Hey F’Dale!

Hope everyone’s first week of classes are going smoothly.

So far, my class of the month (Basic 2 Spanish) at Veritas Universidad is pretty good. It is challenging because I haven’t taken a Spanish course since high school; this is definitely going to be my most difficult semester yet. There are 8 students in my class, makes the learning process more personal and beneficial. My professor, who we call “profe,” said she will only give us long homeworks Monday through Thursday, and none for the weekend.

Today, the independent group at Veritas (mostly SUNY Cortland Program students) got a tour of the city of San Jose from Luis, the program coordinator. The city was beautiful! It’s about a 15 minute walk from the University as well. We saw lots of historical sites such as El Plaza Cultura, and the Museo Nacional. We also went to the Artisan Market of San Jose, which is a long building of almost 80 vendors of handmade, local Costa Rican crafts such as bags, jewelry, wallets, blankets, and much more. Here, I also got to practice my Spanish with locals.

After the tour, we went back to school and did our homework (in the coolest spot- hammocks!). Then, housemate Felicia and I went home to finish some homework and eat dinner with our Tica Mom. (Ticos are what Costa Ricans go by) Our meals are at set times that our mom (which we call “Tita”) sets up. Breakfast is at 7:30am, lunch is not provided, but there are multiple delicious places on campus and near campus to eat, and dinner is at 6:30pm. Our Tita is the best cook! Today, she made us chicken and rice and beans, and scrumptious corn bread for desert. Other meals we’ve had so far are tilapia, pork, and tacos, which are all accompanied by rice and beans of course!

This weekend, our group is going to Tamarindo Beach, about a 5 hour bus ride away. This is part of our excursion package, which is awesome. We get to stay in a hotel on the beach and hang out the whole weekend! We can also rent surf boards for only 20 dollars for the whole day! I’m so excited to see more of Costa Rica this weekend, and can’t wait until the week is over!

Pura Vida,

Laura