In about one week I will have been here for four months, which marks the half way point of my Costa Rican adventure. I seriously have no idea how I got here. Sometimes when I think of all the things I’ve done here already it feels like I’ve been here for ages. Then I think about being in Ottawa getting ready to leave, and it feels like just yesterday.

I’ve already gotten so much out of this experience it’s amazing. I really feel a lot more independent now, much more confident in my ability to put myself in new situations, far more outgoing. I’m in much better shape then when I left, and I can speak a new language! (To a limited extent that is)

I’ve developed my technical skills a bit as well. I am definitely much more confident with Object Oriented PHP programming. My ActionScripting abilities have significantly improved as well. I do wish I had more of an opportunity to further develop my design abilities, but I am sure I’ll have the opportunity to do that in the coming months if I really want to.

My music has been going great since I’ve been here. I’ve written about 6 new songs and recorded most of them. I’ve performed in front of many people and have gotten more confident in my singing and playing. I am looking forward to coming back to Canada and performing more.

Soon I’ll have to start my Co-Op work term report for Carleton. I am seriously dreading this. This is the worst part of the Co-Op experience. It is essentially describing in detail what exactly I did here. Although I’m sure it is an important part of the process, I just hate writing essays. I haven’t had to do much writing since I started studying Interactive Multimedia, which has been nice. But it also means I am not used to having to write long papers.

Last weekend we went to an all inclusive resort at Playa Langosta which is close to Tamarindo. The resort was really nice, and we got great food and drinks included in the cost of the room which we fully took advantage of. Unfortunately the weather didn’t come through for us, so it rained most of the time. But this didn’t stop us from hanging out on the beach, running, surfing and hanging out in the pool.

I’m going back to Cartago this weekend to see Alejandra again. On Monday our friends Natalie and Emilio are heading to the states so we are going to have a going away party for them. Greg and I are going to show our movie trailer to the rest of the Bagaces crew who haven’t seen it yet. One of these days I’m going to make a “Day in the Life” picture set showcasing what one day is like living here in Costa Rica. There are so many subtle differences that you forget about after a while. Keep an eye out for that. Take it easy!

So another two weeks has gone by. So much to tell, so little time. Two weekends ago I made the trip out to Cartago to go visit Alejandra and her family. The trip was a lot of fun! I got to see much more of this beautiful country. It really is interesting how diverse Costa Rica really is. I brought somewhere in the vicinity of 10 sweaters with me here, and I haven’t needed a single one until I went to Cartago. That place gets surprisingly cold at night! Alejandra lives in a suburb of Cartago called Paraiso. Cartago is a fairly urban area but Paraiso is much more tranquil. Her family was extremely nice to me, and took me all around the city. I went to a fish farm, saw some amazing rivers, a gigantic dam, lake Cachi, and the first church built by Conquistadors in the 1600’s.

The next week went by really quickly. Monday was a holiday here in Costa Rica. It marked the anniversary of the province of Guanacaste joining Costa Rica. On Tuesday I won my first poker game, raking in a modest 32,000 Colones (about $60 American).

The next weekend the Bagaces crew headed out to Manuel Antonio. I lucked out and was able to get a ride with Randall and Emer, this made the journey a lot quicker. In addition to that I was able to pay $10 bucks for a spot on the floor of Randall, Emer, Fiona and Hannah’s hotel room. No sketchy hostel for me!

Manuel Antonio is home to one of the biggest National Parks in Costa Rica. The park costs about $7 dollars to enter, but is definitely worth it. The beaches are long, vacant, the water is warm, calm and clear. We spent our time here snorkeling, playing frisbee and relaxing on the beach. There are many trails through the forests in the surrounding area that are home to a wide variety of wildlife. Hannah was finally able to track down the elusive sloth that has evaded her, her entire time here.

Outside the park there are many nice restaurants, clubs, and bars. Most of the hotels are up a large hill, so you need to spend about 6 dollars on a cab to move between the beach and the hotels.

At night we went to Barba Rojo (Red Beard) night club. This place was absolutely packed to the brim with people. Quite a good party scene! There is another cool restaurant/bar at the top of the mountain called “Avion” after the giant wrecked airplane the bar is built around.

Anyways, I’ve got to get back to work. Things have been a little hectic here lately. I’m looking forward to the All Inclusive hotel were going to near Tamarindo this weekend. We’ll get to do some surfing here for sure, and there is supposed to be a massive meteor shower this weekend too.

I’m not sure how I’m going to go back to doing those $5 / night hostels after all this luxury.

Take care!