Costa Rica: Monos

My first weekend in Costa Rica, our group traveled to a little town by Quepos to visit Manuel Antonio National Park (which is a rainforest - how cool is that?!).

Towards the end of our hike in the park, I was pretty far behind the rest of the group. I'd stopped to take photos (surprise!), and as I was walking to try and catch up with them a monkey crossed my path. A MONKEY PEOPLE. This was the animal in elementary school I would always say was my favorite, and now it just walked in front of me!

I honestly couldn't believe that a monkey had just be-bopped out of the trees and crossed the path. I could have tried to pet him he was that close!! Then another monkey zipped across the path, this time even closer to me. And then another two darted past.

Right around this time the cool factor that white collared monkeys were within two feet of me started to wear off and I had the same feeling I get around the squirrels here. - I don't like to say squirrels or monkeys scare me per say, it's more that I am highly aware of them and want to give them as much space as possible. - And let me just say that the feeling I had was not for nothing! All of a sudden five more monkeys come running through the rainforest, swinging from trees, and running across the path right in front of me. I look around and don't see anymore coming so I continue to follow the path, because now I'm really far behind the group. But when I turn the bend in the path I see one more, right in the middle, and he sees me.

We had a staring contest for what seemed like twenty minutes. He was definitely pondering whether or not he wanted me to cross because he knew he was in control! I was freaking out on the inside! This monkey could probably tell I had no idea what to do, and that I would have walked the hour back around the way I had just come so that I didn't disturb him. I did backtrack a little, and wait for the couple behind me to catch up in case I needed witnesses for when the monkey attacked me. (es una broma, es una broma....) Finally he decided he had had enough fun watching me sweat and he went off to find his friends. I quickly proceeded down the hill, gave the next monkey I saw a wide berth, and made it safely to the beach. Successful day without monkey attacks!

Costa Rica: Casas son cárceles?

Driving through the streets of San Jose to my host family's house, my first thoughts were:
     1. Wow, this reminds me uncannily of the Azores.
     2. I just got into a van with a random person holding a sign for my program. Anyone could print that off...
     3. Did I just tip the guy who brought my luggage to the car the equivalent of $10? Yes, yes I did. 
     4. Oh great, I just spoke Portuguese. 
     5. Wow, the lady who I sat next to on the plane who said they cover all their windows with bars was right!

And on that note, here are some pictures of the lengths they go to for protection. A friend said that all the bars reminded him of a prison. I feel like the bars and such make the houses more like a fortress - it's hard to get in, but once you do it's so nice inside!

A business in my neighborhood. Walked past it all the time and never got a glimpse inside; sealed up tight!

Normal for a house

Fierce guard dog. I honestly think so many people have little yippy dogs because they're another form of security; every time someone passes by, they start barking!

Literally all of the houses and buildings are impenetrable from the outside. Friends had something like five different locks they had to do just to get in their house. I was told that there is a lot of petty crime in the city, and that if given the opportunity you'll get cleaned out. This got me to wondering though, I always felt really safe. Was this a false sense of security because I was the ignorant gringa? Or was I just in a better part of the huge city? Or do the people of San Jose actually just like the asthetics of the bars? (Just kidding about that one, although there was some beautiful wrought-iron fencing!)

Maybe that got a great deal on that circular barbed wiring?

Also the dichotomy of the houses needing to be so protected really got me. Costa Rica has no army, and is the Switzerland of Central America because of its effort to maintain peace. I saw so many shirts and bumper stickers with paz! Yet their people don't feel safe enough in their own homes to live without a barrier of bars, locks, and gates. 

When I was speaking with locals about this, many said that it was the influx of Nicaraguans that had increased the amount of petty crime. Interesting. Don't know if it's true, but I did find people's opinions on their northern neighbors fascinating. But that can be for another time!

Costa Rica

I am back in the states, I am back at school, and Junior year is about to start. How is summer already over and how in the world am I already a Junior?! Part of me is ready to be here and at school, but another part of me wants to hop on the first plane back to Costa Rica (and not just because they had six seasons of Criminal Minds on netflix)! My time there studying abroad was fabulous and I completely fell in love with the country. And of course I had some "Dear Toto" moments too. But before I start on all of those here are some photos from my time over there!

Walk to class

Beautiful view I got to see everyday

Volcanic lake

There was so much wildlife!

The waterfall we explored and swam

We randomly came upon a student flash mob! This is before I jumped in, but we later found out it was all international students, so we really fit right in!

The only time getting up at 4:30am is worthwhile.

San Jose city lights

Mi familia!

Pacific Ocean! The first time I've ever stepped foot in it!

Mama sloth with a baby sloth.

Friendly monkey right?

Us with Maggie and Leo!

Trucks: Myrtle Beach Edition

On our trip to Myrtle Beach, we ran across some trucks.

I think they went mudding - look at how big those tires are! I thought that the Confederate flag in the back added a special touch.

"Gotta Love 'em - G.R.I.T.S. -  Jack It Up Cus' Fat Girls Can't Jump" and I have to say, that truck looks tall to me!

Commercials

Commercials. I still haven't gotten used to those funny things. And now they're putting them before some YouTube videos! Not to mention they interrupt my Hulu time and are before movies you go see at the theater. You just can't escape their omnipresence.

Overseas our commercials were not like anything here stateside. We had "Guess the Capitol" for different states and countries, who you could go to if you felt depressed, what you had to do if you were going to marry a local national, and that sexual harassment is how the receiver perceives it. Now I understand that these probably seem strange to those of you who have never seen them, and I'll be the first to admit that they kind of are. When we were living on the island, we had a commercial that reminded you to pick up after your dog when you went on a walk! Definitely not something that would be on TV in the US.

Here are some AFN commercials so that you can get a better feel for what I'm talking about:

Eat Breakfast

I get all my legal advice from Greek gods

Marrying a Local National?

Family Housing

But come on, commercials here? Ridiculous! Now I think that some of them are pretty funny, but they're the minority. I could definitely live without seeing another infomercial, sympathy commercial - you know the ones, with the humane society, African children, Operation Smile and some heartfelt music - or commercial saying how Product A is better than their competitor.

Like this one:

No. Just no. I see what you're trying to do, but it doesn't make me want to buy your insurance.

However, these commercials make me giggle every time they come on.

Aziz is from Columbia, which does make this commercial better. It's also how I sometimes feel when I kayak with my dad.

Mayhem

American Stuffers

Did you know that you can taxidermy your pet? And that there is a reality TV show about a shop that does it? I didn't either until today! It was oddly mesmerizing; I watched two episodes back to back. One of the story lines they followed was of Titi, a tiny little dog. Her owners let her outside to play and a hawk got her when it thought she was a squirrel. The parents wanted Titi stuffed because their little four year old didn't understand death yet. Other owners just can't bear to part with the animal that has meant so much to them for so long, whether it be a dog, cat, alligator, bird, or iguana.

While I'd never heard of pet taxidermy, I have heard of it as part of interior decoration. Or that's what someone told me when I asked them why they had a goose and a deer head mounted in their living room. And I guess growing up I had first hand experience with this concept - we had Pierre in our home. He was a standing Canadian goose that I think my dad shot when he was living in Texas. I guess he was proud of it? Wanted to keep it to show to us kids later on? I just remember that our dog didn't like it much and would occasionally try to move it when he thought we weren't looking. I can't even imagine what he would have done if instead of a stuffed goose we'd had a previous pet!

I've been back how long?

I just found this post I never published, from back in October. Oops!

It's been hitting me like a ton of bricks recently; I've been back stateside for 16 months. I’m a year and a half into college. When did that happen? Some days I must admit, I feel like this is my home and I’ve been here forever. Like when I was talking with a friend and said "all ya'll," (that's for a whole bunch of people) or I wore shorts in mid-November because I remembered to not trade out all of my summer clothes last time I saw my family (I'm finally understanding funky Columbia weather!). See Spring Weather during Winter? if you need further proof of the craziness.

Other days I get that culture slap and with it the realization that I’m in a new place that will probably never be homey. I mean I really still don’t understand the allure of big belt buckles, or the constant need to fry things, or how huge trucks have sex appeal. But I'm okay with that. My perspective on things is based off of the places I've lived and visited, and even though that amplifies the differences here at times, I wouldn’t change anything. I love that I can look at life here through the lens of other cultures that I’ve experienced; and that one day I’ll be doing that in another place with my time here!

I’m still learning the ways of the South, so here’s to continued education!

I think that I've adapted to some other things a little too well though...but that's another topic.

I guess I'm more of a Porsche type girl? Or a hybrid?

Road Trip: Round 1

this past weekend I went on a mini road trip to visit my grandparents!!

As I've told friends this during the week I can read what they're thinking all over their face. To summarize it, their faces have been saying, "Sydnie, two hours? Why are you so excited for a two hour drive?"

Well it's monumental that I visited them because that means I got there and back in one piece!

Again, I've told people this and their faces says, "Are you really that bad of a driver?! I will not be getting in a car with you in the driver's seat!"

They don't really comprehend my excitement and the level of accomplishment I feel. Where most of my friends have been driving since they were 16 (or some even younger - scary! That means my little sister will be soon!), I just got my license 9 months ago. Yes, I was 19 when I got my driver's license. But do not judge. At 16 I was living in Germany, where you cannot legally drive until you are 18 and have gone through their expensive Fahrschule. I may have gone out and practiced driving with my dad a handful of Sundays, and that may have stopped when I almost reversed us off of a cliff/hill. I promise that I'm a better driver now. They gave me a liscense didn't they?

Then I turned 18 and it didn't makes sense to go through the hassle aka cost of Fahrschule since I was coming back to the US in a matter of months! Well I graduated high school, we moved back to the states, I had my permit, and my parents dropped me off at college. No time to learn how to really drive that summer, let alone become a good enough driver to pass the test! So then last summer rolled around and my mom got tired of driving me to and from my internship. I mean I just saw it as quality time together, but I guess she doesn't like her quality time before 7am?

So my driving experience is limited, and my driving experience alone has been even more limited. But I just got another notch in my belt for this past trip! And more road trips are definitely in my future. :)

This is when I had my permit and got to park the car -thanks Mom! Probably not going to sell me as the best driver/park-er, but I just have to add that while doing this I had someone loudly talking (otherwise known as a freaking out) in my ear not to get too close to the curb.

You cannot say that I was going to hit the curb. Doesn't this demonstrate that I am excellent at following directions?

Update: I have made many more road trips and survived them all :) I even drove 11 hours in the span of 3 days. I know, I'm moving on up in the world! A world that could be considered that of a 16 year old American. But still.  

State Fair

Columbia holds the State Fair each year. Last year I didn't go. My reasoning was that I had tests and meetings and in reality I know that I just wasn't ready for it. But this year, well I figured I was as ready as I was ever going to be and it was time to jump into this cultural experience!

Let me just preface this by saying that I was not prepared for what awaited me. The only thing I have to compare the State Fair to are German fests. German fests have lots of beer, lots of food, and rides. This is what I expected going into the State Fair but instead of German food and beer there would be fried food and more kid rides. I'm telling you I was ready for the crazy amounts of fried foods and the legendary krispy kreme burger! My lovely friends however forgot to mention there were almost more animals than people in the fair. AND that there would be agricultural/farming/animal competitions. Before this I never realized that one ear of corn could be better than other or that there were so many different types of chickens. It was a learning experience to say the least.