More Surfing More Spanish and Some Yoga in Costa Rica

 

Two more weeks at the School of the World in Jaco, Costa Rica have flown by now and I'm supposed to have only one week left....so I decided to extend my stay by one week (una semana mas) in order to learn a bit more Spanish and to hopefully figure out this surfing thing (grrrr).  In total, my stay will be 5 weeks at the School of the World and it is currently the weekend before the fourth week starts...so two more weeks left now.

Spanish class continues to be challenging and I'm astounded at how much there is to learn and at how slow I am to pick it up.  Pronouns confound me.  Spanish Labs are always fun and we have done a whole variety of different activities in the labs to practice our Spanish.  We took a trip to a small town (pueblo) to see some local fruit, a tiny church, the rodeo grounds, and what a typical peublo is like.  We also went to the feria (farmers market) to talk to the vendors, sample some things, discuss the local produce and foods and buy some things.  Lucia, our instructor, cooked lunch with Rodin and I so we could learn about typical Costa Rican food and ingredients.

The red cross emergency room at the small rodeo grounds.  In Costa Rica it is encouraged for fans to enter the rodeo...not just professionals.  Injured souls are passed out of the rodeo through this small gap for quick first aid and sometimes removal by ambulances.

Carlos, the photography instructor (also a surf instructor) showing us inside the Red Cross room at the rodeo.

Star fruits

Tiny mango 

They may be small but there are lots of them!

Cute little church

 

Rodin (left) and our Spanish instructor Lucia sitting down to enjoy our typical Costa Rican lunch of Picadillo de Chayote (a hot dish made with chopped squash called Chayote, onions, red pepper, cilantro, and corn seasoned with salt and pepper), corn tortillas, guacamole, and patacones (savory fried plantain chips)

Rodin and I eager for lunch

 

 

Rodin, Jon, Lucia, and Laura at the feria (farmers' market)

Guaba (sounds like guava but doesn't look or taste like it!) long pods containing sweet white furry fruits which have big brown seeds inside.

for one Spanish lab we accompanied the photography class to Playa Escondida (hidden beach) and spent the time chatting in Spanish

 

It's not all sufing and Spanish, I also did yoga classes for 1.5 hours each day last week.  I really love Yoga and plan to keep up the practice when I return home.  I also occasionally skip Ines delicious home cooked meals for some socializing out on the town with the other students or to go out to watch the Saturday surf competition at Playa Hermosa.

Chili Guarro shots.  Made with hot chili sauce, lime juice, and local overproof liquor called Guarro...surprisingly tasty

Students of the School of the World (Aarti, Missi, Joanna, Kara, Laura, Grace, Larry, Rodin...you know who you are)

Jasper del Mundo, the School of the World cat taking a Shavasana in the yoga studio

Nightly entertainment outside the bar "Swell" where people try to balance on a balance board... basically a skateboard set on top of a plastic cylinder. 

Grace, Robin, Rodin, and Missy from left to right at Swell

Missy, Joanna, and Jamie at Swell

Carlos explaining to us that surfing isn't a sport...it's a lifestyle.

 

Rodin and Laura

Grace, Leticia, me, and Levi

The whole crew out for sushi...(from left to right around the table; Jon, Rodin, Laura, Analou, Elle, Kareem, Grace, Letitizia, me, Levi, Tina, and Andreas)

  

Clubbing in Jaco with Elle, Kareem, Rodin, Kara, and Laura

 

 Playa Hermosa Saturday Surf Competition

 

I finally took some photos of the homestay where I am living.  On a quiet Sunday morning.  Ines, Eric, Antonio, Gabrielle and I went to a beach which is one of Ines favorites last Sunday.  It was really beautiful with lots of rocks and fossils, some small caves, and a very sheltered bay for the kids to swim in.

My bedroom

The front veranda

view out of my bedroom window

kitchen

livingroom

Antonio (almost 3), Gabrielle (7) and Ines

Beach near Punta Leona

Eric (Dad) playing with Antonio and Gabrielle

Red Macaw in the trees at the beach

 

Tuesday and Wednesday the waves were too large and not "buenas formas" (good shape) for surfing.  We tried on Monday despite the conditons not being swell (excuse the pun) and we got crushed!  It took all we had to get outside the break and once we were there it was pretty terrifying trying to catch a wave.  Only a few people were able to catch the waves and I was not among them.  I personally got worked over by the surf that day!  I took my board in and went for a swim instead.  I was much more successful body surfing than real surfing.  On Wednesday the instructors weren't keen to take us out because the waves were even bigger so we used the time for a balance workshop instead.  The instructors had each one of us pop up and show our surf stances then they corrected us individually.  Next they balanced a surfboard on two bosu balls and had us pop up into our surf stances on that to practice our balance and getting the correct position on the board.  We also got to try the balance board (like a skateboard on a small cylinder of plastic).

Kareem being instructed by Alonso

Derby holding the board for Jon

Levi on the balance board.

Joanna with Alonso

Laura with Alonso

 

 

Surfing & Spanish at the School of the World - Jaco, Costa Rica

Hola! From Jaco, Costa Rica!

Jaco Beach as viewed from El Mirador, a popular local viewpoint

"So far so good" is my verdict after the first week of my time at the School of the World in Jaco, Costa Rica  I signed up for four weeks of surfing and Spanish lessons at the School of the World while staying with a local family at a homestay.  The family I am staying with is awesome.  Ines, the mother is a year younger than I am, very friendly, funny, a great cook, and patient with me while I struggle to speak and understand Spanish.  In the home, we speak only Spanish although Ines is good about telling me Spanish words for the English words I don't know (I think she knows WAY more English than she lets on).  Also, in the family are Ines' husband Eric, who is a year older than I am, and three children; their 16 year old daughter Aimee, 7 year old son Gabrielle, and 3 year old son Antonio.  Ines and Eric also adopted their 19 year old nephew Alfredo when his mother (Ines' sister) passed away.  I have my own large bedroom in the house with a double bed, ceiling fan, storage closet, and wardrobe.  There is no air conditioning and no hot water but the house is comfortable, immaculately clean, and very homey and welcoming thanks to Ines and her lovely family.  I make tons of errors but have surprised myself by able to have hours of conversation with Ines and Eric about a whole range of topics...all in Spanish!  Ines cooks a lovely breakfast every day regardless of when my classes start (6:30am or 9:30am...there's always something nice for breakfast!) and dinner every evening around 7pm.  Breakpoafast ranges from fruit with yogurt and granola to gallos pintos (black beans and rice - translates as spotted rooster due to the appearance) to poached eggs on toast with lovely Costa Rican Coffee.  Dinners are great (rice, beans, chicken, vegetables, fried plantains, even spaghetti once) and if I don't get home on time, no problem, there's always leftovers. 

 

The School of the world is beautiful and welcoming.  I spend most days at the school.  Weekends have no scheduled classes so it is a time to relax. read, hang out with other students, study, or go on excursions.  The school has a lot of outdoor spaces so air can move through the space.  There are two classrooms, a yoga studio, a common kitchen, a garden area with two hammocks, a small pool, a chillout area, as well as many shared and private rooms for students staying at the school rather than in a homestay like I am.

 

Inner courtyard at the School of the World

Communal Kitchen

Classroom

Chillout area

Pool

Pathway around the School of the World

More pathways

Inner Courtyard and Hammock (my napping/blogging spot)

Path past the kitchen to the yoga studio

 Yoga Studio at the School of the World

 When I first arrived I joined an excursion to the nearby Manual Antonio Nature Reserve.  The tour included a short walk, a nature guide, a swim at a beautiful beach, and lunch.  The guide was excellent and was able to tell us a lot about the birds, animals, and plants as well as use a spotting scope to show us animals that were further away and well hidden.

My first sloth, as seen through the spotting scope.  You can really only see his claws ad a bit of fur.  Not very exciting but I was glad to see two of them on this trip.

White-faced Capuchin Monkeys at Manual Antonio

Very cheeky raccoon at the beach at Manual Antonio.  I saw one raccoon pull a bag of pototo chips right out of someone's bag and run away with it.

On weekdays I have a busy schedule with 2 hours of Spanish lessons and 1 hour of Spanish "Lab" per day as well as 2 hours of surfing lessons.  The Spanish lab is very fun.  We have played Scrabble, charades, and jenga in Spanish and have done excursions to a small town as well as to the local ice-cream shop.  Surfing is very fun but exhausting.  I have been able to get up on my board many times and have even started riding a few waves for more than a few seconds and have started turning and steering.  I have a long way to go still!  My first week I also did a photography class for two hours each day which taught me how to use all the manual settings on my camera and how to do some photo editing to enhance the photos.  The best thing about the photography class was the chance to go on excursions to some very cool locations that our teacher, Carlos, knows about which I wouldn't encounter as a tourist.  We went to a small beach where many fishermen work, a local viewpoint with the "ruins" of a restaurant that never came to fruition and is now covered in graffiti, a small town, and a river full of huge crocodiles.

Fishing boat on a nearby beach

Sunset on Jaco beach

Little girl playing in the sunset at Jaco Beach

Surfer at Jaco Beach

Floats for fishing nets and a fishing boat

Many crocodiles in the river

Watch out cow!  The river is full of crocodiles!

El Mirador - the viewpoint where a restaurant was going to be built before the proprietor died and willed the property and "ruins" to the city of Jaco

Long exposure - night photography

Our photography instructor at night, swinging a rag which was lit on fire and tucked into a whisk tied to the end of a string!  Looks cool, huh?

Every Saturday there is a surf competition at the nearby Playa Hermosa (a different Playa Hermosa than the one I was at with Trevor, Jenny, Chris, Matthew and Caleb in Guanacaste).  A group of the students and staff from the School of the World went there last Saturday to watch Derby, one of the surf instructors, compete.  They run the competition roughly from 4pm to sunset and surfers get points for riding waves to completion (ie. they can't fall off), doing tricks etc.  The one with the highest points gets $100, 2nd place gets $75, third gets $50 and fourth gets $25.  Derby did really well but broke his board before the end of the competition so he didn't win.  We all took beers, snacks, and towels to sit on and chilled out watching the surfers and the sunset.  It was also Derby's birthday so we had a fire on the beach for a little while after the sun went down.

Our group watching the surf competition

Nothing happier than a naked baby playing in the sand!

Happy Birthday Derby!  His board was broken but he was still smiling

Beautiful sunset at Playa Hermosa

 

I'm enjoying the structured nature of the School of the World.  Vacation...with a purpose.  I hope to become more proficient with speaking and understanding Spanish and I also aspire to catch my own waves consistently and ride them to completion.  Two and a half weeks to go...wish me luck!