Adjusting to life in Costa Rica – Jake Nolte

Hi, my name is Jake and I’m an MIS major at Texas A&M University. I decided to study abroad because I haven’t experienced many opportunities to visit and explore other cultures and countries so far in my life. CIBS offered an amazing opportunity to learn about businesses in Costa Rica, getting to spend 2 weeks staying around the country. So far, I have had a blast learning about the culture here. Some of the big culture shocks involve an automatic 13% tip included in dining, adjusting to the value of colones compared to the US dollar, and every day Costa Rica’s day of life. In my homestay, I live with a retired couple named Patricia and Ricardo. They have been wonderful host families and very hospitable in their time with me. The first interaction between my host family and I was very unique. With me knowing little Spanish, I found it difficult and awkward at first to communicate with them. However, with the use of Duolingo and Google Translate, I have slowly started to learn to communicate with them in Spanish, and get to know them. Another big difference that I have noticed here in Costa Rica is the fruit. The fruit is very juicy and fresh compared to fruit in the US. To take advantage of this, I have been buying a lot of fruit smoothies and desserts to enjoy as much food as possible. I have very much enjoyed getting to try new Costa Rican dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I very much enjoyed having fruit for breakfast and one thing that they use a lot is cheese. Usually, this cheese slice is simply not melted or mixed in with the actual dish. I hope the rest of my time here in Costa Rica is very fruitful (pun intended) and I get to learn a lot about how businesses are ran here.