I made it in one piece!

Well the first day of my trip was definitely hectic with getting everywhere but overall not too bad. I ended up meeting a girl from my scholarship program in the Pittsburgh Airport before I boarded my flight to JFK. It was a nice surprise to see a familiar face. I landed in San Jose at 1:49 local time and immediately had to look for signs to find my ride after I went through immigration and customs. It was a little scary because this was my first time seeing a foreign country let alone a country where the people don't speak English as a first language. Eventually I found my ride along with about four other students. The person who drove us to our homestays was speeding and driving like any other tico (a Costa Rican person) but it was a bit unsettling because I am not used to that yet. You really have to watch out here when crossing the street. I swear people will just run you over!

View coming into Juan Santamaria International Airport

When I got to my homestay, my host mom greeted me with a hug and I got to see my other house mates. Four girls including me are staying with a family who has two daughters. My host dad is a little out-numbered. All of the other girls have a pretty advanced knowledge of Spanish, and then there is me who doesn't know anything besides hi, bye, and thank you. My floor mate is being extremely helpful with translating for me. I am excited to begin my Spanish course so that I can communicate better with my family and the local people. I know I will be well-fed while I am here. My host dad made us sandwiches at about 5:30, and I had assumed that was dinner. It wasn't, and we had dinner more towards 9:00. My host parents cooked a delicious meal including rice, black beans, tortillas, and a few other staples. Since I've had such a long day this post will be short, but I'm sure I will have plenty to write about tomorrow. Until later.

My first dinner complete with passion fruit juice!