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