Ready or Not, Here we Come!!!

Amanda, Tara, Nicki and I in the Miami Airport!!!

As I was re-reading my blog before I posted it last night, I felt like it was so blah. During the month of May I took Intermediate Literacy with Mrs. Harshbarger and we learned all about the 6 Traits of Writing. Well, if I were to score my last post according to the six traits I would give it a “D.” Consequently, I’ve decided to write one more post before my arrival in hopes that I can truly convey my excitement and anticipation to all of you!!!!!!!

In my last post I mentioned how I was so disorganized and really did not plan whatsoever for my trip. Well, that definitely caught up to me last night when I was unable to sleep. Yesterday afternoon, I managed to pack my bags in a little less than an hour and last night I was so stressed lying in bed thinking that I must have forgotten something. However, when it was finally time to get out of bed this morning the stress went away and my excitement came back!!!!

The morning started off with several phone calls between Nicki, Amanda and I trying to coordinate and meet at the airport. Right when I saw Nicki, we clicked into our old routine and started joking around. Nicki is just such a carefree, hilarious individual with a great sense of humor and I literally cannot wait to study abroad with her again. Our first flight from Omaha was delayed for about an hour due to mechanical issues. However, we landed in Dallas Fort Worth and arrived at our gate in time to catch our flight to Miami. In true Latin American style, our flight from Miami to Costa Rica was boarded late. One of the crew members and a flight attendant didn’t show up and so we had to wait for a replacement before boarding. Right now, I am sitting on the plane from Miami to Costa Rica.

Although this story is really irrelevant, I decided to add it one, because it’s just something I would do and two, because I can picture my dad laughing as he reads this. I was boarding the plane to Costa Rica and had just located my seat when two people on the plane wanted to pass me going the other direction. As you can imagine, an airline already has tight quarters and it is normally hard to pass someone in the aisle. However, I still had my filled to the brim backpack and my huge carry-on bag with me and I just stared at these two people wondering how this would work. Unfortunately, it didn’t work so well. I went to turn sideways in order to let them pass and my big bag ended up in the man’s lap who turned out to be the person I would be sitting by for the next 3 hours. Also, I accidently hit someone else’s face with my backpack! Opps!!!

Anyways, back to my trip! There is so much to look forward to in the upcoming weeks: an all-inclusive resort, visiting Costa Rica’s National Park (San Antonio), going zip-lining in the jungle, speaking Spanish 24/7, spending afternoons at the beach, going to church, living with an awesome family, etc. I feel so much more confident this time around compared to Peru!!! For instance, the man sitting next to me on the plane initially said hi to me in English. However, he then saw me reading a magazine written in Spanish and since then we have been conversing in Spanish. The man is from Costa Rica and flew to America to watch the Miami Heat game. Although he is flying back with his family to Costa Rica now, they will return to Miami in two weeks to watch the Heat play basketball again. He was able to explain a few important things to me. For example, “apartado” translates as P.O. Box in English. Also, I asked him what he listed on his customs forms for his address since according to the e-mail we received they don’t have addresses. He responded by saying in Costa Rica they simply put what town they are from and that is considered acceptable for the people in customs.

Although many of your might be confused by what I am about to say, it’s 100% true. As I sit here on the airplane, literally an hour away from landing in Costa Rica this trip is still not real to me. For those of you who have been abroad, maybe you can relate. There are just a million things running through my head all at once: What will Costa Rica look like? What will my house be like? What will the food be like? What is going to happen to me over the next month? I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that I am an extremely concrete person or not, but I won’t be able to believe that I am actually going to live in Costa Rica for a month until it actually happens!!!

Well, I hope this cleared a few things up for everyone! I met with Dr. Jochum (the professor who is traveling with us) yesterday and he informed me that the airport situation in Costa Rica will be similar to what happened when I arrived in Peru. Dr. Jochum said that there will be so many people there they will not even allow him to wait in the airport lobby to find his students. Rather, he will be waiting outside when we arrive! Only 45 more minutes until landing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mary