Alright, I´m here...

So, I´m finally here in Costa Rica, and I´m all settled in. My host family is wonderful. My "mom" has been really good about taking me places and teaching my the bus routes. (Public transportation has been a big obstacle for me...I don´t even know how to ride a bus in English or take a cab in English...how am I supposed to do it in Spanish?) Anyway, I have gone to a mall in San José, and I´ve basically met the whole family. I know here sisters, mother, nieces, daughters, grandson, friends, and neighbors.
When I got here they showed me my room (I have my own bathroom by the way!) and I got settled in. On Saturday I had orientation at the school and met some other students who are studying here as well. On Saturday night I went with her to the neighbors for a Catholic gathering...can´t remember the name in Spanish. It´s Costa Rican tradition to gather as friends and family and pray to Mary for the safety of their children. On Sunday, we went to the mall, and then in the evening...another Catholic gathering thing with Ana´s (the mom) family. Monday night I played hide-and-seek with her 4-year old grandson Ismael. And tonight I´m going to the movies with her nieces, Lucia (14) and Jimena (14).
In between all this I´ve been reading, writing in my journal, talking to the family dog (Mily) in English, and trying to figure out where the hec I am and where I need to go to get to where I want to go. I live in San Pablo, which I believe is a suburb of Heredia. I walked to class today and it took me about 30 minutes.
So, I´m getting settled in and I think I know where I´m going now. So hopefully now I can make friends with some of the other students studying here at the Universidad Nacional (UNA).
About the most exciting thing that has happened so far was when I locked myself in the bathroom in my room. I had been in the bathroom for about 5 minutes, trying to escape when Ana yelled at me to shut the window in the bathroom so the wind didn´t blow the door at night. I yelled back at her (in Spanish) "I´m locked in the bathroom and can´t escape." So she must think I´m really wierd or something because she thought I was joking...I don´t know what kind of sick humor that would be. But anyway, after about 5 more minutes of trying to escape I yelled "Ana, I need help." And she yelled "Dios Mio!" (Oh my God), and ran to my aid. At first she told me I would have to sleep in the bathroom because we couldn´t get the door open, but after about 5 more minutes of trying, we succeeded and I was freed...what a day..
Oh, and one more interesting fact...the neighboor has a goat, geese, and turkeys...and I think by the end of the 4 months I will have killed them and fed them to her... So some advice, when you have nieghbors, don´t own such animals.
Well, I hope to have some more interesting stories soon!