Safely in San Jose!

Shortly before 4:00 am this morning, I arrived at the American Airlines ticket counter at Dulles to find a handful of very quiet students and parents. While I'm sure the early hour had something to do with their low levels of energy, the fear of the unknown surely contributed to their demeanor. Shortly after passing through security, however, the silent anticipation was replaced by a more vocal form of excitement best expressed through the taking of selfies and the asking of questions.

This year, just shy of 100 students and staff will explore Costa Rica with Deal. As this is a larger than average group, EF Tours split us across two flights. I took the smaller, earlier group while Ms. Cuffee led the larger, later group. The earlier group made the flights without incident (but lots and lots of question) and arrived in San Jose about noon local time. Our friendly tour guide, Diego, met us just outside customs and took us straight to our hotel. As we were hungry, but too early for our included dinner, our small group walked a to a burger restaurant near our hotel. While the cuisine may not have been local, the trip gave our students a chance to exchange dollars for colónes and practice their Spanish.

As I write this, my smaller group waits eagerly by the pool for the larger group to arrive. I am in contact with Ms. Cuffee via text as their group makes their way through customs before taking the bus to the hotel. They are safely in Costa Rica and will arrive at the hotel shortly.

This evening, we will eat dinner at 7:00 pm local time (9:00 pm at home). As it will be each evening, dinner is a chance to debrief on the adventures of the day and set the agenda for the next day. We will build anticipation for tomorrow's fun, introduce our guides, and set a timeline for curfew and wake-up. The chaperones hope the long day of travel and time difference will make for a tired group of students and an early bed time.

Tomorrow, we will leave the busy city behind and head to the volcanic Arenal region where we will tour the Poás Volcano and enjoy natural hot springs. Hopefully this scenic setting will lead to more photogenic backdrops and fewer burgers.

Hasta mañana y pura vida!