Vamos a Panama!!!

We went to Bocas del Toro, Panama for vacation.

 

We stayed at Playa Tortuga Hotel which is a little bit outside of Bocas Town. On the first day we went to a restaurant called Taco Surf Bocas, which was delicious. They had a thing called a "California style burrito." It is a burrito made with french fries inside of it. I have lived in California my entire life and I have never had a burrito with french fries in it?!?!

Casa de Miguel!!

People have been asking me what our new house looks like. It is about 100 meters from the beach.

Civics Week!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, we have been busy moving into a new house. Now that we are settling in, I wanted to post on Civics Week. In Costa Rica, Indepedence Day is the 15th of September. Every year they have a week full of patriotic events leading up a big Independence Day parade in Cobano in which there are participants from all the surrounding areas including Montezuma, Cobano, Tambor, and Santa Teresa. The parade starts a little way past the medical clinic and then goes through town and finishes at the town gymnasium (where all the community events are held). It was a long way to walk! I was in the ribbons group, we did a ribbon dance.

My sister was in the band. All of the instruments were made from recycled materials. 

Escuela Futuro Verde

      My sister and I just started at Escuela Futuro Verde (EFV).

It is a school about six kilometers away from Montezuma, Costa Rica. Although it is very small and the school buildings are not as modern as my school in California, the schools are similar in many ways. They both teach classes in 2 languages, EFV is Spanish and English, and RSA (Redding School of the Arts) is Mandarin and English. They both have awesome teachers. They both give us art class each week. The schools are both focused on saving energy and making good environmental choices.

Surfing!!

When we first got here I told myself that I wanted to learn to surf. Once after the first time we ate at the Panderia in Cabuya we went into a gift shop across the street where we met a man named Guillermo who taught surf lessons, he offered to teach me how to surf some time soon. So a few days after he picked us up, because we didn't have car yet, and took us to Playa Hermosa, where we met another man who would also be learning at the same time I was. We started out in the sand practicing what to do and how to paddle on drawn surfboards. Then we got the actual surfboards and put wax on them to help our feet grip better.

Then we went out to the water where Guillermo helped each of us, one at a time, to get a starter wave. It took a few tries but I finally managed to stand up (but only for a couple of seconds) I was so happy.

Food in Costa Rica!

On our first morning here I tried casado for breakfast. It is a typical Costa Rican meal. It always has beans, rice, plantains, and some kind of protien, like chicken, fish or eggs. It wasn't my favorite because at that restaurant they mix the beans and rice together.

Since then I have tried the lunch and dinner casados at some local sodas (like a little cafe). YUM!!!!

Then someone recomended the Panderia in Cabuya, so we went there for lunch. If you ever find yourself in Cabuya you should totally eat there.

Playa Grande!

In the short amount of time we've been in Costa Rica we have gone to the beach almost every day! One of our favorite beaches is called Playa Grande. It is very big.

When we first arrived in Montezuma, we walked up the beach from our hotel for about 30 minutes and found this beach. It was a long way, but it was totally worth it. The first time we went there, we body surfed and played in the sand.

So Many Different Animals in Costa Rica!

There are so many cool animals in Costa Rica, and I have seen so many of them already, like the coati,

some birds, some lizards, even some monkeys,

Here We Go!!!

Hola, from Costa Rica!

This is my first blog post from Costa Rica! Wow, it took us a long time to get here. We brought a lot of stuff because we are hoping to stay a long time.

We went from San Francisco to Denver then took a red-eye to San José, Costa Rica.

Oak Bottom Birthday Party!

       

This year for my birthday party we went to Oak Bottom campground. We were right by Wiskeytown Lake. It was really a lot of fun camping with my friends. The first thing we did was play in the lake.

       

Hirz Bay!

Wow, look how low Lake Shasta is.
On Friday and Saturday, my family and I went to Hirz Bay, which is on Lake Shasta. My family has a tent trailer, and I got to help set it up.

Our campsite had a little path down to where the water should have been, but there was at least 300 feet down to the water.

Shasta District Fair!

On Wednesday, my family and I went to the Shasta District Fair! We went to the commercial barns first, but after the commercial barns we went over to the animal barns to see my friend's goat.

Bar 717!!

Some friends of mine have a camp, in Trinity County, called Bar 717. Over Memorial Day weekend we went there with some other families. We had a lot of fun. 

We got to watch them brand the cows! 

The Cinder Cone!!

We live near Lassen Volcanic National Park. There are lots of great hikes to do there. One of our favorites is called the Cinder Cone. "Cinder Cone" is a type of volcano. You get to hike by the Fantastic Lava Beds,

Redding Rodeo!

Last week was Rodeo Week. We went to the Redding Rodeo on Saturday.

I like watching all of the events, but my favorite is barrel racing. We go every year, but this year my sister got to ride a sheep during the rodeo, it is called "Mutton Bustin'!"

Kool April Nites!

Redding has this event called Kool April Nites. It is an old car show; kind of like Reno's Hot August Nights. During Kool April Nites there is this thing called "The Cruise" where a bunch of old cars ride around for people to see.

This year we got to be in it!!!!!! It was really fun even though it was cold and rainy the evening of The Cruise.

New Brighton with Friends!

Last Friday after school my dad picked us up with the trailer and our bikes on the truck. We were heading to Santa Cruz with our friends to camp for Spring break. Unfortunately, Santa Cruz is about 5 hours away. The campground that we wanted to stay at was full so we spent the first night at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park which was nice and fun but NOT on the beach. Luckily, we got a campsite right on the bluffs above the beach the next day.

Finally, we got to go to the beach!!! It was really fun to be there with my sister and my friends. We even made some new friends while playing on the beach. We practiced doing handstands in the water.