First day

I am exhausted! It has been such a long day. I woke up at 7:30 am (though tomorrow I will somehow have to wake up at 6 am), to meet the group in front of our host house at 9 am. My host mother made me toast, jam, watermelon, and some kind of delicious fruit juice (I believe it was passion fruit). I showered (in very hot water; I couldn't figure out how to change the temperature), got dressed, put SPF enriched foundation on my face and assumed the rest of my body would be fine. (It wasn't. See sunburn pictures below.)

Sunburns...

Around 9 am, I found my way to the front of the house, in a living room where we were all supposed to meet. I met the other participants. There are 7 of us in total, 6 girls and 1 boy, and we range in age from 16 to 25 years old. We're a pretty great group, if I say so myself, coming from all over the US and one girl from Russia.

We chatted a bit as we waited for our program leaders; surprisingly, by the end of the day, I knew everyone's name. And I am really bad at remembering names, usually. It seems like we're going to be a great group; seven is a pretty good size.

We were told to bring our passports and good conduct letters (letters from the sheriff or DOJ saying that we aren't criminals) and we started our day. Luckily, the guides/program leaders spoke English pretty fluently (though they did occasionally converse in Spanish with the other, more fluent speakers, while I stood in dumbfound awe). This was when I learned that our transportation consisted out public buses and walking. Costa Rican public buses...not that I'm complaining, it has been an incredible journey, but the idea that I may have to navigate foreign bus systems, even with a group, did not make me ecstatic.

Fruit stand at the main market

Main market

We made three bus transfers until we ended up at the headquarters for either the Childcare center or Projects Abroad; I couldn't really tell. We had papers to sign about student conduct. Apparently coming back to your host home drunk is not allowed...who woulda thunk?! Also, people here are nice, but don't trust strangers on the street. And a fun fact about Costa Rica: It hasn't had an army since 1948! Learn something new every day.



After we finished signing and making copies of our passports, etc., we took another public bus back to the main square. The main square is wonderful. Lots of cheap prices (taking after my mother's savviness...) and the whole area appears very Costa Rican, from the architecture to the people to the fresh fruit and hanging meat displays.





We walked around a little bit, stopped by the bank to convert money, went to a clean bathroom, took a tour of the main, Costa Rican authentic food market, and finally went to a very authentic Costa Rican restaurant for lunch. Scratch that, actually. You couldn't really call it a restaurant--cafe, perhaps? Nope, still too nice. Let's say it was a bundle of tables and chairs situated in front of a buffet scoopable meat and rice display. Authentic.

Lunch (before)

Lunch (after)

I was hungry by this time. I ordered whatever most everyone else had and ate the entire plate without questioning what was in it. I haven't vomited yet-- fingers crossed!

 From there we took another-- you guessed it-- public bus to the stop near the childcare center. We stopped by a really cute supermarket, where I picked up some chocolate candies and failed multiple times trying to figure out what was written on these goshdarn colorful Coleroes (Costa Rican) money. I gave the cashier what I thought was the equivalent of $10; turns out I had given him the equivalent of $1. Also, I don't speak Spanish very well at all, so there was some confusion when he asked for the rest of the money and I asked for change. Then I looked closer at the bill and figured it out somewhat. Five minutes later, I had gained knowledge of the Costa Rican monetary system and bought a nice bag of chocolate candies.

We arrived at the childcare center around 1:15 pm, only to be told the children would be napping until 1:45 or so. So we sat awkwardly on park benches and I debated how noticeable it would be if I fell asleep on the trampoline. I decided very.

Entering the preschool, I requested to be placed with an English speaking teacher, which they gave me, BUT that did not mean I had an English speaking classroom. Oh no, not in the least. I was placed with the five and six year olds, who love to talk very quickly and ask lots of questions. Here is an example conversation.

Child: (Speaks an absurd amount of Spanish very quickly)
Me: (Flips awkwardly through phrase book) (Attempts to say: Speak slowly, please) (Fails at pronunciation) (Points to the Spanish phrase in the book for the child to see) (Realizes the child doesn't yet read). Si.
Child: (Speaks Spanish, a little slower).
Me: Uhhh....empanadas? (referring to the snack they were eating)
Child: (Makes a series of elaborate hand motions while speaking Spanish, which I assume are something about the food they are eating and how it is cooked).
Me: Delicioso...Muoy bien.

(Repeat continuously throughout the afternoon)

So, by 4 pm, I was understandably un-understanded and frustrated. I have requested to switch to a younger crowd, so I have been told I will switch hopefully to infants or toddlers. I'm pretty sure peek a boo and funny faces are universal, so I think I'm good.

After the day ended, we took the bus back to the main square, where our guides bid us goodbye and assumed we could get back on our own. Which we could. Mostly.

Town square walking distance from the host home

We got off one stop too early, but luckily it was a straight shot. However, a couple students decided to "take the road less traveled" and follow a different bus to a different main road. Don't worry, we knew the general area we were in. Hopefully. I was just following the group.

We stopped for a snack and some drinks at a local bar. I didn't get anything; I was perfectly happy with my Bobble water bottle and self-packaged trail mix. We hung around there for an hour or so, until 5:30 or so, and walked back to our host home by 5:45. My host mother made me a delicious, authentic dinner, then I made the firm decision to crash in my room and catch up on my HBO shows.

Dinner by my Host Mother

But guess what? HBO isn't supported outside of the 50 states. A bit frustrated, I checked Netflix. To my pleasant surprise, was jam-packed with awesome TV shows and movies for streaming. They have Homeland! And Modern Family! And the Princess Bride! So I was all settled in, knitting by my side, headphones pulled out...

I hear drumming coming from outside. Nothing menacing, sounds joyous but still confusing. Some kind of parade? Or rowdy neighborhood kids? My host mother comes in excitedly, speaks in Spanish and I think I catch "tambourines". I use my best Spanish to say I am tired or something, but my curiosity gets the best of me so I slip on some flip flops and head outside with everyone else, only to find that whatever this music was has moved on to the next street.

So there I am, standing outside in the cool Costa Rican air, dressed in hand me down shorts and souvenir t-shirt from a TV show, when I realize in all entirety where I am. I am in Costa Rica. In another country, on my own, doing wonderful work and being the strong and independent young woman that I am.

So I don't crawl back to my Netflix. I hang around the garage area for the next half hour, kicking around a soccer ball with my host siblings, failing miserably at soccer ball tricks, laughing, and just appreciating where I am, geographically and metaphorically.

And that leads me here, the living room of my host home, some weird Spanish game show fuzzy on the television set, blue lit screen and keyboard resting on my lap.

Love you all!! 

I am so grateful. It has been a good day.

Love always, Rivi