Finally Settled!

Today was the first day that I felt at home in Monteverde! Last night after dinner I met up with some of my friends in my program at the bar, which was much less fun than the previous night because we were all so exhausted. Most of us were on the verge of falling asleep, and on account of our drowsiness, Libba and I called it an early night. Libba is my neighbor, so we usually walk most places together, especially at night after an evening of drinking. When I got home, I watched an episode of Friends. Gotta have a little taste of home while I'm away :)

This morning I was able to sleep in, and I didn't get up until about 9am, which wasn't a problem because everyone else in my house woke up around the same time. It was nice to finally have a day to sleep in. After breakfast I did some reading, and then I went to church with my family. I was somewhat nervous before going because I didn't pack many nice clothes, but my mamatica told me it was fine to wear jeans and a nice shirt. Since my jeans and only nice shirt were hanging up to dry (they had just been washed), I wore the only skirt that I brought and my mamatica lent me one of her shirts. Attending a church session in Spanish was quite a cultural experience. There was nothing to follow along with except the social cues of those around me, so I knelt and stood and sat when everyone else did, but I wasn't exactly sure what was going on. I was able to catch a few words and phrases, but for the most part I was completely lost. I have to admit, though, that I often feel somewhat lost during a church session in English. Maybe I will continue to attend church with my family during my stay.

After church we had a potluck lunch at the study center with everyone and their host families. It was nice getting to know some of the other families, and the food was DELICIOUS! Most of the food was traditional Costa Rican dishes, although I couldn't begin to tell you the names of them. I will ask someone tomorrow. Oh that reminds me: my mamatica told me that she would teach me how to cook. I plan on writing down the recipes so that I can bring my share my knew cooking with you all at home! After lunch we, the students, gave a short presentation.  Natalie, our TA, made a slideshow from pictures we gave her of our friends and family, and so we each got up in front of all the families and talked about ourselves and our families. In case you're curious, I used the picture of my family laughing at my senior lacrosse game, a picture of my friends at the top of Camels Hump, and a picture of me skiing.

After the family meet-and-greet, I went for a run around Monteverde/Santa Elena. Running here is very difficult for a variety of reasons: Sorry to scare you, Mom, but there are barely any sidewalks, so you need to be very cautious about cars flying by. I wore bright clothing and had to switch which side of the street I ran on so I would be on the outside of a curve rather than the inside. In fact, I have gotten into the habit of switching sides of the street when walking because the streets are extremely windy, and I want to maintain maximum visibility. Hope that puts your mind a little at ease, Mommy :) Another reason is that there is ZERO flat land, so I am either running straight up hills or straight down. Also, we are up in the mountains, so the altitude makes it more difficult to work out. I hope that by the end of these four months, if I continue to run up here, I will be in great shape!

After my run I went home, took a shower, and played Uno with Estebán (my 12-year-old brother), Elena (my 9-year-old sister), and Coco (their 10-year-old cousin). It was really nice to finally bond with them :) Today was the first day I truly felt comfortable and at home here, probably owing to the fact that we had lunch with all the families and that I finally went for a run! I am now at the Study Center about to complete some more reading. This week we are going to visit a few places in and around Monteverde that are potential internship opportunities. Can't wait for my first full week in Monteverde, my new home!

It is raining outside, of course! Rain is a daily occurrence here, and so I quickly got in the habit of bringing my raincoat with me wherever I go, even if the sun is shining bright. Speaking of rain, I have been getting several emails and seeing facebook statuses about Hurricane Irene. I hope everyone is safe and well at home. My thoughts go out to all those who have been affected. Stay well, everyone. Miss and love you all!