Hey guys, I'm finally at EARTH!
I woke up at 2am so I could get dressed and ready to go to Newark Airport. My mother and I loaded up the car, drove up to Newark and got there around 4. After waiting a little bit, I checked my luggage in, went through security, and had an abundance of time to spare...considering my 6am flight to Orlando was delayed until 7:25am. With this unexpected change it seemed like I might not make it to the only connecting flight to San Jose and be put in a hotel in Orlando. Luckily, I arrived a half hour early and my gate was right across from where we were dropped off.
The flight from Orlando to San Jose was pretty cool! I sat next to a nice older man named John who had married a tica and lived in Costa Rica for a while. Turns out, his parents grew up in Watertown NY and Ogdensburg, around the same place my maternal grandparents are from! Small world! Anyway, we talked a lot about Costa Rica and other fun stuff which really made the flight go by quickly. Finally, we began to descend to Costa Rica and I have to say that this country is beautiful beyond compare. All you saw were these big beautiful mountains that touched the clouds, clear water that showed where the sand ended and where the depths of the ocean got deeper.
Once I touched down I went through customs, which was relatively painless, and met Sophia on my way out. During our 2 hour trek to EARTH we picked up another American from Missouri named Amanda who had been living in Costa Rica for a month. We bonded in the car, talked about america, compared Costa Rica to the USA, and other fun things. Well, this 2 hour drive was anything but boring. I live(d) in a very flat state where the biggest hill only took a small amount of effort to climb up. Driving in Costa Rica is a completely different experience, especially since the taxi we were in was a stick shift. You drive down these windy roads that hug the mountains to the point where if you get hit too close to the edge of the mountain not even the guardrails will save you. Some rules are bent too. If you're behind a big 16 wheeler and you have a solid line between you and the next lane, as long as you have enough space between you and any oncoming cars, you can fly by. Speed limit? What's that? Although I say all of this stuff I can honestly say how amazed I was that even when our driver did these things we still remained safe. It was no big deal! Originally I was a little nervous, but after a while I just kinda went with it and fell asleep.
Once we arrived at EARTH we saw the big sign that I had seen in every promotional video. It was beautiful! All of these tropical plants lit up the road. Bright reds and mauve purple leaves lead us to the main rotunda where we turned onto this cobblestone street right alongside a man riding a grey horse. Sofia lead me and Amanda to our dorms where we were left to unpack and get acquainted. My roommate isn't here, but as far as I know she should be coming back soon. As of right now, I have the room to myself. It's a nice sized dorm for a college. I have 2 overhead fans that significantly help with the heating situation, a lot of extra storage space, a desk, a multitude of power outlets, and a window that looks out onto parts of the rainforest.
So, here comes the interesting part. My first mistake.
The flight from Orlando to San Jose was pretty cool! I sat next to a nice older man named John who had married a tica and lived in Costa Rica for a while. Turns out, his parents grew up in Watertown NY and Ogdensburg, around the same place my maternal grandparents are from! Small world! Anyway, we talked a lot about Costa Rica and other fun stuff which really made the flight go by quickly. Finally, we began to descend to Costa Rica and I have to say that this country is beautiful beyond compare. All you saw were these big beautiful mountains that touched the clouds, clear water that showed where the sand ended and where the depths of the ocean got deeper.
Once I touched down I went through customs, which was relatively painless, and met Sophia on my way out. During our 2 hour trek to EARTH we picked up another American from Missouri named Amanda who had been living in Costa Rica for a month. We bonded in the car, talked about america, compared Costa Rica to the USA, and other fun things. Well, this 2 hour drive was anything but boring. I live(d) in a very flat state where the biggest hill only took a small amount of effort to climb up. Driving in Costa Rica is a completely different experience, especially since the taxi we were in was a stick shift. You drive down these windy roads that hug the mountains to the point where if you get hit too close to the edge of the mountain not even the guardrails will save you. Some rules are bent too. If you're behind a big 16 wheeler and you have a solid line between you and the next lane, as long as you have enough space between you and any oncoming cars, you can fly by. Speed limit? What's that? Although I say all of this stuff I can honestly say how amazed I was that even when our driver did these things we still remained safe. It was no big deal! Originally I was a little nervous, but after a while I just kinda went with it and fell asleep.
Once we arrived at EARTH we saw the big sign that I had seen in every promotional video. It was beautiful! All of these tropical plants lit up the road. Bright reds and mauve purple leaves lead us to the main rotunda where we turned onto this cobblestone street right alongside a man riding a grey horse. Sofia lead me and Amanda to our dorms where we were left to unpack and get acquainted. My roommate isn't here, but as far as I know she should be coming back soon. As of right now, I have the room to myself. It's a nice sized dorm for a college. I have 2 overhead fans that significantly help with the heating situation, a lot of extra storage space, a desk, a multitude of power outlets, and a window that looks out onto parts of the rainforest.
So, here comes the interesting part. My first mistake.
Now, you're probably wondering,"What does she mean by first mistake? What could she have possibly done within 2 hours of being at EARTH?" Well, I made the dumbest mistake any person, intern, or college student can relate to. I locked myself out of my dorm. Lesson learned. Just because a door doesn't lock when you leave your room the first time, doesn't mean it won't lock when you leave your room the second time. Thankfully a helpful girl down the hall and an extremely kind security guard helped me out in my state of confusion.
After that whole ordeal I went to dinner with Amanda and some new friends that Sofia introduced me to. Lina, Paula, and Mariana. Lina and Paula are both from Colombia and Mariana is from Connecticut. Mariana is basically fluent in spanish so she definitely helped me out when I botched a sentence or didn't know a word. Lina and Paula were so kind and understanding throughout my screwed up spanish. Amanda and I enjoyed our meal of rice, beans, fish, and an assortment of fruit with our new found friends as we compared cultures, talked about futbol, debated over which was better Dunkin Doughnuts or Starbucks, and worked on our spanish. After a cup of good coffee, we all walked back to our rooms in the rain.
I think this day was an overall success. My spanish is still weak, but I think that I'll slowly improve. Sofia says that she'll have me speaking like a true tica by the end of my internship.
Well, I'll let you all know what tomorrow brings!
-Allie
After that whole ordeal I went to dinner with Amanda and some new friends that Sofia introduced me to. Lina, Paula, and Mariana. Lina and Paula are both from Colombia and Mariana is from Connecticut. Mariana is basically fluent in spanish so she definitely helped me out when I botched a sentence or didn't know a word. Lina and Paula were so kind and understanding throughout my screwed up spanish. Amanda and I enjoyed our meal of rice, beans, fish, and an assortment of fruit with our new found friends as we compared cultures, talked about futbol, debated over which was better Dunkin Doughnuts or Starbucks, and worked on our spanish. After a cup of good coffee, we all walked back to our rooms in the rain.
I think this day was an overall success. My spanish is still weak, but I think that I'll slowly improve. Sofia says that she'll have me speaking like a true tica by the end of my internship.
Well, I'll let you all know what tomorrow brings!
-Allie
Loved reading your first post Allie! Can't wait to read the rest! Don't worry, I locked myself out of my dorm many times. :) xoxo Shannon
ReplyDeleteEARTH sounds beautiful ;) It is so great that you get to use your Spanish there! And it is probably best that you learned about the locking doors right away :)
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