Costa Rican Vacation

So I am sitting in Starbucks with the intent of being able to concentrate more but as you can tell, I am not being successful in this venture. I think it is the lack of a close deadline, like tomorrow. I definitely write papers quicker under pressure. But God willing, I will be able to concentrate before too long.
I have yet to tell you all of all the adventures that I was able to experience the last week of Costa Rica. I can’t say I am going to go into extreme detail because we will both end up bored. The beginning of my vacation was begun with a great trip to one of Costa Rica’s magnificent volcano’s complete with a trip to the hot springs and a beautiful waterfall. Then after a journey through the lake, over the mountains, and through the woods we made it to the town of MonteVerde and were able to go zip lining (the one thing I wanted to do before I left). I can say that this weekend excursion was well worth the money. Being able to zip line about a quarter of a mile over a valley like superman made the whole thing complete.
And as much as I love to hate the beach (because of the sand, heat, and salt water; I’m more of a pool person) I went to the beach because yet again, it’s all part of the experience. We went to two different beaches. Both beaches magnificent and something to be experienced. The first beach had a national park and we got to see a howler monkey, a sloth, Costa Rican raccoons and the little whit face monkeys (no idea what they are called). The beach was beautiful and we got to set up our hammocks until the park closed. I am convinced that the hammock was the best $40 I have spent in my entire life. At one of the beach towns we went searching for a waterfall and with little surprise but much joy we found it and spent all day playing on the rope swing and jumping into the deep pools of water and finding a perfect spot to set up the hammock. The next day we got to go snorkeling at Isla Tortuga where we had a fish lunch then got to set up our hammocks again right on the beach. Life here is truly “Tranquilo” or calm and it is beautiful.
This is definitely the extremely brief version but the details are numerous but this was by far the best vacation I have been on because of the company and the experiences. I will never forget this week and could probably move back to one of the several places we went, become a beach bum, be completely content with life and die feeling successful.



Our hammocks right on the beach.



The view from my hammock in the national park. Can life get much better?



Isla Tortuga- Around where we went snorkeling. We set our hammocks up on this beach too.



Love this kid

Pictures

Here are some pictures from my first weekend being a tourist. We went to Arenal Volcano where we went to Hot Springs, then went to La Fortuna, the waterfall then took a "van-Boat-van" to MonteVerde where we got to zip-line.
I am having writers block so the pictures will have to be enough for now. And the top picture is of my Tico family and I.

I'm HOME

Amigos,
Sorry for the long space between posts but I was blessed with the opportunity to be a tourist for a week with 2 of my favorite people from school and I didn't have regular internet access. And if I can be completely honest, internet access was not even on my top 100 priority list for the week. But rather finding a place to set up my hammock was 1st priority. And I was quite successful at that. As of today I am sano y salvo (safe and sound) at home but I would really love to tell you all about my last couple weeks in Costa Rica and some concluding thoughts whether or not anyone is still reading. I plan on including some fotos. Maybe, with caitlyns gracious artistic permission I can use some of hers. Considering she was a little more picture happy. I can't tell you all how strange it is for everyone to be speaking english. I keep slipping random spanish words. I am ecstatic to be home to see my wonderful friends and family but it definitely is a little strange to be back on US soil. Thank you friends for your thoughts and prayers and check back within the week for some exciting posts, well hopefully I can do my adventures justice and you can live the excitement vicariously. Maybe I will be able to communicate sufficiently. Love you all.
Lauren

PS I didn't proofread this so please bear with me

Vamos Morado

So when my host dad told me we were going to go to see a Saprissa soccer game (I had been dropping hints like no one's business) I wasn't quite sure if I heard him right or if we were really going, because he told me not to tell the kids. But alas, when Sunday rolled around we rushed home from church, changed, ate cereal, and the guys and I headed back out.

The Saprissa is the local San Jose futbol (soccer) team. My host mom says they are boring, but my tico dad and brothers love the Saprissa.

So we took a bus to the center of San Jose and began our journey to the stop for the other bus we needed to take to the stadium. As we are walking down the street (and just about every street we walked down), Randall (my Tico dad) turns to me and says, "Don't ever walk down these streets, they are dangerous". So Than, being a great brother grabs my arm until we get to our destination. I saw a few hookers, crack heads, gang members and strip clubs, and I'm not just saying that. How's that for culture, professor? Ha. Anyways, we finally get to the stop and there's already a huge line of Saprissa fans. We had over full occupancy on our bus which is over 80. I was slightly claustrophobic standing like herded animals but luckily it was a bearable, short ride.

We have to go buy our tickets when we get there. They have many different ticket prices. The cheapest being in the sol (the sun) and the next is in the sombra (the shade). It was overcast so everything was shaded but apparently because the sun seats are so cheap there are a lot of crazies, so Johnathan insisted on the shade seats. But don't let this fool you, all Latin Americans are crazy when it comes to futbol.

There were two large groups of gringos (North Americans) in the section above ours so the kids watched them before the game started and we poked fun at them during the game. All in good clean fun I must say. Because I'm constantly around Ticos (Costa Ricans) I don't consider myself a gringa. And my friends in Carpio say I'm a Tica because I know Spanish. We also could see the whole city, the mountains and more from our seats. It was quite a sight. So normally I hate watching, playing or anything related to futbol, but this was better than awesome.

If you have ever been to any sporting event you might know (or if we are honest) you might even be that person who knows better than any player, coach or other fan and likes to voice it. This person is obnoxious, just saying. So I had that guy in front of me, and even though I couldn't always decipher his screams muffled by the other crowd noise, it was still slightly annoying. But not as much when you think that it's just part of what makes the experience. I mean isn't that what makes life so interesting? You experience the good and the bad (hopefully more good) and should just able to appreciate being alive.

There are people in the "end zone" seats with huge drums and they chant for the entire game. It's great. Some of the chants aren't exactly appropriate though.

Then when we score a goal (there were 3) people go crazy, so crazy that the stands shake. They move so much it feels like an earth tremor. It's honestly an accident waiting to happen. But alas it was great.

All in all it was a fabulous experience and I wish I could go all the time.

A Few Pictures

Me with Carmen and Lorena, my favorite ladies at the Refuge in Carpio.



A few of the kids at the Refuge playing with newspaper scraps.



The aftermath



More of the kids at the Refuge

Week Full of Firsts

So Saturday I headed into Carpio around lunchtime. Normally, once we get into Carpio the bus isn't very full, but today there were a ton of people the whole way. It threw me off and apparently the chofer (bus driver) too. We made a stop about 4 stops before the last one (my stop), and as the driver begins to take off, I hear a thump. I hear thumps all the time because there's always stuff in the street and the Carpio drivers are known for being the worst (a Tico told me so it has to be true). So I didn't think anything about it until everyone starts screaming "Dios mio" and rushing to the window. I stayed seated until a lady starts screaming at me that we hit a kid. I didn't really want to look, seeing as I have a sensitive stomach but I was the only one still seated. Thankfully I couldn't see because there were so many people. So I got off the bus and walked the rest of the way. I found out it wasn't the driver's fault and as far as I know the kid lived.

Ok, on to less depressing firsts.

Friday I went solo to San Jose. I didn't know if was possible to feel anymore independent after going alone to a foreign, non-English speaking country, traveling solo on the bus most days, etc. But my trip to the city made me feel more independent than ever. I just walked around, went into different stores, the market and made some purchases with no incidents. I can't wait to go back.

I normally don't talk on the bus, ever, and if I do it's only in Spanish. Well Thursday I asked an old lady next to me a question to make sure I had gotten on the right bus (many look the same but don't go to the same place). After she told me, she proceeded to tell me her whole life story for the rest of the ride. I think old woman chatty cathy just needed someone to talk to. I was just glad she wasn't looking for advice.

I am in no way being mean when I say this, but I have made friends with the sketchy pot head that lives three houses up. I mean, we aren't going to have dinner together, but he is super friendly and we always talk in passing. The way I see it, it's a sort of security system; he has a lot of sketchy druggie friends but because he likes me he won't let anything happen to me. (They have a field for smoking pot 200 ft from my house, so there are always people creeping around my neighborhood.)

I am super annoyed with gringos that talk to the people here in English. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that many of them don't speak English. They shouldn't have to, it's their country. You came to their country!! At least try to speak their language, its the least you can do.

Sunday we went to the local San Jose team (Saprissa) soccer game. I now think you haven't lived until you go to a Latin American soccer game. And it's best when you are the only gringa surrounded by hundreds of locals. This experience deserves its own blog later.

I have to write daily journals for school and I was told they just need to see that I was getting enough "cultural interaction". I don't think I could have anymore - I have had more culture than most people have in a year.

Hope you all have a great week.

"But he said to me, 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I've learned more life lessons here than I ever could in class

Sunday was the presidential elections and I went with the family to go vote. It was super insane. Luckily their polling place is right up the street. But Johnathan held onto me the whole time. I think he was afraid I would wander off or get kidnapped in the massive crowds. Costa Ricans elected their first female president. She won by a decent margin.

Monday and Tuesday it rained for the first time since I've been down here (aka 3 weeks).

I've been helping the cooks at the Refuge make lunch but lately we haven't had running water in our building (making cooking real difficult) so we have to go down to another building and carry huge things of water up too many stairs. But o well. It's character building.

I have small fingerprint size bruises and a knot on my arm from kids that don't know their own strength. But they scream my name from the time I walk into club until we leave so it's worth it.

The kids started school Wednesday. Yay! But they only go 3 hours at a time and all the kids' class times are different. (Costa Rica is the longest running democracy in Central America but their school system is inept).

Tomorrow I'm going into San Jose with my best friends from Carpio. I might take my camera but I'm not making promises. They just gave me the title of tica (what they call native Costa Ricans) yesterday so I don't want to look like a tourist. I'm super pumped. I'm also excited to be going with only adults. Not that I don't love kids, but trying to weave through crowds holding the hands of a tired and cranky 5 and 8 year old gets exhausting quick. All you parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles can understand. And if you say you can't you are either a saint or lying :).

Last night during dinner I saw the cat (I dislike cats, sorry) scurrying across the floor like a maniac then quickly realized when I saw it in her mouth that she'd found her protein for dinner, aka cockroach. I wasn't going to say anything but the rest of the family quickly noticed and began to watch, but they wouldn't let me look. I wouldn't put my feet down until I was sure the roach was dead.

Today when I was walking from the bus stop to home some of the kids were just getting out of school and I saw several of the kids from Club. It was the first time I saw them around the neighborhood. It was super exciting.

So you know when kids try to color or draw on their own and it often leaves much to be desired and up to the imagination and you nonetheless tell them that its awesome? Well today we made little monkeys out of pipe cleaners at club in Carpio. I have made over three types of pipe cleaner animals with the kids in Pavas and I normally end up doing everything for the kids. But yesterday was different. I helped a couple kids with the first monkey then they did the second completely unassisted except for when I had to glue the eyes on. These kids brought their creations to me with such pride. Some of their monkeys just looked like mangled pipe cleaners but I sincerely thought they were beautiful because these kids had given their all to build them. For the first time ever I could honestly tell these children I thought their work was great. I felt the pride a parent must feel when a kid tries their hardest. It was a good feeling.

That's it for now, I try to pick out the most interesting things to tell you all. Hopefully you all aren't bored yet. If so, then there's probably no hope for the rest of the posts.

I love you all dearly,
La

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" -Ephesians 3:17-20