New Student Fiesta!

Today we had a fiesta!
Here are some pictures of what we did...

To begin the fiesta we played a trivia game. Who knows Costa Rica's day of independence?

Then we were serenaded by our teachers. They were great!

We also had door prizes...my friend Sarah won one!

To surprise the students we had a piñata! Alli was the first one to try =D

Pam went up and gave it all she got. Although, the guy controlling the height of the piñata kept moving it.

Of course, it was the guys who broke it! In Costa Rica they fill the piñatas with candy and peanuts.

Then as Gabby said, "Fetch!" Candy and peanuts went everywhere! It was fun!

This my friend Sarah, another student at ILE, and me

  Now we are offially ready for the weekend!

Bring on the Rain...

The rainy season has begun! Today it has consistently rained on and off, but mostly on. I love ran even though the temperature has dropped. The rain echoes off the tin roofs and the sound is great. Imagine sitting in your car and hearing the rain hitting the roof that is almost exactly what it sounds like.

School has been going good. I have been studying alot today. I have alot of verbos to learn. I do at least 3 hours of homework a night because I really want to do well in my classes. It is such a blessing to be here and I feel so motivated to learn because of God, all of my supporters, and the children and families I hope to work with in the future. This Saturday I am going to begin working with a children's ministry that is very much like the one I worked with in college. I am so excited to begin working with children =D

School.....

Today, I officially started my classes. I am very excited for this coming semester and I am looking forward to being back in school. I actually really like school and I am looking forward to starting a new routine and learning new things. For the first two weeks of school in class we will be going over basic spanish and refreshing our memories on the spanish that some of us already know. My favorite class so far is my phonetic class because we get to speak in Spanish for the whole class period, of course our teacher is correcting our poor Spanish.

All of my teachers are Ticas (Costa Rican woman) and they are very sweet. They all see their teaching as a way of ministering to others and using it to glorify Christ. All of the classes are for about one hour or more. My school day is set-up like this....I wake up at 6:10 or 6:00am get ready for school (which of course includes a shower every day because all of the ticos smell very nice all the time, a little to nice if you know what I mean), eat breakfast at 7:00am (which Mami sets out for us, cereal, bananas, or sometimes some bread and pico de gayo), then at 7:10am I walk 15 minutes to school, and start classes at 7:30am which go until 12:00pm with a 45 minute break between 9:30 and 10:15am. You would be surprised at how tired you are by 9:30am and hungry even though you already ate breakfast. Drinking water is also very important here because as the weather man on tv says it is ´´Hot, Hot, Hot¨ almost every day. It hasn´t rained in two days and I am so looking forward to the raining season. Mami also loves the rainy season because it cools down and the flowers really start to bloom and everything gets greener.

I just finished my first homework assignment, does anyone what to know the alfabeto in spanish? I can tell you now, this is something I practiced in the states but here the pronunciations are different. Like how you learned to say I in the states is different here, Costa Ricans pronounce it Jo not yo even though it is still spelled yo. There is your Spanish lesson for the day. I am learning much more but one thing at a time.

Today was a good day. Also, thank you prayer warriors I was able to sleep through the night last night so much so that I slept through my alarm. Please continue to pray that I stay sleeping well, it es muy importante. Gracias!

My Mind and Feet are tired...

Today and yesterday have been very long. Don't get me wrong I love going out and exploring but man I am tired. There is so much to take in every day and learn. Those of you who know me really well know that I am not very good at remembering things but here I have been trying to remember everything. Also, I have never been very good at directions and here that is all there is. No one will ever ask you for your address because they will just ask for your directions. Most of the streets here are not named and not all of the houses have numbers so you have to remember the directions to your house or at least the landmarks near your house.

Today, I felt a little bit overwhelmed with going from school to the artisan market, but it was fun. I just took in alot of information in one day. At the market everyone was trying to sell you something and today only you could have a discount (yeah I have heard that before). Although, I did end up buying a purse for $6 because my other purse broke, and I did meet some very nice people. I really did enjoy the market but what I loved the most was the street it was on. The street it was on had a long sidewalk full of people and stores. Oh it would be such a great place to go people watching, I loved it. I am realizing more and more that I really do have to figure out how the bus line works. Kelly has been explaining it to me but I need to ride the bus a few more times to figure it out.

Tomorrow I start my classes! I am so excited! I have four classes language, phonetics, and two grammatical classes. With the way the classes are designed I will have the same classmates in all of my classes, and there are only two other students in my class. So in each class I will be with Matt and Sarah,  both very nice people. The classes are designed to be small in order to maximize our learning experience.

Also, at least for the first trimester I am our class representative so I will be helping out with the student council. I am excited about it. We have our first meeting tomorrow during recess. Yes, we do have a 25 minute recess in the morning after our first two classes in order to let our minds rest. It is also a good time to get to know other people. On Friday the director of the school Julie Chamberlain will be hosting a singles night for everyone to get to know one another, basically it is a girls night out because there is only two single boys on campus. It will be alot of fun. I really love our director and the other girls are super nice. It has been so interesting hearing everyone's stories about where they are going and what God is doing in their lives.

Prayer Request:
Please pray that I get a good nights sleep. I have been unable to sleep through the night since I arrived. I think it is because I am adjusting to going to bed early and getting up early, plus all of the new sounds so please pray that I can start sleeping well. Thank you =D

A Joke I Heard the Other Day...

There was this American and Italian, and they walk into a bar. Both of them are arguing about what language there will be in heaven. The American says, "we are all going to speak English in heaven" and the Italian says, " we are all going to speak Italian in heaven". Well the next week they both die and as Peter opens the gates to heaven he runs out saying "Bienvenidos!" (Welcome in Spanish).


Haha so just so you know we will all be speaking Spanish in heaven. =) This was how one of our professors welcomed us to language school.

What I am reading lately....

Lately I have been reading "Love has a Price Tag" by Elisabeth Elliott. The different articles featured in her book have really been making me think. The section I read yesterday was on personality tests and how she did not really like them, because according to them anything goes. You are fine the way you are and if anyone tells you different then they are the ones who need help (pg 25).

Well, I do like personality test but I think it is important to use them to help improve oneself. Don't just be another type or American, but be the person God has made you to be. Strive to learn about others and share ideas, and know that not everyone has to agree with your thoughts or ideas. I actually like it more when people disagree with me because then it gives me the chance to grow änd understand something different.

It also important I believe to make distinctions. As Elisabeth mentioned and I agree that is important to make distinctions between race, color, and sex, because the difference in people is something to be embraced and can help us understand something outside of ourselves. The God I worship is a diverse God. Just look at all the different types of flowers, trees, and birds. All of them were made by Him and for Him.

Does this mean then that anything goes? That everything needs to be embraced and is permissible? Absolutely not! If we identify the distinctions, then we also can identify the distinctions between good and evil. No one is perfect. In fact everyone has some evil in their life, but that is why we look to what is good. We look to God and His word for guidance.

Our God is a diverse God but He is also a jealous God. He hates that which is evil. This is why we hate what is evil and cling to what is good. In every race and sex we will find some evil, but we will also find some good, no matter how small it may seem. This is why it is important for us, no matter our race, color, or sex, but we all must "be trained by practice and taught by the Spirit of God to make the strong and sharp distinctions so essential to Christian character" (Elisabeth Elliot).

Sunday sunny with a chance of rain......

This past week has been really good. Since, I have arrived in Costa Rica I have been exploring a bit of the city of San Jose and practicing some of my Spanish. Kelly showed me the other day where to go for a taxi, which is a major source of transportation here. She also took me to the mall and yesterday we went to a movie with some of the teachers from the children's school, which is connected to the language institute.

It has been good to get out and see parts of the city because it is really a great way to learn about the culture. You get to see how people interact and dress. I have already learned some things not to do. For example, there is a certain way to motion for a taxi and another way could mean you are trying seduce the driver. Also, you are not suppose to point I am not sure what that means but I know I am just not suppose to do it.

One of my favorite parts of Costa Rica besides the wonderful people is the coffee! I drink at least 3 cups a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon (this is a Costa Rican tradition), and sometimes one in the evening. The coffee is really strong but for some reason it does not bother me. I don't add any sugar and only a spoonful of milk. Oh it is so delicious! Also, while i have been out I have been able to see some of the places to eat and besides the local shops there are alot of American fast food places here. KFC, McDonald's, Taco Bell (which for some reason I find this really disturbing), Subway, and Burger King. Just so you know I plan on not eating at any of those places. My host family provides all of my meals except for on Sunday and Mami is a wonderful cook! She cooks very healthy. If you like rice, beans, vegetables, and some meat this is the place for you, and I am loving it.

Yesterday, Kelly and I went to the movies to see Thor, which to my surprise I really enjoyed. Most of the movies here are in English with Spanish subtitles except for kids movies which are in Spanish. I also can say that I love the movie theatre. We went VIP style which cost a little less than a movie in the States, and we got comfy chairs and lunch served in the theatre (which cost extra). It was really a nice treat. In the future, if I ever had a really bad day I would go back.

Then when we got back I decided to go read in the park. We live very close to two parks both of which are very nice. I am finding out that my dark skin and hair works in my favor because most people don't bother as much as other Americans. Although, most of the people I talk to already think I speak Spanish which can be confusing.

Well now I am getting ready to go to church with Kelly, which will be all in Spanish. Next week, I am planning on going to try to find another church. The school gave us a list of churches and there are three on there that I might try.

Also, just a quick update my sinus infection is starting to clear up but my allergies are going rapid here so I have to continue taking my seasonal allergy medicine.