Costa Rica pt 2

Just a quick update...

Jeff and I are in the town of Tamarindo on the Nicoya Peninsula. This town has been taken over by tourism and condominiums, so the vibe is pretty different from what we´ve seen before. But we´re in a fairly nice hotel that has air conditioning, which is good, because it´s super hot here. On most days we head to the beach with our surfboards in the morning to some surfing and sunning, then have some lunch, sleep for awhile, check out the town, eat, sit around, read, watch tv, and generally be lazy for the rest of the afternoon. I´ve discovered that surfing at sunset is pretty sweet. There are usually nice waves and the view is top notch. Being New Year´s Eve, we hope to see some fireworks on the beach tonight. Anyway, the plan is to stay here a few more days, then head up north for the last bit of the trip, probably at a bay right by the Nicaraguan border where there is good windsurfing and a nice beach. Next Wednesday we come back to Tamarindo in order to catch a flight on a small plane to San Jose on Thursday, then travel through Atlanta, Minneapolis, Regina and ending up in Saskatoon on Friday. So... only one more week left, which seems kind of crazy.

See ya,

Nolan

Costa Rica pt 1

For the few who may read this, here's a few things i've been up to in Costa Rica. Jeff and I flew into San Jose last Tuesday. After a night in the city, we hopped on a bus to the beach town of Dominical. Costa Rica as a whole seems to be pretty laid back, and Dominical takes that attitude and amplifies it tenfold. Before we knew it, exams and studying seemed like ancient history and we found ourselves sleeping in, surfing, tanning, frisbee on the beach, reading, and enjoying our balcony 50 feet from the beach... and for only 8 dollars a night! We booked 3 nights and stayed for 5. The original plan had been to move north along the Pacific Coast, but volcanoes and windsurfing inland has caught our attention, so we are now on our way to Arenal where a still active volcano sits along with some of the best windsurfing in the world. After having our fill of white water rafting, windsurfing, perhaps a canopy tour, and more chillaxing, we'll head to another beach town of Tamarindo. This is a pretty boring account of what we've done so far... the real stories will have to wait until we get back. I hope everyone is having a sweet break.

See ya,

Nolan

ps. what's the weather like up there?

Hi All,

So I've been in Prague nearing 2 weeks now. The time is passing quickly. Generally, my weekdays consist of getting to the hospital at about 7:15 and then being in the OR for a few surgeries until around 12. I then have the afternoon and evening to explore Prague, hang out with friends, sleep, eat, etc. One of the best parts so far has been meeting tons of new people from all over the world. It is interesting to see the cultures interact. We had a barbecue that turned into an impromptu concert with people singing different songs from their homelands. The two Canadians treated the spectators to a heartfelt rendition of O Canada. This week I went to Vienna for a few days to see a concert and check out the city. Everything in Vienna seems to be large and old. There definitely was and is a lot of money in that city. I also enjoyed the falafels, something I haven't found in Prague, yet. So the plan is to hang out here for a few more weeks, then head into Belgium and Holland for about a week before going home in early August.

Nolan

Back Again

So I'm not sure if anyone still reads or will read this thing, but I think there may be a few people. Anyway, I arrived in Prague a few days ago. The trip was pretty non-eventful. I met another med student from Winnipeg in Minneapolis because he was wearing the ubiquitous first year green backpack, so that was kind of cool. Today I spent some time in the OR watching a hip replacement and a knee replacement. Not speaking the Czech language, I feel that most people either view me as a mute who can only shrug his shoulders and make vague arm movements or mentally challenged. Hopefully, I can improve my perceived reputation. Prague is really a nice city. The old part is very well preserved and is super fun to walk around in. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of other tourists also feel the same way. But I guess that's how it goes. There is this clock that all the guide books pump up as being super cool. In reality I think it's a sham, but thousands of people cram into a small area to watch at the top of the hour. I suspect thousands of wallets go simultaneously missing when the clock strikes. I've taken a few pictures, but nothing too exciting yet.

out west

So i decided to take the train from Truro to Nova Scotia. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and I suppose it still is. But man, that is a long trip. 26 hours in total, I think. I watched a bunch of movies, tried to sleep, and generally just sat around the whole time. I guess thats about all that can be done when you're in a long, hollow tube rolling along the Canadian countryside. It was nice, though, to slow things down and do nothing for awhile. In Toronto I checked into my hostel and went exploring. Toronto Hot Dogs are something beautiful. I think I had 6 in about 3 days. Cheap, and oh so tasty. The most interesting thing I did was probably going to two different musicals. The first, Phantom of the Opera, was pretty classic. A pretty sweet experience to see. The second was a musical tribute to the band Queen. Totally different than PotO. They sold glowsticks before the show. Everyone was pretty intent on rocking out. Kind of a strange sight, but it was fun. Today I flew to Winnipeg and am staying here for the next week. I should be back in Saskatchewan by next weekend. I'd love to show some pictures of this trip to anyone who has read this blog. Let me know what works for you.

Thanks for reading,

Nolan

Truro

so we are now back on Canadian soil. We spent an afternoon in Amsterdam walking around and doing some shopping. It is kind of a crazy city. Totally a different culture and attitude towards alot of different things. There were many things you just kind of shake your head at, but as a tourist there for only a few hours, I just wanted to observe without passing too much judgment. An interesting time. We stayed at a hotel near the airport which was pretty cheap (for europe and close to an airport). It actually turned out to be a super nice, fancy place, so we got a good sleep. Thursday morning we took a shuttle to the airport then flew from Amsterdam to London Gatwick. After a layover there, we flew to Halfax, arriving in the early evening. There seems to be tons of people here who are super interested in our trip, so I think we are going to have many opportunities to show pictures and tell stories. I'm still trying to figure out what I am going to do next, but I am leaning towards spending a few days in Toronto before heading to Winnipeg and then finally Saskatchewan. But I'll see.

see ya,

Nolan

Elst

So we are hanging out in the town of Elst, in the Netherlands. We are staying at my great aunt and uncle's house, which is a super nice change from the hostels we have frequented as of late. It is really enjoyable to be able to sit back and visit with alot of relatives I have never met before, but I think my kidneys are having to work hard with all the tea and coffee I have consumed. I like it, though. We spent one night visiting a friend near Hamburg, Germany. We went to a birthday party and were surprised to see the food. Instead of chips and chocolate there was probably five different kinds of salad along with cheese and meatballs. Most people seemed to load up with salad. It seemed strange to us, but then again, it is North America with the obesity problem, so I think more salad would be a good idea.

Now we have mere days left in our trip. we go to Amsterdam on Wednesday, fly from Schiphol to Gatwick, then Gatwick to Halifax on Thursday.

See ya,

Nolan

Ps. If my mother is reading this, I have tried twice now to send an email, but first my hotmail account wouldn't send it (a few days ago) and then I accidentally somehow exited the window of my other account. now I am tired, so I am going to bed. I'll try another one sometime soon