Packing up to go live in a foreign country with people you’ve never met who don’t speak the same language as you may seem insane but that’s exactly what I did this summer and I loved it! I didn’t know anyone I was going with or what to expect when I got there but I packed my things and headed off for 5 weeks in Costa Rica on May 27.
(Costa Ricans refer to themselves as Ticos(as) so you’ll see me use that word often throughout this article!)
Upon my arrival, I had to take a taxi to my Casa Tica where I’d be living for the next month. This was probably the scariest part of my trip because as a little American girl who didn’t speak much Spanish at the time getting in the car with a foreign man sounds like the quickest way to end up missing. So the entire ride I was in the back seat looking like Kermie and trying to think of my escape plan.
Source: http://gihpy.com
But, I did it and he was a very nice man who didn’t look twice at me let alone try to kidnap me. After not being able to locate my house he sat with me (meter still running though) until we were able to get my mama Tica on the phone and locate her house.
I assumed that my host family would speak English and that I would be able to easily communicate with and learn from them. Boy, was I wrong!! They all spoke Spanish and even the little English they knew they didn’t use it. By the second week, I appreciated the lack of English more because it helped me learn and communicating wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. As long as you know basic Spanish words, you can explain pretty much anything!
Also by the second week, I was fit and accustomed to a Tico lifestyle. Ticos wake up early, really early. I had class at 8 A.M. almost every day which meant waking up at 6:30 to have breakfast and make the 25-minute walk to my university. My mama Tica made eggs and coffee every morning. We’d also have an assortment of the best fruit I’ve ever had in my life and bread or potatoes.
I had class once a day for 3-4 hours which was fairly easy compared to taking Spanish in America even though my teacher spoke less English than my host family did.
On weekends, we explored the country! From the Caribbean to the Pacific, Costa Rica is a truly unique country. There are mountains and hills filled with cows and wildlife, lush tropical forest with palm trees and exotic birds and monkeys and waterfalls, and the beaches are all a beautiful paradise with amazing waves where you can watch locals surf or take lessons to learn yourself.
Overall, it was an amazing experience. The people I met and the lessons I learned about life and myself, along with the Spanish, were worth the risk of leaving my life in the US for 5 weeks.
All images are via http://pixabay.com