this and that...
el 6 de septiembre
So it is September and in 1 week I will reach the 5 month mark for my time in Costa Rica. In some ways 5 months feels like a long time, and it has gone by quickly. In the same sense, though, I feel like I have done enough to constitute 5 months spent here thus far. I do also feel very disconnected and removed from my “old life” and everything I used to do and know back home in Colorado and in the States. In the past 5 months I have been aware only of the most major American news stories, and have little to no knowledge of the hot fashion trends, newest fads, or latest celebrity gossip. Yet somehow I am getting along just fine. :)
The last few weeks have brought a little bit of everything. I spent last week in Heredia, getting a small taste of “Mom” duties, and working on a computer/internet project for Hugo. Luisa was off in Colorado, visiting Hugo and family and working on promoting and advertising for ETC (her language school), so I stayed at the house with the girls and Ibo. Mom duties included driving the girls to and from school, Tae Kwan Do, English classes, going to the mall, grocery shopping, etc. Despite the fact that they are in the middle of the rainy season in San José and Heredia, we actually had some great days of sun and fairly little rain considering what is normal.
I came back to Limón last Friday, just in time to teach the English class. Saturday night I attended a Youth Talent Show that was hosted by the Getsemani Baptist Church and included the attendance and participation from several of the area churches. The event was quite a success with a great display of talents in singing, music, dancing, etc. Moreover, it was a great opportunity for the youth from different churches to unite and enjoy the talents and gifts of their brothers and sisters. I have also been able to spend more time with a couple of girls I met at the Youth Camp. One girl, Katherin, has become a good friend to me here. She is 19 and has studied a significant amount of English but just needs practice speaking. She reminds me of what I was when I first came here – knowing a lot about Spanish (vocabulary, how to write, etc) but needing practice in just speaking the language. She is also in the middle of making a lot of decisions about what she wants to do with her future and pursuing different work and studying options, so it has been good to be able to talk with her about that and share some of my ideas and experiences. Plus, we have gotten in the habit of taking walks together around Limón and she has been able to show me around a lot of the neighborhoods and help me understand where are all these places that I have heard of but never been to. So its educational for me as well. :) Not to mention that I get to ask her my own lingering questions about things in Spanish as she does the same to me in English. And given that she has a passion for ice cream equal to my own, I also have the privilege of tasting new and delicious frozen treats. What a team!
My parents arrive at the San José airport tomorrow evening (Thurs. Sept. 7) so I will be heading up North tomorrow morning so that I can be there welcome committee into Costa Rica. They are going to be here for 2 weeks and, Lord-willing, will be seeing a lot of the country and doing a lot of different things. The plans include a couple days in San José and Heredia, then they’ll spend a week on the Pacific coast (for which I will be joining them a few days), then a few days together here in Limón, and then finishing off the trip with a couple days in Bocas del Toro, Panama. They were quite intrigued by the report of my experience in Panama in June, and since I need to leave Costa Rica again before the end of the month, we are going to make that part of their trip.
The weather here in Limón has been quite unpredictable as of late. In June, the first month I was here, it only rained a handful of times, and pretty much all of those were at night. Then in July it was still hot, but with more frequent daytime rain, making it nice and humid. In August we had rain on almost a daily basis, not all day long, but at some point during the day, although still remaining warm and humid. Thus far in September there has been cloudy days, rain and thunder storms, and also days of hot sun and clear blue skies. Yesterday, for example I woke up to clear blue skies like I haven’t experience since June. It was sunny and hot with not a cloud in the sky – a perfect day for me to head to the beach, which I did, and it was absolutely fabulous: clear, warm water, sandy beach, a nice spot under the breeze and hint of shade of a coconut tree…ahh. Then by about 2pm yesterday afternoon clouds had taken over the sky and it looked like it would rain at any moment, but it never came. This morning the clouds are still in the sky and it has been raining, so we will see what this afternoon holds. Being from Seattle and now most recently calling Denver home, it’s a good thing I have plenty of experience with ever-changing weather conditions!
So it is September and in 1 week I will reach the 5 month mark for my time in Costa Rica. In some ways 5 months feels like a long time, and it has gone by quickly. In the same sense, though, I feel like I have done enough to constitute 5 months spent here thus far. I do also feel very disconnected and removed from my “old life” and everything I used to do and know back home in Colorado and in the States. In the past 5 months I have been aware only of the most major American news stories, and have little to no knowledge of the hot fashion trends, newest fads, or latest celebrity gossip. Yet somehow I am getting along just fine. :)
The last few weeks have brought a little bit of everything. I spent last week in Heredia, getting a small taste of “Mom” duties, and working on a computer/internet project for Hugo. Luisa was off in Colorado, visiting Hugo and family and working on promoting and advertising for ETC (her language school), so I stayed at the house with the girls and Ibo. Mom duties included driving the girls to and from school, Tae Kwan Do, English classes, going to the mall, grocery shopping, etc. Despite the fact that they are in the middle of the rainy season in San José and Heredia, we actually had some great days of sun and fairly little rain considering what is normal.
I came back to Limón last Friday, just in time to teach the English class. Saturday night I attended a Youth Talent Show that was hosted by the Getsemani Baptist Church and included the attendance and participation from several of the area churches. The event was quite a success with a great display of talents in singing, music, dancing, etc. Moreover, it was a great opportunity for the youth from different churches to unite and enjoy the talents and gifts of their brothers and sisters. I have also been able to spend more time with a couple of girls I met at the Youth Camp. One girl, Katherin, has become a good friend to me here. She is 19 and has studied a significant amount of English but just needs practice speaking. She reminds me of what I was when I first came here – knowing a lot about Spanish (vocabulary, how to write, etc) but needing practice in just speaking the language. She is also in the middle of making a lot of decisions about what she wants to do with her future and pursuing different work and studying options, so it has been good to be able to talk with her about that and share some of my ideas and experiences. Plus, we have gotten in the habit of taking walks together around Limón and she has been able to show me around a lot of the neighborhoods and help me understand where are all these places that I have heard of but never been to. So its educational for me as well. :) Not to mention that I get to ask her my own lingering questions about things in Spanish as she does the same to me in English. And given that she has a passion for ice cream equal to my own, I also have the privilege of tasting new and delicious frozen treats. What a team!
My parents arrive at the San José airport tomorrow evening (Thurs. Sept. 7) so I will be heading up North tomorrow morning so that I can be there welcome committee into Costa Rica. They are going to be here for 2 weeks and, Lord-willing, will be seeing a lot of the country and doing a lot of different things. The plans include a couple days in San José and Heredia, then they’ll spend a week on the Pacific coast (for which I will be joining them a few days), then a few days together here in Limón, and then finishing off the trip with a couple days in Bocas del Toro, Panama. They were quite intrigued by the report of my experience in Panama in June, and since I need to leave Costa Rica again before the end of the month, we are going to make that part of their trip.
The weather here in Limón has been quite unpredictable as of late. In June, the first month I was here, it only rained a handful of times, and pretty much all of those were at night. Then in July it was still hot, but with more frequent daytime rain, making it nice and humid. In August we had rain on almost a daily basis, not all day long, but at some point during the day, although still remaining warm and humid. Thus far in September there has been cloudy days, rain and thunder storms, and also days of hot sun and clear blue skies. Yesterday, for example I woke up to clear blue skies like I haven’t experience since June. It was sunny and hot with not a cloud in the sky – a perfect day for me to head to the beach, which I did, and it was absolutely fabulous: clear, warm water, sandy beach, a nice spot under the breeze and hint of shade of a coconut tree…ahh. Then by about 2pm yesterday afternoon clouds had taken over the sky and it looked like it would rain at any moment, but it never came. This morning the clouds are still in the sky and it has been raining, so we will see what this afternoon holds. Being from Seattle and now most recently calling Denver home, it’s a good thing I have plenty of experience with ever-changing weather conditions!
posted by Dynasty goes to CR at
2:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home