Hello all!
So my first few days in Costa Rica were, to say the least, crazy. I was lucky to have no trouble with my flights. But just a few tips, make sure that you bring a pen on the plane to fill out customs forms and that you know all the necessary information for the forms. They ask things like address where you will be staying and phone number where you can be reached. I didn't bring a pen so I had to ask someone sitting next to me if I could borrow hers. To avoid any difficulty, just bring a pen. Also, don't let the customs people scare you. They are there to make sure that people don't get into the country who shouldn't be there. They will probably be a little tough with you.
I was the first to arrive from my group, but eventually two of the other girls showed up and we rode in the Sol Abroad bus together to our respective host families. At first, I was really nervous around my host family, because they were being quiet and I was being quiet. But, then I realized, they are probably just as nervous as I am. Give your host family the benefit of the doubt, and don't let your nerves get the best of you. You are just as new to them as they are to you. I was lucky that my host mom's grandson was at the house when I arrived. He really helped with breaking the ice. Take the time to unpack and get acquainted with your new room. You'll be there for quite a while. But don't spend all of your time there. Make the effort to meet your host family and talk with them. My first night in Costa Rica, the entire family was at the house, my mama tica and papa tico, their son and daughter, and their daughter's husband and son. It was nice to be able to meet them all at once. And remember, if they are host families that your program uses, chances are they want to learn about you and your hometown, so don't be afraid to talk to them; they will also be more than happy to help you with your Spanish learning.
Then dinner came. And dinner was fine; they didn't serve me anything too extreme, and the food was really good. It was juice, chicken, rice, potatoes, and beans. But, I've never really liked beans, which is a problem in Costa Rica because they eat beans with almost every meal. But, I told myself that I wasn't going to complain, and I grabbed a forkful and ate it. And it tasted good. I'm not saying that I've changed my opinion of beans, but I know that I'll be able to eat them for the next three months and I won't die, or be miserable. It's important to eat all the foods that your host family eats so that you really know what it's like to live there day to day. Not to mention, in Costa Rica especially, food is a huge part of welcoming you to the family. They want to make sure that you have enough to eat, so chances are they are going to give you a lot and try to accommodate you as much as they can. Accept what they are giving you. They don't live in excess like we do in the U.S., so when they offer you food, take it as a sign of good will. But, don't be afraid to let them know if you have a real reason for not being able to eat something (allergies, religious beliefs, dietary restrains such as being a vegetarian, etc.). For the most part, suck it up and just enjoy the adventure of it all. You can't really experience the country if you close yourself off to things you don't know.
After dinner, my host brother (Johan), my host sister's husband (Jose) and my host sister's son (Anthony), and I watched a Batman movie. Anyone who knows me knows that I am right at home anywhere there is Batman.
The following day my host mom walked me to the university for a tour and orientation. How do I get to class, you ask? Why, I walk through a MALL of course! And it's a huge mall, at that. But it's actually really convenient because then if there are things that I need to pick up, I can just do it on my way home from class. Not to mention, the mall is lit up and there are security guards everywhere so going that way makes me feel really safe. It's also the easiest place to catch a taxi at night.
During the university tour we met up with the winter break students to get a briefing on our trip to Manuel Antonio National Park, which was amazing and beautiful and gorgeous and can't be described with words. The campus is gorgeous, also. I feel like gorgeous and beautiful are words that can describe most of Costa Rica. Everywhere in the Central Valley (which is where Heredia is located) has views of the mountains, and it’s hot and sunny, but there are constantly mountain breezes that make it so comfortable despite the sun. It is a big campus, but it doesn't feel enormous, and it feels secure, which is really nice.
On Saturday, we left for Manuel Antonio National Park really early in the morning. On the way there we stopped at a crocodile lookout point, which is basically a bridge over a river where crocodiles naturally live. It sort of felt like looking down into a zoo exhibit until you realized there was nothing keeping the crocs from coming up the slope and attacking. But they just lay calmly in the water and swam around. It was pretty cool, since you don't that close to animals like crocodiles (crocodillos en espanol) in the States.
We stayed at the cutest hotel in Manuel Antonio. Each room had three beds and a t.v. and bathroom, but no clock. We were lucky to have a fridge in our room where we could put snacks and water that we bought in the nearby inland town called Quepos. We only had a 5 minute walk to the beach, and the views from the hotel porch of the Pacific Ocean were amazing. Our group spent about an hour swimming at the public beach, and then we did the hike through the national park, which took about 2 hours. During the hike we stopped at a bunch of look-out points and just stared at the beautiful water. We also saw and incredible number of monkeys, and they got really close to us. Janiva told us that because of all the tourists they have more or less become desensitized to human presence. We also saw a sloth and some mapaches, which basically look like raccoons, but I don't know for sure if they are raccoons, or just a jungle animal that looks like a raccoon. That night we had dinner in Quepos (because everything is cheaper inland than on the beach) and celebrated Catie, Ellen, and Maemar's birthdays.
Before we went home on Sunday, we stopped for whitewater rafting, which was incredible. I've gone before in I think Kentucky and Tennessee, but this was way better. We were lucky; the only time anyone fell out of our boat was when our guide purposefully tipped it over. He did a really good job. We didn't really see any super exciting animals during our rafting, but we did see a horse just sort of wandering on its own and a farm full of cows. After rafting, we stopped at Jaco Beach and some people went bungee jumping. That was crazy to watch. I didn't go, but I took a video of Akhil jumping, and I will ask him if he minds if I post the video.
Then, on Monday, we went on a tour of Heredia Central (downtown Heredia) so that we know where to get certain things that we need. We also had the opportunity to try a bunch of different local fruits and go to a local cafe, which was a lot of fun. My first class was Monday, too, but I will write about that experience later this week after I have had all of my classes (I still have Yoga on Wednesday night and Marketing on Thursday morning.)
You can see pictures from Manuel Antonio and from the crocodile lookout point at the photographs page up above. There are also pictures from the Heredia City tour. I will talk to Akhil about the bungee video as soon as possible.
Hasta luego, see ya later.
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