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