El primer dia en Atenas!

The day started off quite eventfully for us. When we arrived in Costa Rica last night, we were a bit tired and quickly set our alarms for 7:30 to be ready to be picked up by 8:45 before going to sleep. As planned, our alarms went off at 7:30 and we began getting ready. It took us 20 minutes and 2 cold showers to realize that our phones didn't reset the clock and it was about 5:45 in the morning. After this realization, we took the opportunity to unpack all of our things and get settled in our room.

We live with Zumela and her 3 kids Natalia, Adrian and Laura in their house in Atenas, Alajuela, a province in Costa Rica. Megan and I are in a room together in the house. The house has a very homey feel to it and we're adjusting quickly! Before heading out to orientation, Zumela made us breakfast consisting of gallo pinto (a mixture of rice and black beans), an egg, a banana and pineapple. It was delicious! We also got to experience our first cup of cafe in Costa Rica. Just needed a little sugar to make a tasty cup of coffee to get us ready for the day!

At 8:45, we were picked up by Miguel along with 2 other volunteers who also arrived to Costa Rica yesterday. We were taken to the ATESA Spanish Academy where we met Mercedes and Diego. They gave us a brief orientation about the program here in Atenas. Since I will be here for more than 2 months, I will be taking a Spanish course throughout my stay here for a total of 15 hours.

After the orientation, we got a tour of el Centro in Atenas where we stopped at the bank and supermarket. I also got to go to my internship site at Hogar de Ancianos, a retirement home where I will be working with a physical therapist. It is a 20 minute walk from my house and even though it is a beautiful walk, it will be an adventure as I walk up these hills with the high humidity. We are in Costa Rica during the rainy season and so, it's awfully humid here. If anything, I'm sort of used to it thanks to living in Virginia but the walk to the internship will still be a pain in my business casual attire. Also, the fact that the drivers here in Costa Rica don't ever stop for pedestrians will make the walk even more adventurous. I start my internship at 7 am tomorrow!

Megan and I came home to a delicious lunch made by Zumela consisting of fish, rice, vegetable soup and sweet tea with lemon. Even though we've only had 2 meals so far, I can tell that we are going to eat lots of delicious food while here! We took a nap after lunch and have been lazy the rest of the afternoon, especially since it has been raining heavily all afternoon. Natalia grabbed us to have coffee and sweet bread in the late afternoon, a Costa Rican tradition. But now that we are well rested, we will be ready to continue our adventures tomorrow!