Una Vida Bonita!

Buenas días amigos,

One of my absolute favorite spanish vocabulary words I've picked up here in Costa Rica is "tranquila" which means "Calm", and here they use it how us americans would use, "It's all good" or "no worries." "Oh hey sorry I forgot to call you" "Tranqula mai." I love it! Tranquila is also a great way to describe my lifestyle here. Very laid back and very go-with-the-flow. It is hard to be in a bad mood surrounded by such happy and genuine people.

The people of Costa Rica, and America Latina in general, live life a little differently that we do in the United States. For one, their family unit is extremely close and the most important thing really. In the United States it's normal for kids to move out of the house when they turn 18, or when they are leaving for college. It's almost looked down upon to live with your parents past the age of 20. Here in central America, things run a little differently. Kids here live with their parents basically until they get married or move out of the country. 22, 25, even 30 year olds are still living with their parents, going to school, and working at the same time. This is the norm. When trying to explain to my parents that I am from Oregon but go to school in Arizona, I was met with extreme confusion. Why would I possibly go to school so far away from home? My host mom always asks me if I miss my family, and I don't really know how to explain to her that even if I was in the States, I would be at school in Flagstaff and it would be the same amount of time until I saw my parents and brother again.

This topic is hitting me pretty close to home this week because my 22 year old host twins have both announced plans to move out in October. Juan has been planning his move to West Virginia for about a year, so his parents were not surprised when he bought a plane ticket. Juan has a girlfriend living their and they plan to get married in December. Diego, on the other hand, out of the blue announced that he would be leaving for Canada at the end of October. Whenever this topic is brought up around my host mom, she is reduced to tears. The thought of any child leaving their home for the first time is always hard for a mother, but imagine both of your sons announcing they we're moving to different countries in a month! The tight-knit nature of this family is incredible, and it kinda breaks my heart to think that the boys will be leaving soon. It is kinda nice having two older brothers to hang out with everyday. My heart goes out to my host mom, because I know that their move will be very, very hard on her. I can only hope to do my best to comfort her and be here for her for the duration of my stay.

I feel so blessed to have been invited and excepted into this family, especially when the family unit is such an important part of their culture. What a beautiful thing it is to have such a strong support system at all times. If anything it gives me a chance to really appreciate my own family, and also makes me nostalgic for the time I lived at home, and the times I spent with my parents in the past. Although I am not permanently living in another country and will be returning home for the holidays, which is something I am really looking forward too.

What I'm really trying to get at in this entry is that in the United States, a lot of the time, we put other things before our families. We choose to go to schools in different towns and states, we choose to travel, we choose to work long hours and skip out on family time. We are all guilty. We are told to live our lives, and part of that is leaving your family and learning things for yourself. But maybe, just maybe, the people here have got something right. Maybe our families should be our number one, because in reality, when you take away the materialistic, they are all we have. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to leave your family and make the most out of your life, because if I hadn't done so, I don't think I ever would have appreciated what I had. All I know is, when I return home, I will be making room in my schedule for some much needed family time.

..

Buenas Dias!

I've heard before that Costa Rica is one of the happiest places on earth. And although I have been very few places in my life time, I can't say I'd disagree. People here are (for the most part) friendly, outgoing, and happy to talk with you. Whether it's the host mom of one of my amigos or the ice cream lady, everyone is generally willing to help you with your spanish and speak english as well. It's almost a little to easy to get by without speaking spanish fluently.

Another thing I've observed about Costa Rica, it seems as though there is always some reason to celebrate. Monday, September 9th is "Día de los niños", or "Childrens day". This monday my classmates and I were excused from out daily classes and given the opportunity to volunteer at a local elementary school. The school was going all out in celebration. We helped assemble a trampoline, scoop ice cream and jello, blow up balloons, (lots of balloons), and escort scared kids through the fairly frightening haunted house they had set up in one class room. It was a very cool day for us, because not only did we learn some interesting new spanish vocabulary, we also learned a little bit about what it would be like to grow up in Costa Rica. The school was adorable, bright blue and open air, all the classroom doors opening up to a courtyard. Out back was a metal playground and a decent size field. The kids at this school were characters to say the least. They didn't really grasp the fact that we don't speak spanish fluently, but I actually really enjoyed it. They would talk and talk and ask me all sorts of questions! My favorite had to be the little boy who asked me if I watched the Costa Rica vs USA soccer game, (I had, and that is a whole different story in itself!). He preceded to mock me and tell my why Costa Rica is much better at soccer, and asked if I wanted to play soccer against him. I am very excited because I get to return to this school once a week for the remainder of the semester to assist in english classes. I absolutely love working with children. Two of my girlfriends here in Costa Rica are studying to be teachers, and when I work with these kids, I feel as though I could see myself doing something like that in the future, too. But I have the rest of this semester to contemplate I suppose.

Another holiday I got to spend in Costa Rica was this past sunday, La Día de la Independencía, Costa Rica's very own fourth of July. Although there were no fireworks or hotdogs, Costa Rica knows how to do independence day right. On friday we learned how to make "falores" which are kinda of like lanterns that kids make for a big parade at night. Generally kids make houses, but they also make more creative ones too. One saturday, I went with my friend Erika and her host family to their daughter's elementary school for their big independence day performance and celebration. Here they sang multiple songs about Costa Rica and preformed cultural dances. All of the girls wore traditional costa rican dresses, and let me tell you, I would have LOVED to dress up like that when I was in grade school. All the kids carried around their falores and we saw some pretty creative ones! We saw a parrot, big flowers, and a lot of red white and blue ones. Towards the end of the performance a group of sweaty and panting kids ran in the gym carrying a torch, and they were followed by five 6/7 foot tall men with huge creepy devil masks on, well 4 were devils, and one was a coyote. These masked figures were followed by a latin band that proceeded to play dance music. At this point I started to feel like I was hallucinating or something because there were six foot devils dancing around a catholic school with nuns and a bunch of terrified screaming children. It was a very interesting cultural experience to say the least. Although I must say, being a kid in Costa Rica doesn't seem half bad.

Everyday in Costa Rica has been an adventure in itself. I am going into my fourth week here, and although the honeymoon phase has seemed to have passed, I am still excited and grateful for every day I get to spend in the country.

Hasta luego,

Kaysie

My Daily Life in Costa Rica

Hola!

Today marks my 16th day in Costa Rica, and although I still kind of feel like I am on vacation, I am starting to get used to the way of life here in Latin America. Right off the bat there we're a few things that threw me off, like the constant parade of honks and cat calls us girls get when we walk down the street, the rice and beans I eat for breakfeast, and the shower that knows only too temperatures: scalding hot or almost freezing. However these small inconvienences are absoluely nothing in comparison to the experiences and adventures I have already taken part in.

My first weekend we traveled to Manuel Antonio, a small town on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. In Manuel Antonio I stayed with a group of my friends at a hostel for backpackers. Withen 10 minutes I met someone from Oregon who plays ultimate frisbee with one of my high school friends. To say that it's a small world is an understatement. That night as we we{re eating dinner rain poored down. We lost light for a solid 4-5 hours but that gave us time to drink pina coladas and hang out in the candle light. We ended the night with a midnight swim in our Hostel's little pool. The next day we explored Manuel Antonio nacional park. Here we found spiders the size of my hand, monkeys that threw stricks at us, racoons that stole one of our friends loaf's a bread right out of his backpack, an assortment of lizards, and at the end of the hike, a beautiful sandy beach. We all left the playa with red noses and salty swimsuits, but it was pretty close to perfect. The rest of the weekend was fun, although I was happy to return to my host family and my cute little room on sunday. If everyweekend in Costa Rica even comes close to the first, I never want this semeseter to end!

While the weekends are fun and adventure-filled, my school week is far from boreing. Monday through friday I have spanish class from 8:20 am - 12 pm, which comes with quite the homework load. After that we usually eat lunch somewhere close to campus, and after return for discussion class, dance class, cooking class, or futbol. Yes, they keep us pretty busy. Even when I,m at my house it is not really a time to relax. When home I talk with my two 21 year old host brothers, my host mom, and my host dad. I am trying to learn to communicate with them as much as possible, and it{s already getting a little easier! My host mom told me I was improving yesterday, which was a pretty good feeling for me.

All in all I know already this experience is going to teach me so many things, aside from the new language. Niether words in english or spanish can not even come close to describe how I am feeling. I am so grateful for this experience and can not wait for all that is to come!

Mi Primera Semana!

Hola,

Me llamo Kaysie. Soy de Bend, Oregón. Es una ciudad muy bonita. Tiene muchos lagos, ríos, y montañas. Llegue a Costa Rica hace nueve días. En Costa Rica vivo con una familia en una casa pequeña. Mi casa está muy cerca de la universidad fedelitas. Mi familia aquí en San José tiene una mama, una papa, y dos hermanos. También tiene un perrita, se llama Kira. Mis hermanos se llaman Diego y Juan, y ellos son gemelos. Ellos tienen veinte un anos. Ellos son muy graciosos y amables. Me cae bien con ellos. Me gusta pasar tiempos con mi familia tica. Es un poco difícil hablar con ellos, pero yo entiendo mucho cuando hablaron más despacio. Mi madre aquí es muy simpática. En mi tiempo libre, me gusta cocinar y bailar. También me gusta pasar tiempo con mis amigos. Todos mis compañeros caen muy bien. Es un grupo bueno. En San José, generalmente voy a la cama a las diez de la noche y me levanto a las siete. Esta dependiente de cuantas tareas tengo.   Tengo mi primera clase a las ocho de la mañana. En los Estados Unidos, estudio publicidad, comunicaciones, y español. Ahora, en Costa Rica, solamente estudio español.  

Pienso que Costa Rica es un lugar muy interesante, bonito, y cultura. Estoy feliz estar aquí. Aprendí mucho de las tradiciones de mi familia y las otras personas en Costa Rica. Estoy muy agradecido por esta oportunidad. Esta muchas cosas diferentes en Costa Rica, pero es una buena experiencia. Algunas cosas son difíciles para ajustar a, pero nunca está mal. Me encanta la comida de Costa Rica, y me gusta mucho practicar español. Me importa respectar mi familia de Costa Rica  y mis profesores también. Pienso que el respecto es el cosa más importante cuando estaba visitando otro país.