Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Mi Familia


Day 2
May 26, 2013

This was the day we met our host family. However, we first had to make the 3 hour trek through the mountains to get there. This was done in a charter bus. Many times, our charter bus was on narrow dirt roads with switchbacks. I applaud our bus driver! I wouldn’t want his job. The bridges here are all narrow and with one lane, which adds an entirely different dimension when crossing immediately after a switchback!

We arrived safely to CPI and began our placement testing. I could have saved them the pencil and paper. Of course I am a beginner!

We ate lunch at a place in Monteverde, which is not much of a town but the restaurant provides delicious home cooking. I had the oro (?) de carne, which was similar to a stew back home. It had big chunks of vegetables and beef that had all be cooked together for a long time. Like almost everything else here, it was served con arroz.

After lunch, we went back to CPI where our families were waiting. I had an emotional moment just before meeting my family. I was in the gift shop, comprised of items made by local woman artists, and saw something that I immediately thought my mom would love. It was one those times where emotions just washed over me. So, when I met my family, I was a mess. Talk about awkward.

Mi familia es mama tica Rosa, papa tico Alfonso, hermanos Alonza (26) y Victor (18), y hermanas Victoria (18) y Genesis (7). There is also a married hermana, Alejandra and her esposo Gabriel. Gabriel speaks un poco English, and came to help translate when I first arrived. Thank goodness, because otherwise I fear we all would have sat and stared at each other. Alonzo speaks some English, but he wasn’t here yet when I arrived. However, he has been very helpful to me otherwise. 

My family was all gracious and kind to me. Genesis is very sweet and loves to draw and color. I think the Hello Kitty activity book was a good choice.
More later… 

La Pacifica bay from the road in front of CPI
The water is about 50 miles away

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