30 Day Writing Challenge: My Morning Routine

My morning routine is basically just like that of every other college student, except for the living and studying abroad part. I wake up half an hour before I have to head down to breakfast with mi familia tica, because I am not a morning person. I shower, put on my acne cream, put on my face moisturizer, brush my hair, and get dressed. At 7:30, I head down to have breakfast with my housemates and mama tica. She usually makes us a sandwich or eggs and toast with a bowl of fruit, orange juice, and coffee. The first two months of my abroad experience, I used to leave five minutes before 8am, when my first class would start, since I only live a two minute walk from the university. Since I no longer have a Spanish class, I don't have my class on Mondays and Wednesdays until 6pm, and my class on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 3pm. I usually spend my morning relaxing, working on homework (just a bit though, since I don't have much), browsing the internet and reading emails, or running errands. On Fridays, I have no classes, so that makes my weekends longer.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Bulleted List of My Day

Bulleted List of My Day (how boring)

Friday, September 20th

• woke up at 6am to work on my final presentation for Spanish class
• got ready in like 5 minutes to head down to breakfast
• ate eggs and toast and drank coffee and orange juice with my housemates and mama Tica
• headed to Spanish class
• listened to the other students present their presentations
• presented about allowing refugees from Syria into the US
• waited for my profe to grade my final exam after class; only two of us did not get our final exams back that we had taken yesterday
• received my grade for my final exam: 84
• briefly chatted with Danielle, a friend of mine, about our trip to Tortuguero that we were planning
• headed back to my homestay to drop off my backpack and computer
• walked to the mini supermarket to buy bread and snacks
• made myself a sandwich for lunch
• browsed my emails and Facebook for a little while
• started to edit my resume to apply for internships for the spring and summer
• updated my Grad Plan with my final grades for my two Spanish classes, 93 and 90 respectively
• updated my spreadsheet where I have my budget and spending for my time abroad
• edited my resumes a little more
• researched about education policy in the US compared to Costa Rica to write an article for DU Roosevelt
• worked on some blog entries
• made a map for the Art City Tour so I would make sure to hit all the museums and galleries -- I ended up not going because of the pouring rain, and sadly, it's the only one that happened during my time here :(
• did a 30 minute workout
• edited my resumes a little more
• put away my school stuff
• ate dinner with one of my housemates and mama Tica
• read some of my reading for my communications class
• went to the bar with my housemate and a friend
• stayed there for a bit, then went home to catch some zzz's before my trip to Tortuguero

30 Day Writing Challenge: My Commute

My Commute

My homestay

My commute from my homestay in San José, Costa Rica, to my study abroad university, Universidad Veritas is easy and fast. I live right around the block from the school. It's easily a two-three minute walk. I head downstairs, unlock the double lock with my key, head out the door, and then turn around to double lock the door once again with my key. The amount of security and locks at my homestay is interesting, but I definitely feel safe I take a left at the stop sign, and I'm basically on campus. I usually leave my homestay at 7:58am, even though class starts at 8am. One, because it is part of the culture for Ticos to run late due to conversations and other priorities, my profe is never there on time. Also, since I live two minutes away, I can make it to class right on time. Today, this morning it was nice and cool out. It felt great. I also saw a couple of stray cats. Seeing stray animals is very normal here. It's sad, but normal. I always make sure to give them some love. Side note, the animals here are much smaller than in the U.S., especially the cats. I still haven't figured out why. 

Stray kitty!

I almost always head back to my homestay when my morning class lets out at noon, since I don't have class until 3pm or 6pm depending on the day of the week. Buying groceries and making my own lunch at my homestay is a lot cheaper than eating lunch at the nearby restaurants every day. Every once in a while, I'll definitely go with some friends. Once again, I have to open the double lock and then double lock it behind me.

view from my university

When I leave for my afternoon class, I usually grab my umbrella because it typically starts to rain about 3 or 4 o'clock. Sometimes it also rains at like 8pm, so an umbrella is great for after my 6 o'clock class. Once again, I open the double lock and double lock it behind me. Today, I left early for my 3pm class. I felt that after my difficult Spanish final this morning, I deserved a treat. I got some skittles and a coke from the on-campus deli and headed to class. Soon after I arrived in class, the rain started pouring. If you've ever been to Costa Rica, you know the rain is no joke. The picture below was from the other day when I forgot my umbrella. In my two-three minute walk home, I was drenched. Today, I just missed the downpour. As it often is, it was hard to hear my profe because the sound of the rain overpowered her voice. Nevertheless, I'll take the rainy commute over the snow going on back at home right now. 

The rain here is no joke