Hace mucho calor...

So this week I have been so busy and totally forgot to post! Life has been crazy...but really good. Hace mucho calor means that it is really hot here now. We were told that March and April here are really hot...and they weren't lying. It's probably 85 degrees much of the time...but the sun is what is crazy. It's like so intense that if you are in it too long, you feel like your skin is going to peel right off. I love it :) Let's see, what's going on... I went to the nice part of town again on Sunday. It was almost like going to Kenwood in Cincinnati. It was really fun because I was feeling a little homesick. It reminded me a lot of home. I guess I'm not homesick necessarily...more of a I miss the family. :) The family's grandma came in and I was a little jealous :) I did get to talk to my American family on skype with my costa Rican family and it was really fun because we could see each other. hmmm what else...I fought and overcame the mother of all cockroaches in my room on Friday...I went to an awesome worship service on Friday...went downtown yesterday and to the pool...where I worked on mastering my "tico tan". And we went to a party last night to watch the CR vs. Mexico soccer game...it was a big deal. CR got their butt's kicked...everyone was pretty sad. Then this morning we went to church and it was absolutely awesome. The preaching was on genuine worship and not being afraid to raise your hands. About being free from the chains. Having liberty in Christ. It was awesome. We finished the service singing and dancing and jumping. It was awesome. I'm not sure exactly how long the service went but I think about 2 1/2 hours. It was great. Besides all of that we are just rocking life :) I am so thankful for this opportunity that God has given me. :)

Finally...

So, just real quick...I just want to say thank you to all of you have prayer for my learning of Spanish. I'm obviously not fluent, but God has blessed me recently. They say that there is a point when your ears become accustomed to the rhythm of another language. I did understand bits and pieces before...mainly just picking out words that I could identify and putting together the pieces. But after going on the paseo and only speaking Spanish for 4 days, it was like a light when on in my brain. I still don't understand everything...but I definitely don't have to think so hard and I am noticing so much more. I feel like I jumped from understanding 50% of what I hear to like 80%-90% of what I hear. It's such a huge relief and so encouraging. So I just wanted to share that because I know that many of you were praying for me in that area! Please continue! Thanks!

Stranded on a deserted island...

Puntarenas...on a really scary and unsafe bridge...lol you can't see how scared I was at this point

We stopped at a farm with a bunch of these beautiful birds...

Being dramatic while dramatically stranded on a deserted island...

My "grandma" let me try on her traditional Costa Rican dress...

At the melon finca with Kim and the family

Learning to make those homemade tortillas...obviously I she didn't like my form :)

Well...this weekend, Kim and I had the unique opportunity to go with my family to the "puro campo" (pure country) with my family. My Tico family's extended family lives on a farm in the northern part of Costa Rica...they invited us to come along...so we went. It was great. We took a promise to only speak in Spanish the whole weekend...even to each other- which actually went really smoothly. God has helped me so much with Spanish...thank you Jesus! But a lot of crazy things happened. Basically...we were in the hard core country. Like they get up at the crack of dawn to milk cows for a living, chickens run through the yard, they cook everything from scratch on a fogon (cooking fire), and there is nothing around for miles. It was great. Kim and I learned how to make homemade tortillas and empenadas from the grandma who is 78 who raised 12 children, still cooks for half of them, does laundry by hand, etc. You get the picture. I learned so much about culture and family this weekend. It was amazing. We rode horses, went to two beaches, went to a melon factory and got stranded on a random island. lol funny part. So we are going to the gulf of Nicoya to fish for shrimp and stuff. We get about 50 minutes out from port and we hear a strange noise from the engine and it just dies. Clearly broken, we float for a while. The "captain" is using all of these mechanical terms that we obviously don't know...but one doesn't have to be fluent in a language to understand that you are stranded in the ocean with a malfunctioning motor. Finally another boat comes and brings us to this rather large island that is unihabited. This is all true. We get out and stretch our legs...look for life (Gilligian's Island anyone?) and find none. Kim and I explored the shore, and then we all settled in to sit there for almost two hours. LOL thankfully we had tuna sandwiches and water. Finally another boat came and rescued us and we got dragged back to port for two hours. The funniest part was that our "rescuers" were other fishermen that pretty much looked like someone from "King of Thieves." They cover their bodies and heads and faces with towels and clothing, so only their eyes are showing to prevent getting burnt. Creepy. It was crazy and rather hysterical. lol ridiculous. So we finally got back, bought some shrimp and went home. Thankfully we were safe. Besides that, the rest was just doing normal life down on the farm. It was so fun. One of the most entertaining things is that when you are in a new culture...you might understand what people are saying...but you truly have no idea what is going on. We don't realize how much in our culture/language goes unsaid. So, if I go to my grandma's, I know a little bit of what to expect (how long we'll be there, what we'll do, what I need to bring). But here, we have no idea. All they tell us is that we are going to grandma's. So most of the time we have no idea how long we'll be there, what we'll do or what we need to bring. Just try to imagine our ridiculousness the whole weekend. It was entertaining. :)

women's retreat...

I have been so tired this week! Things have been busy and I'm trying recover from being busy...do you ever recover from that? yuck... Anyways, this week has been good. We went to a women's retreat over the weekend and it was really good. God provided the money for me to go in some random ways...so that was really exciting. So it was at this hotel/country club and it was really nice. The room was a sketchy. Kim Loosa and I shared a room and it was pretty hysterical. We had some serious shower problems...we were up laughing hysterically until around 12:30 in the morning...only to get up rather early the next morning. But there was a nice pool and good food and great preaching. The speaker spoke on repentance, forgiveness and loosing the chains of sin and past hurt. It was really good. I feel like all of us were sitting there contemplating how it applied to us in one way or another. I've had a lot to think about :). Besides that this week has had a lot of interesting things. Today we had another small earthquake. It definitely wasn't as bad as the last one. My class and I didn't even feel it...but many others did. The actual epicenter was down south near Panama. We also had some guest speakers today which was fun. They are NFL football players on a mission trip with SCORE international. They came and spoke and shared the gospel. It was really neat. I can't remember their names (lol, professional athletes were never a huge deal to me besides one :) ) but I do know one was the QB for the jaguars and there were some others from the Buccaneers and someone else. It was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. Well, that is all for now...I'm going to get to finishing my work. I'm going on an adventure this weekend to the "campo" or "country" with Ticos this weekend with Kim. We're making a promise to only speak in Spanish the whole time...even to each other...pray for safe travels and that we don't go crazy with all the Spanish! <3 Finally, I just want to give glory to God for providing in some big ways for me this week. I have been praying about finances because one of my best friends is getting married in November in New York and I'm in the wedding...which means a hefty plane ticket and a pricey dress. My mom just told me about my tax refund that I just received and it was nearly exactly what I needed to pay for both. How great is our God that He even cares about those things that matter to us! Thank you Jesus.

more adventures

So I am sitting here eating my plantains and rice for dinner...thinking about this last weeks happenings and life in general. It's been pretty fun. It's funny to think that I'm getting used to warm weather in February, eating plantains and rice in pretty much every meal, taking salsa classes, chasing down taxi's (good story, I left my keys in his car and had to sprint down the street at least a block to catch up with him), and constantly thinking in another language. One great part about living here is that there are beaches in Costa Rica :). We went this past weekend. It was about a 6 hour bus ride...but only about $6. It was beautiful there. It was called playa conchal...and it's a beach that is all shells. It was beautiful. The hostel wasn't as ghetto as usual...so it was pretty fun. We ate some good food and practiced a lot of Spanish. We were up in a place called Guanacaste...and it is a totally different area than the rest of Costa Rica. First of all, it is so hot. I live in the city in the mountains...so it can sometimes get fairly chilly. Like today, I wore pants, a long sleeve and a fleece and I was stilly really cold. Blah. But when we were on the bus and we started going down the mountain...it got so hot. As we started more north, the terrain changed a lot too, a lot less green and a lot more like U.S. southwest. Everything was so dry because it's not the rainy season anymore. But it was beautiful. We really enjoyed it. Plus, on my "vacation" to the beach...I only spent about $85 for everything. :) So that was fun...now we're back just getting caught up in life. Bueno, thanks for checking in :)

boring...

So...I can't really compete with the thriller dance from last Saturday...hence, the title "boring." Thanks for all the comments on facebook by the way. I feel as though I have made a lot of people proud :). Well, this week has been good. I feel like me and my students are finally in a good routine...really getting the hang of it. Of course there are times that things are a little crazy, but I'm just really happy with their progress. They are starting to read!!! Thanks for those of you that were specifically praying that would happen. I was concerned at first...but it's really amazing how something just clicks in their brain. I am so thankful for that because for a while...I was concerned! They are learning English so well too. I am so happy for them. I love seeing them understand and try to reply. It's so unfair how quickly they catch on. So school is going well...things at home are well. I'm learning a lot of Spanish, learning new foods and having new experiences. I've been battling the big cockroaches for a while now and they're even becoming a part of life. :) But besides that I am just excited about what the Lord has going for me. I'm going to go to bed now, because tomorrow we are off school and we are going to the beach! I am sooo excited. :) Thank you so much to all of you who send encouraging notes and are still praying...I really appreciate it and feel your prayers with me. It is such a blessing :)

Thriller...

Please click here

So today, I got my thrill on. :) I think I mentioned on here before that our school is putting on a play. Today we did some fundraisers and one was a coffee house/talent show. Kim, Kim and I decided that we need to participate in some form of dance for this coffee house...and clearly there was no option but doing the Thriller dance from Micheal Jackson. It was awesome. I have attached it for your viewing enjoyment. Other than that, we have just been doing lesson plans, learning Spanish, taking some salsa classes, and trying to entertain the little children. THings are going well. I'm praising the Lord that my Spanish comprehension has improved greatly since moving in with a family and getting a tutor. I'm definitley loving the food, loving the warm weather, and getting used to the monster cockroaches :). Nothing too funny going on...just my everyday awkwardness that just comes with me wherever I go...I think I am rocking it :)