Eating habits...

So I don't have anything super exciting to write about this weekend...so I thought I would describe some of our eating habits...because well they can be funny. Plus, that is a top ten question whenever people ask about me living in Costa Rica. No I do not eat monkey or alligator on a regular basis...so don't get to excited, but there are some interesting things. We mainly eat beans, rice, fruits and vegetables. Of course we alway import peanut butter. No we don't eat Mexican food. Whenever I go back to the States everyone is always so surprised that I want to eat Mexican...thinking we eat that everyday, but we don't (given, the general consensus that Costa Rica is an island and that we speak Mexican here too- lol Costa Rica is not Puerto Rico, we're in Central America and we speak Spanish...no Mexican). Costa Rican food is much more bland. Mostly vegetables, rice and beans. They don't even eat salsa really. I'm sure I eat at least 10 tortillas with refried beans in them a week. We do buy some meat...but we ration it out. We try to only eat meat every other day since it is so expensive. Anyway, in the rich area of San Jose (where any American business men or diplomats live), there are a few chain restaurants. Big news-we just got an Applebee's. Anyway, there is a TGI Fridays, which is by far one of my fav. restuarants in the U.S. We've never been there here because it is expensive, but last night Kate and I went...celebrating our belated Valentine's Day and well...it counted for every other holiday that we'll ever spend together once we realized how much a cheeseburger was. It seriously almost took up my whole food budget for the week. But seriously, the best cheeseburger I've ever had in my life. Since we don't eat much meat and probably honestly don't always eat the way we should because we are cheap...it was amazing. Given, my body protested today and my stomach is sickish for having that foreign food in there...but it was so worth it. Changed my life :) But today we're back to eating bean tortillas and guacamole. yummm...

Ps. Yuck...just found out. Please pray for the Chileans as they just experienced an 8.8 earthquake. That is amazingly strong. Earthquakes scare me lot especially since CR has many of them.

Preaching :)

This weekend was really great and I am so excited to blog about it. Well let me back up...on Tuesday night, I started doing a Bible study with some in my church about the names of God in Spanish. It went really well and I learned some great things about God and what some of His names signify. I learned specifically that the first name God uses in the Bible is Elohim (which means all-powerful) and that this name is plural (meaning the trinity was present). Well on Saturday, two Jehova's witnesses came knocking at our door. I went out not really knowing what to expect but feeling ready to go. The young girl in training started off showing me some verses and I listened politely until it was my turn to share. I went right to the fact that I believe Jesus is God (which Jehova's witnesses do not believe). The young girl stopped talking and the teacher took over. We had an all out discussion about the doctrine and differences between Christianity and their beliefs. What was awesome was that I was able to use what I had learned from my Bible study to back up what I was saying. We went around in circles for a bit, me preaching the gospel and the lady leading me to verses that helped her explain her reasoning. It was really interesting. At one point she said that she just doesn't believe that Jesus is God, to which I responded politely that I thought this was blasphemy (evidence that God is giving me the words to say in Spanish because I have no idea how I knew the word for blasphemy in Spanish). But God just kept providing the verses and the Spanish. They finally said that they had to leave because they had lost their group (lol they had lost their group 20 minutes before that) so I asked them to pray with us. They quickly changed the subject and I asked again. She said no because they had already prayed before they started going house to house, to which I asked why she couldn't pray again. Apparently they're not allowed to pray with other religions. I asked her if we were serving the same God, why we couldn't pray together but she had no answer. It was really interesting. How great it was to be able to use my notes from Bible study!

Then, if you remember the guy I talked to at the pool about Jesus whom I invited to church...he came to church on Sunday again, this time with his niece. The sermon was great and at the end, he went forward and prayed! I just had tears rolling down my cheeks. He said that he has accepted Christ and that he is just thanking God for saving his life and protecting him. It was amazing. It was so wonderful to see God blessing the learning He has provided me with. I'm so thankful to be able to converse in Spanish now. As I sat in Bible study tonight, sharing my story and learning more, it hit me hard that I understand Spanish, and that I speak well enough to have discussions about doctrine and its differences in different beliefs. I just started praising God because it is all because of Him. It is so hard to explain what a blessing it is to finally feel decently competent in a language after working so hard and praying so hard. God has blessed me beyond words and for that I am thankful. I also appreciate those of you that have been praying for me along the way. Thanks :)

Snow days...

Me, Chrissy, Kate, and Carolina at the beach last weekend
This week as the U.S. is pretty much covered in snow, I sent up a request for some snow days. I was slightly envious of everyone being off of school. Anyways, I got my own "snow days" in the form of another round of bronchitis. I had to miss school on Thursay and Friday. I was pretty sick and I still sound like a man when I talk, but I'm feeling a lot better. It was great to have some days off though because I had a lot that needed to get done...so while laying on the couch, I did all my stuff. I never had bronchitis in the U.S., but I've had it three times in two years here. I think its because of the mold and dampness. I had to go through the whole going to the free clinic three times in one day and I finally came out with two injections in the bum and four perscriptions lol. Today has been great. Kate is in the States taking a test so I got up and went with Eddie to the market. I got $20 worth of fruits and vegetables, came home, made a big veggie omelet and a mango, banana, strawberry smootie, and watched Tarzan in Spanish. I suppose you could say that I'm living the life today :) Tonight we're going to watch the Blindside and our church "youth group" and then to a party in the mountains. Oh how I love the weekend. Pray for Kate and her test today...she'll get the results in a month! And also for safe travels. Thanks for reading!

History made and beach trip

This weekend I was able to go to the beach with three friends for free :). My basketball team and director got together money to go to the beach to thank me for doing basketball. It was me, Kate and two other teacher friends. We went to this beautiful quiet beach on the Pacific side in a beautiful house. We were even given money to eat out on. It was such a blessing. We just relaxed and talked and ate. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the company was even better. I'm so thankful. It was just what we needed.
The other funny thing about this weekend (besides the Saints winning the superbowl-yes we were able to watch it) was that it was election weekend here in CR. There were three main candidates and they each have a specific color. It was so random here because people were out all day on Sunday, just driving around, beeping and waving their flags. lol for hours. All day. Driving around and beeping. It was so funny. I mean, people were seriously so intense. People hanging on overpasses and standing in the middle of the road just waving their flags. Everyone was decked out in their colors and shouting names. I also loved that the candidates go by their first names. Latinos all have two last names and they are usually long like "Gutierrez Rodriguez" or something...lol can you imagine screaming that over and over while driving down the street? Anyway, the president chosen, Laura, is the first woman president of Costa Rica...so history was made yesterday. Pretty cool...for what is always thought of as such a male dominated culture, I am pretty impressed by their choice :)

Live 4 today

This week was a really exciting week. God has seriously been rocking my life. For all those haters out there that think God doesn't care about even the small things in our life...I just want to say that God is so good. There have been many ways that God has provided for me this week. Conversations that came at the perfect time, encouragment from unlikely sources, God whispering to me through the works of His hands...I love seeing the Spirit move. At our church we've been learning about King Hezekiah, and how God took care of Hezekiah because Hezekiah did 6 things. We've only talked about 3, but each week as I focus on a different one...God challenges me to put into practice each one and then blelsses my efforts. 1. Hezekiah did right in the eyes of the Lord (even if it's hard). That means following what the Spirit asks me to do. 2. Hezekiah destroyed all foreign gods and idolatry. That means getting rid of anything you put in front of Christ. 3. Hezekiah put his trust in God. That means anxiously waiting upon the Lord to fulfill what He has promised. I love it. More to come later on that. I just wanted to share what God has been working on me about.

Last week, I wrote about a guy who was practicing his English on me at the pool. We had a quick conversation that day about our "religions" that day. Yesterday we went to the pool again and he came over with a Christian book. He said he had really been thinking about Christianity. He had been searching for years and has tried Catholicism, Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism, etc. yet he never felt like any of them were for him. He asked why Christianity was different and I said because it wasn't a religion, it was a relationship. After he tried convincing me he was a good person, I just told him that we are separated from God and that we can't bridge that gap without the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We talked about that for a while and I explained everything and then he told me he wanted Christ in his life. I was SO excited. I invited him to our church today and he came, even though he had to work the night shift last night. I am just thankful that God provided that opportunity. It was such an encouragment...and if that guy truly asked Christ into his life...then we have another brother in Christ. :) Thanks to all who are still reading my blog...to the faithful...here is another funny language story for you.

We were buying groceries yesterday and Kate and I were talking while we were getting checked out. We were complaining about how much money we were spending and how expensive life is. The toilet paper was slightly pricey and I told Kate that we were no longer allowed to buy toilet paper and that she would need to start wiping with leaves...thinking no one else could hear us...until the cashier started giggling. lol I asked him if he understood. He said that he didn't understand "everything" lol which means most everything :) oops.

FUNNY day at the pool!

This weekend was rather momentous for me for a lot of different reasons. I foresee the stories in this blog as being among the best I have written :).
It all started Saturday morning. It is super sunny season right now in CR, so it is so hot here. We went to the market first and got a bunch of fruits and vegetables which always gets me pretty worked up because everyone is offering food and saying crazy stuff and calling us queens and things like that. Given, sometimes I think the constant cat calls from slimy men are repulsive... but hey, who minds being called a queen once in a while?? :) Anyway, so then we go over to the pool. There are a series of happenings that I will try to portray as honestly as possible. First time we leave the grass to go get in the pool. Almost immediately and young guy comes over...sits very close, starts asking me all these questions. Then his friend joins. They don't stop talking. I finally ask them how old they are...12 and 14. Great, I love getting hit on by boys that are half my age and still speak in high pitched voices, but that wasn't the best part...their names were Elvis and Wolfgang. I honestly thought they were lying which is why I died with laughter when they told me. When they didn't laugh... I realized I should stop...that was honestly their names. lol I finally leave the conversation and go back to the towel. Time #2 to the pool. Elvis and Wolfgang strike again... Kate saves me, I leave. Back on my towel, I see two Ticos playing football. The one is terrible, the other not so bad. I ask if I can play because I love playing. The terrible one quits because he obviously hates football. So me and this one are playing. He's like super cool, trying to be all awesome. However, he is standing really close to this girl laying there with a really slinky bathing suit (I'm sure he didn't plan that). Anyway, I almost hit her like 5 times...but I think he enjoyed seeing her jump up every time. Well, I decide to throw it more to the left to avoid slinky bathing suit. It was a misjudge because there was a large telephone and several large metal wires coming down from it. Unfortunately this guy didn't see it and honestly plowed into the metal bars. Even funnier was the fact that there was a little bit of spring in them so he hit them going 20 miles and hour and then was catapulted back the other direction after bouncing off...and then proceeds to almost kill slinky bathing suit girl. It honestly drew blood on him. I was dying...I did not recover. It was the funniest thing I ever saw. Again I realized that he wasn't laughing...so I tried to stop. This proved impossible. This crusty old man behind me thought it was hilarious as well. We stop playing. Time #3 in the pool: old crusty man comes up to me and in English says that I should be in the NFL. I died laughing. I asked him if he liked the NFL. He said, "no, but this is my son." What?!?!?! Then I noticed his awkward, bright red son (about my age) standing next to him. LOL. "Well hello" I say. He says hi and quickly jumps in the pool. I never speak again to crusty or son of crusty. I go back a lay down. Time #4 in the pool. Two guys come over...they don't know each other. They sit unusually close to me. One tries practicing English...other speaks no English. No English guy doesn't mess around...asks all necessary questions you need to ask to get to know someone, then asks if he can rub my back. lol. I say no. English practicer is actually really nice and we have a good conversation. HOWEVER, he says, "how do you call the swimming?" I say..."swimming is the word." No its a special kind of thing in the pool. I'm really confused. He says, "you know, like poopy in the pool." What?!?! I start dying laughing. "When someone goes poopy in the pool?" I ask. He's confused now. Tries repeating. "What do you do with poopy in the pool?" I am beside myself laughing. Back rubber that doesn't speak English looks lost. I say in spanish, "why are you talking about poop in the pool?" They both get really red and embaressed. I realize they aren't talking about poo at all. He tries again..."you know, poopy." No I don't know...why are we discussing poopy. Why doesn't he just tell me in Spanish? Finally...he say in spanish...you know like swimming like a puppy dog in the pool. OHHHH. Like a dog paddle? Yesss. So we're not talking about fecal matter. Now remember this whole conversation is taking place in Spanglish...so back rubber who only speaks spanish is sitting over there SO confused because all he is hearing are an assortment of words used to describe a bowel movement. 10 minutes later, I wonder...why did we ever start talking about poopy and puppies in the pool. Elvis and Wolfgang strike again...this time with water guns. I go back to my towel and vow never to enter the pool again. English practicer then comes over. Gives me his number and tells me he couldn't avoid the question in his heart about asking me out :). He was genuinely nice though. Kate is just sitting over there cracking up. We finally get up to leave. Elvis and Wolfgang say good bye...then run over to tell their mothers that they made new friends. Awkward. Then back rubber comes over and takes advantage of the customary tico kiss on the cheek...it's a fake cheek touch buddy, no an opportunity to lay one on someone. And then we say goodbye to our practicing friend. Telephone pole man is nowhere to be found. We walk out absolutely dying laughing. I will never recover or forget that image of running into the telephone pole. Priceless.

Kate's birthday

This past week has been great. God has been helping me out a lot. The best thing this week was that God provided another student for me that will keep challenging me. My autistic students left and I was really praying that God would bring another family like this. I didn't think it was going to happen because I had already seen the list. Then, a new family showed up during orientation and he hasn't stopped challenging me since. It's been pretty interesting...but I'm so excited. I just love figuring kids out. This week we also celebrated Kate's birthday. It was fun because we tried to make it a creative party. Eddie and I made different kinds of pasta and different kinds of sauce and then had a bunch of dessert choices and stuff and everyone could "create" what they ate. We did a bunch of other fun stuff...such as have a painting competition in which Kate had to judge. Really random, but we had fun. Nothing else extremely exciting has happened...besides getting internet! Hooray...now we can communicate with everyone. Nothing too funny to relate either. Sorry! More to come :)