CULTURE SHOCK

Welp, I've made it to Costa Rica and let me tell you culture shock is an understatement... 

I'll start from the beginning so I can get my thoughts organized. My first flight I must admit that I slept the entire way because I got no sleep the night before...Too many nerves. Once I landed in Houston, the second wave of nerves hit me hard...It was more of an anxiousness and fear of the unknown more than anything...

The second flight started with me getting handed customs papers which literally freaked me out because that is when I realized the first thing that I forgot on my trip....A pen. Seriously, out of all the things to forget, I forget the one thing I need to fill out my customs papers. Luckily there was a nice gentleman sitting next to me who let me borrow his. Another little bonus we got on the flight is what they called a "hot meal" aka I got handed something the airline microwaved 30 seconds before handing it to me and it was something ridiculous like a "grande burrito." All I kept thinking was...You have got to be kidding me. A burrito, a small plane, packed to the brim....Recipe for disaster and let me tell you, I was the last seat on that flight.....That burrito caused a lot of peoples stomachs' issues....Ew

I will say that the flight getting in to Costa Rica was a scene out of a movie..I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. There are mountains every where and I saw my first volcanos from the airplane. Such a cool experience. I was going to take pictures but they did not do it justice. I will try again on the way home. 

Once I arrived in Costa Rica I was more than nervous. I had no idea what to expect. Going through customs was not as bad as I thought it was going to be and it was relatively easy. The only question that they asked me is how long I was staying in Costa Rica. After making it through there and getting my bags I walked outside looking around like a lost puppy only to see a sign with my name on it in bold letters. I have never been happier! The Maximo volunteer driver did not speak a word of English either but she was very nice and helpful. I was escorted to wait for the car when two other volunteers showed up, so I lied...At that point I had never been happier, especially when they were speaking English. 

We were then taken to Maximo which is the volunteer center in Costa Rica for IVHQ. We were introduced to some of the other volunteers there but it all blew right over my head. I was more than overwhelmed....Thats when I found out that I would be going straight to my host families home that day...I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, one of the other volunteers that arrived with me was going to be staying at the same house as me. That gave me some comfort. Actually, a lot of comfort...Just knowing I wasn't in it alone for once that whole day made me feel better. Once we arrived at our host family I met Vicky who is my house Mom. She is great and such a warm and welcome person. Even though we cannot understand each other...I can just tell that she loves having volunteers stay with her. It also happened to be her birthday so it was perfect that both Blake and I brought presents to thank our host Mom for letting us stay with her! She was very excited about it, which made me so happy that we could help share her day! She is the only one that is in this house and as of now it is just Blake and I. Blake is the other volunteer who is from Australia and he is only here for two weeks...So that means I have to learn the busses on my own with in that time haha. 

Vicky has two granddaughters that live right next door to her (their names escape me right now but I will remember to write them down). They came over to help greet us to our new home and surprisingly they both speak English very well which was such a relief! The one granddaughter who is 8 years old has been such a help this past day and a half. She helps me translate everything that I need, granted only at night when she comes around but I am happy to have her and all of her energy.

So far my diet has consisted of beans and rice for every meal and I must say that the tap water is fine to drink…I was nervous about trying it despite being told that is ok but it really is fine! I can see the beans and rice getting old fast but I am not going to complain about a home cooked meal. Besides, Vicky is letting us eat some of her cake from her birthday the other day J

I know I am jumping around but I just want to make sure that I include every thing that is general so that I can fill in the details later. Vicky took Blake and I to our orientation this morning and made sure that we had money for the bus which was great. Here is the thing about Costa Rica….They do not believe in street addresses AT ALL. All the address’s here are by landmarks. For instance, Maximo’s address says something along the lines of the blue and white building near the pharmacy…How people find their way around here is beyond me! Orientation went well, it was a lot of information rapid fire but that was to be expected….We then took a small walking tour and got our placements assigned to us. I am luckily working close to Maximo and only have to take one bus to get to my project. Others have a much further route. We got to go to our project site today which was also overwhelming after getting so much information thrown at us earlier that day. The kids are wonderful though! I am nervous about working with them since they do not speak a word of English but I feel like if other volunteers can do it that so can I! (Wishful thinking!) I’m not going to lie…The language barrier is one of the most isolating feelings you can have. I so badly want to engage and talk to those around me who are speaking Spanish because I know that they are trying to talk to me but I just can’t. It’s frustrating to say the least.

After we went to the project site for about an hour we went back to Maximo where I waited for Blake to get back from his project so that Vicky could come get us. While I waited I ended up joining an ESL crash course with another volunteer that was actually very helpful and I am glad that I did it!

(While I am typing this the power just went out at my host families because it is storming pretty bad here—Crazy Costa Rican weather!)

I will try to update more as I go but tomorrow is my first day with my project. I cannot wait to see what it is like. I have an afternoon shift so I am going to head to Maximo in the morning to explore downtown some.

Missing all of my friends and family like crazy and promise to be more detailed in my updates later!