Pura Vida

<- Isla Bolaños

Thanks to Howard for helping me to navigate blogspot. I was nearing the end of my sanity (what little I have) :P

So I changed the title of my blog to the general saying of Costa Rica ¨Pura Vida.¨ My host dad says it all the time and it is very fitting here. Things are so tranquil and relaxed. Sorry that I haven´t posted in awhile. They have been keeping us pretty with orientation and usually by the time I´m done I´m either exhausted or it´s past 6pm (the sun sets early here) and you´re not supposed to go out by yourself or only one other person when it´s dark.

So in the past week and a half since I posted last I got sick (again). I had an infection in my throat and I´m on antibiotics along with some other medication for the inflation and such. I´m getting really good at visiting the doctor here. lol.

I much prefer the food in Heredia to that in Liberia. I´m going to come home addicted to coffee, craving beans and platanos maduros. Sooo good! For those of you that don´t know, platanos are like a banana (they´re in the same family) and here they cook them on the stove and they are really tasty. That and beans on bread are two of my new favorite dishes.

My family in Heredia is so amazing. I have two parents (Gabriella, Gabi & Guido). My dad says that he´s not ¨papa¨ but ¨hermano mayor¨ or the ¨older brother.¨ lol. I also have two younger brothers, Guido (or Guidito/Guido pequeño),who is 12,and Jose Pablo,who is 11. They are both really sweet though they have very distinct personalities.

Interestingly, just yesterday my host parents asked me if I´ve visited other countries because they said I have a Spain accent. I thought that was interesting considering I´ve only ever visited Canada and I´m pretty sure I didn´t pick up a Spanish accent there. None of my Spanish teachers/professors have ever been from Spain either. Wonder how I managed to adopt a Spanish accent...

I now have my schedule for the semester. Classes start Monday and I´m really nervous. Not because the classes seem hard, but because I´ll be taking them completely in Spanish direct enrolled with the university students. I´m taking:

Avanced Spanish
Social History of Costa Rica
International Human Resources
Entreprenuers
Human Rights for the New Millenium

Sorry that my posts have been a bit irregular up until now. I´m going to try and post once a week on the weekends.

¡Pura Vida!
Corin

El principio (the beginning)

<- Playa Hermosa (Guanacaste)

One overnight layover and much turbulence later I am finally in Costa Rica. Dios mio! (omg). Going back and forth between speaking Spanish and typing in English here is going to be interesting so don´t be surprised if there are some Spanish phrases scattered throughout here. However, I will try and translate for those of you who may not understand them :) I´m already having difficulty, which I guess is a good thing. I keep typing in Spanglish only to have to backtrack and type in a language the majority of you reading will understand.

On Saturday (the day I arrived) we spent the majority of the day in the pool while we waited for the other students to show up until we basically turned into raisins. White, gringo (term for Americans) raisins. We had our first Tico*meal that night and it was tasty although I have discovered that the food here is extremely rich (enriquismo!). Hopefully I´ll get used to it soon so that my host family doesn´t worry about me. I don´t want them to think that I don´t like the food, it just takes some getting used to. I got sick Saturday night so obviously something in the food or water didn´t agree with me. This morning one of the program instuctors and I went on a medical hunt around Liberia. Once we hunted down a doctor I got some medicines that seem to be kicking in but boy, talk about being thrown into the language and culture! I guess getting sick in a foreign country is one way to get used to the language fast. lol.

As Sam said to me when I was heading to the country, the people here are really friendly. I arrived at my first host family´s today. This is the host family that I am going to stay with while I´m in Liberia for orientation. My host mom is so cute and fun. I´m still getting used to the accent and the speed at which they speak here, but she is really patient and takes my learning in stride.

Sorry if my blog skills haven´t quite gotten off the ground yet. It´s difficult to get yourself in the Spanish mode and then every once in awhile try to be witty and descriptive in English, but I´m going to try.

Hasta luego! (Later)

-Corin


*Ticos are what they call the people of Costa Rica.