Monteverde!

I've been in Costa Rica for 4 days and I am already obsessed. It probably helps that we have an awesome group that we are all here with. We have all become really good friends really fast. I can't imagine being here without this group of people. 

On Sunday morning, we officially started the program. We had breakfast as a group and all got to know each other. 

After that, we started actual school stuff. We took a really really really long test to evaluate our levels of Spanish. We also explored the gardens around the hotel which were absolutely beautiful. 

In the afternoon we took a four hour bus ride to Monteverde where we are staying this week. It is beautiful here too, just like all of Costa Rica. After we arrived, we met our host families that we are staying with this week. Mine is super nice and funny. I have a mom, dad, two sisters (Alondra and Nazareth), and a cousin. Nazareth is kind of quiet but Alondra is super talkative. She has Down's Syndrome and loves to play barbies with me and also loves to do my hair. I don't remember the last time I wore pigtails but I've worn them 3 times already this week. 

This week, we've been going to Instituto Monteverde where we've been taking Spanish classes. The institute is really nice and has a really cool outdoor classroom. 

We all have to walk there everyday. From my house it is about a mile. But on the way there it is all uphill and along a dirt road. 

Through this program we have "Amigos Ticos" which are college-aged Costa Ricans who hang out with us and show us around town. We have 4 of them and they are all so nice and funny. Everyone in Costa Rica is nice (so far). 

On Tuesday after class, we went on a night walk through the rainforest. It was fun but a little but scary because our guide kept showing us holes with tarantulas in them. I was not a fan of that. We also saw a couple nocturnal animals which was really cool. 

On Wednesday, we had class from 8-12 and then we had the rest of the day free! We all stayed at the institute for awhile (to use the WiFi) and then we got ice cream from a factory that is about a minute walk from the institute. After that we met up with our Amigos Ticos and they took us on a hike to a tree that you can climb all the way up. It was about a half hour walk all uphill. Not little hills. Steep hills. Very steep ones. But once we finally got there it was really cool! 

We got to climb up the tree and we also saw monkeys! There were dogs that followed us there and they were barking at them. So the monkeys broke off branches from the trees and threw them at the dogs. The dogs stopped barking. 

Our amigos took us to a pizzeria after our hike. One of our amigos was singing with his band at a hotel so we went to watch him play after we are dinner.  

It has been so so fun! I thought I would be so homesick at this point but I am still loving being here. 

Hola from Costa Rica!

I am here, safe, happy, and excited! (Thanks to the prayers and well wishes from my amazing friends and family) 

I began this crazy long day of travel at around 4 AM on Saturday morning. Due to the impeccable timing of yet another snow storm,  the morning was a bit stressful because of the terrible conditions of the roads. Luckily, my dad is an all-star driver and we made it to the Dayton airport with plenty of time to spare. And my flight was right on time!  

My dad flew with me from Dayton to Atlanta to make sure I made it to my gate in that incredibly confusing airport. And to keep me company during my 8 hour layover. And let me tell you, an 8 hour layover is about 10 times less fun than it sounds.  Around hour 5 of 8, I met up with a girl from my group which was nice because we were on the same flight.  Once  we got to our gate, we met another girl from our group. 

After 8 hours of trying to make an airport fun and 3 cups of coffee, I finally boarded my plane! That's when it all set in and I started to question why I ever decided to do this. 

I got really lucky with my seat. I was in a row of 3 with a 20-something year old girl who lives in Costa Rica and an elderly woman on her way to vacation with a  bunch of her friends. The three of us became friends fast. After  telling them that I was going to Costa Rica for a study abroad trip through IFSA-Butler, the young girl (Jade) told me she went on the same trip 5 years ago. And now she lives there so I guess that's a good sign. She gave me lots of tips and  even offered to show me and friends from my group around San José next week.  The elderly woman was precious and kept telling us how proud she was of us for being so brave. She also had a bunch of food with her that she couldn't bring through customs so throughout the whole flight she prepared snacks for us. She made us pita chips and hummus and orange slices. Those two made my flight much more enjoyable!

Our flight landed a little early and with the help of Jade I breezed right through immigration, customs, and baggage claim. The girls from my group and I met up with our group leader and other students. Threre are 12 of us and we are from all over the country. I  think I've said "no the Miami in Ohio not the one in Florida"  about 27 times today.  We were all bussed to our hotel which is really nice! 

Today our group spoke in all English. Tomorrow they start cracking down on Spanish only. However, I have already managed to have an issue with the language. My  roommate for the night, Amy, and I were pretty bitter about the fact that there was no hot water in the hotel. But I put on a brave face and showered in the freezing cold water anyway. After that we all went out on our balconies to hang out with everyone. Amy and I were complaining about the no hot water situation but everyone else seemed to have hot water.  It wasn't until then we realized that "C" does not mean cold, it means calor (hot). And the "H" we saw was not an H for hot, nor was it an H at all. It was an F. For frio (cold). So yeah, I just have to remember they speak Spanish here I guess. 

This first day has been overwhelming and exhausting but so much fun. I am so excited for the rest of the semester. 

Tomorrow morning we head to Monteverde for a week of orientation and I am told there is no internet. Extreme culture shock right there.