Jaco was a blast! Apparently, it is pretty well known for it´s surfing scene, and I could see why right away. The waves were ENORMOUS!! And the water was soooooo warm!! I was so used to the Pacific Ocean being nice and frigid, so it surprised me to find it actually warm and comfortable! I have a nice sunburn on my shoulders and back in some patches where I missed with the sunscreen to show for my 3 days in the sun, too!

The very next day after returning to San Jose´, I had to jump right back into a bus and head East- this time for Limon on the Caribean Coast! The ocean was gorgeous, and I was very sad we didn´t have time to take a dip. A beautiful coral reef is supposed to be close to Limon. But we were there for a concert, and then had to come right back to the city. The concert was really fun! There were very enthusiastic and appreciative people listening to us, which gave us loads of energy and excitement, too. That´s my favorite part of singing: when I´m singing for a crowd that is enjoying what I´m giving, it feeds me and is like electricity and it makes me give more. I love it!!!

One more day in San Jose, thank heavens, and then we head to Mazatlan! I wish I could be heading home. I´ve been really home sick and depressed (and I´m blaming the city for it more now that I´ve been able to get outside of it and actually enjoy Costa Rica), and will be happy to return to Texas. But Mazatlan should be fun. All those years living in Los Angeles, and I never once got to Mexico!

Beach Excursion!!

I cannot wait! Tomorrow morning we leave for Jaco, a beach town on the Pacific Coast! We will be staying at Hotel Cocal, which looks very nice. It has 2 pools, horseback riding, air conditioning, and the best amenity yet: hot water!!! I´ve really been enjoying my homestay family, but I must say the idea of a hotel after 2 weeks here seems perfectly heavenly!

An update on Ross: he got his acceptance letter to Texas State and spent yesterday in an orientation for transfer students. He´s registered, finding most of his classes did transfer over (minus the Italian, but as he´s just doing computer science here that isn´t a problem), and that financial aid is pretty comparable to UT. Life is wonderful indeed!!

Midway Point Update

Hello Loyal Blog Fans!!!!

I promised updates before I realized how quaint and antequated Costa Rica really is! I have been having issues since day 1 with the internet and phone availabilities here. I am at a computer lab in the museum where we perform our opera, and even here the internet is cutting in and out. Such a pain! But definitely a lesson in what I take for granted at the same time!

Costa Rica is a very beautiful country. The people are warm and friendly and wonderful. But I hate it here and am miserable anyway! Isn´t that terrible? Well, we are staying in a very ugly, depressing city. Every building in San Jose is concrete with metal bars covering the windows, large metal gates surrounding the buildings, and barbed wire coils across the top for good measure. The roads are dirty and in very poor condition, and the city is very unsafe. One of our first evenings out we witnessed a 2 men in masks pull over a car, hold pistols with silencers up to the passengers` heads, and steal their car. The owners of the restaurant where we were when we saw this kept trying to keep us calm because witnesses to crimes often find themselves way more involved here than they would wish for. I know carjacking happens a lot in US cities as well, but we usually don´t see it or the signs of it in our little bubbles, and having to go home after that incident through the ever-present caged streets of San Jose really effected me. I can´t wait to leave this city behind me.

San Jose has been pretty exciting, though. I sprained my ankle on the opening night of our opera and had to go to the hospital for x-rays after the show. It was a very nice hospital, and I was very fortunate to be seen by an ankle-knee specialist who was trained in Canada (so he spoke excellent English.) I speak a few words of Spanish now, but am mostly getting by on tons of sign language and a little bit of Italian! Another singer here, our Pamina, also spent an evening in the ER, due to an allergic reaction to an anti-biotic she got at a pharmacy here. I think we are all pretty stressed out and there seems to be quite a bit of illness going around our little group of 11 singers.

But we have also had some fun excursions. We've been to 1 beach for a day trip, and will go to another for 3 days this coming weekend. We went on a guided tour and got to eat breakfast at a coffee plantation, see a volcano (I had just hurt my ankle the day before so I didn´t get to see the actual crater, but it was beautiful), see a couple very impressive waterfalls, the rainforest and cloud forest, as well as go on a jungle cruise. That was my favorite part. We rode a boat that looked just like the ones in Disneyland down a river, where we saw some iguanas, some lizards that walk on the water, some howling monkeys that actually howled at us, a 3-toed sloth, a gigantic crocodile, and some very beautiful birds- all 100% real!!! Very cool.

The opera is going pretty well despite illnesses and accidents. We have 2 more shows here in San Jose, and I only get to sing 1 more time as the 1st lady. I lost one of my performances of the Queen of the Night when Julie got sick and had to go to the ER. But I don´t mind too much since I get to sing it again in Mazatlan and Austin.

We have 16 days left, and the final 7 of those in Mexico. I am hoping I will enjoy that country more. I really enjoy traveling, and really enjoy beautiful places like the rainforest and cloud forests, and the beaches here are gorgeous, so I can´t fully explain why I am so depressed here. It is a very poor country, and that has a lot to do with it I suspect, but not all. I will try and see if I can verbalize it more in my next post.

Leaving on a jet plane

My bags are not even out yet, let alone packed, and I leave tomorrow morning!!! EEKS!!! I'm getting more excited today, but a little freaked out at the same time. I will try and update my blog while I'm gone, but pictures will have to wait until I get back. Ross and I decided I should leave our digital camera state-side: should anything get stolen, we'd much rather it be something easy to replace! Give Ross a call- he'll be all alone! :( We got our new digital phone number finally: (512) 667-6868. Call away and let us test it out!

I'm sorry I won't get a chance to call all my sibs before I leave, and even more sorry I am broke and won't be able to get souvenirs for anyone. But I am hoping to send out postcards! If you want one, email me your address at rossandjuliann@gmail.com- gonna be checking that one at internet cafes when I get a chance!

Our New Address, for the Faithful Few!

For those who still check my blog despite the lack of regularly updated posts, here's our new address!!!

Ross and Juliann
520 Linda Drive #1207
San Marcos, TX 78666

As far as I can tell now, email addresses and cell phone numbers will all remain the same. Ross and I will be getting a new digital phone number- hopefully this weekend- but will keep our cells for emergencies. I'll post it when we get it!

I can't Believe it!

I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post! Sheesh- sorry guys! Ross and I have been busy packing up our current apartment and trying to decide on which apartment to move into. We have 2 choices- both have lots of pros and lots of cons, but by the end of today we should know where we'll be. It's been a little stressful, but I tend to think it has more to do with San Marcos and the way people operate there than it does with us personally. Otherwise, I've just been rehearsing a lot for the Magic Flute. The staging is a little like a Las Vegas night club act, but we'll see- hopefully it won't be too tacky. Ross has been busy doing most of the packing and getting ready for the move, for which I am extremely grateful!

Now for what we're REALLY excited about: Robosaurus is coming to Austin!!! July 2 he's coming to the Alamo Drafthouse to open the live-action Transformers movie. We were excited enough about the movie, but when I heard Robosaurus would be there- WOW!! I didn't think I'd be that hyped up about it- I've only seen him on Modern Marvels on the History Channel. But now we'll get to see him, LIVE!!! We can't wait!

A week apart

Ross heads to Lake Charles with his mom today. He's going to help her out there, fixing up their computer, cleaning up the attic, anything they need done, really. I have to stay behind to work, but who knows- I might end up going out next weekend to pick Ross back up. He had thought of going this summer when I'm away, but no one would be able to watch our kitties. So he goes now.

While he's away, I plan to practice as much as I want in our apartment (I've been trying to practice more at UT lately because my singing is getting louder and Ross can't escape from it when I do it in our tiny apartment), I'll watch lots of opera and chic fliks, and eat lots of salads and wheat bread (things Ross rarely eats with me)!