Because they said I wouldn't..

As most of you know, I have just recently embarked on my  trip to Costa Rica (for 5 weeks) and Chile (for 5 months or more) with the ultimate objective of mastering the spanish language (or at least improving..hella). Prior to my departure, several people expressed the desire to be updated on my travels, and a few proposed blogging as a possible solution. Since there are so many people that I'd like to keep updated, I've decided this is the best way to do so. I'll admit blogging is not typically be my kind of thing, but I'm going to give it a try since there are some doubters out there (you know who you are) who expressed a lack of confidence in my ability to keep in touch. I'm not yet certain of the extent to which I plan on sharing my experiences, but I suspect this is where I am going to share the highlights, the funny stories, and hopefully a good deal of photos. 

Just to let you know where I'm at right now, I have been in San Jose, Costa Rica for three and a half days and have loved my experience thus far. On Thursday, I arrived at the airport and met my host family for the first time. Technically, I am only staying with a couple in their 50s (or 60s),  are a great deal more people who are in and out of the house. Both of their kids, now grown up, live in the units above us, with their kids (a total grandchildren for my host parents). The first day I met everyone and Deiman showed me how to reach ULatina of Costa Rica--the university where I will be attending an intensive spanish language program called Spanish and Sustainable Development in Latin America.  On Friday, I had my orientation for this program and they took us for a quick tour of San Jose and of the Teatro Nacional, a beautiful building modeled after the Paris Opera House. In the chaos of the pouring rain (which happens pretty much every afternoon here during the "rainy season") I forgot to bring my camera, but I will be sure to return and take photos. The highlight of Saturday was watching Costa Rica's match versus Trinidad--a victory for the Ticos 3-2. The game was very close and I got really into it, especially when my host father turned up the volume on the TV after ever Costa Rican "goooooooooooollllllllllll!!!". Today I went with my host parents' son and his family and friends to a nearby town called Coronoba, where we did some off-roading in jeeps. This adventure is deserving of its own post so I will be sure to share it with you as soon as I upload the pictures. That is all for now. !Pura vida!