<p>can you eat it with rice and beans?</p>
<p>My older daughters first flight was to Costa Rica as a jr in high school.
They had a great time- very humid- take extra strenght antihistamine for the plane just in case.</p>
<p>Costa Rica has a higher literacy rate than US
lots of pilfering I suppose in marketplaces- but you probably would have same prob in Times Square.
She also had a hard time practicing Spanish although she did stay with a family, because everyone wanted to practice their English.</p>
<p>My Dad had business and in-laws in Costa Rica. Traveled their extensively and lived there occasionally.Traveled everywhere but mostly based out of Alajuela (not far from San Jose). Loved the higher elevations and the Pacific coastline. The locals complained mightily of immigrants from Nicarauga and petty property crime in San Jose. Go. Enjoy. And report back. You can survive off frijoles negros. Oh, he enjoyed the volcano parks, arenal, and Puntarenas. He thought Guanacaste looked like Texas in parts. Mostly arid cattle country.</p>
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<p>Never thought about it <em>shrug</em> lol.</p>
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<p>The family we’re placed with is only allowed to speak Spanish with us. Many of the families don’t know any English. Our prof said that we could allow them to practice their English for 30 minutes each day, just so that the learning wouldn’t be one-sided :).</p>
<p>It’s a beautiful and friendly place. My D spent last fall there on a study abroad about an hour from San Jose in a small town. We visited her in December.
Bring light-weight quick-dry clothing and shoes. I had some Crocs brand shoes (not the big ugly clogs) and they were great. Also had some Teva-type sandals that worked well. The locals wear jeans. Perhaps they iron them dry or only do laundry on sunny days, because things hanging on a line don’t really dry on a cloudy day.
The thing that surprised us the most was how quickly it got dark in the evenings. There is no lingering twilight. We almost hiked down the long path to the beach when we arrived at 5:30, thinking it would be a nice evening stroll. By 6 it was pitch black.</p>
<p>That was exactly what my daughter took with her- Cherry Jam and Cherry Chili Pepper Jam from Traverse City!</p>
<p>^ Yes! Traverse :). That’s where the jam is from!</p>
<p>(Missing Cherry Fest this year makes me sad :().</p>
<p>I just mentioned the rice and beans because D said they were served at every meal for the three weeks they were there.
;)</p>
<p>The jelly is a wonderful idea. </p>
<p>If you’re going down south, binocs are a good idea, to see the absolutely amazing birds: scarlet macaws all over the place, toucans, many, many other large, bright-colored birds.</p>
<p>Hi romanigypsyeyes, from a fellow Spartan. I thought you must mean jam from American Spoon Foods. Love their cherry jam. I went to Cherry Fest when I was a little girl.</p>
<p>On your trip, watch your backpack and belongings carefully at all times. Don’t let anyone else touch your backpack when you are on a bus. My D recently had her camera stolen out of her backpack (from a side pocket) on a bus in Ecuador when someone moved it so he could use the seat it was in.</p>
<p>Take sunscreen with a high number. (And remember to use it.) She got burned from just a few minutes outside without it.</p>
<p>^ First off, go green!</p>
<p>Secondly, yes, I am going through our collection of American Spoon foods to find an unopened jar that I can take with me. I’m crossing my fingers that my dad heads up to Traverse sometime before I leave. If not, I’m going to hit up the farmer’s market on Saturday (nothing like cutting it close lol). </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice bookie, fortunately I think I will only be on the bus about 6 times and always in a group. That should be a lot safer. </p>
<p>And I burn really easily, so I’ve been going tanning (yuck. I hate it). I’m the kind of person that burns and then gets really sick (it’s like having the flu- it sucks, especially with a sunburn). Sunscreen is probably the one thing I’ll most likely forget too.</p>
<p>Don’t go tanning, that’s just accelerating your future skin cancer. Use sunblock, wear clothes that cover you, and bring a broad-brimmed hat.</p>
<p>So thanks to this thread I got in such a mood for fresh fruit - I bought mango, kiwi, watermelon and pineapple. The only thing that was truly ripe and sweet was the pineapple - it was a product of Costa Rica!</p>
<p>Kiwi sounds so good now… too darn expensive though :(</p>
<p>Oooh, that was another thing our D found - local fruits are plentiful and not expensive when in season but if not, forget about it.</p>