Hunger

Last week I turned 23. My main thought/fear was that I haven't done or seen nearly enough. I put myself under tremendous pressure to do as much as possible as soon as possible. But that's just the thing... it's not possible to do everything and go everywhere. I have to continually remind myself that I have my whole life to fulfill my goals and ambitions. Yesterday I had a conversation with my friends about when our lives are going to start. But who says they haven't already started? Though my life is not orthodox, I am doing what I am passionate about, and I intend to remain loyal to my inclinations. So instead of feeling old and trapped in an unfulfilling career at 23, I am able to relate with Robbie Turner in Ian McEwan's Atonement, who is also 23 and has just finished his undergraduate education.

"He had never before felt so self-conciously young, nor experienced such appetite, such impatience for the story to begin."

Outer Banks, NC

Within two hours of disembarking my plane from CR, I was en route to Rodanthe, North Carolina to spend a week camping with my family. Going from a month of having my own room in a foreign country with no familial obligations to living in a camper with six full grown people was a bit trying to say the least. But after some initial adjustments the week turned out to be enjoyable. One day was spent surfing (or trying to), another charter fishing and another on our favorite island, Ocracoke. The Outer Banks is one of the prettiest places in the world and it luckily is far less touristy than most beach destinations.

sunset on the beach

our fishless fishing trip

gotta love 'em

Ocracoke Island

Language Woes

Well, after spending an entire month in CR, and taking five hours of Spanish a day... I am not fluent in Spanish. Alas, I have had to accept the fact that 6 total months of studying Spanish is simply not enough. Disregarding this obvious fact, I spent the last few days in CR extremely frustrated with myself for not knowing more. But learning a new language, especially at 22, just isn't easy! Don't worry, though, I have no intention of giving up. If anything I am more determined to add this skill to my agglomeration of resources. Upon perusing my Nat Geo Traveler magazine, I have found extra encouragement:

"A basic knowledge of at least one other language is a handy item to have in your travel tool kit, for it levels the playing field... I believe every traveler should speak other languages." - Daisann McLane

Surf's Up

I have finally experienced what I expected to find in Costa Rica - hot sun, blue skies, and perfect beaches. I went with a group of friends to Tamarindo, a beach town on the southern tip of the region called Guanacaste on the west coast of CR. There were so many American beach bums just hanging out, it was awesome. Our condo was a bit further away from the center of town so our beach was pretty secluded. I also rented a surfboard our last day there and have absolutely found my new favorite hobby.

Tamarindo

sunset on the beach

Monteverde

Last weekend I took a trip to Monteverde with a group of students. Monteverde is a region in Costa Rica north of San Jose known for its incredible rainforests and cloud forests that give life to a huge array of wildlife and plant life. I had never heard the term cloud forest before arriving in Costa Rica; it is a tropical evergreen forest characterized by persistent fog - basically a damp, misty forest. Though this prompted me to expect overcast weather and maybe some rain here or there, I did not expect the monsoon that we endured.

The group had reserved a trip for zip lining/canopy tours through the top of the trees. It was pretty amazing to fly through and over the trees, but it rained the entire time. Not a warm rain, either. By the end we were all wet, cold, dirty, tired, and ready for a nap. Fortunately our hotel was one of the nicest in the region and we got to relish in the oversized comfortable beds and hot showers.

view from our hotel

a tad bit dirty

cloud forest that we zip lined through

the not so sturdy bridges we trekked

The next day we explored the small town of Santa Elena. And when I say small, I mean literally a block of shops and restaurants. One restaurant named the Treehouse was exactly like the Rainforest Cafe back home, only it was actually the rainforest. There was also a quaint little art studio that reminded me so much of Rebekah.

gazebo art studio

www.monteverdearthouse.com

entrance to the Tree House restaurant

Raw Youth

"It's easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it... death remains as abstract a concept as non-Euclidean geometry or marriage."

-Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild

I'm not sure what it is about being young that permits, or prompts, one to fearlessly challenge the unknown. All I know is that the attraction exists in me and it is defiantly thriving. Not only does it lead me to travel to a third world country, it settles me on top of a 265 foot bridge in the middle of the rainforest and calmly demands "Jump." And I obey. Much to the dismay of my mother.

So, bungee jumping is now crossed off the bucket list. I wasn't nervous until I started plunging down, but by then it's too late to even think about what just happened. I have a video that I will try to post on here a little later.

265 ft bridge

the rocky river underneath

all the jumpers

toes over the edge

post jump glee

Con mucho gusto

One of the things I like best about Costa Rican character is the way they respond to saying thank you. In most Spanish speaking countries, the response is "de nada." Here, almost everyone says "con mucho gusto," literally, "with much pleasure." It seems like such an emphatic, over-the-top response for usually very trivial things, but I really like it. Another typical response to "thank you" is "pura vida," literally "pure life." This translation gets a little lost along the way, but I suppose it's simply a way to remind the thanker that life is good and they are happy to help.

Speaking of the good life, I spent my Saturday on a fairly isolated island called Isla Tortuga. We took an hour and half cruise from the west coast of Costa Rica, past other gorgeous mountainous islands, and arrived at the beach with plenty of time to sit and soak up the sun. My experience made beach bum look like a very enticing career path. Here are some pictures, as if you weren't already jealous enough.