Reminiscing

Ten years ago this summer I saw my family in Costa Rica for the last time. I lived with Mari, Jorge and Veronica through the summer of 1998, studying and enjoying their culture and family life. In 1999 I went back for the last time after graduation. The country is breath-taking, the tourism opportunities endless, the food interesting... Everything about the experience was great, but best of all I loved my host-family.

I have not kept up with my Spanish as much as I would have liked, so my conversational skills have waned, and with it our contact. I would love to go back someday and take Aden and Dave with me!

Mari, Veronica, Jorge and I enjoyed a day trip to Volcan Poas on a misty day in July of 1998.
Here is the house where I lived with Mari, Coqui and Veronica. "My house is your house," they always said...

My summer in Costa Rica started with a journal entry, "June 28, 1998, 7:37 AM... I arrived at my host family's house last night around midnight. My host mother waited up for me - so nice of her, and it is a beautiful home. I'm lying here in bed without a clue about how many people live in this house, or whether or not toilet paper can be flushed down the toilet, or where the shower is... I just heard a bell and I don't know what it is for, and I hear a child. My bedroom window does not look outside, it looks to another room, so I am excited to look outside in the daylight." The summer concluded with a surprise party. I arrived home from classes to find the house decorated and a grand cake on the table. The whole family and another student arrived to bid me farewell.