Hola!
My name is Abby Bennett and I am a junior Marketing major from Kingwood, TX. Today marks day 6 of being in Costa Rica. We are about to go on a hike! We have done so many activities that have given us a true glimpse into the Costa Rican culture(or as they call themselves, ?Ticos?). We have gone Latin Dancing, bought fruit in the market downtown, been zip lining, and swam in La Fortuna waterfall.
My first impressions of Costa Rica and this study abroad as a whole were that it was something I was not used to and I was pretty uncomfortable. I was expecting being uncomfortable on this trip, but not at the start. The homestay was something I was not initially excited for, but has been one of the best things about this trip. Growing up, I was in a Spanish immersion program and I took Spanish classes up until 10th grade. Since then I have not been keeping up with my Spanish, so this trip has been, if not much else, so helpful with helping me get some of my Spanish back. My host parents, Padres Ticos, have been speaking only Spanish to help me practice.
We have another whole week left in this beautiful, tropical country. I feel like I have learned so much about this culture from such a short amount of time.
Pura Vida!