Even though I genuinely plan to work hard to master Spanish and integrate into our new country, I acknowledged a long time ago that this process is going to take me time. The knowledge that there are English-speaking expats around, in our same boat, has always eased my mind about the hard transition we face.

When I heard about the new immigration law, I feared two things:
1- That a mass exodus of expats would occur, leaving us with a lot less support as we ease into a completely new culture
2-That the country was becoming a lot less welcoming of foreigners, leaving us feeling like a very unwelcome minority.

While I’m sure there are some Ticos that resent gringos, I don’t want to end up feeling outright animosity on a regular basis.

At this point, I’m feeling better about things. And I realize that there is no way to know how we will feel about the country until we have lived there for a few years. So much is an unknown, and we are just going to have to live with that. We’ve made many friends there already, so that helps. I keep saying, “This is an adventure!” I’m hoping that five years down the line, that we will love the adventure so much that we want to stay in CR. Or we just might end up ready to try a new adventure at some point. I’m going to relax and enjoy the ride, knowing that there are always changes, and that life is one big adventure anyway, for those that are open to it.