Week one is a success!

What a magnificent week. I can't believe I have almost been here for an entire week. I passed my first exam and I advance to the next level next week. Unfortunately, I won't have the same professor. I am hopeful that my professor next week will be equally great. When I got home from school today I took a two hour nap. It's crazy how tiring being a tourist is! But, in all seriousness, trying to speak in a second language is tiring. I'm also not in school mode anymore. It's been awhile since I've been in a classroom! Even thought there's really no pressure, I want to do well. I was worried I wouldn't advance to the next level, but I think you need to do really poorly for that to happen. Grammar has never been my thing. I have Parker (my school) to thank for that. We never had grammar lessons. I found that I learned English grammar through my Spanish classes. Needless to say, it has always been a struggle.

After one week in Heredia, I want to reflect on some of my observations. My first observation is the crazy driving. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. Crossing the street is an experience. You just kind of have to go for it when there's a break and hope that no one will hit you. The streets themselves are bizarre because there is a huge ditch before the curb. I have to assume it's for drainage purposes during the rainy season, but it makes it kind of difficult to cross. The ditch can be over a foot deep. There also aren't too many stop lights. At each intersection, one street has the right of way and the other has a stop sign. The street with the stop sign kind of just needs to inch their way across. I've already seen several accidents. It doesn't surprise me. They're kind of crazy drivers. I've pretty much stuck to the same path to walk to school. I don't want to get lost and since I can't really ask for directions (since there are no addresses) it's easier to just go the way I know.

Another thing that was super surprising is the crime here. The school advises that students aren't out walking around after dark. This has been really difficult for me. I LOVE to walk and have always lived in places where I've felt comfortable walking around at any hour. My host mom recommended that we take cabs after 10pm, but not to be walking around our neighborhood after 9pm. That wasn't comforting! I've been home every night before dark and then don't leave the house after that. Fortunately, I really enjoy my host family and spending time with them. Last night we played rummikub. It was a blast. Luisa (the mom) and Marta (one of the daughters) taught Amelia (the other American student) and me how to play. I may suggest that we play again soon!

Every day after school I've had some sort of activity. Monday we had orientation and a city tour. Tuesday I went to a salsa dance class, which I will not attend again. Dancing has never been my thing. Wednesday I took an uber with two classmates to "ojo de agua" (eye of the water.) It's a natural spring. Prior to googling it, I was very excited. I thought it would be a natural setting. It's actually a waterpark with water from a natural spring. One website described it as "a working class waterpark". In the end, it wasn't anything special, but it was a nice way to spend a free afternoon. On Thursday I went with the school to a waterfall called "los chorros", which translates to jet or stream. It's a beautiful setting with two huge waterfalls. You can swim right up to them. It was about an hour drive there. The location isn't touristy, which was nice. There were four of us from the school and the school's tour guide, Jerry. We stopped for lunch about ten minutes from the waterfall. It was another delicious meal. We probably spent a few hours at los chorros. Today after school I went to a Caribbean restaurant with some classmates and then came home for that nap.

I don't have any plans this weekend, which could make it a long one. The only thing on tap is going to the farmer's market tomorrow. I am looking very forward to it! I'm going with Marta and I can't wait to see all of the fruit. There are so many fruits I've never seen or heard of. I may try to check out something local on Sunday. We shall see!

Note: blogger doesn't seem to be very iPad friendly, so I may be moving my blog to a new site so I can add photos. Stay tuned!

Hasta prontito,
Raquel