El Primer Día

El Museo National with my classmates and study abroad directors

Yesterday, Jessica and I arrived in Costa Rica. We are staying in a house in a residential neighborhood in San José. I would consider the neighborhood fairly safe; however, all of the houses have bars on the windows and most have barbed wire fences for safety. We live with our host mom, "Mama Tica," and her two dogs. When we first arrived, it was a bit overwhelming meeting our Mama Tica because she talked very fast, and it was hard for us to understand. However, she is super nice and has cooked us great food so far! She often calls Jess and I machas, which means blondes in Spanish. I am starting to understand more with every conversation. The weather is great here, it is hot and sunny most of the time; however, our house does not have air conditioning. Almost every day, it rains for two hours around 2p.m., which keeps us cool. 

My bedroom

The dining room

Stature of William Walker being defeated

Today, we met another student in our program and had orientation. The walk to our school is about 10 minutes and easy to navigate. After our orientation, we ate a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. I ate a popular dish called Cascadas, which includes rice and beans, a meat (I had chicken), potatoes, salad, and fried banana. It was delicious and much more than I could eat for lunch. After, we had a tour of downtown San José. During the tour, we visited many popular and historical sites of the city, such as the national museum, many parks, schools, a large church, and the national theater. It was interesting to learn about the history and government of Costa Rica because in the United States we do not hear much about the country.  

"Cascadas," my lunch at a local restaurant

The Congress Building

Universidad Veritas

Tomorrow, we have our orientation with Universidad Veritas, the school we will be taking classes at. I will be taking Intermediate Spanish 2: Conversation and Composition to improve my Spanish speaking, writing, and listening skills; however, I think the majority of my learning will be outside of the classroom speaking Spanish with my host family, the locals, and learning about the culture of this diverse country.