After both of my flights were delayed I made it to Costa Rica about two hours later than expected. Being stuck in an airport thinking about everything made me very nervous for the adventure that is to come, but after stepping outside the airport all my worries went away--sounds cheesy. I was greeted my by resident director and about 15 other students, all studying through the same program as I am. All of our suitcases were strapped onto the top of the van and then we drove off to the university to meet our home-stay family. Thinking that everything I had in that one suitcase been only strapped down by a single bungee cord gave me a bit of anxiety. Every time the van went over a bump (and there are many bumps and potholes in the road) everyone freaked out for a bit and made sure nothing fell off.
For me thinking about the home-stay made me incredibly nervous. I haven't spoken a word of Spanish for over a year, which made me insecure. Later that night I found out two other girls studying in the same program as me, were living in the same house--definitely a sigh of relief. Thinking about speaking Spanish with no help from, my trusty 501 Spanish Verb book and other American counterparts was not a settling thought. The two girls, Abby and Amy are better than I am at Spanish so it’s nice to have them to ask questions.
When we arrived at Veritas University my home-stay family was waiting for Abby and me. Our parents are Franz and Ana--they are wonderful. Ana greeted us with a hug and was so happy to meet us. While driving from the university to the house we got a mini-tour of the surroundings from Franz. I didn't understand much of what he was saying, but I have become very good at shaking and saying si.
Costa Rican houses are much different than houses in the United States. The outsides of the houses are very deceiving, because they look a lot smaller than they actually are. The front of the house is gated, and inside the gate is where they park their cars. After getting through the front gate it brings you to their front door which leads to inside. Walking inside Ana and Franz's house was a pleasant surprise. It had a very homey feel with lots of pictures and paintings on the walls. I'll put up some pictures of the house in the next week. Ana and Franz have four children, that night we only met the two youngest boys--they were both very nice. Right away they carried our bags up to our room and got our Internet working. Both of the boys are still in high school, but are on their "summer" vacation. They have from December to February off of school, so they decided that they are going to the beach every weekend—I’m definitely in on that plan.
The next morning Ana had a feast for breakfast sitting out for us. There was fresh bread, multiple jams, cheese, cereal, coffee, juice, milk, fresh pineapple, bananas and watermelon—all the food in Costa Rica is fresh, so different than what I’m used to eating at school. It was amazing, and much better than any Hubble omelette. The rest of the day consisted of orientation, registering for classes and meeting the other students in the program.
For lunch the whole American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) group went to Pizza Hut. I thought it was a bit weird that we weren't getting real Costa Rican food and instead going to an American restaurant. The food was so much better than in America--much fresher and not as greasy. The decor made it look like an upscale dining restaurant, not anything like a typical Pizza Hut in the United States. Even though the Pizza Hut was in Costa Rica all of the signs and décor was in English.
After the lunch Amy, Abby and I ventured out into San Jose to find a store because we needed school supplies. After asking three different people for directions we found a mini-target like store. It was very small, but had the necessities. The experience was frustrating because all the signs are in Spanish and there were so many unknown name brands. It was frustrating trying to find this store because everything around us was new and there were no familiar faces. Also, during orientation multiple people told us that we constantly have to be watching our belongings because theft is common in San Jose, especially to tourists.
When we got back from the store Ana had another feast waiting for us. This time the whole family was at the house. They have in total four kids, the two older kids are both in their twenties, one guy and one girl. We also met the daughter's boyfriend. Ana served vegetables, rice, chicken, beef and fried bananas--it was all delicious. The daughter was quick to get to know us and asked us so many questions. All the family members are eager to get us to speak Spanish, and truly want to help us become better.
All of my worries about the home-stay, meeting people and school are behind me. I'm more calm and able to looking forward to everything that is yet to come. I've already realized that worrying about what I'm missing back at home is silly and really will hinder my ability to fully learn about the culture. I can’t wait for our excursions on the weekends, this weekend we are scheduled to go to Monteverde Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano and the hot springs. In the cloud forest we get to go zip lining—I’m really excited about that.
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