Saturday, September 11, 2010

Four Days Down, 205 1/2 To Go!

Hello from Uvita!


Wow, I can't believe I've only been gone for four days. Yet despite the title of this post, I'm more certain than ever that I've made a difficult, but rewarding choice. 


Alright, let's step back a minute. On Thursday morning we woke around 7 am, had breakfast consisting of beans and rice, and then loaded a bus for Uvita.  The drive was nice but long considering the all the moving we have recently done. On the four hour trip we crossed a mountain range overlooking the entire city, it was breathtaking. 


Upon arrival at our "hotel" we were assigned to specific rooms within each bungalow. I'm rooming with Lusia and Hannah. The rooms are decent - 5 Star compared to last night's hostel. They consist of 3 beds, a TV that doesn't work, but goes well with the decor (see Mom, I haven't ignored everything you taught me) and a bathroom. I'm told that last amenity will soon be a luxury. Gulp! After settling into our rooms we headed for the beach. Okay, so it appears that my TBB adventure won't be all study and toil, but give me a break.  


The water felt so nice, even despite the fact that it was raining about as hard as I've ever seen it rain. The water was extremely warm, and the waves were huge. I was convinced a riptide was going to pull me under, but I survived. After swimming we had dinner (more rice and beans) and began our first discussion. "What development?" was the title. It was intense and provoking. No talk about strip malls, and new stadiums. Food for the starving, shelter for the homeless. Intense is an understatement. The discussion was 3 hrs of eye opening discussion, but Rayn's ocassional sarcastic comments provided some needed relief.


Yesterday (Friday) my alarm sounded at 7:00am, and I woke up with goosebumps covering my legs! The nights are colder than I imagined in Costa Rica. We had breakfast and played some team building games. They seem a bit silly, but were told we will need to depend upon one another over the course of the next eight months more than we can imagine now. Afterwards, we took off for our hike to a waterfall.  


After losing 20 lbs of sweat we finally arrived at a giant waterfall. It was BEAUTIFUL! Underneath the main fall there was a "natural pool" surrounded by other huge falls. We went swimming to rinse off all the sweat and then had a picnic lunch... no rice and beans this time! :) 


A few hours later we trekked back to the hotel.  Later in the day we went over rules, expectations, purpose of the trip. It only took us 2.5 hours so thats good. Among the things we discussed were the possibility of getting mugged, fake ATMs, and relationships within our group. Good thing I took self defense before leaving the States. I'm 105 pounds of holy terror now. Ha! Dinner followed our discussion, we did yoga and headed to bed!


It's 7:00 AM on Saturday and I'm about to go for a run (not alone, Dad!). I'm looking forward to another day. Surfing lessons are on the agenda. Lest you think this trip is all fun and games, I've been told you never know when those might come in handy working in the farmlands of Ecuador!  ;-) 


Love,
maddie p

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