Traveler's hat:San Fransisco

San Fransisco in two and half days: 1. Mayflower hotel Fairly priced and in a good location. Right in the middle of downtown, about a 30 min car ride from the airport and it was $279 for two nights. Very friendly and helpful staff, very clean with an old fashion style. Continental breakfast included but it included a very simple selection. 2. Upcider A bar that is located on the upper level on Polk st. Darkly lit, relaxed and causal vibe. The place is known for their variety of ciders that they serve in mason jars. They also have a good selection of beers and good garlic fries. I can't remember if they serve hard alcohol. 3. Blur Very small place, very loud, didn't like it too much, but the name is cool. 4. Polk St. Good place to go bar hopping. There is a variety of bars and restaurants. 5. Mc. Teague's Good spot for dancing. Small space though 6. Corona Heights Nice and simple hike. The incline is a little intense but not overwhelming. The begining of the trail was hard for me to find and there are mutiple entrances to the trail. The top of the hike is beauituful. A hidden trail within the city.

7. Castro District Very colorful area. Hot cookie is a good place to stop for a treat. There are a lot of unique boutiques and shops.

8. Lower Height street Lower Height street seems a little calmer them the other side of height street. A lot of local shops, books stores, photography. That's what I like about SF, you can walk down the street and find original stores. 9. Pier39, Applebees Very nice view of the piers,and Pier 39 is always the spot for sovereigns. 10. Farmer's market at Union Square Reasonably prices organic produce. 11. The Night Owl Small place,but good drinks and a good place to sit, drink and converse.

Life in Nassau

After our snorkeling adventure I was eager to freshen up, but as we were walking back we saw three women dressed in these black and gold greatly decorated costumes, almost resembling a bird as feathers were attached to their backs. Then we heard the music that led us away from our path and brought us into a parade. The street was flooded with colors, music and the people of the island, all celebrating the new year. As we shifted through the crowded audience and found a seat on the bleachers, were were able to catch the ending part of the parade, where the theme was celebrating American culture. Floats of gigantic size models of Prescient Obama, President Lincoln, Hilary Clinton and other revered figures shadowed over the crowd and moved down the street. Those not guiding the floats wore elaborate costumes that stretched past their own height. The live music of the parade took over the atmosphere as almost everyone was dancing or singing along. Everything and everyone felt united. The energy was intense, and it was energy that was created at 2 in the morning when the parade started and was still continuing strong. After the parade we wanted a deeper exploration of the island and sought to go on a tour. To schedule a tour we approached a group of local men all dressed in business attire ready to engage in a business meeting outside of the office. The first man we approached told us to wait a few minutes while he solicited to other customers to come on the tour. As we waited, we heard a deep voice coming from behind us saying " You want to know something?". As we turned around we saw a tall,slender man with dark skin dressed in a suit and tie sitting on the wall behind us. As our eyes locked onto hi as he gazed up at the cruise ships in front of us and he began to tell us some unfamiliar facts. He informed us about the process of bringing the ships into the harbor. He told us that the captain of each ship would bring the ship as close to the port as he could then he would let ago of the wheel and allow the island locals to then navigate the ship. When he saw that he had our attention he introduced himself and continued on indulging us in facts about Nassau. As he spoke to us, he gestured with his hand but kept his eyes moving from us to the crowds walking by, always ready to solicit a new customer. When he would notice a large group coming towards him he would quickly excuse himself to kindly approach the crowd. He would also greet them with the most welcoming attitude, repeating greetings such as " Hello, how are you , happy new year." I watched hopefully as he approached families, couples, groups of women and men, with charm and determination but after each approach he was always given the same answer, " no." Some said they had already seen the island before, others were just interested in the beaches. After about 30 minutes of waiting he was unable to get any more customers for our tour, but he was able to taxi us to Atlantis. Atlantis was a short trip, as we walked around the resort. When we returned to Nassau we walked around, went to the straw market where 100s of different souvenirs could be found. Walking around down town I was amazed by the creative crafts such as designs of conch shells and recycled soda that were crafted into miniature airplanes, cars and trucks. Also as assortment of colorful paintings. Nassau is definitely an island where your craft is your profession. I encourage anyone who visits the island to take a tour. You were learn and see things that you wouldn't see on your own. Support the island people who are so passionate about their home

Costa Rica: Fish bowl

The day started off like any other. My alarm went off I pushed the snooze button. My alarm went off again and pushed snooze again. My alarm went off a third time and I finally had the strength to wake up. As I woke I felt the cool Costa Rican breeze against my cheek and my ears vibrated from the sound of birds, dogs and a rooster. Not too pleasant but I was still happy to be awake. When I got myself together and walked down stairs, breakfast was waiting for us as well as a pot of coffee. I am not a coffee drinker so I can not contest to it's flavor but everyone who tried it said that it was really good. Our day started off with a school visit. I remember first walking up to the school and having that fish bowl experience. Children looking at us with wonder and excitement and we stared back with just as much amazement. When we got started with things it was kind of like organized chaos, but that's how the start of things are. You can't work out all the kinks until you try everything out. Shoes were flying from getting passed around and sorted through, and children were lining up to get sized and receive a brand new pair of shoes. We were able to pass out about 300 shoes to children in need. It was exciting and busy sorting through the hundreds of shoes, trying to find the right pair to fit each child and of course the language barrier was another fun challenge. I can finally say my three years of high school Spanish benefited me some what. Luckily I remembered the words for big and small to help figure out the right shoe size. But my Spanish was limited so when I didn't know the translation I had to rely on body language such as facial expression and hand signals. Most physical expressions are pretty universal. At the end of the experience I was quite proud of myself but more proud of my team. There was 9 of us all together , and all 9 of us had never worked all together before and were able to pull off a project and manage to do a darn good job. Reflection: One of the many things I took away from this experience was connection. Language is one of the strongest and most used ways to communicate but what is not to be forgot is that there are always ways to communicate to. Non verbal communication can sometimes say more then words ever could. Also that you never know what is hidden behind someone's smile. The children we met were happy , well dressed in their uniforms and didn't seem to have a care in the world. It was easy to forget that they were all children in need. It's easy to look at the surface and think things are fine, but don't forget dig a little deeper to see how things really are.

Cost Rica:You have arrived.

I hope to say the phrase" it was a dream come true" many more times in my life because arriving in Costa Rica was a dream come true. I was simply amazed that I was actually able to save the money, break away from my normal life, travel with people I've never met before and end up in a different country. Blessed is a feeling that I never stopped feeling because I honestly felt so blessed from the support of everyone who helped me make it to my destination. When we arrived it was night time. Our flight was delayed so we got there a little later then expected. I remember listening to the quiet of the night, few cars on the road. As our bus drove us to our location I remember looking out the window and trying to make out the city as I gazed at it under street lights. The ride was bumpy but pretty short, and we made it to C.E.D.C.A.S, the medical facility in which we stayed. There can be a bit of worry when you travel to a different country, one reason being that cleanliness standards vary from place to place but I was more then pleased with the C.E.D.C.A.S facility. We were greeted with a warm meal of spaghetti. Lilian who runs the facility greeted us with the warmest smile and with one shoe on her foot. She was trying to balance herself out after having hip surgery, so the wearing of one shoe wasn't from any type forgetfulness. We had short introductions then we were off to bed for we had an adventure planned for the next day. To find out more about C.E.D.C.A.S and the great work they do visit http://cedcas.org/ ( the website is all in Spanish). C.E.D.C.A.S is a medical facility that offers free and low cost medical care for those that are desperately in need for care. If you'd like to find out how to support C.E.D.C.A.S. feel free to contact me for information.