Locked and Loaded

Well, after some time of anxiety that I wasn't going to end up doing it, I finalized plans and made reservations yesterday. I'm going to be hiking Mt. Chirripo with a new volunteer here at Habitat, Miriam, who just came last Sunday. I was very pumped to quickly discover that she shares a love for all things outdoors and active! My adventure-filled weekends have been slowing down lately as I have become committed to activities with work, church and just filling my days with more activities here in San Jose.

I quickly got her on board with me to hike Chirripo. It is the highest point in Costa Rica, and the second highest in Central America. I mean it's no Everest, but for my first mountain hike... I'll take it. My original plan was to do it during Semana Santa, which is the week before Easter. We get Thursday and Friday off that week so it would have worked out perfectly (as its a 3 day journey). I knew we had to make reservations well in advance as you need to make a reservation at the place where you sleep up near the top of the mountain, but we were sadly informed that the next available time (besides this upcoming weekend) was April 22. So, without much choice, we decided we'd rather do it later than not do it at all. I'm jazzed that it's booked and we're set for a fun weekend of hiking and conquering... hopefully. Oh boy, that's going to be a steep and long hike... I better up the running amount and cut back on the peanut butter starting... tomorrow. Tonight calls for wine.... it's my obligation as Miriam's tour guide for the first couple days. Salud!

Week of Love

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd do a post about the things I love.

First, a newbie: my decision to become vegetarian.

After a few instances here in Latin America with the meat triggering some unwanted sights and smells, I decided to get educated. Knowledge is power, right? Or maybe I should have stuck with ignorance is bliss. Anyways, I did some reading and research and made my final decision this past weekend. For anyone sort of on the fence about becoming a vegetarian, may I recommend the book Skinny Bitch to really seal the deal on your decision. Go vegetables!

Second: my friend Hannah's baby, Ian.

He's 8 weeks old and the most ADORABLE baby! I've been able to play with him on a couple different occasions, and he is such a smiley hip baby! And, the thing I'm most jealous of, he'll be able to grow up bi-lingual. Why wasn't my elementary school an immersion school when I was there?!

Third: My work with Habitat for Humanity.

During this entire 6 month period, I've always known that the work I was doing would be something that I was happy to be doing. I knew volunteering abroad was something that I just had to do before starting any sort of a career, and once I made that happen I knew this was something I would always look back on positively. After the earthquake in Haiti, this increased triple fold. My job, and the work of Habitat for Humanity, all of a sudden became that much more necessary. As my office oversees the work of all Habitat offices in Latin America and the Caribbean, we were working directly with Haiti. As my boss and other co-workers have gone to Haiti post-earthquake, my sense of purpose for this organization only grows.

Fourth: the beach.

My gosh, every time I am at the beach during sunset I have to remind myself how lucky I am to be here and how gorgeous it seriously is. In Australia, over time, I started to really lose my appreciation for the beach since we were so close and had constant access to it. I made sure that in Costa Rica, I didn't start to lose my appreciation again. The circumstances are a little different as it takes more effort to get to the beach here (but now that the new freeway is opened, we can cut our driving time in half! Woo hoo!) and I only get there around once a month or so. However, I am constantly remembering that the closest I'll get to an ocean once back in Minnesota is looking out onto Lake Superior. Oh how looks can be deceiving! I love all things beach. Especially my first stellar surf lesson: check it out! (ha)

So, these are a few of my favorite things this February. And all of you of course (are any of you out there anymore after my lack of posts?) Peace Love and Surf