Bienvenidos a Costa Rica

So yes, I arrived safely to San José. Woo hoo! The trip was pretty easy, we just had very good timing. We arrived at O'Hare around 4:15, which seems like it should have been plenty of time. But by the time we made it through security, it was 5:20 and our flight left at 5:37. We arrived in San José around noon, so we had plenty of time. A bus picked the first group of us up at the airport and took us to Universidad Veritas, where we are studying. My host mom, Cecilia, and her daughter, Priscilla, picked me up from the airport. When we got to her house, I was surprised to see other kids there. There are SIX students staying in my house. There are two of us from Miami, two from Montana State, one from Tennessee, and one from some school in Mississippi. However, we each have our own bedrooms and bathrooms. Pretty snazzy.

For the first few days, we have taken a lot of tours around San José. Here are some interesting tidbits about Costa Rica.
-Right now we are in the rainy season, which lasts from May to November, because, yes, there are only 2 seasons in Costa Rica. The rainy season means that it will rain everyday.
-Ticos, as Costa Ricans are called, do not use daylight savings time. Do you know what time the sun rises? FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!! And you know what, it´s very bright. Bright enough to wake me up everyday.
-The Chinese government is actually doing a lot in Costa Rica. And by a lot, I mean they are paying $60 million to build the new national soccer stadium.
-Our group of Americans stands out like no other. First of all, on the plane ride over, the guys must have turned into giants because they are all taller than the average Tico. Secondly, we all have lighter hair and light skin. We pretty much shine.
-Ticos eat a lot. My host dad, Herbert, is a 68 year old man that is probably 5' 4'' and 115 pounds and he eats 2-3 plate fulls at dinner. And trust me, there must be CP club award because everybody basically licks their plate clean.
-Before we came to Costa Rica we were told that everyone pretty much spoke some English and we can use dollars. This is a lie. My host mom speaks zero English. And if you use dollars, you get ripped off.

San José as a city is much different than the cities in the United States. First of all, it is not very tall. The tallest building is only 15 stories. Also, everything is very close together. The buildings are right on top of each other. There aren't many large parks either. There are a few small ones in the city center. One is where all the Nicaraugan immigrants hang out so they can be with people of their kind because the Ticos don't really like them. The Ticos love el Teatro Nacional. It´s a super nice theater in the middle of the city where the best performances occur. San José's streets are much different than in the United States. Let's just say it this way, they suck. You have to have four wheel drive because your car would not survive the potholes. Also, people don't have the same concept of driving on the right side of the road. They pretty much drive down the middle until they see another car. They also don't respect pedestrians. You will die if you walk in front of a moving car because it will speed up so that you don't cross in front of it. The houses in Costa Rica are also different than the United States. There are bars over the windows and gates all around the house. I have a key to get in the gate, two keys to get in the door, and there is a dead bolt on the inside of the door. But we've been assured it is very safe. Ticos also like to live in houses, not apartments of condos, so the houses are of varying sizes and quality.

All of the Ticos I have met have been very nice. My host mom cooks us breakfast and dinner, and man can that lady cook. We have close to 10 dishes to choose from at dinner. And she loves her toast. At breakfast, we counted and there were like 25 pieces of toast out for 6 of us. Herbert eats dinner with us. He is very chatty, but also very patient when we do not understand his Spanish. He knows some English, so he translates words and helps us with our pronunciation. Herbert told us he likes Bob Marley and Elvis. Tico men are very outspoken. Like I said before, all us girls with lighter hair definitely stand out. When we walk anywhere, we get lots of greetings and lots of honking. In general, Ticos are very family oriented. Every story Herbert tells is about his family and a trip they've taken. We have only met one daughter, but we aren't home for most of the day. One other thing about Ticos, they have an aversion to shorts. Luis, our tour guide, has told us not to wear our "sexy shorts" in the city because we will attract way too much attention. Girls wear pants even when it's in the eighties. Except they have no problem wearing very revealing shirts. Whatever works for them I guess.

Costa Rica has been great so far. This week we are going to visit 2 coffee plantations and then go on a trip for the weekend. It should be exciting, so I'll keep you all posted!

Adiós!