXzBUYfyLwx53b1GSsy8uiwvw2b_SkQAzo1TJkhjltuCzJVJC1Uesj34qNQaaOD6vrMoyu0ZjCYpkorB60sA_kCfrrCqDnJVh1k5qnGkTCJnvvLjImAG3Vr9XsjwNEB7FUUHOrByxejU/s1600/YAS.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Get adventurous with our food choices, from
Lebanese to Indian to Caribbean. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> And since
this was my first spring break abroad… you could say that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://collegetimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/drunk-11.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://collegetimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/drunk-11.gif" height="171" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- On the first night, we went to a “reggae night”
party, where, at first, everyone was standing around the dance floor as if we
were back in middle school... until we arrived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bitesandbalance.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/couple-five.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://bitesandbalance.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/couple-five.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Props to Cole for being the first one to start the dancing</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">- The next night we went out with, quite possibly,
the wildest bunch of people </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ever met. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I mean, how could you not be entertained when the
night involved a click five sing along, a confusing drinking game, liberated
storytelling, and unnecessary wall twerking?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second half of my week was spent in </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Montezuma, Costa Rica</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In order to get to this remote area of the country,
my friends and I had to take another long bus ride and a ferry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The bus ride was overall uneventful though it took
vigilance and a good cup of coffee to get onto the bus itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://thelordofthenerds.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/tumblr_m8yc581uwf1rci1oeo2_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://thelordofthenerds.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/tumblr_m8yc581uwf1rci1oeo2_500.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We arrived at the bus stop around 4:30 in the morning to
ensure that we got a spot on the bus. (The location </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">wasn't</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> providing the
option to pre-purchase tickets and, from what we had heard, the buses filled up fast.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Turns out that arriving early was a great decision. The stop was
bustling with people and a line was already forming for the Montezuma bus. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
had to keep an eye out because every so often someone would try to sneak their
way up the line rather than go all the way to the back. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We had to mark our place and practice our stink eye! (And being me, a person who can’t help but
smile all the time, my stink eye was not one for the books.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As for the ferry ride, it was wonderful! We paid about two
dollars for a 70 minute ride, which included latino music, decks, food options,
and a relaxing time. And b</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">y midday we made it to Montezuma!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Turns out that our hostel, Luz en el Cielo, was at the top of a very
steep hill. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yaay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And
I’m actually not being sarcastic in the slightest because for some weird
reason, I really do love hills/mountains (though my friends
don’t have the same kind of affection for this hill as I do).</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lifeconfusions.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/super-excited.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://lifeconfusions.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/super-excited.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me whenever I see anything with a steep incline</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The wonderful thing about hostels is the relaxed
atmosphere that it provides. Hammocks are found every few feet, the kitchen is
available for any of the guests, and there tends to be a common living area
for people to converse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The people that stay in hostels are those traveling
from all over the world. We met, two Brits, one girl from New York, a guy from the UK, three people from Denmark, one man from France, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Throughout the next few days, my friends and I did
various things like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Hike to the Montezuma waterfalls and then proceed to
jump off high places into the water. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Go to the beach and try to stay above the big
waves with strong rip currents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Run along the beach with my friend Ana, in bathing
suits, which made me feel like we were joining the cast of “Baywatch”. (However, imagine me tripping all over the beach rather than making clean strides...)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Go to a fire show and join the “reggae in the
streets” party, in the little beach town. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Finally play futbol on one of the local fields
with the new friends that I had made. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- Read, sleep, yoga (yes, I did just turn it into a
verb), juggle, surf, and eat coconut on the beach of Santa Teresa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAn68V_hlXCGBC1Nu7qmPimM1ixEXcv2FuP_cdj6OsetyDx7cRjoZaDidcAewUU4tPEKH8kcqjGXJW1NO9wRSe2TPQpLaFtS50P0X_qEA5_LxiUgh1bCc7MBImvK2p0tZXaUY6o_i8bIM/s1600/yoga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAn68V_hlXCGBC1Nu7qmPimM1ixEXcv2FuP_cdj6OsetyDx7cRjoZaDidcAewUU4tPEKH8kcqjGXJW1NO9wRSe2TPQpLaFtS50P0X_qEA5_LxiUgh1bCc7MBImvK2p0tZXaUY6o_i8bIM/s1600/yoga.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- And make dog friends everywhere we go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz47DiG-0mMB8pZY6gNmKAPrf9d3xhyF7TvuLqW9avhyCARLfLjs-8FW74UUDYvufuVSt2NtuqrS1VzvzqkRNHZMOmPFrf3xjk4PROK6gOcXzScCQSwi-CtikrCByuozAE4D5H-ZAJt6w/s1600/dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz47DiG-0mMB8pZY6gNmKAPrf9d3xhyF7TvuLqW9avhyCARLfLjs-8FW74UUDYvufuVSt2NtuqrS1VzvzqkRNHZMOmPFrf3xjk4PROK6gOcXzScCQSwi-CtikrCByuozAE4D5H-ZAJt6w/s1600/dog.jpg" height="152" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For el dia de Pascua, I was back home in <i>Barrio Cordoba. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There were fireworks blasting and a parade that
walked throughout the nearby neighborhoods. The people carried lanterns and
prayed along with the priest that was leading the procession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, this Semana Santa couldn’t have gone any
better and I feel extremely blessed to have had all of these opportunities and experiences.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-50020616978824494912015-03-25T19:36:00.000-07:002015-03-25T19:36:18.006-07:00The struggle to avoid “the abroad additions”<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before
starting my first year of college, the principal question that I was most often
asked was “Do you think you’ll gain <b><i>the</i></b> <b><i>freshman 15</i></b>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.
. .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ugh, what a cringe-worthy question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For those who are unaware, “the freshman 15” refers
to the arbitrary amount of weight gained during a college student’s first year.
It does not necessarily have to be exactly 15 pounds, it just has to be an
abnormal amount of weight gain. The causes can vary from the following
temptations: late-night study session snacking, the freedom to eat what you
want/ how much you want/ whenever you want, overeating due to any type of
stress or anxiety, and last but not least, consuming alcoh- *cough* I mean,
empty calorie beverages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I, thankfully, evaded
“the freshman 15”. I lucked out and got paired with kick@$$ suitemates that
enjoyed working out, ate relatively healthy food, and busted out with lunges
and squats during random times of the day (…ok that was just me).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, as a second year student, I can officially say
that I have maneuvered past the possible gain-age the “freshman 15” promised by
giving the temptations of college - pardon my language - the middle finger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As of recently, though, I have been exposed to a new
type of possible weight gain that I now like to call . . . “the abroad
additions”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The implication of this phrase is similar to “the
freshman 15”, however, add the temptations that collage normally brings to the
temptations that other countries have to offer, and then BAM, this equals additional
weight gain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As it turns out, the typical Costa Rican diet
includes large portions of starch, grain, sugar, fruit, meat, juice, coffee,
alcohol, and desserts.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfQ7ydJo96w0yZYxz25rHvH6EjeeTwhfdvnjggng5Y_haXi33fmOX6gdwYrs4BUniywBo3qSVuKi8Z1vEVYd0iBcRo66QIrZHdg9LVqSh5WIpoFeVn8EZ4gHAi5Fv7b7LibVlJPeWwJQ/s1600/G0140219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfQ7ydJo96w0yZYxz25rHvH6EjeeTwhfdvnjggng5Y_haXi33fmOX6gdwYrs4BUniywBo3qSVuKi8Z1vEVYd0iBcRo66QIrZHdg9LVqSh5WIpoFeVn8EZ4gHAi5Fv7b7LibVlJPeWwJQ/s1600/G0140219.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vegetables can be found at the markets but not
usually on your plate (excluding casados, as shown above).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sure, almost all of these products are fresh and
nutritious, coming from organic farms with minimal chemically-enhanced food
that is becoming less common in the States. But, the amount of consumption of
these filling, dense, delicious, and some rather unhealthy food groups are
predominant for most meals of the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">My usual diet has
gone from something like this: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gL92jlfF-IDwwWGf5Tdju81G5tMqHWgecJNsqUDMqFGkE3F-V7wadAfx4bJByV6CkxYOc4MSpxSbZsW2shJ-UpmzXkTLfHwS3AqrO_fdmnQqaitw_9qDjpLqU3XXfLsICfNnNvw20fY/s1600/pie+two.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gL92jlfF-IDwwWGf5Tdju81G5tMqHWgecJNsqUDMqFGkE3F-V7wadAfx4bJByV6CkxYOc4MSpxSbZsW2shJ-UpmzXkTLfHwS3AqrO_fdmnQqaitw_9qDjpLqU3XXfLsICfNnNvw20fY/s1600/pie+two.png" height="220" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To something like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPmG18eGINMW6C3DgQY1tDEM-AwHyapg6IGuRAYePehlZSIi5zWLBwpBJGf96IsF4i-pAkARZGuD4oNHIHaMpdsHzsDFGiXeOIxoy3wOIXZfPtcVD_fH1coGqtOa-jrydSx7JkvDDimI/s1600/pie+one.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPmG18eGINMW6C3DgQY1tDEM-AwHyapg6IGuRAYePehlZSIi5zWLBwpBJGf96IsF4i-pAkARZGuD4oNHIHaMpdsHzsDFGiXeOIxoy3wOIXZfPtcVD_fH1coGqtOa-jrydSx7JkvDDimI/s1600/pie+one.png" height="220" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the bright side, to fight against my change of
diet, I have found that exercising in Costa Rica has not been as great of a
challenge as I thought it would be! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here’s what I have
been doing so far: I found some running buddies to go jogging around the
neighborhoods, met two girls who constantly show me new yoga moves and go
with me to “todo espanol” yoga classes, I learned how to surf/ will continue to
practice, I have been walking to the majority of places I've needed to go to (which includes
hilly terrains and power walking past barking dogs), and live with roommates
who don’t mind when I do burpees or other jumpy and loud-ish workouts in my
room.</span></div>
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-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though “the abroad additions” is a completely made
up term, whether it’s real or imagined, this is what any future abroad-ers (or travelers
in general) should take from this post:</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just
eat like the locals.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You are going to be living in an exotic place for a
period of time and it’s worth experiencing and savoring the food from that
country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, a change in weight may occur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, you might end up creating pie charts to track
your change in diet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(ooooor maybe that’s also just me)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However in the end, traveling is a unique experience…
Go taste your way around the world and come back with a full stomach,
delectable tales, and new outlooks. Say heck to “the abroad additions” and just
<i>live</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-66248525141694447312015-03-18T17:12:00.002-07:002015-03-18T17:12:41.478-07:00Gringa in a Tico world: a montage of what I've seen and experienced <div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Definition
of “Tico”:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1.
The self appointed slang term for Costa Ricans.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2.
The Embodiment of Latin flavor and zest for life</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5doc5ogtoujyQVtXDviACYzktuuqLI6W75GI0DAjjFEGHmlZB_BEQ7L0w5N34z6cHv6es2AHqC-syKhKUa0IDcizYc8fTswWl95DF4fw5PGMKYZFS8-dr8TgmLJgesXrUeWbItiho5Q/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5doc5ogtoujyQVtXDviACYzktuuqLI6W75GI0DAjjFEGHmlZB_BEQ7L0w5N34z6cHv6es2AHqC-syKhKUa0IDcizYc8fTswWl95DF4fw5PGMKYZFS8-dr8TgmLJgesXrUeWbItiho5Q/s1600/030.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17.3333339691162px; line-height: 19.9333343505859px;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">It's been two weeks since I was dropped off in Costa Rica for my study abroad
adventure. So far, I've noticed certain aspects of the Tico culture that, to
me, just screams "Wow! How unusual…" but for this area, it’s
completely normal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s
what I've found: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">1. The locals actually say Pura Vida!</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Turns out that the phrase “Pura Vida” is
not just a saying marketed for the tourists. Tico's say it all the time!<br />
More often than not, I'll find that the phrase is thrown around in day-to-day
conversations. It can be used in so many ways, usually as hello, goodbye, cool,
and sometimes as a substitute for saying "I'm doing great" or
"sure, no problem".<br />
<br />As cliché as it is, "pura vida" is more than a saying here…
It truly is a way of life. And I have a feeling that I’ll end up incorporating this
phrase into my vocabulary and actions soon enough, as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">2. The use of taxis, as well as buses, is more common than other
vehicles.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">This is due to the dirt cheap prices and
the extensive amount of locations that these vehicles take people to. For
example, from my neighborhood to downtown San Jose, I can either take a cab and
pay 2 to 3 dollars (depending on traffic) or choose to ride the bus for 50
cents. So cheap! And since these taxis and buses travel all over Costa Rica,
it’s no wonder that this is the most popular form of transportation. <br />
<br />
The only unfortunate thing about taking a taxi… (Especially as a foreign female)
…<br />
<br />
<i>3. There are only male taxi drivers and more
than half of them will likely hit on you.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">It seems that the taxi drivers I've met so
far, which is a lot, are around 23-50 years old (more or less). And I can’t
tell if the majority of those men are on the prowl or if they just find it
amusing as we get uncomfortable when they try to flirt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Some of my experiences have gone similarly
to this scenario: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">After the usual "take me to this
location" spiel, they sometimes like to ask about where I'm from, how old
I am, if I like the country, oh, and if I'm single.<br />
Lately, I've decided to say that "I'm taken" just to shut the whole
thing down. However, one shutdown didn't go the way that I planned…<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Taxi driver: "Mmm, so you have a
boyfriend... Where is he?"<br />
Me: "He lives in the states."<br />
TD: "In the states? So he's not here. Basically, here in CR, you are
single then, yes?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">This is an example of how many, though
not all, Tico men act. They're a persistent and confident bunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Which leads me to…<br />
<br />
<i>4. Tico men will, with no hesitation, openly
stare/ whistle/ blow kisses/ cat call/ etc. at foreign women on a regular
basis.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Well…Can't say this hasn't boosted my
ego a bit.<br />
I actually find this behavior super amusing, enough that I laugh openly.<br />
But it gets rather annoying after awhile. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes, you just want to go for a
run without a bunch of guys pulling out their cameras to take a picture or have
a peaceful walk home without getting honked at. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I can see why the Tica women tend to
ignore the men completely because if you look a Tico guy in the eye, just once
or longer than normal, that's all he needs to come on over! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">5. Costa Rica has micro climates.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> I
would say that it is widely known that Costa Rica has two major seasons, the
dry and rainy season. However, it turns out that there is more to the weather
here than one would expect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Costa Rica has twelve climatic zones!
The zones can vary from hot and humid to cold and frosty. These temperatures
are determined by the elevation and other geographical factors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">What’s interesting is that even though
this country is about the size of West Virginia, which is pretty dang small, it
manages to be one of the most diverse places </span><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> ever seen. One can explore
exotic volcanoes, alluring cloud forests, secluded waterfalls, tranquil beaches
and experience different climate changes within hours. </span></span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />6. It’s a rarity to find a place with air conditioning.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
I've surprisingly gotten used to this fact pretty quickly. The only time I
truly miss air conditioning would be if our room (depending the hostel) has a lack of
airflow and ends up feeling stuffy and sticky. But, wonderfully, most buildings
are built as "open air", (with fans included) to let in the cool
breeze.<br />
<br />
<i>7. Flushing toilet paper, or much of anything, is
not ok here. There's a basket for that.</i><br />
I guess the sewage system here is set up differently, and not very well I would
presume.<br />
So, it is always advised that everything is put in the "waste basket"
unless you want to end up with a clogged toilet.<br />
<br />
<i>8. On my first post I mentioned that there
are actually no street addresses here. And it's completely true.</i><br />
This is why people run on "Tico time" here!<i> </i>You will most likely get lost (and end up late to wherever you had
to be) until you cover the area and learn the landmarks.<br />
<i><br />9. Tico time is a thing; it’s a lifestyle of taking your time because you will end
up late anyways. However, this does not apply when driving a vehicle.</i><br />
The driving here is so scary! I'm surprised I don't see an accident occur every
few hours!<br /><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Whether you are driving a small car or a giant bus, they will squeeze into any
space without decelerating. The roads go from a one way lane to a two way
randomly and can be found in so many directions. Drivers are really aggressive
and work their way into traffic by just throwing themselves into it the chaos rather
than taking turns. And it's quite possible that the red lights here mean
"caution… or maybe just slow down a bit " rather than "red means
STOP".<br />
<br />
<i>10. The use of machetes (from what I've seen)
is for both recreational and grass related purposes.</i><br />
As of recently, I've seen a kid have his own personal machete and adults (casually)
carrying their machetes throughout the neighborhoods. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The adults use them for cutting grass,
weeds, and whatnot while the kid was playing with it on the beach to just hack
at random things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Quite interesting, eh?<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">11. When it comes to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, rice and beans will
always be involved.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I would advise anyone who is going to
Costa Rica to mentally prepare yourself for this. Sure, it’s totally possible
to find meals that don’t include this pairing but it just wouldn’t be a simple
task. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Weirdly enough, I don't think I'll ever
get tired of rice and beans… especially now that I discovered a beautiful
thing...the addition of Tabasco sauce.<br /><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>12. No matter what skin type you have, here in Costa Rica, you
will get a sunburn. (And quite possibly a bad one at that)</i><br />
This was one thing that caught everyone off guard. The sun seems to be more
potent over here! People who normally don’t ever wear sunscreen found
themselves red and peeling after just a few hours out and about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Thus, sunscreen has become a life saver
because if we didn't wear any, we would all surely get burned every day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">13. If you are a lover of fruit, Costa Rica is the place to be.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The
fruit in Costa Rica has seriously changed the way I look at fruit in general.
Usually, when I think of fruit, I’m like “ok, I’ll eat this because it’s
nutritious, filling, and good enough”. However, after consuming a butt load of
various types of fruit here… the only thing that crosses my mind is:</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://c2.thejournal.ie/media/2014/01/mi1qx4g.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://c2.thejournal.ie/media/2014/01/mi1qx4g.gif" height="140" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The fruit here is fresher, juicier,
sweeter, or basically any delicious-related adjective you can come up with.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Why? You may wonder. Well, I have
absolutely no idea. But I intend to find out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I might even dedicate a whole blog post
to Costa Rica fruit.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">That's right, get excited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px;">And that's all I've got for now!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px;">~PURA VIDA</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-50417704310120715412015-03-08T21:39:00.001-07:002015-03-08T21:39:20.591-07:00The Start of a Four Month Adventure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MYzBWsHw3US9-VG4AMPwkVc70JlgjfyYDkoHgKseK0j1vfyup4Mpbx1-OYnDNq1AG8sU-FwHbnlt0yYHljc3Be7K78kUc8iudESpio8gOiHts2Z1gPlir1XbCoHPUWBFUvWbEp7lCqo/s1600/IMG_0932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MYzBWsHw3US9-VG4AMPwkVc70JlgjfyYDkoHgKseK0j1vfyup4Mpbx1-OYnDNq1AG8sU-FwHbnlt0yYHljc3Be7K78kUc8iudESpio8gOiHts2Z1gPlir1XbCoHPUWBFUvWbEp7lCqo/s1600/IMG_0932.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />Here’s a scenario: Imagine a small arrival area situated outside of the San Jose airport. It’s overflowed with local taxi drivers, yelling to get the attention of tourists, creating a paparazzi feel. With the blazing sun, cool breeze, and moderate humidity, the temperature is just above uncomfortable. <br />- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<br />This was the environment I was stuck in for a good 5+ hours while I waited for the other Elon abroad-ers to finally arrive! <div>
Eventually… or should I say finally, ISA, the study abroad program I am with, decided that it would be best to drop me off to my new home. <br /><br />On the bus ride over, I was hoping, from the outside, that I looked super calm and collected. However, unbeknownst to ISA, I was completely freaking out! </div>
<div>
My roommates hadn't arrived yet which meant that I was going to meet my host family <i>all by myself</i>. *Cue the Celine Dion song*<br /><br />When we arrived at my host family’s neighborhood, Barrio Cordoba, I stepped out to see a couple waiting for me. </div>
<div>
They immediately rushed over, gave me warm hugs, told me to call them “mama tica and papa tico”, and took my things. <br /><br />I could tell that I was going to love them already.<br /><br />But here’s the kicker… <br />They then proceeded to tell me “oh, no hablamos ingles” and “hablas espanol, s<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 10pt;">í?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
<br />Wait, what?<br />You don’t speak any English?!<br />*Sigh*<br /><br />All I thought was, "well, at least this will be great practice for me".<br />- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<br />Since that day, my Spanish has slightly improved. I understand most of what they are saying and they patiently give me time to process and respond (usually in broken Spanish but hey, what can ya do, I’m just a beginner). <br /><br />Also, my roommates did end up arriving! (Although some of them arrived around 4 AM, which was not a pleasant experience, from what I heard.) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As of my feelings of them so far, here is the good and the not so bad: </div>
<div>
<u>The good</u>: all four of us get along really easily, we're all in love with our host fam, we have similar eating habits/sleeping schedules, and, surprisingly, none of them mind (or have commented) when I play my random mix of music in our living area. </div>
<div>
<u>The not so bad</u>: even while being the great new roommates that they are, my time with them makes me think of and partly compare them with my suitemates back at Elon. You could say I'm really missing my "Alpha Pack/Girls of danK" a lot these days. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On the bright side, when I do finally get to see my old suitemates again next fall, i'll now have another group of awesome people (my CR roomies) to add to the Elon mix.</div>
<div>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </div>
<div>
<br />A week has already gone by and I have plenty of stories to tell...<br />But I’ll save them for the next blog post!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-16706473122035702482015-02-25T17:02:00.001-08:002015-02-25T17:02:46.722-08:00THE TIME HAS COME: My goals & promises to not come back home with a “Gael”<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am so close to writing this whole blog post with my caps
lock on because THE WAIT IS OVER. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">I AM GOING TO
COSTA RICA TOMORROW.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">MY EXCITEMENT
CANNOT BE CONTAINED.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enough that I
may be managing to do Jimmy Falon’s jig and Tina Fey’s pep-filled run at the
same time. </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">Which takes skill.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">Therefore, I am
skillfully managing to look ridiculous at this moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://thetvmouse.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/jimmy-fallon-elmo-dancing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://thetvmouse.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/jimmy-fallon-elmo-dancing.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><a href="http://cdn4.gurl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/tumblr_inline_mm5isksl0N1rbnfwj.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn4.gurl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/tumblr_inline_mm5isksl0N1rbnfwj.gif" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anyways, in a couple of hours I will be on a plane headed for
Central America to begin my study abroad adventure. I've had a wonderful time
at home, making new friends and visiting old ones, but I am so incredibly ready
to leave and begin making memories that I will surely never forget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">The goals I have for this trip are pretty standard: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;">1) Learn to speak <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Spanish</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">2) Be open to trying new things <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">3) Convince my mind and body that I am not on a vacation and
that I actually have classes to ace<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">Etc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, part of this post’s title may have been confusing. For
those who have not watched “How I Met Your Mother”, a main character, Robin
Scherbatsky had left New York to live in Argentina for a few months. When Robin
returned, she brought back more than new outlooks and a change of style. She
brought back… <i>Gael</i>. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p4xEBa-248SYGfI-ymnfkztyL8njp_YNZEb4ejqQW0g4F4zFGyaaPwIaa8CLEIGL7zT2EXGCZNCx5DH_TLPRkRB1CCv_XasjB-__304IwRnbFYrzvNdgqsC1_VJiExUEM17cg9sOyiw/s1600/gael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p4xEBa-248SYGfI-ymnfkztyL8njp_YNZEb4ejqQW0g4F4zFGyaaPwIaa8CLEIGL7zT2EXGCZNCx5DH_TLPRkRB1CCv_XasjB-__304IwRnbFYrzvNdgqsC1_VJiExUEM17cg9sOyiw/s1600/gael.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes;">I would say that this is one of my mother’s top nightmares at
the moment. She has told me countless times to keep myself from falling for</span> man from Costa Rica because she’s afraid that I would end up staying there permanently.
Normally, I would tell her “Ma, don’t worry about it... Hispanic guys aren't my
type anyways”. However, my past dating pool deceives me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /> So all I can do is make promises to her as well as to myself.<br /><br />I promise to fulfill my goals.<br />I promise to make smart choices. <br />And, like Robin, I also promise to experience the country I am living in to the fullest. Although rather than bringing home a Gael, I hope to bring back Costa Rican recipes, adventurous stories, lessons learned, and (a very unlikely) tan. <br /><br />See you in four months Florida!<br /><br />Adios, para ahora!</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p>
</o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975263708963700853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7931780156545861557.post-73829187840594959662015-01-19T08:13:00.000-08:002015-01-19T08:13:40.687-08:00Restless, impatient, and nervous, OH MY<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Five
weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I only have
<i>five</i> more weeks of feeling restless,
impatient, and nervous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You may
wonder why I am experiencing these feelings. Well, in the next five weeks, I
will be studying abroad in <u>COSTA RICA</u>! Hence, this upcoming trip is the
reason for the jumble of emotions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn2.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/a4d4a2f8-7487-4df7-a724-4420a7b64153/faf66bae-1844-4d1a-9fb7-54dc11777832/Image/af9ab1d7722be765ffadc7b296d853af/placements2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/a4d4a2f8-7487-4df7-a724-4420a7b64153/faf66bae-1844-4d1a-9fb7-54dc11777832/Image/af9ab1d7722be765ffadc7b296d853af/placements2.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Notice
the part where I mentioned “<i>five weeks</i>”…
that’s 35 days of twiddling my thumbs (and hopefully practicing Spanish) while I
wait for the approaching departure date. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
restless feeling is due to this period of in-between. As I wait here, at my
home in Florida, my suitemate is already on her study abroad adventure in
Spain. Also, all of my friends have started their second semester yet here I am
waiting to begin mine in March… which makes me feel liking I’m falling behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And in
my experience, restlessness comes hand in hand with impatience. I am itching to
leave and start my studies </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(that’s for you, mom), </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">but I’m also ready to explore the
lush rainforest, dance the night away to salsa and meringue, eat tasty arroz y
frijoles <i>all the time, </i>join some
pickup soccer games, and enjoy the beauty the makes up Costa Rica. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The only
fix to get rid of my feelings of restlessness and impatience is to invent a
time machine that would immediately transport me to late February… since that’s totally
not going to happen… the last thing left to quell, before I leave, is my
nervousness. *I’d like to point out that the nerves consist of excitement as
well as stress.* </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I am nervous for a couple of reasons, as I’m sure the people
joining me on this trip feel similarly, for which I will put into list form:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">This
is no short trip. I will be abroad until the end of June. THAT’S FOUR </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">FREAKING
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">MONTHS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ALONE.
IN THE RAINFOREST. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Okay,
so I’m obviously being dramatic. I won’t be alone for long. I will be meeting
and getting to know some other students from Elon as well as other
international students. And, I will be living in San Jose. Which, by the way,
is pretty dang close to the rainforest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So like I said, I’m IN THE RAINFOREST… and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">kind
of</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> ALONE. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Spanish
is the official language in Costa Rica. Yo hablo un poco Espanol. Therefore, my
first few weeks will undoubtedly result in countless headaches from trying to
understand and respond. Hopefully, I will catch on fast by putting my previous
knowledge from Spanish classes to good use. Sure, I will start off my trip
sounding like I’m at the level of a Hispanic two year old</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">but my goal is to come home fluent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">3)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Culture
shock. I've heard plenty about it and it will probably hit me hard. Some things
I should expect that are different than what I am used to are: to utilize the bus system and frequently use
cabs (since it is not as expensive there), give directions like “I live over
the bridge, to the right of the McDonalds, at the house with red tiles” rather
giving an actual address, hear Spanish used basically everywhere, live with a
host family (which means that my home abroad will be with a random new family and a
random new roommate), and live a much slower paced lifestyle. Hopefully, I’ll adjust gracefully. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It’s too
bad clumsy is my middle name.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">4)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -24px;">I </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">have to create a blog for my GST class. A public journal, if you will, of
opinionated essays written by yours truly. I've never been one to express my
thoughts so openly which makes this </span></span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">completely</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">
nerve racking. Sure, the amount of people who might read this blog is slim… Basically
future Elon abroad-ers or family, but it’s still something I am not usually
comfortable with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">At
the moment, I may be feeling restless, impatient, and nervous… oh my. However
unlike Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, who chanted her fears with “lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!” as she
proceeded through the Spooky forest, I will proceed through this in-between
state trying my best to just be excited with what is to come and with minimal
chanting. </span></div>
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