off to internships!

[beautiful corn field in zarcero!]

just a quick post that i am off to a three week internship in the mountains of san josé. i will be working at a small school as a cook :) hope to come home with plenty of recipes!! i won't have much internet access while i am away, but look forward to posting pictures and stories of my adventures when i return.

hasta pronto!

bendiciones en latinoamérica

my semester in costa rica isn't exactly like a vacation. yes, i have vacationed on the beach, yes i do eat mangos and melon almost every day, and i have not worn my favorite north face fleece at all in 2011 (thank goodness!)... but this semester has probably been one of the most challenging semesters i have had. i'm faced with scary questions, big world issues, and different faith perspectives and ways of interpreting Scripture that makes it hard to process everything - especially in a place i'm not familiar with and without the people who know me the most.

last week i think i was in the "mid semester slump" and i cried frequently - but i am becoming more okay with my emotions (haha) and am learning to let the tears come, and then keep a' goin! (with the encouragement and prayer of family and friends, of course! i certainly can't do this by myself!) sometimes that means wearing my new "boy ban" sunglasses (fake ray bands bought in nicaragua - i couldn't resist) to cover up puffy eyes, sometimes it means listening to katy perry over and over again on the exercise machine (i'm a firework! thanks k.p.), and just praying that God would give me peace and a thankful heart for what he is teaching me here in latin america.

this week has been better and i think God has placed it on my heart to work towards a greater spirit of thankfulness (something i always need to be working harder towards) and so i want to write a little bit about some of the things i am so thankful for and some of the ways i have been touched and loved this semester.

[hermanas: gabi, me, glori, susan]

these are my sisters at their soccer game right before nicaragua. while i don't get to spend a lot of time with them each day because we are both in school and they work as well, they have been so patient, kind, and loving to me. they invite me to almost everything that they do whether they are going to hang out with their friends, go to the movies, or are just watching TV. they help me with my spanish homework, always greet me with a hug & kiss and are willing to help me in whatever way they can. they are such a blessing.

[nicaragua friends]

i honestly can't look at this picture without getting the biggest smile on my face and starting to laugh. one day i came home from being at the church in our little town in nicaragua and these two men were sitting outside my house smoking and just chatting. the man on the left (i am embarrassed to say that i didn't catch their names) is my uncle and the man the right is his friend. apparently my uncle worked in the US for a number of years doing some kind of electrical work and we talked all about northern california, the freeways, and where he used to work (being born in no. cal was a huge advantage for me since i met a lot of nicaraguans who had worked in the san francisco area!). they talked about different spanish accents and how mexicans and nicaraguans speak differently. they were so funny and i had so much fun laughing with them, comparing spanish accents, and listening to them talk back and forth to one another with such expression and emotion. i had to take a picture to remember them and one of the best conversations i had in nicaragua.

[some other blessings]

on monday i had a wonderful skype date with my dear aunt and grandma b. it was so much fun to talk to them, and i was even more excited when i got a letter in the mail from my grandma! it made my day and i was so happy to sit outside and read from her beautiful handwriting. thanks grandma!

this weekend i learned some new recipes! cake ("que que"), gallo pinto, and patacones (delish!). i also met up with a friend in san jose and saw some beautiful art, laughed a lot with my host parents, and decided that i probably will never completely understand how to properly use the imperfect and preterite tenses (but i think i'm okay with that).

i am blessed in so many ways ...and those blessings have continued to come in unique times and places here in latin america, even during times where i feel overwhelmed. so, i want to end by saying, as we do in latinoamérica, gracias a Dios.

manuel antonio

[la playa]

[zip lining crew]

[sarah, me, and allison at dinner]

[sunset]

just got back from a beautiful and fun weekend at manuel antonio, a national park about 3.5 hours from san jose.

after getting back from nicaragua on thursday evening, i had friday to lay low and then saturday i took the bus into san jose, taxi to the bus station, and the bus took us directly to our hostel! my friend caleb got us reservations at "backpackers manuel antonio" - an awesome hostel which cost us only $12/night and included pancake breakfasts in the morning! it was clean and had a nice lounge area as well as a pool and hammocks. that afternoon we headed to the beach and laid out, went in the water, and watched the sun set. they talk a lot in costa rica about being super careful when you go into the ocean because of the rip tides and sometimes the waves are really strong but thankfully we didn't have any troubles and the water was really warm!

on sunday, a group of 5 of us went zip lining with La Sevitra Tours and had a great time. the tour picked us up at our hostel and we drove about 45 minutes to a forest where we first enjoyed pineapple and juice and then started the zip lining! there were 10 lines, some were short and two were really long. it was awesome to zip over the green trees and we also got to walk a little bit in the forest going from one platform to another. while walking, we saw a poison green and black dart frog and some really cool trees and other plants. after zip lining, we had a delicious typical "Tico" meal which included chicken & rice (arroz con pollo), black beans, tortillas, yucca, salad, and pineapple. we enjoyed eating on a nice deck and then headed down to a small waterfall where we got to swim around for a little bit which was a lot of fun.

on monday i headed to the beach and soaked up the sun (unfortunately that included sun burn) and we left in the late afternoon. it was a really great weekend and i felt like i was in the US - manuel antonio is a high tourist attraction and you didn't really need to speak any spanish to get around. having said that, i need to get back to work on my español!

nica nica nica

[one of the many FSLN flags i saw in nicaragua]

i am home again, in costa rica, safe & sound! nicaragua was probably the most intense, challenging, and eye-opening educational experience i have ever had and it is hard to put into words all of the different things i felt, experienced, and learned in this country.

my first reactions upon entering managua, nicaragua were that politics was ALIVE in this country. i could feel the political energy with the FSLN flags, Sandino posters, red & black, pink & yellow, protesters, graffitti...while it was exciting to see this energy and hype, it was very sad to see the results of political corruption, revolutions, and war that has left nicaragua with little employment opportunities or resources to make a better life.

our first two days in managua were jam-packed with lectures about US-Nicaraguan relations, the Sandinista Revolution, Contra War, and liberation theology. we also heard from a group of protesters who worked in the agriculture business of a multi-national corporation and got sick from the use of pesticides, walked around a church with many murals expressing liberation theology, and heard from a former political officer. we also got to visit a fair-trade t-shirt factory that was started by a group of women fighting against the injustices that occur in many multi-national corporations (they were SO inspiring!) it was overwhelming, but full of important and useful information.

the next part of our trip was the homestay experience...all LASP students were placed in different communities in groups of 5 and a pastor from each community took us to their town and pointed us to a host family. we left at 3 am on thursday morning for la palma, a small town about 4 hours from managua. while in la palma, our group spent a majority of the time at the church - i think this might have been because our community thought we were missionaries, or they just wanted us to be all together at the church..i'm not entirely sure.

the days in la palma were filled with laughter, frustrating moments, and lots of interesting and engaging conversations. i talked to many people who worked in the united states, leaving their families for 4 years to work from 5am-11pm six days/week. i talked with people who have a completely different faith perspective, and who did not see how i could be a christian and study political science. i talked with an 18 year old who stopped going to school when he was young after his parents divorced and he had to support the family. i talked with people who told me their perspective on the tense relationships between nicaragua and costa rica.

life is so different in nicaragua and i see my reality as a north american woman, college student, as something that is world apart from the typical nicaraguan life. this country is in so much need of hope, especially in education and employment which was shockingly non-existent or lacks resources to succeed. i realized in nicaragua how much education has played a role in my life and influences the way i think and see the world. to try to understand nicaragua, i have to place myself outside of the bubble of education and opportunity, into a society where this doesn't exist - and see how this reality affects society and the majority's standard of living.

our last few days in nicaragua were spent in the colonial city of granada. we had a short time de-briefing our experiences in process groups and did some fun activities like a boat ride around lake nicaragua (the second largest lake in latin america i am pretty sure!) it was a little hard coming back as a big group since all of us had very different experiences and had various emotions and reactions. after talking with my friends, i was reminded again of the lesson i continue to learn every day -- to not compare myself to to others because not only does is this wrong and unhealthy, but it takes away the value of the tremendous experience i had and all of the things i saw and learned!

tomorrow i am off for a spring break trip to manuel antonio park with some friends. i am excited to have some time relaxing before starting classes again on tuesday! thank you for your prayers during my trip -- i was so blessed and learned so much. i hope i can talk and write more about this trip in the weeks to come! hopefully some pictures will help show a bit of my experience...

[managua: this was where the somoza torture chambers were, but it was sort of like a museum with all kinds of posters and pictures of nicaraguan history. the FSLN political party used to have the colors red & black, but they changed to pink and yellow to be more friendly-looking, so most of their posters all over nica were bright pink!]

[mango loving at the church we hung out at in la palma. thank goodness we had floss after indulging in these delicious fruits]

[granada: we finished our nica trip in granada, former capital of nica. it was a very beautiful, colonial looking city which was a manifestation of the complexity of nica - great poverty and wealth at the same time]

off to nicaragua!

[zalcero]

I finished my core seminar class on Friday, which marks a little over 5 weeks here in Central America. My paper is turned in (gracias a Dios!), all 13 pages and all, and I “graduated” from my Spanish class as well (they had a little ceremony for us) complete with graduation certificates and abrazos y besos from our Spanish professors.

I’m leaving for Nicaragua tomorrow (Monday) at 6:00 am –and will probably be in the bus for most of the day. I have everything I need for 10 days in my lovely northface mochilla and will be living at a retreat center for 4 days and with a new family for 6 out of those 10. I went to “Pequeño Mundo” with some friends and got lots of things for ridiculously low prices. I bought some medicine to hopefully make my skin unattractive to bugs -- I have started a “war on mosquitos” this semester since I was eaten alive a few weeks ago (my legs are still recovering) and am determined to not let those bugs win – we shall see if this stuff works! I am a little nervous for this next adventure, but also excited about the things I will get to learn, see, and experience.

I read about Nicaragua and its horrific history of corrupt political leadership, tyranny, rebellion, geographical tragedies, and United States’ intervention that is really difficult to understand and reconcile. About 80% of the country lives on less than $2/day. I have been moved by Shane Clairbone's words this weekend: "If we are to truly be the church, poverty must become a face we recognize as our own kin," and he talks about how we quickly give to charity, but don't really KNOW the poor. as a wealthy north american, this has really been convicting me. I look forward to spending time with political officers, speakers, and Nicaraguans to hear their perspectives on the difficult situation their country is continuing to experience.

Immigration from Nicaragua to Costa Rica is a HUGE topic of discussion here and from my perspective seems to be very similar to US—Mexico relations. Whenever I bring “Nicaragua” up in conversation, there is ALWAYS something to discuss so I am looking forward to talking to Nicaraguans about these issues.

I am continuing to feel blessed by the outpouring of love that I am receiving here...This semester has prompted so many questions, doubts, and deep thinking... and really struggling to understand the truth, what is justice, and what is my role in the world? In the midst of this, I have experienced God's love in special ways. I think one of the biggest is my family here who whenever they introduce me, they call me their "hija" daughter or "hermana" sister. Yesterday my host parents and I went to a house and the woman asked how many kids they had and they said "5, but 6 with our daughter Alísa" ..it was really touching and i am going to miss them while i am away.

in addition to missing them, i miss my dear friends and family from the States (and abroad in other countries too :))! thank you for your prayers, support, and love across the miles - it means so much to me.

all packed (hopefully!) for Nica :)

Hasta luego!

la belleza

gardens at ICADS (where we take our Spanish classes)

i'm living in a beautiful place with beautiful people.

special tico things

volcán arenal

sid the sloth (or in spanish "perezoso") - spotted at the house we stayed at this weekend when we visited a city nearby volcán arenal

Things I love:

Breakfast with my parents. breakfast in the US is almost always “do-it-yourself” (except for special occasions) because we all leave the house at different times in the morning, eat different things, etc. i love eating breakfast with my mami and papi every morning, knowing what to put on the table, and how to make coffee using a "choreado." my dad has tortillas almost every morning and i now know that he likes to heat them up, i love the pineapple jam I have with my bread every day, and my papi has a special sugar that he puts in his coffee (i reminded him to take it with us when we went away this weekend). i don’t have early class every day, but I enjoy getting up at the same time so I get to eat with them.

i love being at my home. sometimes i use my parents’ stationary bike while watching episodes of Friends (WITH Spanish subtitles, rest assured!), or being in my room and working on homework, writing emails, or blogging ;). i am so grateful that i have my own room here – most LASP students do, but some share with siblings. i am blessed to have this space where i can have some time to myself :)

i love rice. i eat it almost every lunch and dinner and today i learned the exact portions (we make it with onion, oil, pepper, and garlic – yum!) also loving gallo pinto (rice & beans with some other special flavors), and Chiky’s cookies (all over Central America – bringing me back to my time in Guatemala), and so many other things…

i love (most days) walks to our Spanish classes in the afternoons. the walk is about 45 minutes from LASP and while at times it feels a little long, i have had some wonderful conversations with new friends during these trails and am grateful for this time to talk, process, and digest all of the stuff that we are learning. there isn’t a lot of time to do this between classes and homework, and what we are learning about is really challenging so I am thankful that i have this time.