Hilarious Cultural Differences

So I thought everyone would get a kick out of some of these differences. First and foremost this is definitely not a country where they dislike Americans, the day I got here we went to lunch as my parents were on the next flight and they immediately gave me an English menu, I don't know what on earth made them think I didn't speak Spanish but whatever I didn't take it to heart I can tell they just try to make visitors feel at home. Driving is hilarious here, for any of you who have visited a Latin American country before know we all tend to be quiet crazy drivers, forget common sense, but the roads are much better here then I imagined, except in San Jose it is nuts here in San Jose especially in downtown people are all over the streets that the cars can barely get through they even had to make part of the street a pedestrian zone. Distance between major points really isn't all that much but since you are driving up and down mountains it takes quiet a while to get to things. Something I found really interesting were the pulperias, they are street side convenience stores and social outlets for people. I haven't seen them in San Jose but once you get out of city limits they are everywhere. Each area I have visited has had its own unique character and that's what makes then a like and different from one another. Forget stress, people here don't even know what that is, everyone is so laid back always its unbelievable, that spirit catches on and I know I've already noticed that I take time and look at the scenery or just let outside and enjoy the breeze, it is pretty darn amazing. Hopefully this stress free zone will last when classes start on Monday. The university system here is also really interesting there is practically no such thing as a four year college everything is set up like career schools no basics only what you want to study. You can even get a law degree in two years after high school it's actually the shortest program of all and many people go that route, so if you ever get in trouble here there are more then enough lawyers to go around. Ever with what for us might seem like a lack of education because of its career specific approach people here are always on top of national and international news. I even had a run for my money the other day with Jose Eduardo talking about Latin American politics which is my specialty and not his. To go along with the crazy driving is the street system there is no such thing as a street name here and all directions are given to you by landmarks and number of blocks in whichever direction, it is completely confusing to get around so at least I don't have to drive I just have to figure out the bus system. Every place I have been to seems to have beautiful landscaping around their homes and the birds are always in the yard singing, we even have a pair that comes and takes a bath in the bird bath in the backyard. There are no sidewalks here or hardly any and even if you take public transportation you still usually have to walk for a little while to your destination, I really don't like walking on the edge of the street but you really have no choose. This past weekend when I went paragliding I noticed that there are a ton of expatriots that live here, they are everywhere , I've even asked some of them what the process of moving to another country was like, they all seem to say that to Costa Rica it's extremely easy. Even though my ear has already switched to hearing Spanish all the time it's funny when you hear English because it sounds so out of place.

Some words I've found hilarious are below

here they call a giant cookie an ear (in Spanish), the first day they asked me if I wanted an ear I looked at them like they were speaking gibberish

perro is what they said for hot dog

palomitas which for our family is a type of bird here they say that for popcorn

I went to the movies with my Tica family yesterday and we saw the mummy I was thinking it was going to be in English with Spanish subtitles but no it was all in Spanish it's hilarious to watch Brandon Fracher speaking Spanish (clearly he isn't talking in Spanish but it's still amusing)

The malls here are also different from ours outside of city limits they call mall what we would say is just a shopping center, but here in San Jose the mall is 4 stories. You can seriously find everything under the sun at the mall it's truly one stop shopping, there are even groceries inside the malls.

I also think it's funny that we all pretty much know that us Latinos do not understand the concept of being on time, well here they call things that you have to be at on time as "tiempo Americano"- American time. However I find it funny that food here is always served at least in this house at the same time everyday no exceptions.

These are some of things I've noticed that are different and amusing, I hope you enjoyed some of the random word chooses they make that I think are funny.

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica

Well I've officially now been in Costa Rica for about two weeks. My family was here for the first week and a half and now they are back home and I am now with my new Tica family in San Jose, Costa Rica. I'll be referring to my adopted family for the semester as my Tica family as here in Costa Rica they call themselves the ticos just so everyone can be on the same wavelength. In two weeks sooo much has happened. My family and I stayed in San Ramon with family friends for these first two weeks I was here before my classes started here in San Jose. San Ramon is this absolutely gorgeous town located in central Costa Rica in the mountains it is absolutely breathtaking at any hour of the day, whether the sun is rising multiply shades of blue at 5:30 or going down with pinks, blues, and yellows in the evening it is just beautiful. The sun goes down here no later then 6pm and the rosters keep waking me up at 5:30-6am which has definitely been an adjustment but one that I've seemed to made very easily takes to the colors outside you get tired early since it gets dark so early and you wake up early because the sun is out so early. Costa Rica has shades of colors that you didn't even know existed, even with my new really good camera I bought to bring there are not enough shades of blue and green to show all the shades from when you see it in person, but it still takes incredible photographs and really lets you see the true beauty of Costa Rica. When we went to explore other areas we first visited Arenal volcano which is west of San Ramon, it was absolutely incredible to see a volcano so up close and person it is just something completely out of this world. On our way to Arenal about half way between San Ramon and Arenal is San Lorenzo which is known to be the best place to go ziplinning in Costa Rica, amazing!!! Everyone should do this at this once in their life it is just beautiful and an incredible adrenaline rush. We also visited Zarcero which is known for its beautiful gardens and topiaries in their town center which is directly in front of this beautiful church that has really unique architecture, it is just a gorgeous place to see even when it is raining like it was when we got there. After Zarcero that day we also visited Sarchi. Sarchi is the artist capital of Costa Rica, they are known for their wood furniture and crafts, it is incredible what they can make out of wood it is just out of this world. They make all sorts of crafts with the about 10 different styles of wood found here, I even bought jewelry made of it, and you all know I'm not a jewelry person that's how beautiful it was. We also went and visited the Poas volcano and La Paz waterfall gardens. Poas unfortunately was completely invisible the day we went but we got just a brief glimpse and even that was breathtaking. From there we went to close by La Paz waterfalls and gardens. This place has been one of my biggest highlights so far, incredible. The waterfalls are the last thing you see there are multiply exhibits before you start the hike down through the waterfalls. There is an aviary exhibit with all sorts of exotic birds from all over Costa Rica, there is also a monkey exhibit, a stunning butterfly exhibit, and a hummingbird garden. It was just sooo beautiful and that was all before you saw the incredible waterfalls. By far my favorite touristy place in Costa Rica. We went to see my Tica family while my family was here so they could meet them before they left, so that day with the wonderful help of our escort Jose we went to San Jose meet them, saw the Pre-Columbian and the gold museum and the national theatre. From San Jose on the way home we went to Cartago. Cartago also has its own personal flavor, it is known for the ruins of an old church and their Basilica de la Virgen de los Angeles, this was a really interesting cathedral because it was only gray and white on the outside but very colorful on the inside it was really a unique sight to see, but I'm a personal fan of ruins so I absolutely loved those. Those were all the major sights that we saw around the country while my family was here, but we also explored San Ramon where we stayed and got to meet friends of our family friend who we had gone to visit. After my parents left this past weekend me and Jose Edwardo went paragliding. Jose Edwardo is a personal friend of our family friend who invited us to their house in San Ramon, he has just been absolutely wonderful and has really helped my family and I find our way around Costa Rica. Well he is a licensed paragliding pilot and he goes every weekend to Punta Cana about an hour outside of San Ramon to go paragliding. He even owns his own business doing this on the weekends, I will be posted his info later as I don't have it near me but if you ever come to Costa Rica it is by far one of the coolest experiences I have had while here and I highly recommend it and Jose Edward is a great pilot I really felt completely safe flying all over. You really truly feel like you are flying, well yeah I know you basically are, but still it is just incredible to fly over the ocean, mountains, trees, and other landscapes of Costa Rica. I went both this past Saturday and Sunday and it was just an incredible experience. I also got to finally go to the beach after flying on Sunday so that was a great way to end my time in San Ramon. Today I came back to San Jose and have moved in with my host family for the semester. We all get along really great and we have a ton in common so that makes it a really easy adjustment. The house also has three mascots, they have a rabbit and a small parrot, but they also have a beautiful visiting hummingbird set that comes the backyard all the time. As you can tell I'm really enjoying my time in Costa Rica, I just may never go back home :), jk Eddie I promise I will be at your meets :) . I am uploading some photos while we speak and will finish tomorrow. I am posting all of them and them separate folders that are listed as my favorites, for those of you who don't have time to see them all go there and if you love them and want to see more feel free to check out the rest. Here is the link again for the photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/LuvLatinDance

Hope you enjoy them!

Coral :)

Update from junior year

Junior year was quick and long at the same time. I took full loads both semesters so that I could graduate early in December. My junior year took me on another adventure to Nashville, New Orleans, Mrytle Beach, and home for the first long period of time since the beginning of my college. This year I had two internships, one with the local school district next to my university, and this summer in the language and translation department of a hospital. While I know that's a short and sweet review it wasn't really a year based on fun it was far more academic I did have plenty of new places to see and a few really wonderful nights out with my friends. Feel free to see some of those pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/LuvLatinDance

I am now leaving this weekend for Costa Rica where I will spend the next 5 months. Check back at the blog and the picture link as I will be posted quite a bit about my new adventures.