Thurs 28 Jan

This morning I walked down with all my stuff and then got right back to work with washing windows. There were more students helping today and it was fun to have more help. We cleaned the rest of the rooms and the bathrooms and then we were finished. I watched a movie called PUSH and it was a good action movie I thought. Later Sara #2 made amazing pizzas and then for dessert, Sara #1 and I made crêpes and Hugh made this fruit sugar glaze that was wonderful! After, I went to bed.

Wed 27 Jan

This morning I walked down to the lower campus and helped a student clean the dorm rooms and wash windows. It took all day but it was fun speaking Spanish to her. After we had a nice dinner and I went up to the upper campus for my last night. When I got there, my roommates had switched to a different room and then I found then and slept in the new dorms.

Tues 26 Jan

This morning I woke up and took a freezing cold shower at the dorms. I then walked down to the lower campus to help Don Oskar with more work. I first filled in a trench that was made to carry out the waste from the bathroom. Then I started helping Don Oskar with chopping the grass. It took forever and we only got a little bit done because the machetes were so bad. After I tried some coca leafs and chewed them. I found out that there were different kinds and some were super sweet because it had its own natural sugar. After, I had dinner with Hugh, the Sara´s, and another couple. After dinner I walked up to the campus with the dog Tyson who was nice enough to walk with me and show me the way. Once we got there, I said goodbye and then went to my dorm. I then watched an action movie about a subway train hijacking in New York with Denzel Washington and John Travolta which was very good. I then went to bed.

Mon 25 Jan

This morning I woke up around 7am and had breakfast with Sara. After we walked up to the higher campus and Sara gave me a tour. After I met two students named Devid and Juan Carlos. I helped them cut grass all day with machetes which took all day to do a small section of grass. After, I had lunch with Sara and we went back down to pick up my stuff. Once I got my clothes and stuff for saying in the dorms, we drove back up and I finished helping the boys with the grass. After, I came down to the volunteering house to eat dinner with Sara and the other Sara who had just arrived. Then I walked back up and met some more students. Then I went to bed.

Sun 24 Jan

This morning I woke up about 7am, got ready and waited for my bike tour group to pick me up. Once I was picked up, me and 9 were off to go down the World's Most Dangerous Road. We drove through the busy streets of La Paz and started climbing the side of the mountain in a small mini bus. There was a driver and two tour guides in the front who had some mix tape with a bunch of old songs from the 90's playing. As we kept climbing, it go colder and soon we were in the clouds. Finally after a 45min trip we arrived at a small area on the side of the road were we got ready. It was freezing and super foggy so we couldn't see anything. We got coats and gloves and pants from the tour and then got our bikes. The man told use to stay in a single file line while going down the mountain, then he showed us the different signals and signs he would use to tell us to slow down or to stop. Then we were off. Before I knew it the clouds disappeared and I saw what we were up against. I was on the side of a cliff and there were no railings to stop me if I lost control of my bike. It was fine thought because we were on a two lane asphalt road and it was fun going downhill really fast. Every once and a while we would stop to take photos and then we would be off again. At 10am, we stopped at a check point in a small town and went into a small restaurant that could barley hold 10 people and had bread, jam, and watered down hot coco. Then we drove for about 15min with the bikes on top of the mini bus once again until we reached the starting of a dirt road. The guide told us, this is where the real ride starts. He couldn't stress the fact of how careful we must be otherwise we will lose control and that will be it. After we starting going down the hill, this was the point where I finally met my biggest fear. We were on a small one lane dirt road that was hugging the side of the mountain. If you looked to your left, you could see for miles and miles were mountains and a small slit in the mountain which was the road we would be traveling on. Once we started going down I was a bit scared but couldn't help but looking over the side. We went for about 3 hours down the hill and there were sharp turns and waterfalls pelting on top of us. Not to mention the road was wet and very slippery under the waterfalls which made it extremely hard to steer our bikes. Soon we became a little bit more comfortable and went faster. This ride was extreme and I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this because I am afraid of heights. At the same time everything was so beautiful and the scene was breath taking. We were going down the hill super fast now and zooming around these sharp corners even though nothing would catch us if we messed up. Everything was good until we hit one sharp turn and the guide in the front stopped really fast and jumped off of his bike. There was a big truck coming the opposite way and we still had bikers behind us that hadn’t gone past the turn. He stopped all of us and then got the rest to stop just in time as the truck was beginning to turn. Once we got to the end of the trip, we got all packed up and then went to lunch. After lunch I took a taxi to Corico and then a mini bus to Carmen Pampa. When I got to the lower campus, I found the volunteers house and then was greeted by Sara. We ate dinner and then watched the second season of The Wire. After, I took a shower by candle light because the light wasn’t working. Then, I went to bed.

Sat 23 Jan

Today Hugh and I woke up around 730am and went down for breakfast. I had some Te de Coca and I felt a little bit better but still had hard time breathing. After breakfast, we got packed up and went to the next hostel about two blocks away. A man carried my bag all the way down the stairs and to the next hostel which was amazing because he saved my life from dying. I probably wouldn’t have made it if I had to carry that. Once we got settled in, we left and went shopping in La Paz. First we went to the electronic market place to look for a DVD player for Carmen Pampa, and then we went to the food market. There we streets filled with markets and all types of food. Everything was so colorful and all the food looked fresh and good. After taking care of the shopping list, Hugh and I went to a Italian restaurant to meet up with two of his friends. Wendy and Yoval met us there about 10min after we got there and we had really good pasta. After, Wendy, Yoval, Hugh, and I went and looked around La Paz because there was a big fair that was getting set up that would start the next day. It had to do with the New Year and good fortune. There were a million shops set up with small symbols to represent different things people would want for the New Year. For example, the shops sold fake money from around the world but it was tiny like monopoly money. Also they had miniature cars and houses and things for good health. After, we went to look at some churches and museums and take some pics. Later Wendy, Yoval came with me to help me buy sweaters made from Alpaca while Hugh went to a meeting. Also I signed up for a biking trip down the world’s most dangerous road for the next day. Later at night, Hugh, Wendy and I went to dinner at a nice Indian restaurant, and then went to see Sherlock Holmes. After then movie, we walked Wendy home, then went to our hostel and went to bed.

Fri 22 Jan

Today I woke up at 5am to finish my packing. I drove to see Claudel and say goodbye. She gave me some hot sauce from Belize which was nice of her!! After I said goodbye to Wendy, Delanie, and Daniel. Around 9am Lilyana and Victor came to pick my up to go to San Jose. I had a good talk with Lilyana about her life and the movie The Secret. After dropping her off at the Airport, Victor and I went to a mall to have lunch. After he dropped me off at the airport and I got on my flight. I arrived in La Paz around 1:30 in the morning. Hugh was waiting there for me which was nice. I couldnt breath very well and when we got to the Hostel, there was a staircase we had to go up. When I got to the top I didnt think I was going to make it. The best way to describe the feeling is if something is forcing you to take small breaths and you can never take in a full one. When we got to the room, we went to bed. I couldnt sleep because I couldnt breath so that was tough. But Im in La Paz!!!

Tues 19 - thurs 21 Jan

These days I woke up and worked on getting my lists of things I had to do over with before I left for Bolivia. I spent my time up at the campus and chilled with friends and talked to the workers. Later I would eat in the comedor and then go home. Thursday night was my last night in Costa Rica. I first went to a performance done by the first year students from all the countries. They would either dance or do some sort of skit to represent their country. It was ery funny and all the first years did a good job. After all of my close friends came over to my house for my going away party. Wendy had cooked up quesidias and chips and salsa!!! It was so good. Also, Alex and Alexandra came over to chill too. They brought me a merengue cd which we listend to while we ate. After we had a small dance party thanks to Alexandra for starting it. After, I drove everyone home and then started packing.

Mon 18 Jan

Today was my final day at the Finca Organica. We spent the whole day cutting the grass around the perimeter of a field to build an electric fence. Once we were done cutting, we started installing the post´s, then put the electric string around it. It took the whole work day and we finally finished at 2pm. After work, I helped Manuel and Pedro work on our garden at my house for two hours more. Then I went to the campus to see all my friends. Later I chilled with Tonio and caught up with him. After I went home and watched Scrubs for a bit then went to bed.

Sun 17 Jan

Today I slept in until 940am! I got up, had breakfast, and then watched some episodes of Scrubs. After, I went to the gym to work out. While I was working out, a first year student came in and asked me for help. I was more than happy to show him the ropes on how to lift and work out, just like Ike had taught me. After I went home and helped clean up the house and helped prepare food for the dinner party. The dinner was really nice and the dessert was exquisite. The people were really interesting and fun to talk to also. After dinner, I drove up to the campus to see who had made it in. I visited Virginia and she gave me a present from El Salvador. She gave me a letter B that had been painted by an artist that had birds and nature and very colorful things on it. After I went home and got some rest.

Sat 16 Jan

This morning I picked a lot of weeds and feed the chickens and other animals. Work only went until 11am and then I went home. Later in the day I went to lunch over at Alex and Alexandra's house and had a wonderful time. We had this really good beef steak and some sort of Italian pasta made from potatoes and flour. After lunch Alex and I worked on Sudoku and then we both took naps on their hammocks. Later I went home and chilled with my family and Alexandra and her mom. Later in the night, Delanie, Alexandra, and I had a chocolate craving, so we convinced Wendy to make us fudge!!!!! About 45min later we were in heaven eating hot fudge with bananas and milk for a midnight snack. After we watched UP and fell asleep. I woke up and went to bed.

Fri 15 Jan

This morning I cut sugar cane with the workers out in a field for about an hour. Then I did the normal chores around the farm with feeding the animals and cleaning out their places. Later I helped clean up and pick weeds from an EARTH display. After work, I said goodbye to Sara because she was leaving for Florida, and wouldn’t be back until I was gone. Then I went over to Alex and Alexandra's house to visit with them and they invited me for some drinks and coffee and breads. Later I had dinner with the family and Delaine and then went to bed.

Thurs 14 Jan

Today I started out my day by cleaning the stable and putting the waste into compost. Then we prepared land for planting, and then planted cilantro. After, I worked on weeding pineapple beds and other plant beds. After work, I worked out for a while. Then I went to a concert that the Costa Rican Youth Symphony Orchestra was having in the gym. It was very good and it reminded me of high school and band. After, we had dinner with a daughter and her dad from the states. The daughter wants to come here in the following year to take some classes. After dinner I went to bed.

Wed 13 Jan

This morning, Daniel, Sara, and I went to Santa Ana for two reasons. One was for Sara to see The United World College that she wanted to attend after her high school. Two was for me to go visit my family in Santa Ana, and go and visit my teachers in Conversa and say goodbye to them. When we got there, I went and saw my host mom and sister. After chilling with them for a while, I took a taxi to conversa. When I got there, I went straight to Gata´s office to see her. Then I went to go visit the rest of the teachers at lunch time. The place was jumping! There were 80 students in Conversa! When I went there, there were no more than 20. After visiting Conversa, I took a taxi back to the house and then left with Daniel and Sara, my other family to go back to EARTH. Later that night, I helped Matt move into his duplex, then I went home read and went to bed.

Tues 12 Jan

Today was my first day at the Finca Organica. I woke up at 5am and biked about a mile down the main road in the poring rain to get to the finca. When I got there I met three workers who were sitting in a porch waiting for the rain to die down. I met Santo, Ciena, and Jorge. They gave me a tour of the whole farm, then we got to work. My first task was to help Santo dig up Yucca, which is some sort of potato. After I helped him clean out the Chicken houses. The first house had about 24 chickens. The second one had about 295 chickens. They were very funny because when we let them out to roam around their yard, they would follow you because they thought you had food. My next assignment was to pick up all the old and used coconuts on the ground near and around the chicken houses. The coconuts were a big part of the chickens diet so there were wheel barrow loads of coconuts. Next we carried huge sacks of feed on our backs for the chickens that had to have weighed at least 150 pounds. Once that was all taken care of, work was finished and I then biked home. Later I chilled with Matt and downloaded some more music. Then read and went to bed.

Mon 11 Jan

Today was a relax day around the house. It was raining so hard that I decided not to go to work. I slept in, and then ate some breakfast. After I Skyped with friends and family, and then practiced guitar. After I read for a while then listened to music. Later I went to the Cafeteria with Matt for the first night that it was open. Then I went to Matt's house to download more music onto my IPOD. Then I hit the hay.

Sun 10 Jan

Today I chilled around the house, went and worked out with Matt in the Gym, then made fudge with Wendy. After the Fudge was made, I picked up Matt and he came over to watch the movie The Secret. After watching that, we all ate dinner as a family. Later I went to Matt’s to start picking out music to put on my Ipod. Then I went to bed.

Sat 9 Jan

This morning my family and I went to San Jose to run some errands, visit some friends, and then go see the movie AVATAR in 3D!!!!!! So after doing all the shopping and stuff, we went to go visit some family friends who were really nice. Then we went to the movie theater and watched the best movie of this year so far. I had seen it before but in 3D it was even better. After the movie we drove home and went to bed!

Fri 8 Jan

Today I chilled at the house and got caught up on all my blogs and talked with people on Skype. Later I went to go work out for a while. After I had dinner with my family and chilled with them. Then I went to go visit Matt at his apartment and we talked about the Secret and he got really pumped about it. After I went home and went to bed.

Thurs 7 Jan

This morning I got packed up and ready to leave. I got a ride from Jaco to San Jose from a family friend of Malia. After, I took a city bus and then a taxi to get to my bus station that would take me back to EARTH. Around 6pm I got into EARTH. When I got home, I helped make dinner. Later I sat and chilled with Wendy and Delany and then went to bed.

Wed 6 Jan

This morning Lupe, Malia, Lika, and I went surfing at Playa Hermosa. It was so much fun and I finally road a wave on my board. The waves were smaller but good for me to learn on. Again we saw things splashing in the water but we decided to keep surfing. Later while we were surfing, we started to get stung and found out we were surrounded by Jelly fish. After surfing, we went home and swam in the pool for a bit. Later in the evening, we went surfing again and the waves we a little bit bigger and more coming in. It was awesome because not only was I surfing in this beautiful beach; I got to watch the big Lion King sun go down into the ocean while I was surfing. This time I was catching wave after wave and it is the best feeling to get up on that board and ride a wave. After watching the sun go down, we got out and went home. Lupe and I got a ride to the small store to buy ingredients for a cheese cake. After we walked home and started to make it. After Malia, Lupe, Austin, and I went to Backyard bar to go dancing. When we got there, the club was filled and the place was rocking. They were playing American music which was so nice because I missed this music and I finally got to dance it again. We danced non stop until the bar closed and we were the lasts ones out. Later we went home and went to bed. Fun night!

Tues 5 Jan

Today we went to the beach around 7am to find that there weren't any good waves to surf. Later I went to yoga, and then chilled around the house. During the day I went to the pool with Buddha, the dog, and played with him. Buddha loves to swim and will jump in right after you and chase you around the pool. In the evening we watched the movie UP which was so good and it was fun seeing it another time. After the movie, I went to bed.

Mon 4 Jan

Today I woke up and went to Yoga! After Lupe, Malia and I went to waterfall and bathed in mud! It was so much fun and your skin felt super soft after washing off the mud. Later I went surfing with Lika. We had to get out after a while because one of our friends saw a shark about 20 yards from where we were surfing. Later we watched the movie Choke, then went out to a bar to dance. After a while we went home and went to bed.

Sun 3 Jan

This morning we woke up and had french toast. Later the kids and I went to their uncles house to visit. Later Diego drove me to the bus stop to go to Jaco. I said goodbye and then went and bought my ticket for Jaco and waited for 2 hours until the bus came. While I waited, there were three men who would take turns preaching about the bible and it got super old because they were yelling it and I had to sit there and listen to three of them taking turns for 2 hours. Later when I arrived in Jaco, the girls picked me up and we went to a dinner party for a bit. Later we went home and went to bed. It was nice to see the family again.

Sat 2 Jan

This morning we woke up, had pancakes, and then went to a university campus to go running and exercise. The campus was beautiful and it was a cooler day because a cold front had come into the valley of Cartago. We ran for a while through different trails and then left to go get ready to have a late lunch at Diego's dad's house. We picked up meat and other food and then headed over to the house. When we got there, we started grilling. We ate at the same time that we were grilling and the meat was very tasty. Later we played baseball out in this open lot with one of the neighborhood friends. It reminded me of the movie Sandlot because we only had two gloves, a bat and a ball and we hit it way out into this open lot. The only exception was that we were in a valley and surrounded by mountains and a volcano. Later that night, we went to go see the movie Avatar. The movie was super good and I cant wait to watch it again. After we went home and then went to bed.

Fri 1 Jan

This moring the family left to drop Yoomee off at the airport in San Jose. Zack and I left later in the day and I called Diego to see if I could stay at his house. Once we got into San Jose, Zack dropped me off at the national theater to catch a bus to Cartago. When I got there, Diego was there waiting for me and we went to his house. We got there and I met his wonderful family and talked with them for a bit. Later Diego made these sub sandwiches that were out of this world that he made from random food that was in the kitchen. Later we watched the rodeo on T.V. and then went to bed.

Thur 31 Dec

New Years Eve! Zack and I went to pick up Juan from his house. We then drove to a beach that was hidden from the tourist and only known to the locals. It was owned by the mafia or used to be at least and it was beautiful. This beach was a camping ground also because all the Tico families brought everything and there house to this beach. The waves were super strong and the current was even stronger. We chilled in the water for a bit, then went waslking down the beach to explore. When we got to the end of the beach, there was a wall of piled up stones that Juan later explained that it was a naturally made wall. Also at the end of the beach was a river that we swam in too. When we were walking back, we saw a group of drunk guys holding up signs that had numbers on them when girls walked by, so that was funny. Later in the night, the family and I went out to french restaurant and then went back to Carlos's house to celebrate the new year. We lit off fire works and sparklers to celebrate. Later we went to bed.

Wed 30 Dec

Today we went to the beach in the morning. Sara, Yoomee and I went out and road the waves and floated in the water. After a while, Zack and I went to another beach to meet up with some of his friends from school. We went to another beach and chilled. We heard about a huge party that was going to be going down that night in Playa Flamingo and we decided to go. So Zack and I went back to La FLore, got dressed up, and then set off for Flamingo. When we got there, the place was packed and we were lucky to find a parking spot. As the night went on the streets filled with people and we couldn't get into the club to dance because there were too many people. Later that night I saw one of my friends Courtney from Conversa, the immersion school I attended, and talked to her for a while. Later that night we went to there house to chill, and then drove back to La Flore in the morning.

Tues 29 Dec

This morning we got up bright and early, and headed for Guanacaste. We arrived in La Flore, EARTH's other campus in Guanacaste around 1pm. Later that night, the family and I went to Alex Mata's house for a dinner party. We had really good food, and we danced to a live band. Later that night, we went back to La Flore and then went to bed.

Mon 28 Dec

Today I woke up at 6am to go to lecheria. My task for this morning was to find horses for Sara, Yoommee, Zack, and and Michael to ride. When I got up to the Lecheria, Toto told me to get his horse from the pasture for a start. Then I could ride down to the Caballeriza to pick up more. So I grabbed a lasso and went out to the field to catch this horse. When I got out there I got the lasso ready and then I started walking toward the horse. The only problem was that the horse knew exactly what I was doing so right when I was about to walk up to him, he rain away. This meant only one thing, I had to lasso him. So for the next fifteen minutes I tried and failed to lasso this horse until I finally got it! I took him back and got him all saddled up and ready to go. I got another horse and got it ready for zack to use. When Zack got there, we road to the Caballeriza and started to look for more horses. I took us a while and we searched through different fields until we finally came across a group of 15 horses. I saw horses that would be good to ride so we decided to take them all back to the barn to choose. Zack and I then herded them through the roads until we got to the barn, but right as we were turning into the gate, 10 of the horses decided to keep going straight. Zack quickly chased after them as I got the remaining 5 into the barn. Zack came back shortly with all 10 and then we started saddling up. The others arrived and then we were off on our horse back ridding trip. We went through different fields and got to run as fast as we wanted with the horses. The whole trip lasted about an hour. Then, when we got back, we cleaned up and Zack Michael and I took the horses back to the field. Then I road back to the lecheria and then got picked up by Zack. Later the family watched a movie called Food Inc. which was about how bad the American farming corporations are and how they are hustling all the farmings so they will always be in debt. Later I had dinner with the family and then got packed for our trip to Guanacaste the following morning. Later I went to bed.

Sun 27 Dec

Today Zack and I went to the beach for a bit. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day. The water felt really nice and the waves were calm and fun to just float in. Later in the day, we took a bus back to EARTH and got in around 7pm. We had dinner and we met a friend of Sara's who had come to visit Sara from New York. Her name was Yoomee. After dinner we chilled at the house and then went to bed.

Sat 26 Dec

Today Zack and I went to Puerto Viejo with Eduardo around 8am. When we got there, Zack and I went to the beach and chilled all day. Later we went out for dinner and then went to Johnny's to go dancing. Zack and I danced with some girls from San jose which was a lot of fun. Later we drove home and went to bed.