What I've learned about myself

To date we've lived in Costa Rica a little over 4 months, it may not seem like a long time but it is enough to have learn new things not only about the culture and the language but also about ourselves. Here is what Costa Rica hast taught me in this short period of time:

I'm braver than I thought I was.

Let me elaborate on this, I was not a fan of lightning and thunder. Living on the West Coast specifically Southern California most of my life means you very rarely get a thunder and lightning storm, when it does happen it is minor and lasts less than an hour. Here lightning and thunder happens 5 out of 7 days a week, it is loud and strong. Before moving I remember asking my husband what I would be doing while home alone in these storms? Not only am I enjoying them now but I also miss them on the days we don't get them. 

The first weekend after our arrival I was so afraid of getting lost and driving here, the majority of drivers follow their own traffic laws. Yes it's true. Add to this that there are only 2 lanes on most of the roads. On the third day after our arrival I was driving around Costa Rica on my own with 2 kids in tow. Not only that but I braved Costa Rica traffic at the same time as one of the heaviest rain/thunder storms they've had in a couple of years! If I can drive in Costa Rica then I can certainly drive anywhere. 

I shared how just 2 months after moving into our new home I almost got stung by a scorpion, a black scorpion and had to get rid of it before the kids found. This was not easy but I certainly dealt with it, shortly after I demanded an exterminator in our home to get control over our surroundings. Remember we are from the "concrete jungle" this is totally taking me out of my comfort zone. Now I'm dealing with my fear of finding a poisonous viper! {so far my neighbors have found 5 around our block! eeks!} 

The best way to learn about a Country is to meet the locals.

Every Sunday I head over to the local Farmer's Market, I am learning to embrace the culture here and I have also visited local restaurants. We have attended local events that celebrate local holidays even though sometimes I feel lost in translation as to what we are expected to do. 

I am embracing locals starting up new conversations with complete strangers because that's how they roll here. I've learned so much about Costa Rica through these conversations, my favorite people to talk to are the elderly because they share so much history about how Costa Rica has grown and big corporations setting up here. 

Be resourceful. 

While living in the U.S. and in Mexico I always bought the same items, because we lived near the border so I had the best of both countries. Living in the U.S. has it's luxuries that I certainly miss, I always found the cooking ingredients I needed and loved because in the U.S. you can find just about anything not to mention amazing products that make life simple. I love convenience and keeping it simple.

Here I will find products I used back home, however I can't find every single product I would like. For example salsa, I did make our own salsas but not often because I had the convenience of shopping at a grocery store that had every single brand available for purchase. Here every Sunday after shopping at the local farmers market I come home to wash and disinfect my produce and make a new batch of homemade salsas. It's become a staple in our home to have homemade salsa.

We don't have an oven in this house {I know odd} so I am left to figure out my recipes sans oven, sans baking which means we are eating less baked treats :D but also my cooking has had to adapt. Remember my oven baked chicken? Well here I have had to resort to frying it and using a different kind of breading since it is so plain I add my own spices and herbs to add flavor to it. On this note my kids are asking me to make them homemade chicken nuggets {which I have} and they love them!

It's no secret I haven't found pads that work for me, so instead of using of my usual package from back home in a month I have chosen to only use them on occasions I can't trust local brands. For some reason pads here are low quality. Don't worry this is all I will share with you. ;)

No more material girl.

This has been quite a change for us, we drove new cars back home. We had 2 cars, with all the bells and whistles. They weren't luxurious cars, but they were our cars and quite comfortable and easy on the eyes. Here we drive a 2003 volvo that I fear will need some repairs soon and because I had no idea that mp3 cd's weren't the norm back then after listening to one our cd player is jammed! literally... I am now waiting to take it to the only business in all of this town that can remove the cd's and charge me $100 to fix it. If it were only the mp3 cd I would care less, but jammed in there are 3 cd's that I absolutely love {Sade, Spice Girls and Sean Paul} I know very different. 

I sometimes go window shopping, yes when I would go window shopping back home I always came home with at least one new item. Now I come home empty handed. {I do miss Target though}.

Try it, you'll like it!

I am adventurer that likes to experiment, however and this may sound like an oxymoron I tend to shy away from new things or get out of my comfort zone. That is not the case here, I have been eating new foods although as they are in my mouth I keep thinking of that fortune cookie picture that I once found on the internet {remember? the one that said "that's not chicken!"} yeah that picture... Imagine if it is iguana? or a snake instead of fish?? ew!!!!! 

I've explored a volcano and walked inside it's jungle, something I never thought I would do. Of course if you ask my husband he will be honest and say I was so afraid while there that the volcano would erupt! or we might find a wild animal that might hurt us. I know, I know I'm such a chicken but hey walk into a jungle and tell me you will hear noises and not worry? ok, ok, you are brave! 

What have you learned about yourself while traveling? Did I miss anything on this list?