My host family and school!

Our group, right before going on a tour of Heredia

So far, Costa Rica has been absolutely incredible! I love everything about it!

On Monday, I met with my host family. At first I thought it was only going to be an older, retired couple, but their 22 year old niece lives there as well. As soon as I walked in the door, my "MamaTica" asked me if I was hungry. Figured that was a good sign! She's been hosting students for 15 years so she has a lot of experience (also a lot of paraphernalia from different parts of the world - hence the Maryland mug.) She reminds me of my grandma. She's very sweet and so far has been spoiling me. She washes my clothes by hand everyday (even tried to get stains out of my clothes that have been there forever) and won't let me wash dishes after every meal. She's also a WONDERFUL cook. The food here is delicious and much healthier. I eat fresh fruit (mango, papaya, banana, pineapple) and bread with homemade guava marmalade for breakfast with some delicious fruit juice (not the sweet kind like we have in America, it takes much more natural.) In addition to all that, she knows a lot about the world, so we've been talking about politics, immigration problems, education, family values, and religion. Great for practicing Spanish.

Pamela, my Mamatica's niece, is super cool. Right now she's living with her Aunt because her job (she works at a hotel) is much closer. We became friends almost immediately. She knows a little bit of English so we've been helping each other with grammar and vocabulary. She's also invited me to go down to her family's house in southern Costa Rica one of these weekends. (!!)

Last night Pamela and I went to a little house party at another host-family's house. They had a huge patio and played salsa and meringue which we all danced to. Pamela taught me some new moves! The Ticos here (at least the ones I've met) are super friendly and accommodating.

Above: a classmate, our group leader Clara (who speaks Spanish, English, French, some Russian, and some German and is very nice), and Pamela (my hermanatica)

More fun facts:

-There are lots of stray dogs around, and a lot of people own dogs as well
-Yesterday I took a shower and there was a GIANT spider in there with me. For those of you who don't already know, I'm TERRIFIED of spiders, so I had to face my fear... didn't go so well. For the spider, I mean.
-Most families don't own washers or dryers. Laundry is done by hand and then left to dry in the sun in the morning/early afternoon. I don't think most people have dishwashers either.

Yesterday we went for a walk around Heredia. Above is a picture of a squirrel in the main park (Parque Los Angeles.) For lunch we stopped at a Mercado and I tried a "tortilla con queso". I also tried a bunch of different kinds of tropical fruit, including mamones (pictured below.) The city had a ton of shoe/knick-knack stores and fast, scary cars.

So far, my class is going great. It's the perfect level for me- adequately challenging but I'm not lost. My teacher speaks only in Spanish and there are only 5 other students in my class (more like a seminar than a class... we just sit around and discuss things and somehow end up learning a lot!) Class is from 1-5pm each day, and today is the first morning I've had free. Usually we have activities, such as a tour, walk, etc. We might do something adventurous on Friday, like bungee jumping... we'll see.

Thanks again for reading! I miss you all but I'm having a LOT of fun and learning lots. Right now I have to do some homework (if you can call it that) - research a Spanish author so I can give a presentation later.

Pura Vida!