No way, [San] Jose

Hi everyone! Blog post #2 is kinda long, but I'm procrastinating from doing my six page grammar packet and other stuff that's supposed to make me like really good at Spanish or something. Who knows?;) I really appreciate all the love and support. If you want to follow my blog, just enter your email into the email box on the right side of my blog. It should update you when I post something new! Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy some of my crappy pictures and all of this irrelevant info.

5 Things I Have Learned in the Magical Land of Costa Rica

1. Estoy llena & huele rico. Estoy llena is something I say every meal with my Tican mom because she feeds me a monstrosity amount of food. "I'm full" is what I'm saying, but what I really mean is, "please give me proportions an actual human can consume." And I say huele rico pretty much anytime I walk by a restaurant or smell what my Tican mom is cooking. The food literally smells rich. Thank goodness I have to walk everywhere, otherwise I'd be returning to the states 200lbs heavier.

2. I actually already learned this in high school, but totally forgot until I was reminded by my TM (Tican mom) that in Costa Rica, they have a system in place so that certain cars cannot drive on certain days to prevent traffic overload. It goes by license plates and days of the week. For example, if I have a license plate that ends with the number 1 or 2, I cannot drive on Monday. How interesting is that? Here, they just deal with it, but if they set this up in the United States.... riots, riots everywhere. People have to get where they want, when they want. 

3. Every single house is gated. My house has two gates; the first gate is to get out of the street and into the front yard. The second gate allows you to enter the porch so that you can go through the front door. It's honestly a pain in the butt having to open it up every single time or shout from out on the street to my friends to let me in, but I appreciate the safety aspect. It's great because you can leave your windows and doors open without worrying about any weirdo breaking in. They're big on house safety here because apparently it's dangerous. I wonder if their dangerous is my dangerous? I hate to break it to them, but those gates won't keep out all the stupid cockroaches. NOBODY IS SAFE!!!

4. Juice, man. Juice is the stuff here. They make it fresh in their homes everyday. I've had all kinds of juices. My favorite so far was a mix of carrots and oranges. It sounds gross, but it was the bomb. I was also served papaya juice and I think I died a little. Papaya is probably one of the nastiest things I have ever consumed. It was like drinking healthy garbage.

5. I hate being an outsider. I didn't realize how uncomfortable it felt to be considered different until I came here. We're stared at, yelled at, smiled at, the whole shebang. I actually feel self-conscious in a way because I know that I stand out. I kinda fit in a little in that I have darker hair and tanner skin, but everything about me still screams USA. I've been informed numerous times that North American girls are kind of a hot commodity here. I've just learned to ignore it. Note: can someone please tell males that contrary to popular belief, girls don't actually enjoy being whistled at like dogs. Idk, maybe that's just me? My teacher also warned us today about how male and female relationships work here. In the US, guys and girls are friends, hangout, and it's totally normal. Here, if a guy tries to talk to you, it's because he's into you and wants to pursue you. Apparently guys and girls can't really just be friends here. She said some girl in her class accidentally led on a Costa Rican for awhile. LOL, old habits die hard. 

So there you have it, the five things I have learned in my big ole one week here. As far as other stuff, everything is going great. Everyday gets easier and a little more enjoyable. I had the chance to play volleyball with some of the missionaries and students at ILE (the school I'm going to - pictured below).

It's so cool to hear their stories. I usually ask the same three questions: "Where are you from?" "Where are you going?" "How long have you been here?' It's pretty much like the first week of college all over again. They're all super nice and funny. I've always been acclimated with missionaries, but after meeting a few of them and seeing them put in the work here at ILE to learn Spanish so that they can use it on the mission field, I understand better what kind of sacrifices they're making and how awesome it is that they're following God's call for their lives. And shoutout to my fellow gringos! I've already had many days full of laughter thanks to these people. I'm thankful that I came here knowing people. Here's to the next three months, Naz buddies! Chao!