Mi Casa Nueva

For those of you who don’t remember, a couple weeks ago I was looking for a new house to move into. That move happened on the first of the year, a change in honor of the New Year J (sort of). I didn’t move until after 4pm, so I had a very relaxed afternoon (I packed most of my stuff the night before and the rest in the morning). I was definitely a littler nervous about moving into a new home. I was just starting to get comfortable in the house I was in, but I know I need to switch homes, now I need to get used to a new home, new people, new routines.

As a reminder, the house I have moved into is “La Casa de Mujeres” (The House of Women). I live with a woman named Shirley, her daughter Kris, and Shirley’s sister, Jessika Marcela (2 Jessica’s in one house, uh oh, and yes, she does spell it with a “k” not a “c”). My first night, I meet Marcela, Shirley and Marcela’s father, Marcela’s boyfriend, and a family friend named Laura. Everyone seems really nice. They all speak slower Spanish so I can understand better and are very patient with me when I don’t understand.

When I was talking with Shirley’s father, he thought I had just arrived in Costa Rica, so when he found out I have been here for about a month, he said I was Tica. That made me smile, and I had to tell him I need to be able to speak Spanish first! I was also told that Kris is a good little professor when it comes to helping me learn Spanish. Having Kris here does definitely help me feel more comfortable. I don’t feel as silly talking with her as I do talking to adults.

I must say that it does feel good to finally be able to unpack and put my things in a closet! I actually feel like I’m home (or at least the part of being able to put my things some place other than my suitcase, the rest will come with time). The only problem, at least for now, is that I live on a busy street, so at night it’s hard to sleep because there’s always something driving by. However, I know that with time, I will stop “hearing” the cars and trucks…I CAN’T WAIT!!

P.S. The night before I left my old house, Rosy told me that I was a very special girl. I’m very quiet and don’t talk much. This made me smile because everyone at home would probably laugh to hear that. I told her it was just because I couldn’t talk in Spanish. So just so you all know, most people here think I’m a quiet girl who doesn’t talk much!! I am learning to not talk, something I promise was trying to work on at home even if I wasn’t succeeding.