What a crazy week this has been! Let me start off by telling you a few funny stories.
Before coming here, I never quite understood the importance of accent marks in Spanish. I thought they were more hassle than necessary. However, last week I learned why they are so incredibly important! All of my Spanish career I have always said “mama” (mom) and “papa” (dad). Last week I used both of those words in class and my teacher quickly stopped me and asked me to repeat what I had said. After doing so she informed me that mom is actually “mamá” and dad is actually “papá”. Without accentuating the accents they mean completely different words. Papa, instead of papá, means potato and mama instead of mamá means…. Breast!!! All of my life I have been saying breast when I thought I was saying mom!! How embarrassing is that!? My teacher informed me that pronunciation is the thing I need to work on the most at this moment (and rightly so!).
Next embarrassing story: the Spanish words for games, “juegos”, and eggs, “huevos”, sound very similar. Let me share with you a conversation that I had with my host dad, but first let me preference by saying that I have a very difficult time understanding him. He was a smoker for most of his life (I believe he is now in his 50-60’s) so his raspy smokers voice coupled with his very rapid speech makes him difficult to follow sometimes! We were at my host brother’s birthday party and Willy said to me (I’ll just write this in English)
Willie: “Do you want to help the kids with the “juegos” (games)?”
Me (I thought he said huevos so I assumed I must have heard the question wrong…): “Umm, no, I don’t want to eat eggs…”
Willy (at this point he must have thought that I said juegos instead of huevos): “Why not?!”
Me: “Umm… because I’m not hungry… and besides, I don’t even see any eggs…”
Willy: “NO Juegos, not huevos! Do you want to help the kids with the juegos?”
Me: “Hahaha…. Oh yeah… sure!”
Now on to embarrassing story number 3 (my blondness seems to only be worse in Spanish!)… I was sitting in my room working on homework when Willy called up the stairs to me. I wasn’t fully listening since I was in the middle of doing homework. When I didn’t respond he came up to my room and repeated himself. For some reason, I still could not understand what he was saying. I knew he was asking me a question and I heard something about going somewhere. So I assumed that he was asking me if I wanted to go somewhere with him and Celsy. So I asked him, “¿Donde vamos?” (where are we going?) to which he spouted something very quickly and then asked “¿Vas?” (are you going?). So I said - sure! He then went down the stairs and said “Ok, bueno. Voy a decir Celsy” (Ok, good I will go tell Celsy). So I put my homework away, packed up my purse, put some shoes on and headed downstairs – ready to go. I get downstairs and he says: “¿Oh, vas a ahora? (oh, you are going now?). And at this point I’m very confused, which he could obviously tell as he said: what, you don’t understand?
Me: No… where are we going?.
Willy: I don’t know.
So then he heads outside and I follow him – even more confused. He starts unlocking the gate and then motions for me to go out. Celsy and her neighbor were standing there as well.
Celsy says: Oh, where are you going?
Me: Ummm… I don’t know. Where are you guys going?.
Them: Are you going with your friends tonight?
Me: umm… I’m not going anywhere…. I’m going with you guys??
At this point I have NO IDEA what is going on!
Then Willy finally realized what was going on and they all started laughing hysterically. Willy then explained that earlier he had asked me if I was going anywhere, because if I were, then he would leave the gates unlocked. I thought he had asked if I wanted to go with them to who-knows-where. What a big misunderstanding! And now I was standing in front of them all ready to go nowhere – and they (including the neighbor) where laughing hysterically and saying: “¡Pobracita!” (poor thing!) Over and over… I was pretty humiliated, but so much so that I just started laughing with them. It was a pretty funny situation! Later I heard them come back into the house and they were still talking about it. Once blond, always blond I guess!
I am four days into week number three and already God has been showing me so much. The beginning of the week started out pretty rough. Sunday I went to my host brother’s birthday party. Although it was fun, it was almost an all day event, which meant lots of Spanish! I came home emotionally exhausted, which triggered a meltdown. I had hit my wall. I didn’t want to hear another word in Spanish – all I wanted to do was quit. I was sick of everything. All the things that I found intriguing the first few weeks suddenly became a source of pain and annoyance and a reminder of how much I missed my life before coming here. Absolutely nothing was the same anymore and I was so tired of the change. I was sick of poodles and parrots that make noise all night, not being able to flush toilet paper, strange food, only being able to go outside alone when necessary, not being able to run outside, strange men, the list goes on! Basically, I was allowing myself to wallow in self-pity and doing a very good job of it! This continued through the next day. On Monday I was very emotional – fighting back tears all day. The loneliness and ache of missing my family and everything that I was accustomed to seemed to physically hurt. The realization that this was not some three-week mission trip but was in fact the beginning of a six-month journey made me feel sick. Why was I here? How did I get here? I don’t even know for sure what I am doing with my life and if/how I will use Spanish – a fact that the devil has constantly been using to discourage me. And the worst part was that despite my hours spent praying and in the word – I felt far from God. I know that our relationship with God is not based on feelings. Sometimes we don’t feel close to God – but that doesn’t always mean that He isn’t with us or that we are any less close to Him. All day I kept an ongoing conversation with God, claiming the truths in His word and surrendering all of the negative feelings that I was having.
God’s mercies truly are new every morning because Tuesday I woke-up feeling like a new person and that the world was a much brighter place. That morning I went to chapel and the message was exactly what I needed to hear! A missionary from Peru is here all week for what is called “Spiritual Emphasis Week”. That morning He spoke about Philippians 3 and this is the part that stood out to me the most:
Philippians 3:12-4:1
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
“…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” – I needed to let go of all the things I was holding onto. I was making comparisons between the way things are here versus the way I miss them being in the U.S. I suddenly accepted the fact that my life is a journey and what is in the past stays in the past! Right now, God has me here in Costa Rica learning Spanish. And the Goal is the upper call in Christ Jesus. Everything that I do should glorify God. Right now, God has given me the task of learning Spanish. Somehow, this is going to bring glory to Him. That’s my reason for being here – that’s my reason for doing this. No, I don’t know how He is going to use it someday. All I need to know for today is that this is what He has called me to for right now and I need to do it for His glory. Sometimes I wish that I could just have a “normal life”. In the past several years I’ve gone through several trails with my family. Even now there are many things about my life that are different than what I always expected them to be. I can sometimes resent the circumstances and tasks that God has given me. His word says:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
If our lives here on earth are actually spiritual races and we only have one chance – I don’t want to be disqualified. Do I want to live a comfortable life, or do I want to win the prize – to get to heaven someday and hear God say to me “Well done my good and faithful servant”? I want to win the prize! Since Tuesday when God gave me these reminders, I have loved it here! I know that more days of discouragement are likely on my calendar, but when they come, I’ll just cling even harder to God’s promises and continue to trust in Him and to choose joy. I’m so thankful that when I don’t have all the answers (which is pretty much always) God does! He is taking care of my life and I just get to enjoy each day! Pura Vida amigos!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Imagine a country with no abortion...
Can you imagine what the U.S. would be like if abortions were forbidden? I was so surprised to discover over dinner tonight, that in Costa Rica, you will go to jail if you get or give an abortion! None of the health professionals here will do abortions and it is outlawed! WOW! I always assumed that since abortions were legal in the U.S. (a country that has been build on a Christian foundation and tends to be more conservative than the rest of the world) then surely it must be done in every country! I was wrong! In a country that has universal health care, and many other liberal institutions – there is no abortion! My host family was shocked when I told them that it is done in the U.S.! You can only image their reaction when I told them that at least 40 million babies have been aborted in the U.S. My host mom covered her mouth in shock exclaiming: “NO!” and my host dad said: “¡Que terrible! Ellos son muy loco! Es los hippies!”. What is wrong with our American society! I think that we have become so materialistic and “self-focused” that as a society we allow ourselves to murder innocent lives for self-profit. Convince, reputation, and pleasure (for self) is more important than another person’s life. Everyone knows that the little tiny fetus is indeed a human being. There is no denying that! Even here in liberal Costa Rica they would never even consider that the fetus isn’t a human. We have traded the truth for a lie simply to justify our sin. It disgusts me. I can only image how sad God is when he looks down at the people that He created, loves, and even died for – only to see them killing millions of the lives He created.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16).
Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you (Isaiah 46:3-4).
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16).
Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you (Isaiah 46:3-4).
Friday, June 25, 2010
The many adventures of my second week!
First two weeks of classes = Check :]
This week has just flown by! In the beginning of the week I had my first test in my grammar class. And Gracias a Dios (which means “Thanks to God”. Every one says that here… in every sentence it seems like! But say it really fast and it sounds like: Gracias adios…”Thanks goodbye” which can be very confusing at times!) I got a 92% - not too shabby! Tuesday morning Celsi took me for a walk. We walked all the way to one of the malls! It was kind of funny because she kept taking me into girls clothing stores and picking everything up and saying: “Que lindo! Te gusta? Es perfecto para ti! (How beautiful! Do you like it? It’s perfect for you!). However, I wasn’t interested in buying anything, as I currently have plenty of clothes and am trying to conserve money since I am going to be here for six months! I would complement the clothes but then say that I didn’t need it. We went into a jewelry store (like Clair’s) and she took me over to the earrings and said: which one do you want? I didn’t want to buy any so I politely said, oh, I don’t know. They are all beautiful but I’m not going to buy any. So she picked one out and asked me if I liked it. I said yes so she bought it for me! After that I tried to avoid saying that I liked anything because I didn’t want her to feel obligated to buy anything else! She is super sweet and I think she was just trying to help me have some fun (That or she doesn’t like the clothes that I wear and wanted to help me get in style… haha). This continued into several more teen clothing stores until I finally said: “I do need to buy a new notebook and note cards (which was true!)”, we promptly when into a wallmart-type store where I made my purchases. She seemed content after that and we made our way back home. ☺
Tuesday night I went and saw Toy Story 3 with some of my friends from the Institute. The movie was completely in Spanish with no subtitles! It was a much funnier way of studying than doing homework, but still a lot of work to call it entertainment! Nonetheless, the movie was really good and I enjoyed it!
Thursday morning Celsi and I went into downtown San José! We had a great time! She showed me all kinds things! There are several very antique and historic Catholic churches (that are still in use) downtown that we visited. One of them was even having mass while we looked around. Then we went into a “gringo mercado” (basically a very touristy market with lots of souvenirs and consequently lots of gringos (white people!)”. Again, Celsi picked up lots of different things trying to help me buy something. She kept picking up t-shirts and telling me that they would be perfect for my sister. I finally found a little trinket to bring back to my mom and she seemed content after I made that purchase… haha. Inside of the market were also venders selling produce (meats, fruit, vegetables etc.). I found it very disgusting. The floors were very grungy and covered in dirt, it was just like a big warehouse where everyone was crammed inside with tons of people everywhere, the air felt moist, there were lettuce bundles and other things for sale just sitting on the ground or the counter, raw meat was hanging everywhere, and the stench was sometimes overwhelming! It was definitely a cultural experience! I have really enjoyed spending time with Celsi this week! I love her! She is so sweet and a good companion! God really blessed me by placing me with this family!
My classes have been going pretty well. I can’t say it enough – I LOVE going to a Christian school! God knows how much I always wanted to go to a Christian university. That desire was never his desire, and I am happily attending a public university. Being here at the institute feels like God is blessing me by letting me have a little taste of what a Christian school is like – even if it is just for two months and not quite a real university. That being said, I love it! Sometimes for homework we use passages of the Bible to translate/fill in the missing blanks to practice grammar. In my conversational class for Thursday we had to give a little talk on our favorite Bible verse. We read it, told what it mean, picked it apart, and told why it was important to us (all in Spanish of course!). For my presentation I used Psalm 126 (it’s not necessarily my favorite – but I do love it!). It is a beautiful Psalm about how when we soy our tears (meaning that we obey and follow God even when it is hard and causes us to suffer), that we will reap a harvest of joy! I related it back to my family and explained that God has been doing that in our lives. I loved that assignment! I also loved getting to hear the other students give their Bible presentations! :]
Today (Friday), we don’t have any classes! I’m not quite sure why – but I’m not complaining! I took advantage of this free day by going to visit the university that I will be studying abroad at this fall. I decided to do this very last minute (last night), so it’s by the grace of God that it worked out! I emailed ISA (the study abroad organization) and asked them if I could come by for a visit/tour/meet the staff and I received an answer this morning around 9:00am. The email said that everyone at the office would be leaving at noon to go on an excursion so if I was going to come, I had to do it before then! Well, I quickly took a shower and got ready to go! I was a little bit nervous because in order to get there, I had to take a taxi all by myself! Thankfully, in my conversational class, we were taught how to use the taxies (what words to say, what to do in certain situations etc.) and even practiced in class… haha. Nonetheless, I wanted to avoid all trouble. Thus, I wore a loose fitting long skirt and long sleeve shirt (I stick-out like a sore thumb and without even opening my mouth – everyone knows that I’m American. Thus, I get whistles, lots of stares, head turning, and comments as I pass people. So despite the hot weather, I wanted to be as covered up as possible since I was going out alone- haha!). However, I discovered that using a taxi is VERY easy! I got in, he knew exactly where to go, we didn’t do any conversing, he brought me right to the university, and it only cost 4 dollars!
Once I arrived, I met with the staff of ISA. One of the staff members showed me all around the campus (which wasn't very far - It's only two buildings). She and I even spoke Spanish the whole time! The campus is very small, which I like. There are probably less than 1,000 students studying there! ISA has an office right on campus. As an "ISA student", I can go to their office any time that I want. I can use the computer lab in the office, get free tutoring from the staff, go there if I have any problems etc. In the fall there should only be around 20 students studying through ISA, which means that I will probably get to know the staff very well - since there are about 4 of them and only around 20 of us!
I wasn't able to meet the family that I will be living with because they haven't placed the students with the families yet. She told me that all of the families are specially chosen and have been hosting students with them for years. After every student leaves, they fill out a review on the family. If there are any issues, ISA will not let them continue to host students. All of the students who will be studying abroad through ISA will live in the same area. She said we won't all live next to each other because not all of the families are that close. But she said that the other students should be on my same street or only a few streets over. I will also have a roommate from the program (so my roommate will be from the U.S., doing the same thing as me). My roommate and I will each have our own rooms, but we will be staying in the same house. I sent in a very detailed description of myself, and they use that to try to match each student with a roommate who will be a good friend for them. :)
The campus is in downtown San José. The surrounding area of the campus is very nice and very populated. When I say downtown, it's not like the hood of downtown Louisville. It is close to all of the hotels, office buildings, museums, businesses, restaurants, and other things that you would find downtown. However, the neighborhood that I will live in is not downtown. It is in a middle-class suburban area. The woman told me that it is about a 10-minute commute to school from where I will live. To get there we will have to take a public transportation bus. The buss stop is right in front of the school, so once we get on the bus, it will bring us right to the university! In all, I walked away very excited about the fall!
Well that about sums up the week! Tomorrow I am going to a volcano, coffee plantation, and butterfly garden with some of my friends from school! I will write again soon! :]
This week has just flown by! In the beginning of the week I had my first test in my grammar class. And Gracias a Dios (which means “Thanks to God”. Every one says that here… in every sentence it seems like! But say it really fast and it sounds like: Gracias adios…”Thanks goodbye” which can be very confusing at times!) I got a 92% - not too shabby! Tuesday morning Celsi took me for a walk. We walked all the way to one of the malls! It was kind of funny because she kept taking me into girls clothing stores and picking everything up and saying: “Que lindo! Te gusta? Es perfecto para ti! (How beautiful! Do you like it? It’s perfect for you!). However, I wasn’t interested in buying anything, as I currently have plenty of clothes and am trying to conserve money since I am going to be here for six months! I would complement the clothes but then say that I didn’t need it. We went into a jewelry store (like Clair’s) and she took me over to the earrings and said: which one do you want? I didn’t want to buy any so I politely said, oh, I don’t know. They are all beautiful but I’m not going to buy any. So she picked one out and asked me if I liked it. I said yes so she bought it for me! After that I tried to avoid saying that I liked anything because I didn’t want her to feel obligated to buy anything else! She is super sweet and I think she was just trying to help me have some fun (That or she doesn’t like the clothes that I wear and wanted to help me get in style… haha). This continued into several more teen clothing stores until I finally said: “I do need to buy a new notebook and note cards (which was true!)”, we promptly when into a wallmart-type store where I made my purchases. She seemed content after that and we made our way back home. ☺
Tuesday night I went and saw Toy Story 3 with some of my friends from the Institute. The movie was completely in Spanish with no subtitles! It was a much funnier way of studying than doing homework, but still a lot of work to call it entertainment! Nonetheless, the movie was really good and I enjoyed it!
Thursday morning Celsi and I went into downtown San José! We had a great time! She showed me all kinds things! There are several very antique and historic Catholic churches (that are still in use) downtown that we visited. One of them was even having mass while we looked around. Then we went into a “gringo mercado” (basically a very touristy market with lots of souvenirs and consequently lots of gringos (white people!)”. Again, Celsi picked up lots of different things trying to help me buy something. She kept picking up t-shirts and telling me that they would be perfect for my sister. I finally found a little trinket to bring back to my mom and she seemed content after I made that purchase… haha. Inside of the market were also venders selling produce (meats, fruit, vegetables etc.). I found it very disgusting. The floors were very grungy and covered in dirt, it was just like a big warehouse where everyone was crammed inside with tons of people everywhere, the air felt moist, there were lettuce bundles and other things for sale just sitting on the ground or the counter, raw meat was hanging everywhere, and the stench was sometimes overwhelming! It was definitely a cultural experience! I have really enjoyed spending time with Celsi this week! I love her! She is so sweet and a good companion! God really blessed me by placing me with this family!
My classes have been going pretty well. I can’t say it enough – I LOVE going to a Christian school! God knows how much I always wanted to go to a Christian university. That desire was never his desire, and I am happily attending a public university. Being here at the institute feels like God is blessing me by letting me have a little taste of what a Christian school is like – even if it is just for two months and not quite a real university. That being said, I love it! Sometimes for homework we use passages of the Bible to translate/fill in the missing blanks to practice grammar. In my conversational class for Thursday we had to give a little talk on our favorite Bible verse. We read it, told what it mean, picked it apart, and told why it was important to us (all in Spanish of course!). For my presentation I used Psalm 126 (it’s not necessarily my favorite – but I do love it!). It is a beautiful Psalm about how when we soy our tears (meaning that we obey and follow God even when it is hard and causes us to suffer), that we will reap a harvest of joy! I related it back to my family and explained that God has been doing that in our lives. I loved that assignment! I also loved getting to hear the other students give their Bible presentations! :]
Today (Friday), we don’t have any classes! I’m not quite sure why – but I’m not complaining! I took advantage of this free day by going to visit the university that I will be studying abroad at this fall. I decided to do this very last minute (last night), so it’s by the grace of God that it worked out! I emailed ISA (the study abroad organization) and asked them if I could come by for a visit/tour/meet the staff and I received an answer this morning around 9:00am. The email said that everyone at the office would be leaving at noon to go on an excursion so if I was going to come, I had to do it before then! Well, I quickly took a shower and got ready to go! I was a little bit nervous because in order to get there, I had to take a taxi all by myself! Thankfully, in my conversational class, we were taught how to use the taxies (what words to say, what to do in certain situations etc.) and even practiced in class… haha. Nonetheless, I wanted to avoid all trouble. Thus, I wore a loose fitting long skirt and long sleeve shirt (I stick-out like a sore thumb and without even opening my mouth – everyone knows that I’m American. Thus, I get whistles, lots of stares, head turning, and comments as I pass people. So despite the hot weather, I wanted to be as covered up as possible since I was going out alone- haha!). However, I discovered that using a taxi is VERY easy! I got in, he knew exactly where to go, we didn’t do any conversing, he brought me right to the university, and it only cost 4 dollars!
Once I arrived, I met with the staff of ISA. One of the staff members showed me all around the campus (which wasn't very far - It's only two buildings). She and I even spoke Spanish the whole time! The campus is very small, which I like. There are probably less than 1,000 students studying there! ISA has an office right on campus. As an "ISA student", I can go to their office any time that I want. I can use the computer lab in the office, get free tutoring from the staff, go there if I have any problems etc. In the fall there should only be around 20 students studying through ISA, which means that I will probably get to know the staff very well - since there are about 4 of them and only around 20 of us!
I wasn't able to meet the family that I will be living with because they haven't placed the students with the families yet. She told me that all of the families are specially chosen and have been hosting students with them for years. After every student leaves, they fill out a review on the family. If there are any issues, ISA will not let them continue to host students. All of the students who will be studying abroad through ISA will live in the same area. She said we won't all live next to each other because not all of the families are that close. But she said that the other students should be on my same street or only a few streets over. I will also have a roommate from the program (so my roommate will be from the U.S., doing the same thing as me). My roommate and I will each have our own rooms, but we will be staying in the same house. I sent in a very detailed description of myself, and they use that to try to match each student with a roommate who will be a good friend for them. :)
The campus is in downtown San José. The surrounding area of the campus is very nice and very populated. When I say downtown, it's not like the hood of downtown Louisville. It is close to all of the hotels, office buildings, museums, businesses, restaurants, and other things that you would find downtown. However, the neighborhood that I will live in is not downtown. It is in a middle-class suburban area. The woman told me that it is about a 10-minute commute to school from where I will live. To get there we will have to take a public transportation bus. The buss stop is right in front of the school, so once we get on the bus, it will bring us right to the university! In all, I walked away very excited about the fall!
Well that about sums up the week! Tomorrow I am going to a volcano, coffee plantation, and butterfly garden with some of my friends from school! I will write again soon! :]
Sunday, June 20, 2010
"...But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing POWER belongs to God and not to us..."
I’m sorry that it has almost been a week since I have updated you! Surprisingly, I have been VERY busy! I can’t believe it; I have now been here for an entire week!
My first week of classes went really well! My conversational class is pretty fun. There are only four of us and we spend two hours each day critiquing our conversation skills. My grammar class is not so fun… I’ve never really liked grammar! Does anyone? Last week we somehow covered almost every tense that I spent three years studying! And we have our first test this Tuesday. Have I started studying? No. What will I be doing ALL day tomorrow? Yes – studying! ☺
I will update you on a few highlights from my first week.
Thursday night My Tico parents took me with them to go have cafecita with Willi’s parents. We arrived at their house and I was surprised to discover that it is a mansion! No exaggeration – it would be a mansion in the U.S. and the houses here are very tiny, so that is saying a lot! The grandparents are both in their eighties. The grandma is so cute and tiny! She really took a liking to me and kept touching me! She would kiss me, and then pull me in and kiss me again… and she kept touching my face and saying “!Que lindo!” Maybe she has never seen someone as pail and blond as me? Haha! The house was very elegant on the inside and they even had a maid who lives there to cook and clean for them! She served us tea/coffee and apple pie! It was delicious. As we were leaving, the grandma pulled my face close to hers and in English (with a heavy Spanish accent) said: “I love you!” Haha, what a cutie!! I quickly responded “Te quiero!”
Friday was an awesome day! After class I met up with Kier! How cool is God that Kier and I are both here in San José? What are the odds? Well, Kier met me at the Institute. I took her back to my house to meet my Madre and then we headed off to her house to spend the night. She introduced me to public transportation in San José – which will come in very handy! We finally made it to her house and spent the evening playing phase ten with some of the locals that were there for Friday game night. The locals that were there were pretty young and spoke much faster Spanish than I’m used to hearing! After several hours of listening to conversations and trying to converse I was mentally exhausted. The next day Kier and I walked around San José. She showed me la Universidad de Costa Rica, the inner city, an open-air market, and Pizza Hut! It was great hanging out with her and I was thankful for a familiar friend and a break from Spanish immersion! ☺
Saturday night I went to my first “singles” event! The institute puts on various events for the single students – gotta love Christian community! The event was a progressive dinner. It was so much fun! I truly enjoyed spending the evening with my new friends. I feel so blessed to be taking classes in a Christian environment! How true it is that Christ brings us unity. I have only known these men and women for a week, but already they have been such a blessing in my life! Everyone has such inspiring stories… everyone is here for a reason and purposefully living a surrendered life for Christ. What better company could one ask for?
Today was father’s day, which makes this the first father’s day that I haven’t been with my dad! How very sad that is. It is one of those reminders that my life is changing. I missed being able to celebrate with my dad and family. On the bright side, I did get to go to church and celebrate father’s day with my host family. The church service was 2 and half hours long! I loved going to a service in Spanish. I was able to understand the general idea of what was being said as long as I actively listened, but it was very exhausting!
This afternoon we went back to the wealthy grandparents house to celebrate father’s day with the entire family! I’m so blessed to live with such a welcoming and loving Tico family! My tico mom calls me her daughter and even introduces me to everyone as her daughter! She tries very hard to make sure that I’m included and that I know what is going on. Sometimes if someone is talking to me really fast, she will summarize what they said to me in slower Spanish that she knows I can understand! There were probably 30 relatives at the celebration and everyone seemed very rich and spoke fast Spanish! One of the Costa Rican brothers was married to an American woman from Boston. Now they both live in Massachusetts but were here visiting their family. I felt bad for the wife because she didn’t speak any Spanish! My tico mom quickly realized this and pulled both of us to a couch and told us to “practice our English together!” haha! It was very refreshing to talk to another American. If she can be a member of an all-Spanish speaking family, knowing no Spanish, - then surely I can handle living here for six months knowing some Spanish!
Today has been a very long and exhausting day of nothing but Spanish, Spanish, and SPANISH! Now that I have updated you on some of the things I’ve been up to, I have to be honest with you and tell you some of the things that I am feeling now that I have had a week of this under my belt. This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done and the enormity of this journey that I have just begun is finally starting to hit me. As much as I absolutely love this – the people, the culture, and the entire experience, I’m also very overwhelmed and daily discouraged. I will forever be able to sympathize with any foreigner. Where as I used to simply think that those Mexican’s that we encounter in the U.S. almost daily, who struggle to communicate, were ignorant or maybe even a little stupid - I now know that they are normal, intelligent people just like you and me. They are struggling, feeling like they don’t belong, and every encounter with English and American culture only leaves them feeling helpless and beset.
I think that Satan is attacking my thoughts and thus trying to steal my joy and peace as well as discourage me. About halfway through the week, when the honeymoon stage of this adventure was starting to dwindle, I started asking myself, why am I here? Honestly! What am I really doing with Spanish…What am I doing with my life?! The frustrating part is that I don’t have an answer to those questions. I don’t know how I’m going to use Spanish. This has been a long journey involving much prayer, and simply walking in faith. God hasn’t shown me how I’m going to use Spanish someday (or even IF I will use Spanish), but He seems to have been leading me to continue. Every time I wanted to quit, I couldn’t. There was always something that kept me going – a scholarship, a lack of peace from quitting, encouragement to continue from a professor etc. As a type-A/perfectionist type of person, I struggle with not always having a “plan”. God obviously knows this and uses this to keep me close to Him through not letting me know His plans for the future five years in advance like I want! I don’t love Spanish enough to just learn it for the sake of learning it or to sacrifice six months of my life (which is also adding six months to my expected graduation date) for struggling through an immersion process like this. But I have to trust that for some reason, God knows that His future plans for my life require Spanish. When I hear the natives conversing and I have no idea what they are saying, I easily feel defeated thinking that there is no way that I will ever be fluent – there is far too much that I still have yet to learn! I wrestled these things out with God tonight and received some peace through His word. I am praying that He will use this experience to bring my relationship with Him to a new layer of depth. I’m trusting that I’m walking in His will and that He will use this experience for His glory.
As 2 Corinthians 10:5 says:
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
And what does this mean? That we must take every thought captive. Every thought that contradicts who God is and His promises that He has given to us through His word must be made obedient unto Him. The best way to do that is through scripture. So I’m using scripture to counter my thoughts and discouragement.
My friends, please be encouraged and know that we have so much power through Christ and through His word. I only share all of this with you because I hope that somehow my experience can encourage someone else. I’m finding that there is so much power in the word of God:
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing POWER belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you." 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Buenas noches amigos!
My first week of classes went really well! My conversational class is pretty fun. There are only four of us and we spend two hours each day critiquing our conversation skills. My grammar class is not so fun… I’ve never really liked grammar! Does anyone? Last week we somehow covered almost every tense that I spent three years studying! And we have our first test this Tuesday. Have I started studying? No. What will I be doing ALL day tomorrow? Yes – studying! ☺
I will update you on a few highlights from my first week.
Thursday night My Tico parents took me with them to go have cafecita with Willi’s parents. We arrived at their house and I was surprised to discover that it is a mansion! No exaggeration – it would be a mansion in the U.S. and the houses here are very tiny, so that is saying a lot! The grandparents are both in their eighties. The grandma is so cute and tiny! She really took a liking to me and kept touching me! She would kiss me, and then pull me in and kiss me again… and she kept touching my face and saying “!Que lindo!” Maybe she has never seen someone as pail and blond as me? Haha! The house was very elegant on the inside and they even had a maid who lives there to cook and clean for them! She served us tea/coffee and apple pie! It was delicious. As we were leaving, the grandma pulled my face close to hers and in English (with a heavy Spanish accent) said: “I love you!” Haha, what a cutie!! I quickly responded “Te quiero!”
Friday was an awesome day! After class I met up with Kier! How cool is God that Kier and I are both here in San José? What are the odds? Well, Kier met me at the Institute. I took her back to my house to meet my Madre and then we headed off to her house to spend the night. She introduced me to public transportation in San José – which will come in very handy! We finally made it to her house and spent the evening playing phase ten with some of the locals that were there for Friday game night. The locals that were there were pretty young and spoke much faster Spanish than I’m used to hearing! After several hours of listening to conversations and trying to converse I was mentally exhausted. The next day Kier and I walked around San José. She showed me la Universidad de Costa Rica, the inner city, an open-air market, and Pizza Hut! It was great hanging out with her and I was thankful for a familiar friend and a break from Spanish immersion! ☺
Saturday night I went to my first “singles” event! The institute puts on various events for the single students – gotta love Christian community! The event was a progressive dinner. It was so much fun! I truly enjoyed spending the evening with my new friends. I feel so blessed to be taking classes in a Christian environment! How true it is that Christ brings us unity. I have only known these men and women for a week, but already they have been such a blessing in my life! Everyone has such inspiring stories… everyone is here for a reason and purposefully living a surrendered life for Christ. What better company could one ask for?
Today was father’s day, which makes this the first father’s day that I haven’t been with my dad! How very sad that is. It is one of those reminders that my life is changing. I missed being able to celebrate with my dad and family. On the bright side, I did get to go to church and celebrate father’s day with my host family. The church service was 2 and half hours long! I loved going to a service in Spanish. I was able to understand the general idea of what was being said as long as I actively listened, but it was very exhausting!
This afternoon we went back to the wealthy grandparents house to celebrate father’s day with the entire family! I’m so blessed to live with such a welcoming and loving Tico family! My tico mom calls me her daughter and even introduces me to everyone as her daughter! She tries very hard to make sure that I’m included and that I know what is going on. Sometimes if someone is talking to me really fast, she will summarize what they said to me in slower Spanish that she knows I can understand! There were probably 30 relatives at the celebration and everyone seemed very rich and spoke fast Spanish! One of the Costa Rican brothers was married to an American woman from Boston. Now they both live in Massachusetts but were here visiting their family. I felt bad for the wife because she didn’t speak any Spanish! My tico mom quickly realized this and pulled both of us to a couch and told us to “practice our English together!” haha! It was very refreshing to talk to another American. If she can be a member of an all-Spanish speaking family, knowing no Spanish, - then surely I can handle living here for six months knowing some Spanish!
Today has been a very long and exhausting day of nothing but Spanish, Spanish, and SPANISH! Now that I have updated you on some of the things I’ve been up to, I have to be honest with you and tell you some of the things that I am feeling now that I have had a week of this under my belt. This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done and the enormity of this journey that I have just begun is finally starting to hit me. As much as I absolutely love this – the people, the culture, and the entire experience, I’m also very overwhelmed and daily discouraged. I will forever be able to sympathize with any foreigner. Where as I used to simply think that those Mexican’s that we encounter in the U.S. almost daily, who struggle to communicate, were ignorant or maybe even a little stupid - I now know that they are normal, intelligent people just like you and me. They are struggling, feeling like they don’t belong, and every encounter with English and American culture only leaves them feeling helpless and beset.
I think that Satan is attacking my thoughts and thus trying to steal my joy and peace as well as discourage me. About halfway through the week, when the honeymoon stage of this adventure was starting to dwindle, I started asking myself, why am I here? Honestly! What am I really doing with Spanish…What am I doing with my life?! The frustrating part is that I don’t have an answer to those questions. I don’t know how I’m going to use Spanish. This has been a long journey involving much prayer, and simply walking in faith. God hasn’t shown me how I’m going to use Spanish someday (or even IF I will use Spanish), but He seems to have been leading me to continue. Every time I wanted to quit, I couldn’t. There was always something that kept me going – a scholarship, a lack of peace from quitting, encouragement to continue from a professor etc. As a type-A/perfectionist type of person, I struggle with not always having a “plan”. God obviously knows this and uses this to keep me close to Him through not letting me know His plans for the future five years in advance like I want! I don’t love Spanish enough to just learn it for the sake of learning it or to sacrifice six months of my life (which is also adding six months to my expected graduation date) for struggling through an immersion process like this. But I have to trust that for some reason, God knows that His future plans for my life require Spanish. When I hear the natives conversing and I have no idea what they are saying, I easily feel defeated thinking that there is no way that I will ever be fluent – there is far too much that I still have yet to learn! I wrestled these things out with God tonight and received some peace through His word. I am praying that He will use this experience to bring my relationship with Him to a new layer of depth. I’m trusting that I’m walking in His will and that He will use this experience for His glory.
As 2 Corinthians 10:5 says:
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
And what does this mean? That we must take every thought captive. Every thought that contradicts who God is and His promises that He has given to us through His word must be made obedient unto Him. The best way to do that is through scripture. So I’m using scripture to counter my thoughts and discouragement.
My friends, please be encouraged and know that we have so much power through Christ and through His word. I only share all of this with you because I hope that somehow my experience can encourage someone else. I’m finding that there is so much power in the word of God:
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing POWER belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you." 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Buenas noches amigos!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Primiera Día del Escuela
Hola chicos! Hoy fue mi primera día en la esculea! And now I am laying on my bed, and it is almost 9:00 here. What I love about my room is that half of one of my walls is a large glass window. Above the window all along the wall is a built-in screen that acts as a permanent open window. If I close my eyes I can hear all the noises outside and I feel like I am camping! Currently I can hear the steady sound of the rain – it’s better than any American sound machine I’ve ever heard!
Contrary to my belief that all Latinos stay up late and sleep-in late, my Tico family goes to bed early – very early! Last night mis padres said goodnight and turned in at 8:00! Being a morning person, I have long had an overambitious desire to go to bed real early and thus wake-up early feeling refreshed and ready to start the day! After all, the saying goes: early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise! Thus I went to bed around 8:30 and woke-up without an alarm clock around 5:30 this morning. I had my quiet time, took a shower, and headed downstairs where Celsi had prepared breakfast: A plate of fruit. Then she brought out papaya juice… then toast… and finally, scrambled eggs and tortilla! It was a feast!
After breakfast Celsi walked me to school - only about a five-minute walk. Before Celsi left, she informed me that she would meet me at the gate to pick me up after class. I waited and pretty soon, one by one, the other students started to arrive. I was surprised to discover that almost all of the students are in college or in their early twenties! There are about 20ish students here for this two-month intensive program. The orientation began with a brief history of the school followed by a TEST! Uggg…. And so the work began! The test was a measure of our abilities to appropriately place us in the right level of classes. As soon as I began the test I wished that I had reviewed some of the tenses and irregular verbs before coming… two months off of Spanish is not good! I didn’t feel very good about the writing test, my Spanish grammar felt very rusty. But it really didn’t matter because I wanted to be placed in the appropriate class. After that we had a second test which was to assess our conversational skills. This was a 15 minute interview in Spanish with one of the instructors. The woman who interviewed me was very nice and we had a great conversation. I felt much better about this portion of the test than I did about the grammar.
While we waited for our tests to be graded and our schedules to be made, we had the rest of our orientation. I learned some very interesting things in orientation! We were informed on cultural differences that we should be aware of. For example, in many Latin American countries they use terms that we would find very offensive as a form of endearment and affection, such as “gordito” (fatty), or “negrito” (little blackie). This would explain why yesterday Celsi was describing her daughter to me and she said with a smile “ella es una gordita ahora” (She is a little fatty now)! Yesterday I was kind of shocked to hear this but now I understand haha! This is one cultural difference that I will not be implementing into my life! Also, we learned that the ticos are extremely friendly but also very sensitive! We need to eat everything that they give us but if they feed us too much, we need to tell them before they serve us that we want smaller portions. Before coming here I was told that we would only be fed twice a day but now I have no idea where that came from because it certainly isn’t true! In the orientation they said that the Ticos would take it as a great compliment if we gained weight while we are here! They said the Tico mothers would be calling their friends and saying “Oh, did you see my student? She has gained 10 pounds! She just loves my food so much!” – this explains the big breakfast I had this morning!
We also learned that the Ticos hate confrontation and do not do well with it. They would get really upset if we were to say something like: you are serving me too much food. Instead, we must always put the blame on ourselves. So instead of saying: you are serving me too much food, we have to say: oh, I have a delicate stomach, I just can’t eat that much food, or my stomach is too tiny etc. Something else that I found interesting is that Costa Rica (like many Latin American countries) is a matriarchal society. So the women run the household and make most of the decisions. I’m interested to see the dynamics of this played out in the Ticos that I encounter.
Random side note - Claim to fame: Max Lucado’s daughter came to this school a few years ago! And Max even came and visited! That means that this school must be “legit” ;)
I can’t go anywhere it seems like without running into someone who I am somehow connected to through Southeast – even in Costa Rica! It turns out that Gretel, one of the ladies who works here, is married to the former youth pastor from Nueva Vida (the Spanish church that used to be a ministry of Southeast Christian Church). They met when he came to the institute three years ago to polish his Spanish. They were married at Nueva Vida and now they both live and work here at the institute! Crazy how small our world can be!
Well after orientation we were assigned our classes based on the results of our tests. Much to my surprise, I somehow was placed in the highest level for grammar?! I’m still wondering if that was a mistake! For conversational Spanish I’m in the second highest level. I have three classes every day in the afternoon, two different teachers, and 4-5 students in each class! It’s so perfect! I love that the classes are small and that all of the students in my classes seem to be at the same level – I think that will really help us to move forward! Our teachers assessed our abilities in class today and decided on what areas we need to work on most… and there is absolutely zero English spoken in the classrooms!
Around three it started DOWN PORING rain and it hasn’t stopped since! Apparently this is typical everyday during this time of the year. Celsi was supposed to come pick me up so that she could show me how to get back to her house, but since it was down poring, she didn’t come. I was waiting for her (not knowing that she wasn’t coming) when someone came into the room and said: there is a taxi waiting for Abigail. My response was: I’m Abigail but I didn’t call a taxi… but apparently there was one waiting for me. I hesitantly went outside and saw the “taxi” - a gray sketch looking old car. I slowly started walking towards it when the door opened and Willi yelled out: Hurry up and get in the car!!! Haha, relieved, I obeyed! Apparently Celsi asked him to pick me up so she wouldn’t have to go out in the rain – I just never got the memo! ☺
Well the rest of the afternoon was spent doing homework and reading. This is certainly going to be an “intensive” eight weeks!
Y ahora yo voy a dormir, proque estoy cansada… buenas noches mis gorditos! :)
Contrary to my belief that all Latinos stay up late and sleep-in late, my Tico family goes to bed early – very early! Last night mis padres said goodnight and turned in at 8:00! Being a morning person, I have long had an overambitious desire to go to bed real early and thus wake-up early feeling refreshed and ready to start the day! After all, the saying goes: early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise! Thus I went to bed around 8:30 and woke-up without an alarm clock around 5:30 this morning. I had my quiet time, took a shower, and headed downstairs where Celsi had prepared breakfast: A plate of fruit. Then she brought out papaya juice… then toast… and finally, scrambled eggs and tortilla! It was a feast!
After breakfast Celsi walked me to school - only about a five-minute walk. Before Celsi left, she informed me that she would meet me at the gate to pick me up after class. I waited and pretty soon, one by one, the other students started to arrive. I was surprised to discover that almost all of the students are in college or in their early twenties! There are about 20ish students here for this two-month intensive program. The orientation began with a brief history of the school followed by a TEST! Uggg…. And so the work began! The test was a measure of our abilities to appropriately place us in the right level of classes. As soon as I began the test I wished that I had reviewed some of the tenses and irregular verbs before coming… two months off of Spanish is not good! I didn’t feel very good about the writing test, my Spanish grammar felt very rusty. But it really didn’t matter because I wanted to be placed in the appropriate class. After that we had a second test which was to assess our conversational skills. This was a 15 minute interview in Spanish with one of the instructors. The woman who interviewed me was very nice and we had a great conversation. I felt much better about this portion of the test than I did about the grammar.
While we waited for our tests to be graded and our schedules to be made, we had the rest of our orientation. I learned some very interesting things in orientation! We were informed on cultural differences that we should be aware of. For example, in many Latin American countries they use terms that we would find very offensive as a form of endearment and affection, such as “gordito” (fatty), or “negrito” (little blackie). This would explain why yesterday Celsi was describing her daughter to me and she said with a smile “ella es una gordita ahora” (She is a little fatty now)! Yesterday I was kind of shocked to hear this but now I understand haha! This is one cultural difference that I will not be implementing into my life! Also, we learned that the ticos are extremely friendly but also very sensitive! We need to eat everything that they give us but if they feed us too much, we need to tell them before they serve us that we want smaller portions. Before coming here I was told that we would only be fed twice a day but now I have no idea where that came from because it certainly isn’t true! In the orientation they said that the Ticos would take it as a great compliment if we gained weight while we are here! They said the Tico mothers would be calling their friends and saying “Oh, did you see my student? She has gained 10 pounds! She just loves my food so much!” – this explains the big breakfast I had this morning!
We also learned that the Ticos hate confrontation and do not do well with it. They would get really upset if we were to say something like: you are serving me too much food. Instead, we must always put the blame on ourselves. So instead of saying: you are serving me too much food, we have to say: oh, I have a delicate stomach, I just can’t eat that much food, or my stomach is too tiny etc. Something else that I found interesting is that Costa Rica (like many Latin American countries) is a matriarchal society. So the women run the household and make most of the decisions. I’m interested to see the dynamics of this played out in the Ticos that I encounter.
Random side note - Claim to fame: Max Lucado’s daughter came to this school a few years ago! And Max even came and visited! That means that this school must be “legit” ;)
I can’t go anywhere it seems like without running into someone who I am somehow connected to through Southeast – even in Costa Rica! It turns out that Gretel, one of the ladies who works here, is married to the former youth pastor from Nueva Vida (the Spanish church that used to be a ministry of Southeast Christian Church). They met when he came to the institute three years ago to polish his Spanish. They were married at Nueva Vida and now they both live and work here at the institute! Crazy how small our world can be!
Well after orientation we were assigned our classes based on the results of our tests. Much to my surprise, I somehow was placed in the highest level for grammar?! I’m still wondering if that was a mistake! For conversational Spanish I’m in the second highest level. I have three classes every day in the afternoon, two different teachers, and 4-5 students in each class! It’s so perfect! I love that the classes are small and that all of the students in my classes seem to be at the same level – I think that will really help us to move forward! Our teachers assessed our abilities in class today and decided on what areas we need to work on most… and there is absolutely zero English spoken in the classrooms!
Around three it started DOWN PORING rain and it hasn’t stopped since! Apparently this is typical everyday during this time of the year. Celsi was supposed to come pick me up so that she could show me how to get back to her house, but since it was down poring, she didn’t come. I was waiting for her (not knowing that she wasn’t coming) when someone came into the room and said: there is a taxi waiting for Abigail. My response was: I’m Abigail but I didn’t call a taxi… but apparently there was one waiting for me. I hesitantly went outside and saw the “taxi” - a gray sketch looking old car. I slowly started walking towards it when the door opened and Willi yelled out: Hurry up and get in the car!!! Haha, relieved, I obeyed! Apparently Celsi asked him to pick me up so she wouldn’t have to go out in the rain – I just never got the memo! ☺
Well the rest of the afternoon was spent doing homework and reading. This is certainly going to be an “intensive” eight weeks!
Y ahora yo voy a dormir, proque estoy cansada… buenas noches mis gorditos! :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
¡Estoy en Costa Rica!
I have arrived in the beautiful country of Costa Rica! I have only been here for a few hours and yet I already have so much that I could write about! What an experience this has been thus far!
The adventure began around seven this morning when we left for the airport. The whole family came to drop me off. It was sad saying goodbye to my family; I’ve never been away from home for more than five weeks! (Even when I’m in college I do come home every few weeks so it’s never been this long before!)
Pretty soon I was on my way to Texas! That flight was only a few hours long and went by pretty quickly. The lady sitting next to me bought far too much alcohol, was wearing excessive make-up, and I felt like she was staring at me the whole way – it was awkward! I arrived in TX and quickly booked it to my next gate, which of course was on the opposite side of the airport! This is where the “culture” began to change…. Everything in the airport was translated into Spanish. It was my little integration for what was to come! I soon boarded my last flight. Destination: San José, Costa Rica! As Dad was helping me get checked in, we discovered that I could upgrade to first class for only $19!! I truly have the best dad in the word – he upgraded me to first class! So I had a window seat in first class for this flight and it was SWEET!
A cute little eight-year-old girl sat next to me and I enjoyed hearing her give a commentary of everything that was happening during the duration of the flight ☺. The flight attendants in first class where much nicer than all of the other airline employees I had encountered earlier! They brought me a wet hot towelette to “wipe my hands and face”, as many drinks as I wanted, and a real lunch complete with chicken, a hot roll, salad, and vegetables! This flight went by even quicker than the last one (maybe it was because I was in first class?).
I loved having a window seat because I was able to look at the beautiful country as we flew into it! It was so wondrous – truly, what an awesome God we have who could create such a beautiful planet! The country is peppered with protected natural resources, such as parks, rain forests, mountains, rivers, and even a volcano – and I got to view them all from a bird’s eye view! Through the lush greenery below I could see little scattered houses with red clay roofs. The deep blue ocean was visible far off in the distance. Words just can’t describe how beautiful it was! I knew I was in for an adventure and thanked God for what was to come and that I get to experience it with Him in this gorgeous place that He created!
As I was gazing into God’s creation, I encountered my first Latino creeper. The man sitting in front of me was also gazing out his window and started conversing with me. He had a strong Spanish accent and must have been 50 years old. He was telling me all about the beautiful island – the volcano, the parks, how 99% of the country has electricity etc. I asked him if he was going for Business and said that he was just going to “party”…. A surprising answer from a 50 something-year-old dressed like a businessman! Then he told me that he was going to give me his number so that I could call him if I “needed anything”. I suddenly realized what was going on and told him that would not be necessary and cut off the conversation.
Well we finally landed! I started getting a little bit nervous… what if I couldn’t find my host family? What if I couldn’t understand anyone? All of these doubts started plaguing my mind. I reminded myself that God is always with me and that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength! I needed this reminder because as I got off the plane, it was clear that I was no longer in the U.S.! EVERYTHING was in Spanish! Everyone around me was speaking Spanish… it was everywhere. I looked around for “baggage claim” but of course saw no such label (I now know how to say “baggage Claim” en español!). I found an airport employee and asked him: “Donde está el baggage claim?” He laughed and gave me detailed directions in Spanish (Which I understood!! This gave me some much-needed confidence!). I found the baggage claim, then went through customs, and finally got my passport cleared.
I headed out to where I was supposed to meet my new family and was bombarded by taxi drivers all asking me if I needed a ride… I just kept responding “no gracias!” Apparently I wasn’t the only one meeting someone I had never met before because I walked through a long pathway made-up by people holding signs with names on them. Each person looked at me and held up his or her sign, silently questioning me if I was the one they were waiting for. But I was determined to find my Costa Rican family! I looked for a lady wearing all green and holding the right sign! Finally I saw her and I said: “soy Abigail Feinn!”. She instantly embraced me and was full of exclamations: “¡AHH Abbygail!! ¡Bueno! ¡Bienvenido! ¿Como estás? Soy Celci! Esto es mi hijo Carlo!” She talked very fast and I had a hard time catching everything that she was saying but I understood that she did not speak English, that she would take me to her house, and that she was glad to see me! She also told me that she loves to talk and I instantly believed her! She was with her 24-year-old son Carlo (who does speak some English, which was helpful when I got stuck on a word!).
The three of us loaded into their vehicle and headed into the heart of San José! I love them already! They are so friendly and nice! As we drove through the city they gave me a commentary of what we were passing, what I should expect, told me about themselves, and asked me about myself (and again, this is all in Spanish!). They told me that I am their second student to live with them. They just had a girl leave that was with them for a year! They said that she didn’t know any Spanish when she came and that she learned “muchas muchas!”. This was encouraging to hear! And although we did have some difficulty conversing, she kindly said: “¡Su español esta muy bien!” (I think she has overestimated my Spanish abilities as she and her husband have been speaking to me as if I have lived here for years ever since I arrived. They go on and on and on and sometimes I only catch the jift of what they are saying, but I nod appropriately and insert: “sí!” Or “Bueno!” Whenever necessary!) Carlo does not live with Celsi and her husband (his step-dad), he is a student at La Universidad de Costa Rica, majoring in Chemical engineering. Celsi lives with her husband Willi (spelling on all of those names is probably wrong!).
We soon arrived in her quaint little neighborhood. All of the houses are compact and joined together. The front of her house has a jail-like gate that opens up into a little one car garage. Then you walk into the kitchen, followed by the living room and dining room. Their house is SO BEAUTIFUL! I love it! It’s very cultural! I have my own room upstairs. It is very tiny, but just what I need! The kitchen opens up into a little garden area (It is very small and comprises their “yard”). Three white poodles greeted me - much to my surprise! I never expected there to be French poodles in Costa Rica!! Thank you Shelby for training me for this summer! They also have a talking parrot, another bird, and several LARGE gold fish! (I will take pictures of all of this and put them on facebook!)
Celsi served us lunch (it was 3:00 haha). It was very good! Aroz con pollo (chicken and rice – my kind of food!), with vegetables and mango juice! Carlo and I were talking and he said something to me in English, Willi heard him and immediately said: “¡Solomente habla Español!” – there will be no cheating this summer! Haha ☺
After lunch Carlo helped me set up Internet on my computer (YES! TECHNOLOGY!!!) And I unpacked my things. Then I paid Celi and she responded: “Gracias! Ahora, tu eres mi hija y yo soy su madre!” (Thank you! Now you are my daughter and I am your mother!).
Around 7:00 we ate dinner. It was some sort of chicken noodle soup. Carlo had already left so it was just Celsi, Willi, and I. It was very interesting talking to them! The started telling me lots of stories and I only caught bits and pieces of it all. I did learn that Willi has his own company doing security for houses and other companies in San José (This explains the jail-like entry!). I guess he helps install security measures like barred windows, walls etc (at least that’s what I thought I understood! I may clarify later!). I do know for sure that he works with security (Mom and Dad, feel very comforted by this!). He gave me instructions on what I should not do to stay safe and avoid robbers (don’t ever talk on my phone in public, bring my labtop out of the house, keep money hidden etc.). Then he said (and I know that I heard this right!) “Don’t worry, if anyone comes in this house I will shoot them! Hahaha!” I feel safe!
Celsi no longer works, but her past job is just as interesting! Apparently, she used to do administration/social work. She used to work for the government helping them fight prostitution! (At least that’s what I think she said!)
Tomorrow morning Celsi is going to walk me to school, which she informs me is only five minutes away. Apparently she LOVES to walk and walks every morning for at least an hour! I think I am going to love my Costa Rican family!
Well this is already VERY long! Sorry if I have bored you with all of these details! Adios para ahora! I’ll write again soon!
The adventure began around seven this morning when we left for the airport. The whole family came to drop me off. It was sad saying goodbye to my family; I’ve never been away from home for more than five weeks! (Even when I’m in college I do come home every few weeks so it’s never been this long before!)
Pretty soon I was on my way to Texas! That flight was only a few hours long and went by pretty quickly. The lady sitting next to me bought far too much alcohol, was wearing excessive make-up, and I felt like she was staring at me the whole way – it was awkward! I arrived in TX and quickly booked it to my next gate, which of course was on the opposite side of the airport! This is where the “culture” began to change…. Everything in the airport was translated into Spanish. It was my little integration for what was to come! I soon boarded my last flight. Destination: San José, Costa Rica! As Dad was helping me get checked in, we discovered that I could upgrade to first class for only $19!! I truly have the best dad in the word – he upgraded me to first class! So I had a window seat in first class for this flight and it was SWEET!
A cute little eight-year-old girl sat next to me and I enjoyed hearing her give a commentary of everything that was happening during the duration of the flight ☺. The flight attendants in first class where much nicer than all of the other airline employees I had encountered earlier! They brought me a wet hot towelette to “wipe my hands and face”, as many drinks as I wanted, and a real lunch complete with chicken, a hot roll, salad, and vegetables! This flight went by even quicker than the last one (maybe it was because I was in first class?).
I loved having a window seat because I was able to look at the beautiful country as we flew into it! It was so wondrous – truly, what an awesome God we have who could create such a beautiful planet! The country is peppered with protected natural resources, such as parks, rain forests, mountains, rivers, and even a volcano – and I got to view them all from a bird’s eye view! Through the lush greenery below I could see little scattered houses with red clay roofs. The deep blue ocean was visible far off in the distance. Words just can’t describe how beautiful it was! I knew I was in for an adventure and thanked God for what was to come and that I get to experience it with Him in this gorgeous place that He created!
As I was gazing into God’s creation, I encountered my first Latino creeper. The man sitting in front of me was also gazing out his window and started conversing with me. He had a strong Spanish accent and must have been 50 years old. He was telling me all about the beautiful island – the volcano, the parks, how 99% of the country has electricity etc. I asked him if he was going for Business and said that he was just going to “party”…. A surprising answer from a 50 something-year-old dressed like a businessman! Then he told me that he was going to give me his number so that I could call him if I “needed anything”. I suddenly realized what was going on and told him that would not be necessary and cut off the conversation.
Well we finally landed! I started getting a little bit nervous… what if I couldn’t find my host family? What if I couldn’t understand anyone? All of these doubts started plaguing my mind. I reminded myself that God is always with me and that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength! I needed this reminder because as I got off the plane, it was clear that I was no longer in the U.S.! EVERYTHING was in Spanish! Everyone around me was speaking Spanish… it was everywhere. I looked around for “baggage claim” but of course saw no such label (I now know how to say “baggage Claim” en español!). I found an airport employee and asked him: “Donde está el baggage claim?” He laughed and gave me detailed directions in Spanish (Which I understood!! This gave me some much-needed confidence!). I found the baggage claim, then went through customs, and finally got my passport cleared.
I headed out to where I was supposed to meet my new family and was bombarded by taxi drivers all asking me if I needed a ride… I just kept responding “no gracias!” Apparently I wasn’t the only one meeting someone I had never met before because I walked through a long pathway made-up by people holding signs with names on them. Each person looked at me and held up his or her sign, silently questioning me if I was the one they were waiting for. But I was determined to find my Costa Rican family! I looked for a lady wearing all green and holding the right sign! Finally I saw her and I said: “soy Abigail Feinn!”. She instantly embraced me and was full of exclamations: “¡AHH Abbygail!! ¡Bueno! ¡Bienvenido! ¿Como estás? Soy Celci! Esto es mi hijo Carlo!” She talked very fast and I had a hard time catching everything that she was saying but I understood that she did not speak English, that she would take me to her house, and that she was glad to see me! She also told me that she loves to talk and I instantly believed her! She was with her 24-year-old son Carlo (who does speak some English, which was helpful when I got stuck on a word!).
The three of us loaded into their vehicle and headed into the heart of San José! I love them already! They are so friendly and nice! As we drove through the city they gave me a commentary of what we were passing, what I should expect, told me about themselves, and asked me about myself (and again, this is all in Spanish!). They told me that I am their second student to live with them. They just had a girl leave that was with them for a year! They said that she didn’t know any Spanish when she came and that she learned “muchas muchas!”. This was encouraging to hear! And although we did have some difficulty conversing, she kindly said: “¡Su español esta muy bien!” (I think she has overestimated my Spanish abilities as she and her husband have been speaking to me as if I have lived here for years ever since I arrived. They go on and on and on and sometimes I only catch the jift of what they are saying, but I nod appropriately and insert: “sí!” Or “Bueno!” Whenever necessary!) Carlo does not live with Celsi and her husband (his step-dad), he is a student at La Universidad de Costa Rica, majoring in Chemical engineering. Celsi lives with her husband Willi (spelling on all of those names is probably wrong!).
We soon arrived in her quaint little neighborhood. All of the houses are compact and joined together. The front of her house has a jail-like gate that opens up into a little one car garage. Then you walk into the kitchen, followed by the living room and dining room. Their house is SO BEAUTIFUL! I love it! It’s very cultural! I have my own room upstairs. It is very tiny, but just what I need! The kitchen opens up into a little garden area (It is very small and comprises their “yard”). Three white poodles greeted me - much to my surprise! I never expected there to be French poodles in Costa Rica!! Thank you Shelby for training me for this summer! They also have a talking parrot, another bird, and several LARGE gold fish! (I will take pictures of all of this and put them on facebook!)
Celsi served us lunch (it was 3:00 haha). It was very good! Aroz con pollo (chicken and rice – my kind of food!), with vegetables and mango juice! Carlo and I were talking and he said something to me in English, Willi heard him and immediately said: “¡Solomente habla Español!” – there will be no cheating this summer! Haha ☺
After lunch Carlo helped me set up Internet on my computer (YES! TECHNOLOGY!!!) And I unpacked my things. Then I paid Celi and she responded: “Gracias! Ahora, tu eres mi hija y yo soy su madre!” (Thank you! Now you are my daughter and I am your mother!).
Around 7:00 we ate dinner. It was some sort of chicken noodle soup. Carlo had already left so it was just Celsi, Willi, and I. It was very interesting talking to them! The started telling me lots of stories and I only caught bits and pieces of it all. I did learn that Willi has his own company doing security for houses and other companies in San José (This explains the jail-like entry!). I guess he helps install security measures like barred windows, walls etc (at least that’s what I thought I understood! I may clarify later!). I do know for sure that he works with security (Mom and Dad, feel very comforted by this!). He gave me instructions on what I should not do to stay safe and avoid robbers (don’t ever talk on my phone in public, bring my labtop out of the house, keep money hidden etc.). Then he said (and I know that I heard this right!) “Don’t worry, if anyone comes in this house I will shoot them! Hahaha!” I feel safe!
Celsi no longer works, but her past job is just as interesting! Apparently, she used to do administration/social work. She used to work for the government helping them fight prostitution! (At least that’s what I think she said!)
Tomorrow morning Celsi is going to walk me to school, which she informs me is only five minutes away. Apparently she LOVES to walk and walks every morning for at least an hour! I think I am going to love my Costa Rican family!
Well this is already VERY long! Sorry if I have bored you with all of these details! Adios para ahora! I’ll write again soon!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Almost Time!
Last night it hit me for the first time that I am REALLY going to COSTA RICA! I decided to take an email break as I was packing, and was surprised to see an email with the subject line: “Greetings from Costa Rica”!! My heart instantly skipped a beat and I quickly opened the email. It was addressed as following: “Hello Abbygail!!” (As you may know, it has always been a pet peeve of mine when people pronounce my name as: Abby-Gail. However, when said with a Spanish accent, all grievances are excused!) I continued reading and discovered that the email was from my soon-to-be Costa Rican brother, Carlo!! He wrote to inform me that his mother would be picking me up tomorrow in the airport wearing all green and holding a sign with my name on it! I am assuming that he is in college (Because of course I looked him up on facebook! Haha) and does not live with his family as he said in his email: “Hopefully I will meet you sometime this summer”. So why would he be the one to send me an email, I wondered? And then the puzzle pieces came together. He must be the only one in the family that speaks English (And through his email it was clear that English was his second language…), which is why his mom must have had him correspond with me. This is great news! Hopefully I will be living with a family that only speaks Spanish! That way I will have no escape from the language and will hopefully learn more! His email was the first correspondence that I have had with my Costa Rican family and was my wake-up call that this really is happening!!
Early tomorrow morning I will be taking off for San José, Costa Rica! My bags are almost all packed and I’m so excited! I have no idea what to expect, but I’m excited for many new experiences and adventures ☺. I will be sad to say goodbye to my family for eight weeks, and to be missing-out on all of the festivities of summer in Louisville. But the Lord has shown me in so many ways that this is His plan for me and I can’t wait to experience this adventure with Him and to see what He has in store! Thank you so much to everyone for your support, prayers, and friendship! Bad news: I will not be taking my cell phone! But the good news is that I will have some Internet access (It may be very limited) and I will be updating this blog when I can. The best way to keep in touch with me is through facebook. Next time I write, I will be in Costa Rica! ☺
Early tomorrow morning I will be taking off for San José, Costa Rica! My bags are almost all packed and I’m so excited! I have no idea what to expect, but I’m excited for many new experiences and adventures ☺. I will be sad to say goodbye to my family for eight weeks, and to be missing-out on all of the festivities of summer in Louisville. But the Lord has shown me in so many ways that this is His plan for me and I can’t wait to experience this adventure with Him and to see what He has in store! Thank you so much to everyone for your support, prayers, and friendship! Bad news: I will not be taking my cell phone! But the good news is that I will have some Internet access (It may be very limited) and I will be updating this blog when I can. The best way to keep in touch with me is through facebook. Next time I write, I will be in Costa Rica! ☺
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