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!