I have been in San Jose, Costa Rica, for a little over a week now. I arrived around noon Saturday, Jan. 7, and my experience has been filled with new adventures. The day after I arrived, I toured downtown San Jose and Britt Coffee with the other CIS study abroad students. I LOVE coffee and being able to see the steps contributing to the local (deliciously rich) coffee was fascinating. Plus, the tour guides were incredibly entertaining with their skits and jokes throughout the tour.

Many of my professors at the University of Veritas identify as facilitators, which is an interesting change from the University of Missouri professors I have had. By being a facilitator, they encourage class feedback, have more active participation and are open to changing the class schedule. One of my classes only has five people, including myself and the professor, and I’m used to 200+ people per class in the business school.

My host family is absolutely amazing! They own a restaurant, and the breakfast and dinner provided for me and my host sister, Madison, is always delicious. We eat a lot of rice and beans (gallo pinto) and drink fresh juices. The family is also a great outlet to practice Spanish, especially because my host mom, Gloriana, speaks little English. Madison and I have bonded with the host family by having dinner together and playing board games, and it has been super fun!

This past weekend, my CIS group and I visited Sarchi, Zarcero and La Fortuna to see more Costa Rican culture, as well as a huge waterfall and swim in the hot springs. My favorite part was experiencing the waterfall because the weather was perfect and the view was amazing. The rain was too heavy the night before, so no one was able to swim in it (unfortunately), but it was still worth walking down/up 350 steps to see the beautiful scenery.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: CIS Abroad: Semester in Costa Rica