The taxi picked Amy and me up outside our house around 6:30. Lili even got up to tell us bye, which I thought was very nice since it was pretty early! She wrote me a note in Spanish and gave it to me before I left. I will translate it for you:
"Hi, Whitney! Have a good trip. I enjoyed meeting you. Good luck with the new boyfriend. You will meet someone soon. Thank you so much for everything. I hope that you come back to Costa Rica. See you soon, Lili"
I swear, she wants me to have a boyfriend so bad! Haha.
My flight from San Jose to Dallas was about three and a half hours. Even though I was only in the Dallas airport, I immediately felt like I was home, because everything was so... In English! Lori, Amy, and I sat down for a nice American meal at TGI Friday's. Chicken tenders, french fries, and chocolate peanut butter pie. YUM! Our flight from Dallas to Little Rock was delayed, but it ended up being perfect and here is why: I had mentioned to Amy how unfortunate it was that during our time in Costa Rica, we had never gotten to see a sunset. (We were always home before dark... we made the joke that we were like the opposite of vampires.) Since our flight from Dallas was delayed, we flew into Little Rock just as the sun was setting, and it was so beautiful. :)
As I stepped off the plane, all I could think about was getting to baggage claim where I knew my family would be waiting for me. But the people in front of me were walking so slow! So I weaved my way around them, but what I did not realize at the time was that I was actually running! I got to the top of the escalator, but to get to the bottom would have taken too much time, so I took the stairs. On my way down, I saw this big group of familiar faces! Not only did I see my mom, dad, brother, and sister, but I also saw my aunt, grandma, a friend of my brother's, one of my best friends, and two of my roommates; and one of my roommates brought two of her German friends, her dad, and her dog! What a welcome party! I had no idea they would all be there. Although it was a bit overwhelming, I was so thankful that they were there to welcome me home. I felt so loved.
This is mostly everyone, although I don't think we were all ready for this picture!
As I walked up to hug my brother, he was cracking up, but I didn't know why. Come to find out, there is a camera located in the hallway where I got off the plane. I'm guessing it is so the people waiting by baggage claim can see if the people they are waiting on are about to be coming down the stairs. Well it just so happened that at the point I was weaving in and out of people and running, was when I was in view of the camera, so they all saw me. My brother said it looked just like a game on Wii, where all the Miis are walking except for one, and it is running through the crowd. We laughed about that for a good ten minutes.
After making a stop by my friend's bachelorette party and eating at Cozymel's, my family and I got home around midnight. In the days that I've been home, it's definitely been an adjustment. I was only gone for 5 weeks, but in that time, I developed new habits and new routines that are now having to be... undone basically. I find myself having a difficult time trying to explain my experiences and feelings in a way that people can fully understand. But even so, I know that I will have these memories for the rest of my life! Again, I am so grateful that God gave me this opportunity. If anyone reading this is interested in hearing more about my experiences in Costa Rica, let me know, because I would be happy to share!
Pura Vida :)
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