The first steps of my adventure

Hi everyone!!
It's been three days since I arrived in Bolivia and my first impressions are amazing. I feel so at home here I can't even believe it's only been three days--not even--since I landed.

Our flight(s) were exhausting, but overall it was fine. Because we didn't fly directly to Santa Cruz, our journey  took us almost 24 hours. Nevertheless, all 26 volunteers arrived safely.
                Our plane took off in Frankfurt (which was perfect for me since I was there anyway) and from there we flew 12 hours  to Sao Paulo. I slept almost the whole way. I even slept through the (very dramatic!!!!) turbulences.
               Once we were in Sao Paolo, we had to wait about 4 hours until our flight to Asunción took off.
               After the 2 hour flight to Asunción we had another two hours until our plane that would take us to Santa Cruz arrived. I realized that I had forgotten my pencil case in the plane from Sao Paolo to Asunción and was a bit frustrated because the airplane staff said they didn't find it on the plane and I couldn't find it in my backpack.
               We were all tired, hungry and most of all thirsty, and none of us knew whether it was safe to drink the water from the fountain so no one dared.
               Finally, our plane arrived. After another 1 1/2 hours, we landed safely in Santa Cruz. All of us were anxious to get out of the airport, and after only a little while of waiting at the immigration and for all of our suitcases to arrive, we finally walked out of the airport.

The air felt like summer, warm and humid, but very refreshing after such a long journey. Most of the volunteers left to go to their hotel--they would continue their journey the next day to Sucre, La Paz, and Montero.

I stayed at the airport with 3 other volunteers that also stayed in Santa Cruz like me.

My "regional coordinator" Theresa also stayed with us to make sure that we all got home safely. My host family had sait that they would pick me up from the airport, but, as it is a Bolivian stereotype to be late to everything, they arrived late. But, they arrived.

My host brother Ricardo picked me up with his wife Daniela and their daughter Sofia. They greetet me with open arms and I immediatly felt welcome and happy.

There's more to come this evening!!

un beso grande,
Lena