The weekend

This weekend was really great. On Saturday we went to the farmers market again and got tons of vegetables and fruits. (Grandma, I know you're excited about that). Then we went down town. It was a blast. We took a lot of pictures, went to a market, and ate at a coffee shop right across from the local Wendy's (random). There were 7 of us Gringa girls, so we got a lot of goofy stares, hoots and whistles. The men here have no shame when it comes to cat-calls. Yuck. One thing we did was go to this clothes store and I embarassed myself yet again. A clerk was helping us get something off a mannequin and she was going to be partially undressed. So I jokingly jumped in front of her to cover her with my open umbrella, which made quite the scene, because everyone in the store started laughing at me. Even people walking by were dying laughing. I can just hear them..."stupid American." Then we came home and relaxed all night. This morning was great because we went to church. I understood a lot more than I did last week. He's speaking about Revelation...which is hard enough to understand in English. :) At one point, the pastor was talking about a miscommunication and he said, "Tenemos una problema, Huston!" I was rolling. lol even Hispanish people use that Apollo 13 line. On a more serious note, a woman got up and sang "Above All" and it was beautiful. I was just in awe thinking about how no matter how different our culture and language, we are all working together to praise and serve the same God. That is sweet! And since then, I've basically been lesson planning. Well, this is long enough for now, and we have a full week ahead of us. I would really appreciate it if you could pray for two specific things for me if you think of it. First, that God would give me His strength and love for my students and for teaching. Second, that my students would become proficient in English and learn to read. lol I know I'm going to need the Lord's help with that one. Well thanks so much. I know that I say it all the time, but I don't always get a chance to respond to your comments and I want you to know how grateful I am for them. I honestly didn't think many people would read this thing, so I just love your encouragement. God bless!

School Day 2

So, I'm writing tonight in the middle of a massive downpour. No wonder they call this place a rainforest. Sometimes it rains so hard you can barely hear each other. Today was the second day of school and it went 100% better. Thank you Jesus. There were so many parts that were just better. Mainly, I was more organized and had a better idea of how to explain everything. I decided that I was only going to speak in English with the kids because they are there to learn English. I only use Spanish when absolutely necessary. Mainly, I act out everything in a really dramatic way. I look RIDICULOUS. But it's great. One funny thing is that I have one student that has no concept of staying in class or in her seat. Her and I do not communicate very well, so I just can't get through to her. So basically, she just gets up and walks out of the room and down the hall, or will just lay on the floor. I had to pick her up at least 20 times today and put her in a chair. It was a workout. Sometimes, I find her in the hall leaping and doing turns. LOL. I also have a lot of missionary kids that are so upset during Spanish class. Ms. Victoria (my team teacher) only speaks spanish, so the American kids are so confused. They were crying today and one said, "I just don't understand why that lady won't speak something I understand." It's a pretty hard transition for them. I can't imagine how hard it is for the little ones that don't understand what is going on. It's a circus. The other teachers were laughing at me as I tried to round up my troops to make a line in the hall way. They were everywhere! lol I'll have pics of them on Monday. anyway, we were all so exhausted again at the end of the day, that we all came home and slept for hours. Then we grilled out with our amazing neighbors. It was our "Labor Day meal." (see pic below) Cheeseburgers, salsa, and banana splits. mmmm. Random. Nice change from the daily beans and rice. :) Overall, this day was a massive improvement. thanks for your encouragement and prayer!

First day of kindergarten :)

So who knew you would be more nervous for kindergarten the second time around! I was pretty nervous this morning. I attached a picture for you of Kate, Kim, and I on our first days of school! Kim, the one with the long dark hair, is a student teacher from Cedarville. She arrived yesterday. So today was pretty crazy. To be honest, I was so overwhelmed. I only had 14 students show up...I am supposed to have 18...but who knows where they were. Half of them speak little to no English. It was rough. It was so hard to explain everything in two languages and I just struggled. I'm a little embarassed to admit that I was pretty discouraged after only half the day. I guess I just didn't expect the language barrier to be so tough. But after a minor breakdown, I'm feeling better and sort of ready for tomorrow. My kids are so adorable and for the most part are well behaved, it was just hard to think in two languages and then to make both of those languages understandable to 5 year olds. I just prayed a lot and I keep thinking that God won't give me more than I can handle. This is just another one of those times that He is asking me to trust in His strength and depend upon Him. lol I thought I had learned that lesson, but clearly we need to revisit it :). But overall, I'm still really excited and loving this situation. My brain just hurts. Everything is just so different here. I mean, how many teachers in the states do you see that are cheering for her kindergarteners because they remembered to throw their used toilet paper in the garbage can rather than the toilet??? (yes I did that today). ps. no flushing toilet paper in CR. And how many teachers in the states team teach with another teacher that speaks no English? And how many teachers have 7 little ticos running around and the only thing they can say is "bathroom" in English? lol some things you just can't prepare for!! But I'm thankful to God for this opportunity and I am thankful that I only have to do this day by day in His strength! lol one thing is for sure, I will have some good stories! My favorite thing is that no matter what language they speak...they all run around yelling, "teacher, teacher" (pronounced "teechir"). lol weird being the actual teacher...I can't believe they let me be in charge of these little people :) Please pray for my competence, confidence, and sanity ;) Love in Christ.

Just a short one...

Buenas! Today was a great day, but so long! I tested some of my new missionary kids and they were really cute. I loved them. Tomorrow actual school starts. I have 18 students...and I have no idea how many of them actually speak English. So please please please pray for my sanity tomorrow. :) The worst part of today was the fact that I had to meet with a parent to discuss some difficult issues. It was awkward to start off that way and I'm sure those of you who know my bodily responses to nervousness will understand how I handled that situation. :) lol anyway I have to go figure out what I'm going to do with these kids tomorrow, so I have to go. Please just pray for us because starting school here is nothing like in the states. Everything is out of control! But thankfully we don't have to do this on our own, we can trust our faithful Father to give us the strength to do the things He asks us to do! Good thing, because we're all going poco loco (a little crazy)! Much love to all! God bless you for all of your notes of encouragement (and rice recipes). :)

More classroom pics

pics of the school

Well, first off, I just want to thank you so much for your emails and comments to me on here. I love it. I appreciate the encouragement and I love the funny stuff. Dad you are killing me with your Spanish comments. You have improved greatly since the last time we saw you. I just remember you mouthing "box" to the waiter, even though we told you mouthing English words doesn't accomplish anything. :) Anyway, I love coming home and reading everything. So nothing too exciting has been going on, we've just been insanely busy with teacher orientation and lesson planning. We met all the other teachers and they are great. The lady I am team teaching with hardly speaks any English, so that should be interesting. I also found out the Kindergarten was the hardest grade to teach at the school because several of the students won't speak any English. LOL can you imagine me trying to explain classroom procedures??? I'll let you know how that goes on Thursday. anyway, I was able to try helado con galletas (cookies and cream ice cream) which was amazing. Kate and I have also been trying out our Tico cookings skills, which are a little shady. If anyone has good, quick and cheap rice recipes...please send them! :) Well nothing else too interesting or funny has happened. Life is pretty funny and so humbling because half of the time we have no clue as to what is going on. You're probably wondering how that differs from my life in the states...but you know what I mean :). anyway, something interesting I do have is pictures. The first is of the outside of our apartments and the rest are of the school and my classroom. Oh...and those of you asking for my address...I can't give you my specific address because they don't have street names. My address is 3 sentences long and it's basically driving directions and says something like my apartment is close to a laundromat and has orange walls. Crazy. Here is the school address:
Sojourn Academy/Rayitos del Sol
C.E.B.I.L.E.APDO 100-2350
San Jose, Costa Rica

First day alone :)

So today my dad left :(. I called a cab (in Spanish) and got him to the airport though, so that was good! He made it home so I'm thankful! We went to church this morning to a Spanish speaking church. That was a little crazy. My brain was hurting after that. I could only understand a little bit because the preacher was talking so fast! It was fun though. The rest of the day, Kate and I explored and took some pictures, made some beans and rice, cleaned our floor (which was giving us black feet), and made lesson plans. We also talked to our neighbors Carlos and Clara. They hardly speak any English, so it was good practice for us :). One cute thing that happened today was that I was in the grocery store and walked past a lady with a baby. The baby made kissing noises at me, so I turned around. The mom said, "Quiere dar una besa." Which means "He wants to give you a kiss." I laughed and was like okay. So me and this random baby kissed in the grocery store. LOL what in the world? Would you let your baby kiss some random stranger? It was great. Anyway, that is all for now. Teacher orientation starts early tomorrow. :)