Hey everyone!

This semester isn’t like any other for me; I’m spending it in Costa Rica at Universidad Veritas! The process of enrolling in the program was very smooth, as SUNY Cortland, the Veritas Program Advisor for SUNY students, and the Study Abroad Advisor, Jessica from Farmingdale were so helpful! If any of you are considering studying abroad, you definitely should! It’s great because you can choose from any SUNY school’s program, as long as courses match your major’s criteria!

It didn’t completely hit me until I boarded the plane this past Saturday. After a 5 hour flight, I arrived at the Juan Santamaria Airport and went straight to Customs. The woman who helped me asked if I spoke any Spanish, and I said a little. From there, she only spoke Spanish; it was scary but felt good to be able to understand and respond even though I only remember basics from high school.

Outside of the airport, I was greeted by Luis, Verita’s Program Director. Luis took me straight to my new home in the Zapote District of San Jose, about 30 minutes from the airport. What an experience, arriving to a foreign country and getting dropped off to a new family! I received the information about my host mother a couple of weeks before departure, so at least I had an idea of who I would be living with for 4 months. She is such a nice woman, and funny too.

To my surprise, she doesn’t speak 1 word of English! It was very difficult and overwhelming at first, but throughout the day it got more comfortable. She showed me to my new room and made me a delicious meat empanada for lunch. After, she showed me the school and took me around the neighborhood. It’s only a 5 minute walk to the school which is great! Another student from the SUNY program, Felicia, arrived later that night to the house, as she will be living with us as well.

A day later, I am definitely starting to feel comfortable here and my host mother is extremely helpful to us with our Spanish, and always compliments our progress. We haven’t even started our Spanish courses yet, so I am eager and excited to be able to start using what I learn outside of class.

Tomorrow is orientation and I am excited to go to my new school… I feel like a freshman again! We will get a tour of the city/capital, San Jose.

For you all back at Farmingdale, I hope your semester starts off great and good luck!

Til next time,

Laura Maneri