Buenas tardes chicos! Life is amazing here in Costa Rica! I've truly fallen in love with almost every aspect about life here. I'm officially starting to think in two different languages. It's getting a little more difficult to write in english, without wanting to finish my sentence in Spanish. I've been getting a lot of practice, talking to friends, my family, the staff at school and around the city!
Let's talk about the food here a little bit. I'm sure if you know anything about Costa Rica, it's probably that they eat a lot of rice and beans, and this couldn't be any more true. I've eaten rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner in one day before. Before I got here, I was never a big fan of beans, but being in a new country, I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave them a chance. They actually turned out to not be so bad! They are definitely growing on me, even though they still aren't my 'food of choice.'
The picture to the left is a meal from one of the two 'cafeterias' at VERITAS. It contains a steamed vegetable mix, fresh salad, strip steak, and of course, rice & beans. This is one of the best meals I've had here in Costa Rica. One thing I've noticed, is that they all like their meat cooked well-done! It's something that I have grown used to, but I'm definitely missing my medium cooked steak and burgers back home! For the most part, the food is not much different that it is in the States. Costa Rica is a very Americanized country, especially compared to some of it's surrounding partners.
The past weekend, I planned on staying in San José, but I ended up making a day trip to Jacó. Jacó is a popular town directly west of San José on the Pacific coast. Unfortunately, it's known as central Americas prostitution capitol. I have a friend here, whom is doing an internship with a program that helps these women who are ready to get off the streets and get back into society. I've learned a lot about the topic since this trip and continue to learn more and more each day. It's really nice to hear about programs that are helping these women and their children.
This weekend, I plan on taking my first trip to Puerto Viejo! Most of my friends have already been, and said it was their favorite trip! I am so very excited for this opportunity. I went to get my bus ticket today for the trip tomorrow, and ended up taking a little journey in the process. My room mate and I took a cab to the bus station where I was told I could only pay in cash. I only had enough money to get one ticket and a cab ride home. Unfortunately, I was buying two of my friends tickets as well since they couldn't make it. Tasia, my room mate and I, went on a search for an ATM to get some cash. While we were looking, we ran into an older couple who greeted us with, "Hello! Do you speak english!!?" They were ecstatic to find out that we did. They were lost, and we gladly helped them find there way using our improving Spanish! It was really great to run into some US Citizens that weren't from our school, and being able to help them ask for directions for where they were going, gave me some incredible feeling. HORRAY for speaking Spanish!
This weekend, I plan on taking my first trip to Puerto Viejo! Most of my friends have already been, and said it was their favorite trip! I am so very excited for this opportunity. I went to get my bus ticket today for the trip tomorrow, and ended up taking a little journey in the process. My room mate and I took a cab to the bus station where I was told I could only pay in cash. I only had enough money to get one ticket and a cab ride home. Unfortunately, I was buying two of my friends tickets as well since they couldn't make it. Tasia, my room mate and I, went on a search for an ATM to get some cash. While we were looking, we ran into an older couple who greeted us with, "Hello! Do you speak english!!?" They were ecstatic to find out that we did. They were lost, and we gladly helped them find there way using our improving Spanish! It was really great to run into some US Citizens that weren't from our school, and being able to help them ask for directions for where they were going, gave me some incredible feeling. HORRAY for speaking Spanish!
