Lost in Heredia.

The past two days in Costa Rica have been packed with activities. Yesterday we had our first "plunge".  In other words, we were divided into groups of three, given a piece of paper with various places/things to find, and dropped off in San Rafael de Heredia (a small city). San Rafael is the town that I will start living in on Saturday so it was fun to explore. The only downside was that it was POURING rain the entire time we were there. Thank goodness for rain jackets. By the end of the day we were all completely soaked to the bone, but it was definitely a good bonding experience for the group.

Today we had two different plunges. Today's plunges were on a whole new playing field because the cities were much bigger. The first city we were dropped off at was called Heredia. We got to pick our groups this morning so my friends Zack and Michael from the swim team and I decided to pair up. The sun was shinning and we were having a grand ol' time. We traveled all over Heredia and saw many cool things including the University Nacional and many different churches with beautiful architecture. We thought we had plenty of time so we went into this very small hole in the wall to eat lunch. The owner was very kind and we all talked (in spanish) for awhile while we ate a delicious (and very authentic) Costa Rican meal. On our way back from the restaurant we asked many different ticos how to get back to the bus stop, but they kept sending us in different ways. By the time we found our way to the bus stop we were over an hour late and the entire group had left for San Jose without us. So the three of us were stranded (with no working cell phones). We decided to start asking people on the street if we could borrow their phones, many were not willing to help. One couple very hesitantly offered us a lot of help. We eventually contacted the Whitworth Center and they communicated to our professor that we were ok and we were told to take the bus by ourselves to San Jose. It was definitely an adventure that the three of us will never forget.

Even though we were late, we were still able to take in San Jose for quite awhile. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica and was therefore the biggest city we will go to. It was full of colors and food and many different sites to see and many different people to talk to. But by the end of the day we were all very tired because it had started raining again and we had been walking for close to seven hours.

I am so thankful to be in such a wonderful country with a group of people that love the Lord and are also fun to be around! I have a feeling that this summer will hold many more crazy adventures.