My list of: What I’m not going to miss: · Constantly feeling moist · The random bites that appear on the skin from invisible mosquitoes · Pervasive fear of dengue · Or malaria · Or parasites · “Piropos” especially those callouts from men with their children (GROSS!) and grandpa-aged people (still gross!!!) · Crazy computer keys with the upside-down- question mark taking place of the parenthesis key (and I still never found out how to do the back slash) · Dancing with my instructor Rafael with big sweat marks on his back and his snapping at me with his fingers to [View Full Entry]

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Church was interesting. It´s beautiful inside, with chandeliers and frescoes on the wall. It is not like the traditional Catholic environment. A random street dog ran back and forth through the church a couple of times…only in Costa Rica. Yes, they took the sacrament and the priest gave the homily. We even knelt to pray. But it was also mixed with a more laid-back contemporary feel. The music was amazing. They played classical and acoustic guitars. I loved listening to their songs, because it was bright and uplifting. It mad me smile. Sadly, the only part I could join in [View Full Entry]

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I´m always so random, so bear with me… My mom here is so cute. She likes bread a lot, so she doesn´t eat the bigger meals with me most of the time. But whenever she makes a comment about something not right, like how she eats too much bread, she says, “Es un problema, Yaneec.” “It´s a problem, Janice,” with a seriousness reflecting from her wide-set eyes. She also said she doesn´t eat the food with me because she gets tired of it. I can imagine. She cooks three meals a day! I would get tired. It is interesting to me [View Full Entry]

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People have to understand that I have some serious moist problems. This entire weekend I was moist! And by “moist problems” I mean, I have profound objections to feeling moist, especially for long periods of time. Good thing I´m probably in the moistest country in the world at this time! This weekend was crazy. Guanacaste has extremely bumpy terrain. We were bouncing in our tour bus all the way to the beach. And can you imagine how that would be like if you had to go to the bathroom? I had just that problem. Despite my discomfort, I would say this [View Full Entry]

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I think Sundays are really neat here. They reserve it as a day to do nothing but relax and spend the day with the family. Way of life here greatly contrasts the U.S., because in the Estados, one individual´s lifestyle can very much differ from another individual´s. There is great diversity in values, beliefs, and ideology. Here, people are individualistic also, but very similar in certain aspects of lifestyle. The society is very conservative, and there agreed-upon ideals of propriety. A kiss on the cheek. Respect for the elderly… When I went to the bank, I was puzzled [View Full Entry]

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Thanks for all your comments, guys! I really appreciate it, and it make me happy hearing from all of you. Don´t forget to type in your name, because I don´t know who they´re from sometimes! [View Full Entry]

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It seems I have been here forever! I´ve been learning so much; not just about the language. About the people, culture, and life in general. Honestly, sometimes I feel discriminated against. People here are certainly aware of differences, and understandably so. Pretty much, the majority of the people here are mestizos, a mixture of European and Indigenous blood. They are not used to other people. I do not look like them fa sho, and neither do my other compañeros. They yell out at me or honk the horn. Sometimes I just have to smile and laugh at the things they say. [View Full Entry]

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I´m having difficulties speaking English now because my brain is mixed up from all the Spanish. Today I ran, and I saw the mountains. They´re so beautiful. A ferocious little dog growled at me and tried to bite at my legs, attempting to protect his family´s territory. He was barely the size of a bunny. I was surprised, because one of the neighbors thought I was a Tica (that´s what Costa Ricans are called). Here, they say “adios” when people pass by, instead of “hola.” Not like the U.S. Everyone here knows each other. I drink coffee everyday, and I like [View Full Entry]

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Hey chicos! Im here in the lovely smokey internet cafe of san joaquin,costa rica. as you can see, i made it here safely. Life is sooo different here and i love it. i just started my classes today. i will post some pictures very soon! just to update, i{m living in a house with a mom and dad. they are the nicest people ever, and i have two sisters, 20 and 25 years old. i{m learning so much spanish. [View Full Entry]

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