When I arrived at the San Jose airport yesterday I immediately noticed one major difference: everything was in Spanish! For the most part I was able to follow the signs to make it through customs, but a low point was when I, a senior in college, had to secretly follow a group of ten year old boys to find my way. I made it through the zoo of taxi drivers all asking if I needed a cab, even though each of them had clearly heard me tell the one before that I did not. Finally I saw my knight in shining armor, the Whitworth Program Assistant, and I quickly ran over to him. I noticed as we were walking through the crowd that instead of saying "No thank you" to the taxi drivers, he was saying "No gracias." I made a mental note to remind myself that I was actually in Costa Rica.
After a short car ride through San Rafael I arrived in San Jose de Heredia at the Whitworth Center and met my temporary roommates. We will be rooming together only until tomorrow, when we will move in with our host families. I found out that both of the girls will be staying the entire summer, as I am. I am looking forward to sharing the experience with them.
Today is a "free day," because most students will be arriving this afternoon. My roommates and I, along with the 16 year old daughter of one of the professors, Nina, took what we found out to be a very uphill morning hike.
After our walk we ate a lunch of rice, beans, chicken, fresh fruit, and salad. Apparently my preliminary worries about the cleanliness of the water were unnecessary; I have been drinking tap water all day. At lunch, we experienced our first Costa Rican downpour, and learned that the type of diagonal and wavy rain that's prominent is locally called "El Pelo de Gato," or "Hair of the Cat." I couldn't pick up on why it is called that because of the language barrier. Maybe cats have wavy hair? I will make a mental note to do more research on that later. I had another language barrier experience when I was speaking with the wife of a professor, who either informed me that it is good to exercise at 5:30 in the morning, or that it is not good to exercise at that time. I will make a mental note to explore that topic some more as well.
After lunch I saw an "outdoor dog" slouching his head in acknowledgement of his breaking the rules by sitting on the inside rug while the door was open. I gave him a pet, and noticed he was soaking wet! The poor dog just wanted to come inside for some shelter from the rain. I told him his secret was safe with me.
Another cool part of Costa Rica-- there are dogs everywhere! It's great, except when they are trying to attack you. Each homeowner has about 30 small dogs that ferociously bark at you when you walk within a close proximity of their land. Some are behind a wire fence and some are not given those restraints. I was told to walk with a big stick and hiss at the dogs when they walk by. I asked if, instead, I could just bring treats and throw them in the opposite direction for the dogs to chase while I make my escape, but received blank stares. I think I will try it anyways.
Tomorrow we will be completing a "treasure hunt" in San Rafael to familiarize ourselves with the area, and then we will meet our host families for dinner at six. I am feeling bittersweet about moving in with my host family; I am looking forward to meeting them and being able to unpack, however I am enjoying how things are now and don't want things to drastically change quite yet. I'm looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings!
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