Manuel Antonio Beach - Day 1

Manuel Antonio 2013

Thursday, February 7

We have lived in Costa Rica for over 4 months and we finally planned a trip to the beach.  Kirsten and Ryan and their three boys made the trip with us.  We had help from Hector to pick out the beach and the hotel, friends in San José who bought us bus tickets so that we would not have to make the trip longer, and of course we had help from God as His blessed us through out our trip.

Thursday Morning:  Eddie did not sleep much the whole night because he was sick.  He spent most of the night on the toilet or feeling nauseous.  We debated canceling the trip, but knew that our reservations were non-refundable.  Despite Eddie’s miserable state, we packed up and headed to the first bus.

7:00am: We took Bus #1 to Turrialba.  This 45-minute bus ride was miserable for Eddie. Every time the bus stopped, he felt like running off and vomiting.  There was a trash can near by, so at least he had a safety net.  We mistakenly sat in the back of the bus with all of our luggage and the ride was pretty bumpy.  He was green!

We arrived at the bus stop and had 15 minutes before our next bus.  He made it to the bathroom, and I bought him some Gatorade.  The boys played on the toy cars until it was time to go.

My sick husband... pobresito!

8:00am: We boarded Bus #2 to San José.  This bus was very nice.  It was cushioned and had air conditioning.  Eddie’s goal was to make it another almost 2 hours on this bus before needing the bathroom.  

My sleepy boy... que lindo!

The GORGEOUS view from the bus.

We made it to San José, but after 1 ½ hours of misery, he told us he had to get off the bus.  We all exited and he made it into a McDonald’s bathroom.   The McDonald’s was a blessing in disguise.  Thank you, Lord!  It was a great place to let the kids play and eat.  Check out the mini french fries...

The bathroom was clean and free (as opposed to the nasty ones at the bus stop that you have to pay for).  Also, there was a pharmacy right next door.  It helps that one of our traveling companions happens to be a doctor.  Kirsten took Eddie to the pharmacy and found him some medicine.  It was meant to make him drowsy so he could survive the next leg of the trip.  He was so sick that he was debating just staying in San José in a hotel until he felt better, but we convinced him to keep going.

We walked out to the street to catch a taxi to the next bus station.  God continued to bless us.  When we crossed the street, there were two taxies waiting.  We hopped in and were on our way.  

We arrived at the next bus stop around 11:10, and met some friends who, earlier in the week, had bought us tickets for the 12:00 bus.  We paid them for the tickets and chatted until it was time to go.  

12:00pm: We boarded Bus #3 to La Playa de Manuel Antonio.  This bus ride was expected to be about 3 ½ hours, but thankfully it stops half way at a rest stop.  Eddie’s seat was the front one right next to an open window.  It was another blessing from God.  He slept almost the whole way, and we arrived at the hotel around 4:00.  

Noah and Ocean were happy to have arrived... actually we all were!!!

We checked in and Eddie hit the bed!

 Poor Eddie...

 This is the front of our hotel room... how romantic... too bad my husband is sick...

Jaden and I and the other family headed out to the beach and left Eddie in peace and quiet.  Manuel Antonio is a beautiful beach.  

We all went in the water because it was so hot out and the ocean felt like bath water.  As we walked out on to the beach, we realized we were kind of intruding on a beach wedding.  The bride was in front of us, but she stopped.  We kept walking and felt like we were the bridesmaids and groomsmen and ring bearers… thankfully, they weren’t quite ready to start the wedding, so we got out of the way on time.

We hung out on the beach until sunset, and Eddie ventured out just in time to see the last 5 minutes of the sun setting on the sea!  We all enjoyed the sunset tremendously.

Jaden, on the other hand, was now the unhappy one.  When he walked in the sand he was fine, but as soon as a wave hit his feet, he was terrified.  I think he would have walked all the way back to our hotel room if I would have let him.  He was pretty upset. 

Ocean and the ocean and the sunset.

Eventually, we went back to the room and showered and got ready for dinner.  Breakfast and dinner were included in the price of the hotel, so we hoped for some good food.  We were not disappointed.  The first night they served us salad, mahi mahi, and dessert and a natural fruit drink.  The kids ate quesadillas, and every one was happy.  We headed to bed and anticipated a wonderful weekend to come!

VBS and Graduations

Monday, February 4

Our class this morning was quickly interrupted with evaluations, and I was first.  I had to read a page and then use my own words to summarize it.  She allowed me to ask the meaning of the words I didn’t know, but then I had to speak on my own.  When I finished, she said I spoke fluidly and with out pause.  I make a lot of errors, but at least I can communicate my message.  Eddie said that he was told during his evaluation that he is able to come up with the right words but that he pauses a lot when he speaks.  If you mix us together, we would be pretty fluent!

I went back to class with the knowledge that I still need to work on reflexive verbs, spelling of words with “a” or “e” in them (I tend to use those vowels interchangeably in my writing), speaking and writing in “tú form,” and imperatives (or commands).  None of that is news to me.  I have learned the basics; now I need to refine my skills a bit more.

Katy, Michelle, and Amanda (from MI) decided to put on a VBS.  They are doing one hour for three days this week.  They had their first day today, and Amanda and I went to help out.   11 kids from the neighborhood showed up, so we were pleased with that.   The girls started with a game where everyone learned everyone else’s name.  After that, we sang “I’ve got the Joy Joy Joy Joy down in my heart” but in Spanish of course.  We also sang “Allelu-allelu-allelu Alleluia Praise ye the Lord.”  It was fun to see them having fun with the songs.  Katy did a lesson on “Love” and the kids did a very simple craft.  We finished with another game and snack time.  The hour went by quickly and we encouraged the kids to invite their friends and come back tomorrow. 

After VBS, I took a walk with Jaden.  We went to all the stores in walking distance to find a box cake mix, but we never found one.  It was Daniel’s birthday today, and I wanted to make him a cake.  No luck.  But… Jaden did find another friend to play with.  We stopped by the house where we went when Jaden was sick and he needed a massage.  The woman and her husband and her grandson were outside.  I got a chance to invite the little boy to VBS and the grandparents to church.  They are Catholic, but I can still hope that they come.  It was fun to talk with the little boy because he loved showing off the English words he knows.  When I went to leave, he asked me if I would help him when he has homework in his English class that is hard for him.  What a sweet boy!  I told him “Of course” and that I would be here for 2 more months.

This evening, Eddie and Amanda planned a worship night.  There were only 5 of us, but it was beautiful anyway.  We prayed, read scripture and sang in English.  It was quite refreshing and I was thankful for the opportunity to just bask in the beauty of worshiping God.  Thank you to Eddie and Amanda for organizing this worship night!

Tuesday, February 5

Today was just another regular day of class and we had VBS this afternoon.  There were about 14 kids this afternoon, and we decided to break them into two groups: ages 6-9 and 10-12.  Unfortunatley, everything took longer and we ran out of time to switch the groups so they could do both activities.  It was a little less smooth, but I think the kids still had fun.

A lot of the kids were interested in staying for Zumba, so we had a pretty full class.  In the end only 4 of the girls danced Zumba for the whole hour-long class. 

After class, the kids knew we were having a Bible study at our house after dinner and they wanted to come.  It is really for adults, but how could I tell them “no”?  I decided that if they wanted to come, I would do a separate Bible study with them so that they didn’t disturb the adults and so that they could maybe learn something about the Bible. 

I quickly showered, ate, and searched for Spanish kid’s bibles at CISA to prepare a basic lesson for the kids.  I was kind of nervous because my Spanish is still pretty weak (especially with Biblical topics).  Prepared a mini-lesson on Moses, and prayed for God to use me.

4 of the kids showed up.  They are all siblings and basically have no supervision.  I went over some basic rules of the evening and then we read the story of Moses out of one of the children’s Bibles.  Eventually, I felt like I was loosing their attention so I grabbed some paper and colored pencils and we drew pictures of the 10 Plagues.  At the end, I popped in a Spanish Veggie Tales DVD, and tried to understand it myself.

All in all, I am glad  for the opportunity to interact with them about the Bible, but I defiantly felt in adequtate.  I guess, kinda like Moses.  I will have to trust that God can use even me.

Wednesday, February 6

When se showed up for class today, we discovered that half of the students were not feeling well.  Amanda and Deidre stayed home.  Eddie spent much of the morning in the bathroom.  I wasn’t feeling that great, and Katy has a horrible cold.  Since many of us will not be here for class tomorrow, Culture class and Graduations were changed to today.

Culture class: I had to do my presentation without Diedre, but it was about pre-school so I guess that’s okay.  After all the presentations, we had the graduations.  Katy and Amanda (from MI) were first.  Deidre arrived just on time for her graduation.

This afternoon, my main responsibility was to pack for our trip tomorrow.  Eddie was still not feeling well, so he ended up staying in bed all afternoon and evening.  I am praying he will feel better tomorrow for our trip.

For VBS this afternoon, only 9 kids showed up (which is a good turn out because school started today for most of them).  We played Hot Potato, Over-Under, and Musical Chairs.  Then we did a craft where they had a chance to write a card to someone to show God’s love.

There was no Zumba class today because Deidre was not feeling well, so I made banana bread and then headed to Feddy and Samia’s house.

When I got there, no one was home.  I needed to return Ivoney’s clothes so I visited Karin’s house next door.  She was putting contact paper on the front and back covers of all of Kristy’s notebooks… all 18 of them.  She has 18 because there are 18 subjects at her school!!!  She is attending a bi-lingual high school that she had to pass a test to enter.  I guess that is why there are so many subjects.  Jaden got to play with Ivoney’s toys while I visited with Karin and Kristy

When Samia and Jimena got home, Jaden and I went over to visit them.  Freddy and José Pablo arrived home shortly.  They invited me to stay for dinner and Jaden ate a ton!  Then he got to play with Ivoney some more and show off his newly acquired iPhone-skills.  He finds games and opens and closes apps on my phone like a pro!

They gave us a ride home, and made a drink to help Eddie feel better.  Amanda and Katy came to visit and say their goodbyes.  They are leaving on Saturday, so we won’t see them.

Eddie is still feeling sick, and we are kind of worried about the 5-hour bus ride tomorrow.  Please pray that he will feel better when we wake up in the morning!

Date Day! and Super Bowl Sunday

Saturday, February 2

Eddie and I began our day with a trip to the local market to pick up a few necessities before catching the 11:00 bus to Turriabla for our first “Costa Rican Date.”  Titi Amanda agreed to babysit for the day while we went out to lunch and then shopped at the farmers market for our weekly fruits and veggies trip.

Our first stop when we arrived in Turrialba was the bus station.  We needed to buy our bus tickets to San José for next weekend.  Then we wandered through Turrialba without feeling the need to rush to catch the next bus.  We started with a stop at the local shop that makes cookies from Holland.  By chance, we ran into one of our neighbors.  She was helping the shop owner make the cookies.  

We bought ourselves a packet for our first treat of the day.  They were delicious and very DUTCH!

We then stopped in Don Hugo’s shop.  He makes pants and does other clothing repairs.  When we arrived, he was fixing this man’s bag. 

After the man left, Eddie and I got a chance to encourage him.  He was sharing with us that he is going through a “storm” in his life right now and that it is just such a difficult time for him and his family.  I will be honest, I understood very little of what he said, but I think that just being a listening ear was what he needed.

We moved on to our next activity which was bathing suit shopping… not my favorite thing to do, but I found one that I believe to be suitable.  Then we headed to lunch.  We found the new restaurant that our friend Kerlin works at.  We ordered the best drink ever: Mango Lemonade.

We also enjoyed our burrito and pita.   

It was a nice quiet date, and we enjoyed the chance to talk and just hang out together.  Thanks, Amanda for babysitting!!!

After that, we had to finish running errands.  We got our groceries and headed home.  When we arrived, there were just a few kids hanging out on our front porch.  Jaden was sleeping, so they were trying to play quietly.   It didn’t last too long, so Amanda went with them to the playground.

Eddie taught a guitar lesson and led the weekly youth group meeting.  It was slightly discouraging because not many kids showed up for youth again this week.  Eddie had a great lesson planned with great activities, and the group was made up of mostly adults and American students instead of the Tico youth like he had hoped.  Just pray that God moves in the heart of the people of this church.  Many are committed to Sunday morning and not much else.  We are praying that God uses us to reach the community, and right now it feels like not many people are interested.

Sunday, February 3

Sunday Church Service:  Eddie and Amanda began our worship hour with some awesome worship music.  Then Hector and Eddie co-preached the sermon.  This weeks topic: Laziness.  They touched on the topics of physical laziness, emotional laziness, and spiritual laziness.  Josué even shared his testimony about how he went through a period of time where he was very lazy.  

After church, we cooked a delicious “Sunday Dinner” of baked chicken, fried potatoes and salad.  We planned a “Super Bowl Party” at Ryan and Kirsten’s house because they have high-speed internet.  I wanted to make some banana bread, but our bananas were covered in bugs.  I decided to throw them out in the woods next to our house.  As I did, I discovered a bunch of bananas that had fallen from a tree in our yard.  They were yellow and looked delicious.  Some birds had eaten a few near the top, but check out the ones I salvaged:

We took the 4:00 bus to Ryan and Kirsten’s house for our “Super Bowl Party.”  We had a hodge-podge of snacks like: guacamole, banana bread, soup, and a few other party foods.

The boys played together and Eddie and Ryan set up the projector.  They played a movie on the “big screen” until it was time to watch the football game.

Hiking in the rain

Friday, February 1

We made plans with Kirsten and Ryan and the kids to meet in La Suiza this morning.  Eddie and Ryan went early so they could play some basketball.  Kirsten walked their with her 3 boys, and Amanda, Jaden and I rode the bus.  Kirsten told us that an older gentleman was riding his bike on the other side of the street.  When he saw them walking, he stopped and started to give her some money.   She tried to refuse, but he insisted.  She walked away with a 2 mil ($4) which is more than enough for the 4 of them to take the bus.  What a sweet man; he was just trying to help!

Well, once we were all together, we started our hike.  Hector had told us about a waterfall that we could find by only walking about 15 minutes.  We were a little hesitant to start our hike because of the rain that was coming from the direction we needed to walk.  We decided to try, and at one point we had to turn back and seek shelter at a corner store.  The owner was very helpful and had given us directions.  Once the rain passed, we were on our way once again.  After walking about 30 minutes with only one minor wrong-turn, we found our way to this waterfall:

Ryan was the first one to venture into the small pool, then me, and then Jaden.  We were exploring and snacking for a little while and then we realized that Jaden had a "surprise" for us in his bathing suit.

Jaden - a diaper = bad idea

Thankfully, with a bit of teamwork, we got him cleaned up.  I was in a hurry because I wanted to catch the bus to meet two of the other students for horseback riding.  Amanda and I rushed back, only to get home minutes before the downpour.  The horseback riding plans were canceled  so we just waited for Eddie and Jaden to get home. 

After we left, the rest of them were trying to find their way home and discovered another path to another small waterfall and a big pool.  They hung out their for a bit before making their way home.

We will be visiting that waterfall again soon!  Hopefully when it is sunny!

Eddie, Jaden, Kirsten, Ryan, and their kids did not have too much luck with the rain.   They got soaked.  Thankfully, the nice man at the corner store gave Jaden a dry shirt.  Kirsten had the ingenous idea for Jaden to wear Eddie’s shorts like a halter top:

And the nice man at the store also gave them these sacs to keep the kids dry. 

After drying off and warming up, Jaden had a nice nap.  We woke him up around 6:15 because we wanted him to actually go to sleep tonight.  He was kind of cranky so Eddie built him a cool fort.

Neighborhood Hang-out

Wednesday, January 30

So one of the great things about having a husband who acts like a kid is that all the neighborhood kids want to come over and play.  Between Eddie and Jaden, our house has become the most popular “casa” on the block.  I can’t say that I mind, though.  I am loving the opportunity to talk with them in Spanish… a can always use the extra practice.

 Jaden and his new favorite toy: a paper-towel roll

When the kids came over during lunch today, we told them that Jaden needed a nap after he finished eating.  They were disappointed, but they contented themselves with playing Frisbee in our front yard.  After lunch, Amanda, Eddie, and I were all working on our culture class presentations for tomorrow.  We each had our laptops on our laps and our iPhones within arm’s reach.  The kids started peaking in our windows and stepping in closer and closer through our open door.  They peppered us with questions and their curiosity was overflowing.  Since the Internet was acting up anyway (and we needed it for our research), we welcomed them in and started encouraging their questions. 

One question I will never forget is: “Are you millionaires?”  They were dead-serious.  We told them we weren’t, but asked them why they thought that.  They said, “Because you have cell phones and computers.”  

Wow… what we take for granted…  I am reminded that in the grand scheme of the rest of the population in the world, we basically are millionaires.  Back in the States, we don’t have a house and we only have one car, so in the States we would not be seen as “rich.”  But here, just a computer and a iPhone makes you seem like the richest people they have ever met.  How do you explain that to them?  Fact is… you can’t.

I had a nail appointment today, so Xiomata (not sure on the spelling) came to get me after she finished teaching her afternoon class.  Xiomata is the Spanish teacher at CISA that works with the kids.  She also does nails in her home, so I walked with her to her house.  She brought me into a simple room furnished with a plastic table and 2 plastic chairs.  She handed me a piece of cardboard covered in artificial nails that were intricately decorated.  Each one was different and beautiful.  I am amazed at the detail she can paint.  I chose one and she was able to do it in the colors I wanted.  She gave me a full pedicure and manicure and I paid a total of $11.  Check it out:

 I could get used to this…

After I left her house, I stopped at the store: Super Gaviota.  I picked up a few items and headed home.  Eddie and Amanda were just figuring out what to eat for dinner and then they headed to band practice.

I stayed home with Jaden and worked on my “vacations” presentation for culture class tomorrow. 

Thursday, January 31

Culture Class: Family Vacations in the USA

I decided that since my topic was one that I could easily talk about in English without research, that I would try to just speak it in Spanish without making a script and translating it ahead of time.  I went through my pictures on my computer and picked out a few from different family vacations that I have been on. 

During my presentation, I just showed each picture and talked about them.  Sure, I made lots of mistakes.  But, I did it!  I spoke in Spanish and didn’t look up how to say anything in Spanish.  I just did it.  I think that this is the best way to show our progress.  It is real.  It is raw.  It is refreshing!

As I practiced in class before my presentation, I was frustrated with the many mistakes I was making in each sentence.  Sonia was correcting me, but at the end she said it sounded really good and that it wasn’t bad.   She said I looked relaxed and that my Spanish sounded fluid, even with the errors.  I was focused on the fact that I had to be corrected so much and she reminded me, “If you speak perfectly in your presentation today, I won’t have a job on Monday.”  True!  True!  Thanks for the reminder!

 

After lunch, the kids wandered into our yard once again.  They were again disappointed when Jaden needed a nap (Hey… the kid needs his sleep).  So did Eddie and Amanda wasn’t feeling well. 

I was just shutting all the windows and the front doors because it was kind of chilly, and I saw them coming.  I opened the door to them and answered their questions about where Eddie, Jaden and Amanda were.  They settled on the fact that I was the only one available to hang out and we started chatting once again.  They knew Amanda wasn’t feeling well, and in their best doctor voice, they advised her to take a spoonful of baking soda to settle her stomach.  Rachel, the 7-year-old little girl, informed me that she had done just that yesterday after she ate 5 bananas at once.  No wonder I couldn’t find those bananas to make banana bread.  Thankfully, I had others so I offered them the bread.  They loved it.  Then, they wanted to hear some music that I had on my computer.  I decided to play them some songs I taught my Kindergarteners and teach them the motions.  Only José, the 11-year-old boy, got into it.  After that, I taught them how to play a few card games (Blink and Skip-Bo). 

We had a blast, but I had to get ready for Zumba.  Eddie needed to recharge his phone with minutes, and they showed him where to go.  After that, they seemed interested in attending the Zumba class with me.  I made sure to check with Deidre, and they joined our class.  It was fun watching them dance the whole hour long.

Jaden was feeling rather snuggly today after his nap!  He cuddled on the couch with his bobo, blanket, and cow.  I don't think he really wanted to wake up!

This evening, Eddie went to Hector’s house to plan Sunday’s sermon.  Amanda and I stayed home with Jaden, and ended up having a random Skype conversation with some people we met back in November when we went Canyoning.  They had been trying to reach Eddie for a couple of weeks, so I decided to answer when I saw them calling.  I was nervous because I knew it would be in Spanish.  The slow Internet speed makes it difficult to understand English, let alone Spanish.  In the end, I think they were inviting us to visit their house some time.  I am not sure if that will happen, but it was sweet of them to reach out and invite us.