Anyways! Hoy!
Woke up at 7:45a. Definitely got close to 11 hours of sleep. It felt wonderful! Not only was I tired from traveling, but from processing all the Spanish that was being thrown at me. I wanted so desperately to understand what my Tican family was saying to me, that I was concentrating extra hard. Making my brain work that hard was a struggle.
Deciding what to wear was interesting as well. I know that shorts are uncommon in the city but I knew it would be hot. So I opted for jeans, flip flops, and a Nike dri-fit T. Vanessa made us a breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, bread, juice, and a banana. I definitely had a good breakfast! Manuela and I were just like in awe of how good something so simple could taste.
After breakfast, Tyrone walked with us to the ISA office for our orientation at 9:30a. Both Vanessa and Tyrone told us not to be scared, it was safe, but just to watchful. The walk actually wasn't bad and San Jose is just gorgeous! Walking back and forth to school will be so fun everyday! Exercise and beauty all in one!
We got to the ISA office and met like 30 other students who are in our program with us. Everyone was so friendly and excited to be there. I have a feeling we will all get along great because everyone is pumped to do everything! We learned a lot about safety, dos and don'ts of the program, and (most important to all of the students) all the excursions we get to go on!
Sidenote:
One thing I didn't know is that Dengue is popping up a lot lately. They informed us about it and told us to use bug spray. Well, as I was sitting in my room around 2, this mosquito kept biting me! Like 3 times in different spots! But I tried with no avail to kill it! Little bugger was devious. I wasn't aware that I needed bug spray..let alone in the house! Ugh. However, on a lighter note, I killed it. YES! No Dengue for me!
Back to the fun stuff though! We go on three planned excursions in October. Manuel Antonio, Arenal Volcano, and Playa Tomarindo. Manuel Antonio is a National Park that has a waterfall you can swim in. Arenal Volcano is an active volcano that we get to tourn. Playa Tomarindo is a beach on the Pacific coast. Not only do we get to see all the beauty Costa Rica has to offer..we get to stay in 4 and 5 start resorts while we do it. Talk about freaking sweet! To say that we were all overjoyed about that is an understatement!
When orientation was done, it was about 10:30a. But the thing is, I was so tired! You're probably thinking-for real, Allie? Yes. I didn't realize how much a new environment, a "new" language, and new people would tire me out. Some people went to the mall, but a few of us just went home because we're up for exploring but it's like our second day. I'm not about to go somewhere completely unknown with a bunch of foreigners ha. I need smaller doses of immersion in the beginning! Manuela and I ended up going home and then out to eat at Pizza Mira, which is down the street from our house. I felt bad because I have no Colónes yet so she had to pay. But I mean we're roommates..I'll pay her back :) We got a huge pizza and 3L pop for about c9500 which is like $18. Sitting there and eating was so great! We talked about everything under the sun while soaking in the awesomeness that is San Jose. Knowing that this is home for 4 months, isn't so scary...es muy tranquillo :) Plus, Manuela and I get along great! Pretty sure we're about to be Maid of Honor status by the end of this trip! It's so nice to have someone who understand's the nervousness but excitement and know I'm not alone!
Not only did we eat, we went on a walk to take some pictures. I wanted so badly to take pictures at the pizza place, but we already stuck out like sore thumbs, we didn't want to give people another reason to stare! So unfortunately, no pictures of pizza :(
Walking though, we got a couple cool ones. The mountains are visible along the horizon and it's breathtaking-even though it was cloudy this afternoon (like it will be most days). It did start raining while we were walking back to our casa. Thankfully, we were prepared with umbrellas!
Here is the outside of our house, as well as some pictures from our walk to la ISA officina:
And just so you're aware, all houses have these gates (of some sort) around their houses. Don't be alarmed by the gates or barbed wire. It's pretty typical! Just because of the petty theft, they have to be protective of their homes! But no worries, I'm safe here..we wouldn't be here if we wouldn't be able to be safe!
So the gecko is in there as kind of a joke. They told us that geckos run around and not to be scared of them. When I was walking in the kitchen, I saw something out the corner of my eye. They weren't lying about the geckos! Haha.
When we got back from our walk, we just chilled for a bit until the family got home. Vanessa started making supper and I didn't think I would be hungry, but once I smelled it, I knew I would be aok eating again!
Before eating, we met some of Valeria's friends (who spoke very good English).
The food that Vanessa cooked was like unbelievably delicious! Manuela and I like scarf down whatever she puts in front of us because it's QUE RICO!
Manuela with our supper! Fried plantains, some type of beef, mashed potatoes, and rice. SO YUMMY!
I'm just laughing as I write this because my family is so loud and expressive..all the time. They have Valeria's friends over right now and they are just talking in Spanish so quickly it's nearly impossible to understand but it's so funny! I love being around all of the warmth and friendliness. If this is how it will be, I can definitely get used to it :) But I hope you all understand how fast they speak. It's like it gets faster and louder as the night goes on! Not bad..just different! I just hope soon I can partake and understand said gatherings!
There was one more thing Vanessa had us try before we went to our rooms for the night. It's like egg and spaghetti and cheese. Again, yummy!
Well peeps, it's about 9:15p and I'm exhausted. That's my day in a nutshell. Everything is so new and exciting and I am just so thankful for every moment I am here!
Thanks for reading!
Olive Juice Amor, xo :)
Allie
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