First glimpse at La Pura Vida!

From my street, overlooking the Irazú Volcano. 

I am finally in Costa Rica! I was on an early flight, so when I awoke after 2 hours the first part of Costa Rica I saw was the beautiful, green covered Irazu Volcano. The time I spent in the airplane overlooking the mountains and in the airport was like a dream. I had finally left the USA, and was overjoyed when for the first time in my life I had my passport stamped! And then I walked out of the airport. Like a wave of heat the shock hit me, as what seems liked a hundred men stood outside trying to herd people into taxis. I speak Spanish, but in the midst of the chaos I was unable to speak and could barely fend off all the people trying to take my two (rather large) suitcases from me and stuff them into cars unsafe looking cars. Thankfully an airport employee helped pull me away and sat me down with other Americans waiting for their rides. After my very talkative guide, Adrian, picked me up, another wave of shock set in. Whenever I mentioned I was going to Costa Rica, everyone told me how beautiful and developed it was. I must have gotten on the wrong plane because the place I saw was filled with cracked, rundown, nearly impassable roads, rust filled roof tops and store fronts, and homes crowded together surrounded by gates and barbed wire. To top it all off ominous black clouds stood by waiting to pour on me. As we drove I kept praying soon we would be in a luscious green rain forest, or that I would at least see a small grouping of trees. No such luck. My cozy little homes sits in front of a gravel parking lot used for the Universidad Latina staff and students. Although the school itself is freshly painted, rather large, and includes a bank and food court, the street we are on is a bit run down. The sidewalks are all cracked, and deep ditches line the roads. Train tracks run right behind my house, which aside from being noisy is littered with garbage and graffiti. Now I m starting to realize although it may look different from DC and Miami, its not necessarily unsafe. With two other students we walked around San Pedro (the name of the area) and got some school supplies, then sat down at a cute little Soda (small restaurants that serve soda and food) and drank Frescas and ate empanadas filled with chicken. I also went to church with my wonderful host parents (Hilda and Carlos.) All this walking around made me realize I was safe here. I was just used to the impeccably clean streets of DC and the palm tree lined, perfectly manicured streets of Miami. Although I love my host family and speak Spanish, this has not been an easy adjustment. Back home and at school, most of the time is spent in the living room, talking, watching TV, cooking together and studying. Here we don t have a living room, so everyone sits in their own rooms watching TV whenever they are home. Of course my room has no TV, so I have spent many hours on Facebook and Skype harassing whichever one of my friends is unlucky enough to be online at the moment. It gets a little lonely, and I have gone to bed really early the last few nights mostly because I m not sure what else to do. I know once I am more comfortable with my host family things will feel better. Also now that classes have started I hope I will be a little busier with work, which will entertain me. I can t wait to start volunteering, so I can meet some more Ticos, and learn to find my way around San Jose better. Everyday the shock subsides a bit more, and hopefully by this weekend I ll be feeling way more comfortable here. (Week of 08/29/10)