Costa Rica with Ray

Ray’s Second and Third Weeks in Costa Rica

Name: Ray Jackson

Program: Valpo Study Center in Costa Rica

Location: Heredia and San Jose, Costa Rica

Spanish Speaking Update

The third week was when I felt my Spanish Speaking skills become the most natural it’d been. During my walks and train rides to and from the university, I had plenty of time to think and brainstorm. But throughout the second and third week, these thoughts slowly transformed into Spanish, and by about Tuesday or Wednesday of the third week, my thoughts during this period of the day were completely in Spanish.

Not only that, but by Wednesday night of the third week, I started to dream only in Spanish. My Spanish is usually at its best when I’m in a more relaxed state, so my thoughts tend to be only in Spanish before going to sleep and after waking up, which is probably why ever since that day, I’ve dreamed almost exclusively in Spanish.

Then came Friday. This was an exciting day for me because for the whole day I could speak Spanish very easily with very little mistakes. I felt my brain working, but it felt more like the kind of work that you do when solving a fun puzzle and doing it successfully. And all I wanted to do was talk; everyone heard my voice today: my host mom, the random Costa Rican students at the university, the grocery store workers… EVERYONE. I could not stop talking 🗣️.

But the interesting thing is that the next day, it felt like I had lost my ability to speak Spanish. I could barely even understand my host family. I guess my brain eventually burned itself out, but it was fun while it lasted 😅. My Spanish improved again by the next week anyway.

Host Family

This week I also met several members of my host family. My host mom, the dog, and I are usually the only ones at home, but her relatives like to come and visit often. I first met one of her nephews, who is an English Professor. It was interesting to see how passionate he was about perfecting his English. He even learned how to speak in Jamaican Patois.

Next, I met three of my host mom’s children. The younger of the three is very charming and social, and he gifted me a shirt that he made himself. The other two are twins and are both usually very busy working in medicine. I was also able to meet the daughter of one of them, who is a very experienced dancer. I am usually FAR from being an only child, so having more people in the house every once in a while, reminded me of home.

My host mom and I also took a visit to her sister’s house who lives on the corner of the same street. There I met her niece, three more nephews, her sister, and her brother-in-law. The niece sells artisan souvenirs, so I was even able to buy some nice things from her. My host mom and I have a lot in common, and one of those things is that we both have very big families. I think it is beautiful that she values family just as much as I do.

Finishing Spanish Class

The fourth week was the last week of my Spanish class. The class had many assignments on top of everything else I had to do. But it’s a good thing I got ahead on all the assignments before the class even began. This week, we had to do a conversation in front of the class with a partner, present what we’ve learned from a previous trip to the museum, write a composition, and do a presentation on a Latin American historical event. And on top of all that, the train system was messed up twice this week, so I was late to class both times. But, with luck, I did very well on every assignment in the course, and I passed 🥳.

I’m going to miss that class because even though it was a lot of work, every assignment truly boosted my learning, and the teacher is really talented at what she does. Also, all of the students in the class were pretty much one big friend group along with the professor. We were very lucky to have such a good relationship dynamic among so many people, and I’m glad I had the chance to meet everyone.

Mis Majes de Moda

I definitely have to say that one of the highlights of my stay in Costa Rica was spending time with “mis majes de moda”. In Costa Rican Spanish, that roughly translates to “my fashion friends”. Right underneath the foreign studies floor was the “fashion floor”, where most of the fashion design students took class and made their clothing for class projects 🧵. And that was one of my favorite places to linger when I was on campus.

At first, I didn’t talk to anyone because I was scared to speak Spanish with the natives. But by weeks three and four, I was all up in everything that they were doing 👀. I loved getting to know the students, and it was easy for me to connect to their interests because I’ve always been fascinated by fashion. I even learned some easy techniques that I can use when tailoring my own clothing. Even though I was the only foreigner in the room most of the time, I didn’t feel all that foreign when I was around them. As long as I moved with confidence, no one treated me any differently than just another classmate. I’m definitely going to miss interacting with them, but it’s a good thing that we have social media these days. I can’t wait to see their future work.

With just two weeks left of my adventure, I was beginning to feel the end approaching. My Spanish class may have ended, but I still found ways to keep myself busy. Next time I will talk about how everything wrapped up for me. Hasta Luego 👋!