Just smile and nod!

I have officially been in the country for over 3 days and am finally starting to get used to things a little bit down here. I have been fighting exhaustion, and unfortunately, I have not had much coffee. I have yet to get through more than a half cup of it down here, as it is very very very strong! For my readers who have known me over the past couple of years, I drink coffee like it's my job! We will see if my taste buds adapt as the summer progresses.

The other foods I have had over the past few days are much sweeter than I am used to. I enjoy the sweetened iced tea, oatmeal cooked in milk and sugar, and a chocolate cake with dulce de leche (a caramel type filling) in the center. Additionally, the fruits here are splendid! I have had mango on multiple occasions, freshly squeezed passion fruit juice, and a new one I tried today: granadilla. I personally was not much of a fan of granadilla, as its seeds were bitter.

granadilla

I have also had pizza here twice, once at my host mother's (also referred to as my Mama Tica) daughter's home, and today after the yesterday after orientation at the university. Overall, the pizza is the same as in the United States, but I was delighted that their vegetable pizza was contains eggplant and zucchini in addition to the typical vegetables. My favorite discovery, however, was the plantain chips. They remind me a bit of Pringles, actually!

As I mentioned earlier, my adjustment to Costa Rica is by no means instantaneous. I have had much difficulty understanding the language while speaking with my host family, but I am trying to get better! My host family is very patient with me, and the adult daughter can speak some English. She has repeated more than once that I should not be afraid to talk in Spanish with them. Additionally, many of the other American students speak more Spanish than me, and while that is somewhat discouraging, they are more than willing to help me figure out how to say what I want. I am sure that once classes really get underway, I will pick up the language even faster! However, in the meantime, I have found that smiling and nodding works really well! Adding a "bueno" or "sí" here and there does not hurt either!

The climate here is definitely not what I am used to: hot, humid mornings with bright sunny skies, only to be followed--like clockwork!--with torrential downpours every afternoon. While the rain is somewhat annoying, it certainly cools down the temperature and lowers the humidity. The thunder is crashing, booming, and easily every other word that means loud! I always say, if it is going to rain, it better thunderstorm, and I got my wish here! Another difference here is that the sun seems to rise much earlier--it will be bright at 4:30 or 5:00am, and dark by 6:30pm or so. Technically the sunrise is around 6:15am right now, and the sunset is closer to 7pm, but from what I have observed that's a little bit off.

Typical Costa Rican downpour during the rainy season.

Perhaps what I have been most surprised by is the influence of American culture within the marketplaces. While at Mama Tica's daughter's home over the weekend, we celebrated Maripás's (one of the granddaughters) 9th birthday. She had her birthday party the day before and received many clothes from Justice, one of her favorite places to shop. Additionally, between her toys and those of María Paola's (the 3 year old granddaughter that is absolutely precious and lives with us), I have witnessed the young girls' fondness of the Disney princesses. Many of Americans' favorite fast food places (or quick-serve restaurants, as my Dad refers to them) are present here in Costa Rica as well: McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Popeye's, and even Wal-Mart!

Almost dinner time! (El tiempo de cena!)