Where's Waldo: Costa Rica Edition

Just yesterday I received an email giving me information on my host family and where I would be staying. Elated at the news I quickly found my family on Facebook and sent an email to my mama tica (tica is a costa rican specific word for woman). After connecting with my family, I took a closer look at the address I'd be living at, the email listed the neighborhood, the distance of the house from the "special pharmacy," and that it is yellow. No postal code, no town name just some "random" information that does me no good in a Map Quest search. After further investigation I found a similar mailing address listed for the University I'll be attending. With some more digging I've discovered that there is no postal organization system in Costa Rica, there never has been. For years postmen/women in Costa Rica have been playing "Where's Waldo" while trying to deliver mail. 1 in 5 pieces of mail are undeliverable in Costa Rica! The formula for an address is to find a local landmark (often a church or municipal building) and write the direction and length your home is from that landmark (some people use blocks, meters, kilometers or old Spanish measurement systems). It is also nice to put the color of your house and hope that your neighbors know who you are so they can direct the postman. Thankfully, Costa Rica is trying to create an organized system (though slowly) and has recently cut the delivery time nationwide down to 2 days from 9 days. So here is the lesson, PLEASE don't send me anything! I don't want to add to a Costa Rican postal worker's hard job and if it gets sent to the P.O. at the University I have to pay a fee for each letter/package received. I hope people will use Facebook and email as main forms of communication while I'm abroad. 9 days until I leave...very exciting and somewhat frightening but I'm ready for the adventure! 

Loss

This topic isn't directly related to my trip but it still impacts the entire experience. On Tuesday afternoon, June 19th, my grandfather passed away after battling many issues over the last few months. Grandpa had been in and out of the hospital since April and it has been an emotional roller coaster since the beginning. My grandpa has always been an inspiration to me. He was a man who had many dreams and worked hard to make them possible. He cared for others far more than he ever cared for himself. He was a family man and drew all his joy from them. He lived a life of integrity and humility despite his many accomplishments. This is a man that I looked up to and who showed me qualities in his life that I strive to live by everyday. He was very sharp witted (I think I know where Calab gets it from) and always had a joke that made you think but in the end got you laughing. Looking back, I find that I learned more from this man than I ever realized. And none of that will be forgotten and I'm going to take it forward and strive to live my life in a way to honor my grandpa. The final aspect of my grandpa that I want to mention was his absolute love and personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that was reflected by the way he lived his life. My grandpa loved, he lived and now he can hear "well done good and faithful servant" as he is reunited with his true love.

Getting Ready to Go

Well, here it goes my first blog. I'm writing this so that I have a place to tell my stories. In just a few short weeks I will be boarding a plane and flying off to an exotic paradise on my own and it still doesn't seem real. I've been planning this for months and there is still so much to do before I leave (preparing for international travel isn't a walk in the park). I'm not planning on posting much until I get to Costa Rica but once I'm there this will be my main outlet to everyone in the USA. I'll have many stories to share and I hope you will stop in and read about what I am doing! In the meantime I'll be finishing an online class, finish purchasing and packing, and working before I leave. Wish me luck!