The 8th Wonder of The World by Jadyn Newman

It's our 4th full day in Costa Rica, and I can honestly say this has been an incredible experience. Thank we goodness we still have 10 days to go!

Just from being here 4 days, I've improved my Spanish on monumental levels. There really is no better way to learn than to be thrown into situations where you have to learn. The first day, especially, I was experiencing shock when I realized the reality that I was absolutely required to speak in Spanish. Immersion programs are kind of like learning to swim by getting thrown in the deep end. I have no better way to describe it. At first I was panicking, I truly didn't think I was capable. To continue this mediocre metaphor- I swallowed a lot of water, and my head went under a lot, but eventually, now, I'm treading water like it's nothing. 

I'll admit, its refreshing to talk to my parents on the phone in English every night, but I have to say that it's getting harder and harder to process both languages at the same time. I'm even struggling a bit while trying to write this post! 

We've seen some beautiful parts of nature, a LOT of dogs, and many Ticos. In class, it's a completely different experience. I absolutely love learning Spanish- in Spanish. It's a bit hard to explain, but there's this essence in, for instance, taking an English class in America. We learn the same things we already know, but because it's not the first time, there's opportunity to expand, compare, and dig a lot deeper into other parts of the language. That's what is happening here. After the first day of class I felt euphoric, because my love of learning felt restored. It's mostly discussion based, so all the things I didn't know before, I could find out. It was like this was the missing piece in finally embracing the Spanish culture and language. 

In general, I love exploring the culture with our Mama Tica (pictured below) and sharing some of our American culture with her, too. Some of the funniest (and most embarrassing) experiences have been:

- When our Mama Tica was trying to explain American movies she's seen. Her descriptions were short and only made a little sense, such as "Mrs. Doubtfire: Robin Williams paints his face and decides to be the mom" or "Nanny McPhee- An ugly woman cares for terrible children."

- When I accidentally asked for sour cream in my coffee (side note- the coffee here is RIDICULOUS!)

- When we were with our Mama Tica in the city and almost missed our bus back to the school- that woman can run!

-When someone in the grocery store asked for a picture of my shoes because "They are girly and we only have manly shoes here."

-When a dog came out of the copy room at the University. There are dogs everywhere here. That's one thing America could improve upon...

Anyways- thanks for all of the thoughts as we embark on this incredible journey. We'll keep you updated.

 !Pura Vida! 

-Jadyn Newman