poco a poco

Today marks the end of my first week in Costa Rica. I would swear that it has been at least a month. I have been living in my community since Saturday and I am amazed at how comfortable I feel with my host family. My Tico parents are so kind and they have been amazing Spanish teachers. My Spanish is improving in leaps and bounds. I still only speak in present tense, which can be confusing and I am not able to understand when native speakers are speaking quickly to each other. But poco a poco (little by little) I am finding that I can express my thoughts. I have also noticed that I am remembering things that I am learning, which is amazing because I am usually a visual learner. It is cool to learn just by practicing speaking. I still have a long way to go though, but its only day 2 of training ;-)

The first day of language training went well. We spent some time in the classroom, but we also spent time walking around the town approaching people and talking with them. I will admit that I still don’t feel comfortable approaching strangers, even though everyone we have talked with has been very nice. But I guess as time goes on I will get used to it, networking is going to be an important part of my job. I really like my language teacher and there are only 3 other students in my class. I am in the lowest beginner class though (a little embarrassing) but that just means I have the most to learn!

Today was technical training day number one. My largest reflection on today is that 8-5 is a long time to sit and listen to someone talk. The trainer did a good job having us get up every once in a while through group work and other activities. But all of the carbs in a Tico lunch made me SO sleepy! The highlight of class today was when the trainer drew a diagram that answered 17+ of my questions about how I am going to be working towards development in rural Costa Rica. It was a very helpful picture! This is also the second day that after class I have gone to another volunteer’s house for cafecito (coffee in the afternoon with bread or cookies). It is nice getting to know that other families. Two other volunteers live on the same street that I do, and 6 other volunteers live in the same community. The three of us that live on the same street get together often -which is nice.

I am really enjoying my host family experience, and I can tell already that it is going to be hard to leave. They have been so welcoming and helpful. It has to be such an imposition to have a stranger come and live in your house, especially when that stranger is from a foreign culture and doesn’t speak your language very well. But they have been so accepting of my differences and extremely willing to explain everything to me. I am very grateful, I only wish I had the word to convey my gratitude.

I am off to bed, 9pm here. I will wake up at 6am for my morning climb (the hills here are intense) and a little run. I am still working up to breathing effectively in Costa Rica, the air doesn’t seem to agree with my lungs. Poco a poco.

Sending love and hugs

Chelsea