It may seem that I’m not actually studying here in Costa Rica based off of my blogs, so I thought I should describe my daily life here in San Jose.

I wake up every day at 6:30 am. Que torta! (How awful!) I eat breakfast with my housemate and Tica mom at 7:30 and walk to school which takes about 5 minutes. Spanish class is 8-12, but I like my schedule because then I have the whole day free..to study. I am dedicating much more time than I had thought to my studies here. Even if I don’t have a test, it’s important to keep up with practicing because it’s very easy to forget certain things. These intensive courses aren’t a joke!

After class, I get lunch from local restaurants or bakeries nearby (lunch isn’t included at the host houses). The food is delicious in Costa Rica. A typical meal is Casado-choice of chicken or fish, with plantains, rice and beans, and salad. Yum! Rice and beans are served with basically every meal. My meals won’t feel complete without it when I return to the U.S.! Dinner is included, so we eat at 7pm.

Another thing is that I had to learn to use a different form of money- Costa Rican Colones. At first it was very confusing saying “1million Colones.” 1 Costa Rican Colone is equal to 0.0019 U.S. Dollars. The money is so pretty too! Also, here, I am 2 hours behind the United States, so when I arrived, I went to sleep so early!

It rains almost every day here since it’s the rainy season, but not for the whole day! So, it’s vital to bring a rainjacket or umbrella with me to class every day, because you never know if it will rain!

A downfall of the cabs here are that they rip off the gringos (white people) by taking longer routes to get to the destination. Also, it’s really hard to explain directions here because there are not normal addresses. For example, my house is located 200 meters south of Auto Bohios. Phew!

There are also many cultural customs here. “Tico Time” means that being late is being about 20 minutes late. So, if people make a date, it is normal to arrive 10 minutes late. So laid back! I like it because my professors are always about 10 minutes late to class! “Pura Vida” is what all of the Ticos say. It means Pure Life, how calming! Another word is “tuanis” meaning too nice.

Public transportation is very popular here. There are cabs everywhere just like New York City. I sure am not too much of a city person, so on the weekends, I explore the rest of Costa Rica by taking public buses which are about 5mil Colones for one direction. They’re so easy and pretty cheap to take! There are also so many hostels here in Costa Rica for a very low price, so that is usually my choice.