Hola from Costa Rica – we’ve finally made it! The past few days have been pretty eventful, between flying in, exploring San Jose, and getting settled in our hostel.
Our first day was pretty much just a travel day. I had a 7am flight with Sarah from Chicago to Charlotte, and Charlotte to San Jose. The morning felt really long from having to wake up at 3:30 to get to the airport, but when we finally landed in San Jose, all exhaustion was replaced with excitement. We were immediately greeted by the kind people of Costa Rica, and it made leaving home a lot easier. At the same time, I realized how much Spanish I’m going to need, so Duolingo and Google translate are definitely going to become my best friend.
Once Sarah and I arrived at the hostel, we were both starving, so we went to the hostel’s restaurant and got Tico Bowls (pictured!).This was my first meal here and boy was it tasty. I noticed how fresh the food here is compared to America, so I’m looking forward to trying other Costa Rican dishes. After getting acquainted with our room and exploring the hostel, all of us went to Lolita (a food court) for dinner and met with Dr. Wettergreen and his family. Hannah and I shared short rib tacos from one of the restaurants– also amazing.
Tico bowl!
On our second day, we woke up sweaty (the weather here is hot and humid), so we went to get a cold breakfast at the hostel. Once again, the restaurant did not disappoint and I had a really good coconut smoothie bowl. Afterwards, Hannah, Abby, Sarah, and I walked over to the central market, which is basically just a gigantic farmers market with tons of fresh produce. We tried fresh passionfruit which was super yummy and refreshing. Later on, we went to the grocery store about a 10 minute walk away to buy some ingredients for dinner and some snacks. The grocery store that we visited was similar to an American grocery store, and I got to practice my Spanish with the cashier (“buenas tardes”, “gracias!” — I’m basically a pro now). We went back to the hostel, unpacked, and started cooking dinner. We made pesto pasta with some veggies — and I’m now realizing how much of this post is about my meals — but it was also delicious.
Pasta & veggies cooked by ~the girls~
Today, our group went to the Starbucks facility – Hacienda Alsacia – for a tour of the plantation and to try some coffee. It was in a super beautiful location in the mountains (pictured!) with lots of great views. Seeing the process of planting –> harvesting –> bean selection –> roasting was interesting and gave a lot of insight into what goes in a cup of coffee. Catching an Uber back was tough, since the route to the Starbucks was blocked by a truck stuck on a bridge. We thought we would be trapped in the Starbucks for days, but nevertheless we were saved by our Uber driver who took a long, alternate route to come rescue us.
View from Starbucks facility
Key takeaways from these past few days:
- it’s humid here and I need to get used to it
- I need to learn better Spanish
- water is so good
I’m looking forward to the next few days of clinical observations and adapting more to Costa Rica. Hasta luego!