Update 1-20-09

Hello friends,

How were your holidays? Mine were good. It was a good time of rest which I greatly needed. Also Kim and I had a good visit together here in Costa Rica. We did a lot of things together while she was here. If you want to see pictures and more info be sure to look on my blogspot. However I do have to tell you about one day. We had gone to the bullfights during the day and we got home around 6 pm. When we got home that evening I put on my pajamas and I said I’m not going anywhere else today, if you want to go somewhere you are on your own. I was tired. Thankfully she was okay with staying home that evening.

Classes have started again. This time I’m taking grammar classes in Spanish and then I’m also doing a different program. It’s a program called FARO in which I will interview and converse with 7 people on a specific route 1 or 2 times a week. Then I’ll write a report on the interviews, complete a project regarding the topic for the week and meet one on one with the teacher for evaluation. This week, I am working on getting the route together. I have some ideas of people I just need to talk to them and solidify the route. I think it will be good for me to get out and talk to different people and hear the different accents of people. Topics I’ve selected include food, tourism, education, culture, sayings of the Costa Rican people, birthdays and other topics like that.

A praise is that I have found a church which I enjoy attending. It’s a neat story about how I found it. I’ll try to make it concise for you. As most of you know mom works at Baptist Hospital. She knows a Costa Rican guy who also works there. In the midst of a conversation with him, he commented that his brother is a pastor in San Jose, Costa Rica. She got the information about the church here where is pastor. During Christmas, Kim and I were able to visit the church with another missionary. Since then that is where I have been going each week. I enjoy it and the people are really nice.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. I would just ask for your continued prayers in the language learning process and for the Costa Rican family that I live with…Blessings, Carol

Bible study

On Tuesday afternoons I along with another lady are leading a Bible study. It's in the house of a Nicaraguan lady. I would ask for your prayers as we teach them different Bible stories. Pray that they would be able to share these stories with others.

Playing cards

I had a fun time the other day when I went to visit Dora, one of my Costa Rican friends. She has another student living there. The student got out the Dutch Blitz cards to play with Dora's grandson. It ended up that we all played. Dutch Blitz is a fast paced card game, it's a lot of fun. We were able to teach Dora and her grandson how to play. Then Dora taught us two card games which they play here. I've noticed here that they don't seem to be as competitive in the games. I guess it's like the Mozambicans were, they liked for everybody to win.

A cute picture of friendship

I just liked watching these two friends...I bet as they grow up they would fit into the category of a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Soup kitchen & Bible study

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go help and observe a neat ministry. It's in one of the poor areas outside of the city. It was started by a lady who runs a store. Each day she would have kids come in and ask for food and they would say put it on my parent's tab-bill. Well she would do this but she would she would never get paid for the food because the families didn't have the money. So she started a program where she would feed the kids lunch. That turned into feeding the kids everyday for lunch. Then on Saturday morning she has a Bible study for the kids before feeding them lunch. It was a really interesting program to see, I hope to be able to go again. For the meal she had rice, beans and pasta.

Please feed me...

One night at the hotel I was just patiently waiting for my food.

Hanging Bridges

A neat tour Kim and I went on was a Hanging Bridges tour. It was a 2 mile hike in the woods and we saw 15 hanging bridges, all of various heights and lengths. It was really neat to see. However it wasn't too much fun when we were standing in one place and the fire ants decided that they liked our shoes and wanted to go with us. We were able to get them off by stomping and jumping.

A pet lizard

This is the best way to have a pet lizard...

Chocolate body wrap

Yep you read it right...I had a chocolate body wrap at a spa the other day. It was a very nice and enjoyable treat. First the spa person puts a chocolate mixture on me, it smelt like chocolate but I didn't try it. Then I was wrapped up in plastic wrap and they put warm towels over the wrap. It was a relaxing hour. There was a 4 year old girl who asked me about it, she was so intrigued. I just hope she doesn't get the Hersheys syrup out of the refrigerator at her house and tries it herself...

Kim and my Tica mom

My Tica mom blessed Kim with a painting which she had painted. She gave Kim a few to choose from. Kim was very excited to be able to choose one.

Another cute dog

My Tica friend, Dora, has a cute dog who I like to help spoil. By the way Tica is the name that the Costa Rican people call themselves. So when I say Tica or Tico it refers to the Costa Rican people.

Cowboys

I have been surprised at how many cowboys there are in Costa Rica. I saw a lot at the horse parade the day after Christmas and also at the bullfights.

Cheerleader

At the bullfights there was a cheerleader guy who had to be exhausted by the end of the day. He would go in the stands and lead the people in the wave. He would then do some kind of entertainment in each of the sections in the stands. Plus he went out in the ring with the bull.

Pre bullfight

We were ready for the bullfight action to start. We had our front row seats with two walls between us and the bull. We weren't crazy, we wanted to see it but we sure weren't going in the ring with the bull!

Musical chairs with horses

This was really interesting to watch, it was musical chairs with horses. There were 5 riders. The horses would race around the chairs-Coke crates. Then when the music stopped the riders had to jump off their horse and sit on a Coke crate. The one who didn't get a chair was out. It was fun and I must say I think that is the first time I've ever seen that game with horses.

Bullfighting

A definite cultural experience Kim and I had was going to the bullfight. Each Christmas season the Costa Ricans have a fair and bullfight. The fair is alot like county or state fairs in the states with food and rides.

The bullfight is kind of like running with the bulls except it is done in an enclosed stadium. People, mainly guys, wait in line to run with the bull. However there were a few women who did it. The people are in the ring and then the bull is let in the ring with them. The bull is agitated and looking for someone to chase. The bull starts chasing people. Some are fast enough to jump behind the wall to get away from the bull. Others aren't fast enough and the bull goes after the person. Some of the bulls were fast even though weighing 1000 pounds.

Some of the people in the ring stood at the wall the whole time and as soon as the bull looked at them they were over the wall and out of the ring. I must admit that some of those people I wanted to push back in the ring. I said you might as well be sitting with me in the stands.

It's interesting as I've asked a few Costa Ricans if they did the bull ring experience when they were young. One guy summed it up when he said you don't know fear until you are in the ring and you feel the hot breath of a 1000 pound bull on your neck.

Typical food

At my friend Dora's house we were able to make and enjoy tortillas with cheese and a drink called agua dulce. As we were mixing the tortilla mixture we added the cheese before we cooked it. Then we patted out the tortillas and put them in the frying pan.

The agua dulce drink is a mixture of water, milk, and a sweet powder that looks like brown sugar but has a different taste almost like a carmel taste.

It made for a good combination of typical Costa Rican food and fellowship.

Terra Mall

There is a nice mall in San Jose area with a really pretty view. Last night we were able to go to the mall and movies which was a nice treat. The Christmas decorations were still up and make a nice background for the photo.

Good nachos

If you know Carol you know that Mexican food is one of her favorites...Here's a good photo of her enjoying some nachos.

La Paz waterfalls

La Paz waterfalls, a very pretty sight.

Poor man's umbrella

This is a really neat plant. It's called a poor man's umbrella. The leaves are big enough that they can be used as an umbrella.

Typical breakfast

Many of you have asked about some of the foods which I eat. A typical breakfast meal which I usually have on Sundays is gallo pinto (the rice and beans mixture), eggs and bread. It tastes good.

Lombardy Street?

This street reminded me of Lombardy Street in San Francisco, CA. However this one is definitely wider and not as crooked and not as steep as Lombardy Street.

He's got the whole world in his hands

We may have long arms but we can't even hold the whole world in our hands like God can, not even close.

Fireman

Fireman-bomberos de Costa Rica. Thanks to all the fireman and policeman throughout the world!

Swinging time

Swinging is alot of fun..If you haven't done it lately go to the park or playground and just do it!

National Theater

A popular spot in San Jose is the National Theater. It was closed yesterday because of the holiday. But we had a cute little man who offered to tell us about the history of the theater. He had even lived in Asheville, NC for a little while.

100 year old tree

This is a 100 year old oak tree we saw in the park.

Carol and her "men"

I saw these statues and just wanted my pictures made with them. I thought they were neat.

New Year's Eve meal

What was our big New Year's Eve meal? We went to a 2 story McDonald's which Kim had seen the other day and said that she wanted to eat at before she left. It was fun to sit upstairs and watch the traffic out the big windows. And the burgers and fries were good too.

Fresh squeezed orange juice

Fresh squeezed orange juice...it was good. The
vendor has his shopping cart with the juicer attached.
He cut three oranges in half, put them in the juicer
and then we had our fresh squeezed cup of orange
juice. Very good.

Tico Train

When we were in downtown San Jose exploring, we found a neat tourist train. We paid our money and received a 25 minute tour of the city. It was interesting to hear more information about some of the area that we had seen but didn't know about. We had to laugh because one of the buildings was referred to as the yellow house. I thought that is easy enough.

We liked it so much that today we went downtown and took some friends with us so that they could take the tour as well.