Welcome back to Flying Solo, where I—brand development editor Kennedy (peep the promotion!)—chronicle my travels. Since we last spoke, I’ve spent 2 glorious, albeit linguistically challenging months in Costa Rica. So, without further ado, here’s a recap of my time in the land of pura vida.

Dispatch from Costa Rica

Baggage

1. Used hiking shoes because my old sneaks were not giving ankle support.
2. New sunnies I immediately bought after half my fav influencers sported them on IG.
3. An app that can translate text through your camera (a necessary feature for museum visits).
4. Travel-sized jars so I don’t have to bring full-size skincare on weekend trips.
5. The same bag Issa Rae carried in Insecure’s final season. #ForTheCulture

Mile-High Moments

June 2, 2022: Guys… monkeys are wild. The capuchins at Manuel Antonio National Park (a must-see, BTW) are so used to people, that they all came out jumping and whooping at once. I thought it was cute until the tour guide explained that they put on this routine to distract visitors while other monkeys steal their stuff. I admired the hustle, but still held my fanny pack tightly while recording like 19 videos.

June 5, 2022: My aunt (a different one than last time) visited for a week of adventure sports when we weren’t lounging at the all-inclusive resort. We went canyoning for the first time, and while I thought repelling down a waterfall was the definition of vibes, I got completely soaked… several times. We also parasailed, ziplined, and rode ATVs, but screaming my head off as the instructors dropped me down a hole was the biggest adrenaline rush of the trip.

July 23, 2022: After settling into my apartment in the capital city of San Jose, I met a local girl on Bumble BFF. I ended up joining her birthday trip to Santa Teresa with 6 other girls: 2 Germans and 4 Ticas (Costa Ricans). We clubbed and beached, but the best part by far was having discussions about our different cultures over dinner every night—sometimes in 3 languages at once.
 

What I Need to Unpack

Look, I’m a talker. Many Costa Ricans don’t speak English, and even though I don’t know Spanish, I never doubted that I’d find a way to be the social butterfly I’ve always been. I was wrong. Nine times out of 10 I was fending for myself with 10th-grade level vocab, and I quickly went from queen of gab to meek Hill.

I know this sounds very “woe is me” for people who live in a country with a different official language than their native one, but it’s the first time I’ve ever been a linguistic minority. I spent so many nights holed up in my room. It was baffling that I couldn’t even muster the confidence to order food at a soda, but it was also irritating how quickly I rested on my economic privilege to continue being a wuss. Meaning, when I couldn’t find the courage to deal with the language barrier, I spent my way out of the issue—whether that was transport, ordering food in, or going to the private hospital where someone readily spoke English. It took weeks before I got out of this hermit-crab existence.

This whole ordeal seriously rocked my self-perception. I thought I knew who I was back home, but I didn’t realize how dependent that was on my surroundings. Maybe I’m not as extroverted or as brave as I thought. Maybe I’m someone who easily retreats when things don’t go her way—which is something that has also come up in my life coaching sessions, so I’d say yes.

Solo Survival Tip

Always ask your Airbnb host/concierge/hostel receptionist safety questions first. I try to limit the number of people who know I’m traveling alone, and sure, this person could also be sus, but they already know I’m a party of 1. So, I go to them for questions like, “Should I use public transportation at night?” or other things related to my solo status.