La llegada - The first day

Well here I am - just south of the capital city, San José, Costa Rica.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect; my Dad kept suggesting I get in contact with students who have previously taken the same journey, which I had the opportunity to do. I thought about it for sure, but there was something appealing about going in completely blind... so that's what I did: not a clue in the world what to expect, I packed up my things to live in an alien land for 4 months - Here we go!

El vuelo

Mom, Pops and I woke up at the butt crack of dawn to catch a 7:25 flight to San José. Saying goodbye provided a few minor waterworks, but after a kiss good luck and a quick trip through security, I was headed towards my gate. Side note, why does security expect that I know to take my shoes off? I started walking through the almighty metal detector when "Hank" looked at me like I was a red head from Nigeria. The last time I flew on a plane was 2002; I was fearing the approach of the 7th grade, do you think I remember the procedures, sir? How about you have some signs? Revolutionary thought, I know. The flight was great, mainly because the two seats next to me were unoccupied: spread out my legs, took out all six books I had, and relaxed. The majority of the flight, blue was the only color provided by the earth below. Once we hit the east coast and started our descent, you couldn't believe how much green there was - I knew Costa Rica would be a rainforest environment, but it took me by surprise

El Desembarco

Through Immigration, then through Customs, I made my approach to the outdoors, keeping my eyes open for a strange Hispanic person holding a sign with my name. Side note, as you walk outside, you are keenly stared at and eventually approached by men in dress pants and white button ups; the CIA you might think? Relax, it's merely the small army of taxi drivers almost begging you to pick them for a ride. Although I could not find my family, one of the men in white helped me out, calling the cellphone number of my family. Family was found, guy in white was tipped $3, all were happy.

The son, Diego, 25, and my host mother, Rose, 56, drove me through San José, the capital city. It was quite beautiful, a great mix of green trees, traffic, sunshine, heat, and noise. It sounds more chaotic than it is, it's really quite well orchestrated by all parties involved. The city itself is set between a towering range of mountains, mountains that make the one's in New York look like bunny hills. Rose pointed out the nearest volcano and showed me the hospital when we drove by. Once off the highway, we took the back "roads" to their home. Although this new found bliss of being in a brand new country still had me running on high, the delicate performance that is "driving in Costa Rica"  made me hold on for dear life; without going into much detail, I'll simply describe parts of the road for you: the sequence is usually not Road, Curb, Stores... but more Road, a 2ft wide, 4ft deep death trap of a whole that extends the whole length of the road, Curb, Stores. It's almost as if the city provides drainage, but forgot about the whole "maybe we should cover it, ya know, for safety reasons" thing. Oh, and double yellow lines do not matter. And pedestrians are an after thought. A big, big after thought.

Sentimientos

I was real nervous this morning when I woke up. So many questions: "Would I be able to communicate effectively, Would I have a room or would I live in one room with an entirely family, Would I be wearing corn husks for shoes?" But as soon as I met the family, I was put at ease. They are happy to have me and are actually impressed with my Spanish (somehow). I am happy to be here and eagerly look forward to whatever experiences are on the way.

I should really get to bed, it's around 10:30 here and that's a good hour and a half after everyone goes to bed!

Next post's topic: La casa

Future post topics will include but are not limited to: 

1. La familia
2. El barrio
3. La comida - Cantidad y calidad

Pura Vida, mis amigos