Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A New Day

While I am writing this, a torrential downpour cascades outside my window.  The thunder rumbles throughout the house and sounds much fiercer than the storms back home.  It is beautiful.  But before I get too carried away, let me recap about my trip here yesterday.

After a bittersweet going away gathering at the airport, I hopped on my first flight from GR to Dallas.  All in all, a short and uneventful trip.  The plane itself was the smallest puddle jumper I’ve ever flown in, with two seats on one side of the isle and one seat on the other.  I was in the one seater and my backpack didn’t even fit under the seat so I had nothing to do for most of the flight.  The couple next to me had a dog with them so that passed the time a bit J

I made it to Dallas and realized what a huge airport it is.  I hopped on the right commuter train to get to the right terminal (like a pro) and relaxed for the short layover between flights.  Once onboard, I found my seat and… no one sat next to me.  NO ONE.  I had the entire three seats to myself, much to my glee.  They also served us a meal, some chicken and mashed potatoes thing that I managed to eat J  I landed in a glittering city cloaked in night, so I was unable to see any of Costa Rica until today.  I made it through immigration without problems, huffed my luggage off the conveyor belt and through customs, and met the Padilla-DeBorsts outside.  By that time I was exhausted.  Once back at the house (Casa Adobe) I was greeted by an entourage of people, my new living companions totaling 15 in all (and four dogs, a cat, several chickens and ducks, and two goats)!  Introductions went around, most of which I have forgotten, and my brain reeled from the sudden immersion in Spanish.  I have a roommate from Nicaragua who is trying to learn English so we’ll be great for each other.  I gratefully collapsed onto my bed and enjoyed the peaceful night’s rest.
 
 

Or so I thought.  During the night, the nearby train thundered past time after time, blaring its horn for all to hear, including me.  The rooster (which lives outside my window) sang the song of his people all throughout the night, clearly unaware of his job description.  The two goats, who also live outside my window, bleated occasionally.  All in all, a great night’s sleep.

Today, I have been on tagalong duty, taking in everything around me and being as much a sponge as anything else.  One of the ladies here has really taken me in and has promised that she’ll teach me how to cook!  Haha.  I tried a local fruit as well today--It tasted good but looks like frog eggs and has the consistency of seeds encased in snot.  But if you can get over that, it’s pretty good J 
 
 
Much of the surrounding town reminds me of Ensenada, Mexico.  The mountains surround us in the valley making the landscape gorgeous.  And of course the daily afternoon “rains.”  More like monsoons.  But I like it.  Tomorrow will be another day of orientation and Spanish immersion, so please pray for endurance and excitement.  And so we go.  Stay tuned everyone J    

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