¡buenos días!

Welcome to my morning commute!  This is about one block from my house, and I walk down this street every morning to catch the bus in Escazu Centro.  It’s beautiful (and hilly) here!

what sound does a dog make?

What sound does a dog make?  Woof, woof.  Seems obvious, right?  NO.

For my first five weeks here, I’ll be in Spanish class for four hours a day.  Today we played a review game that had all sorts of questions...what’s the weather like, what did you do last night, what are you doing in CR, what do you like to do, describe your daily routine, describe this picture...and I was asked WHAT SOUND DOES A DOG, CAT, AND ROOTSER MAKE IN SPANISH?  I thought it was a trick question.  I was wrong. Who knew dogs (and most animals for that matter) spoke other languages?!!  Mind.  Blown.

So...what sound does a dog make?  In Spanish -- guau, guau.

How ‘bout a rooster?  Cockadoodledoo.  WRONG.  In Spanish -- quiquiriquí.

Be enlightened...

Also managed to master the public bus today!!  Rachel, another intern, and I successfully got ourselves to school in San Pedro and back -- about an hour commute each way because of traffic.  Success!  

fun fact friday!

TODAY WAS MY FIRST FULL DAY IN COSTA RICA!!!

I spent the morning unpacking and getting sorted here.  Then I walked to lunch with Alex and Rachel.  Alex is on YL staff here and Rachel is another intern.  Had my first taste of the local cuisine -- patacones con guacamole!

It is now my goal for all of these fun facts to come from my own experiences here.  If the last 36 hours were any indication, I am going to be learning a ton here!  So...

DID YOU KNOW???

Patacones are fried green plantains.  They are typically served with guacamole, beans, cheese, or pico de gallo.  They were delicious!

http://www.google.com

Ticos don’t go barefoot in the house.  Because of the heat, the floors are tile and are thought to be dirty (they’re not).  So they either keep their shoes on when returning home, or change into a pair of flip-flops or house shoes.

It gets dark early here.  My flight got in at 7:30 PM and it was pitch black.

Lastly, “casonas" are what they call houses built out of adobe.  Now, most construction is concrete.

i have arrived!!!

Well, I made it!  After a chaotic couple days leading to departure, it’s so great to finally be here!  Travel was easy and the airport was much less chaotic than I was expecting.  Although today is Mother’s Day here, so I think I just got lucky...

My host family is great!  I have a host mom and dad, brother (19), and sister (27) who I still need to meet.  I can tell they’re full of life and laughter and love already, and I can only understand about every third word.  Haha.  Can’t wait to pick up the Spanish again so we can actually communicate!

Thanks for your prayers as I traveled today.  Still can’t believe I’m going to bed in COSTA RICA!!

3 days out!

I leave for CR this Thursday!!!  I'm so excited!  Seems like a lot of talk about going the past few months, now it's time to take some action.  Here's the packing list YL provided:

PASSPORT!
Cell Phone with SIM card
Insect Repellent
Sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher)
Sunglasses
Hat
Bandana (to keep sun off neck)
3 Bath Towels
Work Gloves
Swimsuit
Comfortable Clothes (jeans, long skirts, casual dresses)
Long/Dress Pants
Rain Gear/Umbrella
Graduation/Wedding-appropriate Dress
Grubby Work Clothes
Comfy Walking/Running Shoes
Socks
Fleece Jacket/Sweatshirt/Cardigans
Chacos
Flip Flops
Water Bottle
Fanny Pack/Drawstring Bag
Spanish/English Dictionary
Headlamp
Bible & Journal
Greeting Cards
Toiletries/Medicine/First Aid
Pictures
Host Family Gift
Mothers Day Gift (Mothers Day is August 15 -- the day we arrive)
Laptop
Snack Stash (peanut butter and favorite candy)
Favorite Books

Now hopefully I can fit that into 2 suitcases!  Better start packing...

fun fact friday!

DID YOU KNOW???

Costa Rica's marine area (580,000 sq km) is approximately 10 times larger than its land area (52,100 sq km)!

fun fact friday!

DID YOU KNOW???

Rice and beans mixed together for breakfast is called Gallo Pinto (That's "spotted rooster" in Spanish).