Work was very slow yesterday and we spent a lot of time at the base, but it was okay because the paramedics taught me where all the vaccinations and medicines are in the ambulance so that he can say, ¨ipenophrena!¨ and then I can go and grab him the epinephrine and what not. Cant wait to put my knew knowledge to work!!

Mann I hope I can write a sufficient blog, but bear with me because Im sick again! See what had happened was...I went to Volcan Poas today after my 24hr shift at work and while waiting at the bus stop, I met this really nice chinese couple from the bay area. They let me use their camera battery because mine died during the bus ride. And sooo..because were at such high elevation at the volcano, it was freezing cold and raining, and the chinese lady that i met was only wearing a tanktop and shorts! Sooo..i let her use my umbrella while I got soaked in my raincoat that I learned was not impermeable. It actually is very permeable because my clothes were drenched underneathe and I spent an hour and a half in bus with the AC on full blast, freezing my butt off ..so in conclusion-- i have another fever.

But its ok. At least I was very fortunate to have successfully got to the place and back, safe and sound, all by my self, and was able to see the crater of the volcano! Most people dont get to see it because its usually blanketed with clouds, but lucky ol me, it was crystal clear today and it was BEAUTIFUL. I must have been staring at it for 20 minutes straight, amazed at how incredible nature is. I could see all the different layers of rock and earth, and the crater was bubbling with steam with beautiful vegetation growing at its rim. Ahhh...I wish I could upload my pictures! ( oh yea, my camera broke from the rain. )

I was helping this same couple get back to their hotel because theyve never been on public transportation in this country and dont speak much spanish, so I helped translate directions from others. I felt pretty good about that. Haha. When the couple finally reached their destination, an older lady that sat next to me on the bus said to me, in spanish of course, '' you know a lot. Are you japonese¨ I told her no, and explained to her that Im Filipina American and am volunteering here for a month. She asked how old I was and when I told her 19, she said ¨and youre riding this bus alone?! you have to know a lot then¨ I responded saying that I really dont and that Im just brave. Her response was ¨si, estupida¨ Hahaha. I couldnt stop laughing. I wasnt offended because it was that very moment I realized that I have never been able to say Im brave before. Its usually the other way around--- I usually know and am capable of more, but am not confident or courageous enough to act upon it. I could name a zillion incidents that this has happened. And here I am, doing exactly what I want, going exactly where I wanna go, and not letting fear stop me.

Crazy.

thank you God for this amazing life!!

En serio. I had an awesome weekend in Puerto Viejo de Limon. I completely fell in love with the place. Its in the carribean coast, with beautiful beaches, and a culture that is unlike any other in Costa Rica. Most of the locals there have Jamaican decent, so they have an accent but speak spanish. Its so tight!! So almost every store, restaurant, and bar are painted in red, yellow and green, bumpin their reggae music, and owned and filled with dreadlocked rastafarians. I LOVE IT.

The first night we got there, we went to a reggae club and had a blast. Probably one of the best nights Ive had thus far. I had soo much fun. Ive always wanted to go to reggae club and when I finally get to go, Im actually at one thats legit. lol. Brittany + Me + cervezas + tragos = FUN FUN FUN. (So much fun that I didnt even notice I was attacked by mosquitos during the night and am currently completely covered with red bumps and having to take pills and using cream to cure this incredible nuisance.)We didnt get to our place, which was a cool little bungalow surrounded by tropical trees and birds, until 4am and laughed ourselves to sleep about something I cant even recall.

The next day was supposed to be spent at the beach, but unfortunately it was raining so we had to stay inside. Well it actually wasnt that unfortunate because the folks that we met the night before made me forget all about our broken plans. They took us out to eat and we spent hours talking about crazy stories of the past...and yes..in spanish! Although I was doing way more listening than talking..I thought it was so cool how Ive improved enough to understand it. Then later that day we went to a rodeo bull show thing, which I did not like. I dont know if its me being too uptight but... animal cruelty does not entertain me. But after we went to another reggae-salsa-club and had another really good night.

Our last day, we finally accomplished spending the day at the beach...and it was AWESOME. The first beach we went to was isolated in its own little corner and was so calm and relaxing. The second beach we went to was just as beautiful but filled with the local rasta surfers. When have you ever seen dreadlocks on a surfboard...sooo tiight! I told you I fell in love with the culture lol.

I was really proud of myself. If you know me, you know that Im more of the ¨doesnt matter to me¨ or ¨i dont know¨ or always-getting-lost kind of girl. But this weekend, I booked our hotel, made sure that it was at an ideal location, scheduled our bus departure and arrival times, planned what clubs and bars we should hit up and it couldnt have been more successful.

But now Im back in Heredia, sad to have left a place that I for sure want to return to.

Today was my day off so I went to a coffee plantation (coffee is Costa Ricas largest export) and then went to the Museo for The Peace. The current president won the Nobel Peace Prize so the museum is dedicated to him and all the efforts of others who strived for the same goal of world peace like Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. It was pretty cool. I have work tomorrow from 8am to 8am the next day, and am going to a volcano right after. In case your wondering, I went to the plantation, museum and am going to the volcano alone and by bus. Im managing to get to all these places by means of public transportation in a place without any street names and drivers who only speak spanish.


Look at me...Im slowly but surely growing up :)

my first day on the job

it was loco. My first day was pretty damn surreal. When I first arrive to the base, Im thinking were going to be here for a couple of hours, jus chillin, but little did I know, fifteen minutes later, were rushing down the stairs, throwing our stethescopes around our necks and zooming through the streets. I swear, I felt like I was in a video game-- maximum speed, running through red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road. It was a huge adrenaline rush. We were out on duty for 5-6 hours straight..call after call. Most of the cases were minor, thank God, but what was really interesting were the hospitals. There arent any individual rooms, just a huge space filled with patients and their beds and occasionally a curtain to separate each sickly patient. (it reminded me of the infirmaries that youd see on TV during WWII.) I dont think I could participate in that always-on-the-run lifestyle permanently..its hard on the body and the mind.
I had to keep reminding myself to look confident and act like I knew what was going on. Supposedly, my feelings tend to be clearly written on my face, so I didnt want the patients or their families to wonder why this worried and concerened little asian girl is even here. It was tough because not a single word of english was spoken so it was difficult to understant the situation. But I manage and amde it through my first day. We only had one call in the middle of the night, so other than that it was pretty cool.


This weekend Brittany ( my new friend from Montana) are going to the Carribean!

PURA VIDA!

thats the Costa Rican saying..the literal translation in english is pure life and i think it really captures the mood of this country-- very positive, happy and tranquila

¨Pura Vida couldnt explain this feeling any better. I am so in love with my life and all that I have been blessed with! I love all the people that I have met, the extremely nice familes that I have stayed with, the experiences that Ive had and the many more that I will embark on in the next two and a half weeks. This is definitely an opportunity of a lifetime.

My three day weekend was great in Quepos. We finally got to see the rainforest and beaches that we were expecting to see and finished each tiresome day with some drinks at the bar. Although it rained, we still had an amazing time nonetheless. Ohh..I surfed! Well...kind of. Kathryn and I got a good deal on board rentals and decided not to hire a teacher because we assumed that we could teach ourselves by watching others. But wow..it looks way harder than it looks. My lil ass couldnt even get past the part where the waves break. I just kept on getting smashed by the big waves AND my board. Whoever was watching me must have gotten a good laugh. Haha. However, I did manage to catch some baby waves and almost stood up! I met this guy from San Diego who has been living in Costa Rica for 6 months and he tried to help me, but I was a lost cause.

By the time we arrived home in Curridabat on Sunday night, we were soo tiired, dirty and stinky. Four hours on the bus, right after a whole day at the beach! My last day in Curridabat was supposed to be Monday, but because the girls wanted to go to a Salsa and Merengue class in San Pedro, I decided to stay one more day. The class was so fun! Im glad my infamous sweaty palms didnt act up because we had to dance with partners. Although none of the guys had much rhythm, I had a good time and I cant wait to use these new moves at the Discoteca Salsa this Thurs or Friday night! haha

So Im done with my spanish class in Curridabat and now Im in Heredia to start my volunteer project tomorrow. My shift with the ambulance company will be 24hours on and 24 hours off...pobrecita Im going to be spending a lot of time at the base just waiting for our calls. The manager told me to bring a sleeping bag and my ipod.

I love it here with my new host family!! There is a mother with three sons (25,22 and 15) and a few other girls who attend the nearby university that live here too. Everyone is so nice and welcoming..I feel very lucky to be here. (AND they have internet!)

I will be uploading my pictures soon so get ready for it

P.S. i miss you ♥

estoy muy feliz =)

I am really enjoying myself here. I admit, the first few days were intimidating, but I think I´ve got the hang of this thing ... and I like it. I´ve moved into my first host family home, which I will be staying at until next monday, and I´ve started my spanish class. In the house, there is my host mother, who is incredibly nice, her husband, who is a little weird, and the grandmother. None of them speak english, but even if the husband could, I dont think I could understand him anyway. He´s one of those old people who could stare out the window for hours. Today, he put a plastic tarantula near the table to scare us while me and the other hostees were eating lunch. Haha! Speaking of the other hostees, I love them! There are two girls, Mara & Mariel, from Germany who stay in the room next to me. They are going to be volunteering in orphanages and schools in Costa Rica for 5 months. I´ve met many new friends who are among the nicest people I´ve ever met. They all made me feel really comfortable and at ease.

Right after I settled my things in my room, I had to go to the first day of clase de espanol. I´m in a private organization so the class is only open to those who are in the organization, with a maximum of 5 in each session. There was me, another girl from Germany, and a guy from Norway. The class was informative, but everything I already learned so I ended up going into the intermediate course. Woop woop! hah. That first night, Mara and Mariel introduced me to two other girls, another from Germany (Clara) and one from Kentucky ( Kathryn) who I will be living with during my volunteer project. We rented a chick flick, laughed, (and of course I almost cried) and then spent the night swapping intresting facts about our countries. It´s so sad how ignorant America is! Most people from other countries know multiple languages and are very knowledgable about the world..but us americans...we think that our country and our language is worth knowing about. Que lastima.

On tuesday, besides my morning class, I spent the entire day in bed because I had a high fever. I felt cold but my body was burning hot and sweaty. But after good rest, I guess I was much better because I was able to go to the bar with the girls that night. Haha. So I´m looking
at the coctail menu for something cheap but sounds good right... too bad I end up buying a non-alcoholic drink!! Haha. Oh well..guess it wasn´t meant to be.

Yesterday, after our morning classes and going to the internet cafe to call our parents, we planned on going to the movie theatres but it was too raining hard to go. Actually...it rains every single day. I think thats why I got sick. I was expecting nice tropical weather, but I guess tropical requires rain. I wish we could have gone to the movies because on wednesdays its only 2 american dollars! But instead Mara and I spent the night watching half of season 2 of FRIENDS
:)

Today, as we were on our way out of the house I had a blood nose! It was one of those that you think will never end. My poor host mother was probably thinking ¨this damn sickly american girl!¨ Haha. Kathryn, Mariel and I went to San Jose again to buy the bus tickets for our weekend trip. We don´t have school tomorrow because aug 15 is mothers day..and here in costa rica, its a national holiday! Talk about girl power! So friday morning through Sunday, we´re going to the coast where we finally get to experience the nice tropical weather, sandy beaches, exotic plants and animals....the Costa Rica that we´ve been waiting for! I´m so excited!

With that said, I´ve been really enjoying my time here. Well, everything but nighttime. I swear, I feel like an insomniac! I either can´t sleep or wake up every hour. I´ve even literally tried counting sheep. Haha! If it wasn´t for Snuggles and ¨my ninja¨ I don´t think sleep would ever be accomplished.

Oh! Kinda random but interesting -- my english got worse!! Wow..just to write that last sentence took me a while. First I had ¨gotten worse¨and then I put a ¨had¨ in front. Ayy...the combination of learning spanish so quickly and constantly breaking down my english for my German friends is messing up my own native language! I think in english, but I try to translate it in my head in spanish and then if i don´t know how, I try to learn. My spanish-english dictionary became my new right hand man. ( But you´re still my fave, Shellane! lol ) So if the grammar is off in these upcoming blogs, Im sorry! But at least my spanish is getting better! This other volunteer who stayed at my host family´s house said that if ¨you´re english is getting worse that means fluency in spanish is around the corner.¨

¡Hola de Costa Rica!

So i´ve had my first whole day here in San Jose, Costa Rica!

I arrived last night at 7pm and it was already pitch dark! They don´t do daylight savings here so it gets dark early. Becuase the airport is in the capital, San Jose, it´s pretty civilized and touristy. However, the hostel that I´m staying at gave me a scare. As the shuttle is taking me to the hostel, we go from the ¨touristy¨main street to the straight up slums, and the driver stops and says ¨ok estamos aqui.¨in front of a tiny building that is damn near deteriorating with a security guard in the front due to the increased amount of robbery in this city. I almost pissed in my pants. I´m given my key and it takes me forever to find my room, as I´m lugging a 65lb luggage and an enormous backpack. I finally find the room, and when I open the door, I almost piss in my pants again. There are two TINY connected rooms with TINY 4 little bunkbeds with no bedsheets, and nothing else. Not to mention, the locks on the doors don´t even work. I tried to keep cool, but the place is loaded with strange looking backpackers, who look well traveled, way older, and scary! (However, I manage to meet another college student from NYC who has just arrived from a 12 hour bus ride from Nicaragua.) When I called my parents to check in with them, I couldn´t help but cry! I didn´t want them to sense my fear and nervousness, knowing it only make them more scared then they already were, so I quickly got off the phone. I had the hardest time sleeping. Thank God I brought my snuggles. (I sleep with my teddy bear that my dad gave my mom when I was born. I know. I´m 19. I sleep with a teddy bear.) I thought I was gonna wake up with all my belongings goone..but fortunately everything was okay.. I think I was so scared because how uncomfortable I was, but I´m over it now.

I had a great day in the city. I woke up early and had breakfast near the parque central and watched the locals try to persuade the tourists to buy whatever they were selling. Many sock sellers. Weird. After breakfast,I went to sunday mass at this really nice cathedral. Catholism is big here, it being colonized by the spaniards. I didn´t understand a word the priest said, but whatever. Haha! But after that, I went to the museo de precolumbia y arte and seen lots of interesting artififacts and contemporary art. Then I walked around and seen this tight ass art gallery.My dumbass forgot my usb cord for my camera, so I can´t post pictures, but just trust that it was soooo tight. Then I went to the museo nacional where I learned more about the history and then drifted off to the parque nacional. There were so many couples there...kissing and embracing one another. I don´t blame their extreme PDA because the parks here are pretty romanitc. (Made me miss you know who a lil bit)

After, I decided I should come back to the hostel. The sun was soon coming down and I was NOT about to walk through the slums ALONE. But yes, to everyone´s surprise, I got lost. But it´s not entirely my fault..see...there are no street names here! I hate it. When you ask for directions here, they tell you how many blocks to walk or use landmarks to identify a location. This is not very effective for my poor sense of direction...pobrecita.

So now here I am, back at the hostel´s internet lounge, after a FULL day of nonstop walking, my repetitive ¨no intienda¨ and ¨que??¨and the countless number of men hissing and cooing at me, but was nonetheless, very enlightening and fullfilling.

I´m feeling more at ease and excited about what else is ahead of me.

Tomorrow, I start my spanish class and get to leave this creepy hostel.

six more hours til I leave the country

I'm scared shitless.

I've been waiting for this for many months, but now that's it really about to happen, I'm getting really nervous! Nervous and excited. This journey I am about to take part of is sooo out of my comfort zone and my innate personality, but everything that I want and need. I'm going to another country, where english is hardly spoken at all, with my (as we all know) poor sense of direction and decision making, and with no one to help me, but myself. I can't wait to see the person that I am going to be when I come back. (Maybe I'll come back and never lose any of my possessions ever again!! ha!)

The first week that I'm there, I'm going to be staying at a dorm at the university in the capital of Costa Rica. I'll be taking spanish classes 4 hours every morning and then having the rest of the day to explore on my own. The next three weeks after that I'll move in with my host family and do my volunteer work on the paramedic ambulance. Lord, please give me the strength to stay composed and strong no matter how graphic and emotionally unpleasant the scenes are!! *sigh*

I've been doing a lot of reading on the country and it gives me butterflies thinking about all that is ahead of me. The capital is known for its architecture, music and art, and God knows I'm a huuuge fan of alla that so I'm excited. And of course the country itself is known for its tropical rainforests and beaches, being one of the top tourist countries to visit, so I'm excited for that too. 

MUST DO'S:

-Canopy Tour (so I can swing down a treetop!)
-Hike up mountains/volcanoes
-Rainforest Tour - wildlife watching
-Beach
-Art Museums

-Watch a theatre production 

-Festivals 
-Clubs & Bars
Complejo Salsa (54 y Zadidas en San Jose)
-Eat Authentic Costa Rican Food
-Meet lots of people & have the time of my life!

Life, I'm comin' at you HARD. 

because it's EVERYTHING I NEEDED to hear before I departed.

" I just wanted to write you a little something before you left for Costa Rica!

First, I just want to say how proud I am of you in putting it on yourself to take this journey. Despite all the wonderful things you will be doing helping humanity, I know you will be doing a greater service to yourself, allowing yourself to BE, to live, to RELAX, to embark on a journey to find a greater sense of yourself... and for that reason, I could not be more excited for you! 

Sista, the time is NOW and I could not be more excited for you thinking of the even greater person you will be when you get back. For all the bullshit you went through in the past and all the people that have hurt you and you've forgiven, I pray that this trip for you will be an experience full of an even greater LOVE for life, LAUGHTER with NEW friends, OPENNESS to what lies ahead and simply LIVING the way you imagined YOUR life to be.  

So my dear SISTER & former roommate who I've seen grow in leaps and bounds, ENJOY every moment of this trip. I know how you get when you contemplate too much, but I pray that you rid all of your nervousness and questions about the future, your misgivings about yourself and just allow yourself to be in the present. ALLOW yourself to indulge in all the things that provide you pleasure while you are there, because you are totally DESERVING of it. I'm telling you now, BUY that dessert that looks delicious because I know it will taste fucking good OKAY. :) Take that leap (safely!) off some rock into the ocean even if you're scared, you may never get to do it again! 

I can't wait to witness the beautiful person that will get back when I see her this fall. Please be safe, enjoy yourself to the utmost, if you need anything leave it up to the Lord, he will provide.. and keep me updated on your blog if you can!  

I love you so much Catrina!!! Your sista,

Cammille Santos"

i fucking love you,CAMMILLE SANTOS!

Now let me soak every word in. *inhale. exhale*

gotta keep my heels on the ground...

and not over my head.

i can't stop smiling.

GIDDY.

GIGGLY.

excited. anxious. 

last night my cousin told me i was giggling and smiling in my sleep. HA.

its getting scary how happy i am-- scary cuz i dont want it to stop.

YIKES!