Day one

Finally arrived in Costa Rica today. After a 6 hour plane trip, we were greeted by a Costa Rican who we have come to know as Papa Jimmy, who was holding a sign for ES tours. We boarded a bus and soon arrived at our hotel room in Country Inn and Suites of San Jose. However, this hotel was not actually in the city of San Jose. Good thing too, apparently San Jose is known for thefts and petty crimes of the such. Every house has a balcony, from both first and second (if they have a second floor) and have iorn bars from the balcony to the floor. Cheery city.

We had a few  meetings with our group, settled in, and then dove for the pool. the humidity here is unbelievable. Luckily for us, someone had left a frisbee, so we played with that until it broke in two. Then it was back up to the rooms, shower, dinner of rice and other goodness. The leaders decided they wanted to walk to the supermarcado (supermarket) to get some snacks for the four hour drive the next day. About half of us followed. It was an interesting experiance. The supermarket was almost empty. I picked out a guava brownie, a plantain chip bag, and dried mangos. All excellent choices. you can NEVER go wrong with chocolate and guava. We returned to the rooms, hung out for a bit and played cards, and then crashed asleep. I managed to skype my best friend, emily, and my parents. Good to see you all!
So, Our tour guide, Jimmy, is the BEST. He opened up the tour with a story: mustard seeds. When he was a young boy, his grandmother was trying to explain why he should have faith in God. He wanted the rain clouds to go away, during the rainy season, so he could go out and play. his grandmother told him to close his eyes, and put some mustard seeds in his hands. he then closed his eyes and wished. She said a prayer at the same time. They finished and within minutes, the weather broke and fair skies were seen the entire weekend he visited with her. So now, whenever we would cross our fingers for good luck or hope for good weather, we simply say "believe in the mustard seeds", or words to that affect. So far, it's worked.

painting found in the hotel

View from my room.

The pool

I wish i knew what bug this was.

Our room. my roomates names are Talia and Nina. Two very sweet girls and weve been having a bundle of laughs. The room has an airconditioning unit, however we are trying not to use it so that we can minimize our carbon footprint. While this room was cramped with the three of us, the boys (of which there are four), had the largest  room. It was a loft room that could have probably fit at least 8. Go figure. In the middle of the night, the cot, which was Talia's bed, broke.

the view of the pool, in which many games of frisbee were played.