Me Gusta Viajar, Me Gustas Tú

¡Hola chicos!

I know ya'll have been worried sick about me so I thought now would be a good time to check in and let you know that I'm alive and well. Marni and I landed in San José yesterday around noon and were immediately greeted by our families (well, I was greeted by my family - she, by Don Fernando). My host's son, Rafa was at the airport to pick me up along with his daughter, Marcena, and as soon as I met them I blanked out on every single word of Spanish I ever heard! Thankfully, their house isn't far from the airport so the awkward car ride was mercifully short. The house is fairly small, really simple but nevertheless comfortable. I have my own room and my own bathroom, so I can't much complain. Last night was really tough from a communication standpoint but I did my best to get the lay of the land nonetheless.

Today has been a really fun day but it certainly didn't start off that way. I decided to use the alarm on my ipod and I sort of messed it up in a couple of ways. Let's just say that I tried to wake up at 6:45 (orientation at school started at 7:30) but instead woke up at 5:15. I managed to battle the exhaustion, show up at school on time and take the oral placement exam for Spanish - I placed into Intermedio 3 (the second highest intermediate level)! After class they took us on a tour of the town and out to lunch. The people are very nice and there is a huge group of kids from Austin, Texas (pronounced "tay-has", en Español) on some sort of program. All in all I'm pleased with the people and a bunch of us have plans to go out tonight in a few hours..don't worry Mom, I'll do my homework first! As we were walking, though, I found out that I was actually somehow placed in Avanzado uno (the first advanced level) and I'm not sure why! The people seem to know their stuff but I should be fine..I'm the only guy in the class so I should be able to coast on my Masculine charm.

Finally, I just wanted to share one paticularity of Costa Rican culture that I am not excited to adopt. Before I got here everybody made Costa Rica seem like a perfectly Western country, but this certainly challenges that idea. The septic system in most parts of the country is extremely weak. As a result, most toilets in the country cannot handle toilet paper. So beside every toilet I've seen so far lies a wastebasket in which one is meant to throw his or her toilet paper! I could be crazy, but that's completely gross! This might be TMI, but I've been holding it in since I got here and I know that a few of the other students are with me on that! Ah!

I'm off to shower and do my homework but, in the meantime, if anybody knows of a good Gringo-style bathroom in Costa Rica, please..please..let me know where it is!