Wednesday, May 11

So its been a little while since I've posted. The last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy and hopefully I'll find some time to write more about them later, but for now, I'll try to quickly close up my entries about my semester in Costa Rica.

I had a fabulous time in Cuba, getting to know a little bit about their legal and economic systems. It was really interesting to talk to the people there and be introduced to an entirely new perspective about how Cuba operates and how the US responds to their decisions. I was surprised by how many things about the Cuba I liked despite the fact that I spent my whole week there trying to find the major errors in their system. It is true that the people live on very controlled wages and are only given a certain amount of food per month and that media is significantly limited in Cuba. However, it is also true that there are ways (additional jobs, earning tips, receiving money from family in other countries) to get more money if your family needs it and that there is other food available outside of the government rations. All of the Cuban people I talked to about their country had a long list of critiques and praises about their government. This seems pretty typical to me, no matter what country the questions are being asked in. Even in the US we encounter people every day who are unhappy with the way our country is run.

Easter was near the end of our stay in Cuba, and we spent the holiday weekend in a cute little town by the beach. In Costa Rica and Cuba, Easter is celebrated a little differently than it is in the US. They have church services and celebrations every day for the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday, and on Sunday no one really goes out. There wasn't even a church service in the town we were staying in, so we had a mini-service as a group and then went swimming at the beach. Everyone came back with a great tan :)

After about nine days in Cuba we headed back to Costa Rica for a day. We stayed in the same study center where we spent the first few nights of the semester and everyone re-packed, trying to get our suitcases to weigh just the right amount. We also had some group discussions there, reflecting on our time in Cuba. We had an early morning flight from San Jose to Miami, so we left the study center at three in the morning and got to Miami around 11. The next few days were wonderful. We had some debriefing chats, exchanged pictures, went to South Beach (where it was 110°...it snowed that day in Minnesota!), and just enjoyed our last few days together as a group. One night we had a talent show, which was hilarious, and everyone was really sad to leave the group and our semester together behind.

Since coming home, I've spent lots of time catching up with friends and family and getting things in order for next semester...SPAIN!! It's crazy for me to look back and realize that two weeks ago I was in Costa Rica experiencing a totally different reality than I'm living in now. I'm amazed by the diversity God created in the world and all of the things He has taught me over the last four months. Most of all, I'm grateful that He pulled me through and blessed me with such great friends and so many opportunities to seek Him and know Him more fully. It's been a whirlwind, and I'm not sure when (or if) things will finally settle down, but I'm so excited to see where God's crazy plans will take me!

Thanks again to all of you who have been reading and supporting me all along. You guys are the best and your encouragement and prayers have meant the world to me!

4- 15 Adios!

On Sunday I am off to Cuba and I will not be online again until I get back to the U.S. Sorry for the abrupt ending... I will update you all when I get home!

4- 14 Packing

As exciting as going home is, packing to go home couldn't be more stressful for me. I've thought about it a lot...how am I going to get everything back to the states without paying a ridiculous overweight or extra bag fee? So, tonight the thinking about it turned into doing something about it...namely packing everything to see if I could fit it all in. It was a success, gratefully! Everything fit into the suitcases I already have and I won't have to buy another bag (or pay to check two bags), but I'm pretty sure my checked bag will be at least a little bit overweight. I'm hoping for a graceful agent at the check-in desk and a strong neighbor on the plane, considering my carry-on probably weights as much as, if not more than my checked bag.
Another stressful part of today was the fact that I needed to bring all of my stuff for Cuba with me to LASP to have it washed and dried there in order to get rid of the scabies that are apparently living on me and my clothes. We're of course not positive that's what my bumps are from, but the symptoms are close enough that Laura suggested treating myself for it anyway. The good news is that everything going with me to Cuba has now been freed of the bugs and whatever is left over will die from sitting in my suitcase while I'm in Cuba. I also bought some more treatment aloe to kill the bugs that are on my skin.
Alright...back to the beginning of today. Like I mentioned, I took all of my Cuba stuff to LASP this morning. That required packing that last night, calling for a relatively late night, which made me pretty tired today. I'm pretty sure that today's stress level would have been significantly lower if that had not been the case. However, I was pretty slow getting out the door and therefore missed the bus I should have taken to LASP, making me late, but class started late so it was just fine. We had our Cuba orientation this morning, which was pretty exciting and watched a really interesting documentary about Fidel Castro.
We also talked about plans for leaving San Jose and the rest of events leading up to our return to the US. After orientation we ate lunch, as usual, and it was fabulous to just eat leisurely and hang out talking about the last few weeks some more as well as preparing for our approaching departure. Once everyone was ready, Haleigh, Megan and I went to the supermarket to pick up our “food souvenirs” and use the ATM, which unfortunately didn't work. I was a little stressed out, trying to think of every little thing that I could want to get or finish up before leaving, not wanting to waste the opportunity of the free afternoon we had. I really wanted to print some pictures to send to my Nicaraguan host family and the school that I worked at for my internship, but we didn't run into any place to do that, so I was a little worried about not getting money or printing my pictures...luckily there's always tomorrow and one of the LASP staff members offered to let us use her picture printer.
Haleigh and I went to her house before I went back to my host family's house, and it felt so good to be in a relaxing home. While we were using the computer her host mom brought us smoothies and then we all watched some Ellen together. It was nice to talk to her host mom, who has hosted for LASP for a very long time and totally gets what we're going through and is just a really nice lady in general.
Eventually, I made my way home (after waiting for the longest I've ever waited for the bus), where I was excited to find Andrey home alone. I was worn out from thinking of packing, leaving, and getting everything done and was not up to having a house full of people anxious to be around me yet. I got right to packing in the time that I had alone, and soon Melany and Kevin got home from school. We said hi, and Kevin told me about his hard day at school. It was so sad...I gave him a hug and tried to make him feel better by telling him about my worst math test ever, and then we talked about Melany's day. Mami got home very shortly after they did and took care of the math test crisis a little more completely.
Soon, Andrey made coffee and we all sat down for a cafecito, and then I went back to packing, accompanied by Melany. It took me pretty much all night, but I accomplished my goal and am now ready to hit the hay.

4- 13 Back in San Jose

Whew! What a whirlwind! Its been crazy to be back in San Jose. This morning we had class at LASP at 8:00 to “debrief” from our internships. As I left the house this morning, the sun was shining and I just had to praise God for all He has brought me through and taught me not only in the last few weeks, but throughout this whole semester. All of the Latin American Studies students got together and shared about our experiences, talking about one influential lesson we learned and how our host family and internships went. It was interesting to hear about what everyone else did and it made me want to talk to each of the other students for a few hours to get a fuller understanding of what everyone's been through and what we can learn from it. The internship experiences ranged from fantastic to “challenging,” and I felt like I could relate best to the group in the “challenging” category. It was a little overwhelming trying to explain the experience and what I learned in a few short minutes, and I felt sort of bombarded with the group's response.
We talked a lot about cultural barriers and differences between hospitality standards. Javier, the professor leading the discussion talked about how he has struggled staying with host families when he has traveled to other countries as well. Over lunch I talked with a few other girls more in-depth about their internships and I really enjoyed those conversations. Haleigh and I went downtown for the afternoon in search of ice cream and some sunshine. She and I both had internships in places where its much colder than San Jose, so we were craving the heat. It was great to have time to catch up with her and have some independence for the afternoon.
When I got back to my host family's house, the living/dining room was all set up for a rosary meeting. I had forgotten that they pray the rosary on the 13th of every month in memory of my host mom's dad, so I was surprised but happy to participate. I enjoyed being able to understand most of the conversation and talking to the people who came about my internship.
I'm feeling pretty worn out and excited to get packed up tomorrow after our Cuba orientation. It feels good to be almost done with the semester and to know that in two short weeks I will be on my way home!

Tuesday, April 12

            Praise God that I made it back to San Jose! This morning I went to the school to say goodbye and take pictures with everyone, and then around 1:00 I took the bus back to San Jose, where I stopped at the post office and have now settled in at an e-cafe for a while. To catch you all up on my last week in San Juan, I'll just write about some of the highlights.

            Throughout the week I participated in Physical Education, English, and a fifth and sixth grade class. Phy Ed proved to be my least favorite (although probably my most needed....my hosts make different kinds of bread for me to eat every day!), and sitting in on an ESL class here was really helpful for me. I learned a lot about the challenges of learning English from the perspective of Spanish-speaking students and had the chance to learn quite a bit of Spanish along the way. The fifth and sixth grade classroom teacher was out sick for a few days, so on Friday I spent the day with her classes, working on division a little bit, but mostly just trying to figure out what they were supposed to be doing and ending up answering all of their questions about the US. It was a lot of fun to get to know the students more and to hear what they thought of the US and see their reactions to things like snow and ice skating. My favorite question is always “do you guys have dogs in the United States?” It took forever for me to explain what kind of a dog my family has (a Westie) because the kids were convinced we only have Huskies because there's snow in Minnesota.

            We had a long weekend because of a national holiday on Monday, so I went with my host family on Sunday to visit some of their extended family in the city of Turrialba. It was an interesting visit and I learned more about cultural differences and being patient with myself and others. On our way to Turrialba, my host family abandoned an unwanted dog on the side of the road by a sugarcane field between two towns (they wanted to be sure it would be able to find food, just not their food) about 50 Km away from their house. That night, we were all amazed to discover that the dog found its way back to San Juan and was playing with the other dogs in my host family's yard.

            My last night in San Juan was really relaxed, and while I feel like I've grown to know my host family more, leaving wasn't very sentimental. I've been grateful for and really enjoyed the breakthroughs we've had in getting closer and have learned a lot through the more distant and perhaps awkward moments surrounding those breakthroughs. On one particularly enjoyable evening, I taught Gabi and Adrian, my “host siblings” if you could call them that, how to play Uno. Neither one of them has played cards much if at all, and they were amazed by my ability to shuffle. I gave them shuffling lessons and shared some Skittles (Adrian was super excited to eat candy from the US for the first time), and as I was getting ready for bed I heard them talking about how quickly my time here has gone. Believe it or not, despite the itchy bumps and uncomfortable moments, it feels like the 23 days that I spent there went quickly to me too.

            This internship was an incredible learning and growing experience for me. Seeking, trusting, and being patient with God were challenges I had to face along with culture shock and much discomfort. I learned about myself and how the expectations I hold, consciously or not, influence the way I react to circumstances. My eyes were opened to a new perspective and, through frustration and making adjustments, I grew to love the people I was living and working with. Without their open doors and willingness to help me I never would have had this opportunity, and I am so grateful to everyone who had a part in this experience. Most of all, I'm grateful to God, who pulled me through, showering me with blessings, and teaching me to seek and lean on Him no matter what challenges He places in my path.

Monday, April 4

            Well, its been a while since I've posted, or written anything for that matter, so I'm going to just write a brief summary of the highlights of the last few days. On Friday I spent time in Norma's class leading an open discussion again and correcting some math homework that none of her students understood. It was hard to hear that the excuse for kids not understanding was “family problems,” so I probed for answers about special help for kids in situations like that and was pretty discouraged about the responses I got. After Norma's kids left (they get out early on Fridays, apparently), I went to the first and second grade room to help record grades for a while, and I finished out the day in the ESL room.

            On Friday night I had a great conversation with my host family over some fabulous desserts, and on Saturday morning I went up to see the volcano with the ESL teacher who invited me earlier this week to join him on his trip up. It was cool to see the volcano and the views up there were beautiful. On the way back we stopped for lunch at a restaurant run by the family of one of our students, so that was fun too. Sunday consisted of an unexpectedly big trip to Cartago. I was thinking we were just going into town for church, but we ran errands for a few hours and then had lunch at a relative's house before coming home late in the afternoon.

            A lot of what we picked up in Cartago was for the cafecito my hosts served at a village further up the mountain on Monday. The village is so remote that they only have mass once per month and its the only time most of the community members see each other. Therefore, they like to serve refreshments after mass, and this month my hosts were enlisted to help. Exams were starting at the school, so there was nothing for me to do there and I was able to go with my hosts to the mass and cafecito. It was a pretty busy day, and I enjoyed being out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains.

            Even though I'm not always sure what to be doing at my host family's house, things are going a lot more smoothly with them and I'm feeling much more comfortable at the house and at the school. I'm learning so much about Costa Rican realities and culture as well as about God. My patience and trust in God are growing and He's showing His faithfulness each and every day. While I'm still excited to get back to San Jose, being more settled in here is making my time go faster and I'm looking forward to this week at the school.

Thursday, March 31

            Today was another refreshing day. The music teacher came to the school (he gives a full day of classes here once per week), and Norma (the teacher who's been coordinating my time at the school) had me sit in on his classes all day. While my standards may be slightly different now than they were when I began my internship, I thought he was a pretty good teacher. He stayed in the classroom almost the whole time he had students and only texted a little bit. All of the notes he had students copy were explained, and he did a good job of including me but not abandoning me with a room full of students without any instructions. Norma was thrilled that he had me teach most of the classes a song in English, and while I was not as thrilled about this job, it was good for the students, so I enjoyed it.

            I'm starting to feel like a welcomed part of the staff, and its such a relief. They're all acting a lot warmer towards me, and I've enjoyed getting to know them a little more. After school Olga greeted me with a treat that she and Ana (her sister) made this afternoon, and I read in the living room for a while. Gabi brought a photo album to show me, which was really sweet and showed me that we are slowly overcoming the shyness of my family, and later I sat with her in the dining room to write while she worked on her homework. During our cafecito Adrian (another member of my host family) brought home a bird that someone at work gave him, so it was fun talking to him about that, and Gabi shared the story of the last two birds that they accidentally killed (by putting a sack over their cage to protect them...there was apparently some sort of deadly bug also trapped in the cage).

            It was a peaceful night following a really good day, and I'm so grateful that God has been showing His faithfulness to me so clearly these last few days. Things are going really smoothly, and my newly developing relationships make me want to seek God more in order to know how to serve Him in everything I'm doing and saying. I'm praying for guidance and continuing provision of patience as I go into the final month of my time in Costa Rica and the last 12 days I have here in San Juan.

P.S. My bed passed inspection with flying colors last night, so that possibility is officially off the table. The bumps continue, but everyone seems to think they're just caused by something in the air up here...who knows. I'm banking on Laura's promise that they'll just go away when I get back to San Jose.