Craziest Weekend Thus Far

So once upon a time, the roomies (Kristen, Joe, Jon, I) decide to go to Liberia for the weekend. We get on a bus and head out. After four hours we arrive, and the hotel we booked is right across from the bus terminal. Perfect right?

The place is also a bar, and locals, not tourists, are enjoying beer and karaoke. The hotel guy shows us to our room, which we paid $8 per person for. We quickly figured out why. The room is the size of a walk in closet with 2 bunk beds and no bedding. We laugh it off and have a good time hanging out that night.

Deciding we wouldn't stay again, because we're crazy, we decide to just go eat breakfast at McDonalds and take a one hour bus ride to the beach, and then go back home.

We buy tickets for the 10 AM bus to Playa Flamingo that should take an hour. The bus arrives an hour later, and the bus ride takes 2 1/2 hours. WOW, really CR?

So we get off at Playa Flamingo. We see water, we see beach, but no people. None. So we start walking. We look like death: sweaty, dirty, and just miserable. We find a ritzy resort with tennis courts, beachfront, pools, you get it. We ask them for a deal, they're not having it, and send us to another resort.

The next resort, we're desperate. We pitch our best sale, and they take the bait. $25 per person for one night only. SO we spent the evening and next morning swimming, hanging out with iguanas, and just having a good ole time.

At breakfast, an iguana charged me. I probably shouldn't have provoked it. Lesson learned.

We saw a man hopping down the huge hill our resort was on with a blood soaked towel around his leg and leaving puddles down the street. It was sick.

We then got bus tickets to return to San Jose. It's supposed to be a direct 5 hour bus ride. We left at 2, and arrived back at 8:15, of course.

11 days.

Costa Rica: FYI

So I'm getting to the point where I absolutely suck at blogging. I think mainly because I don't really like just writing what I did in a day. Here's why: typically it's not THAT eventful, and you don't want to to read that anyways. So therefore, I'm going to leave you hanging from now on for a little bit, and then when I've decided it's time, I shall unleash wisdom from Latin America upon you. It's time.

So I've decided to share with you kids some likes and dislikes of mine in Costa Rica. Anybody have a preference which one I start with? .... ok good. let's start with likes.

In Costa Rica, I like...

1. The weather. Because it's awesome. I know that every day after school I can wear athletic shorts and a tank top. I do not have to be concerned a snow storm may show at any time. It's just nice!

2. The chill atmosphere. Nobody is in a hurry anywhere. If you're late, it's not that big of a deal. They get over it, because they're probably late too. Run out of time to do something today? Psh, do it tomorrow, next week, whenever.

3. Torta Chilena & Chocolate Tres Leches Cake - these little desserts have changed my post meal life. We all know that I don't really have a sweet tooth. For these two desserts to have blown my mind the way they did is a BIG deal.

4. Easy to travel. I can see Pacific in less an hour, and the Atlantic in about 4. That's crazy. I've never even seen these oceans from the US! You can just travel around the country without a car if necessary, how cool.

5. Blackberries and Pineapple - Costa Rica has great fruits, really a lot of them are awesome. But blackberries (moras) and pineapples (pinas) are by far and away the best. They honestly taste DIFFERENT here. How does that happen? I don't know. God smiles upon Costa Rica's fruit.

6. Rain forest. I don't think I really have to explain how awesome this is. We don't have them in Oklahoma, and they provide awesome entertainment like waterfall rappelling and canopy tours. 2LEGIT2QUIT.

7. Taxi drivers - They are a hoot. They let me practice my Spanish without laughing at me and they get me from point A to point B. And if you get lucky, they'll say something incredibly inappropriate or crazy.

So I'm not saying that's all the good stuff, I'm sure there's more. BUT I feel it's time we moved to the not so great stuff...

I dislike...

1. Cost of living in Costa Rica. You may think oh it's a developing nation, it'd be awesome and cheap to live there. FALSE. They have unreal taxes and have to import a lot of things, not cheap. I love the taxi drivers, but their meters jump so bad it's not even funny. No taxi costs the same, and they're always trying to rip you off. It's the worst.

2. They are ALWAYS late. Obviously I said this was also sort of a thing I like; it's a two sided coin. You can't count on anybody here. They may be late, or just not show up at all. I'm punctual and I hate it.

3. Public Buses. YES they do get me to the various places I want to go. But they're disgusting. The drivers drive like maniacs. People look at you like they want to kill you. Not so great.

4. All the food I love in America that they try to imitate. Their typical dishes of Costa Rica are awesome and different. I wish they'd just stick to them. Every time I go to a restaurant and order something other than their typical dishes (they only have two so it gets old quick) they completely butcher it. It's shocking how bad they can actually make pizza and spaghetti. shocking.

5. Rude ticos. I am glad they love their country, I am. But telling me that I'm a stupid gringo from the stupid USA just ticks me off. I've never once told anyone here that the U.S. is superior. Never. But they will tell me all the time how much better they are, SPECIFICALLY because they don't have a military. But what if someone attacked little Costa Rica? Whose military would they need to come take care of it? Yep.

6. DIRTY. Costa Rica is so dirty. When I was preparing to come here, I heard how eco friendly Costa Rica is. Lies, it's all lies.

7. This is my last one, since I ended on 7 on likes as well. BUT it's a big one. For some reason tico men think it's appropriate to yell at women and demean them however they'd like. I'm not a fan. Every day I either walk or run a few kilometers down the street. I get so much crap. Today, I actually decided to count. On a 30 minute walk, I was honked/waved at 10 times, whistled at 4 times, and two men that I walked by actually had the audacity to mentally undress me all the while knowing I know what they're doing. It's disgusting.

So yeah, there's some likes and dislikes. I'm sure there's more, but eh. Pura Vida!

Oh Glorious Day

So today was Easter. It was weird being in a different country, with no family and just students from my school. But to be honest, I hadn't put a ton of thought into my potential emotions or anything up until Good Friday.

When I woke up that morning, it was weird because it was as if this whole Holy week (Semana Santa) was different, more meaningful than it ever had been. On Good Friday I was more aware and shaken by the sacrifice Christ had made for me than I have ever been. I went on a walk that morning trying to just wrap my head around that incredibly selfless sacrifice. I kept thinking about so many things I have done since being a Christian, since knowing this love, that have been a deliberate disobedience to Christ and his call in my life. But it made me incredibly grateful. And I think in some very miniscule small way I could finally identify with sacrifice on Good Friday. Being away from home for so long has been hard. And when I'm honest with myself, I see that it's been a tough experience. And sacrificing not being at home for this time is NOTHING in comparison to what Christ had done. I was just really incredibly overwhelming grateful.

One really great experience that tops many from this trip was doing communion with JJ, Caitlin & Joe via Skype on Good Friday. It was awesome to be able to observe such an important element of my faith with a believer here in this experience with me and of course the best of the best at home. I was extremely blessed to have gotten to do that, and can't imagine ever forgetting it. It was incredibly special, even if it was grape Gatorade.

But lucky for all of us, Good Friday isn't the end of the story, so it's neither the end of my blog. It just wouldn't be right.

So this morning, we went to church at International Baptist Church. It was exactly what I needed. The Lord had prepared that time for my heart. That church came ready to celebrate the resurrection with complete joy and surrender to Christ. It was amazing to join in with them. Even though I've been there few times and will probably never be there again, I was with my family of believers, rejoicing in the victory over death Christ has for us. It was really amazing.

All of us students got together to do lunch afterwards. We made great American food, enjoyed each other's company, and it was a good way to end the first Easter away from home. Now, 27 days from the U.S.A.


'Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I stand.

PANAMANIA

So it's been awhile since I've posted, shocker.

But for Semana Santa we went to PANAMA!! And to be honest, it was just alright. Don't get me wrong, I had a BLAST, but Costa Rica as a whole has been a better experience.

Here are the good things:

- Panama uses U.S. dollars. I love them, they make sense to me. Colones are ludicrous.
- Panama is also incredibly cheap in comparison to Costa Rica, which was really nice.
- A local from the hostel took us to some horse races and then to like a local hang out right by the stadium. It was really chill and just different from what we're used to. Lots of fun. At this little event, we met this strange guy we called ol' red at our hostel. His life story was a doozie, and he looked like a redneck. Nice guy though.
- We went to a baseball game! It was really cheap, and a lot of fun!
- I saw the Panama Canal! I mean it wasn't a big monumental moment in my life, but I still saw it. And I'm still wondering why we gave it back. Ships pay $250,000 to get through that thing. I have the solution to the U.S. economy: get back the canal.
- One day we snuck into a resort to swim and relax. The resort even called a taxi for us thinking we were guests, it was legit.
- It was just a little more like the U.S. At this point in the trip, a little U.S. feel goes a long way.
- Not having to go to school is just legit, no matter where you are.

Ok, so the not so good things:

- Traveling to another country via land is the worst idea ever. We were at the border over 3 hours both ways. Latin America doesn't understand efficiency, it makes me crazy.
- Travleling on a bus for 16 hours is also not recommended. It's just pretty horrible, especially when a French girl leans her seat into your lap and traps your legs, boooo.
- Panama isn't near as beautiful as Costa Rica. The beaches were sad, basically like a lake. Good thing we found that resort to sneak in, we were basically in hades for an hour or so.
- Panama is HOT. It was so hot... oh gosh I was hot.

Good spring break trip, all in all.

Puerto Viejo

I'm obviously real bad at this blogging business. But here I am, attempting again.

We went to Puerto Viejo this weekend!!! It was really legit. It was a smaller group so we were able to get around really easily and just chill. We rented bikes and went up and down the beaches. We stayed in a legit apartment where we made food for ourselves. I loved my bike, I loved the beach, I loved the company. Here are some highlights:

- Two men followed us on bikes, so we turned around.
- Caribbean fish, delish
- Cheap Charlie and his awesome jewelry
- Family portraits.
- Colby's bike wreck
- Waiting 1 1/2 hours for a bus
- Karaoke on a bus with an iPod.
- We were offered weed, that was weird.

I will try to write again soon, love.

6 week mark

So today I have been in Costa Rica for 6 weeks. And it's been quite the adventure to say the least. I'm nervous this middle part will be difficult. I've been in a pretty thoughtful weird state for a few hours, which is probably why I haven't gotten anything done at all this evening. It's just weird because in a lot of ways, I do like it here. The weather is always nice, having to rely on the Lord is such a blessing, and being able to teach these kids is legit. But I sure do miss home. Just to spend a day with close friends, jam in the car, and then talk about Jesus is of more worth now than it's ever been. This place is a blessing, even when it doesn't seem like it, because it brings appreciation for those loved at home.

So this weekend:

On Friday night we went and watched Alice and Wonderland. It was weird, whimsical, and delightful. It was a good Friday night activity for sure.

Saturday was Family Day at the school I work at, Blue Valley. It was a lot of fun. Lots of food, entertainment, etc. The seniors put on a little production of the Lion King, pictures to come soon. It was.... something else for sure. Unfortunately, the show ran late and I was late to my duties to help the 8B table shut down (even though they decided to shut down 20 min early). I got their just as a high-strung crazy teacher from New York was ready to kill me because she had to clean it up by myself. It was awesome.

Then we met up with everyone, talked about our plans, and all went on our own way basically. I went and watched Shutter Island with Joe (2nd shout out, you owe me 1000 colones). Shutter Island was completely awesome and legit. MINUS THE FACT that some girl answered her phone ACTUALLY ANSWERED HER PHONE in the theatre in the most intense part of the movie. She not only answered but had a conversation, it was unreal.

We went to church this morning, ate at the Multiplaza with our pals Buster & Tracy, and Joe John and I finished off the afternoon by swimming and venting about all the thing we dislike here. It felt good.

Now I've wasted hours and hours on Facebook, filling out my superior March Madness bracket, and now blogging. All when I should be doing lesson plans. I'm becoming tica, yikes...

Love.

HAWK WEEK

There's so much I could say regarding this week....

All the hard work, the paper work, the sweat... oh the sweat. Who knew evaluation would be something so stressful yet rewarding at the same time?

I'm a dork but I really like getting feedback on things I do. So the positive and even the negative feedback this week was honestly rewarding. But I'm not going to lie... thank goodness it's over.

This weekend, no big plans. We have family day tomorrow at BVS, yahoooo! I'm hoping to also catch a soccer game...

Weekend Objectives:Chill, Be Cheap, Go to Church

This weekend was the first time we didn't travel. And though I guess it's kind of sad we didn't go hike the rainforest, see a volcano, or go to a beach, I think we all needed some chill time. SO on Friday night we just went out to a local place and hung out for awhile. Then Saturday the game plan was to chill by the pool, go by our bus tickets to Panama for spring break, and just do whatever.

Entonces, Saturday around 3:30 we left to go to the forbidden and hated San Jose. We get there around 4, and think perfect! we'll be here about 30 minutes to get our tickets, and then we'll just head home. We get to the ticabus terminal and start to purchase our tickets. For obvious reasons, since this is a bus ticket taking us out of the country, they ask for our passports or a copy of them. Joe, John, and I whip ours out, no problem. But the rest of the group..... whoops. So we ate there for over 2 hours getting passport numbers, printing off tickets, the whole situation was a terrible disaster. Note to all: carry a copy of your passport.

After San Jose, we get back and most people decide to just head home. Joe, Tricia, Carly & I head to get sushi and then watch the Duke/NC basketball game at Hooligan's. Well turns out they're not showing it in Costa Rica, disappointment #2 of the day. So we go home.

Sunday morning: CHURCH!!!!! I had missed it dearly and so I was so excited to have a protestant english-speaking church nearby to try out this Sunday. So we went to International Baptist Church. It was great, very interesting. There were so many different types of people there from all over the world. The pastor is actually from Guthrie, OK and he talks out of the side of his mouth like Gerard Butler. He introduced us to some of their local body's members who were teachers or university students. It was indeed enjoyable to be back in fellowship with other believers. But to be honest, I still really miss Countryside.

After the service, they tell us to ride in a bus for students to Multiplaza. There was some chaos with all that business. They told us to get out, then told us to get back in. Finally a nice lady from Germany, who was black, with an English accent (no joke) offered to drive us there, but she had never driven in Costa Rica before. We were willing to take our chances.

We arrive safely to the Multiplaza, eat lunch, grab ice cream, have friend time, then head out. It was quite the weekend.

Now, it is time to prepare for the Hawk coming to CR for Midpoint Evaluation.

Let's pray he passes me and I didn't come to Costa Rica in vain.

26 bug bites later...

So as always I haven't posted since Sunday but it's just because the actual week is so lame. I go to school, I come home, I get on this thing, I go to bed. But I'll try to remember some highlights to entertain you.

Monday and Tuesday were relatively uneventful. One of those days, it rained. How's that for a highlight. Oh and also somehow in those two days, i managed to obtain 26 bug bites. How's that for a record? Source of bites: unknown. Pura vida.

Wednesday: Daniela from school took us to a sushi place. I got the hikari rolls with eel sauce and let me just say: THE ABSOLUTE BEST SUSHI I HAVE EVER EATEN EVER. No joke, it was sooo good. Then Carly and I went to the Multiplaza to go to the movies with everyone else. 3 hours later, we went home because no one showed up. Thanks, thanks a lot.

And today, yet again not too much fun. However I went for a walk and a lady that works at my school who is precious to the max was driving by. She apprently lives in the neighborhood right by mine! She said hello and told me if I ever needed something to let her know, so nice. On this same walk I cross paths with two boys, probably in high school. One says "Hiiiii" real creepishly. Then the other just tops it off with "Oooo chica, muy guapa. Buenas." Perfect way to end my walk.

Please pray for me being intentional with other staff at school.

Pura Vida. Love.

Volcano Arenal

Obviously from the title, we went to Volcano Arenal this weekend! And it was AWESOME!! We stayed at the nicest hostel that Costa Rica boasts. It had like a little hammock area, a nice pool, restaurant, and the rooms had A/C! Too bad no one else on this trip appreciated A/C, or that would have been awesome. We went to hot springs heated by the lava of the volcano, called the Baldi Springs. They had a ton of different springs all at different temperatures. The hottest was 109 degrees, and the lowest wasn't really too cold but it was still great.

At Baldi, they had these slides that went into a less hot swimming pool. There were 3 slides: slow, fast, and very fast. Being the little daredevil I am, I immediately jump into the very fast. Oh. My. Gosh. So it seems there's probably no regulations on safety in Costa Rica. It was one of the scariest/coolest moments of my young adult slide history.

After the Baldi, we went on a hike around the volcano in the rain forest. It was legit! I saw spider monkeys! And we swung on a vine in the rain forest, just like George. When the hike was almost over, we reached this awesome view of the volcano where we heard the tragic story of how this part of Costa Rica found out they had a volcano right by them. A whole village died in the volcano's first blast in 1968. It was a pretty intense story.After the hike, they took us to try to view the volcano spew out lava rocks at night, but unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy so we couldn't see. Instead, we skipped rocks and wandered around the area.

They took us back to the Baldi to eat a dinner buffet before going back to the hostel. It was insane crowded. AND every time we tried to sit down they freaked out because we were sitting in the wrong place. Joe Nixon stated, "This is stupid" as he chomps down on some lettuce. We also met another American there, though less pleased to be in good ol' CR. She was a little upset she was having rice and beans again.

Today we drove back with our amazing driver whose name I can't say. But he was the sweetest little man in the world with Jesus pictures all over his van, cool cat.

I just took a 3 hour nap, and ate a soggy Quiznos sandwich. It was marvelous.

Pray for: my teaching this week, patience with BVS, and being intentional with spending time with the Lord.

PS - I've been here for a month today, no kidding.

Pura Vida!

Alright so Tuesday I went on a field trip with my kiddos in 8A. We went to a Chinese fair in San Jose. It was pretty cool, they had music, books, chinese chess, and a national champion ping pong player set up shop and showed some of our kids some moves. Unfortunately the 8A students tired quickly and thirty minutes before we are supposed to leave, the students decide they're bored and want to go to McDonalds. Mrs. Van der Laat says alright so we head off to McDonalds. It was sort of surprising that we would leave right in the middle of a field trip, but that's the way they roll at Blue Valley. Pura Vida.

We had meetings yesterday after school. I think I'll never understand the purpose of staff development meetings, they always seem somewhat silly to me. I went to a meeting about classroom management. It was interesting and some funny guy had something to say every five minutes. Afterwards, we went to the Multiplaza to watch a movie. Needing a little comfort from the good ol' USA, I sneak two double decker tacos from t-bell and a can of dr. pepper (gold in this country) into the movie theatre. We watched Invictus, and it was awesome..

While watching Invictus, I thought about how cool Morgan Freeman is. I even decided to myself that BAMF should no longer carry the negative connotation it has but it should mean Beautiful As Morgan Freeman. Tell me what you think.

This blogging business is hard to keep up with..

So it's been a week. For all you avid readers just waiting for my posts, i apologize.

It was a pretty crazy week. We went to Manuel Antonio this weekend and hung out. We played soccer on the beach with some ticos and American boys. I got the usual sunburn, it was a good time. We ate at at place called Daiquiris. It looked awesome, but their food sucked.

The next day, it was time to leave and it was hot and humid. And I really really hate being sweaty unless I'm at camp war eagle. I mean I really really hate it. So I was pretty miserable a large part of that day so we can forget that.

Today, I gave my 6th graders a test, and I got some remarkable answers to some questions. They're somewhat inappropriate, so message me and I'll tell you.

On a more serious note, the Lord has been good in Costa Rica. I met some people who really have a heart for the Lord that have told me about a few mission opportunities that I can check out while I'm here, so pray for those things please :)

Well... i think that covered a week. I'll try to write again oh so soon.

Monteverde

So it's been a few days since I posted, so here we go.

This past weekend we decide to hang out in the rain forest in Monteverde. So we order a crazy expensive bus, drive on horrible gravel roads, are scared out of our minds that we will be murdered in the woods, and arrive at our hotel late at night.

Since we're cheap students, we're all sharing two rooms for 4-5 people including the boys. Kristen and I decide to take one for the time and say Joe and Jon can stay with us. Well. Have you ever heard of the saying if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all? Joe hasn't. He is a hate machine. Just kidding, actually we were the best roommates EVER!!!

So the whole point of the going to the rainforest this weekend was to run in a race on Saturday morning. I think this is a brilliant idea, I may not be a runner but I'm completely convinced I can do this. Well after a mile and a half of only hills, lots of polluted air, and my out of shape sides aching, I realize real fast I'm far from capable of doing this. So instead Vanessa and I end up on the walker's 5k road. But I still finished a race in the rainforest, so pura vida!!

After the race, we go grab lunch and prepare ourselves for the canopy tour. A van pulls up to take us and we meet two travelers: a really nice girl from Australia, and a German whose name was never clear. Let's call him Hans.

We all go to the canopy tour, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!! I've never done anything that cool. It was surreal being that far up on the air on a little wire. The workers were funny, the land was beautiful, it was amazing.

After the canopy tour, we go out to the Treehouse restaurant to celebrate Kristen's birthday, it was awesome. And then we met up with our new found friends at a place called Amigos for a little while. But apparently our transition to Costa Rica has made us old, because we were all home by 11.

Yesterday we returned to our homestays and prepared for school today... which of course is not near as wonderful as the rain forest..

1st day of kiddos

So yesterday was the first day with the kiddos. I thought I was going to be more excited about meeting the student body all that. Don't get me wrong, they make the school day more lively. I was just under the impression since this is a private school, the kids would really want to learn and have good behavior unlike the kids in the states.

not true

But honestly the first two days have proven to be overwhelming and challenging. But I do feel it's a good thing, I mean sink or swim right? I taught my first class the first day of school while being monitored of course. Those sixth graders were a little out of control. They just talk so much here. I thought kids in the states could talk, these kids could talk to a brick wall, no joke...

My favorite part of the day was seeing the parents pull up in their BMW's, Range Rovers, Saabs, etc. The wealthy in Costa Rica are pretty legit. A kid got in trouble for having a watch that had a cell phone built into it with texting and the internet, insane.

Today we went to the Multiplaza and watched Sherlock Holmes with Spanish subtitles. It was awesome.

Big gulps huh? Welp see you later.

Pray that I'll be intentional and have boldness through the language barrier.

Love ya'll

No Way San Jose

Alright so yesterday we decide we should go visit the capital city, San Jose for the day. Even though many teachers and locals said it wasn't worth it, we got on a bus and headed that way.

Well turns out, San Jose is the worst. It was dirty, crowded, hot, humid, people were honking like crazy people. It was stressful. We aimlessly walked around since the central market was closed because of the election for a few hours. We finally just ate lunch and got the heck out of there. We actually ran to a bus.

After going onto the old highway and being on a bus far longer than necessary, we arrive in Santa Ana. Ready to get off the bus, we're prepared to pull the cord at the next stop. Well Colby thinks we can get off at another stop because the driver will loop around. Colby is wrong. So a mile or so away from the original bus stop, we get off the bus, and walk to the Santa Ana homestays. Some kid gave me a LAURA flag, I kept it as a souvenir.

The rest of the afternoon we just hung out in the courtyard, with very philosophical conversation. We came up with all of us being characters on the The Real World: Costa Rica.

At the end of the day, I went back to my homestay in time to hear Costa Rica announce their first female president ever, Laura Chinchilla.

And the Saints won.

Pura Vida!

It's been a few...

Hey friends.

So it's been a few days since I wrote, but mainly because sometimes the weekdays get a little boring and I just choose not to write about them.

Wednesday after school we all went to hang out at the Multi Plaza. We watched the movie Up In the Air in English with Spanish subtitles. As a result, I learned 3 cuss words in Spanish, including the f bomb. Not that I'm going to use them obviously, but I feel like I needed to know what they were.

Thursday I went to school like the norm. the whole clan went out to eat at an italian place on OSU's dime, it was delightful. Hawkins yelled a lot and refused to eat cheesecake with fruit on top. High maintenance much?

Friday we had a swim party, it was ballin'.

and then today..... WE WENT TO THE OCEAN!!!! It was my first time and it was awesome. I got in the water and swam around, went on some walks, had fish casado, finished Redeeming Love (which was AMAZING), and then we headed home.

While at the ocean, I kept being told I should stay in the shade because of my fair skin. But turns out, I wasn't sunburned that bad in comparison to others. So yeah deal with that.... but when I got home I realized I was burned a little more than I thought.. whoops.

But I officially love the ocean, weekends, and Costa Rica.

Give me prayer requests if you have them, love.

Orientation Shmorientation

So today was our first day at Blue Valley for new teacher orientation. I can confidently say I don't like sitting through meetings in any country. BUT the school is really cool and the faculty seems to be very welcoming.

I have yet to actually meet my cooperating teacher, but luckily I think I will meet her today. I sadly don't really have much to say about today. It's sort of just been long, and it's been hard not really seeing anybody since school. I hope my home stay can be at home more often in the evening as the semester progresses, I feel like I'm in house arrest haha.

But God is good, so I shouldn't complain. I started getting into Redeeming Love, talk about a sad book when you're already out of our element. GEEZ.

I really feel like all of my posts are really sporadic with little organization...

Welp see you later :)

Living the Good Life

What a rough day in Costa Rica...

We woke up at 9, had breakfast made for us at the hotel, and then sat by the pool for most of the morning.

In the afternoon I went to Blue Valley and met my family. Escazu is so much different than Santa Ana! It's so urban and americanized! My family lives in a legit gated community with a pool. It's so much different than I expected.

Though it's nice that they have more in common with me than I thought, I'm sad I'm missing out on a lot of culture. But I'm pumped about getting into the school, and of course weekends!

Amazing quote from Kristin today:

"Perhaps that is the whole point of faith; that we follow God faithfully when nothing makes sense anymore." - Extraordinary Faith

Love ya'll.

Bienvenido a Costa Rica!

So, this day has been crazy.

We flew out from Dallas incredibly early. Since I had never gone through security, I pulled stuff out of my carry ons I didn't need to and looked like a big goof. We get on board, and even though it was a really short flight to Houston, I felt like I was in a little box for 50 minutes.

We arrived in Houston and met with the rest of the group. This flight was a little more bumpy. I thought since I'm a legit pilot, I was going to have to take over. But they got their act together. And then....... 3 1/2 hours later.... we were in San Jose, Costa Rica!!

It was oober hot in the airport and walking around with all those bags was less than fun. But we got through slowly but surely, got on a taxi and made it to the hotel, Casa Alegre.

We went to eat at this bar/restaurant. I got some legit Costa Rican food, it was pretty good minus a few things. Tomorrow we get to lay by the pool in the morning, and hopefully go to our homestays by tomorrow afternoon.

Please please please pray that we can go to our home stays tomorrow! Also, for safe travels and opportunities to share Jesus!!

I love you guys.

January 30 - FloMo

Hey friends.

So if you love me, you should read my blog while I am in Costa Rica. Let me give you a few reasons:

A - Because you love me, duh.

B - It'll make me feel like I'm not writing in vain.

C - It may be comical on occasion, but no promises.

SO, I'm at Kristen's house. She is packing slower than molasses. We leave from DFW at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I'll be in Costa Rica in 18 hours!! It's insane right? I know.

Well I love you all... probably. Send me Skype usernames please! I will have my phone but it's not as cheap as good ol' USA, so don't get crazy. I receive text messages for free, so feel free to do that whenever you wish, and I'll respond when I'm feeling like splurging 50 cents.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21