Hello World! After undergoing a nerve-racking bus ride from our retreat center to La Fila, Megon and I made it safely here to this tiny, beautiful community tucked away in the mountains just south of San Jose. We are limited on Internet time here, so I´m going to share with you our best story ...
So we wanted to arrive on the down-low, but it turned out anything but on Saturday. The Peace Corps delivered us to our training communities via a gigantic tourist bus - similar to what you´d see in Alaska - which was cool and all, but man did we make a gran entrada. Not only were we late, but our bus driver made a wrong turn on a road that wasn´t much wider than the bus itself. Having no place to make a U-turn for miles, the driver used some of his mad city-driving skills and backed up the bus ... on an uphill. At one point, the bus nearly went into a ditch. It reminded me of the time we went white-water rafting down the Six Mile and the guide yelled, ¨High side!¨ when we tipped over and Megon fell out. To say the least, we didn´t tip and I held Megon safely in my arms. As for the driver, man he was excellent!
Keep in mind ... driving all together in Costa Rica requires an entirely different blog post.
Alas, once we got off the bus and I told the driver, ¨Buen trabajo,¨ Megon and I greeted our host family with warm hugs and handshakes. We met our new mom (Esterlina), dad (Mario), and brothers (Mario Jr. and Jose). We truely scored with this family. They are super, super nice people. The parents are good parents and the boys are polite and fun to be around - Mario Jr. is 7 and Jose is 5. Mario totally reminds me of my nephew Owen. I´ve already taught them how to play Uno - a game they had never heard of, which I thought was funny - as well as Dominos and Left, Right, Center. Jose really likes playing Uno. I do too because it helps improve my Spanish.
Our barrio, or neighborhood in Ingles, has an amazing view of the mountains and surrounding coffee farms. Coffee sales play a huge part in La Fila´s economy and I´ve decided I´m more than happy to support it. The food is wonderful too - fresh breads, fruits, and organic vegetables. For instance, Meg and I had fresh pineapple this morning to go along with our gallo pinto mixed with sour cream and bread. Our room is tiny - big enough for a queen-sized bed, dresser and a tiny walk space. But after living in a tiny cabin for two years, it´s really nothing new. Our host mom dries the laundry on the roof. The trees next to the roof sometimes have sloths and racoons climbing up it. No snakes or monkeys in the area, but there are some interesting bugs, birds and coyotes. Our family has a cabin in the mountains and I think we´re going to stay overnight there next weekend.
I wish I had a picture to share, but I´m using a public computer - no Internet at our family´s house - and uploading a picture would take too long. Regardless, I haven´t taken many pictures since we arrived. I don´t want to look like a tourist. Once we get to know the area, however, I´ll have some to share ... I promise. Well folks, my time is running out. I´d love to share more stories about our adventure, but I´ve got only a few minutes left. Hope all is well wherever you are reading this!
So we wanted to arrive on the down-low, but it turned out anything but on Saturday. The Peace Corps delivered us to our training communities via a gigantic tourist bus - similar to what you´d see in Alaska - which was cool and all, but man did we make a gran entrada. Not only were we late, but our bus driver made a wrong turn on a road that wasn´t much wider than the bus itself. Having no place to make a U-turn for miles, the driver used some of his mad city-driving skills and backed up the bus ... on an uphill. At one point, the bus nearly went into a ditch. It reminded me of the time we went white-water rafting down the Six Mile and the guide yelled, ¨High side!¨ when we tipped over and Megon fell out. To say the least, we didn´t tip and I held Megon safely in my arms. As for the driver, man he was excellent!
Keep in mind ... driving all together in Costa Rica requires an entirely different blog post.
Alas, once we got off the bus and I told the driver, ¨Buen trabajo,¨ Megon and I greeted our host family with warm hugs and handshakes. We met our new mom (Esterlina), dad (Mario), and brothers (Mario Jr. and Jose). We truely scored with this family. They are super, super nice people. The parents are good parents and the boys are polite and fun to be around - Mario Jr. is 7 and Jose is 5. Mario totally reminds me of my nephew Owen. I´ve already taught them how to play Uno - a game they had never heard of, which I thought was funny - as well as Dominos and Left, Right, Center. Jose really likes playing Uno. I do too because it helps improve my Spanish.
Our barrio, or neighborhood in Ingles, has an amazing view of the mountains and surrounding coffee farms. Coffee sales play a huge part in La Fila´s economy and I´ve decided I´m more than happy to support it. The food is wonderful too - fresh breads, fruits, and organic vegetables. For instance, Meg and I had fresh pineapple this morning to go along with our gallo pinto mixed with sour cream and bread. Our room is tiny - big enough for a queen-sized bed, dresser and a tiny walk space. But after living in a tiny cabin for two years, it´s really nothing new. Our host mom dries the laundry on the roof. The trees next to the roof sometimes have sloths and racoons climbing up it. No snakes or monkeys in the area, but there are some interesting bugs, birds and coyotes. Our family has a cabin in the mountains and I think we´re going to stay overnight there next weekend.
I wish I had a picture to share, but I´m using a public computer - no Internet at our family´s house - and uploading a picture would take too long. Regardless, I haven´t taken many pictures since we arrived. I don´t want to look like a tourist. Once we get to know the area, however, I´ll have some to share ... I promise. Well folks, my time is running out. I´d love to share more stories about our adventure, but I´ve got only a few minutes left. Hope all is well wherever you are reading this!
Comments
Love you!
Karey