Karaoke Anyone?

Last night some friends and I went to a Karaoke Bar. I've pretty much decided that most people go to bars when they are on vacation, that's the night life. It's not quite my scene but if there is Karaoke or a band playing I'll enjoy myself. I'll have to find some alternative sources of nightly entertainment in the near future. I've already discovered movies (in english), now I need to see what else is out there. Last night was pretty fun. I didn't sing, of course, I never do, but I had fun watching people. I've always wanted to sing at a Karaoke bar but I get really nervous and I'm super shy when it comes to singing. I can give a speech to millions of people with no problems but singing is completely different.

I went with a few friends I've met here. We had a good time. My friend's Chelsea and John were brave enough to go up and sing.I was extremely tempted when they picked out "I will survive" as a song but I resisted my urge to share my amazing vocal talents with the audience. I told them I needed time to build up to the experience and promised I would go before they leave. They all head back to the states in a few weeks. I still have 7 more to go.

I've acquired a list of things I want to do and see before I go back. So far, here's the list:
1. See a sloth (hold one too if possible)
2. Bungee Jump
3. White Water Raft
4. Go to Guanacaste (Northwestern region...it has a lot of beautiful beaches I want to hit up)
5. Go to Puerto Viejo y Puerto Limón (Beaches on the Southeast coast)
6. Go to Manuel Antonio (National Rainforest Park/Region)
7. Go to Monteverde (The cloud forest)
8. Take surfing lessons (I never did it and I lived in Hawaii for 2 years...it's pathetic)
9. Improve my latin dancing skills (my school offers free classes...sweetness)
10. See the Volcán Arenal (Volcano)
11. If possible, hop the border and go to a beach in Panamá
12. Y finalmente, meet some ticos! Most of my friends here are from the states and I'm not going to improve much if I don't make more local friends. I met a few today so that's a start.

Let's see how I do with this list. If you're an avid traveler, you know how it goes, plans don't always work so who knows. But, these are my top things I really want to do before I head home in July.

Jazz Cafe

Last night for my birthday a few friends I met at school and I went to a place called the Jazz cafe. It's a little bar/jazz club. We took the bus down there and walked part of the way...as you can see, it was raining. I've pretty much gotten used to the rain at this point. I'm here in the winter and that's how it is. Although it's not sunny, which I'm sad about, I kind of like that the weather is cooler. It's a little colder than I was prepared for but I guess it beats sweating through all my clothes. The group we saw playing was called "escats" and they were very good. I guess they are considered jazz but not quite. I'm not exactly sure how to classify their genre. I really liked them a lot. I'm going to have to figure out when they're playing again and go watch them. Here's a picture of the lead singer. He played the keyboard and the piano all night. I think I developed a little crush on him because of his piano skills. He also sang happy birthday to us because there were a few others celebrating their birthdays. I wasn't able to get it on a video though, dang it! He played the piano very well and sang beautifully. If you're ever in San Pedro/San Jose, Costa Rica, be sure to visit the Jazz Cafe...you won't be disappointed.