La Guitarra Cosarricense

I will remember today for the rest of my life! Today I bought a classical guitar from a small guitar-maker's shop and I was able to play guitar and sing for the first time in a month. I haven't gone for more than a few days without playing in about 6 or 7 years.

I can't describe the feeling of picking up a guitar again after going so long without it. Quenching of thirst.

Here is what the guitar shop looks like:
It's very small and antique, located in the heart of San José.

Fabricas de Guitarras

It was amazing to meet the maker of the guitars and the owner of the store. He was so kind and patient while I tested out the sounds and asked him all sorts of questions about how to care for the guitar and what he recommended. Plus, he threw in a complementary case and guitar pick just for me. Haha.

The artist, Emanuel Mora Garro

Cedar

I am incredibly thankful for my host mother, Emilia, who went with me, in the pouring rain, to the guitar shop. She was so kind in helping me understand the instructions and information about the guitar. I am really excited about playing on a classical guitar and seeing what changes come about in my style. 

I am really happy! It was a great day. 

Today I want to post a blog about some of the things I have been doing other than the weekend excursions.

Even the little things are an adventure in a new place.

One awesome experience was going to a place called El Mundo Musical to buy some guitar strings! It has been a bummer because I brought my acoustic to play, but the change in humidity has made the guitar go haywire. So I went to the store and struggled to communicate about a subject I have never tried to talk about in Spanish. But in doing so, I learned some valuable vocabulary and communication skills.
       Unfortunately, the change in strings seemed to make the buzzing and strange sounds worse. So I have another adventure to go on--finding a place to fix my guitar and attempting to understand the terminology.

Another experience that I really appreciated was going to the central market in San José with my Spanish for health professionals class. We each were given the name of an herb and we had to ask the vendors about the medicinal properties of the plant. The plant I studied was Juanilama:










(I'm sorry about the poor quality of photos; I was trying to be discreet)

I found out that Juanilama is used for stomach pain, arthritis, and rheumatism. Natural home remedies are very popular in Costa Rica; the variety of natural remedies is vast and as soon as I asked a vendor about the properties of an herb, they were able to list all its benefits and uses.

Herbs to help with impotence and breast milk production

The experience of walking around in a market like this is one of a kind: you can smell the herbs and fish before you even get to the stall. It is a simpler way of getting produce into the homes, and by cutting out the transportation, the food stays much fresher and chemical-free.

I found my new favorite fruit: Mamón chinos. They remind me of sea anemones. To eat one you peel off the red skin and inside is what looks like a peeled grape.  

Thank you for reading!

P.S. It's been raining every day for the past two weeks! October is the rainy month.

Volcán Arenal y La Fortuna

This weekend was the excursion to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna Waterfall.

Arenal Volcano

My Roommates for the weekend: Kinsey, Sarah, and Jessie

I absolutely loved this area! For me, it completely blew Playa Tamarindo out of the water. The first night we arrived we relaxed in the hot springs at our hotel, which was right at the base of the active volcano. 

The natural hot springs are heated by rocks that have been warmed by the volcano's internal magma. There is an incredible energy about the area--flashes of lightning high in the sky, distant rumblings of the volcano, and sounds of the jungle all around you.

Sometimes I would take a moment to let it soak in, and couldn't believe a place like this exists.

The next morning we woke up at 5:30 to get a good view of the volcano, which was definitely worth it.

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, Sarah, Jessie, and I went on a hike to a viewpoint of the volcano.

Sarah and Jessie

Getting ready for some heavy-duty hiking

At the park a guide showed us a snake he had found:

A hog-nosed pit viper

The Costa Rican Blue Jay

It was a really cool hike that took us through some dense jungle and up to some volcanic rock.

After our hike, we explored our hotel, which had butterfly and frog gardens, lots of flowers, and a crocodile exhibit.

So CUTE!

Crocodiles are creepy.

Our last morning there, we hopped on a bus and hiked down to La Fortuna, the waterfall, where we took a swim in the cold water.

I can hardly wait for my family to come visit in December; they're going to love it.

Playa Tamarindo

This weekend was the first excursion to Playa Tamarindo! We took a 6-hour bus ride to the beach town on Friday afternoon, after Spanish classes. Tamarindo is on the northwest coast of Costa Rica:

The area is very Americanized and touristic, but very beautiful! The first night we got there it was pouring rain, but we went out dancing anyway!

After getting our fill of seafood, we had an amazing time dancing the salsa and merengue with the local Ticos. We went to a club called the Crazy Monkey with a live band--it was a great night! 

It had been so dark that night, that when we woke up on Saturday morning we were amazed to see how close our hotel was to the beach. 

Tamarindo Diria

We spent the first half of Saturday on the beach. I loved swimming in the ocean and checking out the tidal pools. Luckily it was a sunny day, and the water was warm.

The local surfers taught us the hang loose sign

The second half of the day was a tour on a catamaran. 50 of us spent the afternoon on the boat, traveling out to an island where we were able to jump off the boat and swim in the ocean! It was so neat to look out and see nothing but the horizon.

The Catamaran

The Island

On the way to the island we saw dolphins, sea turtles, and even a whale.

The sunset was absolutely beautiful, and the people in the program are so adventurous and fun to be around. I'm really thankful to have them here to experience this with me. 

Sunday morning we went on a tour of the mangroves! I loved this part of the trip because we were able to see some wildlife. We went out in motorboats and toured through some tributaries that lead into the Pacific. (If you click on the pictures you can make them bigger!)

Mangrove-dwelling crabs

Crocodile #1

Crocodile #2

Our tour guides docked the boats and we were able to walk into the bush and see some howler monkeys! The guides would clap and yell and the howler monkeys would howl back at them in these hoarse, ghostly voices. The monkeys were surprisingly small compared to their echoing voices. 

Here's a video of the howler monkey's voice:

Haha it cracks me up now, but it was pretty scary while we were standing under them.

It was a really nice weekend! I can hardly believe it has only been about a week since I arrived. With all the acclamation and adjustment, experiences to have, and new people to meet, I feel like I have been here for a month. I'm very thankful to be here. If you are thinking of studying abroad or traveling, do it. Life is so interesting--as long as you keep an open mind, you'll be happy no matter where you go.