The Arrival

If we were nervous before, we didn't know what was to come. When we landed, all the directions were given in Spanish. Lisa and I are not proficient Spanish speakers and while we were able to understand most words, there were definitely some instructions we missed. Still, we made it off the plane, thankful to be on the ground, exhausted but so excited for what was to come. They immediately passed out face masks which we were required to wear on our faces as we passed through customs. I've never had to do that before and I felt so contagious although I had no communicable disease! Anyways, we made it outside where we met with our drivers. Julie was on her own and we wished her good luck as we parted ways. Lisa and I followed our driver, quickly realizing that communication was going to be a struggle! When we got to the car, we loaded our bags with a little hesitation. The remises are only labeled by a small sticker on the windshield. They are older cars, and ours had no seatbelt in the back and one disfunctional door. The driver made a comment about the amount of luggage we brought and we were happy to laugh at his joke but couldn't think of any comebacks on the spot!

Next, we entered the freeway. All I can say is...wow, and I thought Californian drivers were bad! We quickly learned that lanes mean nothing, the speedlimit means nothing, and if you are about to collide with another vehicle when merging a light honk and a guess of who should slow down is all it takes for a successful journey. I seriously could not take my eyes off the road the entire way to my house for fear of my life!

Thankfully we arrived safely to Lisa's house. I didn't want her to get out and leave me alone but I helped her with her stuff and said goodbye. The houses were way different than I imagined. Most of them connected to the house next door, although the design of the houses were completely unique. Her host mom was extremely enthusiastic about her arrival and welcomed her with fast, high pitched Spanish which at that point was not understood.

I got back in the car, wondering where my house would be, and what my host family would be like.