Talking is key, 2 very important days!

Viernes 17 agosto 2012 21:34

Think, think, think…

1 of the reasons why I came to Costa Rica was to think, think about what I wanted to do after this year for kind of study and other stuff. Today I thought a lot about a lot of things. I spent almost 2 hours in sitting in garden thinking about stuff.

I thought about me changing class 2 years ago to an easier level, how I think this was one of the best choices in my life, because otherwise I might not be here. But also I thought that it really sucks because I think I can make the top level in my school and be able to go to university, which now is really hard to get in to. I want to use my brains and learn stuff. This is something I could’ve never said 2 years ago.

Also I thought about how different school is here, I have 3 days a week tourism and I really love it. I have to do a presentation every day I have tourism. Today it was about rural tourism in The Netherlands, a dew fays ago about the metamorphoses of a frog. But besides that school is really different, the vibe is just different. The teachers are your friends, not your enemies. Everything is ‘tranquillo’ relaxed and easy. Things like bullying and loners don’t exist in my school, some schools should take this as an example!

Also I thought about family, and how it is really hard to adjust to a new family. And how families work in different country.

Most important is I thought about what I gave up for this year, and that I don’t want to give that all up for nothing, I want to have the year of my life but that means I have to try hard and do the best I can. While looking through my photos of the beach I saw this photo:                     I became philosophical and came up with the following sentence:

An exchange year abroad is like sitting on a rock in the sea,  you enjoy it but you never know when there’s a big wave coming to knock you down and slam you on the rocks.

                                                                                                               

                                                    Sabado 18 agosto 2012 22:18

Talking is key

I dreamed about home for the first time this night. I dreamed about our kitchen how my mom and dad removed the old kitchen and built the old one again. We had an new coffee machine and I was making coffee but didn’t know how to make it. It felt really good to dream about home in such a normal way. I don’t know what dreams mean, but it felt really positive!

Today was a really good day! In the morning I walked with my hostmom, hostdad and Glenda, the girlfriend of my big brother to a hotel. We walked 2,5 kilometer to the hotel. The walk made me think of home because we did these kind of walks as well on holidays. We only went to the hotel to watch it. The hotel looked like a paradise, there were perfect grass fields, with palm trees and fruit trees. There were wooden cabins where people sleep in, some cool wooden bars / restaurants and 4 pools, 1 with slides and stuff. It looked very cool and stuff but it costs €80 a night to sleep there. After viewing this whole park we rested at the pool and watch people going down to slides. It costs €8 to go to the pool, but it wasn’t that great, I’d rather find a 25 meter pool. We found a very cool fruit tree in the hotel park and we picked these fruits to make lemonade with it for later, pretty cool J.

When we got home we didn’t do that much, played a little bit soccer, watched some tv. Then it was time for me to make my homework, I have to write a report about the trip I went on 2 weeks ago to the national park and I need to describe 8 species of animals I found there. All in Spanish, pretty hard! That’s something what was not on my expectation list, learning stuff. But having tourism 27 hours a week in school I think this sure is good, I learn about ecotourism, animals, presentation and tourism overall. I’m half way this report and tomorrow I do the other half. Also I have to learn for exams because to next 2 weeks I have exams almost every day. And I do want to do good on these exams.

Also I talked a little bit more with my hostmom today. I wrote down the things I wanted to talk about, like how I don’t like that they talk about the other exchange students they had a lot and that I want to do stuff and some other stuff how family works here. This talk and the talk we had 2 days ago were very important for me. It gives me better sight into this family and this culture. Now I know a lot more about how stuff works here and that makes adaption a lot easier. I think after this 2 conversation I can finally start enjoying my time here to the fullest!

Also I thought of more funny / weird /different in things Costa Rica:

·         Tico’s listen to either Reggea, Metal or Church music.

·         When passing a church they make a cross on the chest.

·         Mexico is the major country in middle America, a lot is based on Mexico and almost everything on the television are Mexican soaps, they are really bad. There are always people fighting, crying, or at a funeral.

·         Every night there are deadly accident and drug liquidations on the news.

·         My head goes crazy, I think in Spanish, Dutch and English at the same time, it’s amazing how fast that changes.

·         Everybody says that I learn Spanish really fast and good :D

·         Every morning at the bus stop there’s a policeman to help the little children cross the road.

·         On the television there is a lot of propaganda, about the president and country.

·         Everybody I just met tells me to watch out for people I don’t know, kind of ironic.

·         Big amounts of money are said in U.S. dollars and not in Costa Rica colones.

·         People often say ‘pesos’ instead of colones, or the color of the money.

·         In school if you answer right people clap for you.

·         We sleep very earlier on week days, I go to sleep between 21:00 and 22:00 and wake up at 6:00.

·         If I sleep late in weekends it’s till 10:00.

·         The difference between women and men is bigger here.

And these are just a few minor culture differences, so understand that I have a pretty hard time adapting to this culture, but I will push through! I didn’t expect of myself that I would write everyday on my blog but I do and I hope I will go on with it probably I will because it also became my diary, the blog is censored by the way.

 t