airplane rides

Leaving family this time around was extremely difficult because of the loss of my cousin Evan. Dad, Kristen, and Jake brought me to the airport. I wore my shorts and tshirt underneath pajama pants and a robe :) I felt silly, but it was nice to hand over the warm clothes. Warm clothes feel like extra baggage...it is nice to feel free :) I tried to sleep on the plane but it was useless because there was too much going through my brain....it definitely did not feel like I was going to Costa Rica...my first stop was Philly.

The plane ride from Philly was so rough because I had not slept in many many hours...but the second I landed in Costa Rica I felt the sunshine through my tiny airplane window (I picked a window seat so I could see when I was above land rather than water) I love looking at the land from the sky because it gives you a different perspective of people, land, and the areas in which we populate.

I got off the airplane and found a few people going to my university before I headed to customs. It was funny all the things we were saying and watching out for...it was sort of like we had all read the same book of warnings and precautions and we were little international traveling robot students. I felt really bad when we got through customs and to the airport pickup because there were no signs with my new friends names on it. Stepping out into the sunshine on the pavement was the sunshine and a large tican (costa rican) man holding a sign with the name: Tara KNopp lol, I don't know if there was a preconcieved error of inflection in my last name, but I went with him anyways! I helped him look through his information and found out that my friends were where they needed to be and then we were off...to find my new home in Barrio Cordoba-Zapate la mas bonito barrio...the most beautiful little neighborhood in the world. :)