Vampires in the night

Today was my first day of classes. My Culture class in the morning was good-LONG-but good. We got a half hour break in between the 4 hours of class. I then had three hours to kill so I had lunch with some of my new friends and I ventured out to the mall to get a watch since I cant use my cell phone to tell time. Then I just sat around, soaking up the sun, waiting for my other class to begin. So far I am learning a lot and enjoy my classes. They aren’t going to be easy, and I am sure in a few days/weeks you all will be witnessing me pull my hair out over my blog, but again, I’m here for a reason. But ahhh, to take the Tropical Marine Biology course…

So I woke up at about 2am last night and felt something BITING MY NECK!!! I immediately pulled it off but it took some work because it was attached to my skin!! Of course, being TERRIFIED of bugs, I am freaking out that it laid eggs in my neck or something!! AHH! Ali checked me out, I am still alive, and no babies are sprouting from my neck, so I think I am going to make it. Yikes though!!! Maybe moving to the rain forest wasn’t the smartest idea for a person terrified of BUGS! Of course, no regrets though.

I have noticed a few more cultural differences that I’ll share with you. First of all, Mami makes us dinner every night, but doesn’t eat with us because they eat a huge lunch and then maybe a small snack or a sandwich for dinner much later in the evening. Also, Ticos have no regard for personal space and love touching you when they talk to you. My second class has 3 students and a teacher and we sat in a circle that was SO close together. If I stretched out my leg I would have kicked my teacher. Standing in lines is the same too: they’re right on top of you. I don’t mind it, but it is definitely different and noticeable. I keep wanting to scoot back or something, but I stay. Ah submersion. Ticos are also VERY politically incorrect. As you might have noticed from my other posts, they call me a gringa. They don’t mean anything negative by it, but if they say that about me, just think about what they call Asians, or African Americans. That’s how it is around here though, so I am sure that no one is offended. At home though, it would certainly not fly. Mami also makes all of our juice from scratch. Yesterday she had a whole pot full of starfruit and other fruits and today we had the juice for breakfast. The other day, we had homemade pineapple juice. O.M.G. is it good. Lastly, whenever I meet a Tico, we always fake-kiss on the cheek. Every person. Its interesting because now some of us American students greet each other like this.

I am getting more and more excited to see other parts of the country. From my school, I have a good view of beautiful lush mountains. I can’t wait to see them up close and explore- and of course, see the beaches!

You will all be interested to know that I have been showering a lot. That’s right: me, showering, a lot. :) It’s so humid here that I always feel sticky and gross. I have decided that lotion only adds to the problem so I wont be using it as much.

I am staying in tonight, like a good girl, and doing my homework. Mami had a friend over (she does every day, mostly more than one!) and Kiki is watching futbol: currently Canada and El Salvador, but before he watched Costa Rica beat Jamaica. Just like an American man, he was yelling at the TV. :)

Que tengan buena noche!