Here I am, greeting you all from Costa Rica! Direct from Monte De La Cruz, above San Rafael, just outside of Heredia. I've been here for three days now, and it is amazing!
The flights to get here on Friday were long, but everyone's luggage came through and no one died, so I am going to call them a success. About five of us all landed around 9:45 pm, so we went through customs together and went out to the parking lot where we had to fight off a herd of taxi drivers to find Lauren and Cameron, the program assistants. They are basically like camp counselors. We drove up to the campus and basically collapsed into bed. We are staying at the campus for the first week, after which we will all move in with separate host families.
Saturday was dedicated to orientation, tours of the campus, and explanation of events to come. The campus is beautiful - I will take pictures and post them soon, but there has been so much going on that I haven't had a chance yet.
Today was a long day, but a lot of fun. We got up early and went down the mountain to San Rafael where we went to a Catholic mass in Spanish that I could not understand one word of, and then explored the city. After being so thoroughly lost during the mass I was not eager to wander about a strange city in a foreign language, but they bribed me with food so I went. We had lists of things to find and places to go - but no maps. The idea was for us to ask people where to find things. It was very amusing for me because I suck at directions. No really, I routinely get lost on the way to the bathroom at school. Regardless, I would ask someone who would be very kind and point me somewhere and give a long explanation of how to get there. And I would march off confidently and become instantly confused. Basically it got to the point where I had to ask someone else as soon as the first person was out of sight. After we had thoroughly explored San Rafael we went to Heredia for lunch and another list of things to see. It was a lot of walking, but I got a really good pineapple and coconut smoothie that made me feel like a total tourist. We didn't get back to Campus until dinner, so we scarfed everything down and watched the Superbowl. I don't want to talk about that part - I was the only Broncos fan. Now everyone is exhausted so we have all dispersed to soak our feet and speak in English while we can.
Tomorrow will be more exploring and getting ready for classes to start on Tuesday. I'll post pictures soon! Que Dios te bendiga!
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