Figuring it all out.

On our first weekend in Costa Rica we did some sight seeing as well as having a few classroom discussions about the program. We visited Cafe' Brit, which as a large coffee distributor and processing company. Coffee is more than a commodity in Costa Rica it is a centrifugal force that binds Costa Rica. Coffee is a key source of economic export, which provides much needed foreign exchange receipts that are a backbone of the Costa Rican economy, but it is also part of the daily conversation.

We also visited La Paz, which is an ecological park, and nature reserve nestled in the mountains not far from San Jose.

After checking out of the hotel on Sunday and stopping buy CPI for our Spanish testing we talked a little bit about what to expect from our stay with our host families. There was a certain amount of tension and nervousness about what to expect during our stay, but nothing unusual.

My family picked me up and we went strait to a family gathering. Mi Tico Papa, Alvaro, and Mi Tica Mama, Rosario, were celebrating the fact that their niece was having a baby. At first it seemed intimidating to be at a "small" family gathering of about 100 Costa Rican's, but it actually made for a smoother transition because nobody could hear each other over the music.

My family knows a little English and I know a little Spanish so we could communicate about the basics. It is that very tension that makes the experience more clarifying. I believe that one has to be motivated to learn another language and when you are in a situation where communication cannot occur, you quickly learn that you need to learn.

As much as being in that position is uncomfortable, it is the best way, in my opinion to learn. For me, the tension and isolation from my native language has produced the motivation for me to learn more. It has also taught me with laser beam clarity, what a student in a classroom feels like when he is not fluent in the language or completely comfortable with the culture.

One critical difference from my position and the student in the classroom is the he is probably 10 years old. Imagine what that feels like to be isolated.