Aero: Sarah Warner – Costa Rica 2016 – Life at Home

Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

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Although I love to travel and have stayed away from my family for weeks to months at a time, I still had a few nerves about staying with a foreign family for a couple weeks.  I wanted them to like me, and I certainly did not want to come across as rude or ignorant.  Needles to say, from the very moment Maria Marta kissed my cheek the first day in the airport, to the endless hugs on the last day at the airport, they felt like family.  Even after a long day of adventure, we were eager to talk with our host family about our day and just spend time together.  We learned so much about the food and culture from the parents and their sons.

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Sarah Warner

When we first stepped into their home, I was in awe at how beautiful the house was.  Along with this, the weather was so warm that the windows and doors could remain open all day long.  I felt so bad because in order for us all to sleep there comfortably, the whole family stayed in the parent’s room. I felt like they put us first the whole time we were there, so I was excited to give them our host gifts so we could do something for them in return.  This being said, even though the father Marco was feeling under the weather, they both still made sure that we felt comfortable the entire time.

Another thing I loved about the family is how loving they were towards each other.  The parents were always hugging or holding hands, and the boys always had their hands around their mother making sure she was feeling okay or asking if she needed anything.  It really showed a lot about who they were as people and how much they cared about each other. It was really cool to live so deeply into the culture and ask about how things are different from America to Costa Rica.  Finally, it was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye.  Daniel and Marco felt like brothers by the time we left and we had such a nice last night home with homemade pizza, brownies, and photos. Even though it felt like we were from completely different worlds, we seemed to get along really well and despite our differences we really did have a lot in common.

Sarah Warner
LEAF Contributor
ML@FLCC: Costa Rica 2016

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