The Unexpected Assistants

Again, I have decided to discuss something that no one else will talk about. (At least, it’s not likely that it will be discussed in as much detail as this.) First, I will say that this expedition was absolutely amazing, and is my overall favorite. However, it was not just that activities that made it special. Two other amazing people helped to make it a blast!

First, I’ll talk about the tour guide. This Costa Rican native, Willie, was more than what most people associate a tour guide as. Sure, he drove us around the country to wherever we were going. But he took great pride in his job. We willingly told us about the country, no matter how many questions we asked. (Trust me: there were a lot of questions!) He showed us some of his favorite spots, which we were able to enjoy close up. He even went as far as to follow the group’s “traditions.” And to think that he took time out of his vacation to be with use. Now that takes determination!

But our local SOAR representative deserves some props as well! Sophie accompanied us throughout the entire trip. From zip-lining to horseback riding to surfing, she participated in almost all of the activities. The fact that she helped the now mega-sized North House before us allowed not only some great stories (mostly involving sloths, but also helped us flow through the trip much easier. She is such a fun person to be around, but still has that “fiery” passion that’s occasionally needed to handle conflicts. In short terms, she’s awesome! In fact, she may be reading this post right now!

I already knew that Costa Rica would be an amazing trip from the start. However, I didn’t know that two amazing people would make it even better. I’d even go as far as to say that they made the trip for me! You’re amazing, Willie! Love you, Sophie! You two totally rocked it out!

Blog Smog hog dog log bog cog fog frog and fainting dinosaurs

                 Blog Smog hog dog log bog cog fog frog and fainting dinosaurs  

                                                                                                      by Zach Jones

                                                                                                  

    Who loves going out of the country?!? This guy right here! When I was in middle school my eyes really got open to surrounding countries. It was mostly in social studies class where my thoughts of traveling booted up. We were learning about the Mayans and the Incas, then not too much later about Macho Pichu (which I will be going to this summer.)

    My first out of country trip was to Belize and Guatemala for school. Man did I love it. My best memory was probably seeing the Mayan temples (including the one that was in star wars) and remembering how the pineapple tasted like candy. I loved the experience and culture of a third world country and wanted to build a house there immediately. Ever since then I have been to Peru, Columbia, Ecuador (Galapagos Islands), and Costa Rica. The places that I want to go to badly are Chile, Argentina, Africa, Australia, Russia, Mexico, Scotland, Ireland, and more. Going to some of these places would help me practice my Spanish that I learned in a Spanish immersion program in Peru.

   If you ever get a chance to go out of country, take it. There is always a new experience or lesson to learn that you will never learn in the US. 

Papa Smurf is in the House!! hot dogs with logs! Jake Midgett

Jake Midgett                      Blog                       4/7/14

                Imagine flea markets and a sandy beach. That is exactly what Costa Rica was like for me. I went zip lining, horseback riding, and surfing. Surfing was my favorite activity. I did really well surfing in my own opinion. The hardest fall I took was my last wave. It gave me a major headache that lasted most of the evening. I also enjoyed horseback riding. I enjoyed it because we rode around a volcano! How many people get to do that?!

TACOS IN COSTA RICA BY MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys! Guess what?! I'm in Costa Rica! I went to the San Jose Backpacker's Hostel on the first day, ate pastries, and walked around San Jose. We went horseback riding up the Arenal Volcano. It was awe-inspiring! Well our tour guide is Willie. He is better than Chuck Norris. He is an expert driver, eats the things we eat, he also uses his vacation time to give us a tour. Lets just say he's a BOSS! I went to La Fortuna to shop. I haggled for a turtle. A hand-made turtle! His name's Tostedo. He is rainbow colored. Jared is being Jared. You know YOLO! Anyways, tomorrow we are going surfing!!! Talk to y'all for one last blog about OBX!!! YOLO!

Words do no justice for Costa Rica -James 4/7

James 4/7/14

Costa Rica

Costa Rica was absolutely amazing! The amount of experiences I had in Costa Rica is unforgetable. From horse back riding around and near a volcano at Los Lagos resort to the urban life in San Jose. Experiencing only a partial amount of everyday life in Costa Rica was another experience in itself. You could not do justice for Costa Rica with pictures or words, it is truly something you have to experience first hand. I am very appreciative of the opportunities I had in Costa Rica, aside from the fact that I got to go in the first place. Every second I was there I felt like I was in a dream. The vast difference between a couple hour drive in Costa Rica from San Jose to Los Lagos to Quepos was very interesting. We first stayed in the city, then we made our way to the volcanoes and then the beaches. Costa Rica definitely has a place in my heart. One of my favorite days was the last real day we had in Costa Rica, the day we went surfing. It was an unforgetable experience as well as a big learning experience as it was the first time I had surfed. Tud helped me get better through out the day. By the end of the day I was pretty beat up from the surf board and crashing, pretty tired as I was the one who stayed out the most, and felt like heck. When it was time to leave I probably felt like I was dead, but I still wanted to surf. I hope to continue surfing in my life as I only could ride one wave.  

Griffin O'Connor-Costa Rica

4/5/14

Griffin O’Connor

My Blog

            Costa Rica was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Every day was fun and new, and we did so many cool things. I quite enjoyed going into the city and buying things, and coming back at the end of the day with a bunch of new things and new experiences. On one such occasion, it was just Zach, Jared and me walking through the market. Several times during our outing I had to have Zach haggle for me when I wanted to buy something. It’s not that I can’t haggle for myself, it’s just that I can’t haggle in Spanish. I know how to say the numbers, (uno, dos, tres…) which would have been enough to explain how much I wanted to spend, but you seem so much more confident when can speak fluently. The vendors will try to swindle you if you seem confused, so I left the talking to Zach. Towards the end of our endeavor, we stopped by a shop where I wanted to buy a pendant. I called Zach over and I spoke through him to the vendor, before settling on a reasonable price. As we were walking away, purchases in hand, Jared turned to me. “

You know he spoke English, right?”

He was talking about the vendor. He explained to me that the guy wasn’t even speaking Spanish to Zach, and that I could have just as easily talked to him directly. I thought about it for a moment before realizing he was right. I distinctly remembered him using English words when talking to Zach, yet I had waited for him to relay the message to me. Then I had spoken my answer to Zach, who then stated to the vendor, in English, my response. We laughed about it, even though I kind of felt like a fool. Even worse though, I realized how confused the vendor must have felt. Why isn’t this guy just talking directly to me? He must have wondered. We walked back to the beach, and enjoyed the rest of the day.

my bogus blog- Zach jones

   Ever since I first breathed underwater I knew I would love scuba. Whenever I would see a movie with someone using scuba I had wanted to try it. That’s why when I heard that we would be getting our scuba certifications last year I nearly peed my pants with excitement.

   

  Last year before we received our open water certifications we met JB and dive master Richard. What characters! They had some of the best personalities I have ever seen. This made our dive time extremely fun. We did all of our required tasks which needed to be accomplished before our open water dive day. These tasks involved, obviously, getting to know our gear and how it worked, put the gear together, and we were put through different scenarios that we might face out in the ocean. Finally, our open water dive day came.

 When I was finally breathing under water in the ocean I started to understand why people sometimes describe the ocean as an underwater mystery.