Our first days in Costa Rica!

 The view from el Museo Nacional

 Outside the Universidad Latina

As soon as we got off the plane in San Jose, we all immediately felt the drastic change in temperature. It was a hot, sunny, and beautiful afternoon; no complaints! I’d prefer 80 degrees in San Jose then 35 degrees in New York any day. Throughout the hour bus ride to the Universidad Latina we stared out the windows and commented at all the interesting things we noticed. We saw some familiar chains and some not so familiar things, like cows on the back of a truck. As we drove through downtown Heredia we waited anxiously to meet our host families. We arrived at the University, which seemed small from the outside and had distinctive green and white colors, and met our host mother, Marie. She greeted Esther and I and we drove less than 10 minutes away to move into our new beautiful Costa Rican home.

Before coming to Costa Rica I was told many ticos have dogs for protection; so when I saw they had an innocent looking toy poodle named Dixie with Christmas bows I was surprised! She is adorable. We settled into our rooms and had dinner with Marie and one of her sons, Jimmy. I was surprised at how acquainted our host family is with the states. Marie just returned from New York City for New Years and Jimmy lived in the states for four years. Even though her sons can speak English perfectly and even have an American accent, she encourages them to speak Spanish to us. We need all the practice we can get!

The next morning Marie served us tamal, a traditional Costa Rican breakfast that is made from corn, rice, and cheese served on Banana leaves-- something I definitely have never seen before! We also had delicious cafe con leche. Marie’s son, Billy, showed us how to walk to the University. The walk was a little shorter then we expected, only about 20 minutes, but the route was very unfamiliar. We walked through the residential area and cut through sports courts to get to the main road. I think we are beginning to get the hang of it. There are no street names so you really need to remember the area by the buildings and stores near it. After orientation and a tour in which we first saw the open, sunny, soccer field right outside the university we explored the mall. I was surprised to see many familiar American stores. However, the currency is not familiar. I am still confused when I see a “2 mil” bill in my wallet.

So far everyone I have met is super friendly. I am excited to explore more places in Costa Rica, learn about the culture, and see what opportunities this experience will bring to us!