Bienvenidos

I just spent a fair amount of time rambling about Costa Rica and then I deleted the whole thing.  Oops!  So I'll take another shot!
Anyways, I have safely arrived in Costa Rica, and I am loving it already.  Our housemoms picked us up from the airport holding signs with our names on them.  I felt like such a celebrity, except for the fact that I was wearing gym shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. Haha.  I could tell by her demeanor upon meeting us that she is going to be a wonderful "Mom."  The traffic getting to her house was a bit crazy to say the least. 

Already she has been so sweet to us.  She showed us around her house, and explained how everything works.  She had drawn us a map of the barrio so she took us on a walk to show us the key points on the map.  Unfortunately, it started raining so we wandered back to her house.  I began to unpack my hefty suitcase...what was I thinking bringing so many clothes?  I'd be content to just be in workout clothes the entire time here.  It's just that kind of atmosphere.  The naturaleza here is beautiful, by the way, and we have a great view of the mountains. 

Only four hours of sleep last night, forced me to take a nap after unpacking.  "Mom" woke us up with a light knock on the door and as it opened, our room was flooded with wonderful aromas of her cooking.  She said she was making us dinner, but we didn't have to get up if we didn't want to, she would save dinner for us.  How sweet, but of course we got up to go eat her carefully prepared and delicious meal.  Holy guacamole...if I eat like this every day while I'm here, I may gain a pound, or ten!   We had a huge mound of fluffy white rice, platanos, potatoes, chicken, and salad.  All of it was so fresh and delicious.

I enjoyed our time together over dinner.  We had some good conversations, all of which took place in Spanish.  After not taking a Spanish class this past semester, I was a bit worried about how this would go, but I actually find it easy to converse.  I guess all that schooling has paid off and I don't have to think about everything before I say it.  "Mom" says we both speak really well, so I take that as a big complement coming from a Costa Rican!
Tomorrow morning, we have to be at school at 7:30 to take our oral language placement test.  I think the hardest part about that will be waking up!  After that I believe we are going to tour the city, so I should have some interesting things to share tomorrow.  I am excited for the many adventures that will take place, all that I will learn, and just seeing what God has in store for me here!
Hasta luego.