My Embarrassing Life

This afternoon was kind of frustrating, but I’m trying to tell myself that everyday is a new adventure. Kristin and I went to the cell phone store (which by the way, they also sell furniture and washing machines?) with my host mom because we needed help understanding the cell phone people after what happened yesterday. Anyways, we bought a phone line and a “chip” but once they put them in our phones they still didn’t work! So now we have a phone number and a sim card but no phone for it. Seriously? This simple thing is becoming quite complicated!! The people in the cell phone store were talking sooo fast and I was so thankful my host mom was there to help us- the man would talk to us and Kristin and I would immediately look at my host mom for help. She would repeat it for us slowly so we could understand J I bet the people in the store thought we were stupid because all we gave them was one blank stare after another! My host mom is so nice and understanding (and funny!), and I’m so grateful to have her helping me everyday with Spanish. My strategy in life here is “when in doubt look at my host mom” because she always knows what I need help with or what I’m trying to say. She also has made every situation better for Kristin and I when we’re feeling embarrassed about our language barrier or just frustrated. Today after we got back to the cell phone store the three of us were telling my 2 aunts what happened and my host mom stops us and says “even though it was frustrating, everything is okay because the boy helping us was very cute!!” She can always help us find a way to laugh J

Afterwards Kristin and I met some friends at the park where the fiestas are happening right now and we tried some food that a lot of people had on their plates. I think it was called a Chorreada or something along those lines…EW. Seriously, it was so nasty!!!!! It was this corn tortilla/pancake looking thing with a white glob of stuff on top (which looks like mayo according to Kristin), but the sign said it was “dulce”  (sweet), but no! I almost couldn’t swallow it because it was so bad, and I was laughing which didn’t help either! Kristin took a photo of my expression which I’ll have to post later-you’ll understand how bad it was then...now below).  But as we were ordering, this lady came up to us and asked if the stuff on the counter was sugar and we shrugged so she took some, and we decided to take some too. Turns out this “sugar” was actually salt which did not help with the taste of the nastiness white mayo looking stuff. Needless to say I had one tiny bite and I decided I was full.

Lunch is the main meal of the day here, and we come home for lunch everyday around 12:30. Most families also don’t eat dinner-which is really different for me because usually I have a small lunch and a larger dinner. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, probably due to nerves, so I haven’t been wanting dinner at night but I’m pretty sure my host mom thinks I hate her cooking because I’m always saying no when she offers me food. The food here is a lot different than I expected. Almost everything we eat is pretty plain, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but almost too plain. There are certain foods that don’t have a taste at all or they taste completely different than they do at home. Like yesterday we had spaghetti with a sauce I’ve never seen before, but the spaghetti didn’t taste like the kind we have at home. The sauce had vegetables in it that were all sorts of colors and even though I have no idea what they were, they tasted pretty good! Every morning my host mom makes me eggs with rice and beans, I don’t like eggs at all, but these eggs have a different texture so I can eat them a little easier, as long as I have a big glass of juice to help. Oh, also, my family thinks I’m crazy for not liking coffee.

I’ve made a list of embarrassing things that have happened to me:

1.                    My little sister tells everyone I meet that I am a “gringa” who doesn’t speak Spanish.

2.                    Everyone comes up to my friends and I on the street to ask for directions. It might be because we’re always standing on a corner trying to figure out where we are, but why on earth would you ask the only tourist-looking people for directions?!

3.                    I can’t lock the gate to my house. My host mom has to come help me every single time.

4.                    I can’t count money to save my life! I stand there looking at every coin trying to figure out what is what and under all the pressure I can’t add it up! I really hope more places start taking my credit card.

5.                    Every time I walk in the door my host mom asks me “se pierde?!” (did you get lost?!) Yes. Always yes. Part of my problem is that I have to look down when I walk because the sidewalks have tons of holes and cracks, and in front of every house is a different type of sidewalk or tile on a different level. I can’t look up very often or I’m going to fall so I don’t know what store is where, since again, NO STREET SIGNS.

6.                    Kristin and I have to hold hands when we cross the street or a car will hit me. It’s already almost happened twice-she had to put the mom arm out to stop me.

7.          I was speaking Spanglish to Kristin yesterday at her house and her brother who speaks English couldn't stop laughing at me. 

I could go on but I can’t think of anything else right now, even though there are more than a million embarrassing things that happen to me everyday. That’s about all I have for now, but I’ll update you with new adventures that have occurred over the weekend. ¡Hasta luego!

First Few Days in Tica Land

Sorry it has taken me so long to update this, I don’t have internet access on my laptop at home and I’ve been so busy with orientation the past few days. Plus, if I wanted to go somewhere to use the internet I would most definitely get lost! I’m at Kristin’s now, her family was kind of enough to let me borrow their internet J These past few days have been good, although overwhelming with all the Spanish. It’s hard to wake up in the morning and start thinking in Spanish right away! My host mom is so nice, she talks slowly and she can tell immediately when I don’t understand something and she figures out a different way to say it for me. My host sister speaks English so sometimes she helps translate when I don’t understand but she’s only home in the evenings so I don’t see her very often. The little girls, who I also call my sisters, although technically I think they would be my host nieces, talk so quickly I can’t understand! The youngest is so cute though, she holds my hand every time we are walking down the street.

          Kristin and I live close which is great because we get to spend time together outside of school, and I can’t get anywhere without her!!  J There aren’t any street signs here, so we’ve been trying to memorize where to turn by the store signs. We have been figuring out that there are multiples of each store so our strategy doesn’t always work. Two days ago Kristin and I got lost for an hour trying to find our way home from school, my family laughed when we told them the story.

Kristin, Hillary, Sydney and I decided to walk around “las fiestas” last night, San Ramon is in the middle of The Festival of the Saints so there is a lot going on around town. We stopped at a store to ask about buying a sim card for our cell phones, and the lady in the store was talking so fast we couldn’t understand a word she said. As if we weren’t embarrassed enough, she started talking louder thinking we couldn’t hear her! Everyone in the store was laughing at us but we were laughing at ourselves too, the whole thing was pretty funny and embarrassing- we left without the sim card… The four of us went out for dinner and the restaurant was near closing time so they apparently didn’t have very much food left. The waitress recommended “arroz con pollo” so we all ordered that with passion fruit juice. During our meal it started storming with thunder, lightning and a TON of rain. It was extremely loud and every time lightning struck the four of us jumped, while everyone else stared at us. I didn’t think it was possible to have more rain than Washington/Oregon. The power went out during dinner but came back on quickly, it scared me because there’s no way we would have made it home without any street lights -it’s hard enough during the day!

I hope all is well with everyone, ¡chao!

"See You Soons"

I have decided to start a blog while I'm studying abroad in Costa Rica! I'm hoping to keep it updated so family and friends can see what kind of adventures I'm up to, we'll see how long it lasts though :)

I have been emailing with my host sister these past few weeks who has also helped me feel more comfortable with my departure. I will be arriving to a big family of my host mom, her daughter who still lives at home with her husband, and their two daughters ages 4 and 8 as well as my Aunt. I'm mostly excited about the two young girls who won't judge me when I have silly questions about vocabulary and everyday terms!

I leave Monday morning and I can't believe how quickly August 27th has come. I remember getting my acceptance letter in the mail thinking I had forever until it was time to leave and now I'm leaving in just three short days. "See you soons" to friends and family have been hard, but I know my limited time in Costa Rica will fly by and I will be seeing everyone when I return in December. :)

Guess I better start practicing my Spanish vocabulary now...