Hello to my beautiful family and friends

So here are some things I wrote to my friend in an email, I´m not sure if I am repeating anything but I figured I´d copy paste it, it is from a few days agoÑ

" My family is really nice. On the first night communication was really hard between me and Lidea. She picked me up from the bus stop, and all of the gringos (foreigners) were all meeting their tico families really awkwardly… I met Lidea and got in her car, and we went back to her house. It’s interesting because there are no street names or addresses here. I have to commit buildings and shops to memory so that I can find my way. Her house is across from a restaurant and some other apartments. She lives in a sort of apartment/ duplex sort of deal. I have to go through a gate, and then through her front door—there are gates on almost every house here.

Anyways, Lidea has 3 kids—and her husband died several years ago. She sews for a living.. everyday she goes out on her porch and sews clothes. She is so kind. On the first night since conversation was difficult she called her daughter-in-law to translate and ask me if I was comfortable and if there was anything I needed that I couldn’t communicate to her. She reminds me a lot of my mom—so caring and always putting others ahead of herself. She asked if my mom was going to visit and I told her she couldn’t because she doesn’t have enough money and she told me that she could stay in our house!!! Coralina Perez is her 25 year old daughter and she lives here also. Lidea also has 2 sons. One of the sons, Raul Chavez was a famous Costa Rican soccer player apparently—when he was like 17 though. That was one of the few things I understood in Spanish on my first night ha ha. Her other son is Wilber, he lives in New York. Alexandra is his wife, and they have the CUTEST SON in the world—Alexandra is fluent, and her and su hijo precioso (her ADORABLE son) are visiting right now. It’s helpful because Alexandra is fluent in both languages so she been helping me learn new words, and clarifying the rules of the house.. and also giving me tips about safety here and stuff like that.Juaquin. He’s three year olds, and so funny. He is always mumbling in Spanglish. One of his favorite things to do today was throw these fake cockroaches at me.. haha, he also loves music. it was so cute the other day because my family was watching ¨bosillo¨a popular costa rican band on TV, and he had this huge guitar that was 3x the size of him, and he was pretending to be a musician and jamming on the guitar. when the band finished a song on TV, he would scream as if he were a fan in the crowd... LOL


There is a big street called “el paseo de las turistas” here, and it is right across from the beach and my school.

The other night was really fun, I went to the beach with my family and we ate this peanut butter chocolate ice cream/ice thing, it’s like in a plastic zip lock bag and you kind of suck it out but its sooo good. The food Lidea makes is probably the best I’ve had here so far here. I´ve been taking pictures of all of my plates, LOL. One of the favorite things i Had, was maduro.. like mushy plantains cooked in oil and cinnamon. "

Okay, now for my past weekend... it was really fun. I went with a group of 10 other students to a city called Santa Teresa, it is in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. We took a ferrry and then a bus, then a taxi.. transportation waspretty confusing but the way back was much easier since we had a better idea of what to do.

I stayed in my first hostel, it was called tranquillo and it was only a step away from the beach. it was beautiful and nice, there were hammocks everywhere and a community kitchen where they provided free pancakes in the morning. i met a lot of people who were also staying there, travelers.. I was surprised because I met a lot of Israelis, and apparently people from Israel travel often because they are given money and time as a break from the military work they are required to do. ive decided that i want to learn one word in every language that is spoken by the people i meet.. so far i have learned one word in Israeli, cuf cufs, which means flip flops. haha

tHE BEACH and town in Santa Teresa were so beautfiul and peaceful. When the other students and I went out to dinner, it POURED rain though, because it is more of a rainforest town, different from Putnarenas that is on the coast. We commented on how hard it rained to our waiter, and he said that it was not even raining hard''that the tarp above our table would have fallen through if it was actually hard.

there is usually a storm everyday, I have seen so much lightning and heard so much thunder while here. I love it though. When we were riding back on the ferry to Puntarenas a few students and I were on the roof of the boat just standing and watching the rain, it wasnt pouring at that moment but it was so beautfiul and tranquil.

On saturday we had a group trip to a canopy tour. we rode in a nice bus and watched micahel jackson music videos the whole time, lol, since it was his birthday on saturday. I zip lined, which was SO MUCH FUN. I did the super man, which is where trhey strap you in a position like superman.. suspended and lying on your stomach. i felt as if i was flying across the rainforest, it was so much fun

then we went on a boat tour.. where a man got off the boat and found a crocodille.. he taunted it and i saw it in all of its giant glory.. SO SCARY

When i got back i was very tired, so i went to bed at 8 and slept for 10 hours!!lol. it gets dark around 6ish here, and light around 5 in the morning.. so i have gotten o na much earlier sleeping schedule

Today i didn´t do much, i woke up and had fruit and coffee and finished my homework.. then i went walking around the beach by myself, and i visited the two women i wrote about who work at a vendor on the beach.. i´ve been visiting them basically every day.. and i just got back from a run on the beach. I love being near the ocean.. it looks as if it stretches for miles and the clouds above the ocean are always gorgeous and fluffy...

i changed around my classes.. I am taking spanish every day still and salsa dancing but i added a latin american cultrues class.. it will transfer to cal poly which im happy about, i didnt think i could take it because its in spansih btu i hear the teacher is great and funny and actually founded the USAC program.. and he is supposed to speak slow and use words that we know. There are a lot of fun field trips for that class.. to a coffee plantation and i think a few other places.

OToday I had a very funny experience happen to me on the beach. Not really funny, mostly embarrasing! Im having a pretty off day with speaking spanish and there was a couple taking pictures on the pier. I offered.. Puedo sacar una foto de nosotros?? i meant to say ustededs, iaccidentally said Can I take a foto of us? they looked confsued and the girl awkwardly stepped toward me and put her arm around me for a picture. i got really confused and said SORRY, can i take a picture of you guys, not us? they understood then and i took a picture of them. it was pretty awkward. haha.. but oh well, its all a part of the learning experience.

I learned today that my house mom, Lidett, had a miscarriage with her first baby nad it died. We were watching a show on obscure rituals for giving birth, and I akked her how the births of her kids were and she told me. Its sad, it seems like her family has had a lot of tradgedias )trageties= .. i also learned today that carolina, my host sister had a boyfriend who died very recently in a bike accident. He was an ex boyfriend of hers at the time he died. They are such happy and positive people despite what has happened in their lives nevertheless

My house mom is very interested in health.. I was talking to Alexjandra today and she said most people in Costa Rica cook mostly fried foods and not a lot of veggies,she also wakes up at 5 every day to go running on the beach. Im happy that i am in a house where we get to eat healthy. i decided to start eating some meat here though, even though im a vegetarian in the states because I dont want to miss out on trying any of the new food.. its seriously one of my favorite aspects of this trip.

Alexandra also explained to me today that Nicuraguans have a similar relation to Costa Ricans that Mexicans have with Americans. The situation is parallel, many people in Costa Rica don´t like Nicuraguans because they feel that Nicuruguans are coming to Costa Rica and taking their jobs. Nicuragua is a much more third world, poor country and Costa Rica is the richest of Latin America. It´s interesting to see that so many countries in the world deal with parallel issues simultaneously...i heard that nicuragua is very poor and you can relaly see it in the streets, because kids run around naked... id like to visit there, just to be able to see teh difference. apparently you can tell immediately when you cross the border. alexandra was also telling me that people watch a lot of TV in costa rica,even the poorest of families. i rarely watch TV in the states.. but here i like watching it because i feel like it helps me with spanish and its kind of funny sometiems to watch shows im used to like the simpsons when the characters are spouting out words in another language...
im getting a lot more used to the city, and where things are.. today there were aTON more people than im used to on the beach, i guess its because puntarneas is a huge tourist destination for the people in San Jose, since it is warmer and their is an ocean here.



Anyways. Thats it for today, but ill update again soon! I love you all and miss you, please comment on my blog because I enjoy the comments!!
adios,
Kelly

24 o 25 de agusto

today was a really amazing day.. i woke up and had fruit with my house mom Lidett '¡'papaya, pinapple'' and it was so sweet and delicious. after i went to spanish class but my favorite part of the day was the afternoon. i went exploring on my bike, and a local guy with a backpack on waved at me. i was not going to go meet anyone or anything, i was just planning on biking along the waves so i went up to them. they were very nice and they didnt care that i struggled to say some things to them. they asked if i had a boyfriend and i said no, but then they asked again later and i didnt want them to get any ideas so i told them i am married.. ha ha and they believed me and asked me a bunch of questions about my so'called husband. its so crazy here, people are just so open to meeting others. i think a lot of it has to do with how relaxed it is. after meeting the two guys i went along the beach and biked. i haven´t been on the beach much since i´ve been here, so it was really nice. i was by myself and i found a place where i was alone.. which was easy becasue there usually aren´t a ton of people on the beach. i went in the water and spun around in circles ha ha. afterwards my feet were all dirty so i decided to go back to my house to wash them... but then i realized i wouldn´t want to walk in the house with dirty feet... so i heard about some outdoor shiowers and i was trying to find them. its very easy to ask people for directions here, people always wqant to help. a woman sitting next to a mesa'' table, but it can also mean like a little street vendor, she was a large black woman.. i thin kher name is janet.. im so horrible with names since usually they arent names ive heard before. she looked very humble and flashed e a huge smile. so i went over and asked her in spanish where there was a shower to wash mis pies.. feet.. and she grabbed this pipe from under her mesa and like stuck it in a spout in the ground ha ha and it spurted out water so that i could wash my feet while she held it in place. it was so nice. i ended up asking her about the type of food she sold and we ended up talking for a really long time. im amazed that i am already able to have full conversations in spanish.. its not easy''there are times where i stand there hella confused and say no entiendo haha. i asked her about her husbadn who was actually right next to us passed out taking a nap in her car, haha, and i asked about her family and apparently she has 4 grandchildren and 2 children.. then another nice guy came up. he was about the same age as her.. like 50.. he is convinced that me and his grandson would make friends so i told him where i live so he can come find me. we talked a lot and a little girl waddled up next to la mesa and i told them my interest iun volunteering at the day care.. they helped me figure out the word for it in spanish because i used an example to describe it.. thats a good way to figure out words here haha but i told them my interest and Janet_ i think toild me that i should come back and visit her tomorrow and that on friday she will take me to the guardaria so that i could volunteer. i told them how touched i was by the kindness of people in puntarenas and he responded by saying that he loves all of the people of the world.

paz,
kelly

HOLA!!!!

Hey Everyone!
Hola mis amigos y mi familia! Unfortunately, the internet is incredibly slow here so my updates will probably be infrequent. It’s a little easier to just use Word and then copy paste it into this blog.. so here is something I wrote in my bedroom on my first night in Puntarenas:

My friend Candice told me about how much you learn abroad—and I know exactly what she means now. It’s only the first night and I already feel enlightened. Arriving in Puntarenas, I was a little dismayed by its level of poverty, and the house is in worse condition than I imagined. My dismay ended the moment I started to get to know my host mom, though. Her name is Lidea, and she is a widow with 2 children. One of the kids is married and away from home, and her 25 year old daughter lives here. She doesn’t speak any English—but I am very happy and even wrote on my housing request that I’d prefer this just because I know it’s the only way I’ll really get to know Spanish. We ate a delicious meal of fried fish, plantains, rice, beans and salad. I am definitely well fed here. She spoke to me a lot in Spanish, it was confusing, but I for the most part got the jist of what she was saying. She helped me go to a computer lab next store to her house so that I could e-mail my family and tell them that I arrived safely, since my calling “tarjeta” (card) wasn’t working. She knocked on my door and beckoned me to her room… and patted the bed like I should sit. She then handed me the phone—and it was her son’s wife Alejandro. “Hola Alejandro!” I said—thinking I was just greeting her since Lidea had showed me pictures and spoken of her earlier. But then Alejandro immediately started speaking to me in English… saying that Lidea wanted her to translate because she was worried that I was not comfortable or did not know how to ask for something I needed. I told her to assure Lidea that I was fine, comfortable, and very thankful for her kindness. Lidea reminds me exactly of my mom—so caring and patient with her exchange students as well as in general. I noticed on the way into Puntarenas that a lot of people sit outside their homes or outside of tiendas (shops) on the street. There is really a sense of community here, more than I have seen anywhere else. As Lidea and I were driving just a few blocks from where she picked me up, at least 5 people shouted a friendly greeting to her. There is a huge thunderstorm going on right now—I can hear the lightening. This is supposed to happen almost every night I am here—but it is still incredibly warm out. I can’t wait to be outside when it happens so I can really experience it! On the bus from the airport to Puntarenas I was amazed about how beautiful Costa Rica is. There are so many lush trees, we were basically driving directly through a tropical rainforest. When we got to Puntarenas, the scenery changed drastically to a sea-level area, with less trees but a beautiful ocean only blocks away from my home. I can’t wait to explore Puntarenas (and the beach) more tomorrow, as well as the beautiful surrounding areas in Costa Rica. I couldn’t be more happy—and its only the first night!

Sin ce that night, I have had a great time! My mom, Lidea, has a huge family and I went with her to her families house in the country, which was beautiful, as well as her mother's house. I'm catching on to Spanish quickly, I started classes today and my teacher said I could move up a level if i wanted to. I'm not going to though, because the classes will only trasnfer in the track that I am in.
Everyone on my program is nice too. A lot of people have spanish majors and social science (the sutdy of cultures) like me. Mostly they are form the US but there are a few people from Europe as well.
Its funny because my moms daughter in law studied with my program 5 years ago, and she is now married to my moms son!!! Ha ha, she stayed in Lidea's house like me and that is how they met. Isn't that funny?
And apparently Lidea's daughter is a famous soccer player for Costa Rica,not anymore but he was. He plaeyd when he was 17 and his name is Raul Chaves.
This weekend were going to a biology reserve, so I am really excited. I have met a lot of locals as well. Everyone is muy tranquilo aqui... very calm here--they all sit outside at night and are very willing to help you and talk to you in Spanish, even if you are horrible at it haha.
Of the ticos I met (ticos=locals) I met two yesterday who were really nice.. they spoke some english also, and we laughed and taught each other slang words of costa rica and the united states. I got there e-nails and phone numbers so im probably going to hang out with them this week, they are very studious (education is very big here) its a small country but they have like 5 public universities and liike 20 private
Puntarenas has been an amazing experience, I can't even imagine the things I will be seeing on the weekend when I go to otras lugares (other places)
Its funny because Tara would always use spanglish on her e-mails, now I see why--my brain gets confused from siwtching from one lagnauge to the next at any given moment
I haven't been able to take a lot of pictures, unfortunately, because it is kind of easy to get robbed here if you are a gringa (green person/from somewhere else) so i havent really been bringing out anything except for some colones (the local currency here)
I think today i am going to go downtown and buy a notebook for my classes, my new friend Jackie who I have gotten the closest to here is going with me
I met her before we got on the plane and we hit it off, i was even biking qnd exploring by myself the other day and I randomly ran into her, so we have both met each others families
All right, I am about to head out but I'll try to update once a week!!!

Hope you are all doing well, love Kelly