Dia 4

Hola hola!

Today’s post will also most likely be a bit shorter as I can’t stop yawning and my eyes are watering, begging me for more shut eye. 

Today was my first day of school in Costa Rica. Que emocionado! (How exciting!) I woke up at 7:05 (yes I purposely picked 7:05 for those extra 5 minutes) and got dressed. When I went out to the kitchen to eat at 7:35, my papa had prepared breakfast for me. It included fresh bread which I dipped in something called natilla (I think) which I am 98% sure was some form of sour cream. Talk about culture shock. Sour cream and bread?-I was thinking. “Le gusta (You like it?)” My dad asked me. “Si, me gusta (Yes, I like it)” I responded. I’m thinking I will need to be honest with myself and let him know I like my pan (bread) plain. (Honestly it wasn’t horrible, just different). 

My papa drove me to school today so I wouldn’t get lost. I got there at 8am along with three others from my program only to find out that classes were postponed until 9am. So we sat and chatted as we looked out over the valley at the mountains. WHAT A VIEW! Every way I look here, there is a gorgeous view. How lucky I am to be here.

More students started to trickle in and by 9am we were sitting in a large “conference room” with tile floors and windows that let in a breeze starting our placement exams. (We’ve already signed up for classes but the placement test [oral and written] is supposed to help the professor gauge where we’re actually at). The exam was long and got progressively more frustrating and trying on my ‘ol brain. Finally I finished and went back into the main gathering room (which by the way has a garden in the middle of the building). We had an hour lunch break (awesome, I know) and after our “homework” was to explore the city of San Isidro (where the school is in). Best homework assignment I’ve ever gotten-hands down. 

I learned how to use an atm here and also bought my first item with Costa Rican colones; un batido (milkshake) with fruit! It had REAL papaya, mango, and banana. It’s symbolic of the food ticos eat-all natural. Everything, even the juices are made fresh by fruit from the supermarket. It’s cheaper than the crap food-how I wish it was like this in the U.S. 

After school a group of us students met at a local soccer field to play some Frisbee. It was a really fun time. It’s already starting to feel a little better with the group because we spend the entire day together at school. I had a lot of fun with my host sister, Marianna or Mari for short. I invited her to come with and I think she appreciated that and enjoyed herself.  She is so helpful-always teaching me new words and correcting me when I need it (often). We joked and chatted all the way home-it was nice to feel like I had a sister since I’ve always wanted one. We even have the same shoe size (keep in mind she’s 13.5 years old!) so I suppose we may be sharing zapatos (shoes) muy pronto (soon). 

Also-side note…there were these two goats that were tied to a metal fence near our house and I went to pet the goats and they were not nice! There was a mom and daughter and the mom kept trying to head butt me with her horns. Mari got photos of it-it was so funny. Also, my mama and Mari like to tease me because I'm always asking them to repeat themselves or slow down so they say they talk like Dory from Finding Nemo. If you've seen the movie you'll understand-it's funny and I can tell they say it with love.

I’m really enjoying myself here. I love the climate, the people, the language, the food. It’s a completely different atmosphere. Of course I miss you all back home and don’t worry I’ll come back, but someday being a tica doesn’t sound so bad.

Hasta luego!

Love, Kristin