And the rest is still unwritten...

Costa Rica Day 2:

Today, I started class at the Intercultural school in Heredia. The day began with a wonderful breakfast from my host mom. I had mango, watermelon, pineapple and a ham and cheese sandwich. Apparently, natives eat sandwiches for breakfast as we do for lunch… but it was delicious so I’m not complaining. The fruit was spectacular. Definitely the best fruit I have ever tasted. The pineapple was by far my favorite. It was melt in your mouth delicious… yum! I can’t wait to have it again. I made the walk to school this morning and even arrived a few minutes early.. if you know me at all, then you know arriving on time is not one of best strongest characteristics. I tend to be RIGHT on time or a few minutes late to just about everything… I’ve been meaning to work on punctuality, so maybe this trip will be a good start. The first thing we did this morning was have another orientation session. Most of my over-achiever classmates wanted to hear all the directions/rules/regulations in Spanish… which I understand the whole “we’re here for Spanish thing” but the chances of any of us understanding every word that was being said was slim to none… and with rules and regulations that we are required to follow… I would have preferred to hear them in a language I understand completely. I picked up bits and pieces and I hope that’s enough to get me by.

We were then placed into our different classes. My class consists of 4 people… me, two other students, and the professor in a room smaller than a shoebox. I have the feeling we are going to get to know each other extremely well in the 2 weeks of this class. At the beginning of the class, I struggled some and it became somewhat frustrating. But I was determined to not put up a shield to the language. I understand most everything that is said, but I struggle with responding to questions… It’s not that I don’t know what people are saying, I’m just not good at talking… What?!? Me… not good at talking?! Weird I know.. but it happens to the best of us.. especially in a foreign country! After the awkward beginning of the class, where I’m sure the professor was wondering who let me leave America to study Spanish… we worked on things I have done in the past semesters at UWG. I gained a little confidence and ended the day by writing a few sentences on the board. Success.

Class ended today at 12:30 [2:30 in Georgia for all my smart friends that are reading] and we embarked on yet another tour around the city. Some students were complaining.. but I would take a tour everyday if it was offered. If I’m gonna live here a month, then I want to know places to go and how to get there. So I walked right behind the tour guide and marched my way up and down, up and down, across, up and down, across [continue for 3 hours worth] of streets. Exhausting! However, I did pick up two things I was in desperate need of… a notebook and alarm clock. Luckily for me, I used my amazing shopping skills [thank you mom and nana] to find the best deals on the streets. It was then time for lunch.. and we ate… CHINESE?! Actually… I take that statement back.. WE did not choose anything.. I would not have chosen chicken and rice since I’m more than likely going to be eating it every day for a month. But that’s where the group decided to eat… so what did I order? Arroz frito con pollo. Chicken fried rice. [Yes, Bree. I thought about you the whole time I ate Chinese… wish you could have been here with me for one of our favorites!] It was very good but by far the best part of that meal… was the DELICIOUS diet coke it was served with… or Coca Cola Light as it is called here. After lunch, we walked back to the school, gathered our belongings and were free to go. Because of our tour of the city, I didn’t get to attend dance class today… sad sad sad. But no worries my friends, I will definitely be teaching them some moves tomorrow at the other dance class.

I’m now back at the house and should be starting on some homework but I decided to check Facebook instead. I got a message from Kelly Camp and I cried when I read it. Not that anything in it made me extremely sad or that I even miss home that much right now, but it is just so good to hear from friends! I knew that I couldn’t even begin this adventure without the love and support of my family and friends. I love getting all the sweet messages, reminding me that people are thinking about me while I’m here. I know I’m writing a lot on these blogs, but I still want to hear about everyone’s lives in the States!! So don’t forget me when good drama comes around… haha -or when you just need someone to vent to/talk to. I’m always here.. near or far.

This may sound weird, but learning a foreign language is exhausting. You literally have to think every single second of the day… which again, if you know me at all, is also not one of my strong points. So here are a few other things I have learned so far:

1.    Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way. That polite little rule only applies in America.

2.    Don’t order a “full” meal of anything. Just looking at all that food will make you sick. Order half sizes and even those are too much to handle.

3.    Costa Ricans love themselves some coffee. They serve it all day at the school. Complete with coffee mugs, milk, and sugar. They basically force it down your throat and look at you weird when you say NO MORE!

4.    With the extreme humidity, there is ZERO point in straightening my hair. You’re welcome for a month off, hair.

5.    Heredia is a 24 hour city. Seriously. Cars, transfer trucks, and cargo trucks run all during the night.  They seem to enjoy beeping their extremely loud horns all hours of the day.

6.    People or cars don’t move for the police or ambulance as they do at home. Everyone just goes about their merry little ways.

7.     I love how no matter what street or direction you are walking, mountains are in the background.

and in case anyone was wondering… I still have blue eyes… and people are still amazed at my ojos azules. I guess maybe she thought they would change overnight, because my host mom told me again this morning how pretty they were. Bless her heart [ahhh.. it feels good to throw a southern phrase out there]… she is just precious!

Tonight could possibly be the first night to try out the native’s delicious margaritas.. or maybe I’ll call it an early night since my feet are pretty much raw from walking the country side today! Ahhh… who am I kidding?!  I am determined to make the most of this trip… I can sleep in the States J

I was going to post pictures with this blog, but the internet connection has been really bad today. Love you all and I’m thrilled for all the ones that have joined me on this journey!