So much has happened since I have arrived in Costa Rica. On the first day we were there, Friday, we landed and met our tour guides Meggie and Sierra who are both from the US and our driver Roy who is from Costa Rica. Then we went to our first stop which was the bank to exchange our American dollars to Colones, the Costa Rican money. Then we went to lunch at Super Snacks and it was the most amazing meal ever. I ordered a “mango en agua” and a chicken chalupa. In CR they have these fruit drinks that are basically a fruit, water and a little bit of ice that is blended and served. I can already tell how fresh everything is going to be here. After lunch we went to the Feria which is a market that has fresh fruits and vegetables. I got to taste so many free samples and of things that I had never even heard of before. The vendors were so friendly and welcoming to us silly looking, clueless Americans and you can just feel a sense of happiness from everyone. We were all practicing and attempting to speak with our rusty Spanish words and it was a blast. I didn’t think that I was going to be able to say anything, but in the moment it somehow sounds fine and I was very capable of communicating with most of the people.
As we were walking around town a man stopped us and asked if we could give him some of our time to listen to him… of course we listened. He spoke English very well and he went on to tell us that Costa Rica is obviously an amazing place, but there are problems that are unspoken and he wanted us to be aware of them. He said there are two major problems: money going to the wrong places and drugs. He said that the money that they pay for taxes should be going to improving schools and medical centers, but instead it’s going elsewhere. He also said that very young children about the age of middle schoolers are starting to do drugs and hang out in the streets. It was kind of a shock that he shared that with us, but just hearing him talk and telling us the problems of Costa Rica while having a proud smile on his face made my day. He was very intelligent and it was so neat that he got to talk to us. I like that people are not naive about problems in their country, even if the authorities ignore them. It is different from the US in the sense that everyone complains and takes it upon themselves if they don’t like something. For example, creating a group that has some kind of belief behind it and trying to make a difference. Here it seems that people stay quieter about things and just go on living their life as happy as can be and I think that is something that we can all soak in and take back home with us. Live happily in the present because who knows what is to come next.
Then we all experienced an earthquake! We didn’t realize at first that it was an earthquake because we were on the bus and then we could not believe it once we were told that it was an earthquake. On our first day in CR we go to feel a 6.0 earthquake and we made it through. It was scary, but the people on the streets seemed so calm. Like I said before, we should take some pointers and enforce them in the US.
The town is definitely different from back home, the homes are connected with one another, there are gates at the front of most houses, and there are bars on the windows. It seems like high security, but I think that it is just a part of their community and they probably think nothing of it. These little things about a culture are what make it so special. To be honest I was judgmental at first about how it looked because it is intimidating, but after a while it became used to it.
Saturday we met another tour guide Javier and he took us to La Paz which was kind of like a park and it had different places that had wild animals that we could watch. It had toucans, parrots, a butterfly house, monkeys, pumas, snakes, and frogs and a lot more. Javier walked around with us and he knows everything and more about every single plant and animal that is here in CR. Then we got to see the waterfalls which were so amazing, I had never seen anything like that before.
Today, Sunday, Javier took us back up the mountain near La Paz and we were headed to the volcano named Poas. We took a hike and saw the crater of the volcano and it was so neat to be able to see straight down the middle of a volcano. On our way out we got the privilege of actually seeing the volcano erupt. It was not a big one but who really gets to say that they saw a volcano erupt? Not many people…I feel pretty lucky. We met our host families tonight! I got picked up early because my family had a family get together and I got to be a part of it. Julio, my hermano tico, or my brother, picked me up with his American wife Sarah and they took me the party which was a celebration of life for a few death anniversaries. My mama tica greeted me with the biggest hug and kiss and I could already tell that she was going to be great. The party consisted of eating and a lot of talking and spending time with the family. They did perform a rosary which was very interesting to watch and I am not very religious but I really appreciated the ceremony that they did. The family dynamics that I watched tonight were so similar to my own family. Everyone interacts so happily with each other, they help each other out, and the talk so very loud. Everyone was very welcoming to me, which I was very nervous about. There were about 50 people there and I think I got a hug, kiss or handshake from everyone of them. I was so nervous about everything, but they made me feel like I was right at home with my own family. I am still really nervous about everything for a lot of reasons, but I feel very at ease tonight and I can’t wait to see what has is to come after such an eventful weekend! My first day of classes at CPI start tomorrow so hopefully that goes well.
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