London

We are in London! After a long, sleepless flight we arrived here yesterday morning. It's been pretty mellow, just trying to adust to the time difference, but it's getting easier. Yesterday, mom and I went out with Catherine (a friend of mom's) who was celebrating a birthday, and today we just went to the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the bookstore. Like I said, mellow. But nice. I am sure the next few days will be filled with activities though, I have a huge list of places to go and things to do. Should be a good few days.

Pre-Departure.

So, I am finally taking off for round 2 of my travels this Saturday. It's hard to believe it is only 5 days away! London (England, not Ontario) is the first stop for about 2 weeks before heading to Kampala.

The idea of going to Kampala is becoming more exciting, even though it still does not feel very real. It's been nice talking to Kelsey, who is going to Malawi the same time I will be in Kampala. We've decided to meet in Kampala at the end of March and spend some time there, before Kelsey goes to Tanzania. After doing a little research, I think I might join her (I hear the beaches are fantastic)!

So, I have just been getting myself ready with all the typical pre-departure travel "stuff". Have all my immunizations and prescriptions—the nurse at the travel clinic told me I could probably go anywhere now with all the vaccinations I have. That's a nice little thought! Anyways, just have to do a few more logistical things before the departure, and of course... pack.

Winter in Winnipeg

I have been seriously lacking on the postings... about 2 months worth I think. I am already back in Winnipeg for Christmas with the family. The last month in Costa Rica was amazing. We did so many amazing things—camping on the top of a mountain in the extreme wind, mountainous treks to find a waterfall in Santa Domingo, lots of football, lots of beach. I learned how to surf, and kept working on my Spanish.

I then went to New York for about 5 days. Everyone was in finals, so it was a little hectic, but it was really nice to see everyone again. I was even able to go see the x-mas tree, and all the christmas windows in the city....

But now I am in Winnipeg. It is nice to see the family, but I hope to not stay here too long. It's hard to adjust to the cold, cars, big stores, and everything else that kind of goes along with a city. I should be heading to Kampala, Uganda in February, with either a stopover in London, or back to Costa Rica for a few weeks before Africa. I need the heat—Winnipeg is definitely too cold for me!

beauty.

Pura Vida in Costa Rica

Costa Rica was amazing. I don't even know how to describe my experience about it. I went through many different phases there, but left with the strongest desire to go back, possibly even to live. The people there are fantastic, and just live in a different way. They work really hard, but focus on enjoying their lives and not stressing about everything. They take things seriously, but are very relaxed and don't use guilt as a motivation to do something. They are such warm people, and just seem to be happier. They work to live, rather then live to work, and it shows in how they enjoy their lives. It is completely different from the North American mentality.

When I first arrived in Samara, I couldn't understand how anyone would be able to give up their "real life" in Canada, USA, or Europe for CR. It seemed absurd to me. But as I spent more time there, I became addicted to the place. The way they live each day, and how they enjoy everything is just amazing, and something I want to continue doing wherever I decide to live. I would even consider returning to Samara to live. I don't know for how long, not sure if I would want to spend the rest of my life there, but the longer you are there, the less you want to leave. It is just fantastic. And I have promised myself that if I ever forget the Pura Vida philosophy (which is to live the pure life, enjoy, take whatever comes and deal with it, no stress...) I will have to return to remind myself. It is just a better way of life. And my priorities have definitely altered from my experience there. I am not so concerned with having some high paying job, with a big house and fancy car. It is a place that I think everyone should go spend some time, and not just a week, but enough time to actually get a sense of the place, and meet the people. I think that many people would be a lot happier if they were able to adopt some of the Tico philosophies of life.

Cold Showers, Hotdog Buns, and Border Crossings

I've become an expert in the art of taking cold showers. You need to approach the stream of water with determination and without any fear. There are two techniques that can be executed. One is the "splashing" strategy, where you scoop small amount of water over yourself, attempting to climatize yourself to the cold. The second strategy, and the one I prefer, is when you dive straight in and submerge yourself in the flowing water. The best way is to start with your hair, and everything else follows after that. The first 15 seconds are somewhat challenging, but after the initial shock it can actually be quite enjoyable. It's an important lesson to learn, especially considering there is no hot water anywhere in costa rica or nicaragua (at least, not where I have been). 

From my travels in Costa Rica and Nicaragua I have come to understand that bread is not something that many typical ticos or nicos appreciate. If there is any bread, it is most likely plain, white bread. OR-- what I have come to realize is possibly more common (especially in nicaragua) is the use of hotdog buns in place of regular bread. Order french toast, you get french toast made with hd buns, order french bread, you get hd buns, order a club house sandwich, you get 4 hd buns with some sort of filler in between. I don't really understand the logic behind it, whether they think it actually tastes the same, or if they don't know the difference, but it is quite entertaining once you get paste the initial disappointment. 

Do not ever try to cross the Nicaraguan/Costa Rica border (trying to enter CR) on a Sunday. Apparently (and we were unaware of this at the time), everyone leaves Nicaragua on Sunday to go find work in CR for the week (at least this is what we deciphered from our experience). We got on a bus from Granada to Rivas at 6:45 am, arrived in Rivas by 8:30, made a direct connection to the border and arrived at 9:30. We thought we would then be able to go straight through and make it in to Costa Rica in record time. Little did we know that the border did not open until 12 pm, and we would be waiting with what seemed like thousands of other people until we would finally be let through. We sat in the same spot in like for 6 hours without moving, in the hot sun, with people pushing and cutting, until we finally made it through the border at around 3:30 pm. We finally made it back to Samara by 8 pm, but this was only after we paid a taxi to take us from the border to Samara (a 4 hour and $80 trip). So, the moral of the story-- no border crossings (from less desirable to more desirable countries) on sundays!

Nicaragua Travels

So we are off to Nicaragua tomorrow. The rain has finally subsided, and 7 of us are going to travel to Nicaragua in the morning. We are planning to stop at a few different cities, with the first stop in Rivas and then continuing on to Isla Ometepe, Granada, and Leon. It is slightly entertaining that we have just come out of the storm in Costa Rica and now there is apparently lots of rain in Nicaragua. But it should be a really fun trip, and lots of good people are going! we are going to leave around 7 am and will hopefully make it all the way to Rivas, but if not we will just stop somewhere along the way for the night.

Last night we all went out for the last night in Samara, as many of the people we are traveling with wont be returning after Nicaragua. It is sad to see them all go, but hopefully there will be some new students in classes when I return.

Samara is a great little town, but it is very small. I have gotten to the point where you know most of the travelers, and many of the locals (ticos) as well. It is a beautiful place when it is not raining, but everyone knows each other so the soap opera dynamic has kind of been created. But besides that it is a great place, you just have to try not to get too intertwined in all the activities of the town.