One of the greatest things in the world is having someone come to visit. There is nothing better than seeing a familiar face, a friendly face that I have shared few or many experiences with, here in the country that holds my heart. This past week Julie came to visit me for a few days during her school's spring break. Although we have only known each other since a couple of weeks after I moved to California, we instantly became friends and started hanging out, and when she found out I was going to be in Costa Rica for two years immediately said she would come down to visit. And true to her word, she did. Sadly it was a short visit, but one that I'm sure we both enjoyed. We spent a day walking around San Jose, so Julie could see the "worst" part of Costa Rica, and then the next day headed to the beach where her uncle has a condo. The bus ride left much to be desired. I had negative leg room so had to sit with my legs out in the isle the whole way. Thanks to horrendous traffic we missed the bus that left for the beach at 9 am...the one that went direct, so we had to rebuy tickets and leave at 1o am...on the bus colectivo that stopped every few miles to pick up more people. So instead of the ride taking 3 hours it took about 4, in a bus with no leg room and zero air conditioning. We finally made it though in one piece and although the beach adjacet to the condo wasn't the prettiest, luckily a bus ride down the road is one of the most well known beaches in the country: Manuel Antonio.
On Wednesday we caught the 10:30 bus to Manuel Antonio and arrived about an hour later, to a beach full of Americans. The day was gorgeously sunny and the waves big. Lunch and drinks came right to our spot on the beach without us every having to get up. Julie even bought herself a massage on the beach. The second greatest thing in life. Sadly the day had to end as the sun went down, cloudy by the afternoon, and so we headed back to the condo, both a little burned and exhausted from so much sun. The next day we left back for San Jose, and the following day Julie had to leave. I had a great time, and for the next two years I will always remember Julie singing from the minute she woke up, any song that popped into her head, or even a made up one. "Monkeys monkeys in the tree, kiss kiss kiss...." I'm sure she won't forget her Costa Rican adventure either...from smelling bathroom water to delicious fried platanos, there is something for everyone to love in this country!
Anyway, on to other news, I have recently realized how true the saying "my good opinion, once lost, is lost forever" is. In my life I have lost a very good friend to a horrible misunderstanding which to this day still hurts, but even more to pathetic petty fights that I have never thought twice about. However stupid the action was, once someone has disappointed me it is almost impossible for me to trust them again, and I don't hand out trust easily. Yes I can forgive, but I can't forget and I would be stupid to put myself back into a situation where a friend could hurt me again. A couple of weekends ago a friend disappointed me and I have not been able to speak to him since. Maybe it is a bad attitude to have, but I believe friends can be replaced, and if one doesn't care enough about me not to hurt me, then I'm better off replacing him. For this reason my trip to Nicaragua during Semana Santa has been postponed temporarily until I find a new travel buddy, but hopefully I will be going to the Dominican Republic soon instead (since I have to leave the country for 72 hours before the 21st of April to renew my tourist visa!!) Other than that, classes are going...This Friday I have my first midterm and then the following Saturday I have 3. Fun. Next week begins Semana Santa, from the 5-12, so I will have the whole week off (unusual for me ;-)) to watch the festivities. I will have quite a load of homework to catch up on this week, but I definitely cannot complain about how things are progressing here. I am happy, and although I have terrible knots in my shoulders, I am relaxed and just enjoying the pura vida lifestyle!!
What made you just do the tourist visa instead of getting a student visa?
ReplyDeleteI actually went down there on a tourist visa (because when I packed up my life I hadn't actually gotten into the program yet lol) but then once I was there I had help from someone at the University to apply for the tourist visa. It took like 6 months or something ridiculous to come, but I eventually got it. While it was in the works though I was there as a tourist.
ReplyDeleteI have to enter on a tourist visa and then you get it switched over to the student one..oh wow. I didn't realize it would take like 6mo to do. Yay. Something fun to figure out later :) Did you have to bring copies of your birth certificate, etc. like you did when you studied abroad? (assuming you got a student visa then too). I'd like to ASSUME they still have copies of all of my authenticated documents/translations. But you know what they say when you assume...
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