Author: Hannah Purkey 

Location: San Jose, Costa Rica

I have gotten a lot of questions about what a typical day in Costa Rica is like. Fair question right? After three months, one would think I could answer this question with ease. The truth is it differs every day. The structure of my semester has been very different than anything I have experienced in Valpo. Here’s a glimpse of what my day looks like!

Costa Rica Part One:

The first months of my time in Costa Rica were based more around a typical class schedule. My days went something like this:

6:00 A.M.  – Wake up to the warm sun shining on my face and get ready

6:34 A.M. –  Start riding my bike to the train stop (I had this down to a T)

6:43ish A.M. – Get on the train to go to the University of Costa Rica (transportation here runs on Tico time, that means the nonchalant attitude Costa Ricans (Tico’s) have about being (not) on time.)

8:00 A.M. – 1:00 PM Spanish Classes. We were in very small Spanish classes with people from all over the world!

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A picture of everyone in my Spanish Grammar class!

1:00-3:00 P.M. – Eat lunch and go back to Santa Rosa (the neighborhood where the program is based)

3:00-5:00 P.M. – History of Costa Rica class or hangout with our host family time (depending on the day)

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I always look forward to spending time with my host sisters!

5:00-9:00 P.M. – Homework, dinner, and more family time.

9:30 P.M. – Bedtime! I go to bed much earlier here than I did at Valpo!

This was more or less my weekly schedule before Spring break. The second awesome part about this study abroad program is you get to do an internship! The following is what my schedule has looked like since Spring Break.

Costa Rica Part Two:

7:00 A.M. – Wake up, get ready, and catch the train!

8:30 A.M. – Arrive at Fundacion Mujer (the place where I am interning.)

8:30-1:00 P.M. – Help out with data input, talk to refugees, assist in workshops, and more!

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Kyra and I after our first day!

1:00 – 2:00 P.M. – Eat lunch with co-workers. This has been some of my favorite moments at my internship site so far! I love learning and hearing about people’s work and lives here!

2:00 – 4:00 P.M. – Head home or work more (depending on the day.)

4:00 – 9:00 P.M. – Spend time with my host family, dinner, homework, and more.

9:00ish P.M. – Bedtime once again!

Here’s a quick note about Tico Time: Costa Ricans run on a different kind of time system. Sometimes things take twice as long and sometimes they take no time at all. And it is all NO big deal. People do not worry much about time which makes mandated time grids (like above) hard to follow.

 

These are rough outlines of what my time has looked like here in Costa Rica. Everyday is very different, but each day is full of lots of learning and growing!