Study Spanish in Costa Rica
Today was my first day at Intercultura and it was a busy day. It started off with an early breakfast with my Tica Mom. “¡Buenos días!” she sang cheerfully, “¿Cómo amaneció?” I knew from my Spanish class that this was just a way to say, “How did you sleep?”
“Muy bien, ¡gracias!” I replied with a smile. I took a seat at the small round table and started eating the typical Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto and eggs. Gallo pinto is a blend of red or black beans and rice with various spices and chopped up vegetables like onions, cilantro and bell peppers. It is absolutely delicious! After breakfast and a short conversation with my host mother, I gathered my things for class and headed out the door. It’s a short walk through Heredia to get to Intercultura, where the friendly receptionist, Geovanna, stopped me to say hello and asked me if I enjoyed my weekend. I spent a few minutes on a computer in the reception area to catch up on emails, and then I headed to my classroom where my Spanish professor and 3 other students from around the world were settling in.
The Spanish classes were so much fun. It’s almost hard to believe that we learned so much Spanish! Today we learned aboutcuentos, or short stories, and we had to make up our own stories to practice the use of the past tenses. Through this exercise I finally understood how to use them!
Four hours passed by in a flash, and then I was able to explore the colonial city of Heredia. My classmates and I walked a block to Mambo Café, one of the best typical Costa Rican restaurants in Heredia. Today they had arroz con pollo, my new favorite food. We sat, ate, relaxed, and practiced our Spanish and then decided to hang out in Central Park for a bit before heading back to the dance class at school.
Dance class was fun! Enrique made it easy for my two left feet to find the rhythm. If only my hips would have found it! Thankfully there are dance classes everyday.
I was ready for a cup of Costa Rica’s famous coffee and checked out Britt’s Café by Central Park with one of my classmates. As we walked around with our coffee, we saw lots of great shops and places that offer great deals on hair cuts, massages and manicure and pedicures. I think I could get used to Heredia!
It’s about time to head back to my homestay family for another chance to get to know local Costa Ricans and learn about the family’s traditions and customs. Maybe after dinner, I’ll meet up with some of my new friends and see what Heredia’s like after dark.