It seems completely counter-intuitive to send study abroad students to a completely different place for their first week of orientation, only to shuttle them off to a completely new town with completely new family.
It’s paramount to doubling the culture shock, antithetical to IFSA’s promise of “More culture. Less shock.”
But, by George, it works. Transition to university has been easier than I could have imagined, no small thanks to my time in Liberia.
Today was my last full day in Liberia, one of the bigger cities in Guanacaste, the northwest region of Costa Rica.
I had a great time climbing volcanoes, touring the clubs and dancing/singing with ticos.
But one the best, worst parts of my first week here: Spanish.
Read the rest of the post here.
UPDATE: July 22
I misspoke in the original headline, “Learning Spanish, poco por poco.” The saying is, “poco a poco.” Clearly I’m not learning Spanish as quickly as I thought. h/t to Paige Jones for pointing out the error.
Zach C. Cohen 