Closing: Tico Talks

Closing: Tico Talks           

                After over two months since my last blog post and almost two months since returning home from Heredia, Costa Rica, I am finally finding and making the time to intentionally reflect on my five month experience abroad. The last two months have been a whirlwind. I nanny 50 hours a week and try to spend time with my Charlotte people! Each day, I search for people with whom I can practice my Spanish. So far, I have met a Peruvian man (at Freedom Park) whose daughter plays for Colombia’s national soccer team, a family from Mexico whose children spoke to me in Spanish during our wait for a table (at Olive Garden), a group of friendly folks who work at Laurel Market (a delicious local deli), multiple servers at my favorite Mexican restaurants, and a plethora of new friends out and about in Charlotte! The Spanish language is my newest passion (and obsession, at times!) and I only have Costa Rica to blame. J

                I believe that I shared most of my favorite and challenging experiences within my blog posts when I was abroad. Now, I want to share some of what Costa Rica taught me:

1)      Possibilities and explorations of travel. I learned that I could travel alone or with a group of people. I entertained myself for 7+ hours while on a bus without air conditioning! Hostel life is the best life. I connected with anyone and everyone…at the hostels, while enjoying alone time at restaurants, on the bus with the woman next to me and the two men in front of me. Most importantly, I discovered that Argentinian empanadas make the best travel survival kit!

2)      Power of walking. I walked and walked and walked and walked. My 6 minute walk to the corner store, the bakery, and my bus stop became my favorite walk of the day. I walked at least 5 miles a day!

3)      Importance of Public Transportation. Every day, I miss my bus! Costa Rica would not survive if it were not for the public bus system. Someday, I want to live somewhere in the world where I do not own a car and I only utilize the public transportation system.

4)      Cooking. Each day, I ate totally homemade and totally fresh food. Costa Ricans rarely eat at restaurants and I think the reason is that the food at home is some of the best in the world! Now that I am back in the USA, I cook more than I ever imagined. I recently made four different meals that all turned out perfectly (for those of you who know me, you know this is close to a miracle!).

5)      Spanish! When I arrived to Heredia, I literally knew close to no Spanish. I could not express myself. I knew how to say the basics, but my grammar was almost all wrong. Now, I have never been more proud of myself in my life! When I walk down the streets, I eavesdrop on conversations of the Latinos around me. I love to listen to the radio in Spanish (I even have one Spanish channel programmed in my car). I enjoy watching the morning news in Spanish as well. Most importantly, I have landed my dream internship…..and I owe it all (almost) to my experience in Heredia, Costa Rica.

                While I was in Costa Rica, I was accepted to an internship with The Washington Center program in Washington D.C. for the fall semester of my senior year. Since returning home, I have had about 10 phone and Skype interviews with different non-profit organizations in D.C. I had two interviews that I was super excited about. After the second of those interviews, the woman told me that I would receive a phone call in 2 or 3 hours for my interview in Spanish…..15 minutes after my interview in English ended, I received a phone call. The woman said “Hi, Caitlin!” and then continued in Spanish for the next 12 minutes. I could not believe it. I had my first interview in another language, the woman understood everything I said, I only messed up my grammar a little bit, and I understood everything she asked me! I know that this never would have happened 6 months ago. Costa Rica and learning Spanish led me to my dream interview which turned into my dream internship. Speaking Spanish has already opened so many doors for me and I cannot wait to work with the Latina women that have cancer at Nueva Vida this fall.

                Each day I think about my internship and look forward to an amazing fall semester. For those of you who are wondering, yes, I will be obtaining academic credit and I will graduate on time (I will earn 15 credits). I am ready to begin this journey! I own new business casual attire (thanks to hours spent shopping and organizing with my mom), I will have a few days to explore D.C. (and become comfortable with the Metro system) with my papa before my internship begins, I will walk down the same streets that my Grandmother walked down 70 years ago, and I will serve the Latina population of women who have cancer at Nueva Vida. I plan to make every day a day to learn and serve and make a difference in people’s lives. I look forward to speaking Spanish….all day, every day (thank you, Costa Rica!).

                Once again, thank you to everyone who has followed me for the last 6 months. Your “likes,” notes of encouragement and support, and prayers mean the world to me. I plan to blog during my time in D.C. this fall, but as we all know, it might be another month before my blog is updated!

                If you are interested, Nueva Vida is who I will be interning with and this is their website: http://www.nueva-vida.org/