Day 1

The plane ride into Costa Rica from Denver was pretty long, but I actually got a decent amount of sleep on the plane seeing as it was from 2:00 in the AM until about 7:00.
Meghan and I had thought that Costa Rica was in central time, but as it turns out, we are actually just 1 hour behind.
It was still pretty dark and kind of overcast when we landed, so we didn't get to see much of Costa Rica from the airplane. We did get to see the mountain that runs through and how green everything is right now because of all the rain Costa Rica has been getting! Our host mom, Emilia, had a sign with our names on it waiting for us in the airport.. I felt like I was in a movie! It was about a 45 minute car ride from the airport to our home in Tres Rios. While driving through San Jose, it actually reminded me quite a bit of El Paso because of the way the city is set up and the size of the mountain. However, everything here is MUCH more green! =)
Emilia does not speak much English, but she understands it pretty well. So with her knowledge of English and our knowledge of Spanish, we are actually understanding each other quite well! (She talks SO fast though!! Now I know how everyone else feels when I talk! We are all talking much slower so we can practice!)
As soon as we got to our house, Emilia showed us to our room. Meghan and I actually have to walk outside and there is a separate door to what we are calling our little apartment! When you walk inside there is a little living space with a couch and a TV. Upstairs we have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. We also have a wrap around balcony right outside of our bedrooms with a view of the mountain that is just plain gorgeous! (will take many pictures soon!)
After we put our things in our rooms, she hurried us downstairs to make us coffee (DELICIOUSSSSS by the way! I will be bringing some home for sure!), pancakes and eggs! It was all so good! We sat and ate breakfast and talked for a bit and started practicing our Spanish some more. Emilia told us there is another student teacher like us from Washington, Lindsey, that is also living in the house. She is at school right now so we have not gotten the chance to meet her. Also, Emilia has 4 children, 1 of which actually works as an English/Spanish translator so we will hopefully learn a lot from her!
As of right now I am laying on my bed in my room listening to the downpours of my first tropical storm! It is pretty crazy how hard it is raining and how loud it is!
Emilia is at the airport right now picking up the other girl from Winona State, Kelly, and then we are all going to eat some lunch I believe.
I am already completely unpacked and am going to visit my first school placement tomorrow with Emilia! She is going to be taking Meghan and I around Tres Rios this first week and showing us the bus stations, our schools, the markets, and things like that so that we feel comfortable getting around. I am very anxious and nervous all wrapped into one! I have not ever been in control of my own class for an entire day!
We still have to figure out our internet at the house, I am actually just using one that randomly popped up when I turned on my computer for right now.
Tomorrow we are also going to be just wandering around our little town so I'm sure I will have plenty of pictures and hopefully some exciting stories!
That's all for now. Miss everyone so much!