Tag Archives: travel

Crying in Public and Conquering Fears in Costa Rica, the Tarzan Way*

04 Sunday Aug 2013

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When I was nine, I was tall. These days, I’m a whopping 5’4, but back then, I exceeded the national average and was taller than the 50 inches required to ride this:

That’s the Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, one of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in the country.

My nine-year-old self and adult-self agree that the trauma resulting from this ride explains my subsequent and persistent distaste for free falls. Turbulence on airplanes, rollercoasters, even watching people jump off high rocks into water make me queasy.

Anyway.

Free falls and a plethora of other things grace my list of fears, but one of them is actually not heights. So I was excited to participate in one of the most popular and exciting tourist activities in Costa Rica: ziplining.

See how excited I am? And how small my head looks in that darn helmet? Curse you, tiny head!

See how excited I am? And how small my head looks in that darn helmet? Curse you, tiny head!

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Dear America: A Birthday Letter

04 Thursday Jul 2013

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Dear America,

Happy Birthday!

I’ve missed you. I really have.

Wide open spaces. US of A.

Wide open spaces.
US of A.

I’m sorry I’ve skipped so many of your recent birthdays. There was the time I was digging in Italy in 2008. And that other time I was digging in Italy in 2009. 2010 I made it to New York! In 2011, I almost forgot it was your birthday at all and spent it in Rome with friends, trying to find a good burger (for the record, that was not my idea that time). We had figured Hard Rock Café was our best bet; when we arrived, we realized it was more crowded than usual because it was July 4th.  The wait was 90 minutes. We ended up eating at a bar near Piazza Bologna.

And last year. Well, last year I didn’t technically miss it. I saw your fireworks from the plane as we departed the capital; on the tail of the fireworks was a storm, I think. Booms filled the air, in any case. Your favorite colors did, too.

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Sloths Are Cute (And Also A Little Creepy)

30 Sunday Jun 2013

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I have a confession to make.

I’ve never been crazy about sloths.

Look at their cuteness. UNREASONABLE.

Look at their cuteness. UNREASONABLE.

They are cute. And slow. And mostly cute because they’re slow. But they’ve just never been on my animal radar. Dolphins were more my speed. And dogs. Dogs are so flippin’ AWESOME! Long story short, it was never a life dream of mine to cuddle with sloths, or watch them lazily reach for a branch or shimmy down a tree with the dexterity and speed of a totally baked person.

Maybe I just hadn’t spent enough time on YouTube.

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