Wow, it has been a while since I've updated and we've done so much since then! Here's a quick little recap of the amazingly awesome week/weekend I've had:

Thursday and Friday we went to downtown Heredia to a bar called Boulevard. So much fun! Thursday we pretty much just hung out with the group and played foosball and pool. We went to the same bar Friday night, but before that we took a day trip to the famous Cafe Brit coffee plantation and then later to Volcan Poas, a huge volcano not too far from where we're staying. The coffee tour was kind of cool but since I'm not a big fan of coffee or tours, it wasn't my cup of tea (or should I say coffee!). However, the volcano was absolutely amazing and I LOVED it. On the way up, one of our classmates decided to play a trick on four of us girls. He hid behind this bush and right when we were walking by he threw a stick and us and made this hissing sound. All of us screamed and took off running in the opposite direction before we figured out it was fake! Scary at the time, but funny now! It was so interesting to see the volcano once we got there; we could see the smoke coming out form it and we could smell the sulfur in the air. Definitely a new experience! On the way back, five of us took the super long way back (kind of by accident) but it was definitely worth it. It was so amazing how sometimes it was super dark from the dense forest and other times we could see the sun shining in where there were open spaces between the branches. Very beautiful! I love hiking, so this was one of my favorite parts of the trip! Later that night we went to Boulevard again to watch the Costa Rican national soccer team play Guatamala (we won 3-2!). It was really fun! We ended up making some Tico (Costa Rican) friends and dancing downstairs. One thing we've decided is that the best Spanish practice is at the bars! It's when everyone is the most social! :)

Saturday we left for beautiful Punta Leona, where we stayed at a really nice resort at a beach (which is on the Pacific coast). This was for sure my favorite thing about Costa Rica so far. Everything about this weekend was absolutely incredible. On the way there we saw alligators on the side of the road, and the ocean just crept up on us out of nowhere. We hit the beach for a few hours before the rain clouds rolled in, and then later we went to dinner at a delicious buffet. Afterwards, we went down to a karaoke bar where four of my classmates sang and did great! Some of us wanted to try also, but we soon realized that it seems that people at Costa Rican karaoke bars can actually sing, so we decided to sit that one out! We spent the rest of the night just hanging out and being crazy! The next morning we woke up early to hit the beach one more time before going home. That whole weekend was amazing, and it probably ranks up there among some of my favorite memories of all time. Half of this is because of the group that I'm with; I am so lucky to get to spend my time with this people! Everyone is so different, yet our differences compliment each other to create an awesome group dynamic.

Today was one of my classmates birthdays (she turned 19--so young!) so we went to Ichiban for dinner, which I think may also be a chain in the U.S.? Then afterwards we went to a bar next door to just hang out for a while longer. Lots of fun! I don't have class until 1 tomorrow, so it was nice not having to worry about getting up early.

Speaking of class, I unfortunately do have one negative experience about Costa Rica so far: the homework. My classes are WAY harder than I expected, but it's too late to drop them. I'm actually really overwhelmed with the course load, which sucks because I feel like I can't fully enjoy Heredia during the week because I have so much to do. I keep asking myself why in the world I thought it would be good to take two upper level classes in one short summer semester :/ That's really the only complaint I have so far though!

This weekend, we are trying to plan a trip to the Caribbean, and next weekend we are going to stay one night in Monteverde, a national park with canopy tours of the beautiful rain forests of Costa Rica. Hopefully it all works out!

I feel like there's so much more I could write but I'm exhausted. Until next time!

Maddie