Costa Rica- Study Abroad 2011: My host family

One of the absolute highlights of my study abroad experience was staying with a host family, and my host family was better than I could have ever asked for! Of all of the international students in my program and in the University, I was one of the only students who did not have any housemates. Yes, there were times that as a girl this was especially awkward. I was one of the furthest homestays away from Universidad Veritas, and petty theft was definitely an issue in San José. However, I viewed it as a unique opportunity to really get to know my host family without any distractions or drama that many of my friends experienced with their housemates. Not only was I blessed with a host mother and father, I also got to experience living with a four-year-old host sister who was on her way to becoming completely bilingual. There is no better way to learn a foreign language than interacting with a small child.

Coming back to the United States, there are three things that I really miss from my study abroad experience.

1. The WEATHER!!! Yes, people complain about Costa Rica during the rainy season. It is true that it rains every day during the rainy season (one of the reasons why I chose to study there during the dry season), however, it is usually beautiful in the morning and it rains at the exact same time everyday. Apparently, it is rather easy to plan around it. In Pennsylvania during the month of April, it is cold, and it rains everyday all day it seems. Plus, it snowed in Washington D.C. the day I returned!!!

2. I really miss my two BEST FRIENDS Melissa and Emily. There is a special bond that is created when studying abroad that is hard for others to understand. When I arrived in Costa Rica, I had a clean slate. In fact, it was frustrating at times because I was labeled as just some foreigner. Among my fellow International Students, however, I got to be the person I wanted to be. That was a unique opportunity. Melissa and I shared a unique bond because we were practically family in Costa Rica. To be exact, she was my aunt and I was her niece, because my host mother was the daughter of Melissa's host mother. Melissa and I, living pretty far away from other International students, always found different things to do around San José during the week. We also got to spend some time together during our weekend trip to Montezuma and the Pineapple Farm. Emily and I spent almost every weekend together because she was in AIFS also. We were on the same level Spanish-wise, which made it interesting. Neither of us particularly fit in with the rest of AIFS because we were the younger sophomores who were studying abroad because we wanted international experience and to improve our resumes...not just one last hurrah before graduation. Instead of going out every night on the weekends...we tried to find unique cultural things to do at night, and we would wake up early every morning to capture pictures each weekend. I already miss both of them!

3. I already miss my HOST FAMILY a lot. It was really cool to live with my very international host family while also living right behind my host grandmother Cecilia and my host grandfather Herbert. Marisol and Greg, my mother and father, have both lived in many places around the world. I really got to understand what that life is like and how it changes your opinions of the world. Cecilia and Herbert, however, were more typical Ticos. I would go over to Cecilia and Herbert's house with Melissa a lot for lunch or just to hang out. They did not speak any English, so my interactions were a little different. In truth, I got the best of both worlds. I could not have asked for anything better.

Below are a few pictures I took around my house during my last week in Costa Rica. Tiki, my host dog, and I became much better friends by the end of my three months in Costa Rica. I bet she misses me.... There were many different lizards living in my house, one of them even lived behind the painting in my room! The lizards were actually less of a pest in my house because of my host family's Speaking Rose's business. Due to the fact that the Mosquito spread Dengue virus is still a problem in San José, having a rose business in your house may not be the safest thing in the world. (All the roses laying around in buckets of water attract mosquitos). However, because we always had a breeze in the house from all the windows being open all the time and the presence of the mosquito-eating lizards, there was never a problem with mosquitos.

Tiki looking at a picture of my soon to be puppy Gracie Garland.

This is the park that was across the street from my house.
There were so many parks in Costa Rica!

This is the tire rim shop across the street from my house.
Most of the houses in my neighborhood had garages or a fenced
in place with razor-wire to protect their cars.
My family pays the tire people to keep the car in their garage at night.
That way, they can use their garage to keep everything for the rose business.