My first days in San Jose

Halo mis amigos!
I´m here in Costa Rica finally and I love it so much! The city is different than what I expected. There is not as much poverty here in the city. The mountains surrounding the are so beautiful!
My first few days have been a transition from a busy summer to an even faster paced fall semester.
For those of you who don´t know, I´m staying with a Costa Rican family during my semester. I love them already! They are a wonderful Christian family that only speaks Spanish. :0) I have a sister who´s name is Arianna 16, and two brothers Mario Andres 11 and Daniel 7. The grandmother (Princesa) also stays with them. My mami y papi take good care of me...I always feel like I´m eating all the time! They have been very patient with me and helping me with my Spainsh. For the most part my Spanish has kicked in, although it has been difficult communicating when I don´t know particular words or what they are saying. But the Lord has given me a spirit of ¨try and try again¨even if I don´t get it right the first time. I´m looking forward to much laughter and building strong relationships with them.
I have my first day of langauge class tomorrow for three hours. And I have to navigate the bus routes by myself. (ie No help from mom!) But thankfully there is another student from the program that lives close by and we will go together to our classes.
So far the Lord has blessed this journey for me in so many ways. I can see Him working in my heart and giving me courage to speak. I feel Him calming my anxiousness everyday. I´m excited to see what He has in store for me this week!

Love you all!
Alyssa

Prayer Requests:
1) For classes this week as they start, that I would have enthusiasm for learning new things and patience for doing homework
2) For my host family, that they would continue to be gracious and patient with me as I learn their language -- and for their health, several of the kids have been sick this past week
3) For Protection while I´m traveling in the city
4) For more opportunities to communicate with my family -- openess with conversation that it would flow more smoothly
5) For my general health -- that I wouldn´t get sick while I grow accustomed to a new evironment

Thank you for your contintued prayers! Chao!