Hello my home

It has been less than 12 hours since I was last in Costa Rica. What a strange transition! When I got to the Fort Lauderdale airport I ordered a coffee, and as I left the stand I said 'gracias' rather than 'thank you'. Every time that I encounter a new person I prepare myself to respond in Spanish, and it takes me a few seconds to realize once again that I no longer need to speak to everyone in a different language, that once again I am in the land of my native tongue.

This is both a good and bad thing, I suppose. It is wonderful to not have to think about how to conjugate verbs and remember vague vocabulary that I learned once upon a time. On the other hand, I worry that not practicing Spanish every day for hours will really diminish the skills I have learned in the last six weeks. I feel like I will begin to forget when to use usted vs. tú, or forget what mantequilla de maní is. I am especially worried that I will deplete my Spanish skills within this school year before I will be going to Chile, where I will be staying for a year.

I guess that this just means that I will have to keep up my skills until I study abroad once more! I have heard that there are several ways to do this. One method is to listen to Spanish podcasts in my free time (Coffee Break Spanish, news in Spanish, etc.) Another is to attend Spanish practice sessions on the NAU campus, like Tertulia and Teletandem. Most of all, I think I need to force myself to practice my language skills on my own- to think in Spanish.

After getting only a brief 6-week taste of study abroad life, I've caught the travel bug. I can't wait until I get to study abroad again in Chile, and hopefully visit plenty of that country along with the surrounding countries. Study abroad is a really beautiful experience that allows students to learn about a new culture, help improve language skills, and most importantly (for me, anyway), get to see what life is like outside of the comfort zone. Despite the struggles I went through, I can't imagine a better way to spend my time as an undergraduate student.

Since my traveling has come to an end (at least for now), I would like to thank all of the people who have shared this journey with me, including my professors, peers, family, and anyone who has read this blog! I hope it has helped you learn something new about the beautiful country of Costa Rica.

Pura Vida,
Nicole