Mi familia

So, I bet you've all been wondering, why hasn't Amy told us about the family she's been living with? Well, I wanted to give it some time just to make sure I was going to stay....j/k! I'm not going anywhere. On Sunday, July 17th, I moved in with my Tico mom, Sara. Funny, same name as my real mom (even though it's spelled differently) and this one is just about the same age....give or take a year. I was a little disappointed at first that I was only living with one other person, much like my study abroad experience in Italy. I was looking forward to a family with children but in the end, I think this is the best situation. Sara has three children between the ages of 22-31 who are all married and have children (well, almost). The oldest daughter Rebecca lives around the corner from us with her husband Wilkyn and two children Marcella and Marco ages 5 and 4 respectively. On the day of my arrival they came over for lunch to meet me and the first thing my niece and nephew did was give me kisses on the cheek. I felt like royalty. Could you imagine making your children kiss some stranger from another country who you didn't even know? In about the first 3 minutes we came to the conclusion that Marcella and I share the same birthday (Sept. 13th in case you forgot....lol!) and that I didn't understand a lick of Spanish. Fortunately for me, my brother-in-law, Wilkyn, knows a little English....better than my Spanish actually....and it is so much easier to communicate with him. I see that family often. Next there is my sister Auxiliadora, 27 who has lived in Nashville for the past 5 years actually and is expecting her first child in February. I get to talk to her on the phone each week though the connection is really bad and all I manage to get out is that her mother is great and is taking good care of me....which is the truth. Josue, 23 lives in the next barrio over and is married to Evette. They have a 2 year old son named Dylon. I see them about once a week. If you're wondering about the man who pays the bills, that would be Jose who left Sarita (my Tico mom) about two years ago for another woman. He pays the water, electric and half of the phone bill. I do enjoy the long, hot showers! J/k. No, actually I've met him on two occasions now and have met his entire family. His mom and like 5 sisters live a few houses down from us and for some reason, my mom is still in touch with all of them. We actually went to this 100 person 50th birthday party on Friday night which was for the husband of the sister of my mom's ex-husband. Try imagining that. It was a really formal party with assigned tables and I'm happy to say that on the seating chart under my Tico mom's name it read: accompanied by the "Gringa"! I'm used to it now. So, in a nutshell, that is my family. They are all really great, especially my mom who cooks me great food and washes and irons all my clothes. My real mom must have told the PC the living arrangements I was used to at home! Thanks mom. ;-) That's all for now. I usually only get to the internet about once a week. Next time, I'll tell you about the shack I live in.

Pura Vida!

Pura Vida! These are words chanted around the country. It´s the catch all phrase. How are you doing? Pura Vida! How do you feel? Pura Vida! How was your night? Pura Vida! Thanks for asking. I am finally here in my barrio of Dolce Nombre de Coronado de San Jose. If you think that is confusing, try asking for directions or an address around here. CR does not use street addresses. Rarely do people even know the name of the street they live on. Instead, they base the location of something off of the location of someplace else. 300 meters to the left of where the old Catholic Church used to be and then turn right, then 4oo meters ahead on the left is where my house is located. OK, that´s not really how to get to my house, but that is how they address mail around here. Next time I promise to write about mi familia and my mama Sarita who is very good to me.

Excursion #1

Hola friends and family! I am finally here in CR. Today is day #3. After two days of pre-training in Washington, DC where I met my 32 newest friends and learned many rules and operations of the Peace Corps, we all headed out on a 4 hour flight to San Jose early on Wednesday morning. The flight went really well and I was surprised to not have even shed a tear as we left the USA. I guess I'm just overwhelmed with all of my new friends. It's amazing that we all get along really well. So many of the PCT (Peace Corps Trainees) are from CA and other states out west. There is one married couple and they are actually from VA like me. They just graduated from UVA in May. Everyone is very young too. A majority of us are between the ages of 21-25. 4 are 26-29 and one girl is in her early 30s. We are about 12 guys and the rest girls. It's a very young group they have told us. Everyone is super nice and I have met some really fun and crazy people...namely my roommate in DC named Kelley who is from CO and my current roommate at the retreat named Zoey who is from NYC. These are crazy kids, let me tell you.

Fresh off the plane, we were taken to a cabin retreat in the mountains near San Jose for the first 4 days. Here we have been meeting all of the PC CR staff, sitting through long lessons about how PC CR works, being given shots, taking language placement oral exams, eating lots of good food and drinking even more coffee. I actually kinda like it. One thing is for sure, we do not go hungry. Today we have taken our first trip away from the cabin retreat where we've been staying. Unfortunately it is pouring and it was hard to see out of the bus windows as we made the 20 minute bus ride to the town of Heredia. Of course the first thing we have all done was stake out an internet cafe. It's been days! LOL Tomorrow is our last day of the retreat and we will find out which town we will be living in for the next 11 weeks. We are all very excited (and nervous) to learn of our host families and which 4 of our new friends will be in our towns with us. It is all based on our language skills and what projects we will be working on eventually...I will be working with Children, Youth and Families (CYF). So, by Sunday afternoon I will be in my new home with my new host family. Be sure to tune in soon to how that experience goes. Love to all.

Adios America!

And I'm off. After packing all week and repacking again last night, I was finally able to fit two years worth of personal belongings into these three bags. What a tough feat! Thank you to everyone who visited, emailed and called me yesterday and today wishing me buena suerte. I was fortunate enough to spend my last week at home amongst my family and friends and for this I am greatful. It's off to DC I go for Staging. We fly out on Wednesday morning. Hasta luego!

Plug-in

To learn more about the Peace Corps, check out their website. www.peacecorps.gov