Hola! Today was a normal day here :) nothing special...woke up had breakfast (BEANS!!) and did homework/studied, went to class and took a test (which went okay I think), came home, ate dinner and did more homework with my roommates, and now I'm writing my blog. Actually, I think it's kinda weird saying a "normal" day here--here being Costa Rica! I don't know it's just strange to me that I have a routine here in a foreign country. My roommates and I were talking about that today. One of Erica's professor's told them in class today that they should be in the "adjusted" stage in their culture shock. Her professor compared culture shock stages to that of a relationship. Cause there's the honeymoon stage (which we are past) and then there's the adjustment/normal routine cause you're getting used to it now and now know what to expect and can predict things. So that's the stage we're in right now :) Which I think is true. Walking home from school now, I don't pay attention to where I am and where I turn (my feet have it memorized). I don't even notice the honks anymore, and don't get scared that a person will slash my backpack when I pass someone on the narrow sidewalk. I suppose I should make it clear that I still know I need to be careful and still look around at my settings for any unusual events. Which is actually easier now since I know what to expect, so I know when something is unusual and should be extremely careful. I can convert Colones into American dollars within seconds, and I'm not scared or clueless when it comes to calling a taxi and telling them where to go. I know where cheap and good food is, where to shop for food and school supplies--boy, I'm really getting used to things :) too bad my Spanish is still not amazing...but it's better! I suppose I wasn't expecting to become fluent at it (I was just secretly wishing that it would happen). I'm still shocked with some things that I learn here... like today in my class we learned that Costa Ricans do not go to the doctor unless it's an emergency. Also, they don't need a prescription for medicine. Instead, they go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist what they should do/take and then they get/do whatever the pharmacist says. So the pharmacist is basically their doctor. In addition, my professor was telling us that they share medicine a lot! And she thinks its interesting that us Americans don't. It's actually illegal to share and give your prescription to others in the U.S. But here in Costa Rica they do it all the time! She said it's to save time and money. Which I suppose makes sense... but I still find it strange.
Update on Friday and the orphanage! We're going to be going to the orphanage and basically giving it a huge makeover! Cleaning, organizing, and painting the inside. And playing with the kids of course! :) But it's all set in stone and we've bought supplies. So I'm extremely excited! I love volunteering and doing mission work like that :) It's cool, too, because we're starting this whole thing, and from now on every CEA student will be able to volunteer there when they come. So it's something that will continue which is good for the orphanage. We'll be painting a mural inside the orphanage, and it's going to be a wall of hands in which all the kids at the orphanage will put their hand prints on and every volunteer will put their hand prints on, too! It's just amazing to think that we'll be the first ones to put our prints there and more hands will be added. Plus, it will be there for a very long time. Kids that go through the orphanage will see how many people care for them and are there for them. :) We're all super excited for it! I'll post pics of the wall afterward!
Well, buenos noches!
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