May 18th

The time certainly does fly by here. It feels like just yesterday I wrote in my blog when in reality it has been about three days. There is just so much to do it almost feels like there is not time for it or anything else for that matter. I have started taking my Spanish classes and since I have started I find it a lot easier to talk to my family because I am now understanding what they are saying(well at least part of the time) and I have more confidence to respond back. Even though I may not say the verb in the correct tense or say the right type of noun my family seems to understand what I am saying and I am able to show them the things that I want to share with them. I thought that when I first came here that I would not have a lot in common with my family or that I would not be able to relate to them simply because they live in a different country. Yet I am seeing that my family here and the one at home have a lot in common. When I showed my Papa Tico that my family farms he seemed more interested which I came to know that he sells fruits and vegetables in town. There seemed to be a lot more conversation once I had shown my family pictures to my Costa Rican family. I would have never thought that just a few pictures could open up the conversation into so many different avenues.
I had told my Mama Tica that I wanted to learn how to cook some authentic food and she showed me how to make the rice that they have with every meal. This was one of my goals I wanted to complete while I was here because I love to cook and since I have learned in my past that by cooking with others it is a way of bonding without having to use language. Ever since that night my Mama Tica has given me different small jobs here and there in the kitchen which I like. I feel more apart of the family when I am included in tasks like these.
Today we went to a school and we all got to visit the special needs classroom. This has been one of my favorite activities since we have been here. I was able to work with two girls who I believe have down syndrome. Every time they said a word right they received a high five and sometimes put their hands up for high fives if I forgot to give them one. I was also excited that everyone else was able to work with special needs kids. I find that I talk to a lot of other peers in the education program who have never worked with special needs kids. I find that it is very important for everyone to get at least some kind of experience since no one ever really knows what kinds of kids they may have in their class. I always feel that it is better to be over prepared rather than not prepared. I am excited to go back to this class tomorrow.
Tonight after classes we all were able to take the city bus and go to the mall. From what I have seen of the town I would have never expected to see a mall the size or the type in this city. I figured that a lot of the people on the trip with me had been on a city bus before but a lot of them had not. I have come to realize throughout a lot of this trip that I have a lot of assumptions about many things in my life that are not true. I had thought that I was an open minded person but I am quickly learning that I have had a closed mind about a lot of different things. Therefore my goal for the next destination to be more open minded and possibly not have any expectations of any kind and see what that leads to. Enjoy!