Costa Rica

It was nearly five in the morning when my father took me on what seemed to be long journey to Newark Airport. As music played softly in the background, I couldn't help but to stare at the white dash marks creating barriers between cars. They seemed longer then usual, each one a mere mile that would never end. My strange thoughts of simple painted lines on the ground that I would never otherwise think twice about, were invading every part of my mind. What did they symbolize? I have no idea...maybe each line represented a part of my journey thus far, and the journey to come. Or maybe they were just the plain lines that you or I would normally never acknowledge. I wanted that journey with my father to last forever. Not for the fear of the unknown of Costa Rica, but for the fear of not sleeping in my own bed once again. 

But here I am, doing alright, once again. The plane ride was long, but I was able to sleep for most of the five hours. I struggled with my first bit of Spanish in the airport when I was asked how long I was staying in Immigration. I told the woman one month, and then she asked for my return ticket. After her repeating the same sentence a few times, I realized what she was saying and took out the piece of paper. She corrected me angrily and let me know that I was only staying in the country for only twenty days. "Lo siento" was my only response, and then I walked away. I then went through Customs and the official that I had given my paper to walked away, and left the other officials wondering where my slip was. Again, another frustrating situation. After that, I made it successfully out of the airport and to my driver. He was very nice and friendly and spoke enough English to have a conversation. 

When I arrived at the School of the World, I was the only one here. After a mild breakdown, I wondered off to the grocery store, forgot my wallet, and turned back after waiting in line to check out with all of my food. I came back to find my roommate, Hannah from Australia, which was great news. She was with another girl who is from Austria (this is a different country from Australia). We went out to explore Jaco and had a nice lunch for five dollars a person. Nothing like New Zealand prices! After, we went back to the grocery store to shop...take two. This time was successful. 

Class today was great! I started my day with two hours of photography. It was an introduction, and tomorrow we are going to a local fishing area to photograph the fishermen and their boats. After photography, I had three hours of Spanish. It was so long, but I am better at understanding and speaking then I thought. I will definitely improve over the next few weeks as the classes are entirely in Spanish. Now I get to chill for the rest of the day at the pool or even go to the beach if I'm up for it. 

This week, some other adventures may include a horseback riding trip (I am still trying to figure out if it is something I feel humane or not), a crocodile tour (which is a definite, organized by the school), and zip lining in the rainforest with monkeys! You'll hear all about it soon!