My first week in Costa Rica, here are some things I can share:
Living with a host family:
Living with my host family has been quite an experience. The
person I live with speaks only Spanish. The first breakfast meal on July 3rd we
talked and I really had a difficult time communicating. I would want to say
something, but couldn’t put it in Spanish words. But day by day I am getting
better, and learning about the culture of Costa Rica, especially the family
life. We have coffee quite a lot, breakfast and dinner. On Sunday we had dinner
together, and many of the relatives joined us. The first thing we had was bread
and butter; I though that was all I was going to eat. But we talked for about
thirty minutes and then the food was ready. The entire dinner time was around
two hours; we spent time talking and playing games. Definitely the family time
together is very important to Costa Ricans, whereas many Americans have a quick
dinner without really talking to one another.
Classes:
My classes have been great! My Spanish class in the morning
has only seven students in it. The first day we spent time introducing
ourselves, talking for about an hour! The professor really likes to know about
our life and also wants us to know about the culture in Costa Rica. Many of our
assignments included researching an important world topic and reporting it to the
class. Also,I have to interact with other Costa Ricans to better understand
certain Costa Rican words and phrases.
Food:
The food has been amazing! The most famous dish is called
Gallo pinto, (rice and beans). It is cooked a little different. I had a meal at
a restaurant, called a ‘soda’, and it was delicious! It came with plantains,
rice, beans, potatoes, and steak. These restaurants are throughout the whole
city and it is where the real authentic food is.
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