Costa Rica Day 5
(sorry for the delay from yesterday... Blogger was down last night. I will post Day 6 later today)
Does that say day 5?! I can’t believe I have almost been here a week! My first week of class is almost over… which means only 3 more weeks to go! I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!
Today started like any other day so far here in Costa Rica. Same routine.. shower and got ready for breakfast. This morning, I had watermelon, pineapple, a banana, and another ham and cheese sandwich. It was delicious as usual. I am starting to think that my mamatica is picking up on the things I really like and the things I just say I like. I’m not gonna tell her something isn’t good/I don’t like something… I’m not going to be one of those “rude Americans”. This morning at breakfast, I looked at the newspaper with my mamatica. She pointed out a few things that resemble our newspaper. She read a story and then told me about it. However, I used my super reading skills and read the title upside down from my seat… “Three killed in over-night shooting.”
Ummmm… what?!? Where the heck was this… Costa Rica in general, Heredia, or possibly right down the street?! I got to school and everyone was talking about it. We went straight to an open computer and looked up the news online. Thanks to the wonderful technology era, we hit translate into English on the article we found and learned that two males had a failed prison escape. Both men were killed and also a police guard at the prison. Not the news I like to hear first thing in the morning. But things got better… Class today went by pretty fast. At first, I was really worried about a 4 hour Spanish class every day.. but time seems to be moving very quickly! My ideal Spanish class is still no-where near 4 hours long, but somehow, I’m making it work for now. It was confirmed this morning that I do have a test tomorrow. Yikes! My first test… I’m not really sure what to expect, considering we have only had 4 days of class and really only learned 2 new things [both of which I have seen before but have been taught differently in the States]. I guess I’ll figure it out soon enough. I still haven’t found out how we get graded. I’ve heard from several people that they think the classes are “pass/fail”. Meaning as long as I pass the class, then I get the college credits I need. However, without a letter grade, these classes will not affect my GPA. I’m still trying to figure it out… I personally think I deserve an A for not only studying Spanish, but also for living in a Spanish speaking country. I plan on asking the director tomorrow and also voicing my opinion on this issue. So keep reading for more information about my class grades.
After class today, I went to lunch with two classmates. We ate arroz frito con pollo… or better known in the States as chicken fried rice. It is probably one of my favorites so far here, it’s almost identical to the food in America and it’s extremely cheap. For about 3 dollars, [1500 calones here] I get a plate of chicken fried rice with water. Not bad… and it’s actually something I like instead of a plate of mashed up beans and a weird salad with no dressing [which is the typical lunch special plus beef or chicken]. I will be eating the arroz frito con pollo many more times I’m sure! After lunch, I went back to the school to reply to some messages I received last night. I am able to check most of the messages at the house, but internet signal prevents me from being to write back sometimes. As soon as I walked back into the building, the bottom fell out and I experienced my first rain storm in Central America. Yikes! Kinda scary, kinda relaxing.. and extremely loud! I didn’t have my umbrella today [typical me.. left something behind] however, I did have my handy-dandy poncho my mom bought me. Apparently poncho’s aren’t very common… because I got some incredibly weird stares as I walked down the street with an oversized trash bag covering me and my backpack. I don’t mind the weird stares though… I’m sure I give them the same “what the heck” look when they are speaking Spanish to me 90 miles an hour. One of my best friends, Emily, often gives me a lot of encouragement and support with schoolwork. As I have mentioned before, she is very studious and extremely driven. She just graduated with an undergraduate degree in Speech Language Pathology… and she once told me that foreign languages are meant to be learned at a young age, and not as an adult. I believe in this statement and tend to use it as a logical excuse whenever necessary. I mean, she is going to school in the Fall to become a DOCTOR, so I’ll just believe what she says. So the feeling of confusion is mutual between the Spanish speakers and the Spanish speaker wannabes!
Also today, as I was trying to wait on the rain storm to pass, that actually got progressively worse… a few friends and I decided that we wanted to take one last excursion before we come home. Our only free weekend is the very last weekend we are here… and I prefer to not spend my last weekend sitting in the house. We looked over some brochures and began gathering ideas for a possible short-weekend trip. Our main goal is to go somewhere tropical and beach-like for the last weekend. We’ll see where all of our combined ideas lead us.
Despite the humidity, I blow dryed my hair today anyways. Sorry for the small white lie I told in previous posts about giving my hair a month off. I was tired of it looking like a hot mess… even though a hot mess is typically what the city of Heredia is. My mamatica did my laundry today. Not that I have already worn all 500 outfits I brought.. but because she does laundry for everyone in the house before the weekend. Gracias, mamatica! When I got home today, I took a great nap! I knew I had some studying to do tonight, so I figured a nice afternoon nap would be perfect preparation for a study session later tonight.
I have gotten questions about time and pictures… So here’s my explanation:
1. Time is 2 hours behind us at home… so I get up every morning at 6:30 in Costa Rica… which is 8:30 at home. My class is from 8:30-12:30 in Costa Rica….or 10:30-2:30 at home.
2. Pictures. Anytime I take pictures, I always come to the house and upload them to my computer so I can make sure I have enough space on my memory card. However, even when I have internet, it isn’t strong enough to upload pictures on here or on Facebook. I might try emailing some to myself and seeing how it works at the school… but in today’s case.. the rain storm hit as I was leaving… which is one of the reasons why I haven’t been taking my laptop to the school. I will post all of my pictures when I return home, swear.
Here is an updated list of new things I have learned:
1. Cars don’t use caution in rain storms… nor do they slow down.
2. I was splashed THREE times today by cars zooming past me as I was walking home.
3. I had some delicious tiramisu today. It was better than any I have had in America.
4. It is absolutely, 100% necessary to constantly watch the sidewalks as you are walking. One slight distraction could result in an incredibly embarrassing touristy fall. No, this did not happen to me… but to my friend from UWG, Samantha. The sidewalks will be perfectly paved and then all of a sudden a huge hole will interrupt your walking… I am hoping I don’t have an unfortunate encounter with the concrete… because I easily give in to distractions.
5. If your bank account allows for it, I suggest you get laser hair removal for your legs before traveling abroad. It is extremely hard to shave your legs in a small shower with not so hot water. I experienced that this morning.
6. Costa Ricans use as little electricity as possible. They keep ZERO lights on. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I pray that I can make it to the bathroom without falling over something, or worse… opening the wrong door.
That’s all I have for my updated list. My parents are going to the Braves game tonight [ohhhh how I miss watching the Braves at night] and they are taking Lauren and her mom with the other two tickets. Extremely jealous. I am glad I have such great friends that are able to be there for my parents during this time. I know this is much harder on them than it is for me, so I’m extremely thankful for friends that are thinking/praying for my parents just as much as they are for me.
What special people I have in my life. I will be forever grateful for all the blessings God has given me for the past 21 years. I know he will continue to do great things in my future and I can’t wait to see the next direction my life takes after this journey.
“Don’t let regret take place of the dreams you have to chase.” –Zac Brown Band
No comments:
Post a Comment