I've been keeping a list of things to blog about so I am just going to run through them!
Church: I arrived at 5:30 a.m. in Costa Rica last Sunday and went straight to my host family's house. I met my host mom, who I am growing to love more and more each day, and she showed me to my room (see pictures below). I was thinking--time for a nap. But she asked me if I would like to go to church to which I replied sure! It was 7 a.m.--plenty of time to get in a quick nap before church. I asked her when church starts--8 a.m. she said. There went my nap! After showering and eating a quick breakfast, we left for a TWO HOUR church service. I thought I would die! Haha. As it turns out, though, I really like the church and feel blessed to be excited about going to church each week with my host family!
Cultural mistake #1: Single ladies do not live in the same house as single men. So, there was another language school student who was supposed to be staying with us--a single guy. And over a two day period we were so concerned because he hadn't arrived yet! He was supposed to arrive on Monday, but we found out Wednesday that he had arrived but had been moved to another family. Grettel, the person at the language school who organizes host family placements, said to me hands waving, concerned look on her face, quite aghast, "This is completely inappropriate! A single woman and man cannot live in the same place." The thought had not even crossed my mind! The room he would have been staying in is semi-detached from the house with it's own entrance! Gringa moment #1!
Rosti Pollos: My FAVORITE Costa Rican restaurant so far! I went to eat there Sunday night with Jessie (my co-worker in Young Life) and the people she is living with--a family whose daughter goes to an international school here and Young Life.
Rain: It has rained everyday since my arrival. But mostly in the afternoons and evenings and the mornings are sunny and warm! But Costa Ricans take their rain very seriously and we are smack in the middle of "winter" here.
Lizard v. lizard and cucarachas: I had two bad nights this week--one you will read about in a minute--but the other one was mostly a "I'm a bit lonely and tired of thinking in Spanish" night, plus upon arriving home my host dad explained that I had accidentally set off the house alarm--oops! I had gone to bed, but realized I needed a glass of water, so got up and went to the kitchen. I turned on the lights to find a GIANT cockroach in the middle of the kitchen floor. To kill or not to kill, that was the question. I opted for NOT killing and went back to my room (without my water :( only to find a LIZARD on my wall! Well, I didn't want to bother my host parents, but this time the unwanted creature was IN my room. I knocked softly on my door and my host mom came out and I tried to explain to her what was on my wall. Missing the word for lizard, I looked it up in my handy Spanish dictionary. "Hay un largato en mi cuarto!" She BURST out laughing and followed me into my room. What I had said, I found out the next day was that there was an alligator in my room!! Haha. Some coaxing later I was able to convince the lizard to exit my room via the window.
9,000 Locks and an Alarm: So, I realize it is important to be safe here and I for sure don't want to be robbed, but seriously no one can get in the house because even I can't get in the house! Before I leave the house I potentially have 8 locks to lock and an alarm to set! Not so fun in the rain, but I'm safe!
$60 fans at Hiper Mas: Hiper Mas is the equivalent of Walmart here (in fact, it is owned by Walmart and looks exactly like Walmart). And I love it! What I didn't love was when I went looking for a small fan for my room the cheapest one they had was $60! Some things are cheaper here (like 6 avocados for $2 at the Farmer's Market), others like fans, are WAY overpriced.
Squim: My host family's dog who I am absolutely in LOVE with! (It's also the code for the security company when they call when I set off the alarm, which I've done 3 times this week!)
I saved the worst two for last :)
Breaking my toe: I ran into the couch which used to be in my room on Monday and broke my little toe (see picture below)--NOT fun! The next day, I ran into it again! SO not fun. So the empleada (maid) here, Zaydya, made the following sign for me to help me remember to watch my toes! When I retold this story to one of our Costa Rican volunteers with Young Life, who is a well-educated lawyer in Costa Rica, he recounted to me a story of breaking his finger (in English), but he kept look at his toes. I asked did he break his finger or his toe because he was pointing at his toe, and he said, "Well, my finger in my foot." He explained that he wasn't sure if your big toe had a special name like your thumb!
Lost my wallet: For all those who may be worried about my safety--no worries--I am fully capable of losing my wallet WITHOUT being robbed! So, I either left it in the taxi or it fell out as I got out. Either way, it's gone. But I am so thankful that God has made the process of replacing my things very easy and I didn't lose more than $5! Gracias a Dios!
Pues, yo necesito ir a dormir! Well, I need to go to sleep. But I hope to update you of all of my adventures this week very soon. Please enjoy the pictures below and hope you have a wonderful week!
Young Life kids enjoying a pinata at "It's Your Birthday" Club on Wednesday, the first club of the year!
My broken toe. The picture really doesn't do it justice! It was bruised all the way around. Poor toe :(
Orientation at language school. There are nearly 60 of us I believe, many families. There are some families with 5-6 kids! And at least two pregnant women and a couple with babies less than 3 months old. And I thought moving to Costa Rica was complicated!
I forgot to put this with my toe. This is the note that Zaydya left for me so I wouldn't injure it further!
This is the beautiful view from languages school--again, the picture doesn't do it justice! My host family's house is just two blocks from school--so convenient! The mountains around here are gorgeous.
This is my room! It's pretty simple, but I love it!
Another picture of my room. The stuff on the floor will hopefully be going into a desk soon!
This is my own private bathroom, which I also love! I have a tear off desk calendar with Bible verses on it. The verse for the day I left the U.S. was: Love never fails. It is stuck in the corner of the mirror in my bathroom to remind me that God's love NEVER fails, no matter how long we wait on His timing!
My shower! For those of you unfamiliar with them, the white cylinder above the shower with cables running up from it is called a widow maker. We don't have a hot water heater (like many homes in Costa Rica and throughout Central America) so the water runs through this which provides an electrical current to heat the water. It sounds dangerous, but it is mostly safe and produces a hot shower!
This is Xinia, my host mom, with Squim! I'll post my host dad another day.
