Playa Tamarindo

I just returned for a short vacation to the beach!! Kari and I left Wed afternoon for Playa Tamarindo (on the northwestern border). After a 6 to 6 1/2 hour bus ride (we had great seats in the front of the bus), we finally made it. We couldn't find the hostel we made reservations at, so we stayed a different hostel for the first night. We shared a room with 2 girls from California. Our first night, the only thing we did was sleep... Since this hostel was a little out of the budget we set for ourselves, we decided to look for a different on the next day.

(Pictures from the bus trip to the beach)

After securing a room for us in the next hostel (only $10 a night), we went in search of an ATM...you wouldn't think that would be very hard in a very tourist town, but it took 3 different machines before we found one that actually worked... Then we got our things and moved into our new room before heading off to the beach! We swam a little, there really weren't any big waves like at Playa Jaco (read La Playa), but it was nice for swimming! After a while we went walking down the beach. The coral reef has kind of washed ashore so there are a lot around on the beach. One part in particular was covered in the reef, so we walked around on it. It was pretty cool. There were some fish and some crabs and some other water creature that I don't know the name that we found. Finally we found some nice sand, sat down, and read our books for a while.

Eventually we headed back in search of some water (it was very warm!!). We also decided to head back to our hostel to shower and have some time out of the sun. We watched a movie that was on in the hostel before we decided to head out for dinner. We had some very good food at a nice restaurant. We split a salad and fish. Both of which were EXCELLENT!! Then we just meandered around for while. We were able to sign up for a snorkling/kayaking tour for the next day which we were VERY excited about! (When we walked up to the counter, a huge grasshopper looking think almost attacked me - it was about 4-5 inches long!) Then we just hung out at the hostel for the rest of the night.

(This is what the grasshopper thing looked liked - it's 4-5 inches long and flies - that's how it almost attacked me...the guy who was working the front desk told me to watch out because they were dangerous, but don't worry, he was only joking!)

Our second day pretty much started with our snorkling/kayaking tour. It was just the 2 of us and our tour guide. We kayaked out to an island (my first real kayake experience), walked around, found some shells and a whole village of hermit crabs. Then we went snorkling. We saw some really cool looking fish there were very colorful. We even saw a blue starfish (I've never seen a real starfish before). It was really cool and I wish I would have had an underwater camera! Our kayaking back in was much more choppy, so it was more work.

(Yes we saw monkeys in the trees!! There were at least 8, if not more. It was hard getting a good picture since they were up in trees and on the smaller side, plus there was the whole sun thing...)

The rest of the day was spent laying on the beach. It was cloudy, but it was still beautiful and so nice being able to listen to the ocean! We had a pretty quiet evening since our bus was leaving for San Jose at 5:45am the next morning!

Overall, it was a very nice trip on a very beautiful beach!!

(I thought I would share a little of the ocean with you, I hope it works!!)

My Home

Now that I will soon be moving out of my house, I thought I'd post some pictures of where I live now, as well as give you a better idea of where I am in CR and the city structure.

The first picture is of the outside of my house, none of the windows lead to my room. The room I'm staying in is actually where the maid would live, that is why I have my own bathroom. This room is also in the back of the house and I actually have to walk outside of the house to get to my room. I like it!!

Now, the way Costa Rica is set up, as was explained to me by my tutor (so this is also assuming I understood everything correctly):

Costa Rica is 1 country (paiz) that has 7 providences (provincias). The providence I live in is San Jose. Within each providence there are cantones. San Jose has 11 cantones and the one I live in is Canton Central de San Jose. Within the cantones, there are distritos (I don't know how many there are in Canton Central de San Jose). The distrito I live in is called San Francisco de Dos Rio. Finally, the distritos are broken down into barrios (again, I don't know how many are in San Francisco). The barrio I currently live in Barrio Sauses. In January, I will be moving to a new barrio, but I'm not sure what it is called, it might be Barrio Bosque, but I'm not certain.

I hope this helps you to understand a little more, it helped me to get a better understanding of where I am and how the country and the cities are broken down!

Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you all had a WONDERFUL time with family and friends!

Things were a little different here. I cannot say it felt a whole lot like Christmas. For one, there's no snow...we did get a lot of rain this morning, so I guess that counts for something right?!? Secondly, there's not Christmas music being played EVERYWHERE. The stores and shops don't constantly play Christmas music and since I'm not frequently in cars, I don't listen to the radio to hear Christmas music (I don't even know if they play much). Finally, I'm not surrounded by my family and all the planning that goes into Christmas get togethers.

This is my first Christmas away from home, but it was still a great Christmas. I was able to sleep in (or at least stay in bed) all morning, a Christmas first!! Then we had lunch at my house a little after 12pm with Rosy, Rosy's daughter and baby, Rosy's son, Stick (one of the boarders), Kari, and I. It was a fun time (although I didn't understand all of the table talk happening...)

Then for supper, Kari and I went over to Chuck and Robbi's for a Christmas dinner with them and their daughter Melanie. It reminded me of home! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes and much more! It was so good! We just had a quiet evening with the 5 of us!

I was also able to talk with Harlan and Josie in the morning and the Lloyd family in the afternoon. That definitely made Christmas even more special!

Tomorrow afternoon, Kari and I are headed to the beach for a few days of relaxation (since we can't have snow, we might as well get some sun)!

The Circus

Well this last weekend (Saturday and Sunday) were SO MUCH FUN!! There was a Christmas party for the young people of the church on Saturday that Kari and I went to since the small group that we go to fits into this group. We had a fun time, but we were both glad we were there together because we were the oldest ones there (other than those leading everything) since everyone else was in junior or senior high, we were the only gringas (white people), and we were the only ones didn't always understand what was happening...We started out by playing a couple games to help everyone get to know each other. First we had to write our first and last names on a piece of paper, but we had to scramble the letters. Then we put these pieces of paper in a bag and got a different scrambled name. We had to unscramble the name, then introduce ourselves to that person. Kari and I were not too excited about this game because we really didn't know anyone at the party and we're not real good with Tico names. Luckily for us Pastor Manuel (the husband of our tutor) was there and helped us unscramble names, then point out who that person was. The boy who got my name asked in the microphone who I was (he got Jessica unscrambled, but couldn't figure out my last name).

The next game we played we got another piece of paper and had to draw a clock on it. Then put lines for each of the 12 hours. Once the clock was made, we had to find 12 people to meet with at that "hour" to get to know. I got 8 hours filled, but not all 12. When the annoucer said 1 o'clock, we had to talk with our 1:00 appointment (or date, whatever you want to call it). This got a little frustrating because it was loud so I couldn't hear what was being said, or I couldn't understand, and since each appointment was only about 30 seconds it's hard to communicate...There was one hour that everyone was supposed to talk in English, Kari and I liked this one, it gave them all a chance to see how we felt...

We had a little devotional that I really don't know what was said (its very hard to understand when a mircophone is being used). Then we made cards for God, to remind us that Christmas is about God and not about gifts.

Our last game was a variation of 4 on a Couch. It was more like 6 on a Bench, and instead of being broken down by gender, there were 3 colors - purple, blue, brown - that we had to wear. I was blue and was able to start on the bench. We wrote our names on cards again and then drew out a new name. I eventually got Kari's name (since that was one of the only names I knew and I had an open seat beside me to call for). I sat on the bench the entire time, up to the end. One of the boys finally figured out a strategy for the game (unfortunately he was purple) and got me off the bench. But unfortunately for him, then name he gave me was Karim, so the guy called that name since he was confused and put me back on the bench to win the game (we didn't fill the bench with all one color because there were about 50 people and it was taking a really long time so it was the next color to get on the bench would win, I was the next on the bench so blue won!!

Then we had dinner (chicken, salad, and rice). Kari and I took off after we ate because we wanted to get back to say goodbye to the family whose house we are living in (they're at home for the next 6 months).

Then on Sunday morning, there was a party for the children. Kari, Sandra, Lisa, and I did face painting. It was a lot of fun. None of us are particularly good painters, but it was fun and most of the girls wanted mariposas (butterflies) and most of the boys wanted leones (lions), so it wasn't too difficult. My last boy wanted Spiderman, I told him I didn't know how to do Spiderman. I think he thought I didn't know who Spiderman was because he's like a spider that is a man, so I told him I knew who Spiderman was, but I couldn't draw him, so I gave him a lion instead. There was also balloon tying, games and food for the kids (I had my first Tico hot dog - they're cold).

Here are a few pictures!

(The themes for these 2 events was the Circus!)

Christmas Party

Tonight Kari and I went to a Christmas party for the workers for El Comedor.  I actually only accompanied Kari since I just started and haven't really done anything there yet.  The party didn't start until 9pm (or it was supposed to start at 9, but it was more like 9:30 or 9:45), and since I haven't slept much since I got here, it was very late for me.  At first I wasn't overly excited about being there, mostly because I was so tired, but also I sort of wanted a break from Spanish since my last couple days have quite a bit more Spanish that the previous week and a half (then when you mix the tiredness, it makes it even harder to understand).

Despite feeling this way, I am SO glad I went.  I was able to meet new people and build some friendships (or at least begin these friendships).  We ate grilled chicken and pork (the absolute BEST pork I have ever eaten!) with a salad (mostly cabbage mixed with tomatoes and lime juice).  The food was so good (minus the tomatoes!).  After dinner (which was around 10pm or later), we had 2 pinatas.  Besides Kari and I there were 3 other American missionaries, 2 of whom were very fun men (who acted like kids most of the time)!  The men had way too much fun, but they kept the rest of us entertained!  Then when the women's pinata broke, it was so funny to watch grown (and one older) women rush to the ground and lay on their candy so no one else could get their candy.  When the pinatas were finished they had a gift exchange (a Secret Santa).  It was a little sad because not everyone was there, so not everyone got presents (I didn't because I wasn't there for the names, but I think I got a pretty good gift in the new friendships and fun).

We didn't finish until midnight and didn't get home until 12:30am.  I am now tired, yet awake, so I will finish and get to bed!!

Oh, one more thing, my prayer request from earlier about a home for January has been answered!  I will be living with a lady from the Alliance church I attend with her daughter and sister.  Thank you to all who have been praying for me, it is much appreciated!!

Life in Costa Rica, Part 2

I thought I would now tell you about another aspect of life in Costa Rica... Transportation!

At home, every family (and in many cases, every person in the family that can drive) has a car.  Then on top of that, most people like to drive themselves and not car pool, so there are lots of cars everywhere.  Well, here in Costa Rica, there are many cars.  Quite a few families have a family car.  When you look at the main roads here, you will find plenty of cars, and at times plenty of traffic.  Sometimes I miss having a car, but for the most part they have a very good public transportation system.  

There are many buses that go pretty much anywhere you want.  The buses range from converted school buses to converted charter buses.  Overall, I think the system works fairly well.  There are also obvious flaws like you never know what time you are going to arrive anywhere, if it's very crowded you have to stand or sit with people you don't know, you have to walk to and from the bus stop, and you have to make sure you get on the right bus or who knows where you will end up.

Also, if you have to get someplace that takes a while on the bus or just doesn't make sense to take the bus, you can take a taxi.  Taxis are pretty much everywhere, and instead of them being yellow like they are at home for the most part, they are mostly red in CR.  It usually doesn't cost too much to take taxis places, but you first have to find a taxi to take you where you need to go.  Sometimes, I have discovered, taxi drivers just don't want to give you a ride, so you have to wait and wait and wait.  I don't completely understand this, but I'm sure there is some logical explanation.

Then there are the roads.  Everywhere you go there are going to be bad roads, that is just life.  However, here in CR, every road is bad.  You have to dodge pot holes everywhere you go.  The ride is definitely not a smooth one!  Last night Kari and I were talking with Chuck (our director) and he mentioned how the roads in Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala are better than the roads in Costa Rica...

Since I'm not one who is super crazy about driving, I'm ok with the public transportation system.  This also gives me a chance to sit back and relax and just watch the world around me!!  I also don't have to worry about getting into a car accident with all the crazy drivers who sometimes watch out for signs, sometimes not.  Drivers who pass on the wrong side of the road whenever they want (oh the center line is a double yellow, not a dotted line).

I'm sure there is more I could tell you about driving in CR, but I think I'll stop there!  So please enjoy your nice smooth roads in the US!!

Life in Costa Rica

I realized that I have been telling you about what I’ve been doing here in Costa Rica, which is of course a good thing, however, some of you maybe interested in knowing about some norms here. I’ll try to let you know about some of these things from time to time. Today I’ll tell you about one of the negatives…BUGS, there are many bugs around.

I have little ants in room that crawl everywhere (although hopefully this problem is now taken care of since Kari gave me a poison!). The on Sunday when I was taking a nap after being up since 4am, I woke up at one point to have a whole bunch of ants crawling on my pillow (YUCK!!). Normally I would have 1 or 2 (which I can handle), but there were a couple dozen (which I just cannot handle). Sunday night I kept dreaming there were many ants crawling on my pillow making it hard to sleep at times…

The other insect that causes me to start is the cockroach. My first night in CR there was a cockroach in the kitchen I had to kill because Kari wasn’t wearing shoes and I was. That definitely wasn’t as bad as a couple days later when, during my shower, I turned around and found I had company. That was probably the grossest thing. Let’s just say that was a very quick shower (and now I check every time before getting into the shower to make sure I will be alone).

Then of course there are spiders, but that’s not really all that different from home. The same day I had a cockroach in my shower, I had a spider on my towel. I was definitely thinking, “why do I have to have both in one day, couldn’t I just have the cockroach one day and a spider the next??” I can’t say I felt too clean after that shower…