Submitted by Jacqueline Brace on the 2016 winter session program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
I survived the first full week of living in Costa Rica, but not without some culture shock and interesting experiences. On the third night here, a bug of some sort bit me while I was sleeping and I had an allergic reaction and had to be taken to the hospital so that was not very fun. I also had a little bit of culture shock when I found a lizard in my room and my host sister did not freak out while taking it out because I was half crying. We have had a couple excursions so far and it is amazing getting to travel and experience this country.
We visited the capital of Costa Rica which is San Jose and it was beautiful and so lively. There are so many street performers and people just selling anything you could imagine to bring home money for their family. There are a lot of central markets here which are basically just a central area with a ton of vendors selling food, spices, chairs, gifts, etc. We don’t have things like that where I live in the U.S. so it was crazy to see those sorts of places. We also traveled to a few different museums, landmarks and parks. I have been having a great experience so far just learning about their history and their current way of life.