first night

I'm here!! I can't even believe it! I met my group around 4:30 yesterday in the Miami airport. Everyone's awesome. We have people from all over the country with us. We sat in the airport for what felt like an eternity, but it was a great chance for all of us to get to know each other and find out where everyone was going to be for the next 10 weeks...we're all going to be living in different sites around the country. After landing in San Jose we met up with our Program coordinator Leilani then boarded a bus. The first thing I saw in San Jose was a DENNY'S and a HOLIDAY INN...not at all what I expected to see LOL! After about a 30 minute bus ride we stop at a hostel called Casa Yoses....10 of us shared a room and a bathroom. We're in a really nice part of town and the homes are beautiful.

I'm told this is probably the only place I"ll be able to take a "hot" shower for the next 10 weeks...I wouldn't call the shower "hot" but it was "warm." :) I got a little bit electrocuted...the hot water is produced by some kind of rigged electrical wiring. I made the mistake of touching it while the water was running. I just felt a slight buzzz....nothing too major! We're not allowed to flush toilet paper down the toilet which is hard to remember, but you just throw it in a waste basket by the toilet.

I was the first one awake this morning...of course. I'm so used to being up before the sun that I didn't even realize it was 4:30 A.M. local time when I got in the shower! The sun was already starting to come up and my clock on my phone said 6:30....it didn't automatically update. I'm sure my roommates loved me!

After my shower I went outside and called my mom and dad...the cell cost 1.99 per minute....so I racked up a $40 phone bill this morning...for one call. I'll have to be more concientious.

Julie and I decided to take a walk around 6:30. We saw some beautiful homes and guess what....I saw a Mormon church on our walk! It was HUGE and absolutely beautiful. What are the odds?! Right now we're just waiting for everyone else to wake up and get ready for the day. Breakfast is served at the hostel around 7:30. I can't wait to eat!

As for the rest of the day...we'll be leaving here around 9 and taking a 1.5 hour bus ride to Orosi where we will spend the week in training. We'll also meet our first host families who will be hosting us for the week while we're there.

I still can't believe I'm here and I know the next 10 weeks will fly by! I'm going to have to take advantage of EVERY minute!!