It's Been A While

Zeidy (My Costa Rican Aunt) and I at the Independence Day parade

Zarcero, a town near San Ramón

Market in Cartago!

Un Río in Tapanti National Forest. Yes we went swimming!

A Coffee plant!

Well I realized I hadn't blogged in a while so I thought maybe I should update you on my life. It is a little long, but here are some highlights of the past 2 weeks... 1. September 15th was Independence Day here so the 14th there was a parade of lanterns at night where all the niños walked around town with homemade lanterns all lit up. There was another parade on the 15th with students from all the schools in San Ramón which I went to with my family. They played instruments, danced and carried flags of the country and their school. 2. We started our community service projects here. My friend Hillary and I are both helping at at local high school and love it! It reminds me of being back at McMinnville High School and doing Young Life. All of the professors and students are very friendly and nice and are great to work with. It is a little different because we are helping in an English class so we speak English the whole time we are there, which isn't so good for practicing our Spanish, but it is super helpful for the teacher and students, which is why we are there. Being at the high school also reminds methat I do want to be a teacher and that I just love working with kids that age! And that I would love to work at a school in Central America someday! 3. This past weekend we had a field trip to San José, Cartago and Tapanti National Park. It is fun to be able to travel to and see different parts of the country! It makes me feel like I can understand it better and we are seeing the places that we are learning about in class which I enjoy as well because I can put a picture with all the facts we are learning. They can be a little draining, especially since we have another one tomorrow, but I know that if we didn't have them I wouldn't be able to go to all of these places while I was here. My favorite parts are when we are driving or walking around in the small towns in the country or in the jungle. Being surrounded by all the trees and green and farms is just so peaceful and beautiful to me! God did good when he made Costa Rica :) 4. This last week I have really started to notice that me listening and comprehending Spanish has gotten a lot better than when i first arrived. I don't have to ask quite as many times for people to repeat things when they ask me a question and I can follow conversations of other people a lot better. It makes me feel kind of empowered when I am able to understand more of what is going on around me. I have noticed that my speaking is improving too! I am still not fluente by ANY stretch of the imagination but I don't have to think about everything I say quite as much and can speak a little quicker. Slowly but surely. It can get a little frustrating because when I am with our whole group of students it is so much easier and more natural to speak English, but I am trying really hard to only speak Spanish. Which is also one of the reasons I love to spend time with my family because I can practice speaking with them and they can help and correct me when I don't know how to say something or I say it wrong. 5. God is definitely teaching me lots of things here. Love everyone, especially those who are hard to love. Definitely not something that is easy and something that everyone struggles with at some point or another, but I have been in situations recently with some classmates where God is definitely trying to help me grow in that area. I am reminded all the time here that actions speak so much louder than words. Words are important yes, but I can say that I am going to love someone and include them and care about them all I want, but if I don't actually take the time to ask someone how they are and truly love them with my actions then am I really loving them? And if I don't love those who I don't particularly want to spend time with then I am not loving like Christ loves me because I am sure a lot of the time I am not easy to love. Also, since with my family and people that I meet here I often times can't express myself with my words in Spanish the way I want to, so I have to use my actions. I want to show my family how much I appreciate and care about them, but even in English I am not the best at expressing those things, so I have to show it through the way I live my life. It can be a challenge sometimes, but it is making me grow in ways that I would never be able to back home :)