¡Buenas! This is going to be my last blog post, thanks for reading. I’m back! Back to work, back with my family, and back in Wisconsin. I only had one minor case of culture shock, …
San Jose
Retrospectacular
¡Buenas! I’ve been thinking a little bit about the imminent end of my time here. After tonight, I will only have three more full days in Costa Rica. It’s hard to remember all the things …
World Cup post: ¡Olé los ticos!
La Copa Mundial, the pinnacle of the world’s favorite sport: soccer (or is it football?). I’m sure that being a part of the World Cup hype in any Latino American country would be exciting for …
Lazy Bear Spotted
¡Buenas from San José! I’ve finished my second of three courses during my time in Costa Rica—the trip is going by fast. I now know that the usefulness and enjoyment of my first course wasn’t …
19 Kilometers on the Pacuare River
This past Sunday I went rafting on the Pacuare River. It was kind of funny when I tried to explain my plans for the weekend to my host mother. I didn’t know the verb for …
Juan Santamaría and American imperialism
The day before our final exam, our teacher took us with him to tour the Museum of Juan Santamaría in Alajuela, Costa Rica. A couple blocks from the museum, we found a statue of Juan …
Coffee, crabs, and class
¡Buenas! I stepped into the shower this morning, and was pleasantly surprised when the water was warm. After ten days in Costa Rica, I’ve started to adjust to a lot of things: speaking Spanish, rainy …
Pura vida—first days in San José
¡Buenas! One phrase I’ve picked up in my first few days in San José is pura vida, a Costa Rican phrase which translates literally as ‘pure life’. Ticos (Costa Ricans) use it in almost any …
In a month and a week
If all goes according to plan, I will be leaving the United States for the first time on June 1st. I’m happy to say that my plan to go to Costa Rica has gone from: …
Home, Sweet Home
Goodbyes were difficult, but I finally made it home. I spent my last night in Costa Rica by taking my host family out to dinner as a thank you. I also spent my last night …