Here....!

I am here in Costa Rica and having mixed feelings which is to be expected. The first day was hard to say the least. Traveling alone was an experience in the first place but add the unknown territory and I was a mess. After passing through customs I walked out the airport doors and found a crowd of screaming Spanish people calling names and holding signs. Add the persistent taxi drivers looking for riders and it was enough to make any American overwhelmed. I instantly felt lost and confused but luckily a police officer who spoke English saw that I needed help and helped me look for my ride. Nearly 45 minutes of standing outside the airport I was picked up by the correct taxi driver. This first experience rocked me a bit and I was getting to be very apprehensive. The driver told me I would be staying with a host family who doesn't speak much English....by this point I was freaking out. Once I arrived at host family I promptly lied down in my room and tried to nap. Soon thereafter a young girl came into my room who said she was my roommate. Sophie is her name, she is 18 and from Canada so we started talking and both felt the same way about the new adventure here in Costa Rica. At 6pm we were called down for dinner of rice and chicken. It was a quiet meal since there wasn't much communication going on between us travelers and the family. Hopefully my Spanish picks up so I can talk Marina and her family more easily. I was in bed by 7pm...what a first day. By that time the way I felt was that it could only get better here.


Bringing me to today...
Day 2
I rode my first city bus today and am still shocked at how the transportation works here. Cars are VERY expensive here so buses are the main way of getting around. EVERYONE takes buses. I jump on a bus labeled *Cedros* to get to the main part of town and from there go to downtown San Jose and for another bus labeled *Carpiso*. Its a confusing system but I think I will get it down easily after a few days. Bus fare has to be paid in colones NOT dollars so I have to make sure I have colones with me at all times. A bus one way is 210 colones which equals 42cents. It will roughly take me about 850 colones or $1.50 to travel to and from my volunteer site each day. 
I am teaching English in a town located nearly one and half hours away from my host family by bus. It is a VERY poverty stricken neighborhood. The kids I'll be teaching don't go to school mainly because their families can't afford the daily bus fare. They come to the local church for English lessons in morning which is when I'll be there. The ages will span from 2-14! I have been warned that the younger ones with little English knowledge are quite a handful. I'll be able to report more about that after tomorrow...my first official day teaching.


So far I am excited to be seeing this country but still wary of everything. Hopefully things settle down for me in a few days. 
I'll post pictures ASAP!!