Arrival to Sámara

Right now, I am looking out at the beach in Sámara. The school is literally ON the beach. It´s a bit overcast and foggy, but still pretty incredible that I´m actually here.

Waking up at Tranquilo Backpackers in San José, I cleaned up and roamed the streets one last time before it was time to get on my bus. Walking down the avenidas of San José is quite interesting, with every department store salesperson standing at the door trying to entice you to come into their store and buy something. At one point a couple guys with a basketball passed the ball to me trying to get me into their store, but I didn´t feel like it. I then returned to that chicken place, buying two pieces for 500 colónes, and then made my way back to the hostel. I picked up my two bags and hurried to the bus station, as I only had 20 minutes until departure time. I made it to the station, put my big pack under the bus, and got on, only to find an old woman in my seat. After haggling with her that I wanted the aisle seat, which was mine, she finally gave up and relinquished it to me. I dozed off for the long trip, and woke up with another woman next to me. She and I began talking about where we were both heading. Once she got off, another traveler who was going to Sámara sat down next to me. She was a Bostonian named Allison who had quit her job to come to Costa Rica and spend some relaxing time here. Allison then introduced me to a girl she met at her hostel her first night who is in the same program as me, a Canadian named Elizabeth. I told her I spoke French and she got so excited, that she started speaking in rapid French with that weird Canadian accent telling me how glad she was to find someone who spoke her native language.

We arrived in Sámara in less than 5 hours (I left at noon), and walked to the school. They called my host family, and soon after the father came to pick me up. I didn´t catch his name in our introduction, but he still drove the quarter mile to his house, where his wife and child were waiting. My host mom is Maria, a short stout woman who showed me around her one-story two-bedroom house. It is well-tiled, with a cozy kitchen and dining area and hammocks surround the outside where the garden and bugs roam. They have a 10 year old son named David who is really fun to hang around, always playing with me. When I saw my room, I realized how it was David´s room, as little Disney and other cartoon toys were mounted and lying all over the place. But there is a fan, which I am grateful for. Maria then made dinner, which consisted of a huge portion of rice, beans, potatoes, and a few pieces of chicken legs. I have a feeling this is pretty customary and will be eating a lot of this. For desert, fresh mango. Man that was good!! I stayed up watching the Red Sox-Yankees ball game in Spanish with David who happens to really like baseball and is fascinated with how fast the pitchers can throw the ball. The slow pace of the ball game made me sleepy, and so I just went to bed.

Waking up at 6:15, I had breakfast (lots of rice, an egg, and a block of cheese), showered, which felt amazing, and got my school stuff together. I was amazed at how shortly after I got out of the shower, I was nearly dry. That is how hot and humid it is. I walked to school, took about 10 minutes, went through an oral evaluation, and they told me that I will probably take afternoon classes. I have a little under 4 hours until I need to get back to the school, so I´m thinking of just hanging around, walking around Sámara, and if the weather and beach look good enough, to take a swim. I am meeting several people who are also in the program, and can´t wait for the trip to really get started. More to come later.