This last month has been packed with experiences and adventures I hope to never forget. On the 28th of October, I celebrated my 21st birthday. I had amazing time with my friends and my tica family here. My mama tica made me an incredible chocolate cake and my friends guaranteed a night to remember. The best gift people can give you is one that you sort of need but are unwilling to drop money on and my friends here knew the perfect gift to give me...a haircut. I was treated to a cut and some highlights...not sure I've ever been quite so pampered. :) As usual, my birthday celebration continued into Halloween. Halloween was another night I'll never forget. Jajaja ¡Que bueno!
The following weekend, I spent here in San Jose. I explored around San Jose some, and ended up checking out a mountain nearby with a couple ticos. What an amazing sunset! I couldn't help but think of how much Jenny Krueger would have loved it. The next morning I went to service at a local evangelical church which reminds me so much of Calvary in Naperville. I was pretty pumped about the service because I could finally understand nearly everything that was happening and was being said in the service. For me, it was a great sign that I'm actually improving my Spanish here. :)
Now although the past two weekends had been enjoyable, I was ready to get moving again. My buddy Everette and I decided we had to get out of San Jose. Entonces, my adventurous self recommended a camping excursion. So, after class on Friday, we quicky explored our options, packed a few things, including my tent, and headed north on a bus to playa coco. We arrived with plans to camp on the beach that night then head to Rincon de la Vieja in the morning, but the police quicky informed us that our plans to crash on the beach could not hold up. (I feel like I'm always finding myself denied by authorities...that's what's up). Anyways, we ended up finding other housing for the night. In the morning, I woke up early as usual and took a stroll on the beach, making my way out to an island nearby with just a beautiful view. As soon as I returned, Ev and I headed to the bus and took it to Rincon. The bus ended about 5-6 miles short if the park, and so we started trekking upward. A van full of tourists ended up carrying us up the mountain shortly after we started walking, but when we arrived, we again found that our plans couldn't quite be carried out; not only was there no camping allowed in the park, but it closed at 3! (Note it was nearly 2) So, we decided not to drop the $10 to enter the park and we started walking back down the mountain. I shortly noticed a small trail off the gravel road that had no signs about entering, so I talked Ev into checking it out. We spent the afternoon exploring the natural beauty, not failing to eat mouthfuls of spider webs and explore restricted zones. :) Hahahaha eventually we ended up at some sort of resort, but we came in through the back, not knowing where we were. We saw two employees who were surprised by our entrance. Ev and I, "Are these the hot springs and mud baths?" Employees, "uh yea...did you guys come from...over there?" Ev and I, "haha yea..." Employees, "hahahahaha nice...yea just so uk these aren't really warm..." Hahaha one of those momements you just have to be there for. Their faces were priceless. We eventually continued to a campground nearby and pitched our tent. In the morning, we headed back towards San Jose. On the bus, Everette, who is absolutely terrified of spiders and other small insects, discovered a small bug in his arm. At this point we were about 3 hours outside of San Jose, and unsure how long this thing had been in his arm, whether or not it was dangerous, and exactly what to do. Now if you know anything about me, you know I was absolutely fascinated and thrilled at this discovery. Ev on the other hand was absolutely freaked out. I had determined it was probably a tic, but because of our lack of knowledge on Costa Rican insects, we inquired a few people, one of these was a doctor of natural medicine who encouraged us to cover it with tape to suffocate it so it didn't lay eggs...We didn't have tape...Ev was totally paronoid. We decided to try to burn it out. So here we are, two gringos on a bus full of ticos. One freaking out, the other totally enthused. And there I am with a lighter burning Everett's arm hairs...you can only imagine how absolutely outrageous this looked to everyone else. Eventually our director advised us to hit up a clinic because they have no idea what this thing was. Ev's tica mama was freaked out and encouraged us to hit the clinic so off we went. We get to the clinic and the doctor just pulls it out and goes yea these aren't dangerous or anything.....hahahahaha...I thought it was great, Ev wasn't quite as enthused....I guess what I'm finding so awesome, and what I really appreciate about myself is that I don't get worked up over much...Very little actually went according to plan this weekend, but I found myself loving every moment of it, even hiking in the rain with wet jeans and gear. I find myself traveling just to travel and loving every new experience for what is.
Now, this past weekend, I headed to Panama City sola. I know solo travel freaks people out, but I absolutely love it. I love how dependent you become on your own instincts, knowledge and wisdom. I love how immersed you become. Friday was the last day of my Spanish class for the month. I gave a presentation on an idea I had for a new program for universities around global relations. Hahaha a 10 minute presentation turned into 33 minutes quickly. The best part was how engaged the class was, not to mention my partner and I got a 100% on it. After the presentation, I immediately headed for the bus station and took the 12:00 to the border which eventually took me to David, Panama. I arrived in David just before 10:00 pm and decided to grab some food and take the midnight bus to Panama City so I didn't have to pay for a hostel for the night. Running on only 2 hours of sleep, my bus arrived in Panama City at around 7 in the morning. I grabbed breakfast and headed to the canal. I was amazed by the great engineering of this incredible feat at the hands of humans. After the canal, I checked out Panama Viejo, "Old Panama", where I saw the ruins left after the Spaniards had conquered the city. At that moment, history came alive. Something incredible happens when you see history with your eyes. It was really neat seeing the ruins amidst the new buildings and how time and battle had caused the decay of the infrastructure that once stood as Panama City. Needless to say, I found Panama to be not only an incredible city, but also an incredible country. I do hope to find myself within it's borders sometime in the near future. The country is full of beauty and history not to mention fat plates of food for $2! One thing I'm not so sold on is Malta with breakfast. Something about non-alcoholic beer in place of my coffee or juice is unsettling.
Well, I have say, I find myself waking up each day with a grand smile on my face and both anticipation and tranquility in my heart. I couldn't be happier with my performance in my classes, and with where my soul and feet tread each day. Today I started my last Spanish course while I'm here. In one month, I'll be done with class till August, with all the time in the world to follow my heart and fulfill my wanderlust. I have a flight already booked for Brazil for Dec 31st, and I cannot wait to see what South America holds for me. People tell me I'm living outside of reality, or say that they wish they could do what I do, but my response is 1, this is reality at it's fullest and 2, the only thing keeping you from where I am, from following your heart, is you! Break outside of the system that tells you what your next step needs to be. Guys, live your life to the fullest. Keep your heart right, and no matter what you do you'll be on the right path. Take time to enjoy each moment and love everyone to best capability. Don't set boundaries around your dreams. And DON'T make excuses for not following them. Right now, the sun is shining, I've already finished my homework for the day, and my favorite class, Philosophy starts in a mere 45 minutes. I think food is in order. Love you guys and wish you the happiest of moments!
