mi ultima semana| my last week

wow, it's my last week. it's hard to believe and harder to imagine actually leaving...i've already shed a few tears at the prospect. i can not wait to see all my favorite people (like you) but i'm also leaving behind a life here. well i'm gonna go back into denial, get off this computer and soak this place in.

p.s. save saturday night the 5th for some drinks, place tbd. xo.

overheard in costa rica

people say some interesting things here that kinda of help sum it all up. there are a million but here are some of my favorites (and the ones i could remember):

"i can't remember the last time i didn't drink before 7pm." - kristen, friend & yoga instructor

"montezuma is a special place that god set aside" - esteban, tico who visits from san jose once a year

"it's the jing and jang of life, ya know?" - juan lewis, restaurant owner in town

"your circle and my circle can not touch." - lori "but our circles touch in a nice way" - lucas

"retire as soon as you can" - doc, 60+ neighbor who spends 6 months here every year

"definitely does not exist here" - stephanie, friend

"i lived in new york for 3 years...i ended my life, then came here." - chad, good vibrations bar owner

"there was a scorpion in the chalk tray, 4 crabs in the classroom and a beetle that dive bombed me til it died" - jamie, friend & english teacher for adults

"this is the hammock chapter of my life" - joe, friend, neighbor and chef

"my first name is i like you, my last name is i love you" - michael to amy at good vibrations

f%c&

i'm leaving soon.

rain: lluvia

i've wrote about the rain before but the last few days have been something unusual for this time of year...typically the rain comes and shows you what it's got at night with thunder and lighting and wraps up in about 3-4 hours. but i've gone to bed to rain and woke up to rain for the last 2+ days. it kinda of feels like a snow day...the surfers couldn't surf because all the recent rain is messing with the waves, there's nowhere to go so everyone was just kind of stuck.

at night, i try to manage a run in the light rain and head home with grand plans of going out to see friends. but the rain seems to get stronger, and stronger as the night goes on. i wish i could describe this rain but it's let's just say it's impressive. it was so loud on the my roof that i couldn't even hear the movie i was trying to watch with speakers or headphones. sometimes i even find myself talking to it, "come on already" "just give me a 10 minute break please" "how much water do you have up there?". on monday night, i attempted to get out and put on the poncho that jamie was so awesome to bring me back from the states, walked about 20 feet out of my apartment and right back. i'm a pretty determined girl but this rain showed me up. so back to cabina i went, shut off the fan, put on a hoodie and leggings (that's a first) and attempted to watch another movie with my speaker pressed against my ear. i think they call this bed rest. ;)

correr: to run

i'm running again and i can't believe how happy that makes me, this is the only place that i actually smile while running and it feels soooo good after being hurt and a week off. i have to wrap my wounds in saran wrap (almost like a pedicure) ;) but it's worth it to be out there again and feel like part of the beach and ocean again. this track beats a treadmill everyday.

las colinas: the hills

you'll never believe who was here this past wednesday...the entire cast of The Hills (minus Heidi & Spencer). needless to say they turned this place into a shit show but it was pretty entertaining to watch. justin bobby still was rocking his combat boots, brody had on a wool beany, some other chic was wearing a silk dress...classic.

anyway, keep an eye out for me on the season finale...although i doubt they want the real reality of a banged up girl on show! ;)

el pescado: fish

fish is pretty amazing around here and amazingly cheap, shocking i'm sure since we are on the ocean but the way it's sold is a bit different than the cooler at Whole Foods. of course, you can go to Product C in the what we've coined "gringo plaza" (the mall like thing at the crossroads of Mal Pais) or my preferred method is off of the back of a pick-up truck that rides up and down the main road...just walk up and get some fish. 2 mil (or about $4.00) will get you a kilo of corvina or sea bass. pretty amazing, huh?

cacique a.k.a. guaro

since alexis gave me a shout out on her fab blog, a thirsty spirit which is the best blog for all things drinkable i figured i should feature the liquor that is pure costa rica...cacique or guaro.

guaro is basically costa rican moonshine made from sugar cane. it's hard to describe the flavor cause there isn't much of one, it's just plain strong. a bottle like the one in this pic will cost you about $3 which is why it's a fav at a lot of bars and with a lot of people. and rumor has it if you can have some pretty bizarre dreams after a night of hitting the guaro...

most commonly it's drank with fresca, because it's the best at cutting the bite or served as a shot with a lime. i'm gonna try and get a bottle home with me...shots for everyone. ;)

el paciente: the patient

a quick update on the last few days of recovery...and this pic is a a sampling of what is covering my other leg, left arm, back and butt. good stuff. :)

day one:
woke up in a lot of pain. went to the grocery store (about 20 meters from my house) and made it almost to the door before blacking out. the woman working there helped me get back to myself. people here are so nice. then i headed back to my place and laid in bed, my neighbor brought me ice for my bruises, aspirin and water and lunch. did i mention people are nice? then later that night my friends amanda and kristen came by to clean my wounds and check on me. wine and pain meds were prescribed prior to my scrub down. amanda is an ER trama nurse so she gave me the once over and lead the charge on the cleaning. it was almost more painful then the accident. first there was the scrubbing to get any remaining dirt out, then the hydron peroxide (which i mentioned can suck it), then the aloe.

day 2:
better but uber stiff, swelling of ankle and knee have gone down. was overcast so i was able to walk around during the day and found that moving was a lot better than laying, the stiffness when i attempt to move again cracks the scabs and i want to punch something. ;)

day 3:
the wounds are sticky and on every side of me so sleeping continues to be rough and so is finding clothes to wear that don't hit my wounds so today i spent most of the day in rolled-up shorts exposing my left butt cheek to most of mal pais and santa teresa. but amanda and victor picked me up and took me out for a bit so i felt less sun and sand trapped. good peeps.

the days continue to get a bit better so no more talk about this until you hear i hit the beach!

un accidente: an accident

well, i think i have been officially hazed by costa rica because this friday i got in my first and hopefully last quad accident. quads are basically open 4-wheelers that people drive all over this area.

we had too many people on and i was holding on in the back when we hit a pot hole that was large enough to kick me off. i fell off and rolled down a hill. i was scared, mostly that someone coming up behind would not see me and hit me.

i wwas very, very lucky that my injuries were basic road rash over almost 50% of me, some serious bruises and a lot of pain. my friends are awesome and came over with ice, food, some vino and pain meds to help with the pain of the cleaning of my cuts. hydrogen peroxide can suck it but much love to the friends, especially to amanda and kristen.

since then i've been a walking target of "what happened to you?" and once i tell my story it seems like everyone here has their own story too. i guess it's a part of life here and if i had to experience it, i'm extremely grateful i did and walked away.

my beach.

i love this beach, it's huge, beautiful and with the recent rains, the colors of green are amazing. the tourist season has really slowed down so at any time i can usually have 200 meters or more of private beach all to myself. paradise.

well done surfers.

just a quick blog post to give props to the surfers i see everyday. wow, you are good at what you do and you are also really good looking...i never get tired of watching you. :)

mis pies: my feet

my feet are a willing victim of costa rica. they are well worn, used and abused. my toes have not seen polish in over 3 months, my heels are callused and i feel for the poor women that gets the unfortunate job of my next pedicure.

bueno noche: good night

last night was bar olympics at good vibrations in mal pais. it was a lot of fun, there was shuffleboard (which i am addicted to), beer pong and bottle cap checkers. i had a blast and unlike the 4th grade i was not the last chosen, i actually had a lot of options for partners. ;) the night was kind of like a party of your friends but these are all just people that live here, that become friends in their own way.

i lost a beer pong, won at shuffle board and got a t-shirt from one of the champs that will be a halter top before it knows it!

cerbeza de nica

tona is how they do beer in nicaragua and it's good, light and was a nice change from my purely pilsen existence in costa rica.

nicaragua: isla omatepe

i didn't have much time but i decided to visit isla omatepe off nicaragua on my last day in nicaragua...it's a biggest island in lake nicaragua with two volcanos, one active and one dormant and friends had told me it was a pretty magical place.

i boarded the ferry on the way, which is more like a big raft and actually ran into my friend marc from santa teresa, we made some friends in a shared taxi ride and ended up hostel el zopilote.

the hostel is one of the most unique places i've stayed at, a 10 minute hike into the jungle and it appears as a series of small thatch-roofed cabinas and other buildings. the place is basically the definition of green self and it's cheap ($3 for a night in a hammock, $6 for a bed). the place and people staying there were really interesting to say the least. check it out @ http://ometepezopilote.com

since i had to catch the bus back to costa rica at noon, i headed down the trail to catch the 5a bus with the sun barely peeking through and was greeted by pigs, roosters and a stray horse...and i was loving it but couldn't help thinking where the F am i??? then the bus rolled up, decorated like it was a high school football bus with streamers and big horn mounted on top to announce that it's coming. once again i was the only gringo in sight... :)

nicaragua: my two cents

stuff i noticed:

• very green
• roads are in much better condition than costa rica
• granada reminds me of spain - it's full of bright colors, old churches and plazas
• you can stay in a hotel here on the cheap, drink and eat on the cheap too
• the beggars and vendors are off the hook...in the time it took me to eat two pizza slices and drink two beers i said "no gracias" to 12 vendors selling cigarettes, chocolates, hammocks (like am i really gonna buy a hammock at 9pm??)
• there are a lot less bugs, no bites in two days
• i feel like a tourist, i actually tok a lot of pictures
• people seem really into US culture, i wrote this listening to YMCA blasted through the plaza

my favorite things:

• riding the local bus half the way there, only gringo in sight
  
• using my spanish a LOT
• swimming in lake nicaragua
• buying my melon juice at the market for like $10 cents
  
• being here, never did i ever imagine i'd be here - i found myself saying "dude, i'm in nicaragua" atleast 5 times a day
• making friends with some great nicaraguans who took me out, dancing and to the best bar i've been to in central america (chonchi's = find it!)
  
• surprising myself mostly by just going with the flow and finding my way (which would not have been possible a year ago or prob even 2 months ago)

nica manana.

krink in costa.

pimping out the pink lady and spreading the love for krink markers in costa rica.

mi nuevo casa: my new house

well i moved and it's cute, it actually reminds me a lot of my first NYC apartment...it's a green one room shack that has everything i need. plus, it's about $200 less than my other place so i may take some actual spanish lessons with the money...and it's closer to town, right next to the grocery store with friends nearby. good stuff.

check it out!