So I know that I have put off writing this for way too long. But I haven't been able to sit down and make myself admit yet that it is over. And I didn't really feel like crying, which is something that I am bound to do by the time that I am finished typing this. But on a sleepless night, when Costa Rica is on my mind, maybe a bit of closure is what I need to get to sleep. I will give you a playback of my final day in Costa Rica. And it counts as one day instead of two because I never actually went to sleep. But more on that later.
Friday morning, I woke up and I got ready for what was, essentially, my final day in Costa Rica. Of the three of us that were still in the house, one of the roomies had decided to go back to the beach, and I had been unable to go because I had class. Which turned out not to be class. Nevertheless, the two of us left in the house decided to spend a morning getting rid of our excess collones. We couldn't spend them at home and converting them would be a chore, so we decided to do what any girl would do in that situation; go to the mall. We puttered around the Mall San Pedro that morning, and the clock just continued to tick away in my head. My lone roomie who was left went to spend her afternoon with one of our program mates. Which left me all alone to pack. That sucked. A lot. Flaming balls of nasty a lot. And it only killed about 45 minutes. The rest of that afternoon is a bit of a blur, and I can tell you that I accomplished very little that was productive.
Of course, true to the rest of the time I had spent in Costa Rica, we went out that night. With the exception of a few who were a part of an 8 week program, a mass exodus of American students would be occurring in a few short hours. And that was the atmosphere at the local bar. A kind of bittersweet feeling was trying to be drowned. I don't know if any were very successful in that. Everyone who was still in Costa Rica for my program showed up and it was great to see everyone for one last time. I might be wrong, but I doubt that it was actually the last time that I see some of them. A six week trip to Costa Rica makes some strong friendships rather quickly. And we had all shared to much to simply let it go. There were some tear filled goodbyes. But my sister tica, who had joined us after she got out of class, decided that we didn't need to sleep before we went home. Which wasn't a stretch, since it was midnight before we left the first bar and I had to be on a bus to the airport at 4. So the roomies and a sister tica took one final trip out together to a dance club called La Nena. It was a cool place and the music was pretty awesome. My sister said that she was in love with the DJ, kind of a love at first sound kinda thing. And by the time we called it a morning at 2:30, we all decided that it had been a great final night in CR.
Back at the house, everyone decided to stay up. Well most everyone; I had to leave at 4 and my tico magnet roomie had to leave at 5. So there was no point in going to bed. We sat around and reminisced and tried very hard not to cry. But finally, the time came when I saw headlights heading up the road toward the house. My tico brothers were still up, in questionable shape, but still up. My sister tica hugged me goodbye and went directly upstairs so she didn't have to watch me leave. Which did not make getting in the van any easier for me. Hugs and kisses all around and my bags were loaded, and my time there was over. (as promised I am now crying)
The bus was running a bit late for the airport, and tico time does not apply there, so we were all a bit nervous about catching our 6:15 flight. Thankfully, we made it to the gate with a little bit of time to spare. And security in San José was a bit strange. After you paid your exit tax, you had to go check in using an actual person (strange concept, I know). Once done standing in line forever, you head to security, which looked a lot scarier than our security here. From there you went to a your gate, where they were randomly searching checked luggage. Which didn't make a lot of sense because once through the gate we went down a hallway where everyone's baggage was opened and checked and everyone was wanded. I felt safe, I guess. Finally, I was on the plane. I shared my row with a very nice woman and her 8 year old daughter. But really, the whole time I was trying not to cry. Breaking down on an airplane is bad form. It was funny that the customs sheet that I was given was in Spanish.
We landed in Denver early, which did us no good because customs in Denver does not open until noon. Who knew huh? However, since there was no line, other than those in my flight, it was a fairly painless and quick process through that part of the airport. Back through security and I was finally able to sit down for a moment. The chatter around me was no longer in Spanish. The signs were in English. And it was weird not to have to order food in another language. I turned my phone on after it had been stuffed in a bag for 6 weeks and charged it to call home. After leaving a message, my phone rang and it was my dad calling to tell me that they would be in Omaha to pick me up, something that I had not expected to happen. Now at this point, after 36 hours without sleep among other ailments, I was a little emotionally unstable, and I might have lost it in the Denver airport. Which is guaranteed to get you stared at. The rest of my trip was uneventful. I remember even trying to write this as I sat in the airport. But I could not. The words just wouldn't come and the wound was too fresh.
Here I sit, about two weeks removed from one of the greatest experiences of my life and I know this; it has changed me. For good or for ill; well it really depends on the day. I do now have a penchant for dance clubs and adrenaline rushes that I would not have known about previously. But more and more often, I miss the person that I was able to be in Costa Rica. She was always there, only now she is not so happy to be contained. She is a bit wilder, a bit more carefree than the me that meets daily life here. And yes, I know that I am referring to another personality, but I am not quite certifiable yet. In general, I have felt like I was in a bit of limbo for these last few weeks. I will endeavor to find an outlet for that other me here that won't get me into trouble. Well, too much trouble at least. I think that I might have left a bit of my heart down south in CR, so I will have to go back someday to get it back. Until then, thank you so much for going on this journey with me. Until the next adventure....
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