One of the most rewarding experiences on this trip was staying with my home stay family. They were one of the most humble, caring and patient human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. My initial feelings of nervousness completely fled after meeting Betty, Williams, and their three-year-old son Issa. Through this stay, I was given an everyday cultural experience that many who have visited Costa Rica cannot claim.
Beyond the Language Barrier
“And they don’t speak any English”, our tour guides said to us as we were being assigned to homestay families. I was frightened to say the least.
This was going to be the first time during the trip that I would be separated from the rest of the team, and I spoke almost no Spanish. Luckily, I was partnered up with Lupe, one of the student coordinators, who could speak Spanish. But I was still worried about being unable to connect with my homestay family. I didn’t want to bother Lupe by asking him to translate for me every time I wanted to communicate. On the other hand, I didn’t want to just remain silent and lose the opportunity to connect with the locals and immerse myself in Costa Rican culture. Continue reading “Beyond the Language Barrier”
“Costarricenses” not “Costarriquenos”
It took several attempts to remember that when referring to Costa Ricans it is properly said “Costarricenses” not “Costarriquenos”. This became a problem when I found myself being corrected by the locals, constantly. Luckily they were not offended, rather they were understanding and extremely friendly; such characteristics seemed to be quite common among Costarricenses.
Of all the Costarricenses that I met I found the youth, in particular, very intriguing because their thought process about education and life was more enlightening than I would have ever expected. Going into the Global Sustainability & Cultural Immersion, Costa Rica Program I knew that I wanted to speak to the youth because the youth has a tendency to speaking the truth, or rather they are more honest and straightforward about their opinions on certain criteria like education and overall happiness. That being said, the entire trip was extremely rewarding but the visit we paid to the schools of Mastatal was by far the most informative and eye-opening experience of the program. Continue reading ““Costarricenses” not “Costarriquenos””