Rained Out: Saturday May 27th
Lathered in sunscreen and wearing our bathing suits ibamaos a la playa! … but the Costa Rican weather had other plans for us. The skies opened and let down a heavy shower that lasted half the day and all the way into the night lulling our sad untanned-selves to sleep.
Lazy-day: Sunday May 28th
Chilled at the Casita all day to get ready for the busy work week ahead of us.
Usual 9- 4pm: Monday May 29th
Wake up call @8am – Work @9am – Lunch @12 – Work @1 – Casita @4pm
Welcome to Schreiner… I mean Costa Rica: Tuesday May 30th
We welcomed a little bit more of Schreiner University to Costa Rica. Dean Smith, Dr. Coleman and Mr. Reast arrived in Costa Rica to discuss with business owners in the area about hosting more future internships for more Schreiner students. At Beeman’s house that night we enjoyed a good ol’ American meal, hamburgers and mac n cheese while we discussed with our professors all that our internship had entailed so far. It’s a huge honor to be the first group of students doing this internship exchange program in Costa Rica.
Costa Rican Shower: Wednesday May 31st
While at work, the rain rolled in from the mountains. What began as a light and steady rainfall turned into a hard and heavy storm that showed no signs of stopping. We tried waiting out the storm but it just grew stronger and stronger. At half past the hour for clocking out for the work day we decided to make a run for it up our road back to our Casita at Marias. With our laptops and electronics wrapped intrash bags tucked carefully inside of our bags we were off! As we ran/swiftly jogged back my vision became blurred as water droplets collected in surprisingly large numbers on my eye lashes. With about 50 more feet to go up the sidewalk to the entrance to our Casita I gripped my chanclas with all the toe strength I had and shuffled as fast as possible to the closest coverage from the downpour.
Internship Day 9 : Thursday June 1st
Same ol’ same ol’ work day in the “office”.
The City in the Mountains: Friday June 2nd
Our boss needed to run some errands in San Isidro so we made a day trip of it and tagged along. The drive there was a huge adventure alone as we chugged upwards on the steep and curving roads, sometimes driving through the clouds. Our boss was previously a drag racer so the drive was extra exciting as we slid around curves in her manual 4 door. Our boss dropped us off at la Feria, their local market and we explored the city street by street. We came across a local food stand called Soda 
Sandrita, where we bought empanadas at and then checked out a small shop. After exploring up and down the hot streets of San Isidro which the girls said reminded them of Mexico City, we needed a cool pick me up and found a fresh cut juice stand in addition to a little coffee shop with Wifi and AC! Overall it was neat to see a big city in Costa Rica but it made me love and appreciate our small coastal town even more.
Later that night we hoped in the back of Felipe’s truck at explored some local dive ins in Uvita and had some of the best nachos I’ve had in a long time!
Home Away From Home: Saturday June 3rd
Beeman picked the Costa Rica Chicas up at 2pm and took us to his casa where we chilled, ate dinner, and explored Playa Tortuga North. It was low tide so the water seemed miles away from the sand embankment where we parked. Cynthia, the Beeman’s dog Duke, Marissa and I headed to the north end of the beach where we walked in a huge open cave carved by the oceans crashing waves. As I stood at the base of the cave and looked up the steep cliff face, I could see the beautifully layered rock sediments. Beeman acted as our personal photographer as he captured some shots of us girls before we headed back to their house to get ready for the rest of the evening. Later that night we went out to the Bamboo Room restaurant to listen to live music by a gentleman named Walter who played some throw backs that preceded what we consider throwbacks by 30+ years. He played piano and sang 60’s and 70’s music which
Salt Water Heals All Wounds: Sunday June 4th
With the birds chirping and the sunlight peeking in through the window as it rose
above the distant mountains, we had an early start to the day. Beeman drove Abby, Marissa and I in his UTV down the road to another nearby beach called Playa Tortuga South. The tide was low again so we got to walk a good way out across the sand finding treasures left behind by the previous high tide. Beeman again acted as our own personal photographer and I must admit he’s getting quite good! I hope he doesn’t start charging.
When we got back I ate a huge breakfast that definitely held me over for days to come. On the menu that day from Beeman’s Cafe was as follows: 2 fried eggs, crispy bacon (tastes different than in the states but this Texan girl don’t pass up on her pork), fresh watermelon and mango and I kid you not- half a loaf of ciabatta bread covered in various types of jams from local farmers and the market. I feasted like a Queen.
Afterwards we all hung out around Beeman’s casa. Marissa and I took a dip in there pool and I swear we had noticeable tan lines within 10 minutes of laying out. They’re not joking around when they say the sun is 10x stronger here. After some pool time we all got ready for our early dinner at a local restaurant called TBA with the Beeman’s. I ordered a Mahi Tuna salad which was incredibly fresh and light yet filling. Afterwards, Marty and I went to walk off our full tummies on the beach right down the path from the restaurant. As we reached the southern tip of the beach a rain shower caught us by surprise soaking us to the bone which I didn’t mind because it cooled me down on another long and warm Costa Rican day.
Back at the Beeman’s case we ended the night with some board games including Cards of Humanity, which definitely broke down some barriers, and a new game to me called Worst Case Scenarios. Once in teams of two everyone doubted Marissa and I as being a threat… maybe even including ourselves a little bit, but we ended up being the under dogs of the night taking the win! Go team M&M 🙂
Until next time mis amigos,
Michaela Lehman
Costa Rica Chicas 