Around 4am, I arrived at the airport to meet up with my fearless companions…who looked about as ready to travel at 4:30am as the next crazy person. As I was standing with the team in our light blue “Costa Rica” shirts, created for the purpose of distinguishing ourselves from everyone else traveling that day, I realized they had already failed their purpose. Another group was standing about 2 feet away, wearing the exact same color shirt. Not only were the “Fruit Loops” in our airport, leaving at 6am, but they were flying to Miami on our same plane…perfect. Now, I never knew if their shirts actually said “Fruit Loops” or if we just called them that…but they did have a toucan on their shirt, so either way I guess they were asking for it.
Our 6am plane to Miami, p.s., was full. I don’t know why in heaven’s name people decide they want to be at an airport at 4:30am to catch a 6am flight to Miami. It’s not exactly what I would deem “prime flying time” but that’s America for you. Not me...but apparently America.
So we flew to Miami….and I sat between my dear friend Emily and Bieber (who is actually Alex…but he’s Bieber) And we sat on row 28…which is the very last row of the plane. And I used the restroom on a plane for the first time ever. And then we landed in Miami…and it was my first time in Miami. I guess I like it there. The airport’s pretty decent anyway. Though I like Orlando’s better.
So we got to Miami’s airport were we then ate….sat…talked…played cards…read books…took pictures…played more games….and then we were boarding our plane for Costa Rica!!! (We lost the Fruit Loops ‘cause they were going to Honduras).
I ended up ousting a lady from her seat on the plane to Costa Rica. You see, when I got to my seat, which was row 10, this lady was sitting in my seat (which was the middle, again…I hate the middle). So I just climbed over her to the window…because she was in my seat. At this point, she got up and moved to the aisle…which I thought was weird…but I stayed at the window…’cause I hate the middle. So then, this couple comes up and looks at the lady and the husband says (very rudely) “You’re in our seats!” And they start arguing and eventually she realizes that she is supposed to be up in row 11. Well, in row 11, Mr. Phillip and Emily were sitting…both members of my team. So I volunteered to climb out and move to the window seat..which was open in their aisle so that the lady who had originally been sitting in my seat did not have to climb over Phillip and Emily…which she readily agreed to. So I finally get to my seat when the rude man and the lady who had been in my seat start reading over her ticket to discover that she was not supposed to be in the seat I was in, but in Mr. Phillip’s seat and the man starts yelling, “He’s in your seat!! That man is in your seat!!” So we all turn around and just look at them and Mr. Phillips asks “Well, do you want this seat?” to which she replies “Well, I thought she said (pointing to me) that the window seat was my seat and my travel agent promised that I would have an aisle so we will trade later.” At which point we turned around. For about 10 minutes more, she and the rude man discussed the fact that Mr. Phillip was in her seat and then we never heard of it again…they never traded seats or anything. I, personally, found the whole thing incredible mysterious because when I first sat down, she was sitting in the middle seat of the wrong row, where I was supposed to be sitting which means that the man and his wife would have been on either side of me, when in actuality the man in his wife were sitting next to each other so in reality, they were ALL sitting in the wrong seats but yelling at Mr. Phillip. Some people’s kids…
So we are flying along…on the longest flight I have been on yet…and while I know there are longer flights, 3 hours felt like a long time…just sayin…and then, I saw it…like Wendy’s first few of Neverland:
Costa Rica!!!!
And suddenly I was walking off the plane and the first thing I saw was a Schlotzsky’s Deli kiosk and there was live jazz music. I looked at Emily and said, “I may never want to leave this place.”
Then I was picking up my luggage and going through everyone’s second favorite part of traveling: immigration—because the first, as everyone knows, is security on your way out—but then I fulfilled my life-long goal of making the immigration lady smile, so it was a good day.
We walked out the doors into this massive group—and there was Ronee. Now, I didn’t know Ronee prior to coming, but many of the team already do from prior trips or teen camp (she was the speaker this year). However, everyone was talking to her as they passed by, so I assumed she was Ronee and indeed she was.
As we waited for our bus to pull up, it began to rain…and when the bus pulled up, I realized that there was no way all of us and our luggage were fitting inside that bus. It soon became apparent that our bus driver was also extremely astute as he climbed up the back of the bus onto the roof and had the boys hoist up our luggage…in the rain. I felt sorry that they had to lift up my suitcase…’cause it was pretty heavy…but that’s what happens when you are a boy. You have to lift the girl’s stuff.
Ronee is my bus buddy…which I love because she is a kindred spirit…I can already tell. We sit in the second row…which is good because the roads wound around and around and around. She and I talked about missions, and how long she has been in Costa Rica, and about my call to missions and Trevecca people we both know, and all sorts of various and sordid details.
My third meal of the day came when we were half way to our destination. We stopped at Soda Jairo’s where I at my very first authentic Costa Rica food. It was absolutely wonderful! I had steak and rice and black beans and potatoes cooked in this red sauce and it was all delicious! I also had my first experience of eating in a restaurant where no one other than us Nashville folks spoke English—p.s. I don’t speak Spanish…I took French…yeah. I have a feeling it was only the first of many times during which I will be extremely thankful to have a Ronee...
After eating at the Soda (which, it turns out, is a colloquial term for a little family owned or one-man restaurant…the owner just puts their name in front) and driving up…and down (which was still up…don’t ask, it’s Dr. Seuss Land)…and down…and up…we finally arrived at our hotel in the middle of Quesada, CR: Hotel Cristal.
My roomie is Emily (I love her…she and I were the best worst counselors ever last year at kids camp) and we are livin’ it up in room 10…come see us!! But you will have to sit on our beds…or on the floor…and our only floor space is in between our beds…and it’s like a small hallway…a very small hallway…and Emily’s bed is a twin…but mine is a full…and everyone keeps asking how that happened…and I tell them it’s because I am a big person and big people need big beds…and the door practically hits Emily’s bed when you open it…and the bathroom is the size of a colonial closet…and in case you don’t like history it means extremely tiny…but all in all it is actually not that bad. While our air conditioner is merely a fan, it does not seem to be too warm in our room, and in fact, about 1am, I found myself awake and reaching for the blanket.
After surveying our tiny kingdom, Ems and I decided to try out the beds and the TV…on which we found two American stations…and then I feel asleep…’cause I had been up since 2:30am…but we had to be up by 6pm to head over to the church for dinner…our 4th meal. At the church, we met Pastor Jorge, Hosea, and Anna. We are not sure who belongs to who, but they are all extremely kind and Anna is an amazing cook!
Finally, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep…they told us we were walking 7 blocks…but I think it was quite a bit more. I am not sure how much more, though, because I was mainly trying to not fall down. There are many holes and ditches and dogs and loose rocks and uneven pavement that needed to be traversed on the not-very-well-lit streets of Quesada.
By the time I finished getting ready for bed, Ems was already gone…so I turned off the light and laid there. But it was too dark…and I just couldn't deal…and I felt like I was still moving…because we had been traveling for the past 3billion hours…so…I turned on the TV. I found an American channel…and set the sleep timer. I love sleep timers—and I was asleep in minutes.
And that, my friends, was Saturday.
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