Costa Rica: the Streets

One of my favorite parts about traveling is getting to walk along the streets, see how people live, and talk to natives, especially if it allows me to practice a foreign language.
Every chance I got, I went off UBL's campus to walk to the grocery store or whatever the group was doing. It was so interesting to see how people live, what they eat, what they buy, how they talk, etc.

One thing to note is that every driver I encountered in Costa Rica is insane. I don't know why this man standing in the street thought it was a good plan, because every person who drove us had little regard for the other people and vehicles in the road. I certainly did not entrust my life to the drivers in Costa Rica while walking in the street.

One of my favorite things about Latin America is the abundance of color. The vibrant houses and colorful advertisements are some of the most iconic characteristics of Latin America.

In addition to walking around the area where UBL is, we got to travel to an impoverished area to help out with a children's Sunday school. This excursion let us see a very different way of living, which was a great opportunity for us.

Above is the one-room church where we helped with Sunday school.

In addition to experiencing a different way of life, I got my first opportunity to speak Spanish. I always get nervous before I speak in a different language (and in English, for that matter), which honestly doesn't make sense for an aspiring polyglot and linguist, but oh well. Above is a picture of me with a little girl named Alejandra. Talking to her was the first time I talked in Spanish, which just got me comfortable speaking Spanish. After that, speaking Spanish didn't make me as nervous. 

A few days later, we visited the local farmers' market. This was one of the highlights of the trip. I got to talk to native speakers of Spanish and get cheap, delicious fruit. What could be better? 

When I went to buy the mango for my friend, I asked how much it cost and the man selling at that stand said I could have it as a gift. It was a great way to start out the shopping experience! I got the strawberries for 1,000 colones and the pineapple was 500 colones, which brought the cost to under $2. 

Using the fruit I bought and some of the fruit others bought, I made a wonderful fruit salad for everyone. From the outside in: guayaba (guava), pineapple, strawberries, mango, and  moras (tart blackberries).

As one of the last things we did on the trip, I was left with a beautiful impression of ticos (Costa Ricans). I could see myself living in Costa Rica!