A new adventure has began and so far it has been adventurous! We started off by being dropped off with our individual host families to get settled in after landing in Costa Rica. It was a bit of nerve-racking being dropped off and staying with a family I had never met, but it has been a great experience so far to spend time with our “mamatica” and getting to know one another.
To start the trip off we began with a fruit tasting and dance class. Both of these cultural activities was an open door in being introduced to Costa Rica’s culture. For our fruit tasting we were taken to a local market where each of us were assigned a costa rican fruit. It was our job to go find and purchase the fruit we were assigned. It was a great opportunity to explore traditional foods and local artesian. For our dance class, we got the chance to learn four different rhythms known in Costa Rica. All though it got a bit sweaty, I had a great time learning and hope to practice on bettering my dancing skills.
Following the fruit tasting and dance class was a tour around Heredia, Costa Rica. Throughout this tour, we got to learn the history about Heredia and the culture surrounding the city. One of the interesting things I learned was that the entrance of churches in Costa Rica are typically position on the west side so that evening masses take advantage of the sunlight. As simple as this fact may sound, I never noticed that the majority of the entrances of churches were positioned to face the west.
It is only the third day out here and I look forward to what the rest of this study abroad has in store for us!