Lost in Translation...literally.

Let me start this off by saying that I have already learned some ugly truths about myself despite the fact that I only left my home two days ago. First, I am a great big baby who is used to being catered to. I've been told this before, but I never believed these people (i.e. pretty much every person close to me) until I found myself crying in an airport. Second, I know far less Spanish than my conceited brain believes it possesses, which was made terribly evident when everyone and their flipping mother knew more Spanish than myself today at orientation. Awesome. Third, I DO NOT have an innate sense of direction. Utterly false. My burnt skin can attest to the fact that I was lost for about half an hour because I just "knew" how to get home.

Now that I have regaled you with how I enjoy lying to myself, I will get to the actual interesting part, which is how my program is going thus far! After a grueling (yes, necessary to say and not at all dramatic) 24-hour period filled with airports, airplanes, and delays (*cough* Dallas/Ft Worth International *cough*), I managed to make it here to Heredia, Costa Rica. My family is really sweet, but I do believe there were expecting a gringa with better language abilities. However, we seem to be getting along okay, aided by the fact that the youngest daughter (mi tica Hermana, which means my Costa Rican sister) decided to bust out some English on me today. I could have kissed her feet. Weird, but seriously I could have. I spent all morning being spoken to in Spanish, which is very overwhelming when you are not used to hearing it, and all of a sudden people are actually expecting me to understand and respond?? Woah..woah..woah. And, even the other students insisted on speaking in Spanish only. I felt that I was in an incompetent and inadequate bubble. So, when my sister blessed me with some English words today, it put my world slightly back on its axis.

I know that these next four months will improve my Spanish immensely, but this first day was a struggle because my ineptness was brought to light and shoved down my throat. But, on a positive note, I now know what kind of work I need to put in to build my language skills, and being lost today afforded me the opportunity to see a lot (emphasis on a lot) of Heredia. It is truly a beautiful and interesting place. All of the buildings are brightly colored and there are exotic flowers and trees throughout the city. Beyond the city you can see vast mountains. It is just amazing. I've also discovered that papaya is pretty amazing. My family here likes to make homemade juice, and I'm down with that. The one today consisted of bananas, pineapples, and papayas. Pretty much the bee's knees. This has kind of made up for the fact that I have not seen a Diet Dr, Pepper since leaving Texas yesterday. Maybe this will allow me to finally overcome my awful soda addiction?

I will be going though orientation for the rest of the week, and I'm sure there will be some more frustration on my end, but I am interested to see how this trip changes me and my perspective on life.

This blog has no real purpose. I won't be instructing you on anything. It will mainly be a place where I come to vent, talk about things I find interesting in Costa Rica, and just keep a record of this awesome experience for myself. But, I will leave you with some pictures and two interesting facts....First, Costa Ricans eat rice for breakfast. I had rice and watermelon for breakfast today. True Story. Second, Costa Ricans like Splenda...and yes I was super crunk to see something I recognized in their kitchen.

 

This picture is for you baby, I told you there was garden in the house. Lol. 

 

 

 

This is just a random pic I took while walking with my sister today (that is her ahead of me). I just thought the clouds were beautiful and I am fascinated by the architecture here.

 

 

This is a fountain (obviously) in the central park in Heredia. I love the brightness of the building in the background.