Living with my host family has been a great experience. My host mom is very friendly and is always worried about us. She always makes sure we are well fed and we slept well. One thing I did not expect though was how she is always on time for meals. I learned that in Costa Rica they are on “Tico Time” meaning they are not punctual, however my host mom always has the food ready exactly when she said we would eat. I was also surprised by how accommodating she was to our preferences. I kind of expected that they would cook and then we would eat whatever she makes no matter what. However, she is very generous and is concerned about us eating. After each meal she asks us what we like and what we don’t like.
Today we did a walking tour and visited the Mercado Central. I got a glimpse of how Ticos live their everyday life. The market was bustling with people, with a variety of stalls that offered spices, clothing, meat, fruit, and more. The people at the market were very friendly and wanted to help us in our scavenger hunt. This reflects the Tico way of life, where they are very friendly and happy to help. Many of the workers and the shoppers would help point us in the direction, and if they did not know where something was they would ask around instead of leaving us stranded. However, one thing that I feel like goes against my impression of Ticos is their roads. When walking around I noticed that the roads are very busy and they do not give pedestrians the right of way. I also saw that sometimes to bypass traffic, motorcycles would go in the opposing lane. I thought because of their relaxed attitude they wouldn’t be so aggressive in driving.