Snow in Athens

It was 54 degrees last night and now it’s snowing in Athens, Georgia!

I observe the sky falling in huge fluffy white chunks through my friend, Samantha’s, apartment window. It’s barricading my car in the driveway, and Sam’s fiancée walks in the door to tell me that there is no way I’ll be able to drive back to my house tonight.

Oh, Georgia weather, how you change so fast.

I suddenly realize that I have no clothes to change into. I look down at my dirty old sneakers. I can see my white sock through the hole where my right pinky toe has finally broken free through the shoe. I even have to triple knot my shoelaces now in order for them to stay tied. The soles aren’t even the originals anymore. I had to replace them with special orthopedic ones due to my Plantar Fasciitis that I developed while playing soccer in Costa Rica.

They had become my favorite pair of shoes of all time.

Lost in thought, Samantha throws me a jacket. “Here, Amelia, you can borrow one of my jackets! And hurry up, ‘cuz I want Chick-Fil-A!” “But, we can’t drive in the snow!” I said. “I know! We’re walking. It’s just right down the street," she responds.

As soon as I step into the cold wet snow, I laughed out loud. Now, my shoes have seen everything!

Rainforest Zipline

It’s about 1:00 in the afternoon, and I look up at the graying sky knowing it’s about to rip open and douse us all in a blazing glory. And, of course, I’m about to zipline through the rainforest canopy.

This is my second time ziplining since I’ve been in Costa Rica. My friend, Bridget, is super excited. She has come down to visit me for a few days to escape from the end of the crazy semester in Athens and before she goes back home to Utah for the summer. And what better way to jump start her summer than with a few fabulous days with one of her best friends in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest right at the beginning of the Rainy Season…?

I rock back in forth in my comfortable dry shoes. I wish I had worn my Chacos today.

We successfully zip through 4 or 5 lines before the rain starts. There is nothing I can do. Impending doom of sloshy shoes is rapidly soaking in. Yet, as much as I thought I wouldn’t be able to stand the squishyness of wet sneakers, I had to admit that it felt kind of nice. Sort of like a personal portable cooling system for my feet.

After our ziplining adventure, both of us squish and squosh back to the bus stop with smiles on both our faces.

Homestay Sendero

How much farther to the top of this thing?!

I am huffing and puffing as I scramble my way along the side of the mountain. My homestay sister showed me this sendero, or short-cut, this morning, But that was coming down! I groaned. Now, I had to climb back up! And to add insult to injury, it had already started raining, which made the black soil even more mushy to walk on.

I instantly gave myself props, however, for buying the grey sneakers instead of the white ones. At least with the grey ones, you won’t be able to tell how dirty they are, I remember my mom telling me when we were shopping in Kohl’s. I had to admit, my shoes had started building some character. They no longer came untied, and I had broken them in pretty well. Wherever I went in Costa Rica, my sneakers were there to guide me along.

Time for a break.

I stopped under a gigantic tree to take a breath only to have it stolen away by one of the most amazing views I had ever seen. The rain had slowed to a mist and out over the mountains, a double rainbow arched over them. As sweat dripped from my chin, I couldn’t help but laugh. The end of the rainbow was at the top of the mountain.

San Jose

Stupid new shoes, I think as I look down at my brand-new AVIA sneakers. My shoelace has come undone, again. My shoes are so new that the shoelaces can’t even stay tied, because they’re too clean. They surreptitiously slide out from right under the knot I tie over and over. I know they’re out to get me. They want me to trip and stumble, so I can announce to the whole Costa Rican world that yes, I’m a foreigner and that I am so terribly out of my element.

Time to double-knot.

I bend down to give them one last good tie when black smoke erupts from the tail pipe of a city bus as it pulls away from the bus stop. Instantaneous hacking-up-of-the-lung occurs, not to mention, my contacts are no match for the burning fossil fuel. Welcome to San Jose, I think to myself. When I can peek out through my swollen eyelids, I can see that my new study abroad mates are also flailing about and batting away the airy debris.

As soon as the dusty cloud clears, we are able to cross the street to our hotel. I take one step, and BAM! I fall off the curb. I looked down at my shoes and imagine my shoelaces high-fiving each other. Mission accomplished, they say.