Why I Created This Blog

¡Hola, Bienvenidos a todos!

I am in my fourth year of school majoring in Education and Spanish. I'm from Minnesota and am about to embark on a life changing experience, immersing myself in the language, culture, and pura vida of Costa Rica!

My ultimate goal of going to Costa Rica is to become fluent in speaking Spanish. But along the way, I am going to be visiting a very close friend from high school, experiencing Costa Rican Independence Day and Christmas, traveling to three countries and living on the beach. Oh, and I am taking classes in a university in the capital city, but it goes without debate, most of my learning will be experienced when I am not in a classroom but around the friendly Ticos (name Costa Rican's call themselves) and being out on adventures.

If you're reading this, I miss you, so do your best to let me know what you're up to! And I'll do my best filling you in on my adventures :)

Mi Familia Tica en San José

 I came from Turrialba to San José September 25 and fortunately, I was lucky enough to have my friends from Turrialba drive me to help me bring in my bags, meet my new family, and help me get settled in. It has been one of the nicest bonuses to having friends where I chose to study abroad. Not only are they there when you need someone, they have provided me with an insurmountable amount of help with the language and getting acquainted with the culture...Thank you, Tammy, Juan, and Berto!

One of the first things Papa-tico said to me when I got there was "welcome to the house of the crazies!" Uh-oh...I thought!

I was incredibly nervous driving to their house for the first time. I had so many questions running through my head that I had to write them all down (with plans to go back and answer all of them-knowing the answers turned out to be not half as bad as I thought!) Am I going to like my family? Is having three girls going to make for one odd person out all the time? Are our schedules going to match? What am I going to do when I'm the only one who is not in class? What are we going to talk about at the dinner table?

Without further adieu, I'd like to present to you....my second family. Mi familia tica.
Mama-tica, Papa-tico, tres hijos y una hija. Tres estudiantes y dos perros.
San José, Zapote, Costa Rica

From left to right: Johan (17), Verner (15), Mike from Wisconsin, Franz "Hijo" (27), Franz a.k.a. "Papa-tico", Ana Lorena a.k.a. "Mama-tica", me, and Nicole from California. Taking the picture is Ashley from Illinois! Not pictured is Diana.

Mike was only with us for the first week or so as he was finishing up his semester. Even though he was only with us for a short time, we definitely felt like something was missing at the breakfast and dinner table without him.


The ladies of the house: me, Nicole, Mama-tica, Diana, and Ashley

 me, Nicole, Mama-tica, Papa-tico, Ashley



I was the first one to show up so I got to choose which room I wanted! Although I didn't pick the biggest bed, I convinced I'd rather have a window and a nice painting on the wall. Here is my view out my window. It is in front of Colegio Rosario, a school I believe from primary to secondary. I learned the hard way that having a window in the city, and outside a school, is not really something to give up a big bed for. It's extremely noisy at all hours of the day, buses and speeding cars (which the drivers here are known for being crazy), every 5 minutes there are car alarms going off, and at 7 AM every morning a little music from the school plays, prayer and announcements can be heard loud and clear through my windows.

No, to be honest, I wouldn't trade it for a bigger bed. I like having my window and the extra practice of listening to the spanish every morning! Even though the school song plays in my head for the rest of the day...


Here is the room I have been living in! Welcome! Isn't it clean? Look, I even made my bed for you! Just kidding, I hadn't emptied my suitcase yet...You got me!



Thee window. Proceed with caution. And earplugs!
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)