Last week of service...then classes begin...

This was by far my favorite place yet. It is called the Taller de Artistas, and it is like an art gallery meets coffee shop meets resturaunt and it was incredible! It was so beautiful, with canldelight, music, and tiramisu and chocolate queque and a LATTE! Yes, it was a great night. And probably the most fun I had with my roommates, we chatted for over three hours there and laughed and talked about our blessings thus far in Costa Rica. They have become huge blessings in my life as well, and I have really realized that this past week. I love them and they are crazy and we are each so different but we can have fun together and encourage each other and pray together. Did I metion that the chocolate cake was amazing?
Brittany and Dana got hair cuts today! Argelis' cousin came and did it right in the house. It was super drastic for them both because they are used to long hair, but I convinced them to join the short hair crowd.
Reason number 47 why I love Costa Rica: Wednesday's are two for one at the movie theatre, so you can see a movie for $1! And if that isn't enough of an adventure for you, you get to cross five lanes of quickly moving traffic in the rain and walk on a muddy path to get there. The concept of crosswalks is generally lost here, so I get to see my life flash before my eyes many times...and it has been a good life.
Forget latin lovers, I think these two little boys have my heart. I could play futbol in the street with Carlitos and Daniel forever. Well, not forever because I get pretty worn out despite their endless supply of energy. I wish I could take them to a huge beautiful park or disneyland or something, becuase they get excited when the dirty dishwater goes down the open sewage pipes in the street...imagine what mickey mouse would do for them!
One night us girls went with our host brother to see Editus, a latin band that actually won a Grammy! They were fantastic and we listened to them for nearly five hours!
Here we are with our host abuelito, Alvaro, before a night of salsa dancing (in which, despite my flipflops, I was taller than all of my dancing partners). Please keep Alvaro in your prayers because he is not doing well health wise, and it has made for a stressful time in the home. And for Argelis, his wife, who is very worried about him. He is like a grandpa to me and is so funny and kind, it is hard to see him suffer.

I like to teach the kids good habits like sticking out their tongues. And I think Maria Jose got the hang of it. She is so crazy, but I think we bonded.

Ninos!

This week I was working at a day care for underpriviledged children outside of San Jose. There are about ten kids ranging from six months to seven years of age, and they are FULL of energy. Here I am with some of them outside the house...yep, and bars are on EVERYTHING here. We just finished playing tons of futbol, and I think they were exhausted. And I don't think they see cameras very much becasue they were fascinated by mine but never really understood the concept of smiling for the camera. But they did smile a lot, I swear.
Here is Kimberly and Sander, and yes, that is the street they play in everyday. And yes, those are bags and bags of trash. We have to dodge the piles of poop on the street when we play from all the stray dogs. And whenever we play soccer, they ball always rolls down the hill and I have to chase after it, so I am sure the neighbors get amused whenever the gringa comes running franctically down the hill after the ball. And cars zoom by quite often so the kids have learned to run out of the way, fast.
Sunday we went to an amazing church service, of which I understood maybe 50%. But I loved the worship, and praising God in another language makes me realize how huge He truly is. And everyone was so welcoming. They definitely obey the verse, "greet each other with a holy kiss." I always forget which cheek to go to and it makes for awkward situations. But, after church Argelis bought us ice cream from this man on the pushcart. And the picture is blurry, but you get the idea. It only cost $1 for a cone! good thing it could fit through the bars.
Here are some more girls from the home I worked at. They LOVE to brincar, or jump rope with this old huge rope. All the children have been such a blessing in my life and truly helped me realize how much I am blessed. And they are easier to test out my spanish skills on, because I can smile and make hand motions and they totally understand.
So one afternoon Brittany and I had the urge to bake, so we set off in search of a funfetti box cake and frosting. Three grocery stores and a very wet walk in the pouring rain later, we put on our pj's and baked a cake. And our family loved it! It even ha sprinkles.
Here we are in the home with the kids again. Dona Marta, the lady on the left, has been running this free daycare for over seventeen years, six days a week for up to 13 hours a day. Ten kids! All by herself. I think she is a saint. Dana and I were exhausted after five hours.
This is Sander, and I think he might be my favorite, if I had to choose. They sometimes call him Gordito because he is so chubby. But I love playing with him and holding him. He tends to cry a lot and has lots of small bug bites that bother him, but when he smiles, it is so worth it. As they say here, Gracias a Dios por esta experiencia!

Jaco Beach!

We set out on our first beach adventure today, and boy did we have an adventure. First, our taxi was late so we missed the early bus we woke up for. Then, when we got on the bus, there was a bit of a mishap. In order to avoid a fallen powerline in the road, the bus drove off the side and got us all stuck in the mud. So we had to get off the bus while the bus driver tried to get himself out. Meanwhile, a shirtless Tico smoking a cigarette and driving a gasoline truck kicked the power line out of the way with his shoe.
Here we are, quite sad that we are missing prime beach time. I am also quite sad that I had to sit next to an apparent drug dealer for the three hours of the bus ride. He was American and had lived in Costa Rica for 14 years because "you don't have to work" and he made some sketchy calls about Panama and border dogs and stashes in refrigerators. But he gave me some platanos and oreos and we chatted about Costa Rica. It was strange.
How excited am I to finally be at the beach? This excited.
Brittany and I decided to embrace our adventurous side and pay six dollars for a horse back ride on the beach with Juan Carlos, our 10 year old guide. I loved to make mine gallop, and it was pretty much incredibly beautiful along the beach and water...I saw jet skis for rent too and wished that you were here Dad so we could hit the open sea again!
Here is my first Costa Rican purchase. I laid on this towell for hours today reading and relaxing in the sun. And drying off after body surfing in the tropical pacific waters.
What better way to top off a day than with a Pina Colada and some delicious appetizers? Just in time for sunset too. I look sunburnt in this pic, but I seriously put on sunscreen mom...don't worry!

I took about ten pictures of the sunset...it was so beautiful! I still cannot believe that I am actually living in this country for another four months. I know God has so much more to teach me and so many new experiences to enjoy!

Parade and Jazz Cafe!

This morning there was another independence day parade filled with drums and music and flags and dancing. My favorite was all the kindergarteners dressed for each province. They were so cute!









Here is a group of students with the Costa Rican flag, or Bandera. It was so hot that morning, so I have no idea how they did it...I was tired just taking pictures of them.










That night us three girls got "dolled up" and braved the streets of San Jose in our heels to go to a Jazz Cafe. (they call it Yazz. I love it!)











Here I am outside the Jazz Cafe. Apparently you are supposed to make reservations like a week in advance, but we managed to show up and snag a table someone had left right next to the stage! It was crowded, smokey, loud, and wonderful.















I was a little thirsty for one of these after a tough first week living in another country. I only wish my mom or aunts or Kelley were there to enjoy it with me...













This is how close we were. The band, Mal Pais, played a whole bunch of Costa Rican songs that the entire audience was singing along to. I clapped and wished I knew the words. All in all, it was a great night and us girls can't wait to go there again!

A little soup kitchen, a little independence day...

So after frying bananas for most of the morning in the soup kitchen, El Camino de Esperanza, I went downtown...in the pouring rain. We were pretty much soaked, and I think everyone on the bus and in the streets thought us gringas were quite a sight.

Here I am with Magdalena, the jefa de la cocina, or boss of the kitchen. I don't think she ever had confidence in my culinary abilities because she was always next to me, just like this picture. But she was hilarious and we walked to the grocery store together this day. And she kept on her hat and apron, and I continued being confused at her rapid spanish. And when I made this salad, I had to cut onions, and I cried like crazy. One of the other cooks asked me if I ever had to cook at home, and I think he was laughing at me....hmm...



Here I am stirring a huge vat of rice. People come and take huge bins of rice throughout the poor areas of the city to feed many children their only meal of the day. After this I got to eat some of the arroz con pollo, and it was delicious! They always give me food here too and tell me to take breaks...it might have something to do with my cooking skills...







This is Isabelle, and we worked together a bunch cleaning like crazy. We mopped, we dusted, we did laundry, we did dishes. And she was super sick today and still worked so hard! That is a work ethic for you...I enjoy chatting with her, and I hope her constant smile is not just because she thinks my spanish is so funny. I tried to ask her if she had taken any medicine and instead I asked her if she did drugs...





I just wanted to tell you mom, that I washed ALL these dishes. And lots more. No one in Costa Rica has a dishwasher, and Isabelle had never even heard of them! When I explained the wonder of the dishwasher, she paused, smiled, and said, "Que bonito!" (how beautiful) and kept asking me how they work.







Here is Alvaro, my host Abuelito! He is so funny. Each night when I say good night, he tells me he hopes I dream with the angels. And he loves watching the WB, which I find funny. And he asked if my eye lashes were fake today while we had hot chocolate and cookies before the parade of independence.







Tomorrow is the Independence Day for Costa Rica (and actually all of Central America), so the primary school next to our house had a huge parade with these little torches and drums and all that. It was so loud and there were so many people and it was definitely Costa Rican pride!








Here is a little drummer boy! He was so enthusiastic, it was hilarious to watch.

















I don't really understand this, but so many of the kids were wearing these giant head masks that were so creepy, but funny. So I asked one to take a picture with me. What scary faces have to do with indepence, I am not quite sure...but hey, as they say here, Pura Vida!









After the parade the neighbor kids had a little bubble time, so us gringas went outside to join them. They were a little shy, but we had some fun with the "bombas" (bubbles).

A few new pictures!

I finally have the chance to put some pictures online...so here are a few of my first days in San Jose!
This is my host mom (sort of like a grandma, or abuelita) Argelis, and one of my roommates Brittany and we are outside in the backyard. There is a banana tree to the right of me and lots of palm trees and tropical flowers. Que lindo!

Here we are in the mercado, or outdoor market drinking straight from the coconut. It didn't taste AT ALL like a Pina Colada, so that was disappointing. But the experience was worth it. The girl in the white shirt is Dana, another girl from George Fox.






This is the view from a resturaunt where we had lunch, looking out over San Jose. About 20 minutes later we couldn't see a thing because clouds came in and it rained SO hard. I ate some questionable meat, but it was pretty delicious.
Here we are eating. It was so cool in the resturaunt, very rustic and all open air. We couldn't really hear each other when the rains came because there was a tin roof and it sounded like a war zone. But I loved it.
Here I am at "La Parque de Paz" or the park of peace (Costa Rica is the only Latin American country without an army....very peaceful!) It's huge and has a few lakes and soccer fields.
Here is a monument for peace, with a bunch of old guns and helmets from when the army was disbanded. Today was such a beautiful day in Costa Rica!

In Costa Rica!

I have finally arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, and it is all that I had hoped it would be and so much more! It was raining when we got off the plane, but probably 120% humidity so it felt super tropical. I LOVE my host family, they are an older couple with a son in his 30s and they feel like grandparents. Argelis cooks amazing food, and so far I have only had two meals with her. I have my own room and bathroom, and the ceiling on my bathroom is a skylight and I can see palm trees. They have a banana tree in the back yard and tons of tropìcal flowers. Everyone is so kind and helpful with my not so great spanish. Today we are going to a market and then touring the area, and tomorrow we go to the universidad veritas to take a tour there. we have a personal tour guide, victor, who will be showing us three fox girls around for the next few weeks. Tuesday we go to an orphanage to work with kids until friday, then next week we are going to a soup kitchen. I am so excited for everything God has in store and thank you all for your continued prayer. I miss you mom and dad and can´t wait for you and mormor and hans to come here!