EARTHQUAKE!

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Hola Amigos!
Just wanted everyone to know I made it safely to Costa Rica! The weather is GORGEOUS and the people are so so welcoming. My first day after arriving in San Jose was a little eventful. My luggage didn't get shipped from New York to San Jose, but I got it back today. Luckily I packed extra clothes and everything in my carry-on. I met up with a girl in my same program in New York so we were together when we arrived in CR. Our ride was not at the airport when they said they would be so we had to wait about 2 hours until another group arrived. Then, there was an earthquake!! 6.2 on the Richter scale! There was no damage in San Jose but I guess outside of Heredia and near the mountains there was a lot of damage. Small earthquakes are normal for CR but not one of that size, so hopefully there won't be more of that size!

All else is good however. My family is very nice, welcoming, and accommodating. I have my own room and a bathroom that I share with another American; her name is Emily too and she's from Tennessee. There is a daughter my age who knows a good amount of English but she speaks to us in Spanish which is good practice! She goes to ULACIT, the same university as me. There is another daughter in my family that will be a freshman at my university as well. I also have a younger brother who is 15. So far the food is good and my mom feeds us more than enough!!

Costa Rica is different from the US in several ways. They drive so crazy here! It's like any man for himself. Pedestrians first definitely doesn't apply here! Drivers switch lanes out of no where, cut each other off, stop abruptly in the middle of the street, and drive bumper to bumper! I would definitely not survive if I had to drive. Television shows are in English with Spanish subtitles, which is funny to me! They have Desperate House Wives, Scrubs, That 70's Show, etc...several shows that are popular in the US. Also, music on the radio are popular songs from the US. Everything seems so cheap here compared to the US. You can take a taxi basically anywhere for less than 50 cents. Definitely a big difference!

My school is very nice. It's so open it reminds me of an outlet mall. My class schedule rocks! I have four classes total: one on each day, Tues. through Fri. I don't have class on Monday, Tuesday I have class from 1:30 to 4:30, Wed. 2 to 5, Thursday 1:30 to 4:30, and Friday 2 to 5. My classes are only with other ISA students and we don't have textbooks, which is a nice place to save some money! Looks like I will have a lot of free time to explore and get to know San Jose.

We already have some excursions coming up. In fact, the next three weekends we have something planned, and this coming Thursday we are going to La Fiesta de Palamares, an annual festive parade in a town close by. Details on all that will follow later.

Well I better get back to practicing my Spanish... 😊

Emily

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