A Day in the Life in Costa Rica

My time in Costa Rica has been an amazing adventure full of meeting people, seeing new places, and experiencing a different culture every minute of everyday. After being here, I have noticed that I have fallen into a normal routine here (a definite sign that I’m comfortable in this once foreign country).

Can Costa Rica get more beautiful?

My days start early here. My roommates and I eat a big breakfast prepared by our Mama Tica (she is an amazing cook!) at 7am. We leave for school shortly after we’re done so we can make it to our 8am Spanish classes on time. Our Spanish classes are four hours long for five days a week. I know this sounds unbearable at first glance (you’re probably wondering how we sit still for that long), but we get a half hour break everyday. The classes are really interactive so it goes by quickly and we have so much time to practice our Spanish. Also, most people only take two months of the Spanish courses here so the long mornings won’t be for forever, I promise. After class I either walk to the CEA office to make lunch in the kitchen that they have for us there (which is the most convenient thing in the world), or grab lunch at a local restaurant with friends before our afternoon electives start.

I am taking three electives. Two of them are in English and one of them is in Spanish. They only meet twice a week for two hours, and we never have electives on Fridays. After class, I either go exploring around San José, catch up on some homework, or head home to hang out with my host family and roommates. At night, my host family, my roommates, and I sit down to a family dinner together and talk about our day and whatever else comes up that night (in Spanish of course!).

El Mercado in Cartago.

While this is my usual day-to-day routine, it obviously changes around as different opportunities come up. I'm not the type of person to turn down a trip to the market after a long day at school or a trip to one of San José's many museums. While classes are constants in my weekly schedule, so is heading to class on Friday morning with my backpack packed ready to take on the weekend with whatever trip my friends and I have planned that week (last weekend it was Panamá!). It really is always an adventure in Costa Rica with so much to do and only a few months to do. No time is wasted here.

Waterfall Repelling in La Fortuna a few weeks ago.

Peyton Black is the CEA MOJO in San José, Costa Rica. She is currently a Junior at College of Charleston.

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