Today was another straining day. Luckily, it lacked the high intensity of yesterday. After arriving at our lodging place around 2 am, we split up into random groups of 3 to share rooms for the night. I was in a room with two girls named Bailey and Rachel. We chatted a little bit, I took a quick shower, and we all went to bed very late. It took me a while to calm down from the day and get settled in and I don't think I got very much sleep. Breakfast was scheduled for 8:30, so Rachel set an alarm for us all to get up. She woke up before the alarm went off and left the room to journal inn order to avoid waking me and Bailey up. However, Bailey woke up shortly after that, and, scared that we were late for breakfast, she woke me up. We quickly got ready only to find out that we still had about 30 min to sleep.
When we eventually went to breakfast, we ate gallo pinto (white rice with black beans), bread, and cheese. After breakfast, we began our orientation sessions which have been extremely helpful, and eventually were able to pick our host families. This process consisted of a LASP staff member walking around the room with papers with the information about the families written on them.. She placed them upside down and we randomly chose one of the papers as she walked by. I found out I was going to be living with a family with a single mother and her 18 year old daughter named Monica. The sheet of information about them also said that I would be staying in my own room and that they have internet as well as two dogs and a cat. Along with the information about our hosts came money for tomorrow's scavenger hunt around San Jose, telephone cards to call our families, and emergency information to carry with us.
After lunch we prepared to meet our hosts and were finally introduced to them. I was near tears standing in line to meet my hosts, full of nerves and homesickness, but I know now that all of my nerves were completely unnecessary. My host mother and sister are fabulous, and Monica speaks fluent English! (A skill I hope not to take advantage of after today but that was an extreme help in getting me past all of my hesitations.) Upon arriving at my home for the next few months, Monica helped me unpack my small bag (my checked bag is still missing) and showed me around the house. I then set up a skype account that will allow me to make unlimited calls to the US for only $20/3 months!
A while later, Monica and I went with her mother to the super market to pick up a few things. I exchanged some money and was introduced to some of the foods unique to Costa Rica. On the walk there my walking skills were challenged as I tried to maneuver the uneven sidewalks, but I managed to only trip dramatically once. After having such trouble getting to the super market, I was worried about getting back home with the bags of groceries. Fortunately, we took a taxi back to our house where we unloaded the groceries before I called home to check in with my family and John. It was great to talk to them and I am really excited about having found that deal on skype!
After skyping for a while, I joined my host family for a delicious dinner of chicken with rice followed by a delicious desert of ice cream and fruit. I spent a while chatting with Monica and her mother, finished unpacking, and settled in for a night of girl talk with Monica. I'm still a little nervous about tomorrow, a fairly independent day in the city, but I am feeling pretty optimistic about my time here, and I'm so excited about what's ahead of me. God certainly carried me though this day and I'm looking forward to growing closer to Him throughout this entire experience.
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