Pura Vida!

Day 1: December 29^th 2012

Before I can accurately describe how this travel day went, I must share with you the events of the previous day. December 28^th. This was my travel day from home (or the Pittsburgh airport to be more accurate) to the Houston airport. I had a return flight scheduled for about 11am the morning of the 28^th. I arrive at the airport, swipe my passport and proceed to discover there is no record in United’s system of T. Walker flying on the 28^th. This was a problem. If I didn’t make it to the Houston airport that night, I wasn’t going to be on the plane leaving for Costa Rica the next morning. I was going to be on that plane! After being directed to a different line and describing my problem to a new person, I was told yet again that there were no available flights from Pittsburgh to Houston that day. And because I had (purposely) missed my original flight from Houston to Pittsburgh two weeks early my entire roundtrip flight had zero value, meaning I didn’t have a ticket and I would be responsible for paying for a new one. At this point, the stress of the possibility of me not making it to Houston (which was very high) and therefore not making it to Costa Rica completely got to me. Have I mentioned that I only had thrEE hours of sleep the night before? (Yes. I was up late working on a project, but I can’t explain what it was because it’s a surprise for my cousin and she might read this…) So with all of this information and being completely alone at the airport, of course my eyes started doing that thing, you know, where a watery salty substance comes out of them? Anyways, the new women I was talking to must have been much more knowledgeable because she searched and searched away to try to find me a flight to Houston. Another part of this horrible string of events was the fact that the check in counter was ridiculously busy that morning. Finally this amazing woman, who is now my hero, found me a flight from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati to Houston. I didn’t have to pay for another ticket AND she didn’t charge me for checking my bag (I even asked). Crisis averted! I then had to sit at the Pittsburgh airport for five hours just wanting to take a nap but the darn chair bench things they have there all have handrails, so you can’t lie down! I was however provided with some unexpected entertainment while I waited. When the plane I was going to get on arrived at the gate, there were four county sheriff police cars waiting on the tarmac. They proceeded to cuff and carry a man and a woman off the plane down the stairs outside and into the back of their cars. I have no idea what happened, but the man was very resistant and was kicking the officers and even caused one to slip and fall on the still icy/snowy ground.  

I made it to Cincinnati, sat there for four more hours (did get to watch my Hokies WIN their bowl game in overtime, which was quite a shock considering our season.) and made it to Houston at midnight (but feeling like 1am because of the time change). Just another side note to add to this day; while on the plane to Houston I was able to take a nap because the seat beside me was empty. I had just bought a travel pillow in the airport, the kind with all those little foam beads as filling. When I awoke, part of the seam in this pillow had busted and those darn beads were everywhere! And they were all static-y so you can imagine how hard it was to get them out of my hair. As I was trying to find something to hold the seam closed temporarily I discovered my water bottle had leaked ALL over my backpack. Wonderful. 

Once landed in Houston I had to go to Wal-Mart to buy needle and thread to fix the pillow and I wanted some snacks for in Costa Rica. Finally, I got to a hotel and got only about three hours of sleep (AGAIN!) before I had to wake up to go back to the Houston airport. 

Lake Arenal

Now I can start to describe the 29^th, because you are aware of the hideous day before and the very little sleep that occurred. I got to the airport at 7am, stood in a long line to check-in and check my bag, stood in an even longer line to go through security, followed by walking a very long ways to get to my gate. I got breakfast, and got on the plane to Costa Rica! I cannot describe to you the feeling of relief knowing I had made it on that plane, when less than 24 hours earlier I thought I was stranded in the Pittsburgh airport.

The Center from afar

After landing in Liberia, all 24 of us got on a bus and rode for five plus hours to the Texas A&M Soltis Center. Once arrived and given room arrangements, I ate dinner and went to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head met the pillow.

 This center is practically a resort. I couldn’t believe how nice it is and the amenities they provide. It is also located in a very rural area. A lot of big differences between here and the SFS center I stayed at during my previous trip to Costa Rica.