THE JUNGLE!!!!!!

WOW ......
We survived the jungle! : )

I just came back from such an amazing experience! It was an absolutely awesome adventure!

So I spent the "fall break" visiting my cousin, Lyn, at the beach. The beach...well at least that is what I thought it was going to be. Yet little did I know I was going to the rain forest/jungle to live out in the wilderness, in a tent, for 3 nights, without electricity, in a pueblo with less than 100 people and nothing around but nature!

First, I took an hour long flight in a little 8 passenger plane to the Osa Peninsula. This was such a blessing in the first place because thanks to family and friends, I didn't have to pay for the flight and I didn't have to take an 8 hour bus ride there and back! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! What a blessing it is to have such supportive and loving family!

The Peninsula is known for being one of the most bio diverse places in the world and after being there I can definitely see why. I saw so many animals. Lyn helped and encouraged me to start a list, which was such a great idea, by the end my list was so long!

Some of the animals I saw...

TORTUGA'S (turtles) : )
Spider MONKEYS
Holler Monkeys
Macaw birds
Red and Black Headed Vultures
Lizards
Humming Birds
Pelicans
a Coral Snake
Morphia Butterflies
a false teial pella snake
fire flies
leaf cutter ants

The monkeys, macaw birds and turtles were my favorite and the snakes and HUGE spider were my least favorite. I was so paranoid after I saw a spider as bigger than my fist in the bathroom. Also, every time I took a step, I would have to check and make sure there weren't any snakes, it took a lot of concentration, especially at night in the dark, crossing the stream to get back to our tent because I was warned many times that they place we stayed had many snakes. Every time I made it back to my tent I was relived. In addition, my flashlight broke and when I asked the "caretaker" of the where we were staying if they had any extras he just laughed in my face. It was a challenge getting around at night.

*Rain boots and a flash light would have been ideal for this adventure. Instead I was praying that I didn't step on any snakes or walk into anything at night and wore wet sneakers all day till my feet were just a wrinkled mess*

The beach we stayed on was just across the road from our tent and it was absolute PARADISE!
It was seriously all I could ever imagine of beauty and more!

There were barely any other people on the beach, I only saw one person laying out all weekend taking up the sun. I never went in the ocean. It was too dangerous. Sharks come really close to shore, the waves were huge and the current is way to strong. So instead of going in the ocean we went in a river/lagoon nearby that ran into the ocean. The water was crystal clear and so beautiful.

Sunday was the big adventure day. After a week of rain and thinking I was gonna be stuck there for longer than planned because of the rain (we couldn't cross the rivers to get back to catch my flight) it was great to see the sun on Sunday. Thankfully God blessed me with a sunny day and a clear night that day! So Sunday was a full day of adventure. We walked a ton on the beach to a different campsite which was really remote, private, meaning no one else was there and were right at the entrance to the National State Park. This campsite according to Lyn is her favorite place in the world! I would have to agree, it is amazingly beautiful. Here we drank coconuts water, cafe, went swimming, hung out in the hammocks, made lunch and went into the jungle.

I loved walking in the jungle! It was so cool to think, "wow I'm in the jungle right now, where the jaguars, pumas, crocodiles and alligators live!" We were not even barely in the jungle for 15 minutes, when we spotted our first huge family of monkeys! : ) They are so fun to watch swinging from tree to tree. I saw one monkey that was carrying her little baby, it was so cute. We also saw another monkey that was pregnant. The spider monkeys can really swing from tree to tree. Yet the holler monkey woke me up at 5 am in the morning making so much noise.

I also had the great experience of patrolling the beach at night to help with the turtle conservation project for two nights. The first night I had no idea what to expect. Yet one thing I have been learning, is how it is best not to have expectations before anything because most of the time your expectations aren't met and you become discouraged and disappointed. But for this project, a group of 5 volunteers walked up and down the beach patrolling the area and looking for turtles that came up from the ocean to lay their eggs. I saw a turtle my first night! And the turtle I saw was huge!!!! And it was so great to see Ballardo, my cousins boyfriend, so passionate about his work, he took his work so serious and cared so much for the animals which was fascinating to me. It was great to see how he was doing something in life that he really loved and brought him joy. At first I didn't understand why people would want to work to help turtles, but after meeting Ballardo and seeing his fiery passion for nature, animals, plants and especially turtles, it quickly meant something totally different to me and helped me appreciate the project in a different way.

Get this, so the turtle is born, then spends 25 years at sea, swims all around the world to china then comes back to the very same beach they were born to lay their eggs! How smart are they to be able to navigate all around the world like that!? It's sad because many people come onto the beach to steal they eggs, to drink them in bars and prove their manliness. Along with humans coming to the beach at night to steal the eggs, other animals come by and eat them, so that is why were were on patrol at night, trying to relocate the eggs to safety. We also helped a little baby turtle back to sea, during the day, which was so neat to see the little guy try to swim out to sea.

The first night on patrol I also saw little bacteria and algae in the sand and waves that would light up! The first place I saw this was on the turtle when Ballardo touched it and at first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But then they would light up in the sand when we walked on it and the waves were glowing with a hint of green. It was extra bright because it was such a dark overcast night. Later a rain storm caught us at the beach in a torrential downpour, giving us no other option than to just get soaked and walk back to our tent drenched!

I had a great mini vacation! It was so great to see Lyn! She is such an inspiration for me with her open heart, spirit and attitude! I loved talking to her about my experience thus far in Costa Rica
and about things that I have been learning. Coming from traveling Europe and Asia for 18 months she has such great insight, advice and encouragement.

The whole vacation was such a blessing! Safe flights, good weather, health, safety, good food and lots of fun! I thank God for giving me an opportunity to go to Osa Peninsula to hang out with Lyn and see such a beautiful place.

Mi primera carrera international

"My first international road-race"

I not only ran my first international road race but my first 10 kilometer race.

On friday my sister and I went to the video store to rent a movie. The man that owned the video store had tons of metals from running hanging from the ceiling. He also had so many pictures of him running in marathons all across the country hanging on the walls. It was really cool and I was inspired so I started talking to him, in spanish of course, and asked him about his races and running, how much he runs ect. I told him I love to run and the next thing you know I was signed up for a 10K road race that sunday!

What an experience! My family was so pumped for me and they all went, including my aunt to cheer me on! I met up with Don Victor, the man from the video store, before the race and then he introduced me to some other people I would run with. They were all so awesome. I felt like I was the youngest person but it felt so good to cross the finish line, with a time of 55 minutes.
Crossing the finish line!
Before the race in the morning with Don Victor

Mas Fotos

my favorite building in downtown San Jose...the post office
San Jose
The island Christopher Columbus landed on, on his 3rd exploration to the Americas (this picture is for you Nathan : )
My "aunt" Stephanie and I at our "cousins" 2nd birthday party!
Meg and I out for a yummy lunch one Saturday afternoon in downtown San Jose : )
Pamela and David (brother and sister) arm wrestling!
Island on a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua.
A great picture of my family after my host mother came back from a church retreat!
Un loco mono

It All Started With A Kiss

One night after dinner I decided to dig into the bottom of my suitcase in my secret stash of Hersey Kisses to satisfy my chocolate craving. I shared one with my host mother as well, which opened up and started a night of bonding and talking to each other. While we enjoyed the chocolate together at the kitchen table my mother began sharing with me that one of her closest friends from her past used to give her Hersey Kisses all the time. And with just that simple comment conversation continued and we seemed to talk about everything and anything. It was awesome. My mother lives a life where Christ is so apparent in her everyday life and it is such an inspiration for me. To talk to her and get to know her a little better than just above the surface was really special. She shared with me about past relationships she has had, how her faith has grown and about struggles she faced in her childhood. My host mother has not had the easiest life. She has shared with me about troubles financially, physically and emotionally. But she is the strongest women! She is amazing! She has had some very painful experiences in her past with family and what is amazing for me to see is how loving she is and how she has learned to forgive and move on.

It was such a lesson for me to sit and talk to my host mother that night after dinner. Not to mention how beautiful it was to hear her testimony in Spanish. Although, it was not as easy for me to reciprocat as much as I would have liked, I learned how important it is to listen. She is such a positive women and living with her for 3 months has been the biggest blessing! I can see God's love, mercy, grace, strength and pacienct shine through her life. The coolest thing is I can see these things in the smallest actions she does such as setting my breakfast out every morning before I leave for class at the crack of dawn, braiding my hair, painting my nails or washing and painting not only my toes but also a friend of mine! My host mother is a great example and I am so happy to be living with her and her family.

Pictures from Nicaragua

Children at church....died laughing after I took their picture
Hiking back in the mud and rain from my "bathing experience"
Rebekah and I at church!
I couldn't get anything to come out!
My family minus Danilo the youngest brother he was at school.
Families in the community
6 am feeding time on the farm
hiking back from taking a "shower"...outhouse on the left, house on right
garbage lining every street
pretty bird that could talk : )

in front of the old cathedral in Managua

Home Sweet Home

Living in Nicaragua for 2 weeks has made me really appreciate my family and home in Costa Rica! I couldn't wait to come back here and now that I'm here I really feel like its my new home. I am thankful for this and happy that its not the other way around. I know people in my group who didn't want to leave their Nicaraguan family and go back to their Costa Rican family. I love my Costa Rican family I gave them all big hugs when I got back told them about my trip and we laughed!

Not to mention the food. They serve some really weird, funky, gross stuff over there. I had to gag some of the first meals down. And in a sense I was blessed when I got sick so I didn't have to eat my moms gross food. I definitely gave the dog some of my food underneath the table when my family wasn't looking. In addition they serve way to much food! We had a chicken tied to a rock right outside my room in Nicaragua and then one day saw my mom cutting it up for soup that day for lunch! YUM....no thank you!

My mom in Costa Rica is such an amazing cook! When I first arrived in Costa Rica the rice and beans was a big change and now I look forward to them! I am so glad to be back here safe.

Nicaragua

Before 13 bus trip to Nicaragua our group had a day we spent reflecting on our spiritual lives and sharing with the rest of the group. Listening to others and reflecting on my life I realized that I have never hit a rock bottom in my life. I have been so blessed in my life!!!! I am extremely thankful for my loving friends and family and all that God has provided me with, which is so much! However, with this I thought that because I have never had a hit rock bottom moment I have never really been pushed in my faith to its fullest potential. I simply cruised along living a "Christian life." I thought about praying to God to break me so I could experience His love on a different level but I was a little nervous about fully committing that prayer to God because I was comfortable where I was at.

Well God heard my cry and definitely worked in my life in ways I can't even begin to understand right now on my trip to Nicaragua. I can honestly say that Nicaragua was the hardest thing that I ever experienced in my life. I stayed with a pastor's family in the country's capital Managua. It was a very hot, poor and a dirty city, garbage everywhere! Before we left with our families we were given bottled water, a mosquito net, laundry soap, toilet paper and some medications in case we got sick. My house was connected to the church and it consisted of a dirt floor and pieces of metal connected together to form the walls and roof. There were holes in the roof and at times when it rained they needed to be covered. The living conditions were rough.

Needless to say the first day I was pumped!!! I was warned that it may be a tough experience but didn't think too much of it. I was ready to dive right in and engage with my new family. Falling asleep the first night there I remember listening to the rain pounding on the tin roof and thinking how cool and excited this was going to be. These emotions soon changed.

I never broke the ice with my family. They barely showed me affection. They had another missionary there so they paid her more attention because she could speak Spanish fluently. It was hard because I couldn't understand a word they were saying because they have a different accent than the Costa Ricans. And that was frustrating for me because I very much enjoy expressing my opinions, and feelings. So to sit at the dinner table mute and not have a clue what was going on felt so awkward. Never did I feel bored, lonely, or homesick thankfully. Yet I was always frustrated and uncomfortable. I am a very much so a task oriented person and there I felt as though I did nothing productive. I was just there, tagging along, like a bump on a log. It was so hard!

My mother was like the matriarch of the community. She was so intimidating, very cold and tough, barley smiled. At least that is the vibe I received and the rest of the American students in my group. Over the weekend I spent it with her, the missionary traveling to visit my host moms friends church...WORST THING EVER! We traveled 13 hours to get there! The whole time I had no idea where we were, what we were doing or what was to be expected! Not to mention it was boiling hot and couldn't understand them when they talked. We took taxi's, 3 different buses, and a canoe to cross a river. When we crossed the river there was nothing on the other side. We had to wait 2 hours for a truck to come and bring us to this farm where we would be staying the night, which would take 2 hours to get to, out in the middle of nowhere. Literally nothing was around besides a shack every half hour and farms. The truck was made for cattle and people packed in like cattle, it was ridiculous, this lady was practically sitting on top of me. There was a huge hog in the bag, pigs, hens and chickens packed in bags! So needless to say I was uncomfortable. Then we got a flat tire! That was my breaking point and I just wanted to cry!

When we finally made it, we had to trudge through this smelly deep mud into a wooden shack that didn't have electricity or running water! Their way of life is so different! I had to use an outhouse to go to the bathroom and take a hike down to the stream to bathe in the rain! At night we all slept on the floor together. And in the morning we woke at the crack of dawn milked the cows and headed to church and traveled back to Managua.

After that weekend I couldn't wait to get back to Managua and to my 3 other American students to talk to them in English! I thought things would get better but they only got worse. I got so sick from the cows milk I milked on the farm. I had bacteria in my stomach for a week and that was no fun at all! So on top of being in an uncomfortable place I was just not myself at all because I felt horrible and I was counting down the days to leave.

When we met up with our group in Granada it was the best thing ever, I was still sick but I didn't even care. I loved seeing everyone again and hearing all their different stories! Granada is such an awesome city, it has a very lively nightlife and beautiful architecture. We took a boat tour of the island on Nicaragua's lake which was cool, monkeys came right into our boat, we had lunch on one of the islands then we headed back in horse and buggies!