Coming Home

Every moment I spent in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama was an adventure good or bad, and coming home to the States was certainly no exception. I spent a few hours from 4:00 am to 6:50 am when my plane finally boarded (although it was supposed to take off at this time) in the Juan Santamaria airport. The day before, I had been informed of a 27 dollar departure tax to leave the country which made the process a bit more difficult. Although I should have been exhausted. I spent my hours in the airport walking around the shops and looking out the windows at the beautiful mountains surrounding San José. The weather was perfect to see the mountains which was a rare occurrence. They are usually covered by clouds even in the dry season.

AIFS was able to get a deal with Continental Airlines so that we could fly business class home even though we flew economy to Costa Rica. This made it much easier to take back more luggage without paying all the extra fees. I sat in the very front row next to a Costa Rican man from San José who was flying to Germany for business. I figured this was my final test to really see how much Spanish I had learned during my three months in Costa Rica. I guess I passed :) I was able to have a long conversation about San José, my excursions, and my experience with the man without much hesitation. I was also able to understand everything he had to say about his country and his travel plans. I still would not consider myself fluent, but I definitely obtained an ability to survive in a Spanish speaking culture and hold longer, more complicated conversations with adults and children. Success!!! The man offered to switch seats with me so I could take one last look at Central America from the window seat. What an opportunity! Like I said, the weather was perfect, and we followed the Central American ithmus the whole way to the Gulf of Mexico. I was able to follow the Costa Rican landscape I had come to love the whole way to Lake  Nicaragua! It was easy to see the different mountain ranges as well as some of the volcanoes.  I was even able to see some of the big ships in the Gulf of Mexico and the beautiful beaches of Central America. After a little more than three hours, we landed in Houston Texas. 

My first pleasant surprise was the automatic doors in the airport. Automatic doors was one luxury that I had forgotten about. While going through customs, it was nice to go through the resident line. I was able to get through customs without any hassle, the same could not be said for some of the other students on my flight. Plus... EVERYTHING was in English! However, I found that the people in line were a lot more impatient, and the customs officer was flat out rude. Some of my friends that came home before me had similar complaints about rude Americans. I guess it was not all a stereotype. The transportation experience might have been quicker in the United States, but it was definitely not as pleasant.

I had been looking forward to a real cookie when I returned to the States. There were no real cookies in Costa Rica, they resembled crackers more than cookies. Due to the fact that I had been speaking in Spanish throughout the duration of the flight, when I finally saw a Starbucks, I had to remember that it was coffee, not café and a cookie, not una galleta. While sitting down with Starbucks to wait 5 and a half hours for my connecting flight to Dulles in Washington D.C. I finally got to call my family on my cell phone which had been switched off for three months. One of the other pleasant surprises in Houston was the bathrooms. I was finally able to flush the toilet paper. I did not know how much I had missed that simple luxury.

I finally got a little shut-eye in Texas during my layover. I had not slept in thirty something hours. I boarded my flight only twenty minutes late. I sat in the exact same seat in business class. I thought I would finally have a chance to talk to someone in English. However, the person sitting next to me was a businessman who was catching a connecting flight to fly home to Brazil. Luckily, he knew both Portuguese, Spanish, and a little English. We chatted in Spanish for a while until we realized that we had not moved for a while. Eventually, the captain announced that they had found a small hole in the plane during a routine safety check. We heard them actually fixing the hole while we were all sitting there. We took off about an hour late. I was really ready to sleep on this flight, and I tried not to worry about the fact that there had been a hole in the plane. However, we hit a lot of turbulence on the way back as the whole East Coast was covered in lines of storms. In fact, they were only able to serve part of the meal, because the flight attendants had to remain seated. It was a relief when we finally landed in Dulles!

 Other than the criminal we had been carrying on the plane, I was the first one off. Although I was exhausted, I speed walked the whole way to baggage claim where I found my Mother, Father, Amy and my boyfriend Tyler looking the other way. I kept walking towards them when Amy and Tyler finally looked my way. I was greeted with lots of hugs! It was wonderful to see all of them. After retrieving my bags, my Mother handed me my big winter coat. What an unpleasant surprise, it was flurrying outside! I was absolutely frozen! We drove back to a nearby hotel, because it was too late to drive back to Pennsylvania. When I walked into the hotel room, I was greeted by a big poster that said "Welcome Home Holly!!!" Amy had made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and my Mother had made Taco Salad. I was finally able to sit and eat one of my favorite meals with my family and Tyler. I do not remember exactly when I fell asleep... I guess I was pretty tired.

My welcome home poster hanging in our hotel room.

The next morning we woke up and ate a nice continental breakfast at the hotel before departing for Pennsylvania. Below is a picture Father took of all of us. Notice how cold I look...

Me with my real mother, real sister Amy, and Tyler in
front of the hotel ready to drive back to Pennsylvania

When we got home, I was so excited to hand out some of the presents I had collected while in Costa Rica. I gave Mother two crosses and two dolls for her collections from both Costa Rica and Nicaragua. For Amy,  I got some currency, jewelry, postcards for her collection, and a Veritas T-shirt. For Father, handmade morrocas from Nicaragua, Salsa Lizano, and a new plate for our kitchen. I was finally able to give Tyler his birthday present from January, a handmade hammock. One of my favorite part of traveling is finding the perfect, meaningful gifts to bring home. It was amazing to see everyone's reactions.

Amy and I looking through the many bracelets I had
brought home for cousins, roommates, and friends.

The next morning, I was ready for my next big adventure... A PUPPY!!!!! Unfortunately, Amy had to go to school that day, but Mother, Father, and I went to Lancaster to pick up the newest member of our family, GRACIE GARLAND PLANK.

The next day we picked up our family's new puppy, GRACIE GARLAND!
 We had to visit Nana on the way home from picking her up.

After visiting Nana, we went to visit Grandma too!

Gracie Garland! 

It has been a little less than a month since I returned from Costa Rica. Throughout this blog, I have documented my experiences, my thoughts, and what I have learned along the way. Looking back, one of the most important things I have learned is to treat everything in life as an adventure. Not every adventure in life is one-hundred percent positive, not every adventure is as exciting or exotic as studying abroad, but something positive can be taken out of every adventure. Spending two months at home, training Gracie Garland and catching up with family and friends is an adventure in itself. I am looking forward to my next adventures as a second year counselor at Camp Kirchenwald this summer, and going back to Shippensburg University in the Fall as a JUNIOR!!!! Life is an adventure, treat every moment as an opportunity to learn whether it is in a foreign country or right here at home.