5 hours of half-hearted and yet still completely overwhelming packing.

4.5 hours of sleep.

3.5 hours on a plane.

4 hours on a bus.

And it was all completely worth it. I am now sitting at my laptop in my freaking adorable bungalow on campus. This country is unbelievable. Flying in, I was blown away by how untouched so much of the land is. Everything is green and alive and beautiful. The view from our windows and front door in our bungalow is incredible. It's all mountains and trees and green, and today there was a cow not 10 feet from our door. Apparently there are three milk-able cows on campus and one baby. The baby cow's name is Cow. The others don't have names, yet.. Good thing I got here when I did.

So let's talk about the ridiculousness of my travels. In typical Sarah fashion, I waited until the last possible minute to start packing for this trip. I came home from my sushi feast at Nagoya fully intending on just getting it over with, but one glance at my empty bag and the various mounds of stuff surrounding said bag, and I lost my nerve. Defeated, I flipped on the Georgia game and prolonged my procrastination. On commercial breaks, I would reluctantly sort through a pile of laundry or climb the stairs to grab something from one of my rooms. After the game, though, I had no choice but to just get it done. And so it began. With a lot of help from mom, I managed to find everything on my pack list and then some. One bag quickly became two, and the two bags were packed tighter and tighter until mom made me start making sacrifices. Before I knew it, it was 1 in the morning and I had two 35-pound duffel bags and a backpack to look forward to carrying in the morning. So then came sleeping, and then waking. Waking was pretty rough, but I managed to make it to the airport at 7:20. I checked in with this woman who was so impressed with my worldliness. When I explained that I was going to Costa Rica to study abroad for a few months, she kept saying, "Ooh! That is so diversified!" Seriously, she said it at least 8 times. She was freaking out. It made me laugh. So then I made my way over to security. And I wasn't aware of this before today, but as an "elite class" passenger, I had a special line for check-in and security. I was feeling pretty great about my life, I'm not going to lie. Cayman, Abby, and Ann had already beat me to the gate, and the rest of the crew joined us slowly but surely. After a good Starbucks fix and lots of excited talk about the trip, we started boarding. My elite-ness kicked in again here, and I was just loving it. Everyone is so nice in first class! And the food--for lunch, I had butternut squash ravioli and salad and key lime pie. I made friends with the first class flight attendants and Rotary man who sat next to me. Dad, I think you may have created a monster. I never want to go back! Haha- kidding.. kind of.

So we get off the airplane, make our way through customs and all that good stuff, and then the first thing we see as we are leaving the airport is this creepily realistic-looking guy who is painted on the glass door holding a sign saying, "Dear Tourists, Here in Costa Rica sex with children under the age of 18 is a serious crime. Should you engage in it, we will be glad to drive you to jail. We mean it." What?! The sign was on the inside of our bus too. Weird. But I managed to carry my bags from the airport to our bus on my own. Apparently I didn't look like I was managing because the bus driver offered to help me, but whatever I did it just the same. Go me. Our bus was super hardcore. The drive was ridiculous. It was four hours of mostly windy unpaved roads with various obstacles--dogs, fallen boulders, mudslide-looking things, etc. I somehow managed to nap for about 20 minutes, and then after that I had my energy back. We stopped to eat after an hour on the road, and met the cutest

 couple who cut up all this fruit for us to try. We had this one that was covered in red spindly things, but when you cracked it open it was this little pod of deliciousness. Another they gave us salt to sprinkle on it, and it didn't taste like a fruit at all. And then came one of the juciest pineapples I have ever eaten. We bought a bunch of random goodies to taste, and they were all pretty weird. Abby picked the best stuff. I put my trust in her and followed her lead on lunch selections, and I was not led astray. It was delish. Then we got back on the bus and stuck it out for the remaining 3 hours before arriving on campus. It's so beautiful here. I wish you all could see it. We were given room keys and headed to our bungalows to settle in. Dinner was at 6, and it was fabulous. I have great expectations for meals to come. I'm pumped. Plus coffee/ tea all day long. Oh baby. After dinner we got a nice power point presentation and the first bit of our orientation. Other fun facts: there are guava trees all around and so that's what it smells like. Also, you can't flush toilet paper, which really grosses me out. And they make the best salsa here. I love salsa. Our internet has been messed up so I won't be able to post this til later. So there it is, peeps. Day one.

peace love and elite-ness

shout outs to meems, my twinkie, and dave, my boo.