last live post from costa rica...

PIctures
me and the ladies at church dressed up with andres for a thing we did for pastor´s sunday...andres and i goofing around...my host family in front of the tree at graduation...
well folks, here i am for the last time at the internet cafe in san jose...monday morning at 730 AM i leave with the rest of my group to head to Panama and live on an island with an indigenous tribe for 5 days...and then on the 9th of december we head back to miami! where has the time gone? wow...best semester of my LIFE...for sure....here are a few more pictures to update you..hopefully i´ll write a few more times to wrap up when i get to miami =) thank you so much for your love and prayers and support, this has been the most unbelievably experience of my life and i want you all to know that a huge part of that reason is YOU! =) i love you guys!

Voy a regresar....sin duda

Happy Thanksgiving first of all!!

Picture explanation: Group of us all playing UNO (Me, Andrés, Kriss, Richard, Antonio, Wendy, Jorleny, Jacol), My crazy host fam sorry its blurry (Kriss, Nora, Me, Ademar, Yorleny, Terri!)

So i have just spent three of the best, crazy, most challenging, awesome weeks of my life in Naranjo, Costa Rica.

I can´t even begin to sum up for you how the last 3 weeks have changed me and moved me, but i´ll try to start at the beginning. Host family was AWESOME! Seriously, I cannot believe how much at home I felt with those loco ticos! Host dad Ademar Alvarado, hilarious and a big goof! Host mom Nora, so adorable and so sweet and so crazy also! =) Then I also had two host sisters, Yorleny who is 31 and Kriss who is 23. They are both adorable and super sweet and awesome awesome awesome. =) We also had a dog named Terri, who you will see in the picture. =) I didn´t only have an awesome host family, but also had an amazing group of friends! Wendy, Adriana, Andres, Jacol, Andrea, Richard, Antonio...alll great people! =) I mean, on night one when i got to the house everyone was there and we hung out, had pizza, played uno and ridiculous hand-clapping games, one called ron'camaraon that i will teach you when i come home. =) My work was at a place called Cen Cinai, which is like headstart. First two days I hated it, honestly, because I was the cleaning lady and I had thought I would be working with kids. Then God woke me up and I realized I needed to change my attitude and really work on being a servant and having a content and open heart to God´s will. It was a really great lesson, and all the other days after that I felt way better and actually really enjoyed my work! The last 3 days I was there I made 100 bags out of wrapping paper for the students to take home presents in on the last day of class, so i now have a new skill. =) it was good. =)

Umm as for other stories...I have no doubt that I am coming back to Costa Rica after I graduate in May. I don´t know for how long, or what God is going to open up for me, but we will see. Basically I have felt God working in me more these 3 weeks than I have in a really really long time! I have just felt like this place is a second home, and God has been opening up new doors and new opportunities for me. probably my favorite and most exciting story is that I met a tico. And we´re novios. =) His name is Andres, and he´s 24 years old. He´s good friends with my host sisters, and lives in Naranjo and is a manager in the Cooperativa there. He´s hilarious, sweet, and all around amazing (I mean, he speaks spanish..awesome). =) I just have this really real feeling about it, and really feel that it´s from God. I am coming back in May. No question. =) If you want to know more, feel free to ask. =) That´s my naranjo story for you. =) I can´t tell you how amazing life feels, how amazingly i have felt god in my life these 3 weeks. =) Thank you so much for your unending love and prayers and all that goodness. YOu are all such a blessing on my life!! =) I love you!!! Happy Thanksgiving!

im in love with naranjo, costa rica!

So i had this huge great awesome long blog typed up on my computer but for some reason the internet cafe computer is not reading it. poo.
so i guess you{ll just have to settle for another tiny little post! life here is awesome, i am still loving my amazing host family that is full of locos, and all the friends i am making here who are ticos! woot! =) next saturday night when we come to the internet cafe again i should have some more information built up for you and hopefully it will actually work. =)
alright..i love you and and im prayig for you!
less than 4 weeks! =) =(
love ya!

Only 32 days left....

Life here in Naranjo is amazing! =) I am having a great time with my host family! Sorry this entry is so short, but I am at the internet cafe with a bunch of friends (costa rican friends) and dont want to make them all wait for me. So, when I get back Ill type up a longer, more detailed post and let you know all about life here, probably sometime next weekend! =) In the meantime, know that I am missing you and praying for you all mucho mucho! =)
Much amor!

Pura Vida Fall Break!

Pictures: Christie, Me, Claire, laughing =)...Sunset on the beach...Claire, Christie and I at sunset...Me at Playa Ocotal...Me flipping pancakes with a seashell. =)
Ahhh yes, I can say that I am completely relaxed after spending four days at the beach. =) Not to brag.
Friday I was dropped off on the way back from Nicaragua in a town called Liberia, CR, in Guanacaste, with 6 other girls: Marly, Christie, Ashley, Jazmín, Emily and Mackenzie. We made our way to El Coco, where we spent Friday and Saturday night. Saturday we hiked to Playa Ocotal, where we soaked up a little water and a little sun, and then did some exploring around the rocky area on the edge of the beach. We found lots of tidal pools filled with hermit crabs, slugs, and other fun ocean creatures. That night Matt and Claire joined up with our group in El Coco, rounding us up to a large group of 9. We made some yummy banana pancakes for supper after a short struggle with the gas stove (oh Latin America =) and then headed out that night for some ice cream. We went to this bar/restaurant called La Vida Loca, which was actually pretty dead, and we had to cross this ridiculous bridge to get there (for when the tide is in). It was pretty much awesome, even though we were basically the only people there. =)

Sunday morning we started trying to make our way to Brasilito, our next beach town destination. We thought we could just take taxis to a main road where the buses drive past, but when we got to the bus stop out there a lady told us we’d have to wait at least another hour and a half for a bus, which wouldn’t actually take us directly there. So, seeing two “fake taxis” that were sitting by the bus stop, we decided to do a little bargaining with them so that we would get to Brasilito directly without having to wait a good 2 hours. Half an hour and $40 later, we ended up in the little beach town of Brasilito. Best choice ever. =) (by the way, $40 was a good price, I know it seems like a lot, but remember, there were 9 of us). =) We stayed at this great hostel called Cabinas Ojos Azules, run by a guy from Switzerland, for just $5 each, and we all got to share the same room with two fans, a fridge, and cable. Yeah, it was sweet. =)

Our main goal Sunday was to get to the beach we really wanted to go to, called Playa Conchal. The lady at our favorite soda told us that all we had to do was walk there on the beach. However, when we ran into a river that flowed into the ocean in our path, we were a little confused. Seeing one guy cross, and realizing how deep it was, we decided to turn back and leave behind stuff at the hotel if there was no other way to get to Playa Conchal. On the way back we walked past some girl surfers, who told us that, indeed, it was the only way to get to the beach. After dropping off some cameras, clothes and money, we finally made our way back and forded the “river” (it was high tide). Then we had to walk across Playa Brasilito, up a little path in the trees, and then finally we walked out onto the white, crushed seashell beach of Playa Conchal. It was GORGEOUS. =) We just spent the afternoon relaxing, laying out and floating in the calm waters, with hardly any other people out on the beach, even though there is a large, expensive resort hidden back in the trees behind Playa Conchal. We even found some entertainment, as a Tico was swimming and laying out in his whitie-tighties. Yikes: he even did handstands. Yikes again. =)

Monday morning I went snorkeling at Playa Conchal with Ashley, and it was so neat! The water was pretty clear, but the tide was out, which made it a little hard to get around some of the rocks. We saw lots of fish, bright blues, black and yellow striped, and a big school of silver fish. It was great, I loved it! I definitely want to go again sometime where I can see even more stuff, like colorful coral! It was worth my $5. Everyone except for Christie, Claire, Matt and I left on Monday at 2, because they wanted to get back to San Jose to write our Nicaragua essays. I am SO glad I decided to stay the extra day! It was Matt’s birthday, so we basically just spent the rest of the time celebrating! We had a nice, long, cheap lunch at Soda Brasilito, the place we ate like, 4 times in 2 days. =) Then the four of us headed back out to the beach, and stayed in the water for probably 3 hours while we talked and watched the sunset, it was sooo gorgeous. That night we hit up probably the most expensive place in town, because it was Matt’s birthday, called Outback Jack’s. It was awesome food and drinks, I won’t tell you how much it cost. =) More than our $4 lunches everyday. =) Then we bought some ice cream, and spent a few hours out on the beach, listening to the waves, looking at the millions of stars we could see, and watching a lightning storm way out in the distance over the ocean. Not too shabby. =)

Tuesday morning Matt and I woke up early to make some banana and M&M pancakes with the stuff we had left over, since we had a kitchenette outside the room. They had awesome pans to work with, but we soon realized that there was a serious lack (aka: none) of utensils. Therefore, to flip the pancakes I used a large butcher knife and a large seashell Marly left behind in the room. Yes, seriously, I flipped pancakes with a seashell, and it was awesome. I joked with Matt that now I finally have something useful I can put on my resumé. =) After breakfast we headed to the bus stop at 8:30, because we were supposed to leave at 9…well, there were mechanical problems, and so we ended up getting on the bus at 10:30. Yeah. =) Good times. We got back to San José around 4:30 or so, and then took the bus home. As I was walking down my street, my two year old nephew Aaron came out onto the porch and saw me, and instantly started yelling my name, and running in and out of the house. Now that’s a welcome. =) I caught back up with my family, wrote my Nicaragua essay, and made it to bed by 11 pm. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. =) All in all, fall break was ah-ma-zing! I am totally willing to take anyone to Playa Conchal if the urge ever strikes you. =)

I hope that you all have been having a great last 2 weeks, as I know I have!! I can definitely feel your prayers everyday, I am just having the semester of my life here in Costa Rica, and am learning so much and growing so much here! I just want to keep saying gracias, gracias, gracias! I can never express my gratitude enough to all of you, you’re amazing! =) Next I head off to live in Naranjo from Nov 2-26^th, and I’m not sure how much internet access I will be having from there. You’ll find out in my next blog entry, I suppose. =) Until then, know that I love and miss you all!! ¡Que Dios le bendiga!

O mi linda Nicaragua...

Pictures: Me, Mackenzie and Jessica on the bus...Me with the Sandino memorial...Mikaila and I with our host moms...Chauncey, Me, Mikaila, Ervin y Sarai at church...
I hardly know where to begin to recap you on 12 of the most challenging, amazing days of my life! I guess I’ll just start at the beginning…
Bus ride there was awesome; my friend Claire bought me a 2.5 LITER bottle of Té Frío (Iced tea) for the trip, peach flavor of course, because I am basically addicted to it. It was hilarious, and I drank it all by the end of the 2^nd day..with a little help. =)
We spent the first two days together, driving around Managua, eating at an awesome soda run by a lady in her house, visiting MCC (woot!), and even going into a protest camp in a park. The people protesting are from the province of Chinandega, and are all farmers. They are there to protest the use of the agrochemical nemmagon, which has given a vast majority cancer, or other diseases of the skin that have caused them to need amputations. Heavy stuff: they have been protesting during the last 3 presidential terms and not too much has happened. It was really rough to be there and see their “temporary” housing (as of now, they’ve been there 17 months) made up of wood and large black tarps. I still don’t really know what to say about it….
So, remember how I asked you to pray a lot for my group, because we were going to be living in a dangerous place in Managua? Well, God apparently had some different plans in mind! =) We were supposed to go live in Heleya (sp?), which is a ghetto of Managua, but 5 minutes before we left Trevor pulled us to the side and told us that the church had decided to move us because of a lot of last minute security concerns, and also because it had been raining a LOT lately, and that area floods really easily. So, I did not end up living in the ghetto, but instead lived in a small area outside of Managua called Santo Domingo. It was hard to go from being prepared to have one of the “roughest” experiences to having what was one of the most comfortable ones (my bathroom was inside, I had my own room, etc). I can’t lie, I felt relieved, but at the same time there was this strange disappointment in me because I felt that I was sort of being “let down” by the experience. But, of course, God wowed me yet again!
I lived with a woman who’s been single her whole life, named Beatriz, and she has a 34 year old son Christian, who is married. He and his wife live in the house as well, but they are gone all day and most of the night working, and so Beatriz was really excited to have me around to talk to and eat lunch with. This woman is awesome: she’s hilarious, and probably about 53 or so, and is just about finished up with going back to get her high school degree because she wants to go on to the university and study theology. Whoa. =) We had an awesome time together! Her sister Anita lives right next door, and my friend Mikaila stayed with her and her two sons: Roger, 23, and Jorge, 18. We spent a LOT of time together (only speaking Spanish, that was our promise for the week), and I really got to know Roger and Anita just as much as I did my own host mother. I can’t even put into words how immediately at home and in love with these people I felt! Everyone in Costa Rica told us before we left that the Nicaraguan people have big hearts, and I still wasn’t prepared for the unconditional love and acceptance I felt from everyone there!
We also spent a lot of time with the pastor, who is a woman named Falla. Katie lived with Falla’s sister, and so she spent a lot of time at Falla’s house. We spent a few afternoons with Falla and her family, especially her adopted son Ervín, who is 14. We played kickball one afternoon with a bunch of the neighborhood kids, and one day had a “family tournament” of me, Mikaila, Roger versus Katie, David and Ervín. Needless to say, our family dominated in volíbol and handball. =) It was such a great time to be able to share life with these people for just a short while! The day that we left I couldn’t help but cry over and over as they prayed for us at each one of our houses before we left to hop in a van and drive to Granada. I wish I could describe it to you better so you could all understand, but I don’t even understand it yet. I just know that Nicaragua has a really big part of my heart….I also have many more stories, so if you want to hear more I’m sure I’ll be able to share more with you later. =)

We got to Granada on Wednesday earlier than we needed to, so Chauncey, Katie, Mikaila and I spent a little bit of time exploring (and sweating!!). Once we got to the hostel and discovered the pool, we had to just leap right in! I have not felt so good in a long time. =) The group had a big reflection time about our experiences that night, and then the next day we hit up a market in Masaya before heading back to Managua for our last night. We had a “charla” / dinner at a placed called Ola Verde, a restaurant run by a woman who used to be really high up in the US Dept. of Agriculture who decided she wanted to run this restaurant using locally grown, mostly organic products. The food was pretty okay, I mean, the main dish was tofu/eggplant lasagna stuff…yeah, that I didn’t like. =) But we did have some amazing salad and ice cream for desert! =)
The next morning we were up bright and early early early to hop on TransNica and make our way back to Costa Rica! A group of girls and I were dropped off in Liberia, CR so that we could start our Fall Break on Friday instead of Saturday….and I’ll save that story for my next blog entry…=)

The week of lasts....

October 7, 2008: Tuesday
So, this week was the week of “lasts!” Tuesday = last Seminario Base speaker at LASP. Don Stam has been a missionary in Costa Rica for over 50 years..yeah! He was hilarious and just gave us some good advice about living here and about traveling to Nicaragua. Wednesday = ICADS oral presentations..yikes! Haha we all freaked out a little bit, but I know we all did fine. =) After class on Wednesday we headed to the HUGE mall called Terra Mall to watch a movie (The Contract). The movie was eh, okay, I mean, we basically just went because Wednesdays are half price, which pretty much means $5 for a movie in a SWEET theater with popcorn…so not too shabby! After we get back from Nicaragua if we have time we’re going to hit up the VIP Cine which has LA-Z-Boys to sit in! No joke! And you can order awesome food there (think crepes, sushi, steak…yeah). =) Anyways, it was a really good time, Mackenzie, Chelsea, Kayla, Sam, Andrew Brauer and I all went together. We had a blast eating some delicious Pop’s ice cream (I got banana dipped in chocolate and nuts..yeahhhh). While we were sitting there Andrew said something really nice, and funny to me! Haha he told me that I remind him a lot of his mom, or at least how he thought his mom must have been when she was younger. It was just a really nice thing for him to say, cuz I get the impression he’s one of those guys that really loves his mom. Anyways, it was nice, made me smile! =)

Thursday = our LASP seminario base presentations! Yikes! =) My group was the US/Latin American relations group (my paper was about Nicaragua/US relations). We decided to do a skit, and it worked out REALLY well! We were pumped! =) All I can say now is if you want to hear some interesting music you should listen to “Amerika” by Rammenstein. Good stuff, we used it for our presentation/skit. =) So Thursday officially wrapped up seminario base! Whew! 6 credits in 6 weeks = a crapload of homework that I’m glad I don’t have to do anymore. =)

Friday = our last day in ICADS! =( Que triste! We had a “graduation” ceremony, where the ICADS staff handed out certificates to all of us, it was really cute! =) Andrew Brauer spoke to the ICADS staff on behalf of us students, and it was hilarious; he translated “You’ll be in my heart” by Phil Collins (think of Tarzan) into Spanish, and then sang it to end his little speech. It was great, I got part of it on video. =) We had cake afterwards, ate lots of food the awesome ICADS people made us, and just hung out for a while! It was wonderful bonding time together! =) Friday Jasmín made me go back to the market with her, and so I ran into my “novio” again. Ugh. =) Haha he didn’t remember my name, but he remembered that we had talked, unfortunately! =) No, it wasn’t really that bad, it was fun! Haha Brian was with us, and he asked Brian if he was my boyfriend, and when Brian said no he was like, “ah, good, because this girl is my other half!” Ay yi yi…what am I going to do? =) Ha ha.

We went to the zoo, zoo, zoo..you could’ve come too, too, too
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday was hangout in San Jose day, because the LASP staff recommended that we not do any traveling this weekend since we will need to rest up for the apparent exhaustion that Nicaragua is going to bring us. Gulp.
After a good morning of shopping with Jasmín (I bought purple shoes..they’re awesome), we had some delicious lunch with Christie, Ashley and Eleya. Delicious meaning, I bought a crunchwrap at Taco Bell because I was craving some (this is the first time, I swear!) and then paired that with an awesome fruit salad (pineapple, watermelon, papaya, red jello, cookies & cream ice cream, and raspberry sauce) YEAH! On the way Jasmín and I ran into Kasey, Chauncey and Craig, and they kindly informed us that they were heading to the zoo, and invited us along. Of course, we took them up on the offer! It was basically $3 to get in, and we got to see a Jaguar, 2 Lions, some birds, some weird Costa Rican animals =), and of course monkeys! I seriously thought one of the monkeys was going to throw its fruit at us, it just looked really ticked off when we were looking at them all. I think it would’ve made a good story, but no. =) We had a blast just goofing around; Jasmín and I wanted the Jaguar to move from its post, so we started running back and forth in front of the cage so it would be interested. Apparently we do not look very tasty to Jaguars, because it didn’t work. =) All in all, a really good day! =)
I suppose I should let you all know now that I will not be on the internet for the next two weeks. We are going to Nicaragua, leaving on Monday, the 13^th, and coming back to San Jose the 24^th, and we then have FALL BREAK until Tuesday the 28^th! Woot! I am really, really excited for Nicaragua, though I know that it is going to be a very challenging experience at the same time (it’s one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere). We take a bus to Nicaragua (10-11 hours on Monday). Then the group will be spending a few days together in the capital, Managua, and then we will be spending an entire week with host families in different areas all around the country. My group will be staying in a marginalized area, I don’t know by what city yet. This will be the first time that LASP has placed students in this town, and so we will definitely need your prayers as we live in a place that’s a little more dangerous, and as we are the first students for the families living there. Don’t worry; I will have Chauncey in the same town as me (the biggest guy in the group, who is also Latin American in appearance, both pluses). Just pray for our hearts to be fully opened, even when it’s hard, pray for safety, and pray for the families that we will be living with. After the full week with our families, the group will be back together in Granada, and then we will head back to San Jose, which begins fall break.
For fall break, I will be going with a group of girls to Guanacaste, the province with all the beaches. =) We are going to start out in Playa Coco (I think) and then who knows what from there. =) Pray for safety once again, especially from the sun. =)
Life continues to be amazing in San Jose, though it is sad to be ending the first part of this experience: in Nicaragua we will officially be halfway done. Yikes. I am going to really miss my host family here in San Jose, they have been an unbelievable blessing to me while I have been here! Ah, I can’t even think about it right now, I’m already about to cry. Pray for them as a family, as their dad continues to live and work in Panama and can only come home once a month. I can really see god at work in my family here, they are such buena gente, I can’t even imagine this experience without them!
Well, if you’re still with me, thanks a lot for reading this ridiculously long update on life. =) Dont forget to check out pictures from ziplining and other events on flickr.com (see my last post for instructions) =) I love you all so much and just want to keep saying Gracias, Gracias, gracias for your thoughts and prayers and all support! I can never thank you all enough! Con todo mi amor y el amor de Dios.

Nose piercing and a new love....

FOTOS: Top: Teatro Nacional in San Jose, my nephew Aaron at the Childrens Museum, Mural at LASP, view walking down the street to spanish classes at ICADS:: *********I tried to put them onto a slideshow on this blog, but it didnt work, so if you would like to see pictures from Costa Rica, look on flickr.com, in the box where it says search type in Laurita1986 (make sure you have selected people as the search field or nothing will come up) and then you should be able to see my pictures!********

October 5, 2008- Sunday!
Okay…so how do you like this title? Tell me, did it freak you out? =) Sorry to disappoint, but I am not the one who got my nose pierced. That would be my friend, Jasmín. =) Haha I had to make your heart race just a little bit at least! We hung out on Sunday afternoon/evening and I went with her to the mall so she could get her nose pierced. I can’t say I didn’t think about it, but when I watched them do it to her I thought, well, maybe not so much, even though she told me it didn’t hurt. =) We had a great time, then ate a delicious supper at Pollo Campero: we had the best ice cream I have had here so far: que rico!

He encontrado mi “otro mitad”
October 6, 2008-Monday!
Translation: “I have found my ‘other half’”: boy, I am just doing really well with freaking-you-out titles this week. =) Today Jasmín and I were hanging out again after ICADS (Spanish classes) and we decided to head to the market so I could buy some stuff for you people. =) We saw our Nicaraguan friend Donald again, so we caught up with him for a while because it had been a long time since we interviewed him! Then, I was looking at some stuff from another vendor, a young guy, and we were just talking prices and then he just apparently decided he wanted to flirt with me because I can speak Spanish. It was weird, I didn’t really know what to say, but it was hilarious. =) After I decided what to buy, he asked if I wanted to buy an Imperial (beer brand here) t-shirt, and I made some sarcastic or funny comment, I can’t really remember, and then he said “ahh, pienso que he encontrado mi otra mitad.” Jasmín and I just laughed, I mean, really hard, because I don’t think we really knew what else to do! Haha And then when he found out my name is Laura, he began singing this song that is very popular in Spanish, that goes, “Laura no está, Laura se fue, Laura se rompió mi corazón” (Laura’s not here, Laura left, Laura broke my heart). So, we walk past him as we are leaving the market, and he is singing this song to me. Sooo ridiculous! =) Hahaha We basically said, “Ciao amigo!” and we were gone…Qué lástima, I don’t even know his name, and unfortunately, he was not really that cute…=) Hahaha not to mention he was quite overly aggressive, so I think I’ll have to pass on that one…but Jasmín is wanting to go back to the market on Friday…ahh…so perhaps I’ll have another story to tell after then! =)

Feliz Cumpleanos a mi!

So, sorry this blog is so kind of behind with the dates that I’m posting it on, but I have not been having a lot of time to get to the internet café, so I am just typing up the blogs on my computer and then posting them when I get time to hop on over here to the café. =) Just consider that your disclaimer for the day.

Mi cumple (birthday: Oct 1) was AH-mazing. =) I had 3 pieces of cake that day, if that gives you any idea of how amazing it was. Hahaha. My sister made a chocolate cake with frosting and peaches on top, which was delicious, and we had sopa azteca (basically salsa/soup with avocado, white cheese and tortilla chips…YUM!). My whole family sang feliz cumpleaños to me, I think my host nephew Aron sang it about 10 times (apparently it’s his favorite song). =) My family is so great, I am just loving hanging out with them and getting to know them better all the time, I can’t believe we have such little time left together! Even Spanish class on Wednesday was awesome; we talked for the entire 4 hours! No worksheets, just talking / arguing. =) There was definitely “yelling” or should I just say “raised voices” (it made things more fun, I think that’s why). =) We talked about pacifism, which we were sort of divided on (me and the teacher and then the two guys) because the guys thought it was a good idea but didn’t necessarily see it as being a realistic option, whereas, for me, I am just hardcore about peace and nonviolence, and so is our teacher, Carina. So it was a really good (obviously, long) conversation that just led more into talking about religion, faith, and how we can live out what we’ve been learning here. Very good times! (And don’t worry; we’re all still friends even after all that). =)

My birthday present to myself was the Juanes concert on Thursday night, which was also unbelievable! It didn’t rain all day, which was pretty much a miracle. Then when we were waiting in the futbol stadium for the concert to start (our seats were awesome by the way) it rained a little, so we bought ridiculous 2000 colones ponchos ($4) and then, of course, it stopped raining. Well, until Juanes’ second song: then the rain really came down. =) You would think that it would stink to be at a concert when it was raining, but if you ask me, it just made it even cooler. I mean, we were at a Juanes concert, outside, in Costa Rica, dancing and singing along with thousands of Ticos…yeah, the rain just made it even cooler. =) Plus, Juanes, being rained on, is just even hotter than normal. =) Hahaha. We had a really fun group of 9: Kasey, Ryan, Greg, Me, Jasmín, Lesly, Caroline, Lima, and Katie. It was definitely some awesome bonding time together! =) Juanes even saved my favorite song (Nada valgo sin tu amor) for last...it was just awesome! Only crappy part: not allowed to take cameras! Luckily I had not brought mine, mostly because I just didn’t want to risk it being stole, and so when we got to the gate we found out you weren’t allowed to have them when they patted one of the guys down and told him he wasn’t allowed to bring it in. C’mon Juanes, seriously: we can’t even take your picture? Well, we could’ve, if we had snuck in our cameras like some other people...but that would’ve required prior knowledge that they were not allowed. =) So sorry for all that wanted to see pictures, I wish I had some to show you!

Friday night (Oct 3) we had movie night #1 at LASP to celebrate the October birthdays. We watched “Be Kind, Rewind” with Jack Black, which was mas o menos (okay). We were asked to invite ticos, so I invited both my sisters and they both came, but they were the only ticos. But it was still awesome! =) I loved being able to hang out with them and have them meet some of my classmates/friends from LASP. When we got home that night Ale and I sat in our room and had some awesome girl bonding (aka: we talked about boys). =) It was good to really have a conversation about life, not just, “oh, how are you? How was school? Blah blah.” We really bonded, and it was just (as Tony the Tiger would say) Grrreat!

I can’t believe we only have one week of our “first phase” left here, it has gone by SO fast! Almost 6 weeks (on Tuesday, Oct 7). Whoa. =) We leave on Sunday the 12^th to head to Nicaragua for 12 days, which is also really exciting! I’ll let you know more about that before I leave hopefully. =)

Thank you all again for your continuous prayers and support, I can really see the effects here in Costa Rica, as life just continually gets better and better here, I am just having the best time of my life here and I could not be doing this without such amazing love and support from all of you! *Big hug from me!* Muchísimas gracias! Hasta luego mis amigos. Con amor, Laura.

Ziplining! Woot!

Wow, wow, WOW…I don’t even know where to begin about my weekend! I suppose I’ll just go in order. =)
FRIDAY
Well, let me begin with a “funny” story. It’s funny now at least. =) We had “lots” of time between the end of Spanish classes at 12, and when we had to be at LASP at 2. So Mikayla and I decided that we would just take the bus to San Jose and then head to El Carmen for our LASP stuff. We made it into San Jose fine, and of course it had started raining by that time, as it does everyday. We got out our umbrellas and rolled up our pants (soooo Gringo-ish! Haha) and then proceeded to walk through San Jose to the next bus stop. Well, in that process, it began pouring gatos y perros, and by the time we got the bus stop we were drenched (we even had umbrellas) and the wind started blowing the rain basically straight at us, and it even hailed a little! Needless to say, that was a first! We were totally and completely drenched, I mean, water was soaking through my umbrella..yeah, it was bad! But very very memorable! =)
So, Friday afternoon/night we had our group Camino Espiritual (Spiritual Journey). All 56 of us (or so) were given about 3 minutes each to try and just explain a little about our faith journey or a part of our life that makes us sort of who we are now, or to talk about something we just wanted everyone else to know about us. It was amazing to hear everyone share such distinct stories about themselves, and yet I felt that I could relate to every single person there in a totally new way. I really felt like it brought us all together and helped us to be able to look at each other in a different way, sort of wiping away all of the prior thoughts and feelings we had about the other people on the trip. Some good tears, and some even greater bonding (and some cardboard-ish pizza that actually tasted good)..hmm, doesn’t get much better. =)
As I was packing up that night for Monteverde, Greg called my house to let me know for sure the details of where to meet. My sister Ale answered the phone, and before handing it to me she said, “Laura, its for you..it’s a boy!” in English, and Greg overheard her. So of course when I started talking to him he was like, “oooo, It’s a boy it’s a boy!” and I told him my sister had said that, and he told me to ask her if she wanted to hang out some time: well, I did, and boy oh boy did she turn red!! =) hahaha and she said no =) it was definitely an awesome memorable moment with my sister, and we’ve been bonding over it ever since, because I continue to tease her about it and tell her that I’m going to show her some good pictures and hook her up. =) haha I love it.

SATURDAY
This is the other really awesome part of the weekend. =) Probably the most awesome weekend so far! On Friday I decided to head to Monteverde with some of the other people in the program: Christie, Jasmine, Bethany, Kasey, and Greg and I. We had to leave EARLY on Saturday (I woke up at 3:50 am…yeah) because the bus left San Jose at 6:30 in the morning and we had a 5 hour drive to make it to Monteverde. So anywhoo, we made it to the bus stop on time and all that, had a good drive there (minus the fact that some of us had to use the bathroom like crazy and we only had one 15-minute break in that 5 hour span..yeah, for real). Once we hopped off the bus this guy came right up to us and told us he’d take us somewhere to stay, so we just sort of walked along with him, whatever, we didn’t know where we were. Luckily it ended up being the best place ever: $6 a person per night hostel, really nice (for a hostel I think, I don’t know, it was the first time I’ve been in one!), and they gave us awesome advice about food, what to do, everything. It was sort of raining when we got there, because it was basically the afternoon, so we shelled out $15 and headed to Selvatura where we spent a few hours walking up in the cloud forest on suspended bridges. G-oooor-geous! We saw some howler monkeys in the distance from the one bridge after we heard them howling or whatever for about 10 minutes before we got to the bridge. Don’t worry, I have it on video. =) Hahaha. That evening we met up with one of Greg’s friends, Danny Mack, who is in a biology program in Costa Rica, and they happened to be in Monteverde until Sunday. Actually, he is from Columbus and even knows Colt Cunningham and Kelsey Seipel, who I go to college with. Weird little world we live in! Anyways, we ate at this sweet ($$$) restaurante with a live tree in the middle of it: soo delicious! After that Greg’s friend headed out and we all just went back to the hostel and hung out in the guys’ room for a while, being ridiculously loud and having an amazing time bonding (don’t worry, we weren’t disturbing anyone..it was basically us and maybe 2-4 other people on the second floor). After a while we were all completely whipped, so we headed to be in order to get ready for Sunday…yeah =)

SUNDAY
7:30 AM we hopped into a little microbus/van and made our way to Aventura Park where we went ziplining!! Only $30 to zip around the cloud forest for 3 hours! I know, you are probably shocked to be reading this if you know me, since you know I am afraid of heights. =) I was a little nervous before we got there, but once we were strapped into the harness, I was never afraid again! It was amazing really, I was really surprised. There are 14 total ziplines there, and they were just…wow, I don’t really even have words to explain it. We would leave from a platform up in a tree, zip through a space between a lot of trees, and then suddenly it would open up and we were out over all the trees below us, in the clouds and just able to see all around us. It was completely unbelievable to be surrounded in such a way by God’s amazing creation! Definitely one of the coolest things I have done in my life! =) There were two times when I must be honest and say I was terrified: 1) we had to do this “rappel” where we were on a platform and the only way to get down was to step off the edge of it, hanging in the air, until the guy pulled on our rope and we just slid all the way down to the bottom. Needless to say, I definitely had to scream on that one. =) but it was amazing, I just told everyone sitting there who had already done it that screaming just made it more fun. =) Scary part #2…way scarier: the Tarzan Swing. Basically there is a clearing in the trees, and we climbed stairs to the top of this really tall platform. They strapped us in, and then pushed us off the edge of the platform: you basically feel like you’re falling straight down until the rope catches you and you swing way out into the clearing: sooo amazing (after the initial heart-stopping drop) =) it was amazing! After the Tarzan swing the last two ziplines came up, and they were by far the two best of the whole day. The very last one was the longest and highest…just being out in a “canyon” I guess you could call it, hanging above all the trees on a zipline, just you and the wind..it was so gorgeous and just unbelievable. Put it on your list of things to do. =)
When we headed back after that amazing time on Sunday, we ate at a restaurante called Morphos, recommended to us by the awesome hostel guy. We were all completely starving, since we had only eaten two small pancakes for breakfast at a little soda (aka restaurant-sort-of). I ordered a hamburger, and it was the HUGE-est hamburger I have ever eaten in my life. I mean, we’re talking: two beef patties, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese, avocado (sounds weird, but it was totally wicked awesome) and the thing was probably a good 8 inches in diameter (no problem!). =) After lunch we chilled around the hostel for a while, and then made our way to the bus (which we almost missed because we thought the bus left from right in front of our hostel. Thanks again awesome hostel guys for showing us that we were wrong.) I got back home around 8 or so, and did a little unpacking while I caught up with my host sisters on their weekend of graduation dress shopping for Alejandra. Then, even though I was exhausted, we all watched the movie Get Smart, which was a lot of fun to have some good re-bonding time with them and catch back up. =)
So, all in all, not too shabby of a weekend! =) This week is insanely busy, and so this is probably one of the only updates I’ll give for a while, which is probably good because it’s so insanely long. =) I am getting pumped for my birthday on Wednesday, and Thursday is the big Juanes concert! Ahh! =) I hope that all continues to go well with each one of you reading this, thanks for keeping up with me for such a long time. With much love and much missing of you. =)

Con todo el amor en mi corazón.

A freezing cold volcano ?

So, saturday we went to the volcano and it was...FREEEEZING! no joke, probably seriously 50 degrees F. yeah...for real! =) haha and it was raining or misting the entire time, so for the 2 hours we were there we got to see the crater for about 2 or 3 minutes. =) But, minus the $20 we spent total on the bus ride, park entrance and food, it was completely worth it to spend time with people in the group and just bond over such a possibly wonderful experience gone completely wrong. =) Plus, the drive there was completely gorgeous, which was worth it pretty much. =) pretty much. haha (see pictures)
Soo other than that, life continues to be good as usual in good old Tico land! i am still loving the food and the people and life in general! yesterday we bought our juanes tickets, so we are FOR SURE going next thursday (oct 2) to see him. ahh, me encanta. =)
umm yeah..food is good, im not sick (yet, apparently that is an inevitability in our nicaragua trip..woot) =) i just cant believe how fast the time is just flying by here, it is incredible! i am so glad that the group just feels bonded together in such a short time, (4 weeks!) and its just going to get better here. =)
i had my first experience at church with my host sisters this past sunday, which was also amazing! its not a pentecostal church, i think i would just say evangelical..yeah...it was really good, the people there are amazingly nice people, and so im hopefully going to go again this sunday since i´ll be around! its just great to have such an amazing time of worship, even though i dont catch like, 1/4 of the message i can feel the love people have for god and i just felt so close to god and everyone around me that day. =) it was great!
con dios.
****Pictures: me in the ¨danger zone¨at the volcano...a little furry friend who just came right up to us, i think someone actually did pet it...the view on the way there!...me, mackenzie, emily and alyssa all chilling in the cafeteria at the volcano...and me in front of the crater for the 2 minutes we could see it! =)

Voy a disfrutar este fin de semana!

Title translation (roughly)= I am going to have fun this weekend!
A group of girls from my program is going to the volcano called Irazu tomorrow morning, which should be a lot of fun! it´s supposed to be beautiful in the area, we have a 2 hour drive there, 2 hours at the volcano, and then 2 hours back to san jose. =) not too shabby of a day!
Yesterday we had an awesome speaker, a man who was actually a presidential candidate in 2006 and lost by only 4% or so of the vote! His name is Otton Solis, and chances are very good that he will be Costa Rica´s next president. What an honor! He talked to us about us-latin american relations from the latin american perspective (we learned us perspective on tuesday when we traveled to the us embassy). He was very challenging to us as young people, encouraging us to really use what we learn here as we live out our lives back in the states. He told us that if we have this experience and dont use anything from it, but keep it to ourselves, we are really being egotistical. It was hard to hear, but I know that there is a lot of truth to that statement!!
Things were a little sad around mi casa yesterday, as my host dad headed back to Panama until Oct 17 or so, when he gets to come home for just a little while again. How hard it would be to only see my dad once a month!! Wow..I just cant really imagine it. Let me just take this time to give a huge thank you to my own parents, and to all the parents out there who make such humungous sacrifices for their families...wow, your love is just amazing to me. =)
I know its ridiculous, but i STILL have not been to dance "class"...yea...i might just end up being lame and never goig! haha there is just something about hanging out with my host family that i really really enjoy, and so its hard for me to really ever want to leave at night! =)
OH...i cant believe i almost forgot to mention this! Yesterday when I checked my mail I had a huge envelope from my parents, and when I opened it I found tons of birthday cards!! Thank you thank you thank you if you are reading this and you sent me a card!! I was basically speechless, I cried some definitely happy and surprised tears, and everyone here was so excited for me!! I am only opening 2 a day (one in the morning and one at night) so that they will last until my birthday! I decided to just randomly pull one out each time, so i never know who is coming next, although i did set back the two i thought were from danielle and my parents-bekah so that i could open those two on my actual birthday. =) Thank you all so much, you made my week...well, you made my month basically! haha =) i love you guys!
One more thing to add =) then im signing off until next wedensday or so =) i don´t know how many of you have heard of the colombian singer juanes, but he is amazing!! On october 2nd he is performing here in san jose in concert, and I AM GOING! oh my word, i am so excited =) its definitely my birthday gift to myself!!! =) only $20! woot! haha so yea, im pumped...be jealous if you love juanes...i will take pictures for you =) oh, speaking of pictures, sorry i have not posted any of costa rica yet, i forgot my jump drive!! i will remember to bring it with me the next time i post so you can see a little bit of life here. =)
well...time for me to go do a little research before grabbing some bread at a panaderia (aka bakery) and then head home!!
que dios le bendiga

I went to the beach last weekend..what did you do? ;)

Okay, so perhaps the title of this blog is a little mean. =) I suppose I am rubbing it in just a little that we all got to go to an amazing beach in Limon last weekend and get a little tan. =) Lo siento. =)
But for real, the trip to Limon was amazing! We got to try a new version of Gallo Pinto, called "Rice and Beans". haha, yes, in english. =) and it was really good! i think it was similar to gallo pinto, but made with red beans and i think coconut. yeah, interesting. =) anways, the beach was awesome, i didnt get sunburned, praise the lord for that! =) And when we were leaving the beach (after 3 hours of playing in the ocean) we got to see tons of monkeys just chilling in the trees! Talk about amazing! Some people even got a little, um, "present" from the monkeys, which I must say makes a better story than getting pooped on by a bird. how dull. =)
I actually didnt go to dance class last wednesday, my host mom was in panama visiting my host dad (who is living and working there) and so my host bro and sisters and i all went to my older sister´s house for supper that night. But i think i might try going tonight, if i get some work done on my two essays that are due in the next two days! yikes! =)
Life continues to be very good here, we all really got to bond this weekend in Limon, which was really great! I got to spend some one on one time with a few new people, and found out there are a total of two other mennonites here! woo hoo, way to represent! =) it actually did make me happy to know that some people know im not amish. =) ha ha ha!
This weekend some of us are discussing the possibility of going to a volcano or possibly taking a whole weekend to head over to the pacific coast....ahh..yeah, both would be amazing =) after a crazy week of homework, we sort of feel like we deserve it! =)
I just want to continue to thank all of your for your amazing prayers! I have had some days where I have just had to make myself not think about home, or else I would just break down. The time is already flying by, so I am trying to just be here in this moment so that I dont miss out on what´s around me because I am too busy missing home. Dont get me wrong, I do miss you all like crazy and wish we could talk all the time! But, i know that it is better for me to try and just be as involved here as I can, because I will only be here for such a short time!
Know that I have been thinking about all of you, thank you for reading my blog and keeping me updated on your lives as well. =) In only 3 short months we will be reunited, and I know it will be amazing. =) I am keeping you in my heart and in my prayers everyday. You have helped make me who I am, and I just want to say thank you. =)
Con todo el amor en mi corazon,
Laura

Gallo pinto = la comida perfecta

Let me start off by explaining the name of this blog post...yeah..gallo pinto is white rice cooked with black beans..and its amazing! haha you might not believe it, but its true! i eat it for breakfast..lunch..dinner..you name it, we eat it! its like, national costa rican dish! =) mmm..i am gonna miss that when i get home. =)
anyways, la pura vida is GREAT! =) my family life is still lots and lots of fun, we just slowly get closer all the time, its been an amazing blessing to have such a fun loving family! =) they are so helpful to me whenever i need anything, and they just love me as i am!
homework is a little less great, lots to do and not much time to feel like we can spend on our homework when we´d rather be talking to our families or just having fun. =) but, its balancing out well, i usually just work on homework with my sister, so it feels a little less like i am un-including myself. =)
this weekend we take our first group trip to limon, the huge atlantic port city. we will be learning about cultural diversity, as there is a lot of afro influence in the area, and though its one of the most rich areas with resources, its one of the poorest areas of costa rica. it will just be really interesting to get out of the big city and see somehting new and different! =) we will be going to a coffee plantation, and also a banana and pineapple plantation, which should be really cool! =) and, of course, we will be visiting the beach and hopefully not getting scorched! =) then when we come back on sunday night, we dont have class monday because of independence day! yay! =)
i am going to try to take my first dance class tonight, but as of now i am suffering from sore throat-runny nose-fever, so i am going to go get some killer antiviral stuff and hopefully get rid of this thing in another day or 2. my dance class is at a church that i think is near my house (i have to ask my sister for directions) and there are about 50 tica (costa rican) women in it, as well as 2 guys from my program who go there with their mothers. sounds like fun to me! =)
well...once again i have about eaten up all of my internet cafe time!!
i hope that all is well with each and every one of you, know that i am loving you from afar, and expect many greetings with a kiss on the cheek when i get home! (i swear, im bringin it back with me) =) haha love you all!
que dios le bendiga

pura vida en costa rica!

hola all!!
como estan? life is really good here in costa rica! as they say, pura vida!
i live with an amazing host family in san jose....so lemme give you the rundown!
dad lives in panama right now working as a mechanic for his family.
mi madre is yamileth...she is so sweet! she actually has her own church in our house, which has been interesting to see all the other people come in and all!
sisters: jessica 23 alejandra 17 ariana 15
brother: marcos 10
nephew: aron, 2!
sooo needless to say, life is pretty exciting around here, getting used to the bus systems and all that, which are actually pretty easy to figure out. everything goes into san jose and then goes back out the same way. its nice! =)
we head to limon, the huge port city on the carribbean this weekend, which should be pretty exciting! we´ll get to see the banana exporting, probably some cruise ships and all that..tourists...hahaha :)
school is going well, im really enjoying the classes that we are taking! we are going to be experiencing some pretty awesome speakers, the runner up of the last presidential election will be coming in to talk to us in a few weeks, which should be really interesting!
ahhh yes, life in costa rica is good, i dont know what else to say! i know you probably have a lot of questions. =) just keep praying for me, its usually pretty easy, but of course there are those times when i get homesick just because its hard to communicate with home and all of that. just prayer for strength through God and for me to really put myself out there in the culture and really sink my feet in! i know that is hard right now, and sometimes its hard to put myself out there, but i will only be here for a short time, so i just need prayer to keep working at it and keep feeling good!
i hope that you are all doing well at home, i miss you all like CRAZY! =) thank you so much for all of your support and all of your thoughts and prayers for me, i could never have done this without each one of you in my life!
mucho amor,
Que dios bendiga
Laurita

Siete Dias

Hola!

Well, I think this might be the last blog I post before boarding my plane on August 26th and heading off to Costa Rica. :) I know, I have a week, but still....yeah we'll see. :)
I just mainly wanted to write this to include my mailing address for those of you who may be interested in sending something to me! :) The program info I got tells me that I am supposed to tell everyone NOT to send packages, as they will definitely be stopped in customs, but the program also says you can send them if you want, as long as its very early in the semester to ensure that it will get to me. :) I don't really need packages anyways, any letter or card or anything (or even just an email or blog comment) will definitely make my day. :) anywhoo, here is my new address:
Laura Frey
Latin American Studies Program
Apdo. 54-2070
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San Jose, COSTA RICA

Ahhh as the summer is winding down and things become more real, I am constantly reminded of the amazing things that I am blessed with here. I cannot wait to see the amazing blessings that my time in Costa Rica has to offer...and what I can bring to the table.
Hasta luego,
Vaya Con Dios.

Solo tres semanas! ay yi yi!

Hola amigos! :)
Well, this is my first official blog posting! I hope that all is well with you!

I suppose I just wanted to write a little about what will generally be going on with my time in Costa Rica this semester. I leave on August 26, and will be returning home on December 11th. (That's 3 1/2 months, if you are counting ;) ) I am doing this program because as a Spanish major at Bluffton I have to spend a semester abroad in a spanish speaking country (and because I WANT to, of course!). I'll be earning 16 credits while I'm there, so yes, I will be a full time student!

The first month of the program basically will be spent taking Spanish classes for 3 hours each morning, and then taking a core class about Latin America in the afternoons. At the end of the first 5 weeks or so, we will take our first long trip, most likely to Nicaragua. After that, the program will break into three different tracks, and I will be in the Advanced Language and Literature track. All my reading, writing, lectures, etc., will be in Spanish, so I should definitely learn a LOT, which I am really excited about! :) Those classes will go on for the rest of the time, and I will end my time in Costa Rica by taking a 10 day or so trip to Panama. Very exciting stuff! :) I will be living with a host family in San Jose, though I will not know anything about them until the day they come pick me up at the program site, because we randomly draw names that day! :)

I can definitely tell that this program values Christian beliefs and values very much, and I am looking forward to growing in my faith as just living out each day will challenge me in new and exciting ways! :) Pray for my confidence in God to grow, knowing God's will is above and beyond what I could ever imagine for myself. I thank you for reading, feel free to leave any comments you wish along the way! :) Know that as you are praying for me, I am doing the same for you!

Que Dios bendiga!
God Bless!