Escuela

Well I realized I haven't much talked about my classes yet. We have class about the History of Costa Rica and Health Care from 8-11:45 every day. It has been really interesting because we have had several speakers come in to talk to our class. The health care system is universal, and private insurance does not exist here. The government has all insurance companies, and phone companies too. Around 9% of a worker's salary is taken to go to social security and health care, as well as 4% from the employer. This gives you free access to all public care, however some citizens choose to pay out of pocket for private care. The public has long waits, and many are angered that the Nicaraguan immigrants are given free care, even if they have not paid their due to the CAJA. (social security) I had a long conversation with my home stay mom last night, and she utilizes and loves the CAJA. She says as long as she is paying for the system out of her pay check, then she will use the system and has actually been quite pleased with it. They also focus on preventative care, traveling to schools and clinics with vaccinations for students that might not have received them.

I am thinking about minoring in Spanish now, the small class size has really helped me improve. I only have 3 other students in Spanish with me, and we spend almost an hour a day simply holding conversations in Spanish. The rest of the time is spent on grammar and new vocab, but the conversations have been the most helpful.... I was able to talk to my madre tica for an hour in Spanish yesterday, and frequently talk about the world cup with my hermano tico. I am finding every way possible to practice :)