Dia Uno!

Hola amigitos!!

I made it to Costa Rica safe and sound last night! My flight landed around 8:30, and I met my host family at 10. Carlos (who goes by Carlitos) my host brother, Isabel my host mom, and Erica my roommate (from the same program I'm in) all came to pick me up. They are so great! Isabel immediately started pulling food out of the fridge after I put my bags in my room. I wasn't hungry, but I had some cornbread is what I'd call it, literally like kernels of corn in this bread that was really mosit, and then some tres leches, a desert that I have no idea how to describe. It was good, but very rich. She kept trying to feed me, but I was so tired due to the day of traveling, beginning at 4:30 when I got up to go to the airport that morning.

A good night's sleep would've been very much so welcomed, but 6am came very early today. Especially because the sun is fully risen by then here. After a lovely breakfast of eggs and Corn Flakes, we were off on our first adventure of the trip. We were going to see Volcan Poas which is up in the cloud forest, so you have to get there early before the clouds roll in.

On the way there we ran into this:
The ox and cart used to be the primary way of traveling in Costa Rica, but it is very rare to see them along the road like we did anymore. The Costa Rican adventure was off to a good start!

The luck continued when we got to the volcano and it was super clear. Volcan Poas is one of the 7 highly active volcanes in Costa Rica. When it erupts, it becomes the world's largest geysor, but don't worry. It didn't. We hiked from there to a lake that was a couple miles away that used to be a volcano, but is now inactive and has beautiful green water from all the minerals, although highly acidic...no swimming. The cool thing about hiking in the cloud forest is that when you breathe out, it looks like you just exhaled a cloud. Most of the time it was the see your breath when it's cold type of thing, but sometimes it looked like you were legit breathing a cloud out of your mouth. Something about being in a cloud. I dunno, but it was cool.

We went up to the visitor's center when we were done, had lunch, and did our group orientation. There are 8 of us in this session, and I think 6 of us are staying for 2 sessions, as I am. I think it will be a pretty great group to travel and learn Spanish with. Six of them are from Texas, mostly Houston and Austin, the only guy is from San Diego, and then, of course, me.

I tried some new fruits today. The fruit here is excellent! I tried some Granadia which is this fruit that you break in half and then suck out all the seeds that look like fish eggs. And then there was Mochochino I think, it's called Litchi (sp?) in English. It's this fruit that has like a spiky red skin, and you peel that off and it looks like a white grape without the skin underneath. And last but not least, the guava. It's not like American guava, which is called guayava here. It's like this thing that look like a banana, but about twice as long. And then you crack it open, and inside, the fruit is lined up, kinda like Pez. You put one in your mouth, and the texture is almost cottony, but you suck it off the seed and spit the seed out, which is almost as big as the piece of fruit itself. I'll have to get pictures of all the different fruits when we go to the mercado tomorrow.

More buena suerte as we ran into a bake sale along the side of the road. It was a group of women selling really good food for pretty cheap too, to support un pueblo that had been pretty torn apart by an earthquake and wasn't getting much government help. The earthquake happened in January and the government is just now responding. The ladies were selling the food so they could get a bakery started where they would sell the same things and put the proceeds towards helping the pueblo and other things in the future. Excellent cause.

So I knew before I left that my host brother was a dance instructor in addition to being a tour guide, but it turns out Carlitos IS the dance instructor for the classes I'll be taking here. He said he'd take Erica and I out to practice what he teaches in class. Super excited!

Also visited a coffee plantation today. So much stuff! And now I'm sitting in my room listening to the rain and some Spanish music coming from a neighbor's house. Oh the life.

But it's hard too. I'm starting to think in Spanish which is great, but the whole speaking it is another thing. It takes so long to have a conversation that should only last like a minute. I love it though. And I start class tomorrow and mis clases are 4-5 estudiantes. So it's perfecto to learn because it means I'll have to speak, which means if I don't know how to say things I'll have to learn.

Estoy emocionada (I'm excited) to be here! My director Janiva (pronounced like Geneva) is fabulous. The other 7 students are wonderful. And I love my family and house here :)

Mucho amor!
Rachel

PS I realize there's a bit of Spanglish in here. Lo siento.