Finding or leaving yourself in another Country

I was on my way to Costa Rica to meet up with my boyfriend Rob, who was studying Spanish there. I had arranged a private transfer from the San Jose airport to my hotel in Manuel Antonio. We were only on our way for fifteen minutes when we pulled to the side of the road. I looked out my window and saw a huge black man with grey hair and yellow eyes. He told me I owed him six hundred dollars. I must have looked freaked out because he finally introduced himself as John, the man I had been emailing. I handed him the money and once again we were on our way. Not long after, it began to rain, the tap tap tap kind of rain, no big deal right, I was in the rain forest I should expect rain, but then it started to pour, and right as it started to pour, our windshield wipers broke. We drove the rest of the way without them.

 

When I arrived at my hotel I turned on my phone to call Rob, having a “world edition” Blackberry I thought I would have no problem calling but the words “no service” stared ominously back at me. I fell on my bed and started to cry. How would I ever get a hold of Rob? Just then I heard a knock on the door as I watched it slowly open. Rob was standing there dripping wet with a towel over his head. I started laughing and crying even harder.

           

The next day Rob told me he wanted to show me something. We started walking on a path, but as we went further into the jungle the path got smaller until it disappeared. We walked the rest of the way in the river. The farther we walked, the darker it got, and of course it started to rain. I started getting really scared thinking we were going to get lost and stuck in the jungle and eaten by animals .The thoughts just kept coming and I couldn’t get them under control. I was about to tell Rob that I wanted to turn around and go back, but as soon as the words left my mouth he said we were there. I looked down and we were on top of a beautiful waterfall!

           

We were scheduled to go zip lining 450 feet above the jungle floor. We were driving up the mountain and the van stopped. I looked out the window and saw the car was being surrounded by hundreds of cows. After the mini stampede we continued up the mountain to the zip-lining place. Being that high in the air, flying over the jungle canopy is such an unreal feeling. Your first thought is always, “what if the line snaps and I fall to my death?” But as soon as you start flying all fears are gone and you just enjoy the ride.

           

On our last full day in Costa we decided to rent a car and go exploring. We found a little remote beach; you had to drive twenty minutes through the palm forests, not passing one single house to get there. We got to the little beach and there was not one single human being in sight, not even footprints. We combed the beach for hours, picking up shells and sand dollars. When we got back to the car, everything was gone.  Robs wallet and my bag were missing. My eyes started tearing up, remembering what I had in that bag, my wallet, iPod, journal, books, and clothes. It took me a while to realize that crying would not get my things back; they were all material things that I could buy once I got back to the states.

 

            We had been sitting on the plane for over an hour when someone told us we were having engine. After another twenty minutes later and airplane technicians with the engine maps got off the plane we were good to go… or so we thought. We were in the air maybe forty-five minutes when the plane hit terrible turbulence.  It felt like the plane fell fifty miles in five seconds. Once the plane straightened out you heard a collective sigh of relief from the passengers. Rob and I looked at each other and just laughed.

           

Going to a new country you learn a lot about yourself. You do things you never thought you could do and you learn things you never thought you would learn. You meet the most random people and you experience the most random things. When you visit somewhere new, you should always take something with you, but always leave a part of you in return, probably not your wallet or bag, but something.