we made it!

We finally landed in the verdant, lush, mountainous wonderland yesterday at about 4 and were met by three helpers to expedite the travel through all the necessary channels of the airport. I never even IMAGINED that it could be so fast and easy and I think I will manage to get used to this lifestyle. After we finally retrieved our ridiculous amount of luggage and enjoyed some awkward, friendly spanish conversations we met yet another person who was to drive us to our new, much anticipated home. All the while one of the escorts is our sponsor who has been an officer in CR for about a year. She is wonderful. She told us just enough information about the surrounding area, what to expect, what needed to be done pronto, etc in order to be helpful but not overwhelming all at once. She bought us a few groceries and helped to set up the welcome kit so we could settle in more easily. Did I mention that I am loving this?

Anyway, the driving was almost as crazy as I expected. I guess we had the most aggressive Embassy driver but it still wasn't that bad. There were some close calls, quick lane changes, screeching halts and I was definitely carsick by the end of the 30 minute ride but kinda seemed like par for the course. The thing that will be really hard to get used to is all the people walking on the sides of the road: crossing the street, walking with kids or just milling around. It already seemed a little dangerous and then the sponsor told us that the night before she had seen a person die on the side of the road after an accident. I think I will take to driving like an old lady just fine.

On to our house...it's amazing. It has a beautiful lobby with leather couches, a bar, a large pool and all open air hallways and courtyard. We heard that there had been some complaints about the size of the unit and were shocked to find that the place iiiissss sufficiently huge. Even the government furniture wasn't nearly as bad as we anticipated. It's really bright and airy, quiet and modern. We can't even hear each other if we are in opposite sides of the place (blessing? jk). I can't wait to get the rest of our stuff and really settle in. Seems we will have to coexist with an army of little ants, but I guess it could be much worse. I did drink a few in my water last night and freaked out but have since proposed a truce.

We had dinner at our sponsor's house last night with her daughter. It was such a nice way to ease into the new life – to chill in someone's home, eat a delicious home cooked meal, listen to music, look at pictures and make some new friends. Today we received our first shipment of belongings and will hopefully get the cable/internet hooked up this weekend.