Rainy season is in full swing!

Folks, let me just tell you that they don't call it the tropics for nothing.  Want to know how it gets so "tropical" here in Costa Rica?  RAINY SEASON.  And what does rainy season look like?  Hours upon hours of rain!

A new friend of mine here recently posted the following list on her blog, and I have adapted it slightly and thought you might enjoy reading it :)

Tips for Commuting by Bus 
(in Rainy Season)
1.  Don't sit in seats with standing room in front of them...unless you want to look at butts.


2.  Always have exact, or as close as possibly to exact, change out of your wallet and in your hand if you don't want to get a dirty look from the bus driver and all the people standing in the rain behind you waiting to get on the bus.


3.  Always ask the driver if he's passing by your routine stop.  You never know when he might change his route.  (And just because he passes by your desired location EVERY SINGLE DAY doesn't mean he won't still tell you he knows where it is and then drop you 10 blocks away...in the rain.)


4.  In the event of pouring rain, take a deep breath before entering the bus...and don't exhale until you get off.  Unless, of course, you like wet-dog smell.


5.  Wash your hands immediately after exiting.


6.  Rainboots are suggested for the 1.5 kilometer walk between bus stops and your house on rainy days, which in rainy season, is everyday!


7.  It WILL take 30 min. longer than anticipated to get anywhere by bus.  Plan accordingly!


8.  Ask a minimum of 3 Ticos for directions and go with what the majority says.  (And then stop once or twice along the way and ask to confirm you are walking in the right direction.)  Ticos like to be helpful--even if they don't know how to get where you want to go--they will give you directions anyway.  All directions are approximate and given by landmarks, not addresses--i.e.  walk straight for 250 meters (or 2.5 blocks) and turn right at the pulperia (little corner store--note: no name); cross the main street and walk across the bridge; turn left and it will be there (or somewhere in a 5-10 block radius).

9.  Don't ever take a car ride for granted again.  

10.  NEVER EVER leave home without your umbrella!

Costa Rican Independence Day and Freedom

I am so excited that I arrived here before Costa Rican Independence Day this year--September 15th!  It was great learning about some of the Costa Rican history and traditions at language school and I got to go to the Sojourn Academy children's festivities!  Sojourn is the K-12 school that my language school also runs.  I've included some pictures below :)

I don't want to write too much here about the last Wyldlife Club, because I'm getting ready to send out a newsletter about it--but suffice it to say, it was AWESOME and God showed up in a big way.  It was just one of those times where you are completely overwhelmed by His palpable presence.

The next day (last Saturday) I went to a Vida Joven event.  (Vida Joven, again, is the Costa Rican Young Life run by Costa Ricans for Costa Rican in local neighborhoods/public schools.  I am a part of Vida Joven, but our programming in international schools looks very different than what they do.)  The event was a concert, which was also used as a fundraiser for Vida Joven camp, which will be in January.  There were 4-5 awesome Christian bands and I knew about half of the songs, which was super fun for me.

God brought the weekend full circle as we sang about how awesome He is, how good He is and how faithful He is.  I turned to Jessie with tears in my eyes and just told her how overwhelmed I felt to know that God has brought me here for a purpose, to be seeing Him fulfilling that purpose, to have such peace that I am exactly where He wants me and to feel His immense love and goodness in accomplishing all of this in spite of me.  Months of trying to discern what God's next step for me was, and then months of fundraising that seemed like it would never end, and finally I'm here!

I think right now, more than ever, I feel the power of this verse:  "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1).  I spoke with a friend just this week and was describing to her how over the last few years I've felt "trapped" is several situations--completely powerless to change the situation and fairly miserable in it.  And all along, God wasn't calling me out of those situations because He wants me (and YOU!) to experience and know this:


"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  -Phillipians 4:11-13


Live in freedom today!

SWITCHFOOT in Costa Rica!!!

Yes, I did indeed see Switchfoot in Costa Rica and in a parking garage no less.  The venue, Torre Gekko, was the 5th floor of a parking garage.  Sounds crazy, but it totally worked!  So, what is different you ask about seeing a concert in Costa Rica?

1)  THERE IS NO LINE FOR THE BATHROOM!  Yes, ladies, walk right in!  In fact, one time, I was in the bathroom ALL BY MYSELF!  Crazy!

2)  They sell churros at the concession stand.

3)  You can buy a band t-shirt for $14, which I did!

4)  Ticos know every word to every song in ENGLISH.

5)  The English-speaking band tries to say something in Spanish, not always convincingly.

What's the same?  It's so much fun!!!  Check out Switchfoot pics (and other pics) on my Facebook page.

Moments in Spanish and Beach Club!

So, I just have to share with you the source of great fun in language class for the last few days!  To give you a picture of what my classes are like, I have one hour of language/speaking and one hour of phonetics with four other students.  Then the last two hours are grammar and we join with another small group to make 10 total.  A few days ago in our phonetics class, one of the other students, a man my dad's age, wanted to tell our teacher that the homework would be a piece of cake.  Here in Costa Rica they say "cake" but pronounce it using Spanish phonetics, so it sounds like, "k-k".  Instead of saying that though, he said "ca-ca" which means poop in Spanish!!!  My teacher could NOT stop laughing!  It was pretty hilarious!

Last night we had Young Life Beach Club in this beautiful open-air covered space (kinda like a picnic area at a park) in one of the kid's housing editions.  It's high on a hill and gives a beautiful view of the city at night!  Boo, my Costa Rican co-worker, was sick and two other volunteers had conflicts, so it was just me and Jessie, my American co-worker, running club.  I was pretty worried.  We had some small numbers as well--about 15 kids.  But boy did we have fun!  The kids just jumped right in and it was awesome.  We played beach volleyball sitting down on cement trying to hit the ball over a sheet, limbo-ed till we dropped, and made sand castles out of pate (the Costa Rican equivalent of Spam).

After that, I got the chance to share with the kids a bit about me, my friends, and how Jesus wants to be our best friend.  It struck a cord with the kids who have had friends move in and out of their lives all the time.  I loved sharing with them that they have one friend who will never move away, betray them or steal their boyfriend :)  What a great night!

This is Maya with her group's beautiful sandcastle!

Un dia malo y my new address!

It was bound to happen :(  The excitement/stress of moving has caught up with my stomach.  My stomach had a bad day today :(  But I am determined to have fun at my first Wyldlife (middle school version of Young Life) tonite!  It´s Backwards Club and some of our high school student leaders are performing a one-minute version of Toy Story 3 backwards...should be entertaining!

More later, but for those of you who have been asking for my new address, I believe this will get me mail :)  Email me if you send something and I will let you know if I receive it!  PLEASE NO PACKAGES!! As packages cost a lot of money to receive.

Ali Campbell
Spanish Language Institute
SJO-8609
P.O. Box 025240
Miami, FL  33102*

*This address may only be good through December!