Day 1: Puppies & Chickens

Buenos noches de Costa Rica! Today began... early. Our flight from MSP left bright and early at six in the morning. While the flight was good, Logan *unknowingly* had someone's feet on his armrest, which put everyone on guard to say the least. After the brief layover in Houston, we got on a much larger plane. I sat by some nice people from Mississippi, who were very confused why the spoke "mexican" in Costa Rica. But after we arrived, customs was a breeze! Shortly after, we got to our van that would take us to Finca la Anita. Beth, one of the supervisor, pointed our smaller group of ten to Eddie. So we walked up to him and said, "Hola Eddie!". Instead of being excited about this, he was very confused about why a sizable group of gringos knew his name. Nevertheless, we all became friends at once. While going down the highway, it was incredible to take in all the road signs, all the buildings, all the vehicles, and all of the people walking in the middle of the street! After a little bit, we got to a restaurant, and Eddie knew everyone. We were led into a larger room of the restaurant, and were offered a strange drink called "Tamarind" which most of us liked. The experience was quite strange, because the cook, Ana, didn't take anyone's order! Most got chicken or fish, and a few in the group got vegetarian. Everyone was in love with the food. After giving myself the title of "la gringa favorita de Eddie" (Eddie's favorite gringa), I got the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation with Eddie in Spanish about his childhood, his mother, and growing up in Liberia. This was one of the most amazing things I've ever done, and I was surprised to see how much of the language I actually knew. After lunch, we started the long trek to the Finca la Anita, the resort. It was only after a short distance all of realized that every few meters, there would be a multitude of livestock, just roaming freely. The catas (cows), goats, and a few horses. But most importantly, the puppies and the chickens. In fact, every time we saw one out the window of the van, someone would yell "Chicken!" or "Puppy!" Which indeed, made Eddie excited. As we took the winding roads around the volcano, Rincón de vieja, Eddie stopped the car and threw two puppies into the van! Unfortunately, we could not keep them. After we said our goodbyes to our new friend, Eddie, we got settled into our beautiful cabins, overlooking the forest; equipped with hammocks and porches. Then we had a brief orientation, and a quick hike in the forest, all before gathering for dinner. Which was, also, amazing! All of us are sitting on "the deck" now, playing an intense game of UNO. Seeing lots of cool plants, animals, and a really cool spider web! Even though it is only the first day, I am beyond thankful for this amazing opportunity.

Chao,
Allie Perkins