Getting to the End

hey guys! It's almost my last week here in Costa Rica. And I'm back with some random details about my life.

Not a lot has been happening since my last post. I've just been going to school and hanging out. Last Sunday I went to see the new Harry Potter movie (in English :P) it cost only about $3 to get in, and it was a NICER theater than in America. There are definitely some perks to being in Costa Rica :D

Conversation class has slowed down a lot since I last posted. We've moved away from games and movies and onto lectures. This week's classes have been going SOOOOOO slow. 4 hours feels like all day, and I'm not the only one who feels this way. A friend of mine told me today that she felt like yesterday morning was one day, and yesterday afternoon was another day, that's how long it felt to her. Basically all this week we have been getting lectured to in Spanish, which sucks. We're learning how to say "he said to her," or "I asked him," or "they spoke with her." But we don't have a book to follow along in, so it's boring.

Classes are starting to come to an end though, I am currently working on translating an Alice in Wonderland book for my Translation final and tomorrow we have our last presentation for Spanish. You can definitely feel the end coming near. You can see it in people as they go about their day. Not just hear them talking about it or watch them get ready to go back. It's like in WHO they are. 10 more days here in Costa Rica. It's leading to some grumpy people and disinterested students.

But I am still enjoying my time here in Costa Rica. This Saturday and Sunday me and my friend Sho are going to Tortuguero, a rain forest and beach that is supposed to have some amazing plant and animal life. I'm excited for it, we might even go out at night to see some turtles nesting on the beach. :D Hopefully I'll have pics next week :)

As my time is winding down here in Costa Rica, I wanted to share with you what my daily schedule has looked like over the last 3 months and also teach you some Costa Rican Spanish.

Daily Routine
7:00 am My alarm goes off, I don't wanna wake up, but I get up and take a shower

7:30 Breakfast time! My host mom makes us breakfast, usually bread, butter and coffee, but lately we've also been having hot dishes like eggs, gallo pinto, and quesadillas.

7:50 Leave for school with my rommate, it's about a 7 minute walk to school.

8:00 class starts

10:00 Break time in class. We all get a half hour break. I usually spend it in the cafeteria with mis amigos

10:30 back to class

12:00 Class ends and I head home and eat lunch. Lately it's been hot dogs followed by peanut butter on bread.

1:00-7:00 Homework/naptime. I usually try to accomplish all my homework in this time, maybe get a nap in and often times mess around on Facebook and talk to friends

(Tues & Wed) 1:00 Translation class starts.. it's boring

(Tues & Wed) 2:30 Translation class ends... finally!

7:00 Dinner time! My host mom is a wonderful cook! Almost every night we have Rice and Beans (cheap and delicious) and some form of meat, but almost never the same thing twice. Often times though, its some kind of chicken, sausage or beef recipe.

7:00-10:00 finish homework time, if I finish early I usually reward myself with a movie or TV episode.

10:00ish My girlfriend is now on line and we have our nightly Skype date. It's the perfect way to end the day :D

10:30 or 11:00 Bed time! time to do it all over again tomorrow!

Costa Rican Slang
Here are some words/phrases that you NEED to know if you ever plan to talk to someone from COsta Rica (or even me now) :)

Tico(a) (tee-co) - A term that means "Costa Rican." You rarely ever hear someone say "costarricense" it's almost always Tico(a)(-s). All the Study Abroad students call their host mom Mamá Tica.

Pura Vida (poo-rah vee-da) - The country's saying. It's almost like "God Bless America" it can be a greeting, it can mean "good" "thank you" or "goodbye." The two most common uses are as a Greeting "Hola Como estas?" "Bien, Pura Vida" or as thank you like at a store. It also describes the lifestyle here. Laid back, take it easy, don't worry, whatever happens will happen. (AKA my lifestyle) *This is probably the most important one*

Tuanis (twa-nees) - basically means Cool or Good. "Como estas?" "Bien" "Tuanis" It's used almost exaclty like Cool in conversations, but it doesn't refer to items, only like feelings and events etc. which leads to...

Chiva (chee-va) - This means Cool, but like items/people. That person is cool or "chiva"

Mae (my) - This means Dude. And is used in all the same ways that Dude is used in English. It is now a regular part of my language, and be prepared to hear it, even in English when I get home.

Well, I hope this gave you a good insight into my life here. I gotta go, it's 7:00, which means dinner :D

Vayan con Dios!
Nick Culbertson