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time to say goodbye
Before arriving in Costa Rica, and then many times during our month here, the EWH staff drew our attention to the concept of “culture shock.” We were warned that we would go through stages of euphoria, followed by frustration, depression, and ultimately find ways to accept the cultural differences. But this was not my experience at all. I have loved every minute of living in Costa Rica and am devastated that it is already time for me to leave. The month passed so quickly, and its amazing to think that in just two days I’ll be boarding another plane and heading for Nicaragua. I’ve been looking forward to volunteering in a hospital with EWH for months, if not years, so I await my journey to Nicaragua with excited anticipation (and admittedly some anxiety about having no idea what to expect). But this won’t make it any easier to abandon the routine which has guided my life for the past month, the community I’ve created with EWH friends and my homestay family, or the beautiful country of Costa Rica.
Now that we’re about to leave, I finally want to take the time to make note of my daily routine here:
Every morning, we wake up at 6:15 and enjoy delicious homemade breakfasts including gallos pintos, eggs, fresh papaya and banana, and toasted ham and cheese sandwiches. And of course, many mugs of delicious Costa Rican coffee. The kitchen is always filled with family - our homestay mom, Vera, welcomes everyone into her kitchen, so her brother drops by every morning for breakfast. Her father lives in the house (they have lived in the same house for their entire life), so he is always at the kitchen table with us for breakfast.
Our home.
After breakfast, we rush out to the bus stop by 7:15 and normally arrive to school around 7:45. Class begins at 8:15.
Laamia, Julia, and Lillian in front of ALE, our school.
Spanish class lasts for the entire morning, from 8:15-12:00. By 12:00, we are starving and worn out from so much Spanish, so we rush to “El Typico”, the local convenience store. We are regulars there, so the owner always greets us and helps us practice our Spanish by engaging in very basic conversations. Thankfully, he was very patient with us in the first week when we couldn’t even understand numbers when he told us the prices. The best lunch is the “patrulla”, a sandwich whose title translates literally to “patrol car”. Turns out it earned that title because it “holds everything!” And indeed, the sandwiches are delicious because you can order it with tons of vegetables, sauces, and a variety of meats. Not bad for only 850 colones! (less than $2).
Emily, me, and Julia with the owner of El Typico!
Lunch is followed by 1 hour lecture from Billy Teninty and then 3 hour engineering lab, where the activities range from building circuits to taking apart and examining medical equipment. Recently, we have been writing quick-start guides for the equipment entirely in spanish! Not an easy task for the level 1 students (such as myself), but I am pleased to say that my Spanish skills have grown tremendously in the past month. I never thought I’d feel comfortable writing an engineering manual in Spanish, especially only after four weeks of classes!
After class, I either run home or take the bus. Strangely, running is faster than taking the bus because rush-hour traffic in San Jose is insane! And the run is generally very pleasant, especially when the sun starts setting and reflecting off all the colorful buildings. The only inconvenience with running in San Jose is that the air is not very clean due to all the exhaust from the cars. Hopefully I’m boosting the immunity of my lungs?
At home, we spend several hours hanging out and working on homework, but mainly are focused on how excited we are for another delicious dinner from Vera! As shown in a previous blogpost, the dinners are almost always authentic Costa Rican cuisine, and we are always amazed by how delicious everything is. I’m collecting recipes so I can cook for my family back home! Surely, the meals here will be one of the most missed aspects of Costa Rica.
Most nights after dinner we just hang out around the house with our host brothers (Mauro and Fredrico) and another student who is living in the home (Jose) while studying at the Universidad Latina. But some nights we meet up with the rest of the students for some fun activities in San Jose! This week, we went to “La Musica”, the local roller skating rink, and we brought our homestay family along. It was a lot of fun, but the best part was bonding more with our homestay brothers (who couldn’t stop laughing at how goofy we looked). Above all, my homestay family is what I’ll miss most about Costa Rica. They were so welcoming and loving, and every night at the house was filled with entertainment. I am going to miss the little things, such as Vera running into our room and screaming “locas!” because she thinks we’re crazy! Or Vera’s sister, who lives next door, dropping by after dinner with her adorable daughter. One of the most entertaining parts of each night was practicing Spanish with Mauro. He loved quizzing us and trying to help us learn (even though some nights we seemed pretty hopeless). But while maybe he enjoyed being helpful, I’m sure his main motivation for practicing with us was the hours of entertainment it provided him to hear our disastrous grammar and pronunciation. If I experience even a fraction of the warmth and kindness of my Costa Rican community in Nicaragua, I will consider myself blessed because I couldn’t have possibly hoped for a better month in Costa Rica.
