**I wrote this post a week ago when I was at basecamp. Right when I was going to post it I lost internet! I've been out on my first week and now back at basecamp so I thought I'd post it anyway!

I made it to Costa Rica! 3 flights, 2 layovers and about 24 hours of travel time and I made it safe and sound to the Las Tumbas valley where our basecamp and my home base is. I actually had a wonderful trip! I had an exit row seat with lots of room my first leg, the entire row to myself the second, and a short 1 hour flight the last leg. Then Christian, a really nice guy who works for Pure Life picked me up from the airport (he even held a sign with my name!), drove 20 minutes and dropped me off at the bus station. I took a greyhound sort of bus for 3 hours across the country to San Isidro (one of the 2 nearest towns from our base) and then Andrew (our program director), picked me up and we drove about half an hour to base.

Christian helped me buy my bus ticket (first time using colones!) and board but right after getting on I had one of my first scary spanish moments! The woman next to me was really nice and was trying to help me out to find a place to put my backpack. There were people in the aisles...not sure if they bought a cheaper ticket or what but she talked and gestured at me and I had no idea what she was saying! I had an idea it was about my bag so I just nodded and put it where she pointed but I was so tired and hungry and dehydrated and overwhelmed by being alone in a foreign country where I don't speak the language and trying to communicate that I got scared! I started thinking about if I got off at the wrong stop or something! But as the time passed I realized nothing was going to happen and all went well.

This country is beautiful and green and my new home is a group of buildings meant for yoga retreats...all open air wood buildings with wood floors and fans. It also used to be a banana plantation so there are banana trees everywhere! We can literally have fresh bananas anytime we want! And the fruit here is so fresh and cheap...apparently you can get an entire fresh pineapple for less than a dollar. I will have to take advantage of that for sure. We usually have fresh mango, pineapple and papaya for breakfast. The staff housing is some bunkbeds in a room with screens for walls and feels kind of like a tree house. It's fun. The last few days I've had a chance to get to know the program and the students and get my bearings.

And tomorrow I go out for a 2 week shift! We will come back to basecamp next Monday but this week we are rafting and climbing and visiting a national park. Hopefully it will go well!

I haven't had time to take any pictures but I definitely will take some on my time off and post them.

Much love and I miss you all!
Love,
Rose