These first 48 hours in Costa Rica have been a whirlwind! We have a fantastic group of students who have all become very fast friends and are excited to be on this journey together. We arrived in San Jose yesterday around dinner time, so after a hearty meal and a quick orientation, all the sleepy travelers were off to bed in our cozy hotel. Today was our first real day in the city, so we hit the ground running! We had a yummy breakfast at the hotel and did a longer meeting in a nearby national park to get everyone on the same page and ready for the adventure ahead. We then explored a bustling local market in the center of San Jose where you can find everything from cow tongue to traditional salsa dresses to medicinal herbs and spices. There was even live music and dancing! Lunchtime came around afterwards, so we walked to a great restaurante with typical Costa Rican fare and everyone tried their hand at making their own drip coffee. This evening we shook off some pent up travel energy by roller skating at a nearby rink. Those who knew how helped some first-timers, and in the end it was a success! That worked up an appetite, so we headed to a fun spot for dinner and dined on plantains, rice, beans, fish, salad and more. Tomorrow we head to our village of Biolley to start our service work and make lots of new friends… Stay tuned for more group news as we dive right in!

— Sasha & John