Do you know the way to San Jose?

Well, hello!

The last two days in Costa Rica have been all about orientations and San Jose.

Yesterday, we had our orientation for ISA (the program I am here with). They told us all about our program, expectations, how to stay safe ("The cockroaches come out at night, so do bad people"), and most importantly, our excursions!! This Friday, we will be taking a six-hour bus trip to Tamarindo, Guanacaste and staying in a 5-star resort on the beach. The next weekend we will be driving to Arenal Volcano and hot springs and staying at a 4-star resort there. (Make sure you click the links). During the orientation, we got Costa Rican snackfoods and te frio (iced tea...es mi favorito!). After the orientation, they took us on a bus tour of the city, and I took lots of picture while it was appropriate to look like a gringo (foreigner). Here's a little sample:

Today, we had our Universidad Veritas orientation and oral interviews for our Spanish class placement. Afterwards, my roommates and I walked into San Jose and went shopping. Even though my feet hurt at the end because I wasn't wearing the correct walking shoes, it was a great experience. I really enjoy the city. There are all kinds of shops, panaderias (bakeries), pastelerias (bakery for pastries), sodas (little restaurants that service local food), fruit stands, etc. I bought some notebooks for my classes tomorrow, a little notebook to write down addresses and important information (like taxi registration numbers, etc), and these funky galletas (cookies) with guava jelly in the middle (for funsies). I want to try to make a point to buy an empanada and some mamon chinos from street markets before I leave San Jose. When it started getting dark, we tried to find the bus station. When that failed, we took a Taxi. The taxis here are very cheap (I paid about $4), and they generally look like this:

Our driver was very nice and helpful and even spoke a little English. He even taught us some Spanish.

We start classes tomorrow, and I have a full day ahead of me. My elective class is in the morning, I have an ISA weekly meeting in the afternoon, then lunch, then my Spanish class is in the afternoon until 6pm. Then dinner at my homestay at 7pm.

My homestay has been very good. My other roommate got here late Saturday night, and she is very nice. The family has three dogs (and a cat that I haven't seen yet), and the two that are let out are very friendly. One of them, Camilo loves to pick up rocks and play futbol with them. It's so cute. Here's a picture I took of him yesterday, when he had to wear a cone.  He's waiting for me to kick the rock back to him:

The food has also been very good. The first night, our host mom made us arroz con carne (beef and rice) and some salad. For breakfast the next day, we had eggs and gallo pinto (literally "spotted rooster" - it's rice and beans mixed together and it's yummy), as well as papaya and toast and orange juice. Last night, she remembered we said we liked fish and made fish, potatos, and green beans for dinner. This morning, we had cereal and a bunch of fruit. I got to try starfruit for the first time. It was very sour and I loved it so much. New favorite fruit. Tonight, she couldn't be here for dinner, but she left us spaghetti (yes, spaghetti) and chicken and CUPCAKES.

So...in the last few days, here is what I have learned about San Jose and Cosa Rica:

• Costa Rica can fit 15 times into Texas.
• Free education and healthcare, no army, but abortion and the morning after pill are illegal.
• Todas las frutas!
• You can't flush toilet paper down the toilet here...for  a variety of reasons. Instead, you put it in a trash can next to the toilet.
• The showers are scary-looking. The shower head is what makes the water hot. You can only have pressure or heat. The lower the water pressure, the hotter the water. The higher the water pressure, the colder the water. You also can't touch the shower head while it's on. It will shock you.
• They drive like maniacs. And they honk for everything. If a car passes by you and honks (which happens a lot), it's probably just because you're a gringo.
• Foreigners are called "Gringos". Costa Ricans are called "Ticos".
• Costa Ricans have huge fences around their properties with barbed wire. Apparently they're just risk-averse and it's kind of like a competition to see which house in the neighborhood can be safest.
• Blow-drying doesn't really work here. It's very humid.
• Ticos don't mind being in your personal bubble.

And probably more...but this blog entry is long enough and it's late. More soon!

Chao luego!