Goodbyes, Spiders and Fútbol

Thursday, October 11 (aka: 10-11-12)

Today we said goodbye… it was Francine’s last day of class today. 

Jennea, Amanda, Francine, Deanna and Diana 

Francine and Jaden peeking in on our lunch.
Zaidy is holding him in the kitchen.

She has been here for 15 weeks and it is time for her to go home.  She loves it here and doesn’t really want to leave.  She was originally only supposed to be here for 12 weeks, but she extended her stay for an extra 3 weeks.   We said our goodbyes over “Tres Leches” cake, and she even prepared a speech for her “graduation” day.  She spent a few minutes after our presentations saying thank you to each one of her teachers.  As she spoke, I was able to understand that she started out knowing only 5 Spanish words: “hola, café con leche, y gracias.”  She thanked her teacher, Karin, for putting up with her frustration and tears, especially the first 2 weeks.  She has had 4 different teachers over the course of 15 weeks, so I think that we will also be switching teachers once other students arrive.  We knew we were having cake today for Francine because we were asked to bring an ingredient for the “queque.”  I thought it was for her birthday… Oh, when will the language barrier go away???

I was very encouraged by Sonia today.  She stopped our lesson for a few minutes and just encouraged me.  She counted how many days of class I had so far (8) and commended me on my progress in such a short time.  She explained that I know 3 of the 4 basic verb conjugations and that those are the foundation for being able to speak a lot in Spanish.  I have learned: “querer” to want, “necesitar” to need, “tener que” to have to, and next week I will learn “poder” to be able to.  If you can speak those 4 verbs and some vocabulary words to go with them, you can communicate most anything you want.  She said that my comprehension is good, and I replied that I only understand when people, like her, speak slowly.  When I am in town or around other people, I can hardly understand anything.  She then asked me, “When Ana (another teacher) comes into our classroom, can you understand what we are saying?”  I said “No.”  She basically said, “Yes you do.  You looked at your watch.”  I didn’t think I understood, but I must have understood something that triggered me to think that they were talking about the time, so I was checking to see what time it was.  I didn’t even think she noticed, but she took that small moment and used it to encourage me.  I believe with all my heart that God gave me Sonia for a teacher because she meets my learning style the best.  I praise Him for His grace and goodness.   I am so undeserving, yet God never ceases to amaze me with his generosity.

We took another swim in the river today.  Jennea and Amanda joined us.  We even dared to bring Jaden.  Once he warmed up to walking in the water on his own terms, he loved it.  He cried when we made him get out and dry off.  We had so much fun again, even if the locals think we are crazy!

Eddie and I got to hang out with José Pablo and Jimena tonight while Samia went to her exercise class (and Freddy is still out of town at work.)  This evening, the 5 of us were sitting on the couch watching a movie.  Jaden was in my lap and then he crawled over to José Pablo and Jimena and sat between them. 

Jimena, Jaden, y José Pablo

He just loves them, and they love him.  I feel so blessed to be considered a part of this family.  Last night, Samia told Eddie and I that she and Freddy do not consider us “students.”  They consider us “family.”  Such kind words coming from a woman who has not stopped serving us since we arrived.  She has a heart of gold!

WARNING!  If spiders freak you out, do not scroll down. 

As I was about to leave our bedroom with Jaden to go eat breakfast this morning, what did I find?  THIS…

That is my side of the bed and I was in it just 30 min before this photo was taken.  I did not know I was sharing my personal space with this unfriendly beast.  I am not too happy about that, but I am thankful my wonderful husband came to the rescue and killed it for me.

On a side note:  If any of you know about Eddie and his vivid dreams, you will understand this story.  A few nights after this spider incident, I awoke to Eddie sitting up and backing away from his pillow quickly.  I was like "what's wrong?"  He said "There's a spider," as he pointed to his pillow.  Now I jumped out of bed and looked back at the pillow as he turns on a light.  I see nothing, so I lift the pillow up... nothing.  I say "Did you really see a spider?"  He just looks at me with this very confused look and says "I don't know."  That is when I realized that this was just another one of his vivid dreams and this time he managed to drag me into the nightmare...  Usually, I can tell when he is dreaming and I just ignore him or tell him "Go back to sleep. You're fine."

Friday, October 12

Jaden likes to wander outside after breakfast.
Last week, he made himself at home in Willy's dog house.
Notice, he is sporting his crocs with his pj's.

So today was a day with no plans.  I actually had three things on my “to do” list, and I accomplished all of them: spend time in God’s Word, do my Spanish homework, and make banana bread.  It felt good to have a day with no other agenda besides those simple few things.  As I was washing the dinner dishes, I was thinking, “Wow… I accomplished all that I had wanted to today.”  Back at home, I never would have allowed myself only 3 things on my "to do" list.  I would have filled my day with so many other things because that is how we live in America.  We don’t often allow ourselves true rest and relaxation.  Life in America is so fast paced, and I even put pressure on myself to live like that when I didn’t have a job and stayed home with Jaden.  I could really get used to this life here in Tuis, Costa Rica!  I guess it helps that I have a host mom who cooks, cleans, grocery shops and does our laundry.  We try to help out as much as we can because we feel both grateful for her service and guilty for not having to do anything.  She works so much, so it brings us joy to be able to help her out with what we can, especially when we don’t have anything else to do.  We love Samia, and Freddy and the kids, too!

So, yeah… I made banana bread here.  It is one of my favorite things to bake when I am at home, and it was nice to have a taste of home after being away for a few weeks.  Everyone who tasted it seemed to enjoy it, too.  I will be making it again soon, as there is an abundance of bananas sitting in the kitchen right now.  I mean, at least 30!  Before I could make it though, I had to make sure that I had all of the ingredients on hand.  I took some time last night to translate my recipe into Spanish so that I could ask Samia where I could buy the ingredients.  She looked at the recipe and told me she had everything except flour.  Eddie hopped on over to the store for me and I was able to bake!!! 

We ended the evening with relaxing in front of the TV watching “August Rush” in English.  The only bad thing about that is that when I hear so much Enlish, it feels like the “Spanish switch” in my brain turns off and it takes me awhile to get back in Spanish mode again.  I am finding that difficult whenever I talk at length with someone in English and then try to communicate with someone in Spanish right after.  Oh well, I know my brain will catch up eventually, right?

Also, Eddie and I felt our first "tremor" today.  We were both sitting on the bed studying while Jaden was napping.  We felt the wall behind us shake, and we looked at each other like, "What was that?"  We realized quickly that it must have been a small earthquake, but Samia and Jimena were home and they didn't say anything.  We went and talked to Jimena and she told us it was a small tremor... like it was no big deal and why were we freaking out...  Samia said she thought it was just her sewing machine...  I guess it was small, but we felt it.

This is the dress she was making at the time.

Freddy also showed us the Volcano of Turrialba which you can see on a clear day.  It is an active volcano, but all it does is smoke.  There are over 100 volcanos in Costa Rica.

This picture was taken from in front of Freddy and Samia's house.  We were standing on the soccer field, and Freddy pointed it out to us.  We have only seen clear skies like this in the mornings.  Each afternoon brings a lot of cloud cover and rain.

Saturday, October 13 

What happened to my baby?  Where is the child that likes to sleep in until 10:00am? In North Carolina, Jaden usually woke up between 9:00 and 10:00am. Now he thinks that it is better to wake up at 4:00 or 5:00am here in Costa Rica.  Doesn’t he realize that there is only a two-hour time difference between the two places? I mean, I would be okay with 8:00 or even 7:00, but 4:00??? No way!  Today was another day with no class so we planned on sleeping in.  Jaden had other plans.  He woke us up at 4:00, so I fed him and he fell back asleep… thankfully!  I guess he misses the cool, dark, quiet of his bedroom back at home.  Here, it is bright at 5:30 am, the dogs bark periodically through out the night and day just outside his window, and it gets hot in the morning.

After breakfast, we had some time to kill.  We just hung out and studied, and Jaden actually took a short nap before we headed into Turrialba.  

We were blessed to be able to take this trip by car (instead of bus) today because Freddy had to pick up José Pablo from his soccer game (fútbol).  He plays in the city and today his team (yellow) played against his uncle’s team.  Freddy’s little brother is #6 on the orange team.  We didn’t get to watch José Pablo play because he played only in the first half and we got there late.

Look at that view beyond the soccer field... Gorgeous, right?

Freddy with his little brother and his son.
He told us "I don't know which team to cheer for."
The boys are one year apart in age.

We asked Freddy what his favorite restaurant in the city was and we went to eat there for lunch.  It is called: SODA MANA.  I actually ordered fish, and it came with mashed potatoes, pasta salad, rice and beans.  As I was eating, Eddie was noting that there were three food items on my plate that I did not “like” when we first met 7 yeas ago: fish, beans, and pasta salad.  My, how my taste buds have changed!!!

I truly am enjoying the food here.  I love that we get fresh fruit for breakfast EVERYDAY.  I am still adjusting to eating rice and/or beans for every meal… especially breakfast.  And of course Eddie loves the food… His passion for food has not diminished one bit!

Jaden likes to "rock."

We went to Voz Que Clama this evening to hang out with the kids from the youth group.  Most of the kids did not show up because Hector is still in California, but we thought it would be fun to still hang out with the ones who came.  There were 7 of us there so we spent some time talking about what God is teaching us right now.  Then we played “Charades.”  The girls totally won, but Eddie and the boys tried to cheat multiple times in order to "catch up."  The funniest part was that as we acted things out, some people were yelling out answers in Spanish and some in English.  It was hard to decipher who yelled the answer first.  Plus, I forgot to see what the Spanish word for "binder" was and as I acted it out I was like, "Oh no... I don't know if they are saying the right answer because I don't know the Spanish word!"  It was the most unique game of Charades I have ever played.

Eddie and Amanda ended the evening with a little worship music, and Freddy came to pick us up so that we would not have to walk home in the rain.  We are so spoiled, but we are grateful to God for all those blessings that make us feel spoiled :)

Last week Saturday, I ate lunch all by myself because Jaden and Eddie were taking a nap and every one else was gone.  I decided to go eat lunch outside on the picnic table to enjoy the nature around me.  I realized I did not have to eat alone.  

 I was accompanied by chickens, roosters, cows, and dogs.  I even had lunch-time entertainment as a cow tried to go near the neighbor's dog who is chained up ouside.  The dogs always go crazy when the cows are around so the dog tried to attack the cow who knew to stand just beyond the reach of the dog's chain.  

I cannot resist posting more pictures of Ebony and Jaden.  She now likes to come over to play with Jaden, and he has gone to her house to play.  She gets disappointed when "ChiChi" is sleeping (that is what she likes to call Jaden).  She also pats his head and says "bebe."  She is only 3 months older than him, but she talks a lot.

 Jaden also likes to check out everyone's bellies, including Ebony's.

Jaden is ALWAYS happy when he is outside.  There is nothing he likes
more.  I think he would skip all meals if we would just let him play
outside all day.

Picture from
http://francesfigart.wordpress.com/category/12-birds-of-christmas/

Check out my Facebook page for a video I took of the song of the Crested Oropendola (pictured below).  I cannot get close enough to take a picture of this bird, but it has become my new fascination.  It caught my attention with it's song and its appearance to have two bright yellow tails that you can only see when it is flying.

Piñatas, Injuries, and Blink

Monday, October 8

Today was Amanda’s first day of class.  During devotions, one of the teachers was talking about being thankful to God and about how we often forget to thank God for many things.  Truthfully, I did not understand anything she was saying, but Eddie was sitting next to me and he helped me out.  Anyway, we then took turns talking about what we were thankful for.  I struggled to get one sentence out in Spanish about how I was thankful for technology so I could talk to my family.  Then it was Amanda’s turn.  She blew us away with how much she was able to speak.  She is going to have no trouble becoming fluent in this beautiful language.  When we took turns talking about our weekend, I struggled again.  Plus Eddie took all my ideas because our weekends were pretty much the same.  Then Amanda rattled off all about her trip to Costa Rica, the people she met, and her experiences so far.  I am so proud of her and Eddie (and thankful for their knowledge as they can help me along the way).

Then, it was time to start class.  My teacher had trouble getting to school this morning so she was late, but I took the opportunity to study for a few minutes until she arrived.  Diana (Jaden’s babysitter) is trying to learn English, so she was asking me the English word for the Spanish flashcards I was working on.  It is interesting to be on the other side when it comes to learning a language.

Once Sonia arrived, we began reading a story in Spanish.  She had me read it aloud to her.  As I was reading it, I was thinking, “I have no idea what this story is about.”  After I finished, she allowed me some time to go back and read it silently to myself so I could try to comprehend what I was reading.  With only a couple of unfamiliar words, I was able to understand the story pretty well once I read it slowly and translated the words to English.  We turned the page, and what do we find?  Comprehension questions about the story.  I think I did pretty well in answering the questions.  We spent most of the day working on vocabulary words under the category: household items.   She showed me pictures of her house, and drew a map of her house to teach me the names of each room.  She then asked me to do the same.  My first problem was, “What house do I draw… I don’t have a house.”  I ended up drawing a map my parent’s house, which meant I had a lot of talking to do to explain my map.

One interesting thing I learned about Sonia today is that she is very crafty.  She showed me pictures of her yard.  She makes little statues out of bottles, flowerpots, aluminum cans, and whatever else she has access to.  She paints them and uses a flowerpot for the head and plants inside the pots for the hair.  She also took an old pair of rain boots that had holes in them and painted them and made them in to flower pots.  I also learned that she was the one who decorated our classroom.  She panted the tree that is on the wall in the picture of me in my classroom.  She painted the same on in different colors on the wall of her bedroom.  She showed me a lot of pictures of her house, her garden and her cat (which is her favorite model). 

After class, we ate lunch with Amanda, Francine and Jennea.  Eddie asked Francine and Jennea to share their testimonies, and it was wonderful to hear about their lives.  We came away from that lunch feeling much closer to our fellow students.  We didn’t have time to share ours, but we will do that another day.

Today was our first chance to experience a Costa Rican birthday party.  Cristy is 12 years old today and her mother threw her a birthday party.  Cristy is Samia’s niece and her family lives next door.   Samia baked a chocolate cake with a dulce de leche filling and strawberry icing.  It was Muy Rico!  The party included bean tortillas, white bean and beef soup, arroz con pollo, potato chips, coca-cola, strawberry ice cream cones, cake (queque), and of course: a piñata.  The piñata experience was one to remember forever.  I expected the typical “hitting” of the piñata, but that is not what happened.  Instead, they handed out plastic bags to everyone (recycled from previous use) and Carin (Samia’s sister) stood on top of the couch and ripped a hole in the piñata.  She then began throwing candy around her living room to the mobs of middle school and elementary school guests.  Even the adults were diving for candy.  There was so much yelling and laughing and flying candy that I didn’t know where to look.  I was holding a two-month old baby at the time, so I was just worried about protecting him from flying candy.  I am glad Jaden got to experience his first piñata, but I guess he will never remember it.   After the piñata, Cristy opened her presents.   We left the party exhausted but happy to be included in such a family-oriented occasion!  Feliz Cumpleaños, Cristy!

Tuesday, October 9

Jaden had a rough start to his day today.  We he woke up, we noticed about 20 small red spots on his face hands and stomach.  It turns out, they are bug bites from a mosquito–like bug and that they will go away quickly.  Already, the ones on his face have almost disappeared this afternoon.  We have learned that the bugs like to live under the bed, so we have to spray under the pack-and-play to make sure we kill them before we put him to bed. 

While I was in the bathroom washing my face, Jaden came to stand near me.  He either lost his balance or just leaned into the shower curtain and fell flat on his back and head on the tile floor.  It scared him and me, but he is fine.  He doesn’t even have bump on his head.

After breakfast, he likes to wander out into the back yard.  I was with him, but not close enough because Willy (the family dog chained up outside) was so excited to see him that he jumped on him and knocked him down.  When I got to him, he was crying and I noticed a small red scratch on his face.  Poor Jaden… He had a rough morning… all before 7:30am!  He is okay now, and doesn’t have any evidence of his many minor injuries today.  Praise the Lord!

Well, we had another day of class.  Eddie and Amanda are enjoying working together.  He says she asks a lot of funny questions so we can always hear laughter coming from their classroom.  One of her questions about certain masculine and feminine words was, “Who decides this stuff?”  It’s a good question, because some words that don’t follow the rules are confusing… but not as confusing as English for someone learning a second language.  She also cracks Eddie up when she swats at random bugs that aren’t even there.

My class consisted of a lot of speaking.  Sonia gave me a rope and I had to gently wrap it around two fingers while I talked in Spanish.  She wanted me to wrap and talk, wrap and talk until I got to the end of the rope.  It got easier as we practice that activity.  I am way more uncomfortable with speaking than listening, reading or writing.  I know it will come with time, though.

She also wanted us to go for a walk with Ana and Jennea.  We walked down a path near the school.  She showed me the “live and die” plant that I am so fascinated with.  I had a chance to ask what it was called.  It is called “dormi luna” I think, which is close to the word for “sleeping moon.”  She also showed me some banana trees, some cas trees, and other flowers and fruit trees. 

She picked up a cas (which is a Costa Rican fruit similar to a guava) right off the ground and took a bite.  She offered a piece of it to Jennea and me.  It tasted very sour, like a lime.  She also picked some coffee beans and told me to taste them.  I was very hesitant, but she told me the flesh that surrounds the actual bean is very sweet.  I was surprised but took her word for it.  Of course I liked it… it was sweet. 

She tried to find some “manzana agua” which translates to “water apple” but they had all fallen from the tree and begun to rot, so I didn’t get to experience that fruit.  I never knew that there were so many fruits that God has made that I never even knew existed. 

This is some sort of flower with an name that
sounds like "maraccas."  They are exported
frequently and they last for about 15 days
after they are cut.

After lunch, I walked home with Jaden while Amanda and Eddie stayed at school to study.  Eddie has already finished about 40 pages in his book, and Amanda needed to catch up with him so they can be on the same level.  It started to rain on my way home and hasn’t stopped since (it is now after 5:00pm).  Eddie just got home wearing a garbage bag for a raincoat since he forgot his.

I spent my afternoon talking with Samia during teatime, and I also went to get haircut at her friend Erica’s house.  As I sat in the chair, getting my hair cut by someone I could hardly communicate with, I was being whistled at by the neighbor’s pet bird.  She asked me many questions as she cut my hair, just like any hairdresser I know. The problem was that I could not comprehend anything she said on the first try, so she repeated herself a lot.  There were only a few things that she said that I never could figure out.  In the end, it was a pleasant experience.  Plus it was cost much less than a haircut in the states… only $6.  I gave her $10 just to show my appreciation and she thought I was confused.  I finally told her (with the help of a Spanish Application on my phone) that I wanted to give her a tip.  Finally, she accepted.

Wednesday, October 10

Jaden and Diana

Another day of class… it was not my favorite class so far.  I definitely had moments where I thought, “Are we done yet?”  I was mentally exhausted and wanted a nap.  It didn’t help that we were reading the classified ads in this little magazine to learn about the houses for sale in Costa Rica.  It was too repetitive for my liking, and it is not something I would even do in English.  Why do I have to do it in Spanish?  Oh well, we got through it and I learned a few new words along the way. 

The most exciting thing that happened in class today is that Sonia helped me prepare my presentation for tomorrow’s culture class.  All I had to do was look on the Internet to find pictures to go along with it.  It was much easier than last week’s prep time.  Now I just have to work on my pronunciation.

Jaden continues to enjoy his freedom running around the school campus.  The door of my classroom is often open, so I get to see him walking by from time to time.  Here is a picture of him “riding” his babysitter’s bike.

After school today, we saw José Pablo playing baseball in the plaza with one of his friends, Gabriel.  Of course Eddie stopped to play.  I went home to drop off my bags and then took Jaden back out to play.  He was fascinated with watching them try to hit the ball.  I even got to take a turn batting, pitching and catching.  I was reminded of the simple life they live here.  No mitt, no helmet, no bases even.  All they needed was a bat, a ball, and a friend to play with.  It was fun and we had a chance to interact with the kids without struggling through the language barrier.  When it began to rain, we headed inside.  Thankfully, we were close to home.

Samia and her friend Gabby came home and prepared dinner… I honestly do not even know what it was, but it was good.  I had seconds and thirds.  Jaden has had his ups and downs with food here.  Since our arrival, Jaden has resisted eating any meal we try to feed him.  The good thing is, he doesn’t really resist when someone else feeds him.  Every night for dinner (and every morning for breakfast) I sit him in his seat and try to feed him.  Some days are better than others, but for the most part he is not interested in what I give him.  Then Samia or Freddy will pick him up and try to feed him and he eats like he has never eaten before.  Tonight he was standing on Gabby’s lap and shoveling beans and “unknown food” in his mouth faster than he could chew.  Needless to say, he is not starving and overall he loves the food here.  He is just demonstrating a stubborn streak that I have no idea where it came from I’m afraid runs in his blood… stemming from both of his parents. 

After dinner, José Pablo wanted to play a card game that I brought with me called “Blink.”  Eddie and I have played it once before a while ago, so I had to refresh my memory on the rules.  Thankfully, there were rules written in Spanish included in the box.  Jose Pablo read them and said “No entiendo.”  I know what that means because I say it about a hundred times a day… “I don’t understand.”   I demonstrated the game and we played a slow round until he and Gabriel understood.  The cards have objects on them with various colors, numbers and shapes, so it is great for practicing simple Spanish words like rojo, azul, verde, uno, dos tres, estrella, flor, etc.  It is a two-person game and each game is quick (about 2 minutes long).  After a few turns for each of us, we decided to have a tournament.  Guess who won!?!  I won’t make you guess:  me, of course!!! Jose Pablo challenged me to another game of Blink tomorrow where he said he will get “revende.”

Turrialba, Fireworks, and Ants

Friday, October 5  A trip to Turrialba for me:

Today, Eddie wanted to be the studious man of the house and did not want to go shopping with me.  I decided I would take a trip to Turrialba with one of the other students from CISA.  Her name is Jennea (JEN-a-yah) and she is a very independent 18 year-old from California.  I met her at the bus stop and we headed to the city of Turrialba. 

It was a much less over-whelming experience this time around because:

1. I didn’t feel sick.

2. I was with an English speaking person who knew her way around.

3. We didn’t have to carry Jaden.

4. It was not as hot.

5. Many things were starting to look familiar.

As we walked through the farmers market, she told me that she likes to buy fruit here because it is not too expensive.  She pointed out to me some unfamiliar fruits and asked if I wanted to try some.  I opted for a “mamon chino.”

As you can see from the picture, it looks like a hairy strawberry.  The skin is very tough, but you just break it apart with your fingernails.  Inside, there is a white fruit.  It is similar to a grape without skin, but tastes much different.  It is very sweet, and it has a seed in the center.  We were told not to give them to Jaden because children can choke on them very easily.  We heeded that warning.

 

She also asked me if I wanted to try coconut water.  When you ask for one, the man uses a machete to cut the top off and put in a straw.  This was a new experience for me... it tasted okay but all it did was make me have to pee.  Soon I was looking for a place to ditch the coconut and find a restroom.

We were also on the hunt for new guitar strings for Eddie.  He is able to borrow a guitar from someone here, but he wants new strings.  Unfortunately, the store that we think has them was closed.  Mission failed.  We also failed to find Beano.

I neglected to pack any toys for Jaden, so I was also looking for a few small toys I could buy for him and then just leave here when we return to the States.  I found this cool truck with blocks and a wooden puzzle.  When I looked at the price tags, I calculated in my head that the truck would cost about $8 and the puzzle about $6.  I thought that was a great price and headed to the counter to pay.  I guess I was so nervous that my brain shut off because it wasn’t until I returned home that I realized the truck actually cost me $32… I did the math wrong (I divided instead of multiplied).  Oh well… learning from mistakes is one way to learn, although it’s not my favorite.

Saturday, October 6  Amanda and Fireworks:

We were so excited to see Eddie’s sister today!  She arrived around 10am, but it took a long time for her to actually get to her host family's home.  She rode with Hector’s parents from the airport, and they got stuck in traffic and stopped for lunch along the way.

Freddy brought Eddie, Jaden and me to her house.  As we were driving, we saw her walking along the road with her host family’s granddaughter.  We stopped and picked them up and hung out with her for a few hours.   She understands more Spanish than I do, so she is adjusting well for her first day here.  We left her to unpack and get settled and have dinner with her host family.

If you want to read more about Amanda's experiences in Costa Rica, please check out the link below:

http://amandaberrios.blogspot.com/

After we ate dinner, Freddy told us that there would be fireworks at 8:00 that night.  We walked into town where one of the churches was putting on a festival.  They even had COTTON CANDY!!! I ate the whole bag shared with Eddie and Jaden.  Eddie bought Churros and some sort of peanuts with a candy coating on them.  They were awesome and I went back to get another bag.

Then the fireworks began.  Freddy found us the perfect spot to stand to watch.  Well, perfect if you are not Jaden.  He was pretty nervous.  He has seen fire works before, but even I have never been this close to them.  Eddie was holding him and suddenly Jaden lunged into Freddy’s arms.  He buried his face in Freddy’s neck and that is where he stayed for the remainder of the fireworks display.  

 He eventually fell asleep on Freddy’s shoulder.  As the evening went on, I actually started to feel cold!!!  I had previously thought these people were crazy because they where standing around saying “Muy frio.”  We even saw a little girl with a winter hat on with a thick sweatshirt.  Eventually, I was one of the people saying “Muy frio.”

Sunday October 7

We did not have church today because Hector and Daniel are in California.  This morning we had a relaxing breakfast with the whole family.  After that, we contacted Amanda and she managed to take the bus to Tuis (only a 5 min ride) all by herself on the second day here!!!  I am very impressed with her.   Unfortunately, Eddie was late to meet her at the bus stop so she asked a woman in town if she knew were Samia lived.  The woman pointed her in the right direction and Eddie met her when she had already walked ¼ of the way to our house!  What a brave woman.

When she got here, Jaden was sleeping and Freddy was home.  We took the opportunity to go to the river with Jose Pablo.  He led us to a place where the river is not very strong and where he likes to swim.  Of course, Eddie was bored with that.  So… We headed to the area we walk past every day where the river is stronger.  We made our way down the bank and into the river.  We navigated our way to “the rapids.”  It was not that fast, but the current was strong enough to really hurt you if you were not careful.  Don’t worry; we were careful.  We had fun swimming in the river.  There was never a point in our adventure when I was cold… the water was so refreshing, or as the Ticos say “Muy Rico!!!”  Jose Pablo on the other hand was shivering by the time we were done swimming.  He was warming himself on a large rock before we walked home.

When we returned home, we showered and headed to “MonteVerde” (the restaurant that Samia cooks for).  Yet again, we were the only people there to eat and the food was delicious.

 After that, Eddie and I attempted our walk to school with Jaden in the stroller so we could show Amanda how to get to class tomorrow.  She feels pretty confident that she will be able to get to school tomorrow on her own. 

On a final note, I was reminded that all of creation reflects the character of God today.  Let me back up by saying I have had a weird fascination with the ants (hormigas) here.  Every day we walk past a certain tree.  On this tree are hundreds of hormigas walking up and down the tree.  They go up the tree, cut a piece of leaf off and walk back down the tree, through a path they have stomped down in the grass, across the street, through some more dirt to their home.  Every time I walk past this spot in the road, I see them, night or day, rain or shine.  They are always there.  I look for them and carefully step over them (both because I don’t want to hurt them and I don’t want them to bite me).  I even stopped to video them because I was so fascinated by them.  Well, today (Sunday) as we walked toward the spot, I was ready to point them out to Amanda.  Gues what... there was not an ant to be found.  I thought, "Even the hormigas are observing a day of rest." Wow, if I just slow down and open my eyes, I can learn something new about God and his creation every day.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 2:2-3

Top 10 Things I have learned while in Costa Rica

10.  Don’t flush the toilet paper.

9. The higher the water pressure is, the colder your shower is.

8. When the sun wakes you up at 6:00am everyday, bed time is at 10:00pm and no later. Plus, I can accomplish more before 9:30 every morning than I ever imagined.

7. Jaden does not like bugs, especially ones that are the size of his hand.

6. I can learn to sleep through the rooster crow and dogs barking next door.

5. We waste a lot in the US.

4. God’s creation never ceases to amaze me.  He even made a flowering tree that you can only smell at night.  It is like walking through a cloud of your favorite perfume. The blossoms are open at night in the first picture.  The blossoms close during the day, as you can see in the picture of the same plant below.

3. Don't let my husband eat beans!  By the way, you can eat rice and/or beans with every meal and with anything (including coconut rice and beans). 

2. I have the happiest son and the most awesome husband on the planet.

 

1.  My God's not dead... He's surely alive!