Some bumps along the way, but I'm finally here!

One phone frustration, one sleepless night, and one very delayed flight later, I find myself in Costa Rica.  It keeps hitting me that I am going to be here for 3 months, but it doesn't really sink in, so I realize it about 10 times a day.  I am used to traveling, so the initial journey here didn't feel that different.  Anyway, here are some notable moments from the past few days:

-AT&T did not know that the LG GU295 (the phone I bought to get unlocked and use as my travel phone) is not unlockable.  If anyone out there plans to use this phone for traveling and wants to get it unlocked, let me tell you right now that it can't be.  It is not up to AT&T or LG.  The phone was manufactured in a way so that it cannot be unlocked by anyone ever.  At least that's what they told me.  Oh and I found this out the night before I left.

-There is a store in SFO in the international terminal that sells unlocked phones.

-I really need to learn not to save packing for the last minute.

-Continental: If you have to do maintenance on your plane, please make absolutely certain that you are done before you start boarding.  Lugging stuff onto a plane only to have to turn around and get off, then get back on ten minutes later is kind of a pain for everyone involved.  That's on top of being an hour and a half late already.

And now I am here.  Spent one night at the Costa Rica Backpackers Hostel, taking advantage of their airport pickup, slept wonderfully except for the train horns blaring periodically throughout the night, took a taxi to the ISA office to drop off a suitcase, got lunch (passed my university on the way), and now I am back at the ISA office for a few more minutes before I head for the bus station to catch a bus to Manuel Antonio.  I haven't gotten an ICE SIM card yet since I got to the airport so late, but I will update on that process once I do.  I have a week and a half before I move in with my host family and officially start my program, which is probably when I will be writing more.

Hasta luego for now, and pura vida!