My last weekend I decided to spend in Coronado with some other students and of course, my host family. On Sunday, my full final day, I returned to my host home in the afternoon after visiting Volcano Irazu. My host mom and her daughter were sitting at the back patio and I greeted them and started petting the family dog, Lucy. Her daughter excitedly rose out of her chair and said to me, “Mira!” (Look!) This young women in her 30s, in her skirt and designer shoes started bouncing all around the patio getting the dog to chaotically lunge at her feet. Then my host mom stands up and I join in until the dog is so tired and a dizzy that she slurped up some water and collapse to the ground, panting.

For my last dinner my host mom made me my favorite Costa Rican dish: Picadillo, platanos fritos con queso, arros, frijoles negros, tortas, ensalada y fresco. On my last night I couldn’t help but think back on all my time here at my host home with these generous people. My host mother always took at least an hour to cook healthy, balanced meals and was always making sure I was satisfied. Back home, I hardly ever eat home cooked meals so this had been such a treat! I loved to help her cook, even though the only thing I knew going into the process was how to make a salad. Every dinner would include rice and black beans, a salad, and then a few different meats, vegetables, and
cheeses each night. Every breakfast she served me a bowl of fruit, and then pancakes, cereal, ham and cheese biscuits, or eggs every morning. I made sure I wrote down the recipe of my favorite meals. She helped me remember the names of all the different fruits I had tried, my favorite being, Mamon Chino.

Monday morning we awoke at 7 am to eat our last meal together. We watched an animated Spanish film and played one last game of Spanish Scrabble. This was a tradition that had started since night one, and even though my Spanish had improved in the last month, I still found this game very difficult. Every time I drew a blank I would turn my letter-holder to my host mom and she would immediately pick out some strange Spanish word that would be worth 30 points. And then of course she would attempt to explain the meaning to me!

Ten minutes before my airport cab was to arrive she came out of her room and handed me a little gift wrapped in tissue paper. I so appreciate everything this woman did for me during my stay in Costa Rica. I open the gift to find a hand painted Costa Rican knick-knack, a penholder to put on my desk and to remind me of this amazing place. I realized when I opened the gift that it had already broken but just a dab of super glue would fix it. I said nothing except for thank yous and we exchange our final gratitude with hugs and of course, a kiss on the cheek.  The Taxi driver beeped his horn at 9:55AM.

Staring out the window, I feel mixed emotions about returning home. I miss my family and friends and my habitual American lifestyle, but Costa Rica has been so incredible and eye opening to me. I feel so ambivalent to leave this sweet generosity of my host family, this quaint town of Coronado, this frenzied scuttle of San Jose, and the serenity and harmony of the entire Nation. When I get home I want to write my host mother a letter of Gracias and send her pictures of her family and myself and of my family too. I want to email my Tico friend and convince him to get a facebook, hahaha.

I know I will never forget my month in Costa Rica and I cannot wait to return. There are still so many national parks, volcanoes, beaches, and towns that I have not seen and so many interesting people that I have not met. We arrive at the airport and the Taxista helps to unload my suitcase, and as I lug on my backpack I peak one more look at the contiguous blue mountains. I start through the swinging doors and mutter to the Costa Rican wind, ‘Hasta Luego’ as I know it is not a final goodbye.

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s Independent Teen program in Coronado, Costa Rica.

Some
travel to Costa Rica with intention, with plans and reservations and a return
flight already booked. Unfortunately my age, and obligation to high school does
not allow for infinite vacation and so I am one of those people who came and
fulfilled my intention, with only the luxury of flexibility and no schedules on
the weekends.

Walking
back from a nightclub with friends in Puerto Viejo I met Nate. A tall, skinny,
white Australian guy, unshaven with a head full of blonde dreadlocks, wobbles
up next to us on a rickety bicycle that was much too small for his height. I
recognized him from our hostel and he introduced himself and kept up
conversation while trying to ride his bike at our walking pace-which was very
entertaining to watch. Our conversation followed the casual flow of small talk,
which is common when meeting other English-speaking foreigners in a foreign
country. Our newly acquainted chat was short but different and it made me smile
and got me thinking about life.

Me: “So
how long are you in Costa Rica for?”

Nate:
(thick Australian accent) “Well now mate, I don’t quite know. You see I got a
place to live and a job.”

“Oh
really? That’s sweet. What’s your job?”

“The Lady
at that restaurant down the street asked if I wanted a job. So now I’m working
at that café. Yeah its totally cool.”

“Nice man,
how long have you been here in Puerto Viejo?”

“Oh…three
days.”

That’s
something I will really miss about Costa Rica. The freedom, the flexibility,
the ‘Tranquilo’ mentality of no stress and no hurry. Back home everyone is
always stressing and rushing around. Seeing Nate wobbling on his new ride, and
just chillen in Costa Rica with a home and job for however long he wants; that
is the pura vida.

The next
day as my friends and I were walking to the bus stop we saw Nate again.
Wobbling on his bike, riding at the walking pace of a local Tico, practicing
his Spanish and making new friends. He waved at us and shouted, “Good day
Mate!” and we smiled and waved back.

I realized it’s not only tourists who live with
tranquility and peace of mind in Costa Rica. The Ticos seem to include the
business of work and living into a tranquil sort of system with many ‘Pausuas’
(breaks) during the workday and with weekends extending into Monday.  In fact, most businesses are closed on
Mondays! Ahhh!!! This IS the life! 

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s Independent Teen program in Coronado, Costa Rica.

People in the Park – *names changed

The best place to hang out for an interesting day in Coronado is
the park right in front of the huge gray church in the center of town. Almost
always you will meet some entertaining character or another. The first was Mark.
Four other gringos and myself were hanging out at the benches and this
middle-aged man approaches us and introduces himself. With his dark skin we
assumed him to just be an English-speaking Costa Rican but it turns out he’s
from California, with Italian heritage. Mark has lived in Costa Rica for 22
years; he moved here for a more simple life after getting out of the US army.
He was definitely an interesting character, who talked with a twitch, and we
enjoyed his company until he started getting carried away with over helpful
information about all the places he could take us in Costa Rica. (He works with
a tour agency.)

As we were getting ready to move on with our day, his friend
passed by in a rustic old jeep and Mark called us over with excitement. He
explained his friend work at a nature reserve and specialized with reptiles.
All of a sudden his friend pulls a snake out of his pocket and holds it out the
window for us to pet! Now, I know I’m not supposed to talk to strangers and
touch wild animals but I couldn’t help but be kind of fascinated. I was the
first to stroke the boa constrictor’s sleek tummy!

Another day, we, the same crew, were hanging out in the center of
the park and we saw another white guy sitting in the grass, writing in a journal
or something. Being the curious, friendly people that we are we introduced
ourselves end ended up joining him in the grass. Paul is from Missouri and just
arrived in Costa Rica two weeks before. He knew absolutely no Spanish and had
been teaching himself, with journal and Spanish/English dictionary at hand.
Yeah, Paul had just gotten married last week to a Costa Rican girl that he had
been talking to via online dating service for the past six months. So now he
will live in Costa Rica for a while and then bring her back to the States when
she can get her passport in order. We would have loved to talk to Paul some
more but he had to run because some guy had just offered him a thousand bucks
to do a photo shoot. Strange, but… okay!

On a different day, three friends and myself were hanging out,
standing by the church steps when we saw a group of Tico teenagers looking at
us from across the street. A tall, skinny boy with a hoop nose ring and a
petite, dark featured girl with an oversized lip stud approached us and
introduced themselves. Johnny and Rosa were very friendly, the boy, age 17, and
the girl, 15. These new acquaintances spoke only Spanish, which I welcomed
openly, excited to practice my foreign tongue with kids my own age. At first it
was difficult to keep a conversation going as we had to keep saying, “Que??”
and “Otra Vez” and “Mas despacio por favor!” As I kept talking I realized my
conversational skills quickly adapt.

Talking to kids your own age opens up a new level of
conversation; it’s not the same as learning Spanish in classroom. I felt myself
getting used to the way they talked, and the language was flowing out of my own
mouth more fluidly then I had ever heard myself speak before! Soon their other
friends joined us and we were all joking around, taking pictures, listening to
each other’s mp3 players, and even exchanged emails and numbers and planned to
meet up again later. Johnny and Rosa are super cool kids, and every time I see
them we exchange the customary kiss on the cheek. I was glad to meet some of
the locals; I could feel myself go into Spanish mode as I was forced to
practice my speech. It was sweet to have the Tico’s insight on where to go eat,
shop, and to tour as well. It’s also a plus to have a mixed group of Ticos and
Gringos because its safer for us since they know their way around Costa Rica
and us gringos don’t look like complete tourists for once!

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s Independent Teen program in Coronado, Costa Rica.