13 hours later for 212 Miles

Somehow Mom and I managed to do about 1900 miles in 28 hours this past Christmas traveling from Texas to California, and today we traveled a huge 212 miles and it took us 13 hours.  However, Costa Rica is absolutely one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen.  It is rolling green hills and mountains.  The boarder was probably one of the most sketchiest places I have ever seen.  We had to walk across and it looked awful.  Luckily it didn't take too long to get from one side to the other.  We had to wait a couple hours on the other side of the border for our bus.  It was not too bad, by the time we exchanged into Costa Rica colonias, grab a bite to eat, and just relax before we hopped onto another bus.  Immediately upon crossing the boarder there was a huge difference in the people.  They are not as friendly as the "Nicas".  There is something about the people in Nicaraguan people that is just capivating.  I think this morning we were all a little emotional to leave because it is hard to leave.  We stopped about an hour into Costa Rica and finally had McDonalds.  I never thought I would be so excited to have fast food.  It was amazing! haha.  But Sam, Maria, Mrs. Biggan, and Pavel and I  talked over lunch about our experience in Nicaragua and it was emotional to realize the impact that we had made on these people.   Then we had another 5 hours in the bus.  The bus ride might not have been too terrible if we were not at the disco last night until midnight.  It was a lot of fun.  I had a been there, done that moment last night and noted to myself not to drink too much the previous night before a long bus ride.  The girls did kareokee last night and it was a lot of fun.  Sam and Emily teared it up last night!  They were amazing! 
Our work begins tomorrow morning bright and early.  We are going out into the community for the homes visits.  This was my favorite times from the past week other than the pinata party.  We will then have clinic in the afternoon.
You can tell that there is definately a difference in money here.  Some of these houses are really really nice near where we are staying.  There is more money and things are more expensive compared to Nicaragua.  We can't get Powerade or Diet Coke (Cola Lite) for less than a dollar like we did in Nicaragua.  It is just a little cheaper than the USA.  It will be interesting to see the conditions that we will be going to tomorrow.  If they are just like the previous community that we helped or if they are some what improved.  I do know that the original community that we were suppose to help got changed because there was another community that really needed the help.  I will post tomorrow about how it goes.  Luckily the Wifi here picks up on my computer so I am going to try and post pictures on here for the next week!

Hope everyone has had an amazing Friday and will have a great weekend!