did you know...

well, did you know its perfectly legal to drive a car in costa rica without any special license if you are an america. your us license is valid for up to 3 months here. with that being said, i drove with this crazy latin american drivers this past week. multiple times actually. karla needed a ride to the bus stop so since i told her i could drive a manuel car she said i would drive to and from school for practice, then take her to the bus stop. now let me go ahead and explain the honking policy in nicoya. you honk if you see someone wanting to pull out to say, hey dont come. you honk if you are going to pass, just to give a heads up, you honk if people just do stupid things, and lastly you honk to your friends. now in the us, we do the double toot, just a honk honk, like 2 small taps. here in costa rica, its 3. so when i gave the dance instructor a ride home he kept pointing out his friends walking, so i honked at all of them, and the students walking. karla was crying laughing in the back seat and the dance teacher had no idea what to think of me. so yep, heres a picture of me in the drive way getting ready to leave the house:

karla went to san jose this weekend to see some family, so christy and i have been left on our own. its been rather uneventful, except for yesterday. theres a festival in nicoya called pica [d]e leña, that basically involved a lot of wood chopping and big oxen pulling carts full of wood. theres a long story, that i can explain another time, but christy and i went with some of karlas friends to the top of the mountain to watch people cut wood for a few hours then saw the parade later. we were really excited to go, and kind of disappointed by the end of the day, but its ok. i at least worked on the tan by being outside all day long. my backpack tan lines are almost as bad as the life jacket tan lines i had this summer. #stellar (yes i just trended in my blog.)

sunday i did something i havent exactly done before. not even in the states. i randomly went to a church without anyone with me, nor knowing anyone there. i wasnt meeting up with someone. i just walked in the doors, and started talking to someone. the pastor came right up to me and greeted me, and introduced me to almost everyone. there were about 20 or 30 people at the church, and i think i kissed everyone on the cheek. cheek kissing is cultural. dont go run and tell scott im going around kissing everyone. not true. ANYWHO. i love how the lord can speak to me in other languages. they did a prayer at the beginning of the service that seemed just like prayer at summit. people were walking around, lifting hands, and speaking all about the holy spirit. now yall, this was a methodist church. just found it a little different for them, but i LOVED it. i hadnt had a hug in over a week, and church came at just the right time. this one old lady came up to me multiple times and spoke with me and hugged me, and was the most genuine person. i want to know more about her. but one of the most exciting things was that, i understood almost the entire message. it was about carrying your cross daily, regardless or ages, and seeing how the lord can bless people at all ages of life. simple, and great, and oh i love spanish church.

and to end this blog i thought id finish by telling a few fun facts that go along with the title.

so, in costa rica, DID YOU KNOW...

- you can buy milk at the liquor store. i thought it was a long shot when we walked in there, but they had it

- a rooster can jump nearly 9ft in the air to hop on the roof after they accidentally fall into your patio

- trucks randomly decide to do parades for no reason at all...and by parade i mean tractor trailers, weaving in the streets, blowing their horns, thats all.

- cowboys can ride their horse right up to the bar and get a beer.

and now im having thinking problems, so ill quit for now, and leave you with two more pictures. one is of my morning alarm clock, and the other is of my afternoon cup of joy.

ciao mi familia.

cant stop telling.

no school today, so im sitting outside with my coffee, bible, journal, and the infamous blue book. i may be scratching a thousand bug bites, but its been the best morning so far. i love how the lord speaks to me to sweetly and faithfully when i am so far from everything familiar. and well, i read some things today that i just really wanted to share. so today was about the "ordinary". but heres a quote to start this blog off (which might be long, what else is new though).

"you enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary. something you have seen a thousand times you suddenly see as if for the first time"

so now, go ahead and grab a bible. sure why not. or use the internet. but read these two things: 2 corinthians 4:7-18, then acts 4:1-22.

"we now have this light shinning in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. this makes it clear that our great power is from god, not from ourselves." ive always heard, you have a light that the lord uses to shine to others, we all do as believers, but what a sweet way the lord chooses to reveal himself to others. he uses us as ordinary as we may come, to hold the greatest treasure (him) within us to show the world. we get to show the nations who the lord is! but the part that i love the most is that we are told to have the same faith of a psalmist who simply said: i believed in god, so i spoke. if we believe, then speaking should be am instinct. there are so many words of truth that the world needs to hear, so why wouldnt we speak. theyre true, we know they are, and words proclaim so much power. jesus simply spoke, and diseases were healed, people walked, bread was broken to feed thousands. words have power and authority. we are renewed each and everyday, so why wouldnt we use all that we have to go and speak. its so simple.

so after reading this in corinthians i read in acts about peter and john being taken in front of the sadducees (aka haters in the new testament). basically they are being told that what they were preaching was not okay, but the sadducees couldnt deny the healing of a man who was unable to walk for 40 years. so they tried to tell pete and john, hey we cant deny what happened, but just dont speak to anyone about jesus again. and they said "yea right". not quite, but really, "do you think god wants us to obey you rather than him? we cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard." i picture two guys so filled with joy that they are basically laughing in the council's face and not caring, because they know what they believe is the truth. such a joy and boldness that they could care less what other people think only that they come to know this powerful and mighty god. they spoke, and people listened.

so reading these things just really got me excited. i know the truth. i know the power the lord has, the joy he provides, and the light within me. im a 22 year old college student who probably hasnt experienced half the things the people here in costa rica have experienced. but i have it: the light, the ability, the love. and today i decided that i cant stop telling. nope. cant. there are people here that need to know the lord is here, right in this town. and i want to be used to tell them. and if the bible is true, which is is, words can be spoken from the lord to people, and their lives can be completely changed. now im not saying im going to go and speak crazy things over people, but i simply want to speak truths into their lives in ways that click. i want them to get it.

something great about my time here is theres a lot of freedom. im done with school around 130 everyday, and the rest of my afternoons are free. no lesson planning, no grading, nothing but time. i need to make friends and be intentional. so heres what im asking for: prayer. pray that there would be no language barriers, pray against spirits of inadequacy and laziness. pray for people to really see and be aware of a difference with in me. pray that i would love them in the ways they need it. just that this time would be fruitful, not that i need to see it, but that at least some seeds would be planted. im believing it.

once again, sorry this is long. i just wanted to share it with someone. but do be praying for me por favor. love you all.

just because.

anddd i just laughed out loud really hard at this. the last on is my favorite. incase you need a mid-week pick me up. enjoy.

mom and dad ate all the halloween candy.

first day of school! first day of school!

so. here i am, sitting on the kitchen floor after my first day at the school. why? because the floor is cool and the air is too hot, and because i kind of collapsed here. ive got country music playing in the headphones and im chillin in what i like to call my "sweat" outfit. mainly i dont see a point in sweating through lots of outfits, so i just come home and put on this stellar yellow tank ive got and some nike shorts. life is great. because, lets be honest, im in costa rica. pura vida.

monday, literally right after i blogged, i experienced something for the very first time. we (christy and karla and i) were watching greys anatomy on the computer. where? on the floor. weve been over this already. and all of the sudden.... i know, im great at buildin the suspense. so we were watching greys, and i was laying on my tummy, and i knew it wasnt growling in hunger, but man i was moving for a split second. thats right friends: earthquake! nicoya, the town im in, is near the nicaraguan border and there was a 5.9 earthquake there and we felt a tremor for a few seconds. we ran to the door frame. and ill shamefully admit the only reason i knew to go to the doorframe was form the hilary duff movie: a cinderella story. but hey: it was right. so that was something fun and exciting that happened monday.

tuesday there was supposed to be the civics national exam but it was cancelled for some reason. so after a relaxing morning at the pool, thats all i have to tell about tuesday. onto today: the first day of school (at least for me)! in general, the classes that i will teach will be different every day, sometimes longer classes, others very short, sometimes even multiple times a day. but my general classes are 7th, 9th and 10th graders (since the 11th graders are finished). today i remember why i loved middle schoolers so much. definitely my favorites of the day and the best students. teacher here is really different than my first 10 weeks of the semester in the united states. i pick up the book and simply start from where we left off, where as in the us, my teacher and i there made lessons plans, and thorough lesson plans at that, each and every day. but since the resources here are so slim, they use what they have. but whats fascinating is that the students can speak english, where as my kids were no where close to spanish at watauga.

so with only one day under my belt, i can say that teaching here, at least i believe, will be a lot more simple. you go, you teach, and thats about it. but if students are not understanding something, they get left in the dust pretty quick. i hope to be able to see those students not doing so well in english classes really succeed. i was grateful that i knew the spanish i did today. karla tried to only teach in english, which is the best way to teach a foreign language, but today i was perfectly able to explain grammar in spanish. yall, teaching grammar in another language is really hard, buttt it came really easy today. huge praise.

as for the school itself, ill add some pictures another time. to me, the costa rica schools are something ive seen before, so nothing caught me off guard. but if you have never seen them, theres not much to show. the grades stay within their own classes, they have very old wooden desk and maybe a whiteboard in the room. nothing else is really needed. no projectors or smart boards. so, i honestly love it, because technology sometimes takes so much away from the content the students are to learn.

learning the students' names will be my biggest challenge. it was hard to learn 100 kids names at watauga, but here will be twice as hard. the names just are not familiar names to me and when they all grease their hairs, i cant tell them apart. ohh the challenges. they rarely pay attention, so im learning more and more about the little word patience.

other than that, i love being here. i love working on my tan in november. and i love teaching at this school and being in this community. it brings such joy to my heart to be here. but as for now, i type way to much as it is, so ill just stop.

but real quick: shout out to grandma meier. there is something in the kitchen of my host mom's house that makes me feel like im at your house. its a smell that i cant describe, but oh boy it reminds me of good ole knox, pa!

love yall!

equipped.

yesterday i got sunburnt, today im sweating gallons of water, and you know, im 100% okay with that. costa rica is going to be quite the adventure. i am excited that i am here and very excited to share with you all what i am learning. for starters i suppose i should tell yall about my crazy little flight:

i sat right behind the pilots, and basically watched everything they did. dad would be so proud of me. took some pictures, but one of my favorites is that i saw the landing strip, and watched the whole process or landing the plane. how cool is that?! i feel like i could do it all by myself. okay, maybe not, but you get the gest

anywho, my first two days at the school are teacher workdays, because the 11th graders are taking national exams, so basically we are just relaxing, which is kind of nice since everyday in the us was packed. and i also found out that summer break begins after the last week of november, aka the kids are out of school, well there is no school. kind of a blessing, but i have no idea what those days will look like. im hoping to learn a lot over these next few weeks of how teaching here works, so it will be interesting. i dont know what to think about getting done early, but i know i shouldnt complain :)

with it being summer time, yo would think the sun would go down later and rise later. false. let me go ahead and say how false that is. sun is up around 5am, and goes down around 530pm. so i am quite the early riser and early to bed kid here. and by early i mean, i naturally wake up around 6 and go to bed around 8 or 830. grandma status, this i know. but let me explain how mornings/nights work: first of all, neighbor is a relative term. they really live through the thin wall, meaning you hear everything, even phones ringing. the animals are quite the prowlers making all sort of noises, not because they are loud, but because what the choose to jump on is VERY loud. the roosters are the morning alarms, and then the man selling tortillas rides his bike yelling "tortillas" starting around 5 and comes by at least 5 times. i think im early, but to costa ricans, im quite the late sleeper i suppose.

fellowships is one of those things i knew i was leaving behind the second i stepped on the airplane. what a blessing it has been to live in boone since i was a freshmen, and the relationships i have built are beyond incredible. but what i sweet thing it is to know that there is no distance in prayer. none whatsoever. so although i am physically separated from them, their prayers jump all sorts of boarders bringing me such encouragement. and encouragement on skype is just a small something i needed today.

one of the things i wanted out of my experience here was to be observant with completely new eyes to see where the needs are for the people, and how they can be met. there are so many physical needs here in this country, and a lot of those need can be met at the same time as sharing who jesus is, but we have to know the needs. so today, as i sat and observed the lifestyle of the school, i noticed those simple acts of kindness were completely missing. no real love was being shared. everyone was present and knew each other, but the love was just gone.

and i know im not going to be here very long, but i know that if ive been called, then im supposed to be here. and if im called, then i am equipped to share this love. i am equipped to be a light to this community. i am equipped to just live as christ did. just as the bible says. thanks sweet friend for reminding me of simple truths. love people, and love them well.

but as for this hot afternoon, i am going to sit in the breeze and read a book i found on the shelf in karla's room. im expanding my spanish reading skills, so yall go ahead and take a guess. chapter one is "el niño que vivió."

walking on down 4 privet drive in harry potter numero uno.

wish me luck. i dont know many magic words in spanish.

love yall!

second time around.

if only yall could see where i am sitting right now, waiting for my last flight. a little shack, where the doors are wide open to the world, called the sansa regional airport, right next to the sjo airport. i have arrived in costa rica and im waiting for my next flight. its sure to be an adventure seeing that i am one of two passengers on this plane. no idea what the plane looks like, but im slightly nervous. landing in san jose felt like i was just returning to a second home. i had the biggest smile on my face and in my mind i kept hearing, "welcome back." i saw a restaurant as i was landing that i ate at last time i was here. i knew i remembered being really close to the airport and there it was, right on the side of the runway. flying down was a breeze, which is always a blessing. my feet are crazy swollen. i sat next to these two youth pastors both taking different groups for mission trips in san jose. its always funny who i sit next to on airplanes. love it.

so, like my title says, im here...second time around. it was funny walking with one of the airport guys who took me to the smaller shack airport and talking about my last time here. i had a full spanish conversation the second i stepped off the plane, and what a blessing it was to hear him say my spanish actually sounded really good. im so excited to practice and really have full conversations with people.

so since im here, and have an abundance amount of time until my next flight, i might as well mention my goals for this trip. scott and i had dinner last night and its funny to me that he asked this question before i went to spain, so i knew it was coming for costa rica. so we made my goals list again and welp here it is:

1. spanish spanish spanish. necesito hablar más español.

2. try new foods, and eat more fruit that i really should

3. prepare fun lessons for my students and really encourage them in learning english

4. surfing lessons. it might sound crazy, but why not when im in one of the best places in the world to surf. yes ill be careful. no i wont swim in rip tides. mom: dont worry.

5. be observant. eyes opened. heart opened. and ready to receive.

6. make local friends. i want to be able to go to a fruit stand in the mornings and stand and have conversations with the vendors and get to know them

7. share jesus. always.

8. finish !gracias! and read the book radical. might as well add writing so much that i get to the second journal i brought

9. learn more about hinduism, and simply be a light to the hindu roommate i have.

10. skype or video message my watauga kids. miss those guys.

11. help in the conexión christmas projects (obvi going to be the best part of the trip)

12. give conrado THE biggest hug possible

13. walk in fullness of love and joy. each day.

this, my friends, its going to be one of my biggest adventures yet. i know i will be stretched, but i also know im going to be learning and growing in deeper ways. if youve talked to me about my future in the past year or so, you know its been put on my heart to teach abroad. i love that i was born and raised in the us, and i love all that it has to offer, but there is so much more in the world, so much that people need to hear and receive, and i want to share it. i think these next six weeks are going to be the biggest test trial i could imagine. i want to really soak in my time here to see if this is real, if this is what the lord has called me to. spanish ministry and latin america just have a special place in my heart and chances are, its one of the first few things you learn about me. soo it will be interesting.

but for now, this has been long enough. im just entertaining myself in the shack. ill let yall go.

besos.

what else is new?

something in me really want to start this blog post with the lyrics of christmas vacation..."its that time..." but i didnt. but the reality is that itssss that timee! yall know i cant stay in the country for too long. so im headed back to costa rica again! i will be teaching english for 5 weeks at a bilingual school in nicoya, cr. its closer to the pacific side of the country in the nicoya peninsula. just google it :). the last week i am there i will be back in san josé con mi familia de conexión that i was with in last summer. i will be helping with their christmas projects which are kind of similar to samaritan's purse's operation christmas child. i am beyond excited to be reunited with mis abuelitos conrado y mamá.

student teaching these past 10 weeks at watuaga have been such an adventure. my kids were hilarious and i know i will miss seeing them everyday. they were pumped to be able to add me on facebook. funny lives.

anywho. tonight i am leaving boone and saturday morning at the crack of dawn i am flying out. it will basically be summer there, so its been difficult to pack (seeing that i have had to scrap icey frost off my windows the past few days and have seen snow twice now). but i am very excited to get my tan back while everyone will be nice and pale when i get back in december. you see heres my plan: ill go to costa rica and get nice and tan. then in december/january when im applying for jobs, they will see that i was a spanish major, and notice that in the middle of winter im tan. so they will think im spanish, naturally, and hire me for anything and everything i apply for. not true. but its a well thought out plan, you know.

but for now, i have lots to get done, but ill post again before i leave. just thought id let friends know: im leaving again! but im sure you already knew that :)

besos.