Prepare for Take Off

The originally intent of this blog was or it to be a travel blog. I got the idea from a friend who went to Brazil for 6 months and wrote a little for my university's multicultural student newspaper. I figured a blog would be a great way to keep track of my experiences as well as share them with others. While the thought of studying abroad still freaks me out (check first blog post) it is happening. In exactly 10 days I leave for Costa Rica. I will be staying with a family in San Jose and taking classes at the local university. I am participating in a special International Development program. Four of my classes will be based on issues of Human Rights, Justice, and other related development topics, while the fifth will be a Spanish class. Now this is going to sound weird. I speak fluent Spanish but avoid speaking it whenever possible. It's an insecurity thing like people who speak fluent English but have thick accents so they avoid having to say much. Hopefully, Costa Rica will cure me of that. I blame my parents who didn't raise me speaking Spanish. I use my Spanish only once a week (minus the curses and random Spanglish phrases).

I already received the info on my host family. My happy go lucky ass used to be extra excited about studying abroad and put no preference for everything. They even asked if we minded a widow- I thought "aww I can keep her company". lol. The only thing I requested was no smoking and that the house be close to the university. I can't go from cutting across Kogan plaza to an hour of travel time. My family consist of a 30 year old man and a 66 year old woman. I imagine it's a man and his mother. As a Latino I don't find it odd that the mom would live in the house. We don't exactly believe in Nursing Homes, ya dig? it's kind of disappointing however that there aren't any kids in the house. I really want to volunteer while I'm in Costa Rica so I'll just find something with kids I guess. Assuming the family doesn't try to impose a curfew (haven't had one since 15) it should be all good. Oh, and she better cook good food. Meals are included and my broke ass can't afford to buy food.

Speaking of money- lets talk budget. The government took a shit load more of my check than I had anticipated now my whole budget is off. Not to mention I'm going to Loehman's where they have these Gucci boots for cheap. omg, it brings a smile to my face just thinking about it... but yeah I have to bring traveler's checks or figure out what these ATM fees are gonna look like. This is one of my top motivators for choosing Costa Rica- the dollar is stronger than the colon(?).

I'll end with a few tips my hard-headed behind has learned in getting ready to study abroad....

- Get your visa documents early so your not shitting bricks like me
- travel light (how the hell am I gonna do this idk!). Make sure you leave plenty of space for all the things you'll buy along the way
- Get a webcam. It's cheaper and better than calling cards
- Have a passport, a valid passport
- Book your ticket using studentuniverse.com It's cheaper than expedia, orbitz, all of that..
- leave a copy of all relevant documents with someone you trust stateside.
- Get a Visa (pr mastercard). I refuse to live like those crazy backpackers that go through Europe and Latin America with breadcrumbs in their pockets. I want to climb mountains, go horseback riding, travel to remote beaches, not starve- the usual. This way if I run out of $$ I can go on living happily until I come home and have to pay off the bill....


Since I've scrapped my plan to run away to an undisclosed location (dead serious)- the next post will be from Costa Rica (unless I feel the need to rant on something).

Deuces,
Naz.

P.s. Congrats if you actually read this whole thing.