Today was our first day in Costa Rica! Today we explored Heredia on foot, visited the central Market and got a chance to interact more with our Mamaticas. So far, Costa Rica has been a wonderful experience. Being able to interact directly with the culture has been incredible.

At our homestay our Mamatica greeted us with crepes and fresh pineapple. Once we got to the city and prepared for our walking tour, we witnessed the beautiful layout of the city. We learned a lot about the local culture and history. One interesting fact we learned was that the city was named “The City of Flowers” after a president whose last names were related to flowers. In the city, we were able to purchase and eat some fruit.

After leaving the city, we visited an open-air mall with a unique setup designed for social gathering, reminiscent of American malls from the 80’s. To my surprise, the interior of the mall was very similar to an American mall. While there, we also got a chance to view the city of San Jose and learned many interesting facts. For instance, China has constructed numerous stadiums and electric cars in the area, primarily for diplomatic purposes. I was also interested in the fact that the city of San Jose is very similar to Los Angeles. Additionally, we discovered that the city of San Jose is surrounded by several active volcanoes.

When we returned to our homestays, we had a fun time helping our Papaticos set up a translating device he bought so he could communicate with us better. Before we arrived, I was very nervous about living with strangers who did not speak English well. But as time passed, I couldn’t be happier, and I am so grateful to have met our homestay parents.