Ok. Lets start with a little of the boring stuff. Costa Rica is nearly due south of Atlanta, GA yet they are two hours behind Mountain Time, for those in the U.S.. Costa Rica is 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. This is the farthest south I have been so far. Still haven’t made it to the Southern Hemisphere.

I fly to San Jose (the capital) on Saturday about a 4 hour flight and will stay in San Jose that night at Hotel Aranjuez. www.hotelaranjuez.com On Sunday I take a 3.5 hour bus ride South to Quepos/Manuel Antonio and will spend the night at Hotel Mono Azul the blue monkey. www.hotelmonoazul.com Monday morning is my first day of school and when I will meet my host family who I will live with while I’m in Quepos.

I enrolled for a 4 week session having 4 hours of lessons every morning M-F. I am attending the same school my aunt Nancy thanks for the recomendation!, Sister Nancy, attended when she was here. Escuela de Idiomas D'Amore. www.escueladamore.com
School info for mom: (Toll free number 1-800-261-3203; P.O. Box 67-6350, Quepos, Costa Rica; email: info@escueladamore.com)

My return flight right now is booked for Sunday, 26 November 2006. Some of you may have already calculated that this is more than 4 weeks. For the remaining 2 months, plans are open. There are many schools in various cities in Costa Rica and other Central/South American locations. The plan is no more detailed than to return to the US when I know the language (or when the money runs out) thanks for the bread Carol & Toby!. This is how the adventure begins…