The Countdown is on!

My trip to Costa Rica is getting incredibly close!  At this moment, the countdown is 3 days 8 hours.  I, unfortunately, have a ridiculous amount of things to do before I leave on Sunday morning.  First and foremost, there is the whole packing issue.  I have always despised packing, and I usually put it off until the last possible moment.  For this trip, however, I actually made a list. (I know, right?) Now that I have everything on my list purchased and spread throughout my room, the only thing left is to put it into my suitcase...a feat not to be underestimated.  Hopefully, I won't forget anything too vital, but if I do, I'm sure I'll be able to find it in Costa Rica.  The other big thing on my to-do list is my "Campus France" part of my French visa application.  It'll be interesting trying to get everything in on time and without too many problems.  I've also been meaning to brush up on my Spanish.  I'm hopeful that it will all come back to me once I get into a groove of speaking it.  I'm sure I'll throw some French in every once in a while and feel completely stupid. But hey, what's new?

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The part of my trip that I am most excited about is getting to live with a host family.  I had a great experience in Guatemala with my host family, so I'm hoping this will be the same.  The family is made up of my host mom, Vera, her daughter, Nuria, and her nine year old granddaughter, Elena.  I received this adorable picture of the grandmother and granddaughter about a week ago.  They're cute, right!  I'm also really excited about getting to know the other students in the program.  One of the girls going started a facebook group, and it's been pretty neat hearing about all the different backgrounds and interests.  I seriously cannot wait. 


My biggest worry is that these six weeks will go by way too quickly.  I hope that I can soak it all in and appreciate every moment, the good and the not so good. :)  Like the Ticos say,  ¡Pura Vida!