Today was our first full day in the country, and my first time being out of my home country! I have traveled all around the United States, but this experience is completely different. Costa Rica is truly an amazing country, based on my first impressions. Everything from the people to the architecture is so different from back home. I think this is what makes Costa Rica so impressive and amazing to me.

We started our study abroad trip with a tour of one of the seven providences of Costa Rica, Heredia. This is where we are staying with our host families. There is so much rich history and culture in the town center, including an old church that was constructed way back in 1797. In the town center park, there was live music and street vendors. It was a very lively atmosphere. Today was Sunday, so people were out and enjoying their day off.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was looking at the central market of Heredia. There were lots of people and lots of food and fruits available. It is so amazing that people can buy local, FRESH produce daily. It truly makes a big difference in the taste and quality of food. I tried some passion fruit, and it was quite good! All of the fruits were vibrant colors and there were many fruits that I had never seen or heard of before. I’ll make sure to go back to the market sometime this trip to try out some of the new fruit!

My expectations for the trip were high, but just on the first day alone, they had already been blown away. I cannot wait to keep learning and exploring this beautiful country! ¡Hasta Mañana!