First day in Costa Rica!

"The 3 Pioneers"

Cindy, Clara and I are the first group to arrive at Costa Rica International
Airport. We arrive on the same flight from New York. It is different from
something I think I would see regarding airport architecture. It looks very
modern, clean, and busy which reminds me of JFK in NYC. After we pass
through customs, we are impressed by the large number of bright orange
taxis that are lined up in front of the arrival exit to pick up the passengers who were traveling to this nice little country.

In the airport, there are several shops selling local handicrafts and the way they decorate
the shops is very impressive. The colors they use are a combination of
bright and natural colors which give us some energy after the 5-hour flight.
Also, the decoration style is like a jungle that represents their famous
rain forest and vast variety of biodiversities. However, we encounter a
little problem, which is that we cannot find the one who comes to pick us up
(Marci) because she put the sign on the window of the arrival exit after we
are outside out and we cannot go back inside.

Hours pass. Brenda's flight from Miami is delayed but we still have hope so
we decide to wait for both Brenda and Marci. A little later, we cannot just
wait any longer by not contacting Marci, so we go all the way to the
departure terminal to buy the domestic phone card that works with the public
telephones at the airport (they have several public telephones that use
coins but they are all broken). Finally, we are able to call the center.
Oscar picks up the phone and he contacts Marci for us right away.

Half an hour later, Sarah and Marci arrive but Brenda still does not show up
so we go to the center, take some rest, and our host families come to pick
each of us up one by one. Accordingly, I was informed before I arrived in
Costa Rica that each host family will accommodate 2 people (1 Spanish
speaker and 1 non-Spanish speaker) but it turns out that I, a non-Spanish
speaker, end up staying alone with the Costa Rican family, who understands
very little English. This is definitely a real challenge for me to survive
in this Spanish speaking country of Costa Rica...

By Sudarat Adirek