Treasure The Journeys: ¡Bienvenidos a Quepos!

On Sunday September 1^st, the group from NCC and I (12 of us) took a 3.5 hour ride from San José to Quepos in a large van. The drive was absolutely beautiful! The landscape is very diverse and full of flowers and a lot of greenery. While driving I saw a forest of palm trees lined up in rows similar to how the pine trees are aligned in the Northern part of Wisconsin. “Que lindo” meaning how beautiful. We stopped to eat at El Restaurante 45 about 40 minutes before arriving in Quepos. I decided to have arroz con pollo (rice with chicken). What better time than the present to enjoy the very traditional custom of having rice and beans at every meal? After a delicious rest stop, we were on the road to Quepos once again. Once I arrived to Quepos my host mom and dad, Fransisca and Joaquin, picked me up. My host dad quickly took my suitcases for me (yes both of them) and began to travel down the cobblestone road towards their house.

In the house, I have my own “cuarto” (bedroom) with a sink and plenty of storage. My bedroom is located upstairs along with another bedroom (where Leandra, another girl who is studying abroad, is staying) and a bathroom. Downstairs contains a large entryway into the house with seating, the family room, the kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.

My host mom, Mama Tica, is such a sweetheart. She doesn’t speak any English so I am forced to listen, process, and respond in Spanish. I have learned many new words and I have seen an improvement in my Spanish after only being here for a few short days. I am so glad that I am able to communicate with her even if the dialog is a bit choppy at this point in time. Mama Tica is a housewife and spends her time running errands, cleaning and cooking for her family. She has made the most delicious food. I beginning to come accustomed to the food here, it is delicious. I am becoming a huge fan of rice and beans.

My Tico dad is soft spoken and hardworking. He works at a fish exporting company for a majority of the day. I do not see him around the house much. I was able to form a bond with him almost immediately after giving him a gift I brought from the U.S. for him. He is a huge fan of the band Metallica and his favorite song of all time is Eye of the Tiger. I brought him two new CD’s and he made a point to tell me that we would get along and we would not fight. I think it is safe to say that he enjoyed his gift.

My host mom and dad have a son, Andres who lives right behind their house. The houses are connected to one another so I see Andres’ family quite often. He is married to a woman named Jessy. Together they have two kids, Samuel (5) and Antoine (8). Samuel and Antoine are both very cute! Samuel has a lot of energy just as any typical 5-year-old boy should. A few nights ago I spent much of my time playing games with Samuel.

The Spanish school that I attend, COSI, is gorgeous. The building is set up similar to a majority of the buildings down here. The building is designed as an open-air building. I am learning an abundance of new vocabulary terms as well as reviewing concepts that I have learned in the past. I have only had one week of classes and I already feel like I have learned so much! I am in a class with 4 other students and a teacher for four hours a day. In order to travel to school, I take the bus along with the other students from my group. The bus station is just a short walk down the road from my house. It costs 280 colones (just over 25 cents) to ride the bus to school.