Right now I am living in a small pueblo, near Turialba, of about 800 people in the mountains of Costa Rica. Life in Turialba is beautiful, the people here are so sincere, I love it! All the people in my community are family. My father here is one of 22 sons and daughters, all from the same mother and father!! So incredible, I am still amazed by this! I am teaching English to 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th graders. All the students in my class are relatives and there are only 2 last names in the high school.
When the principal first picked me up from the bus station on Monday I had no idea what to expect. However, my professor of this program told me that my time here is more about living with the people, than doing work. So I had the idea that I would only be "helping out" in a school. Yet the principal brought me right to the school, introduced me to the other teachers and my classroom. Here he gave me material and basically left the rest to me to teach the class starting the next day because he wouldnt be there to teach for the rest of the week. .....WOAH talk about being overwhelmed. I have never taught before let alone in a different country and language. I tried not to be too caught up over it. I just kept thinking about when I was younger, I loved playing school with my little sister. I forced her to play school with me and of course I was the teacher....with these memories and my desire to be a teacher in the future, I told myself, "it couldn't be too bad."
And I was right! Its not bad at all! Besides the few nerves that I had for the first day and the little bit of instruction that I had, I love it here! The school is great! It's only a high school of about 75 students and 4 teachers. The kids are all well behaved and I love interacting with them in and out of class. I try to make class fun for them, so I have to be creative and come up with different games that they can play incorporating English.
It's only my 3rd day teaching....but so far so good! : )
Let me tell you, it is really weird to be in the teachers position. All this time I have been in school I was always in the students position and now here I am assigning homework, creating lesson plans and telling the students when class is over! Its really weird and I'm not sure if I can get used to it anytime soon.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Next Step of my Journey
Here are some pictures from my trip to Osa Peninsula with Lyn and Jaguar Man : )
This horse and cart is the only form of transportation on parts of the Osa. 
A baby turtle we saved from a crab and put back into the ocean.
Jaguar man leading us in the jungle. Here he is cutting open Caco (chocolate before its roasted) for Lyn and I with his machete. 
What an awesome cousin I have!
Our tiki tent we stayed in for 3 nights, right in the forest!!
In front of the little plane I took there and back! I was one of 8 passengers.Where has the time gone?! I can't believe its already November! I miss family and friends from home but I am trying to embrace every moment I have here, because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I need to live it up! I can't even think about saying goodbye to people here especially my Tican Family, that is going to be hard. My Tican parents don't want me to leave either. They said I can just live here with them, but we still have time left and I shouldn't be thinking about goodbyes yet....
Today I've been packing up my belongings to head out for my next step of my journey. Tomorrow I will be leaving my family in San Jose at 4 am to catch a bus to Turialba, Cartago. Here I plan to live with a new family and help teach English in the High School for a month. I will be by myself during this time and I am pumped to see what God has in store for me! Right now I am nervous and excited! I feel like I am starting all over again. I was told the pueblo of Cartago is very beautiful. I will be living in the mountains. The pueblo has about 500 people. It's small and it will be a good change for me from the city atmosphere. Other than this I am not sure what to expect yet I am trusting God that He will guide me on this last leg of my journey abroad.
Monday, October 26, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
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
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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
Friday, October 9, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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
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