I like the class I´m taking. It´s mostly review, but it´s review that I need. I´ve heard that it takes somewhere around six months for a grammer rule to become part of one´s natural speech.
After class we met for lunch, then we went to the art museum.
After the museum, we decided to go out and celebrate the fourth of July doing something "American," which apparently means going to a bar.
At the bar I started talking to one of the girls about her spiritual journey. She grew up Catholic, but along the way lost her faith. When her dad gave her the option of continuing to go to church or not, she stopped going.
We live in the same area, so we got to continue talking on the bus and all the way to her house. I wasn´t sure how she felt about the whole conversation but she said before she left, "Good conversation, we´ll have to continue it sometime." Sweet!
I really like the "questioning evangelism" approach because it puts an emphasis on listening to the other person while also posing questions to them to make them think about what they believe.
I also saw Katie talking with Erin (which is much more significant if you know who Erin is) about Erin´s spiritual background which was encouraging.
I´m excited to see God working.
More pictures soon.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Day 8: A Whole Day Without Rice = Good Day
Class isn´t as tiring as it has been the past few days, that´s good. After class, we went to a pizzaria for lunch, then hurried over to the casita to get on the bus to go to Cartaga. It´s an old, touristy town with a large basillica and the ruins of a church never built.
After we got back, Katie and I ended up going to an internet cafe where I used Skype to call my family.
After the internet cafe, we went to Burger King. We ended up having a great conversation about what are "missions" look like while we´re here. It´s great to have someone else on the same page. We both feel that "our" ministryis with the other Winthrop students and not so much with Costa Ricans. I showed her my Soularium and she took it. Hopefully she´ll get to use it with one or both of her roommates tonight.
Aslan is on the move, and it´s exciting!
After we got back, Katie and I ended up going to an internet cafe where I used Skype to call my family.
After the internet cafe, we went to Burger King. We ended up having a great conversation about what are "missions" look like while we´re here. It´s great to have someone else on the same page. We both feel that "our" ministryis with the other Winthrop students and not so much with Costa Ricans. I showed her my Soularium and she took it. Hopefully she´ll get to use it with one or both of her roommates tonight.
Aslan is on the move, and it´s exciting!
Day 7: Technically a Week, and Yet, Not Quite
Today should mark the end of my first week here. And yet, it´s actually a day shy of a week since I left the U.S.
It was an uneventful day. After class and lunch I went by the San Pedro mall to get a picture taken of me so I can finally get a student ID. I signed up for Skype today, which is exciting.
I don´t hate Costa Rica, but I would still prefer being in Argentina. I´m not sure why. When I put them side by side, they´re not much different. It doesn´t rain as much in Argentina, but there are more dogs wandering the streets and more PDA. And the roads are much safer here than Argentina.
I left a piece of my heart in Santa Cruz two summers ago and a bigger piece in Argentina last summer. I can´t say I won´t leave a piece in Costa Rica, but much of that piece will return with me in the form of the relationships with the other Winthrop students.
I´m beginning to see what God wants to do through me down here. More to come.
It was an uneventful day. After class and lunch I went by the San Pedro mall to get a picture taken of me so I can finally get a student ID. I signed up for Skype today, which is exciting.
I don´t hate Costa Rica, but I would still prefer being in Argentina. I´m not sure why. When I put them side by side, they´re not much different. It doesn´t rain as much in Argentina, but there are more dogs wandering the streets and more PDA. And the roads are much safer here than Argentina.
I left a piece of my heart in Santa Cruz two summers ago and a bigger piece in Argentina last summer. I can´t say I won´t leave a piece in Costa Rica, but much of that piece will return with me in the form of the relationships with the other Winthrop students.
I´m beginning to see what God wants to do through me down here. More to come.
Yes. It does have a face.
Costa Rica´s seal.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Day 6: I´m Beginning to Warm Up to This Place
The second day of class was good. The more I study Spanish, the more interesting language in general becomes to me. Also, the more the importance of word choice becomes evident.
After class, a group of us went to one of the cafeterias on campus. On the way there, this guy jumped out in front of me and started running towards me. I stopped, startled, and as he jumped into giving me a hug, I recognized Barrett, a Clemson student who went to Argentina last summer. He´s currently on summer project in Costa Rica. I was so excited to see him. I knew he was going to be here, but hadn´t thought to contact him yet. I´m so glad we saw each other.
After lunch, we went to the National Museum which was fairly interesting. I´ll put up pictures soon. I´m really glad our group is getting along so well.
Fun story: On the bus ride back to my house there was a guy playing a drum and chanting. Then, he started telling jokes. It was hilarious...the guy, not the jokes, I could only understand bits and pieces of the jokes. Of course, he went around afterwords to collect money from us. I wish I had given him some.
Now I have to finish my homework. I have to write about the differences between Costa Rica and the U.S. I think I´ll focus on transportation...
After class, a group of us went to one of the cafeterias on campus. On the way there, this guy jumped out in front of me and started running towards me. I stopped, startled, and as he jumped into giving me a hug, I recognized Barrett, a Clemson student who went to Argentina last summer. He´s currently on summer project in Costa Rica. I was so excited to see him. I knew he was going to be here, but hadn´t thought to contact him yet. I´m so glad we saw each other.
After lunch, we went to the National Museum which was fairly interesting. I´ll put up pictures soon. I´m really glad our group is getting along so well.
Fun story: On the bus ride back to my house there was a guy playing a drum and chanting. Then, he started telling jokes. It was hilarious...the guy, not the jokes, I could only understand bits and pieces of the jokes. Of course, he went around afterwords to collect money from us. I wish I had given him some.
Now I have to finish my homework. I have to write about the differences between Costa Rica and the U.S. I think I´ll focus on transportation...
Day 5: First Day of School
My housemates decided to walk to campus today. It took 45 minutes. Good exercise, good way to get aquainted with the town, never again. Mostly this is because I feel like I can spend my time better if I take a 10 minute bus ride for less than 200 collones (less than $.50) instead of a 45 minute walk.
That said, I´m glad I did it once. We got to campus and I went to see what class I was placed in. 203, Intermediate Spanish, which is the class I originally signed up for. That was nice to find out. So I went to the classroom, which is no bigger than a storage closet.
There are ten of us in the class. No one else from Winthrop though. Class was easy today, we did mostly review. After a short, 20 minute, break we went to the conversation part of the class.
After class I met up with the Winthrop kids and some of us went to a restaurant across the street for lunch.
After lunch and a trip to the computer lab on campus, I went to a bookstore in the Outlet Mall (which is not really an outlet mall) and bought a notebook for class.
Then, I took a bus back to the house, did some homework, ate supper, hung out for a bit, finished my homework, then went to bed.
That said, I´m glad I did it once. We got to campus and I went to see what class I was placed in. 203, Intermediate Spanish, which is the class I originally signed up for. That was nice to find out. So I went to the classroom, which is no bigger than a storage closet.
There are ten of us in the class. No one else from Winthrop though. Class was easy today, we did mostly review. After a short, 20 minute, break we went to the conversation part of the class.
After class I met up with the Winthrop kids and some of us went to a restaurant across the street for lunch.
After lunch and a trip to the computer lab on campus, I went to a bookstore in the Outlet Mall (which is not really an outlet mall) and bought a notebook for class.
Then, I took a bus back to the house, did some homework, ate supper, hung out for a bit, finished my homework, then went to bed.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Un Poco Fotos
This is the view out of my hotel in Charlotte, when I was suppose to be in Costa Rica.
This is my hotel room. All to myself. Still not in Costa Rica.
This is my room now. Still all to myself. Finally in Costa Rica.
This is on the wall in my room. Muy catolico.
This picture sums up Costa Rica on so many levels.
Day 4: A New Day
I think I´m becoming more of a morning person. Not that I´m particularly excited to get up early and people who are overly happy in the morning still get on my nerves. But with each morning comes a new day full of new opportunities and possibilities of adventure (although I´m not sure how many more adventures like yesterday I can take). I´m not frustrated about yesterday. It´s in the past. And I will probably never like Costa Rica as much as Argentina, but that´s ok. I don´t have to. I have to take it a day at a time and know that God will take care of the rest.
It was a pretty uneventful morning. I read some and wrote some, while waiting for Katie to call. Around 10:30 she did and we made plans to meet and go to a movie. While she called the others, I took the opportunity to grab a taxi and head over to the internet cafe and update my blog.
After that, I met the others outside the National Bank. At 12:30 we left for the theater. On the way we decided to stop for lunch and a pizza and grill restaurant. I had my first Costa Rican burger. A-mazing! It´s always interesting to me to try "American food" in other countries. That´s why I´m not against going to McDonalds at least once just to see what their version of our food tastes like.
The only movies playing in English (with Spanish subtitles) were Maid of Honor, The End of Time, and Definitely Maybe. Quess which one we saw...Definitely Maybe. I´m still trying to process what I think about it, but I didn't hate it.
After the movie we walked back to the bus stop as it was beginning to rain. I have a feeling that I will get a lot of use out of my new umbrella. By the time I got on the bus, it was really pouring down. I was fairly confident that I knew which stop to get off at until I walked on the bus and saw that all the windows were fogged up.
Don't worry though, it wasn't a repeat of yesterday. I was extra alert and got off at the right stop.
I'm reminded of a wise old monkey who, after hitting the rightful king over the head with his stick and being questioned about it said, "It doesn't matter, it's in the past." There's a lot of truth in that.
School starts tomorrow. (Edit: you should know that these posts are based on journal entries of mine, so even though the date on the blog says Monday, class actually started today, but I wrote the above entry last night)
P.S. I don't hate cold showers as much as I thought I would. Who knew...
It was a pretty uneventful morning. I read some and wrote some, while waiting for Katie to call. Around 10:30 she did and we made plans to meet and go to a movie. While she called the others, I took the opportunity to grab a taxi and head over to the internet cafe and update my blog.
After that, I met the others outside the National Bank. At 12:30 we left for the theater. On the way we decided to stop for lunch and a pizza and grill restaurant. I had my first Costa Rican burger. A-mazing! It´s always interesting to me to try "American food" in other countries. That´s why I´m not against going to McDonalds at least once just to see what their version of our food tastes like.
The only movies playing in English (with Spanish subtitles) were Maid of Honor, The End of Time, and Definitely Maybe. Quess which one we saw...Definitely Maybe. I´m still trying to process what I think about it, but I didn't hate it.
After the movie we walked back to the bus stop as it was beginning to rain. I have a feeling that I will get a lot of use out of my new umbrella. By the time I got on the bus, it was really pouring down. I was fairly confident that I knew which stop to get off at until I walked on the bus and saw that all the windows were fogged up.
Don't worry though, it wasn't a repeat of yesterday. I was extra alert and got off at the right stop.
I'm reminded of a wise old monkey who, after hitting the rightful king over the head with his stick and being questioned about it said, "It doesn't matter, it's in the past." There's a lot of truth in that.
School starts tomorrow. (Edit: you should know that these posts are based on journal entries of mine, so even though the date on the blog says Monday, class actually started today, but I wrote the above entry last night)
P.S. I don't hate cold showers as much as I thought I would. Who knew...
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Day 3: Today´s Adventure
I will never love Costa Rica as much as Argentina. At this rate, I may not love Costa Rica at all.
Today, after breakfast, the four of us left for the university. We took the bus, which was good. Now I know where to get off for the university.
We got off and walked a ways until we got to the building for our second day of orientation. I met the other Winthrop students and we went in and sat down.
After orientation we took a tour of the school. It´s big, but fairly nice. After the tour was lunch, which was good. During lunch, we got to see some awesome Costa Rican dances, complete with Dr. Adams dancing the Merenge.
After lunch we took our placement tests. Mine was ok, but I won´t be suprised if they place me in a lower level class than the one I originally planned to take.
After our tests, our day was free. This was at 3:30. I was suppose to meet up with one of my housemates so they could show me the busroute home. Unfortunatly, we didn´t set a time and place for meeting. So I wander around campus for 45 minutes, don´t see anyone and decide to figure out the bus system on my own. I knew which bus to get on, got on it and went for a ride. All the way to the end of the line. At one point, I considered getting off because I thought I might be at the stop. But I didn´t . So I was kicked off at the end of the line, which was fine because it wasn´t that much farther from the stop I thought might be the right one. I got to a fork in the road and went left, which I still maintain was correct, but soon I had no idea where I was.
I walked, and I walked, and I walked some more. I have blisters on my feet. I also prayed. God, help me please! But honestly, I had no idea how God could help me. I´m in the middle of nowhere, in a country where I´m still learning the language, and I can´t ask for directions. Not because I´m a guy and am morally against it (I´m not), but because they don´t have street names or addresses. I had in my pocket a slip of paper with a general area and description of the house. Good for taxi drivers, not so much for random people I meet. I don´t have a cellphone and no one really knows where I am.
And, in the midst of all of this, I notice a girl wearing a blue shirt...Rachel (one of the Winthrop students) was wearing a shirt that color. I started to follow her because I wanted to see her face. At one point, she turned her head to the side just enough to give me the courage to call out her name.
Woot! It´s her!
I caught up to her and we started talking. Turns out she was on her way to meet up with a couple of other girls to go to an internet cafe.
Good! I haven´t emailed my parents yet and hopefully I can find a phone to call the family I´m staying with to let them know I´m ok.
By this time, it´s after 5 o´clock. So we walk together until we get tired of walking and call a taxi. We tell him where we want to go, which turns out to be two blocks away. Oh the irony of it all! So we get to the Outlet Mall and look for a phone. Plenty of phones, can´t get them to work. I was so frustrated at this point. But we met the other girls and went to the internet cafe. I explained my situation to them and they said I could use the phone at their house, which was close by.
So after sending a couple of emails and buying a much needed umbrella, we ended up at the girls house at 6:30 p.m. I called my host family and Rachel and I caught a taxi back to our houses.
The positive: I know my way around the campus now, and I did see God´s hand in all of this. I don´t know where I´d be (literally) without Him.
Today, after breakfast, the four of us left for the university. We took the bus, which was good. Now I know where to get off for the university.
We got off and walked a ways until we got to the building for our second day of orientation. I met the other Winthrop students and we went in and sat down.
After orientation we took a tour of the school. It´s big, but fairly nice. After the tour was lunch, which was good. During lunch, we got to see some awesome Costa Rican dances, complete with Dr. Adams dancing the Merenge.
After lunch we took our placement tests. Mine was ok, but I won´t be suprised if they place me in a lower level class than the one I originally planned to take.
After our tests, our day was free. This was at 3:30. I was suppose to meet up with one of my housemates so they could show me the busroute home. Unfortunatly, we didn´t set a time and place for meeting. So I wander around campus for 45 minutes, don´t see anyone and decide to figure out the bus system on my own. I knew which bus to get on, got on it and went for a ride. All the way to the end of the line. At one point, I considered getting off because I thought I might be at the stop. But I didn´t . So I was kicked off at the end of the line, which was fine because it wasn´t that much farther from the stop I thought might be the right one. I got to a fork in the road and went left, which I still maintain was correct, but soon I had no idea where I was.
I walked, and I walked, and I walked some more. I have blisters on my feet. I also prayed. God, help me please! But honestly, I had no idea how God could help me. I´m in the middle of nowhere, in a country where I´m still learning the language, and I can´t ask for directions. Not because I´m a guy and am morally against it (I´m not), but because they don´t have street names or addresses. I had in my pocket a slip of paper with a general area and description of the house. Good for taxi drivers, not so much for random people I meet. I don´t have a cellphone and no one really knows where I am.
And, in the midst of all of this, I notice a girl wearing a blue shirt...Rachel (one of the Winthrop students) was wearing a shirt that color. I started to follow her because I wanted to see her face. At one point, she turned her head to the side just enough to give me the courage to call out her name.
Woot! It´s her!
I caught up to her and we started talking. Turns out she was on her way to meet up with a couple of other girls to go to an internet cafe.
Good! I haven´t emailed my parents yet and hopefully I can find a phone to call the family I´m staying with to let them know I´m ok.
By this time, it´s after 5 o´clock. So we walk together until we get tired of walking and call a taxi. We tell him where we want to go, which turns out to be two blocks away. Oh the irony of it all! So we get to the Outlet Mall and look for a phone. Plenty of phones, can´t get them to work. I was so frustrated at this point. But we met the other girls and went to the internet cafe. I explained my situation to them and they said I could use the phone at their house, which was close by.
So after sending a couple of emails and buying a much needed umbrella, we ended up at the girls house at 6:30 p.m. I called my host family and Rachel and I caught a taxi back to our houses.
The positive: I know my way around the campus now, and I did see God´s hand in all of this. I don´t know where I´d be (literally) without Him.
Day 2: A Not So Good First Impression
I woke up at 4 a.m. put on clothes and went downstairs. Checked my mail and waited for the other students.
At 4:30 we took a shuttle to the airport. As we were going through security, we were "randomly selected" for a thorough searching. Since all ten of us were "randomly selected" I question how random it was. In fact, I know it wasn´t random because they told us it was because we had special tickets because we missed our flights the day before.
7:15 we finally left Charlotte on a 44 minute flight to Atlanta. We waited an hour and a half for our connecting flight to Costa Rica.
After leaving the airport and being harassed by some locals, we took a van to the university for our first orientation. On the way it began to rain. By the time we got to the university it was a full out thunderstorm. And orientation was in a covered amphitheater.
Orientation was fine except for the last guy who spoke. He said good, relevant things, but it seemed like he was yelling at us.
After orientation, our families were suppose to pick us up. Well, a few eof our families were waiting for us, but most of us ended up waiting a while. Eventually, our families were called and one by one, slowly they showed up. Mine was penulitmate.
We took a taxi to the house. Not as scary as an Argentine taxi, but not overly safe either. We got to the house and the mother showed me around, all in Spanish. I´m not sure she speaks English at all.
As the evening wore on I began to feel really overwhelmed. I had a hard time understanding the family. For supper I had a plate of rice and beans and potatoes and a small piece of chicken. It was good, but I couldn´t eat it all.
At some point, another English speaker walked in and I was a little relieved. Later on a married, English speaking couple came in and the wife can´t speak any Spanish so I was a bit more relieved.
This may be the hardest thing I´ve ever done.
But all is not negative. God has allowed me to get past the awkward, not talking stage really quick with the other students from Winthrop. I feel very comfortable talking to them, joking around, etc. This is a huge answer to prayer!
At 4:30 we took a shuttle to the airport. As we were going through security, we were "randomly selected" for a thorough searching. Since all ten of us were "randomly selected" I question how random it was. In fact, I know it wasn´t random because they told us it was because we had special tickets because we missed our flights the day before.
7:15 we finally left Charlotte on a 44 minute flight to Atlanta. We waited an hour and a half for our connecting flight to Costa Rica.
After leaving the airport and being harassed by some locals, we took a van to the university for our first orientation. On the way it began to rain. By the time we got to the university it was a full out thunderstorm. And orientation was in a covered amphitheater.
Orientation was fine except for the last guy who spoke. He said good, relevant things, but it seemed like he was yelling at us.
After orientation, our families were suppose to pick us up. Well, a few eof our families were waiting for us, but most of us ended up waiting a while. Eventually, our families were called and one by one, slowly they showed up. Mine was penulitmate.
We took a taxi to the house. Not as scary as an Argentine taxi, but not overly safe either. We got to the house and the mother showed me around, all in Spanish. I´m not sure she speaks English at all.
As the evening wore on I began to feel really overwhelmed. I had a hard time understanding the family. For supper I had a plate of rice and beans and potatoes and a small piece of chicken. It was good, but I couldn´t eat it all.
At some point, another English speaker walked in and I was a little relieved. Later on a married, English speaking couple came in and the wife can´t speak any Spanish so I was a bit more relieved.
This may be the hardest thing I´ve ever done.
But all is not negative. God has allowed me to get past the awkward, not talking stage really quick with the other students from Winthrop. I feel very comfortable talking to them, joking around, etc. This is a huge answer to prayer!
Day 1: "in" Costa Rica
12:15 arrived at Charlotte airport
12:45 went through security
1:00 began to sit, noticed our flight was delayed
2:30 Dr. Adams goes to inquire about our flight
4:00 We found out the plane broke down. Dr. Adams decided we would spend the night in Charlotte
5:30 After eating at a Mexican restaurant we finally headed to the Ramada Inn
After checking in we went down to the pool area and hung out while talking to Dr. Adams about Costa Rica.
It´s interesting to me the reactions of the students on the trip to this. Overall there is a feeling of indifference leaning towards annoyance, but there´s one girl who was truely upset about the situation. I wonder what it is about our human nature that makes us freak out when things don´t go as planned.
I´ll be excited to get their tomorrow.
12:45 went through security
1:00 began to sit, noticed our flight was delayed
2:30 Dr. Adams goes to inquire about our flight
4:00 We found out the plane broke down. Dr. Adams decided we would spend the night in Charlotte
5:30 After eating at a Mexican restaurant we finally headed to the Ramada Inn
After checking in we went down to the pool area and hung out while talking to Dr. Adams about Costa Rica.
It´s interesting to me the reactions of the students on the trip to this. Overall there is a feeling of indifference leaning towards annoyance, but there´s one girl who was truely upset about the situation. I wonder what it is about our human nature that makes us freak out when things don´t go as planned.
I´ll be excited to get their tomorrow.
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