esta es mi vida?

so basically i just finished my week of orientation, which was pretty fun though sometimes aggravating. on our first night, we stayed in a really beautiful retreat center and the next day we met our families. my family is absolutely amazing. i have a sister named sussan who is 19 and we share a room. i also have two brothers--jeffrey and julio, who are 18 and 16 accordingly. my parents are the nicest and friendliest people ever. the only problem for me is that i can't really understand what they are saying unless they speak quite slowly. luckily, sussan is very good about this. i believe we are becoming fast friends despite our limited communication ability.

one difference i noticed here is that you always show your love through physical affection. every greeting is accompanied by a kiss on a cheek, and if you are asking someone about their day, your arm is always around them. i rather like it, because i know i will never be starved of physical affection.

the second day i was here they sent us out in groups of three into san jose to do a scavenger hunt. of the three girls in my group, i was the most proficient at espanol, which left us in a very tight spot as far as figuring out what we were doing. because we didn't have the addresses of any of the places we were expected to find, the only way we could go about this hunt was by asking the locals. we managed somehow and it turned out to be pretty fun.

though i think i will be the awkward gringa for a while when i'm here, i really am starting to love it. i think the other students in my program will be awesome and so is mi familia...and i can already tell my spanish is improving.

right now, i am with my dear, dear amiga, peggy ray, and it is absolute glory. we went to church together, where we had a beautiful view of the mountains, and then we played futbol with some ticos (costa ricans). it was awesome. i really can't believe this is my life right now.


i love you all and miss you and i hope that i can post pictures soon.

hasta luego.