Thankfulness...

As I was just listening online to WBFJ radio station in North Carolina, I was reminded about many people who have taken pay cuts or lost jobs in the past few months. As I hear these stories I think about how thankful I am for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering which supports my being here in Costa Rica allowing me to learn the Spanish language. I thought Lord I thank you for the people who give sacrificiously to this offering and they allow me to be here and study. What a blessing!

Cute dog and Flat Stanley

Of course the dog at my Costa Rican families house had to have a visit with Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley made a quick visit to Costa Rica. One of the things he was able to do was to go with me to a really good restaurant and enjoy some ribs. It was a restaurant called JR's Ribs and it had a country western theme. It was alot of fun and the ribs were very good.

Graduation

A good day/sad day happened last week. It was graduation from the language institute. It was good for my friends who have completed their year's language study and they are now in their new countries. However it was sad for me because some of my buddies left. But I am happy for them, I know they were ready to head to their new countries which I can understand. It's one of those things where you think it was definitely better to know them and have them leave than to not have known them at all...May God bless them all in their new endeavors.

60's theme

The birthday party celebration for the queen had a 1960's theme...I missed that part of the invitation but others didn't and so they were dressed with that theme in mind..My friend, Dora, is in the tan jacket and her daughters, Peggy and Astrid, are with her.

A day with the Queen

This past Saturday I went to a birthday party for the Queen of England! A Costa Rican friend of mine, Dora, called me on Friday and asked if I wanted to go with her to a party for her for the queen. Dora's daughter works at the British Embassy here in Costa Rica. I said sure I'll go. So we made a plan to leave around 10:30 am on Saturday. Karen, a friend of mine, and I went to Dora's house. Then we took a bus to downtown San Jose. From there we took another bus to the area where the embassy is located. We arrived at the party around 11:45 or so.

The party was at the house of the ambassador for the British Embassy. It had a large yard. One of the things I most enjoyed was taking my shoes off and rubbing my feet in the thick grass in the yard. It was so nice. Each year the British celebrate the queen's birthday kind of like we do for the July 4th. Since England doesn't have a independence day to celebrate they celebrate the queen's birthday each year. This year she turned 82, I believe.

There were games, entertainment and good food. All the money that was raised was going to help some schools that were in the area of the earthquake which happened a few months ago. There were alot of people there, British, Americans, Costa Ricans and other nationalities. I thought how interesting this American girl in Costa Rica celebrating the birthday of somebody from England.

As I was walking around I thought these are the people group who I'll be working with in Guatemala City. The only thing missing at the birthday celebration was a church booth or Christian influence. It was alot of fun. It was definitely a cultural day as I enjoyed the day with my Costa Rican friend and her two daughters and grandson. I had fun playing with the 10 year old grandson. I think they were all surprised when I started chasing the grandson around the yard.

Crocodile bridge

On the way to the beach areas of Costa Rica there is a river where lots of crocodiles live. The first time I stopped and looked over the bridge I thought the crocodiles were fake because there were so many of them and they weren't moving hardly at all. But they aren't fake. On the day we stopped at the bridge there were about 12 on one side of the bridge and 20 some crocodiles on the other side of the bridge. It is definitely a bridge you don't want to fall off of or drop anything off of because it will be gone fast!

It won't rain...

One morning we were leaving the hotel and mom commented that we should close the windows in case of rain. I said it isn't going to rain, it hasn't rained here in months...Well, I was wrong. We went to downtown San Jose that afternoon and we got soaking wet when the rain started. The umbrella salespeople are smart because they were in the streets during the rain selling the umbrellas. We gladly bought two of them...

I rode a horse for the first time

One of the things I was able to do while my guests were here was that I rode a horse for the first time in my life. At first I was nervous but then when it was almost over I started enjoying it more. I would do it again...

Mom and Ted E enjoying breakfast

Mom and Ted E (as well as all of us) enjoyed the good food at Punta Leona.

Ted E and friend

It was the neatest thing at the pool to see this raccoon checking out Ted E bear. In case you don't know, Ted E is a bear that has traveled throughout the world. He is from a school group in Asheville, NC and he visited me while I was in Mozambique.

Parents and friends

My parents and friends of mine arrived on March 27th. It was a Friday and our whirlwind tour of Costa Rica began. We spent the weekend at the beach at a place called Punta Leona. It was nice because it was a large hotel complex and food and housing were included in one price.

Where have I been?

I'm sure some of you who keep track of this on a regular basis are thinking where is Carol? Kind of like the game from a few years ago, Where's Waldo? Most recently I was in Guatemala for a few days and before that I had a good visit with my family and friends who came to visit. Also Ted E Bear come to visit too!