Yesterday was my first time having a connecting flight and flying internationally by myself! I'm happy to say that I made it safe and sound and arrived at the airport in San José at around 8pm (or 10 EST). The second I stepped outside of the airport my hair frizzed up so badly that I looked like Troy Polamalu or a member of Kiss.
I met a girl from Austria on my flight (where I had a window seat but instead of a window it was just a wall- my luck!) who had visited Costa Rica just three weeks before. She told me that she fell in love with the country and decided to come back and backpack across the country! I aspire to be that level of adventurous one day.
Even though I was mildly terrified of finding a shuttle to the hotel, the staff was extremely helpful and was very patient when I disastrously attempted to use Spanish! Before I knew it, I was checking in to my hotel and watching NatGeo trying to figure out any kind of Spanish I could grasp from it!
Today was my first full day in Atenas, Costa Rica! I had breakfast at my hotel, that was FULL of inspirational quotes and happy thoughts. It helped me start out the day with a positive attitude and a mindset that I could complete my first day in the school. My consultant picked me up from the hotel and took me directly to the school, Atenas Preescolar y Escuela Colina Azul.
I started my day in the preschool and kindergarten classrooms, where I learned this would be where I spend most of my time. I will co-teach English in the mornings with another student teacher here, Lauren, in second grade and create math, English, and science centers for the younger students in the afternoons, as well as help the English teacher for the younger grade levels.
Today, two other student teachers living with the same host families as me, Lauren and Lauren, took me on a walk into the city of Atenas. After this, our host mom, Marielos, made us dinner! My first authentic Costa Rican meal was amazing! I tried to make sure my host mom knew this with what little Spanish I could communicate. The family here speaks no English so it has been a challenge for me to keep up. Hopefully it'll get easier, though! I'm trying to view it as a new challenge that will only help me!!!
Hasta mañana y como siempre- Pura Vida