Me llamo Benci

Hola friends and family!! I have made it to Costa Rica and am currently in my training community of San Antonio which is very close to the capital of San Jose. Quick disclaimer: I am a little fried from Spanish classes so this may not be as eloquent as I would like it to be.

Ok- so getting here was insane but smooth. In a nut shell, it involved very little sleep juxtaposed with lots of excitement, anxiety and information about the next 2 years of my life. The other trainees are all incredibly interesting and talented people from every corner of the U.S. I have made so many really great friends already.

Yesterday I arrived at my host family´s home in San Antonio. Before this I was at a retreat center in the mountains for orientation and classes from 8a-7p each day. Again, lots of excitement, anxiety, and information about the next 2 years of my life. However, this is also where I started to become incredibly close with several of the other trainees- so no problems.

I now live with a woman almost the same age as my mom (will not disclose this EXACTLY) so let´s just say "in her prime." She is a hairdresser and has a salon in her home and has two cats. It has been a running joke between me and my friends that I will show up later this week to training with a perm. Those who knew me in 3rd grade remember that this is NOT a good idea. We´ll see... She is an incredible cook, likes a lot of fresh air in the house, and for the most part gives me my independence. She has also been a huge help with my Spanish.

And speaking of... I currently have Spanish class Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8a-5p. Yikes. First day...check. It has been a HUGE help (obviously) but my mind is exhausted and the day is still young. It may be a long 3 months. The other days I have technical training and core-training which is in San Jose. That will be my first experience on the public transportation system here... that always seems to be an interesting experience.

To end, I will bullet point a couple of things to hopefully squash some of FAQs:
-I have not gotten sick yet (surprised?)
-As usual, people have not heard of my name and so I am sometimes called "Benci"
-I have had to drop being a vegetarian. My host mom told me people that don´t eat meat are ridiculous
-The weather is beautiful but definitely hot and humid. I have acquired a farmers tan already.

Esto es todo para ahora! I hope all is well and thank you to those that have emailed.