Meeting the Family

Hola!

Yesterday I met my host family! They are all extremely funny, nice, and outgoing. I love them! The only problem, is I have no idea what they are saying when they talk to me. It is very stressful and I can see how it is easy for exchange students to just lock themselves in their room because of how difficult it is to communitcate. Although, I will try my hardest to not do that! (I dont even have a door to my room so that will make it easier) It is also very easy to notice how close each family is. Basically everyone in the neighborhood either has a connection to my host dad, or my host mom.

My host dad is very helpful! Even though I can not understand him when he talks, he taught me plenty of new words yesterday! Such as scissors (tijeras), cup (baso), and many others! It is really nice to know that they want to help me and make me feel at home here!

The landscape in Naranjo is absolutely gorgeous and I really enjoy the simplicity of everything. The houses are all very small, they dry their clothes on lines outside and people are always around the house visiting with eachother. I met a large part of their family within the first couple minutes of being here! Also, there are lots of dogs running around. Lots!

So, if you are wondering how I am doing mentally, I am not even sure myself. I am extremely happy to be here and learn about their culture, but it is really hard to keep laughing at myself when I make mistakes. I miss everyone back home, and since I have only been here about a day, I still have to learn their cultural norms. Such as, last night when family left, my host cousin leaned in to kiss me on the cheek and I was so confused as to what he was doing! I just stood there and so he leaned in more and kissed me on the cheek and said adios. I was extremely embarressed, but I think he understood.

Well, wish me luck for my second day! Hopefully I will get to see more of Costa Rica!

Adios!

Tieta

"See You In 6 Months"

Hey everyone!

Today I leave for Costa Rica from Miami, Florida with the other 11 kids who will be spending any amount of time in Costa Rica through AFS. It is absolutely unbelievable thaty I will be meeting my host parents and sisters in just a couple days! I'm extremely excited though! As wierd as it seems, the closer I get to meeting them, the less nervous I am. I talked to my host mom last night and she explained to me that they all are very excited to have me and are very patient and love me already! That definitely comforted me a lot! So, I promise next time I will write a longer, more thought out blog post when I actually have something to write about. Until then,

To everyone in South Burlington, Vermont,

I will see you in 6 months!

Switched Family & 19 days!

I believe the countdown is now at 19 days for when I arrive in Miami! So that would make it 21 days until I leave for Costa Rica! I also have a new host family for health reasons within my old family. Fortunately, I am in contact now with both families! My old host mom gave me her number so that I will still have the opportunity to meet her and her family! Now I have 3 host sisters who all seem incredibly nice; two of which  I have been talking to about what to expect and what life is like in Costa Rica. One of them told me my spanish was really good! Unfortunately, I had to admit that I had been using google translate in order to understand what she was saying and to help with words I couldn't find from spanish class..oh boy. Trying to talk to them really makes me realize how hard this is going to be! That just makes it all the more exciting, though! It is so great to have everyone's support and I still can't believe I have this opportunity.

Adios!

Tieta Keetle

Just Going Through The Motions

The countdown begins at 30 days! Only 30 days until I leave for Miami..!! As evident as it is in the title, I am just going through the motions of getting ready for the semester I will be spending abroad. The Health Form Addendum, Activity Waiver, looking for clothes and mosquito nets.. the whole package! Everyone asks me if I'm nervous.. but honestly it doesn't seem real yet. It most likely won't until I am greeting my family with a half frightened, half overly excited smile and a quick "Hola!" It's going to be so exciting!! Things are happening. Good things. It's amazing. This will be my first time flying on a plane without someone I know! It will also be my first time out of New England, let alone the United States and speaking Spanish consistently! Wow, lots of firsts..and that is definitely not all of them.

I can't wait to be uploading pictures of my host family and all of the animals and bugs I see! Haha, there will probably be lots!

Host Family And School

I forgot to mention that I found my host family and school!! I haven't gotten a chance to e-mail them yet, since my Spanish isn't very good, and I'm waiting for my neighbor to help me who is fluent in Spanish. I have one host brother who is about 4 or 5 months younger than my actual brother who is 18, and a host mom, and a host dad! They all seem incredibly nice and I can't wait to talk to them! I will be in a rural town called Naranjo, Alejuela Costa Rica! Two months is not a lot of time to get ready, yet it seems like all the time in the world and I keep waiting for the day to come when I fly to Miami and meet everyone else going to Costa Rica as well!

Just A Little Over A Month

There is just a little over a month until I leave for my new life in Costa Rica! So exciting! I've been able to fund raise just about everything for the tuition of $10,000 and the money was sent in a few weeks ago! I've been researching, getting my plane ticket to Miami, Florida, getting vaccinations, and reminiscing with friends about everything I will be missing in the 6 months I will be gone, yet how much of a great experience this will be. I'm beyond excited, and a tad nervous. I try to subdue the nervousness by realizing how this will literally change everything I know.

ACCEPTED!

Today I got an e-mail from AFS reading exactly this:

"Congratulations! AFS-Costa Rica has just accepted your application!"

Immediately I started questioning it in disbelief, but this entire opportunity is finally feeling like a reality!! I honestly want to start packing right now, my departure will be coming up so fast!

Please keep donating money in the ChipIn! We just raised about $700 at a fundraiser, which is only a small chunk of the $10,000 needed but it adds to everything else that we have come up with! I have been hearing from family members, businesses, and family friends. Thank you so much to everyone supporting me!