I´m here!

Hola!

Well, two days have passed, but most of it is a blur! On Tuesday morning, we were up  at 2:00 in the morning to make sure we could get to our flight on time. To sum up a really long day, all of my flights were delayed, but I was able to meet with my team in Miami. After 23 ½ hours of traveling, we finally made it to our retreat place where we all spent the night.  

Yesterday we spent the day in orientation, where we were actually told very little about what we could expect. In fact, it was overwhelming because they would not tell us very much at all. We had a time for questions, but they would not answer them. The staff believe that the best way to learn is to figure things out for yourselves. All day long we were told over and over again how we would fail. Now this was difficult for me because I am a perfectionist and a planner. I am not used to hearing that I am going to fail, rather I am always told that I will succeed. However, they kept saying ¨You will fail, you will fall, you will get dirty, you will make mistakes.¨Ah! So much for getting more comfortable from orientation!

Many times during the orientation, it took everything I had to keep from bawling. I was overwhelmed and felt so far away from home and anyone I loved. On top of that, I had gotten very little sleep the past 2 days, and I was feeling exhausted. Needless to say, it was a difficult day.  

Around 2 in the afternoon, we met our host families. This was an interesting process. In the morning, we prayed together as students and faculty, and then each student picked a name randomly (like casting lots). When it was time to meet our families, we went to a room where the students filed in. All the families were sitting inside and started cheering and clapping for us as we entered! One by one, a student name was called, and then the name of his/her family. They walked to the front of the room while everyone clapped, and you hugged your family for the first time. After that, you went to your room, got your suitcase, and left with this family for the rest of the day.

I was really suprised by my family. Obviously, I had no idea what to expect, but they are different than I was figuring on. First of all, I have my own room. I was expecting to share a room with other kids (and some students do, depending on the family). My family will also have internet access soon (although I don´t know when that will be, but I was told we are getting internet). My family is more well-off than I expected. Our house has 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a dining room. We also have a patio outside (their version of a backyard) where we have a poodle and a little poodle puppy. My family consists of my dad, who is 55 years old and a social security director; my mom, who is a stay-at-home mom; and my sister, who is 16 and on summer break. The family is very nice. I really do think we will be a good fit, but it is also just so much different! One thing that was awesome is that they have been working with this program for 10 years, meaning they have had many many host students in the past! This was wonderful because hopefully they won´t be as offended by different things I do. The culture here is very different, and there are many things that we do that are definitely considered offensive here.

Last night we sat around and talked for awhile, and they actually let me just unpack my stuff and I had a chance to sit for 1 ½ hours which was so wonderful and much needed. After that, we had supper together (rice of course :) and then we watched a soccer game on TV (they are super into soccer!) I went to bed about 10:45 and was ready to greet the day again at 6:30!

Today has been an interesting day as well. This morning we left my house at 7:15 (Ticos, the name for Costa Ricans, get up very early!), and we were divided into groups in downtown San Jose. My group consisted of 5 students, and we had a sheet of things to do during the day. This was kind of like a scavenger hunt, but the items we were supposed to use and find were things that we will need to know during the semester. So all day I have been with 4 other people trying to find our way around San Jose. We have taken various buses to different stops (the bus system is ridiculously difficult for me), exchanged our money, went to different places, and things like that. The point of this day is to get us acquainted with San Jose. I really do feel like it has been a good way of learning, but it is not my preferred style! I would much rather have an idea of what I´m getting into, but they just threw us out there with a piece of paper and off we went. I feel a little less overwhelmed after this day, but there is still so much to learn. The city is busy, active, and people are everywhere. Like I said, the bus system is also very difficult to learn because there are tons of different stops and different busses.

What are some things that are different? Well, a ton, but here are a few: you don´t put toilet paper in the toilet, your shower has wires all around it, rice and beans are common for breakfast, they rarely drink water, all the houses are touching (the concept of a ´yard¨is nonexistent),

So that is pretty much a summary (and a lengthy one at that!) of what I have done so far, but I also want to address the huge emotional piece of this experience. As I mentioned briefly, yesterday was tough emotionally. I was exhausted and really missing home. I called home for a few minutes to let my family know I was safe, and that ended up being really tough. I am overwhelmed at how many differences there are, and I am realizing how spoiled I am in the United States. In orientation, another point that they really emphasized is this: ¨When you stepped off that plane, you left many luxuries behind.¨This is so true, and I am learning how many luxuries I had that I took for granted. It´s hard for me to admit that it is difficult to live without luxuries because I was excited about leaving my luxuries and living simply for 4 months. However, it is harder than I expected. The thing is, I can live without a lot of clothes, few shoes, and no makeup or blowdryer. Those things aren´t the problem. The difficult part is that I had to give up luxuries that I was not even aware were luxureies, things such as the option of having time by yourself, being able to speak honestly and in a straight-forward manner, the ability to chose what foods you eat and when, the ability to walk around without having to always be on your gaurd, having a pillow to sleep with, and the option of saying ¨no¨if you don´t want something.

Wow this is getting long...but if you are still haning in there with me, I want to end by asking for a few prayer requests. Pray that I learn how to adjust to this very different way of life, and pray that things go smoothly with my family.  Most importantly, please pray that I find time to connect with God. Being in a new place and a fast-paced city, it is sooo difficult to find time to sit with God and be with him. I long to for God to fill me with himself, but I find myself being overwhelmed with me. Please pray that I gain perspective on how big my God is and how small my problems are. Please pray that I will see God´s faithfulness in all the bustle of this new transition.