"Hope" is the thing with feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers--

That perches in the soul--

And sings the song without the words--

And never stops--at all--

And sweetest--in the Gale--is heard--

And sore must be the storm--

That could abash the little Bird--

That kept so many warm--

I've heard it in the chillest land--

And on the strangest Sea--

Yet, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb--of Me.

by Emily Dickinson

Poems about Costa Rica

Here is a poem I wrote about one of my housemates here in Costa Rica ... Enjoy!

1: Pan y café para la lora*
*Bread and coffee for the parrot


“Ro-sa! Ro-sa! “Ro-saaaaaA!”
she calls before the keys even turn in the front door.
It’s already late morning, and Lorita is restless.
Old ladies are high maintenance,
and this one has lived too long
to practice patience any longer.
“Ro-saaaaaaA!”
The assurance, “Ya me voy,” only causes
this old lady to scream louder. So you thought
old ladies couldn’t scream?
When breakfast is late, drastic measures
must be taken. The kettle sings,
the water is ready, poured over freshly
ground beans, strained Costa-Rican style. The smell
reassures Lorita, but she still fears her staff
will underestimate the urgency of the situation.
“Hola!? Hola? Ha-llo?”
But it’s coming … the fresh bread dunks into hot
coffee, the rich brew seeping up the thick
slice. Mmmm …
breakfast is served.

God's Grandeur

A poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins


The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade, bleared, smeared with toil;

And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs--

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

The Power of Images

Here are some photographs depicting my thoughts and feelings about Costa Rica.

This is a photograph I took at Playa Carillo in Guanacaste when I was there in October. I wasn't able to capture the sunset, but still love the colors of the clouds and the light on the horizon and reflected on the wet beach.










I love taking photographs of places I've visited, and while I don't have much professional knowledge about photography, I love being able to capture visual representations of my travels and experiences. Here's an interesting spiral form of a leaf I photographed during a visit to the Tortuguero canals.



This is a picture of my family when they came to visit me in March 2009. We spent a few days near Arenal volcano and went ziplining, which my mom especially loved.









Here's a photograph of beautiful Arenal volcano, which is active! We stayed so close to it that we could hear it rumbling at night ... a bit scary!














And ... a huge part of my love for Costa Rica is my tico family, the Leones, who have welcomed me into their home and their lives. :)