Meeting my family and becoming la hija gringa

On Tuesday August 25th I felt I suprised myself by how calm my nerves were. I wasn't worried about meeting my "mama tica" or my Costa Rica family in the least. Maybe that was because we were able to breath fresh air in the Lankester Gardens in Cartago before driving to San Joaquin de Flores. What an awesome botanic garden! It was a little rainy, but that was fine because the rain just enhanced the scent of all the sweet smelling flowers. After spending the morning there, we rode in a bus to San Joaquin. I know now why it is so rare to find it on a map. San Joaquin is tiny, and according to Ana, another program director, a good map of the town doesn't exist. People here don't needs maps to find places; they just know.

El instituto de San Joaquin de Flores is beautiful! It's like a butterfly garden, mixed with the secret garden. There is always fresh fruit and coffee sitting out on a table for us to help ourselves to. The fruit comes right off the trees in the garden; banana and mango. I waited next to this table eating a piece of mango when my mama arrived. My first impression of her was that she looked really young and stylish for being 52 years old. My second impression was that she was extra expressive and talks very quickly and very loudly. I rode in a car home with her, her boyfriend, and Matias (her adorable 2-year-old grandson) where I got my first plate of Gallo Pinto, chicken, and a salad. Yum!

It turned out that her birthday was the day before, so she was having a birthday party that night. She loves to dance, and so for her birthday she wanted to buy a new pair of high heels. Her boyfriend drove us to a mall nearby where I helped her pick out a black pair of shoes I would never be able to walk in! I was kind of taken aback by the malls here. They are just like the ones in the United States, with a Payless Shoes and all the fast food restaurants one could ever need.

Mama tica's birthday party was a lot of fun, but definitely a Spanish overload for one night. I slept like a rock.

Arriving in San José

I am not entirely sure how this blog will turn out (everything on my web pages here are in Spanish) but I'll give it a try anyways. I am going to back up about a week or so and write a little bit about my experiences. My first major one occured in the Denver airport, before I'd even gotten started. You see, Costa Rican government has some sort of law that requires foreigners visiting their country to have proof that they will be leaving before 90 days. Well, since I won't be leaving until the end of December (more than 90 days) the airline gave me a little trouble concerning whether or not they could let me on the plane. It seemed like it could end up to be quite a disastre, but luckily API (my study abroad company) sent me a "very important document enclosed" letter, which was my ticket to being able to enter Costa Rica. Basically, since I will be traveling to Nicaragua I will be leaving Costa Rica before 90 days is up and then re-entering. Tricky huh?

Once that little stressful moment (more like 10 minutes) was over, everything else was smooth sailing. The plane wasn't very full; I had a whole row to myself. Perfect! I was able to lay down and go to sleep for about five and a half hours. I thought that I was going to have to wait in the airport until the next girl in my group arrived at 10am, but a man holding a sign with my name on it was waiting for me. I road in a van to el Hotel Balmoral, and let's just say that the drivers here are absolutely crazy. Driving is about the only fast paced part of Costa Rican life it seems. Otherwise everything else is "pura vida" and based on "tico time".

San Jose is an interesting city capital because at night (which comes very very early here) the city seems to turn into a ghost town. People work in the center of the city, but most everyone lives in outside suburbs. There wasn't a whole lot to do at night, which was fun because I got a good nights rest. Monday, August 24th the API group and I met Esteban, one of program directors and then went on a tour of San Jose. One of the first things to note about Costa Rica, besides pedestrians having to avoid crazy driving, is that there are no street signs. If a person were to ask a tico (local Costa Rican) how to find a certain place, they would not receive specific directions, but landmarks instead. For example, if I asked how to find the hotel I stayed at, a person may reply by saying two blocks from where the Calle Central and Avenida Central intersect, expecting you to already know where the two unnamed streets are. However, even though directions are difficult, the people are quite friendly and approachable. We walked around a huge majority of the city center, visiting a couple parks, plazas, el Teatro Nacional, and el Mercado Central. El Teatro Nacional has a floor with seats that can be removed, and that can be lifted up to be level with the stage. It was used for dances or celebrations, but because the floor was made from wood, it has warped with time. It is no longer raised up, unless an important occassion comes up.

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant higher up in the mountains that overlooks all of San Jose. A huge plate full of food was given to me, which I knew right away I would love but wouldn't be able to finish. I really am a fan of rice and beans, or aka casada (literally "married"), which is the stable food of Costa Rica. I would come to find later that week that I'd be eating it nearly everyday.