Ya empiece pura vida!

I've arrived safe and sound!  I landed Saturday around noon at the airport in San José where Yuri, my program director, picked me up with Gabriel, one of his workers.  We drove about 30 minutes through San José until we arrived in Guadalupe, where my host family lives.  Most of the houses here have gates surrounding them for security, and the houses are all different beautiful colors.  Yuri introduced me to my Mamá Tica, and I immediately felt at home.  Her name is Anabelle Meza Mora. She lives with her daughter, Roany, her granddaughter María Alexandra (María Alex for short), and their dog, Mily.  They too were extremely welcoming and warm.  I quickly learned that Anabelle is a professional when it comes to hosting students.  She had my whole room set up for me, complete with my own bathroom!  She told me she has had about 12-14 students every year for 12 years.  Talk about a pro! And now she has some of those students return and request her as their Mamá Tica, and I can see why. Once we got settled, she started making lunch, and I was like her shadow constantly asking what this and that was.  For lunch we had arroz (rice), frijoles negras (black beans), plátano frita (fried plantains), pollo (chicken), y ensalada de lechuga, pepino, tomate (salad of lettuce, cucumber, y tomato).  We rested in the afternoon a bit, and then chatted for hours about every topic under the sun.  I was blown away by Mama Tica's knowledge of all the happenings in the US.  I wish I could say the same for my knowledge of this beautiful country.  Before we went to bed, we watched a nearby firework display that was beautiful! Mama Tica explained they shoot off fireworks or "fuegos artificiales" every year to start the celebrations of the La Navidad.

Sunday morning I woke up at 8 after sleeping a healthy 12 hours, feeling wonderfully refreshed.  I went to the kitchen to find a beautiful breakfast all ready for me.  Mama Tica had a plate with freshly cut apples, mango, pineapple, strawberries, and bananas! She also prepared huevos rotos (scrambled eggs) and pan (bread).  And of course, café!  After breakfast I help her prepare some of the food for lunch, and she made a smoothie from the cas fruit.  These small, green fruits are delicious! She added the fruits, water, and some strawberries to the blender and it was amazing.  It's crazy to me all the different types of fruits they have here. It seems like every day I try at least 2 new fruits or vegetables I've never even heard of.  Today was no different.  I watched as she first peeled off the bark-like skin of the yuca and then grated the yuca through what looked like a cheese grater.  Then she mixed some shredded cheese in with the shredded yuca and made pancake-like patties which she then fried on the stove top.  After preparing most of what would be lunch, we walked Maria Alex to the gym.  We went through el centro commercial, and there were tons of stores where you could buy whatever you wanted.  After dropping off Maria Alex, Mama and I went to a new store called Econo.  It reminded me a lot of Walmart as it had everything from a small supermarket, to clothes, to shoes, to home wear, to a pharmacy.  It seemed pretty normal to me, but Mama Tica was beside herself.  She explained that a few months ago, Econo was nothing but cement walls, a dirt floor, and corrugated metal for the roof!  Anyway after buying a few items we left and walked to church.  The church was beautiful, it was a modern Catholic church with gorgeous stained glass windows.  The service was nice as well. It was overall very similar to Catholic services I have attended in the US, with the exception of one custom.  At one point during the service, the priest called up, by name, all the people who had a birthday in the next week.  Three people went up and then we said a special blessing for them. I really enjoyed this new custom.  After church, we went to la carneceria (the meat shop) which was heaving with church-goers trying to buy their meat for the week.  We bought a few types, and then walked home.  For lunch Mama Tica made the yuca and cheese patties, steak, fried plantains, rice, black beans, and salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and avocado.  It was delicious! The food here is amazing.  The rest of the afternoon we rested and chatted some more.  Maria Alex's friend Allison came over and I met her. They were studying for their French exam today (Monday)!  Well that's all I have for now, today (Monday) is my first day at IHCAI (International Health Central American Institute)! Can't wait to find out my assignment!