mi casa

my bed

close up of the blanket. fashion models. crazy! :)

my desk. notice the pink and purple striped walls. super girly. love it.

So here's a quick look at my new home. I have my own bedroom complete with desk, bed, and dresser. It's perfect. My family is wonderful. I live with Laudema and Amalia Madrigal Gonzalez. Laudema (she's a grandmother) is the mother of Amalia (she's 40 years old). It's a very small house but very cozy. Behind our gate (as most homes here have fences for safety) is also three other "houses." They're all super tiny, just a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen/livingroom combo. The families are so content and the doors are always unlocked. Everyone walks from house to house whenever they like and eats the food or takes a nap wherever they wish. It's so communal. Also, a blessing for me is that there are kids!!! So I have gotten to play a little bit with them. Over the weekend I taught Paulena (we just call her Pao) how to make headbands. Hooray for crafts! Also, my host parents, Laudema and Amalia are seamstresses, so they make blouses and other clothing which are sold in Costa Rica as well as other countries. Amalia actually made the bedspread in the picture above.
 I am so very loved here.  They are so hospitable and are willing to give me anything I ask for an more, even though they don't have much.  It is such an example to me of God's love, and what sacrifice is. It is amazing to me that they are willing to give to me all that they have, and I really don't deserve it at all, they don't even know me, yet they call me their "hija" or daughter. It is such a testimony to me. There is no hot water, so showers are freezing, but I can live with that. The food is wonderful. I won't deny, sometimes I have absolutely no idea what I am eating as far as the vegetables go. Some of of them I don't think exist in the U.S., but they taste fine and hopefully are nutritious.  They are very patient with my spanish, though I falter a lot. Although they tell me all the time that I speak very well.
We have two pets that live in and outside the house: Lorenzo (the cat), and Tobias (the dog). The other day I was working on my homework and there was a crazy clatter and lots meowing and hissing on the roof. An intruder cat got into a fight with Lorenzo on the roof. Lorenzo actually makes a lot more noise then Tobias. Tobias rarely barks, but Lorenzo meows all day long.
This week is the fist week of classes. We have several written assignments, most of which will require us to go at least 2 times a week into the capital, and speak with people and visit historical sights. It's very hands-on, which is wonderful!
Well, I suppose that's all for now.

first week snapshots

the view outside my bedroom at the school

mail!

These are the only girls on the trip. They're awesome.

Volcan Poas (it's a volcano we hiked to today)

just a beautiful butterfly (mariposa)

I'm friends with the butterflies

just one of the many many flowers here...they come in every shape and color.

Well tonight is the last night that we will sleep on campus. As of tomorrow at 11 am I will be meeting my new host family and after a little talent show by us Wheaton students we will each go home with our family. Time for me to get some sleep. Hope you enjoy the pictures! It was hard to choose which ones to post.

ticos

I'm not the best with writing, or grammar for that matter, but I'll do my best to keep this updated! Today was my second full day in Costa Rica. I arrived Monday evening around 11pm. It was a pretty long day with flight cancellations and delays. I actually spent two hours on the ground in an airplane in Texas along with 45 other planes who were all waiting for terminals. It was so hot that you could literally see the beads of sweat dripping down each passenger's face.
Once I arrived in Costa Rica it had long been dark. The days here are from 6 to 6. The sun rises at 6 and sets at 6. It's also the rainy season so most afternoons it POURS and not just for a few moments, but for sometimes nearly an hour. It's intense, but refreshing. My raincoat rocks and keeps me nice and dry. In the evening the sky clears and the stars are absolutely incredible. I wake up each morning to the lovely sun and mountains outside my window (pictures to come once I get my wireless set up).
Yesterday  the entire group went on an adventure into the two closest cities: San Rafael and Heredia. They were both nice cities with friendly people and tons and tons of bread shops. Who knew bread was so popular here? It was a good day. I really just enjoy people watching, and listening. It reminds me that I'm a little better at spanish than I give myself credit for.
Today we all went to San Jose, which is much larger than the cities we visited yesterday. I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend from back home, Katy Spence, which was wonderful. She's spent 8 months now in Costa Rica and will return home Saturday. I had several conversations in Spanish with Ticos (or costa rican people) on the bus ride home as well as in the city. My favorite conversation being one with a small boy who was carrying around a drum. It reminded me of my younger brother Korey, except for the fact that Korey is not a little child.
I'm really blessed to be here, and it doesn't really seem real quite yet. Hopefully pictures tomorrow. I should probably see if anyone else needs to use the computer.

verano

In two weeks I will be somewhere that I've never been before, Costa Rica. I cannot wait. Praise God for this blessed opportunity! There is much fear, but also much excitement. This blog will hopefully serve to keep friends and family updated on my adventures in this foreign land, although I do not know how often I will have access to the internet, I'll do my best to update. This is also my first blog ever, so I'm sure there'll be lots of trial and error involved. I'm not so great with technology. Those of you who are pretty well acquainted with me would know that if I could I would hand write you a letter of everything that is going on.

Whiteworth Universtiy, Costa Rica

the location of my summer studies