Brain dumping- aka what i did today!

Another day! Today went by super super fast!! Mi mama had to go somewhere all day, some Costa Rican traditional thing. I’m not too sure, so mi abuela came this morning and picked me up, and took me and the other girl to downtown San Jose by bus, where were meeting the group. From there all the students were divided into small groups. We had a sort of scavenger hunt type thing that basically got us acclimated to SJ. We had to exchange money at bank, find the post office, ride the bus to the mall, take a taxis, learn how to use the payphone, talk to people about activities in a plaza, and other things like that. I was kind of uneasy when we started off, because they kind of just pointed out few things, gave us a map, and set us loose to figure it out. I wanted more instructions. Tell me exactly what I have to do, none of this do it yourself! Hahaha but actually it was all very very doable and my group finished way ahead of time. And I feel like I know my way around the downtown area of SJ way more than I did before. Overall, an extremely effective and enjoyable activity. We also, in the middle of the day had to find our way to ICADS ( which is the school where we will be taking our Spanish classes for the next 5 weeks). And there we had our placement interviews, so tomorrow we will be divided by skill level and start our classes Monday. We also had a “cafécito” in the afternoon with the intern, Annie, to debrief, ask questions, see if our homes/families were ok, and just talk about stuff. That was nice just to hear what other people are experiencing and share little stories from the first night.

Mi abuela came by tonight while I was eating dinner with Fernanda (I think because she was worried bc my mom is still out at that place, wherever that is) and she gave me a flower barrett for my hair that SHE MADE!!! I was like you are sooo cute and nice!! She made one for her student too, and so we have flower barretts! I love it! I also found out she painted all the pictures in my mom’s house! And they are good paintings!! Maybe later I will take afew pictures of them. So conculsion, mi abuela is like the cutest person ever. She is always fixing my jacket, and telling me how to cross the street( which I reallyyy really appreciate seeing how stinking fast those cars drive!!),and asking me if I’m cold. So basically she is like the sweetest.

Getting used to life here and how things work is definitely a process, but I am feeling more and more comfortable and able. After  the program gets going I think it will go pretty fast. Here is the rough schedule of what we will be doing:

·      LASP classes and ICADS Spanish classes—first 5 weeks

·      Then we got to Nicaragua for I think about 10 days

·      Then, Latin American Studies Concentration begins—2 weeks

·      Then, “Community Immersion”, or the internship aspect. I’m told you can pick from a bunch of different jobs all around the country.And that is also 2 weeks or maybe 3… I’m not sure.

·      Then my concentration goes to Cuba!!!! For the last 2 weeks and then to Miami! J But don’t worry, apparently they don’t stamp your passport in Cuba! Hahaha

Btw, I’m pretty sure I’m going to gain 10lbs while I’m here. The portions are HUGE! And you HAVE to eat all of it, or else they think something is wrong and are offended. SO I eat and eat and eat and eat. And they eat sooo fast that I’m like racing to eat at the same pace, and I still finish last! Hahahah

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement! I still can’t believe this is actually happening! haahaha!!

Oh and since I don’t know how much free time I will have in the coming weeks here are some cultural norms that we’ve been told/taught:

·      Always wear shoes in the house. They feel like bare feet are gross and dirty.

·      Always shower in the morning. They highly value cleanliness. And think we (Americans) in general are dirty people bc we don’t always shower in the morning or because we shower at night.

·      Eat everything. Always.

·      Even if they tell you not to help them in the kitchen, you must insist. They are a culture that is indirect, meaning they won’t tell you what they actually want all the time.

·      Compliment. Compliment. Compliment. Compliment. Everything, and with lots of a emotion, many times. If you just say you like the food once at the beginning of the meal they assume you are just being polite and don’t really like it.

I am sure I will learn many more as time goes on, but that is what I have learned so far!   

P.s. Don’t feel obligated to read all of this. I am writing this as much for myself as for everyone else. I am using it to remember everything.