Pura Vida!

Hola amigos,

As I sit on the balcony of my school in Puntarenas, Costa Rica which overlooks the Pacific Ocean I decided that now is better than ever to start my study abroad blog.  I’ve been here for a little over a week now and feel like I’ve adapted to the way of life pretty well so far!  Here are the main highlights of my experience as a wannabe-Tica thus far:

*My host family: I live with a family of ten people including: a grandma, grandpa, mother, father, 3 brothers, 1 sister-in law, 1 nephew, and myself.  There are also 2 dogs, a parrot and a cat.  Everyone in the family is very nice to me and the parents have spoiled me with my own TV and AC.  I find this very ironic because in my Chicago apartment I don’t have either.  they also gave me the cutest bike to ride around town!  My room is dorm room size but very cute.  Also, I don’t have an alarmclock because without fail the parrot (la lorita) wakes me up every morning at 7am or before.

*My classes: I am really enjoying all my classes here and think they’re a perfect fit for me.  I’m taking 18 hours but because of the Pura Vida lifestyle I don’t feel stressed at all, I even think I may get through the semester without a single allnighter I’m accustomed to while at Loyola.  I’m taking Latin American Cultures in Spanish, 3 Spanish composition course, Latin American Social Revolutions, Latin American Cuisine, Latin American Culture Field Study and my ultimate favorite: Latin American Dance.

*The beach: I live three blocks from the beach and as I mentioned before, my school overlooks it.  I think the majority of my favorite memories from my life have occurred near or in a body of water and this is no different.  Normally my study breaks consist of a dip in the ocean or a nap in the sun.  All the fun bars overlook the ocean and last night some of us students built a bonfire on the beach.  Also, I’ve started to go jogging on the beach barefoot  after dark when it cools down and I love it!

*Curu National Park and Isla Tortuga: Last weekend the school sponsored a trip to these 2 places.  We went hiking on trails where monkeys lived, rode in little speed boats to the island, went snorkeling and saw an octopus, ate fresh pineapple, coconut and watermelon on the beach, and played a pretty intense game of beach frisbee.

Well, that’s all I have for now.  I hope everyone in Chicago and at home is surviving the winter and having a great semester.

Pura Vida,

Angela