Holy cow… I have already been living in Costa Rica for a month!
Each morning at breakfast my wonderful Mama Tica makes me something delicious, and it feels like she is still just spoiling me because its my first week here or something…but nope! She just love me and my roommates that much that she spoils us every day 😉
I am finished with my first Spanish Intensive class now, and starting Feb 4th I will be moving on to the next level. I definitely need to practice speaking more outside of class. I want to make sure I am taking time to actually LEARN the language well, and not just do homework to get a good grade. Same goes for my Tropical Marine Biology and Digital Photography classes. I have already learned a lot in each of those classes, but I want to actually retain the knowledge long term!
February is going to be the month I focus on intrinsic goods; health, relaxation, happiness, reading, and studying. The food here that my Mama Tica (host mom) makes is incredible…every single day. But now that it has been a month I am going to make sure I am eating less beans and rice (even though its always so yummy!) and start working out again. I feel so much better when I am healthy, and I will be much happier taking photos in my bathing suit since it is summer here! I also have been wanting to start reading more, and using my time to do something that is beneficial for me. Not in a selfish way or anything, but it is good to be intentional about your actions, even if that means intentionally relaxing to make sure you get enough rest.
This new Spanish Intensive class will require more studying, so I think I will spend more time at my host family’s house studying, talking with them more, and practicing! I am so excited though, since I am eager to be able to speak in more complete thoughts, and more fluently.
Costa Rica has a 90 day tourist visa (passport stamp), and since I will be here until May 3rd I needed to leave the country before then to renew it. This last weekend I went to Bocas Del Torro in Panama. It was a cute little island and I got to go see some dolphins, snorkel for a very little bit, go to 2 excellent beaches, and go to a cool dance club on the water! Being in Panama was a bit different than in Costa Rica, since the people on the island were darker skinned, spoke faster, and there were lots of Chinese people there who had businesses. That was definitely the first time I had heard a Chinese woman speak Spanish very very quickly, and with an accent. In Panama they also use US dollars as the currency. The bills are the same, but they had different coins…but all of them said United States of America! It was kind of confusing, to be honest! I love the look of various currencies though, so I kept a couple of those other coins as souvenirs.
The boat launch in Bocas for the beach/dolphin tour we went on.
Next weekend I plan on staying in San Jose and taking in the city a bit more. I want to continue to observe the Tico’s (locals) and catch up on some rest.
Chao!
Nicole