First Day of Orientation and a Mini-Adventure

This morning was new student orientation for Sojourn Academy, the school the kids will be attending on the same grounds as the language school. We arrived at 9:40 for a tour of the grounds, then assembled in the chapel for the presentation. Cody, Tori, and Clayton all got to meet their teachers. As a seventh-grader, Tayler will have many teachers; we did not get to meet them all today. All of the teachers, however, are extremely friendly. Tomorrow begins our orientation sessions, and while we're attending ours, the kids will have a few more days of orientation material they will cover as well. School officially starts for them on Monday, and for us on Tuesday (one week from today).

After the morning's session, we decided to walk down to the bank and then on to a McDonald's located a little less than a mile from the school. Keep in mind that these are busy streets, some with sidewalks, but some not. When there aren't any sidewalks, we try to keep as far to the side of the road as we can, and try to walk single file (one of the adults leading, and the other bringing up the rear). However, as far as we tried to stay from the road, it didn't feel far enough this afternoon when a semi truck blew right past us.....WAY too close for comfort! In order to reach the McDonald's, we had to cross the busy round-about (imagine a game of Frogger), and then get across the street again to reach the golden arches.

McDonald's in San Jose is very similar to any McDonald's in the States except for a few differences. The ever-popular McCafe is not a regular menu option---but an entire little coffee shop within the McDonald's! You can buy pastries, and all types of flavored coffees. It's a regular Starbucks experience. The play place is upstairs (we didn't go there because there were a bunch of high-school aged Costa Rica kids). Chairs are grouped very closely together and it was a bit disconcerting to have two men sit down right next to us at a table when there were other tables open. I felt like I should be introducing myself and offering to share my fries. Something to get used to, I guess.

Following lunch, we raced across the street (another opportunity to play Frogger) to the Pecueno Mundo (Little World), a store specializing in a bunch of household items and assorted merchandise. We picked up almost everything else on our list that we needed for the house (lamps, fans, decorative elements, etc.) and saw a bunch of really pretty Asian jewelry boxes, baskets, and vases. Since none were essential to setting up our home, those remained at the store. We filled two shopping carts full of items, then headed outside to try and flag down a taxi to bring us home. An employee was especially helpful in assisting us in this process, and went so far as to call a taxi company for us. When the first driver arrived and saw how much stuff we had (which fit in the trunk of his taxi) plus the six of us, he called for another cab. The really nice thing about this driver is that he insisted upon waiting for the second taxi to arrive so that we could all go together--and refrained from starting the meter! (As there was at least a 10 minute wait, and since he had been so gracious to us, we did give him a nice tip. Usually, you don't tip the drivers, but in this instance, we felt it was appropriate.)

A taxi ride through town is an adventure in itself. Especially when there are left turns with no traffic light. In the States, you line up behind cars waiting to turn left and then patiently wait your turn. Not here! Sometimes, if the drivers (and the taxi drivers are particularly this way) think you're taking too long to turn, or you have missed too many opportunities, they will pull up alongside you--sometimes even two and three abreast!--all trying to turn into one lane! Eep! You just hang on and, at worst, close your eyes and say a prayer for safety. I have never in my life heard so much honking of horns. I thought it was bad in Jackson, but Jacksonians are tame compared to Costa Rican drivers and their horns!

I've gotten very good at saying "no habla Espanol", but I really do look forward to the day I'm able to communicate--at least somewhat--with the people here. For the most part they've been very friendly and most will go out of their way to help you (like the PM employee and the taxi). I am also extremely thankful for Troy's Spanish base. That has been a huge blessing.

Please continue to pray for us as we begin our orientation tomorrow and for the kids as they prepare for the start of school. There's lots more to come from Costa Rica!