I had a roommate for a month (which is really not very long) when I studied abroad in Costa Rica, and the best advice I can give you is just to be friendly and considerate. I met her about a week before we flew to San José, and we got along fine. Be yourself, but always be flexible and willing to compromise.
As far as funny stories go, we almost got hit by a train on our first day of classes.
![Dancing \:D/](./images/smilies/eusa_dance.gif)
San José has several small trains that circulate through the city as public transportation (along with an awesome bus system), and we had to cross the tracks every day to walk to the university. Now, what you have to understand is that Costa Ricans honk
a lot. I mean, traffic can be sitting still at a red light, and someone will still honk insistently. So, as we neared the tracks that first day, we heard a loud horn and just assumed it was a bus. We ambled across the tracks, and not ten seconds later a train zipped by behind us. I remember looking over my shoulder and then just staring at her as we realized how narrowly we had escaped being hit. Needless to say, we looked both ways several times before crossing those tracks again lol.