Playa, Playa, Playa

Yesterday I went to my first tropical beach! It was absolutely gorgeous and the waves were amazing. I would say I have mastered how to not get tossed around by a massive wave! I went with my host dad, and my three host sisters. My host mom doesn't like the beach because she doesn't know how to swim..so I think it is pretty understandable that she gets scared by the waves and isn't very fond of the beach. Also, we unfortunately did not make it to the beach that has monkeys and sloths because of something having to do with the amount of rain, and the beach having a lot of trash. My host dad did explain though that when the weather changes, we will make it to that beach as well!
At the beach, even though it is not tourist season, there were plenty of surfers! Most of them were speaking english, but it was very obvious that they were not from the United States, due to the variety of different accents.

On to a different subject, I am having a fair amount of trouble with my Spanish skills. Languages are most definitely not a strength of mine. I try to talk more and more, but I feel bad when my host family and I or my friends and I lack communication. I know that everyone is trying their hardest to help me, but so far I am pretty unsuccesful as far as picking up the language. I think one of the biggest problems is how I came here for the experience, for the travel, and to become a part of a new culture. As far as those goals, I would say I that has gone extremely well! Although, learning spanish was more of an after-thought for me. I don't see it as a big priority, especially when talking to the other exchange students. 99% of the exchange students are either fluent or almost fluent in english! I enjoy expressing myself through english and learning about complicated ideas and concepts through english rather than being at the same speaking level as a 2 year old.
I also think that my need for change is hurting me a little bit. For most people, change is seen as a bad thing and people fear change. As for me, if I get into a routine and if I am in one place for a long amount of time, I get extremely bored and start thinking of new places I want to see and experience. I am not saying I think I have seen everything there is to see in Costa Rica, because that is 100% not true! Me wanting to see more, is the problem. I have a desire to learn more about the culture and see more of the country.. but it is extremely difficult with the language barrier. Well, that is enough for my ranting. I have 19 weeks left and about 13 weeks left of school, wish me luck!

Tieta

Costa Rican Culture Becomes Normal

For a while now, I have felt at home here but I am beginning to realize how accustomed I am now to their culture and ways of life. I am no longer surprised when I hear people randomly whistle or howl when someone gets up during class, when there are dogs constantly at your feet, when there are thunderstorms that could take away your ability to hear, or when someone pulls a snake out of their backpack on the city bus or at school.

I don't feel like there is much to tell here, as things become normal for me. My adventures most likely are not normal for my readers..but they are normal for me. Such as when we were getting jogotes(delicious fruit) from a tree in the mountains, and were caught in the middle of the biggest storm I had ever seen. I was scared out of my mind while my host family continued getting jogotes from the tree. Of course when we finally made it back to the house safely, the storm was pretty much over. I have made peace with that and the daily thunderstorms no longer frighten me or surprise me the smallest bit.

Second Orientation
Last weekend we had our second orientation to check in on everyone's progress and get the different visas settled. Although many parts of it were broing and repetative, I had a lot of fun. I made friends with more kids from around the world and thoroughly enjoyed comparing my schooling system in the US, to theirs in their country, to here in Costa Rica. The kids from Germany agree that it isn't normal to bring snakes to school for them, either. Although that is besides the point! Mostly from talking to them, I realize how little I know and how much I want to know. I have the desire to learn about each and every culture that I got a taste of this weekend.

Upcoming Weekend
I am extremely excited for this weekend, because I am finally getting the chance to go to the beach with my host family! Apparently they have monkeys there, and sloths, and other animals that I don't know of! I am sure you will be hearing about how that went in my next blog post! Also, on Friday I am not going to school so that I can go to San Jose with my sister to buy a traditional dress of Costa Rica. I need it for something that Naranjo is doing on the 15th od Sebtember..but I am still not completely positive what exactly.

Anyways, I really need to be seeing more improvement in my Spanish skills, so I should go converse with my family! I hope everything is well with my readers and to everyone in South Burlington High School, I hope your first day went well!

Tieta

One Month

I have been in Costa Rica now for just over a month, and I am realizing how little time I have here. 5 more months in this beautiful country with these amazingly nice and open people. 5 more months with the opportunity of a lifetime to continue stepping out of my comfort zone and experiencing everything that Costa Rica has to offer. Unfortunately, I do not have much to talk about for this blog post but I know friends and family are wondering how things are going here and I am trying to update my blog about once a week. So, for this blog post, you are in for a couple short stories.

Snakes And Cockroaches

Last week in school, I held my friend's snake. It was one of those moments where you just need a couple seconds of courage to do something that causes fear to run through your body. Fortunately, the snake was a regular size at this point, but it is the kind that when it gets to be bigger, could easily strangle you without any effort. It took a while after my initial freak out to build up the courage to hold it, but I did! Although, me holding the snake wasn't what surprised me the most about the whole situation. It was the fact that teachers weren't surprised to see a kid bring a snake to school, and the other kids were intrigued enough to want to hold it rather than think that the situation was abnormal in any way. As I was holding it and panicking a little, my friend was laughing and said, "bienvenida a Costa Rica, verdad?" meaning, welcome to Costa Rica, right? So yes, that was a great welcome into Costa Rican culture.

As for the cockroaches, I had to comment on them. I have only seen a couple, but I know a lot of exchange students who have seen multiple. I have only seen one in my room and one in a classroom at school. It is awful seeing people try to kill them, though. It was like a game for the entire class to step on it. Of course, the cockroach didn't die; they never do.

More Rolling Hills Filled With Coffee

On Wednesday, we didn't have school because it was mothers day here. So, my host family and I decided that would be a good day to collect plantain tree leaves..I am not actually positive what they are called but they are massive leaves from plantain trees that they collect around this time of year and cook with in December and January. It was about a two hour adventure there and back with both sunshine and heavy rain taking turns.On the way, we collected guavas, oranges, and lemons to eat there and on the way back. Once again, there was an amazing view of the coffee plants. It was a moment where you realize how big the world is, and how small you really are. When you are looking at enormous mountains such as these, all of your problems quickly shrink to the size of a penny.

I do not have many other stories to share that pertain to life in Costa Rica. Fortunately I have been able to become good friends with another exchange student from the United States who is living a town about 20 minutes away from me. It is good to have her so we can talk and do things together that I can't do with my host family or friends from school. On Saturday I showed her the spot I mentioned in an earlier blog post about the soccer here and how after my family and friends showed me a view at the top of a mountain. We also managed to get our own oranges from an orange tree!

Well, I hope everyone who is reading this is doing well and enjoying hearing about my time in Costa Rica! Less than 5 months to go, and I am ready to do everything I can to enjoy it!

Tieta

The Rain Drags on, and They Continue Dancing/ Happy Goodnight

The rainy season has finally decided to show itself in Naranjo, Alejuela, Costa Rica. Every day for about the past 5 days we have had a fair amount of rain and thunderstorms. I named this blog post The Rain Drags on, and They Continue Dancing beacuse I feel it reflects the tico (Costa Rican) attitude. Ticos/ticas love to dance. If a song comes on that they like, they will get up from the couch and everyone will start dancing and laughing together. A couple nights ago, we were sitting on their porch when out of the blue it started raining harder than I have ever seen. My younger host sister (13 years old) got up, went out from under the roof over the porch, and started dancing to her favorite song with my 16 year old sister. I'm not positive if this is only something common in my host family and their friends, but either way, that one moment summed up their overall attitude for everything.

Happy Goodnight

Happy Goodnight is a saying that my family has created and adopted for their own. Sometimes rather than saying buenas noches before going to bed, they say feliz buenas noches. They once asked me what that is in english, so I gave them the direct translation. Happy goodnight. I tried explaining to them that in the United States, we just say goodnight when we are going to bed, but now every night they insist on saying Happy Goodnight to me. That isn't much of a story, but to me it shows their efforts to make me feel at home.

All is well here in Costa Rica. My spanish is improving, and I am much more confident within the family. The idea of being here for 6 months (about 5 more months now) is settling in. On one hand, it feels like forever, and on the other hand it feels like no time at all. I am trying to focus on living in the moment while I am here and enjoying every second I can, because soon enough I will be back in South Burlington telling stories about my time here in Costa Rica..I need to make sure I have good stories to tell rather than saying I have regrets because I spent too much time thinking about home or what it will be like when I come back. I hope everyone is enjoying the blog and if you want to read about my best friend's journey in Chile, check hers out as well! She arrived in Chile on Friday and just met her host family recently! eebriody.blogspot.com

Adios!

Tieta Keetle

3 weeks

It has now been three weeks since I left South Burlington! It seems like a long time, yet not because I still have a little over 5 months here in Costa Rica! Things are looking up with people at school, I am now sure I have made at least a couple new friends! Everyone is extremely willing to help me understand questions and make an effort to keep me included. They always encourage me to talk more, because they know that's the best way to learn. That is definitely my biggest problem, though. I have never been someone to talk much at school, but now it is necessary I do so if I want to become fluent in spanish and if I want things to get easier with the language barrier.

My host dad was telling me the other day how last year they went on a trip to an island by kayaking there and staying overnight. I'm not sure if it is a yearly thing that they do or if it was one time, but I am really hoping they do it again while I am here!

I don't believe I have mentioned the showers here, and they were definitely a shock. It is more of a spicket in the bathroom with water that literally takes your breath away. Luckily, I am starting to get used to that and I know I will be grateful for it when it gets hot out! I'm hoping that will be soon because I am not enjoying needing my sweatshirt and jeans all the time. On the other hand, our school uniforms are pants and a hot shirt, so maybe the weather should stay a little cold for longer so that I don't over heat during school!

Well, that's it for now! I can't think of much to write about, so if anyone is dying to know something, let me know and I can post the answer so everyone can see!

Tieta

Events In the Past Week

In the past week I have been going to school, and seeing little pieces of Naranjo. On Saturday we went to a town called Zarcero where they had sculptures made out of trees, and once again beautiful views on the way there. After, I met more family and friends when we went to San Juan for a little cousins' birthday party. On Sunday me and one of my host sisters attended a gathering for people in Naranjo and we hiked in the rain forest and planted trees. That was probably my favorite thing I have done so far, because I was finally able to see a different side of Costa Rica and talk with a lot of nice people! It rained a lot, everyone was drenched even with umbrellas, and I loved every second of it. I have been getting very antsy to do more things like that because I have had a lot of free time on my hands that I spend either on the computer or sitting outside the house.

As for school, it has been hard. People make an effort to talk to me, and I feel bad when we can not communicate as much as I would like. A couple of the guys have resorted to using the little they know of english to talk to me because I can´t understand them when they speak in spanish and I can never find the right words to successfully talk to them back in spanish. As much as people try to include me, I don´t feel like I fit in at all. Hopefully that will change soon because everyone in my class is really nice and I would love to get to know them more!

I promise I will post pictures at some point, when I have the ability to ask them how to do it on their computer!

Tieta

Updates!

I thought I would update everyone on things..even though it has only been a couple days. I most likely will not be able to write as much starting tomorrow since that is when I start school. I thought I was starting tuesday, but of course I completely misunderstood my family! It is okay though, we laughed it off!

So yesterday I got to actually see San Jose (since I could not when we landed in Costa Rica because of how quickly it gets dark here) and I liked it..and did not at the same time. It was dirty and had lots of people, but I thought it was also very interesting. I went with Iva and Sofia (two of my host sisters) and they took me to a museum where I learned about the history of Costa Rica. Luckily, they had translations on the plaques for people who only speak english. I found it to be interesting, but my favorite part was when we came across the indigenous tribes that still exist today. I would love to see what their life is like compared to mine in the United States and even compared to other Costa Ricans. I also got a good taste of the rainy season while walking on the streets of San Jose. It absolutely poured with no letting up for a couple hours. There was thunder, a little lightning, and lots of rain..and everyone was surprisingly calm about it. People pulled out their umbrellas, and kept on walking.

Today I had a lot of fun too! My host parents took me to the center of Naranjo so that my host dad could get his haircut and so that we could get some ice cream. Along the way we stopped at the supermarket for some more lessons in spanish, and I learned a lot of new words! It is an incredible feeling knowing how much they want to help me, take care of me, make sure I feel like a part of their family and teach me about their culture while still learning about mine! Anyways, after that we went to a soccer field with a lot of their cousins, aunts, and nieces and nephews to play soccer. I knew soccer was big here, but the amount of people showing up to play was amazing! It is an entire family event for ages 5 to 50! After a while of playing soccer, we walked up a street leading to a view of all of Costa Rica. Along the way we ate a lot of different fruits and I learned about how they make coffee, since the factories were on the way up the hill and at the top was an immense amount of land filled with coffee plants. My host aunt said that in December they help pick things off of the trees to make the coffee. I am excited for that!

I can see why poeple say that Costa Ricans are very open and welcoming. Everyone I meet gives me a warm smile and continuously tries to talk to me and get to know me as a person. I have also noticed, that everyone is always happy! Well, how could you not be when you live in paradise?

My oldest host sister, Sofia just gave me their version of hot chocolate since I mentioned that I like to have it when it is cold in Vermont. It is very good! I am not positive what is in it though..

I have also noticed that they love to dance! It might just be the Baltodano Paniagua family and their friends because they are always playing music, dancing, and singing! I recognize one of the songs they listen to often because it used to be very popular in the US, but I do not remember the title. The radio also plays Justin Bieber, Call Me Maybe, Adele, and Katy Perry. I think it is funny, since they have no idea what the songs are saying!

Well, I should go to bed soon. I have to wake up at 5 30 am for school tomorrow!

Adios!

Tieta

(By the way, if my writing sounds choppy and not very well written, it is because I can not find the apostraphe on the spanish keyboard. Sorry!)