B on the move...

¡uno más!!!!!!

bthall — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:35:00 GMT

ok ok ok OK....so here´s the dealy yo....I have spent the last three weeks near Estelí, Nicaragua living in the country side with no electricity and studying spanish in a small comunity called Límon...not too much to report on as far as exciting stuff i got into, except the fact that these were probably the most rewarding and best weeks of my life...it was like living back in time, sitting around candle light at night with my nicaragüen familiy (who i love to death) in the evening talking spanish and just being.....its such a different and slower life than what "we" are acustomed too...for example, when you visit someone´s house it is custom to sit down and have a cup of coffee and visit for a while...i have never drank sooo much coffee in my life, haha i love it....i also have gained many new insights about myself, my country, and my world...my spanish has inproved sooooo much and it is fricking awesome, i love it...i really noticed it the last couple of days traveling from Estelí to San Jóse which was a fucking task in itself...i have been pretty lucky with traveling and haven´t had many set backs or complications until the last couple of days...it helped soo much that i could speak a decent amount of spanish and that i have a pretty chill, go with the flow, personality because saturday was stressful (and rewarding) even for me...it was rewarding in the fact that i could speak with people and hold my own in conversation (small talk, i need a dictionary for detailed topics)...and i met some really great people that helped me out along the way and i don´t think that would have happened if i couldn´t talk to people...on the bad side, i missed buses, had an attempt by a pick pocketer, was hastled by many taxi drivers who suckkkkkk ass, and spent a lot more time traveling than i wanted too....

-my Best purchase....my little umbrella i bought for like 2 bucks has been the shit for rain and sun...it is the rainy season after all
-my top three travel items...Ear plugs (great for sooo many situations), first aid kit (i hurt myself a lot and nothing heals here in 100000% humitity), and my ipod (i really debated bringing this one, but nothing improves the spirits better than a little bob marley "don´t worry about a thing, every little thing is going to be alright" during times of sickness, depression, or hardships)...
-i have met awesome people from all over the world...
- my travel bug has only increased
-no recycling....i have thrown away more plastic bottles than i care to even think about...but hey, what can you do in a place where even getting people to put trash in a trash can is a large feat...

Travel Advice:

- take it slow and easy...shit will go wrong, just roll with the punches
- get away from other travelers and get to know where you are
- there are bad people and GOOD people everywhere, don´t forgit it
- carma is a bitch...give help and you shall recieve help...don´t and you won´t...

Nicaragua flipped my world upside down:

-i have gained many new insights about SHIT...
-i have learned new US history...the ugly history they don´t teach you in school and the history that really makes you embarsed of your country, your government, and makes you sick to your stomach....
-i have seen how privledged i have been in my life and how privledged everyone in my country is and have flelt like a big piece of shit about what we take for granted (ummmmmm, food for example) and don´t even relize it, how watseful we are...and we bitch over gas going up 10 cents...i challange you to justify that one to someone here...

peace out...i´m going home....

¿como estas?

bthall — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:27:00 GMT

ok, so i really suck at keeping this thing updated...so here going a brief run down of what´s been going on with me...

panama was awesome...after i left panama city i was back into my element...i can only take so much of a big city before i got to get out...san blas was amazing, straight out of a magazine...it was almost surreal...almost like it was fake and i was somewhere lost in disney world or something...afterwards, i went to bocas del toro...also an amazing place but in different aspects...i went diving there, the viss was not too great because it´s the rainy season and there are a couple of river mouths there...but i did sea the biggest puffer, balloon fish i have ever seen, it must have been about 1.5-2 feet in lengh...the place is wild and a huge backpacker party hub...every night is a weekend night there and thank god i didn´t visit that place when i was 18 years old or i wouldn´t be worth anything...

after i left boccas, i went back to tres piedras a couple of weekends ago...they had a rodeo and all weekend party to raise money to do some road work in the community...i had a fricking blast being back there...i knew more spanish so it was soo much cooler hanging out with everyone again...i was suppose to ride a bull at the rodeo, mary had it set up and everything, but there was a miscommunication and the guys running the thing didn´t let me...it was hard to find out what was going on when i couldn´t really speak the language...reguardless, i had a blast...there was another group from new york at tfi...most of them hung out with each other at tfi instead of with the community during the party...lame-o´s...

it was sooo hard to leave there again...i really just wanted to stay and live there for...ummm ever....but i figured i got other stuff to see...so, i skipped the rest of costa rica cause it´s too expensive, too touristy, and too many gringos...and went straight to nicaragua...i went to the isle de ometepe which is an island made of two volcanos in the middle of lake nicaragua...almost something out of a fairytail...it was a pretty cool island and i climbed one of the volcanos, which kicked my butt...but it was cool cause i hired a cheap local guide who didn´t speak english to take me up there...so i got to practice my spanish all day...i also met a really interesting character from the states that owned a resturant there...he had some really good insights about tourism and some of the stuff i´m thinking of looking into with my career...he actually grew up in mrytle beach when beach music was big so he was all about the shagging music...

after i left the island i spent the last few days in granada....which is a really pretty colonal town...the oldest city in central america if i´m not mistaken...i could spend a lot more time there...anyways, i left there today and i am in esteli now...i am starting two weeks of spanish lessons tomarrow and living with a local family...i have decided to just spend the rest of my time here in nicaragua and save the rest of central america for another time soo i can really work on my spanish and see more of nicaragua...besides delta would not change my departure city so i have to go back to san jose in costa rica and i dont want to waste a lot of time on buses just to briefly see some other countries...not my style....

forgot to post this one

bthall — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:20:00 GMT

Ok...ok...ok...ok....so, panama is awesome...even though i have had some downs here, it still is...i'll explain more in a sec...so i left boquete a week ago last monday morning and caught the express bus, ~ 7 hrs, down to panama city...but it really didn't feel like seven hours because i talked with this cute panamanian girl the whole time and even had a date lined up with her before i even stepped foot into the city...she is a really nice girl and showed me around the city...

I've been staying at these guys apartment in the city that i met through couchsurfing...one from panama, one from jersey and one from the VA that actually lived in rocky mount and the outer banks for a while...it's been crazy being in a city for a change...panama city is pretty cool though, a lot safer and more americanized than a lot of other major cities central america...i've been staying within spitting distance of two casinos and have been fairly good about gambling i must say...i guess cause i'm on such a tight travel budget, and i can gamble back home, no need to throw away money i could be doing other cool stuff with here....

i've been taking spanish lessons and improving very little b/c there are too many people speaking english in this town...but it's all good, cause i now know a lot of rules now to be able to speak with somewhat good grammer...even though i know i sound really stupid...

s... totally hit the fan with my health the last few days....first i had an ear infection...i'm guessing it was from the last time i was in dominical and there was a red tide...b/c my ear had been water logged for a couple of weeks after and finally it started killing me...but good thing you can get perscription drugs over the counter, b/c i got some strong drops that cleared it right up...then i have been getting eaten up by bedbugs...them things ain't no joke...it's like having a bad case of poison ivy....again, good thing i could get some perscription cream....yeah, i felt soo bad the other day it even made me home sick for a morning...i have never been home sick in my life, but for one morning i really wanted to just get out of here...but, now i feel better and unfortunately the bedbugs bites are still with me, but it's all good cause i'm running away from those things....i hope none of you ever get them cause evidentally the only pesticide that really kills them is DDT and you ain't getting that in the states no more....but, once again, good thing they sell it over the counter....just kidding, i don't know if they do....probably though...

in the morning i'm headed to san blas panama for a couple of days and then up to bocca del torro....nothing like a little caribbean paradise to ease the mind and soul....later.....

Gallery: Boquete, Panama

bthall — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 07:51:00 GMT

panama

bthall — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:33:00 GMT

ok, so i had to finally leave Tres Piedras....i was just getting sucked into a warp there...not in a bad way, i lost my watch surfing and it got to the point where i didn´t know what day it was or what time it was in that day...which is a great feeling, and i recommend it if you have never tryed it...just being free from the clock and got to do this at this time and that at that time....i got some good reading in....thanks king for Ishmeal, it´s a great book and i recommend it for everyone...it had a lot of what i was already thinking about in it but it ties everything together really nicely....for those of you camp high trailers, it´s like a deep philosophical book about OH DEER or my perferred name GO GETTER....anyways, my last days there where filled with finishing the tiki hut, finishing my papers for my class and rafting down the river that goes by the property...it was funny, me and jairo took two of the local kids whitewater rafting on a little janky raft that was never intended to be used for whitewater rafting and it was not intended to have four people in it either, and on top of that it had about a million holes in it...so jairo patched them up with cut pieces of a bike tire and glue...needless to say we had to stop about four times to keep pumping it back up and it was sagging so much from the weight that i banged the crap out of my butt and feet on rocks....but it was fun...

the keith sisters from y-town came to costa rica and emailed me...so i met up with them in dominical last monday and tuesday night....i was not expecting to run into any franklin county in central america, small world...we went out and had a good time, although i was having the greatest day ever surfing some costa rican waves and chillin on the beach on tuesday but after lunch i felt really bad....i don´t know what it was, too much sun, not enough water, or a combination of it all but i was out of it for a couple of days...

i got to panama on thursday....i got to say, being totally alone going to new places and not really knowing the language has been one of the scariest, yet exciting things i have ever done....crossing the boarder was crazy and if it wasn´t for this young kid who helped me i don´t know if i would have known where to go...

i´ve noticed panama is different in a few ways so far...some of the women wear more traditional clothes, it´s like a really colorful dress...i haven´t figured out why only some yet though, i think it´s the more native people...in panama they use the balboa as their currency...the us dollar...but it´s werid because they make some of their own coins which are exactly like the us coins except different pictures and stuff on them...but it is nice to be using us money again so i don´t have to do exchange rates in my head and stuff...and the COFFEE is amazing and only like fifty cents a cup...beer is a lot cheaper here too...anywhere between 50 cents to a dollar at some bars...

i got into boquete, panama thurday night after traveling all day...it´s a really cool little mountain community...i have met so many cool people at the hostal i´ve been staying at...and i´ve been exposed to about five or six different languages while i´ve been here...i feel at such a disadvantage and i wish i knew more...this one swis girl spoke six languages...amazing and impressive...i even ran into this guy from brazil that i worked with in 2005 at summit mountain in big bear...small world...it´s crazy and he has been hitchhiking across the states and down through mexico and over to cuba and then back to costa rica and now is continueing hitchhiking south and plans to go all the way to the bottom tip of south america....crazy and awesome at the same time...yesterday i went to the hot springs that are in the local area and it was really cool because they are right on a river, so you can jump in the river to cool off, back to the hot spring, back to the river, etc etc etc....today i went rock climbing with this local i met and had a blast...the rock is really weird...but the climbing is a lot like new jack city in california...lots of jugs....this afternoon i watched the eurocup final with these guys from israel and a guy for england...it was pretty cool and finally learned some soccer or futball rules...i´m heading down to panama city tomarrow so it will be a full day of traveling...peace out....

still is tres peadras

bthall — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:12:00 GMT

So is it possible to keep having the BEST DAY EVER over and over again? I'm starting to feel like I'm living the life of josh nease, for those of you who know who he is will appreciate that anology...anyways, last sat. I went to the local rodeo and dance in san juan... and it was fricking awesome...the rodeo itself was great and very entertaining...then afterwords i drank a lot of imperials and tried my best to keep up with the ticas dancing...we all danced traditional dances at first and when i say all, i mean all...old people, young people, and kids...it was a blast...then later on the young people took over and started the standard bump and grid dancing of america...but more middle school style than what is seen up in rumers in greenville...then when we got back later that night some of us went for a midnight swim at the swimming hole... the rest of the group left on monday, on their way out they dropped me off in San Isidro...and i got a really check very quickly...the first thing i did was try to mail Jason a birthday gift home...well, that didn't go over so well at the post officie with my lack of spanish...so, i went to the town square to hang out and make some phone calls...while there i met this guy who spoke english and offered to help me mail the package...we went and got a box and some type and then to the post officie...it was really nice and i felt obligated to return the favor so i bought him lunch and a beer...then i ditched him and continued my day in the city...i went to the market and caught the bus back up to san juan where mary and jiaro picked me up and took me back to tfi.... i must say...being completely immersed in a different culture while not speaking the language is bar none the most difficult, frustrating, and yet rewarding thing that i have ever done...since the other gringos left (my professors and other classmates) my spanish has improved a million times and then some...i am picking up more and more everyday...it's awesome...and i know i sound really dumb, kind of like the cookie monster...."COOKIE, GIVE ME COOKIE...." and thats about the extent of my vocab...haha... Anyways, with that said...this week has been amazing....the other night the main grandmother of the local community (cause everyone is related to everyone in some way or another) had a birthday and i went to the party...it was great, even though i could not speak much with them just observing was a blast....for those of you who just left...i don't know what flood was talking about cause the local food is slap your mama good...later on, one of the grandchildern (i think) put the cake into the grandmas face and then one of the other girl relatives held her while the grandma got her back and then the two younger ones started wrestling and getting each other with cake right in the living room...it was halarious... during the days i have been helping the guys on the proportity build a table and a tiki hut, called a rancheo....i've learned a lot of spanish just working with them during the days...and one things for sure, no matter rather there is a language barrior or not...guys will find a way to communicate about girls...it's great cause it's like the only thing we can understand each other about....haha.... yesterday was great...i went with mary, the site director, to the local school...she teaches english there once a week....i got to help her teach numbers to the kids...they went over 1-20 the previous week and we went over 20-100 this week...it was great cause i helped them say it in english and they would help me with spanish...i don't know how the teacher there does it...she has about 23 or so kids, grades 1-6 in the same classroom at the same time...it's actually pretty impressive and amazing that she can facilitate the different lessons at the same time....i had sooo much fun at the school and playing with the rug rats during recess....maybe i should just stay down here and become a teacher at a small school....hum.... later for now....

Gallery: TFI and Dominical

bthall — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:58:00 GMT

Costa Rica Upadate...

bthall — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:43:00 GMT

So...I was in Costa Rica for less then 24 hrs before we were robbed...awesome...on Tuesday we drove down to Dominical...what an adventure, the main way via the panamerican highway was washed out on one section because the the tropical storm a couple of weeks ago so we had to take the coastal route...on the way down and little north of Jaco we stopped at this bridge over this river to check out the saltwater crocs...which are huge and pretty damn awesome...anywas we pulled over on the right side of the road just passed the bridge in front of a big truck with a load of bricks on it and some guys were working on the truck...we were on the bridge maybe ten min. and a not even 75 yards from the van and we got jacked...they popped open the window with a screw driver (sliding window) jumped in and stole a bunch of day packs...just like that....looking back it was so fricking obvious...the damn truck was even running while they were under it "working" on the truck...the cops said they drive down every month or so to do it...it was really a well efficient set up...some of the people in my class lost a lot of stuff (passports, lots of money, credit cards, ipods, etc.)...i did get my daypack stolen but all my important stuff was on me...thank god i did my research before coming and was prepared for that senerio...cause i could have easily had all my stuff stolen too...they did get my pictures of funky town, the farm, friends and the family to show people; one of the books i was reading; my binoculars; and my journal that i have been writing for a couple of months now which is what i was really pissed about...

On a lighter note....Costa Rica is AMAZING....I don't really know how to discribe it...it's kind of like West Virginia right on the ocean...except with a lot more biodiversity...it's crazy so far i've seen Sloaths, Monkies (Chupucins and Squiral), a shit load of birds (including Tucans and paraits), and Posin dart frogs to name a few...but supprisingly, the coolest animals i have seen are the ants...damn they're cool...Basicly it's like being in the discovery channel...

For the last two weeks I have been in the middle of no where and it's awesome...I've been at a research station on around 400 arces of primary forest and reforested land...we have been developing a business plan for them to start an ecotourism componet on their property...i have also helped them plant around 400 trees in the tropical forest...you know, just saving the world one tree at a time and shit for all of you driving around at $4 dollars a gallon or whatever it is now...haha...The non-profit is called Tropical Forest Initiactive (TFI)...TFI is located in Tries Peadros, a small community of about 4 or 5 families...There are cool little swimming holes and waterfalls around the area...that we all jump into at least twice a day...for vistas, i can see the ocean from the mountains...how cool is that...pretty sweet...

The people are super nice and really cool and i admire their lifestyle in the countryside...they work in the fields early in the mornings and take it easy in the afternoons...there is no machinary (for the most part)...they cut grass with machedies...

We came into Dominical yesterday and are leaving this afternoon to go back to TFI...there is a rodeo and community dance tonight up there...i'm super excited about it...i might try to ride a bull (a little one) if i can and dance with some Ticas (Costa Ricans are called Ticos and Ticas)...yesterday, i went on a zip line tour through the forest canopy and surfed my first wave ever while watching the sunset over the Pacific...pretty great day i'm not going to lie...I also talked with a guy that works for a local non-profit...because of the funding his is the only employee but he goes around to the local school and facilites environmental education programs...he said i could come help and go around to the school with him and give me a place to stay...so i may do that at some point...i miss working with kids, plus, i can probably talk better with them cause i am on a very elementary spanish level...haha...oh, side note...all you High Trails folks....remember we used to get mad when some of the kids left used TP in the girl boxes in the bathroom...man, i see why now...everywhere down here you have to put TP in the trash cause the systems can't handle it...anyways, later for now...and as they say in Costa Rica...
Pura Vida (it meaning good life)
Brandon

Alajuela, Costa Rica

bthall — Tue, 3 Jun 2008 13:38:00 GMT

Today was a long day...i didn´t really get to sleep much last night because i had to pack and get all my shit in order...and of course i waited to the last min. to do everything...anyways, the flight was alright although there was a lot of turbulence on the way down and i´ll tell you what...airplane food SUCKS...

so, i made note cards on the way down all pumped up to learn spanish and all and i get to Costa Rica and found out really quick how much i really don´t know...we flew into San Jose and are staying in Alajuela for the night...this afternoon we went walking around the area and god damn if you ever come down here you better remember what your mother told you and look both ways before crossing the road...cause the drivers ain´t stopping for you...and the rain gutters on the sides of the streets are really deep...maybe a 1 1-2 to 2 feet because of the amount of rain they can get in short periods of time...

we went out and got some cervezas (and my spanish seemed to get better, or at least i know how to order a cerveza now) and i ate some of the best pizza you ever put in your mouth...this yankee from maryland owns it and it was not too shabby i must say...

the money is called colones and it´s like 500 to every US dollar...so, i fill rich as shit right now rolling around with 10g´s in colones...although thats only 20 bucks...if your wondering, it´s about 800 colones a beer...so, thats about 1.60 a beer...

we are leaving for the dominical area in the morning...the road washed out in the mountain so we have to go the longer coastal route...about 5 or 6 hours i´m told...

Gallery: Alajuela

bthall — Tue, 3 Jun 2008 13:34:00 GMT

Pregame...

bthall — Mon, 2 Jun 2008 12:42:00 GMT

All packed up and ready to bounce...next stop Costa Rica...

Gallery: Pre-Trip

bthall — Mon, 2 Jun 2008 10:29:00 GMT