Studying abroad has been so much more than classes in a new country and adventures on the weekend. It has gifted me with a family that I've come to know and love more than I ever imagined. I live alongside two other study abroad students and our familia tica, an adorable group of my mama tica, papa tica, David, and Daniella.
While stimulating and fun, being apart of a native Costa Rican family with basic Spanish skills has its challenges. I have learned how to communicate with my mama tica using a translator at times when necessary (like when I asked mama tica how she met papa tico), and using the skills I learned in class to talk about our days, our likes and dislikes, and what to get David for his birthday...
Our conversations may be basic without a dictionary to help me, but the small talk mean the most because it is a reminder that I am in a new country, learning a language, and trying my hardest to make a connection.
It's a celebration every morning when I ask my mama tica to repeat a phrase or ask her how to say a verb I'm unfamiliar with. As shown this morning when our papa tico was talking about playing the guitar and I wanted to share that I missed my violin that I left in the states. "Cómo se dice I miss?" There was a small hesitation as mama tica thought about my question, then understanding lit her face and she answered, "echar de menos, entonces echo de menos mí violin." A small statement, but one that took teamwork to share across the language barrier.
Being here has taught me how much I take my ability to communicate in English for granted, and also given me inspiration to dutifully learn Spanish so that I may share my ideas with another culture.
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