Travel Day and Day 1

 After a 4:00 AM meetup at the airport, a quick picture, a forgotten bag, a hit deer, confusion about seat assignments, and a vomit cleanup before takeoff (thankfully none of us!), we were FINALLY on our way and our pilot was able to make up the lost time and then some in the air. We got to Miami and had a little over a half hour to grab food before we boarded. Thankfully no seat confusion or cleanup this time but extra time sweating on the tarmac had us (well, me) grateful when we finally took off.  

We made it through customs and immigration quickly and waited a bit for our bus, but eventually we squished in and were off, driving through the countryside of Costa Rica, seeing the many, many shades of green, and learning how people drive down here. A 4 hour drive brought us to Sámara, where we met our host families, and headed off to eat, unpack, and sleep. 

This morning, we had to be at school by 7 so we had an earlier than normal wakeup time in order to eat breakfast and walk to school. Well, most of us walked to school - some had very kind families that gave them a ride! We got tested and put into small groups, then had our classes from 8-12 with 2 15-minute breaks. We then had a quick orientation and went off to exchange money. Fun fact that we learned - you have to be 18 to exchange money! We figured things out and then broke off to go eat and explore before artesania (art) class. 

Some ate at a Mexican restaurant, some at a restaurant with swings, and others at a beachfront restaurant. Sadly, it rained almost all day but mostly let up while we were doing artesania. After artesania, we explored a bit, picked shells on the beach, played volleyball with the locals, or just hung around school relaxing and using the Wifi. Tonight we will eat with our host families and then head to bed. Tomorrow we have beach cleanup at 9 and then get to swim before lunch, classes, supper, and 5v5 soccer.