Wow. I have only been here for 2 weeks, but it feels like so much longer!
My Spanish is improving and I just finished my midterms for my Spanish class (already, man!).

My Tico family is absolutely wonderful and I am so thankful to have a Mama Tica who loves me and my roommates so much!! Mama Tica sure does know how to cook, too….MMMM!

I have experienced so many fun new places on our excursions that we go on as a CIS group. Last weekend we went to Uvita and went on the Bahía Ballena boat tour. I got to see a mother and baby Humpback whale and some enthusiastic dolphins. We got to jump out of the boat and snorkel for a bit also! Snorkeling I saw some incredible things. In Costa Rica, for the most part, the people truly value their natural surroundings and want to preserve the beauty of their country! I saw starfish, sea urchins, fish, an eel, a sting ray, and even a sea turtle! How incredible…I got to swim 5 feet from a sea turtle in its natural habitat. Out guide said that God had blessed our day since we got to see so much

Me Zip lining!

Whale!

! The next day, we stopped in Manuel Antonio on our way back to San Jose, and I got a BEAUTIFUL hand made, painted, and carved vase from a street vender. The artists name was Ramón, and he had beautiful pieces! The culture of business here is quite different than in the US, which I kind of like. I was happy to pay 7,000 Mil Colones ($14) for my one of a kind, handmade, authentic Costa Rican Vase, and didn’t even want to barter with him to get the price down, which is acceptable and common here. In the states you would have to go to an art market in a bigger city to find something like that, and I’m sure it would cost more than that! There was more interaction between the maker and buyer, rather than just buying everything at a department store.

My school work kept me very busy this week during the weekdays, and each day I had more to do or study for! Soon enough it was Saturday again and my CIS group was off for another day-trip excursion.

Saturday we went to el Volcán de Poas, and the Canopy Tour of the area. Sadly it was too cloudy to see the crater at Poas, but the Canopy tour was so much fun! We zip lined across 12 lines over a lush valley, with a beautiful view of the Volcano/area! All of the employees there to help us were incredibly friendly–true Ticos!–eager to show us the beauty of their country and help us enjoy our time.

Sunday I went to an Evangelical church a block away from my house here in San Jose, which was a great experience! I will definitely go back when I have the chance. After church, some of my roommates and my Mama Tica went to la feria (a farmers market) in Zapote. That was such a fun experience!! The fresh produce here is wonderful and so affordable! I love that aspect of Costa Rica!

As I start a new week I anticipate more growth with my spanish speaking and exploring lots more of the city!

Traditional Hand-Painted Ox Cart at Cafe Britt

Theater in Downtown San Jose

This week has been so…so full!
After my first night here I was already leaving for my first excursion. We went to Cafe Britt and did the coffee tour put on by the lovely and comical staff there. I had a great time tasting coffees and learning more about the coffee making process.

Once we returned to San Jose we did a walking tour of downtown. The guide for my small group was wonderful and was so aware of all of the little details in the city! As we passed numerous types of plants and trees, he commented on them and was explaining to us the significance of each plant and adaptation.

Walking downtown was nice, but as expected my group got a lot of stares. So far the Tico’s, or Costa Ricans, that I have met have been nice and enthusiastic about their country.

Classes here are pretty intense. I have 6 hours of class per day, and a decent amount of homework. This actually makes me have to work, so they are serious when they call these classes “intensive.” My Spanish classes are from 8am-12, and are only 4 weeks long each. That means I am a quarter done with my Spanish term, already… what in the world!?

I am also taking Marine Bio (in English) and Digital Photography (in English), and my profs for those classes are GREAT! Can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester goes!

I have made it! Yay!

After getting off of the airplane at SJO I went through customs and went on to the baggage claim area. Once I had found my checked bag I got some colones to get me started I was off to go through one last security checkpoint.

As I stepped out into Costa Rica for the first time I was surrounded by lots of people waiting to pick others up, as well as taxi drivers offering rides, and many people holding up signs with different company logos. I found a rep from CIS Abroad and made my way towards them. I was cheerfully greeted by the onsite director, Lisa, and then waited around for a little bit as other students also arrived. We all shuttled together and were dropped off at each of our host families homes.

I was greeted by a wonderfully sweet woman and one of her sons who helped me with my bags. Her son, Johan, speaks the most English (Ana Lorena, my Host mom speaks no English!) and helped me out yesterday.
The host family has 2 houses next door to each other, so the family lives in one and the students live in the other! I have 4 girl housemates and 1 male housemate, who I have yet to see around. The girls are better Spanish speakers than I am so they help me when I am having troubles communicating, which is very helpful!

Though it was a little bit overwhelming to arrive here and immediately be thrown into Spanish, which I am not currently very good at, I know that I will pick it up fairly quickly once classes start and I am more familiar with the language.

The weather here is wonderful and I am excited to see how much I will learn!

Bye for now!
Nicole

https://publicdomainvectors.org/fr/gratuitement-des-vecteurs/Vector-drapeau-du-Costa-Rica/2995.htmlHello all!

*update- I had trouble with the wifi at the airport, so this is finally posting now that I have wifi*

Pretty soon I m off to Costa Rica! I am not quite sure where the time went… but its already time to start a new year and a new adventure! I am excited, but very nervous about being in a new country by myself where I do not know anyone yet. I have not used Spanish in years so I know I will feel very overwhelmed when I get there with people asking me questions. I guess I will just have to go with the flow though until I pick it up!

From everything I have heard, and pictures I have seen, CR looks like a beautiful place!! Once I get more tan and get more Spanish down I feel like I will fit in better since I have a couple similar features as Ticos already, such as dark and curly hair. Hopefully b the end of my stat I will be loving Costa Rica and feeling like it is another home of mine!

Hello!

My name is Nicole. And I will be studying abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica this Winter and Spring term. I decided to study in Costa Rica because I enjoy traveling and have not traveled to any countries in that area. I also am wanting to speak Spanish fluently, so living in Costa Rica will be a great way to learn!