the adventure begins...

here i am, sitting at a table in same the language school in costa rica, writing about my experiences.  it's almost 3 years when i was here for the very first time (i arrived the beginning of april 2006) and so much has happened, so many things have changed, but yet some of it is still the same.   one big difference - i speak a lot more spanish this time!  and i knew way more what to expect in coming.  i've been down here 3 times in the past 2 years since i moved back to denver, so needless to say it wasn't the same "where am i going?" feeling as on my first flight here.  plus, as many of you know, i have been taking so many flights, so many trips lately, that the whole airport, airplane, suitcase, passport, packing thing is a far too familiar habit.

i got here on thursday morning (mar 5) at 6am and was greeting by my dear "familia Tica" - Luisa, Gaby, Faby, and Benson.  Luisa is Hugo's sister, who i lived with before, Gaby and Faby are her daughters, and Benson is Luisa & Hugo's brother.  since the moment i got here it has been just like old times - running around with Luisa and the girls, living at the house with them, eating all my favorite foods (not all of them yet, but i'm working on it!) and just trying to get settled in.

i haven't been able to email much because the internet was out at the language school and was just restored this afternoon after more than a week.  and i don't have a cell phone yet because apparently there are no phone lines available.  plus the phone at luisa's house hasn't been working for over 3 weeks now, probably because a tree feel somewhere or something....  and all of this has to do with the public utility company that handles everything - phone, internet, cell phones, etc...  and you either have to call and number, listen to a message,  wait and never actually talk to a person, or go to the office and wait in line with everyone else who needs to pay their bill, ask a question, or has any of the same problems or any number of other problems.    no such thing as walking into the mall and choosing from one of 4 kiosks the cell phone provider you want and making your first phone call within minutes.

so of course things have changed - the girls are now 15 and almost 17, about to finish high school, not like the 12 and 13 yr olds i first met, Luisa has a new car, there is a new rice maker and pressure cooker at the house, but many haven't changed a bit.  i still love the food, the roads still have a lot of potholes (although i will say that they have re-done a lot of roads...) the drivers and pedestrians and buses still make driving a bit crazy.  and best of all, i still feel at home here.