(less than 2 weeks now!)
1. Don't forget to pack a backpack to take your weekend stuff in for the beach trips. I forgot to take a separate little backpack, and you definitely won't be able to fit your suitcases on those weekend excursions!
2. Carry your umbrella with you ALL THE TIME. It will rain pretty much every day, no matter what the weather is like in the morning.
3. Make sure you plan on going to FOFO on Mondays for ladies' night. We always had so much fun at FOFO every Monday night!
4. Be sure to go to the restaurant "Pan e Vino" in Heredia YUM!
5. If you can fit it in your suitcase, take a beach towel. It comes in very handy on the weekend
trips, plus, it can serve as extra padding on those long, sleepy bus rides.
6. Keep a photocopy of your passport with you at all times, just in case. Keep your original passport in a very, very safe place.
7. If you take your laptop, skype is AWESOME for keeping in touch with friends and family at home. I definitely recommend downloading it. If you are not taking a laptop, I suggest investing in some phone cards. Home-stay families will allow you to use their phone to call home with your phone card. If you don't buy one ahead of time, you can buy phone cards in many places in Heredia.
8. BE CAREFUL crossing the street! Drivers in Costa Rica will NOT yield to pedestrians.
9. Don't waste your money on the malaria pills unless you want to be really, really, really safe. I think only a handful of people took them last year, and they made them sensitive to the sun.
10. Take some playing cards or small games to busy yourself during free time.
And, most of all, have fun in Costa Rica!
