Our 5 day home stay experience is over; we moved back into our bungalows this morning! Staying with a host family is one of the coolest things I've ever done... of course there are those awkward language barrier moments and that kind of thing, but overall it was such a great experience to be submerged in a totally different culture.
The wedding Saturday night was so cool. One of the ladies who works in the kitchen was getting married to her long time boyfriend.. they already live together and have two kids, but could not afford a wedding up until now. We drove to the church in lower San Luis (about 20 minutes away) and you could say me and my host mom got real close when I had to sit on her lap the whole way there because their truck only sits 3 people. The roads are ridiculously bumpy so I hit my head on the ceiling of the truck more than anything...we were all just laughing. Costa Rican Catholic weddings are long, just like Greek weddings. The ceremony lasted almost 2 hours, but about halfway through,my 16 year old sister, Naivy, said "Quiere ir afuera?" (Want to go outside?) She was bored... haha. So I went outside with her and we just talked for a while. The whole thing was very informal, but cool to watch. The reception was really fun! There was a lot of salsa dancing and we were able to show off the moves we had learned from Geovanny! All these old Costa Rican men came up to us and wanted to dance, it was so funny! If people in the United States could dance like people in Costa Rica, I am convinced that weddings and parties would be way more fun!
Yesterday, I went to work with my mom in the kitchen here on campus. I mostly washed dishes and chopped vegetables, but I think she remembered me telling her that my favorite food was ice cream because when her shift was over, she pulled out a huge tub of ice cream, scooped some out for us, and we sat and talked and ate ice cream! When we walked back to the house, we just chilled the rest of the day and I got a bunch of homework done. For dinner, we had...you guessed it...rice and beans and also this type of green squash that's really good, but we don't have it in the US. They are not big meat eaters... (I'm craving some ribs SO bad). Oh and also, we watched Dancing with the Stars- Costa Rican style last night, it was hilarious.
All in all, the home stay experience made me really appreciative of what I do have and also showed me that I have a lot that I don't need. Yeah they have a tiny house and one bathroom that's outside, but they are one of the most loving families I have ever met and spend most of their time together as a family. It made me miss my family!! And although there were bugs constantly everywhere in their house...who cares?? They didn't bother anyone (unless you were the only one with a light on). I am so thankful to have had this opportunity. We stay in home stays again at the end of February. I am not sure if I will be with the same family again, but I am excited regardless. Lunch time....gotta go.
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