First Impressions

Aqui estoy in Costa Rica, and although first impressions are rarely the impressions with which we are left, but we have to start somewhere.

Bienvenida a Miami
Miami was a blur. Almost literally. My flight from Pittsburgh was delayed almost 3 hours (like every other flight, too! Craziness!), and when I finally reached Miami, I had to sprint to catch my next flight to San Jose. The flight attendant told me the gate for San Juan instead of San Jose, which was at the other end of the terminal. So…I ran for gate D22 only to realize that I had to go back to D47, the correct gate. Doesn’t seem like that far away, right? But that’s 3 sets of escalators and 2 stops on the Skytrain. Phew. Good workout for the day. 

 Costa Rica, aqui estoy!
From the air, the mountains were breathtaking. I kept thinking “I need my camera, I need my camera” but alas, it was tucked away in the overhead compartment and I didn’t want to climb over the older couple in the two seats beside me. So, I contented myself with just enjoying the view. Believe me, it was great. I had a gut feeling that my luggage would not be in San Jose since they had about 15 minutes to get it from the first plane to the second. However, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and stood at baggage claim (watching the same suitcases on the belt go round and round, hoping they would magically transform into mine) longer than I should have, and by the time I got in line to report missing baggage, I was the very last person. Two people from the program were waiting for me outside and I was already almost 2 hours later than originally planned. After an hour of waiting in line, I finally made it out of the airport just in time to see my name on a yellow piece of construction paper. Finally! Someone waiting for me with my name! I’ve always thought that would be so cool. I found out that they were just about to leave, thinking I had missed my flight. Thank goodness they waited, or I would have been stuck at the airport from 3 until midnight waiting for the other group. Yikes! After we ate pizza and rested a bit, we drove back to the airport to meet the rest of the group. Their flight was also delayed, so we waited for a while. It was a good opportunity to meet some members of LASP and orient myself a little. I stopped feeling so overwhelmed and my deer-in-the-headlights look slowly faded. We headed back to a retreat center where we stayed the first night. The next day, we had a brief orientation and then prepared to meet our familias!

Meet the family
My legs were shaking because I was so nervous. We walked into a chapel, where all the families were waiting for us, and we stood in the back waiting for our name to be called. Once we were called, we would go up front and meet our family. As soon as we entered the chapel, everyone broke into a round of applause. I felt like a celebrity, and I couldn’t stop smiling (all the while my hands couldn’t stop shaking) because there was so much excitement in the room. I was the last one called. It went alphabetically by first name (which is weird because I am used to being the first according to last name—ah, well, the last shall be first.). When my name was finally called, I met my mamá and my hermana Laura. My family is just fabulous. I share a room with Laura who is a bit older than me. I also have a sister Milagro (Mila) who is 20, and she reminds me so much of my sister. My mamá and papá are wonderful, and they are extremely welcoming and helpful. Paolo is Laura’s fiancé, and he also lives in the house. And we can’t forget about Moca, the dog! I’m thrilled to have such a wonderful family.

 Getting to know San Jose
Our assignment for the day was to learn our way around San Jose. After doing an interview to determine which level we should be for Spanish classes, we were given a list of things to do and people to talk to (sort of a scavenger hunt feel) in order to learn which buses to take, how much a taxi costs, where to change money, etc. It was extremely helpful, and gave everyone a chance to use their Spanish in practical ways. There are a lot of parks in this city, and my little grupito of 3 took a lot of breaks to sit and chat in one of the parques, which are green, green, green (not that I’m trying to make all of you jealous…) The city was busy…as most cities are, but not as fast-paced as I would have expected a capital city. But, I like the “feel” of the city—especially el mercado, which smelled of herbs and leather and cheese and fruit.

Things I love so far:
1. Everything is “tranquilo, tranquilo.” If I get anxious about anything, someone tells me “tranquila, tranquila.”
2. Cafecito. Coffee is a huge part of the day, and the center of most social interactions. At 5 or 6, there is always a time for café. Which, of course, I love.

Oh, and good news! My luggage arrived the first day here (which is great because I only had one pair of underwear in my carry-on, oh no!)

Paz,
Victoria