no tengo palabras para describir que pasó hoy

Today was shoe day, where the children were given the shoes that we had packaged a day prior.  We met one of our sponsor children today.  His name is Grieven and he will turn 3 on the 7th of September.  Today Grieven and his sister, Dulce, received their first pair of tennis shoes.  His mom told me that up until this point they have only worn flip-flops and sandals.  He was SO PROUD of his new shoes!!  I can't even describe the emotions today as we each held Grieven for the first time.  I think I will simply let my pictures speak for themselves.



Grieven and his first pair of tennis shoes!



Our first family photo with Grieven



galletas, zapatos y pulseras (6/29/11)

Today after I read the 10 o'clock story to the kids, a little 2-year-old boy came into the classroom whining to the teacher. He wanted his cookies. (After listening to the story at 10 am, all the kids are given a package of cookies.) The teacher asked him if he had listened to the story, and he shook his head no. She said if he would listen to it now, she would give him his cookies. Then he said he didn't want to listen to the story, but only wanted the cookies! Finally the adorable munchkin decided the cookies were worth listening to a story. He was the cutest little boy, and I enjoyed watching his personality for the remainder of the day.

It's so neat when the kids come up to me and wrap their arms around me. I regret that I have the memory of a goldfish when it comes to names; however, I did remember Julieta's name and she was one of the kids who ran to me and embraced me. She had remembered the other day that I told her we could make bracelets, so a few of us made gospel bracelets and I explained the significance of each of the colors.

Later, I helped sort the zapatos. We had four large tables where we spread out new and barely used shoes. We had a list of what size each child needed, so we bagged shoes up and wrote their names on the bags.



muchos zapatos





After lunch, my mom and I started making the gospel bracelets so we could pass them out on Thursday. By the end, we churned out 164 bracelets!

A little later in the day, we went into the city of San Ramón to check it out. I much prefer the city of Heredia to that of San Ramón; however, we did encounter a Cosechas, so I was content that I could share the deliciousness with my parents.

Later in the night, my parents told me that they had decided to sponsor a child! We were given a big bag of pictures of the children who do not yet have sponsors. Six photos were set out of "recommendations." (We had wanted a younger child so we will be able to sponsor them longer.) As soon as my dad saw the pictures, he said "pick two." So we picked out a little girl and a little boy. And again, with my goldfish-like memory, I can't remember their names, but I am very excited to meet them tomorrow!


"new additions" to the Hill family



en el Bajo

Ya pasaron dos días de este trabajo de misión y lo estoy disfrutiendo. I would describe this place as a giant safe haven for the kids of the bajo. When they aren't at school, they are free to spend their days at Faithful Servants Mission. I have been helping in the reading classroom, and I am in heaven. Helping little children read in Spanish...perfect task for me! Every day at 10 am the teacher goes outside and gathers all the children from the playground and reads a story aloud to them and on Monday she let me do this. She has a wonderful library of children's literature, all in Spanish of course and I chose to read Si le haces una fiesta a una cerdita por Laura Numeroff. (If you give a pig a party) I don't know why, but I get a sense of joy when I am reading to kids, and reading in Spanish just multiplies this joy for me!

Yesterday, the men started their project: mixing and pouring concrete to make a basketball court for the little ones. This is quite an arduos task, and a messy one too, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.




and this is where my translation skills come in...





I have also been practing my painting skills...on nails that is. The little girls AND boys love having their nails painted! I'll start with one child and within 5 minutes, I will have a group of nearly 10 children around me picking out their color.



estoy pintando  las uñas



Two special moments occured for me today. The first one was in the morning when I was helping a Kindergartener with basic reading skills. She was kind of struggling, and I could tell she would prefer not to be reading. I thought she was going to flit right on out of the room as soon as her 10 minute timer went off; however, she put her materials away and returned to me, took me by the hand and led me to the playground. Although she showed little interest in reading with me, she obviously felt comfortable enough with me to hold my hand and want to play tag with me. I played tag for a little while and eventually returned to the classroom to continue helping the niños read. At a certain point, the little ones stop trickling through the door, and the older kids read novels to themselves.

At this point, I returned to the playground to find a little girl sitting on the stairs all by herself. I couldn't just walk past her so I sat next to her and asked her name. Celini. Que bella. I quickly realized that her hands were deformed and in total, she only had 3 fingers. This just broke my heart, but at the same time, her gentle spirit lifted me up. I pushed her on the swingset for a while until she got tired of swinging. I asked her if she wanted me to paint her toenails and she was very excited by this. I wasn't even going to approach her about painting her 3 fingernails, because I myself didn't even know how to handle that, but after I finished her toes, she asked me to paint her nails too, so I did.



Celini y yo

 This mission trip is a lot different from my trip to Mexico last year because in Mexico not only was I playing with kids, but I was also doing a lot of manual labor. Since the men in the group are handling the manual labor, I'm not even getting my hands dirty. This is difficult for me, because I feel like I'm not doing enough. But I have to remind myself that by giving children my full attention in the reading classroom, and by simply playing with them, I am sharing God's love.

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

Despedidas y Bienvenidos

I got up extra early this morning so I wouldn't be rushing to get to the aeropuerto. We got to enjoy one last desayuno together and she made me Gallo Pinto, fried eggs, a huge piece of my favorite cheesy bread, watermelon and an apple. And yes, I ate it all. I think my stomach has grown in the past seven weeks.

It finally came the time that I had to leave to meet my the church group at the airport. Before that, however, we had to say our goodbyes. It was a tearful goodbye for both myself and Mamá Tica. After living with her for 6 out of my 7 weeks in Costa Rica, we've come to be like family. There is hope that I will see her again, because they are possibly taking a trip to Orlando for Maria Fernanda's 15th birthday in January. And hopefully, I will return to Costa Rica one day in the future.


Mamá Tica y yo, before the tears started flowing

 My hermano tico, Juan Carlos, drove me to the aeropuerto in his taxi and his son Esteban came along for the ride. It was a good thing I asked my dad to wear his pink polo today, because I spotted him immediately. As sad as I was to say goodbye to Mamá Tica, I was equally excited to see my parents!

Mamá Tica had sent me with a 3 foot loaf of my favorite bread, and my gringos devoured it on the ride from the airport to San Ramón because they were still on American time. We are now at Faithful Servants Missions Camp. After getting settled and eating lunch, we took a walk around the Bajo Tejares neighboorhood. We started in a group, so that Lynn could point out things along the way, but less than 5 minutes into our walk, my parents and I were WAYYYY behind the group because I kept stopping to take pictures and talk with all the kids! The kids are soooo cute, and I can't wait to spend more time with them.

Boys, hamming it up for the camera (in the distance, is our group!)

I eventually had to catch up to the group, because Lynn doesn't speak Spanish and she wanted me to tell one of the girls to come by the church this week, because her sponsor had sent her a bag of clothes. I also had to talk to the cook on the phone. I guess I'm already the go-to-girl for translation. There's a lot of English speaking around these parts, but I plan to keep speaking Spanish, considering I'm still in Costa Rica!



I can already tell that I'm going to like it here!



Estoy pensando en el futuro...

Yesterday I graduated from Centro de Lenguas Intercultura. Thinking about that, I had a strange realization--in less than a year I will will be a college graduate with two Bachellor's degrees in my possession. Sound exciting? Not to me! Maybe slightly exciting, but mostly scary. Here I was thinking about how fast the past 7 weeks passed by, but what happened to the past three years?? I only have ONE semester of classess left, before my full time student-teaching internship. Yikes, that sure came fast.

So what comes after college? Today I'm not really sure, and I'm okay with that. I have a list of things I'd like to eventually accomplish, but the timing and order is not really up to me. And I'm okay with that.
Jeremías 29:11     Porque Yo sé los planes que tengo para ustedes,’ declara el SEÑOR ‘planes de bienestar y no de calamidad, para darles un futuro y una esperanza.
(Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.)

I do know that tomorrow I have to say goodbye to my familía tica who has taken such good care of me during the past 7 weeks.  That won't be easy.  But on a brighter note, I get to say hello to my parents who will be arriving in Costa Rica, along with several others from our church.  Tomorrow we will head to Bajo Tejares, a small barrio (neighborhood) located right outside of San Ramón.  Here we will be working with Faithful Servants Missions.  I don't know what the Lord will have in store for us, but I am very excited to find out!

la graduación mía

Today was a bittersweet day, as I graduated from Intercultura today. Only I would be sad to finish school. Mónica told me today that I'm "verde," which means that I'm a "nerd." I was a little caught off guard but then she explained that calling someone a "nerd" in Latin America is a compliment; basically the same as being very smart.

Traditionally after all the graduates have been presented their diplomas and spoken their palabras (words/ speeches), the whole school celebrates by eating all sorts of tropical fruits; however, today was a little different. Because of the change in weather (it's now "cold") we had pound cake and hot chocolate. ¡Que rico!

Below I have posted a video of my graduation and my little speech. It may help to turn up the volume to hear what's being said. (Oh, by the way, it's all in Spanish, and this video does not come with subtitles.) But you can get the general idea. Mónica was my first teacher when I arrived at Intercultura 7 weeks ago, and she ended up being my last professor this week, so she spoke about "how much I had progressed since she first had me in class." ¡Gracias, Profesora!

After we were all enjoying our cake and hot chocolate, an older woman, who I assumed was a professor from the U.S., came over and complimented me on how well I spoke. She wanted to know how long I had studied Spanish in the United States. (7 & 1/2 years) After conversing with her for a while, in Spanish of course, I found out that she was actually not a professor, but is currently studying at Intercultura. I was taken aback by how impressed she seemed to be.

I don't regret for a moment my decision to study 2 extra weeks after Flagler left Costa Rica. I know I still don't speak perfectly, but just as Mónica said, I have progressed since I first started at Intercultura. (For the first several weeks, I didn't voluntarily speak in class, and I hated to talk in front of the rest of my classmates at Flagler, but for the past few weeks, I have been quite talkative in my classes!)  I had learned a TON from my classes in high school and at Flagler, but the immersion into the Spanish language has really reinforced all that I have learned.

Now I am ready for my next task: heading to San Ramón on Sunday with my church from home for mission work. And after that, I will further get to practice all I have learned as I begin my internship in a Spanish class at Nease High School in St. Augustine!

Profesora Mónica y Yo

La competición.

Hoy fue mi última Jueves en Intercultura. Estoy triste para salir de Intercultura y Heredia, pero al mismo tiempo estoy muy emocionada a venir a San Ramón con mis padres.

Mañana, voy a graduarme. Si no hubiera venido a Costa Rica este verano, no habría mejorado mi español. Ahora estoy pensando en español y he tenido sueños en español. Es muy extraño pero lo me gusta.

(Translation: Today was my last Thursday at Intercultura. I am sad to leave Intercultura and Heredia, but at the same time, I am very excited to go to San Ramón with my parents. Tomorrow I will graduate. If I would not have come to Costa Rica this summer, I would not have improved my Spanish. Now, I am thinking in Spanish and I have had dreams in Spanish. It is very weird, but I like it.)

So today in class we had our conversation time, reviewed our homework, and then we began an activity. We spread out at least 100 Spanish words on the table, and then we were divided into two teams of two. I named our team "Los ganadores" (the winners) as a premonition. We were to listen to the song "Historia de Taxi" by Ricardo Arjona and anytime we heard one of the many words on the table, we were to grab that card. My competitive side (not one of my better traits) definitely came out during this game. We were slapping the table in attempts to be the first to grab a word card. We listened to the song three times to continue with the word recognition. Then unfortunately, since we were all fired up, it was time for a break.

Once we returned, we counted our cards. The other team had 33 cards and my team (los ganadores) had 35! But the game wasn't over yet...now time for the comprehension portion. Mónica had many questions about the song and each had different point values. The first group to hit the table, got to answer the question. We were so violent! On the first question, I bruised myself by hitting the table so hard. Slamming your wrist bone on wood = not a good idea. There were several instances where all four of us slapped the table, just to be the first to be able to answer, but when it came down to it, nobody even knew the answer! By the end of the game, without even doing the arithmetic, it was obviously which team had won....LOS GANADORES, por supuesto. But we added up the points anways. The final score was 76.5 (los ganadores) to 48!

Then we quickly reviewed the present perfect subjunctive and the pluscuamperfecto subjunctive. I don't know how or why, but something has clicked in my head (or I've had enough practice over the past 7 weeks) that I know how to use these tenses well enough to use them in conversation and in writing. So for homework we had a worksheet on each of these tenses. And of course, every Friday is exam day. I'm the only one in my class actually taking these Spanish classes for college credit, so I'm the only one who is required to take an exam; however, if one student takes the exam, the whole class has to take it. Last week it turned out that the rest of the class just skipped on Friday to avoid taking an exam that wouldn't even count for anything, but this week our exam is actually to write an essay tonight and turn it in tomorrow. That's good, because a) I don't have to study anything and b) I won't have the rest of the class mad at me for having to take an exam! haha

I had one piece of paper left in my notebook tonight (that couldn't have worked out any better!) in which I wrote my last essay for Intercultura. So basically I've finished all my work today. In the essay we had to retell one of the legends we heard this week and then use the pluscuamperfecto subjuntivo to explain "if ______ wouldn't have happened, then __________ wouldn't occured." (más o menos). Remember the legend "el secreto de la llama" that I wrote about in my blog a few days ago? Well, I remembered it too, so that's the one I wrote about.

Now that I have bored you all with grammar terms, it is time that I say buenas noches. (Only 2 more sleeps 'til I see mi madre y mi padre!!!!!!!!!!)

Me encantan los gatitos

Last night, Mamá Tica's sister took the "night shift" of watching their dad so that Mamá Tica could get some sleep. I went to breakfast all bright and cheery... "¿Cómo está? ¿Durmió bien?" My answer was that no, she did not sleep well. She asked me if I had slept through the whole night, and when I responded yes, she said you must be a very hard sleeper. Truth: I slept with my iPod in last night, because it pains me to hear Abuelito Tico's cries of pain. Long story short, at 2 am, there was another trip to the hospital in San José, so nobody slept. I wasn't told why he went to the hospital, but he was admitted this time.

I wanted to give the family their own space, so Jason and I stayed around downtown Heredia for quite some time, before making plans to go have dinner together tonight. In search of a place to eat lunch, we passed by a pet store, and in the window, I saw two tiny Himalayan kittens. One of them looked like the baby version of my fat Jack. I just had to go into the pet store. They were adorable. They were sticking their tiny grey paws out of the cage and mewing at me. Then I had to hold them. I picked the one that resembled Jack first. As soon as I picked him up, I could feel the vibration in his throat. Ahhh, the sweet sound of a kitten's purr! I held him like a baby and his little blue eyes were just looking up at me. I held the other one next and he was equally sweet and purred as well. The first one, kept trying to get out of the cage to come back to me. Their little kitten fur was so new and soft. I would have walked out of the petstore with both babies in tow, except for one slight problem: I don't have $600. (They were $300 each) and I don't think Jack would appreciate that very much. First I leave him for 8 weeks, and then I return with a kitten. No, he wouldn't like that.



This is my obese cat, Jack



Tiny paws and meows



the adorable ball of fluff on the left is Jack-o Tico

After lunch with Jason, we went back to Intercultura because I wanted to take the cooking class today, but I messed up and today's activity was dance class. Once I returned home, Mamá Tica seemed to be in good spirtis and Abuelito Tico was in his bed asleep. To give Mamá Tica a break from cooking for me, Jason and I went out for dinner. We intended to go to a Carribbean restaurant, but when we got there it was closed, so we ended up at the pizza place across the street. I don't remember the last time that I had pizza and soda...

I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday--basically my last day of class considering that I graduate on Friday. Only three more sleeps until I will be reunited with my parents. And when I wake up tomorrow, it will only be two more sleeps! 

 :)
 

las leyendas (6/21/11)

Alright, so I'm a day behind updating my blog, but it's for a good reason: I've been out and about with some friends and enjoying myself.

from Tuesday:

Today was my (second) first day of school with Mónica. She was my teacher during my first week of classes at Intercultura and now she is my teacher during my last week of classes. ¡Que interesante! I really like being in Advanced 6. It's not as hard as I expected it to be; it's actually enjoyable. We don't have to learn any new grammar, we only need to practice using everything we have learned orally. Because of this, we spend the majority of class time talking. And it's very conversational, so we can talk about basically anything we want to. 
 
During class, she had four children's books sitting on the table. (I love the fact that I get to work with children's books and Spanish al mismo tiempo!) Each book told a legend from a different country in Latin America. I chose the Peruvian legend "El Secreto de la Llama." (The Secret of the Llama.) We were given 15 minutes to read the legend, define (in Spanish) any vocabulary words that we didn't know, and then we were each to orally present, without notes, the legend to the rest of the class.

In case you are wondering, "El Secreto de la Llama" goes like this:

There was a very poor family that lived in the foothills of the Andes mountains. The only item of value that they had was a Llama. It was valuable because it helped them with the harvest. The family took very good care of the llama and every day the father would take the llama to eat. One day, the llama wouldn't eat; the next day he wouldn't eat. This continued for days so the mother suggested that the father take the llama to a place very far away to eat.

The dad did this, but the llama still wouldn't eat. The same day, the llama began to cry. Trying to console the llama, the dad asked, "why are you crying llama?" Obviously he didn't expect a response, but the llama replied "the world, as it is, is going to dissappear. The waters are going to rise and the ocean will destroy the land." Entonces, the llama said that the family had to go to the highest mountain peak to escape the waters and should bring enough food for 5 days.

During the walk, other animals began to follow the family (always a pair: male and female). The foxes didn't want to go to the mountain, because they didn't believe the llama's secret. The waters began to rise, and at the last minute, the foxes ran up the mountain. Water touched the tip of their tails, and according to the legend, this is the reason why foxes have black tips on their tails. There was a glacial freeze and it was very dark, so everyone thought that the sun had died. Finally, the waters began to diminish, and the people and all of the animals could return to their land. Today, because of this legend, this is why Peruvians adore their llamas.

Obviously, this story is very similar to that of Noah and the Arc, so we discussed the similarities. I was the first to present, and afterwards, Mónica said that my presentation was "muchísimo" better than that of my first week in her class! haha. For homework we had to look up another legend from a latin american country and present the vocabulary and the legend orally. I ended up choosing the legend of "La Llorona" from Costa Rica. I won't tell that legend too, because if I keep writing, I will bore all my readers to death. But I thought the legend had a good moral to it.

After class, a classmate and I hopped on a bus and went to San Jose. Our objective: to go to Libreria Lehmann (the best bookstore I have been to since I have been in this country). Last week, my classmate had noticed that I was reading a novel in Spanish. Apparently, she had never read a book in Spanish, so we went to find a book for her. (Thank you Flagler; without you, I would have never had the courage to open a book in Spanish!) I ended up buying two more books by Costa Rican authors, because I am enjoying my current read so much.  

escándalo

escándalo= scandal. This is the word Mamá Tica used to describe last night.
A little background information: Mamá Tica's father is 90 years old and he is very ill with cancer. There are 3 sisters, so every third month, Mamá Tica cares for her dad. Days are fine for him--yesterday he ate everything on his plate, and cake and ice-cream all by himself for his Father's Day dinner and was in very good spirits. Nights are rough, because he moans in pain, calls out for people, but there is little anybody can do to ease his pain without drugging him to sleep. It hurts my heart to hear him in pain.

Last night at 1 am, I woke up to abuelito's gritos "FERNANDO FERNANDO FERNANDOOOOOOO" (Fernando is one of my hermanos ticos) Fernando lives on the other side of the house, so I was wondering why abuelito was calling for Fernando when Mamá Tica was in the same room with abuelito. Then I heard "me caí" (I fell.) In an instant, everyone in the house was in his and Mamá Tica's room. Needless to say, there was a lot of commotion, confusion, and talking going on. Fernando and Juan Carlos rushed him to the hospital in San José. Then at 5 am I awoke to more commotion: they had finally arrived home.

Fernando and I talked over breakfast and he said because of where he hit his head when he fell, he is suffering from "temporary dimentia." I saw him this afternoon when I returned home from school. He was sitting in his wheel chair, asleep and had a decent sized bandage on his head (where he got stitches). So for those of you reading this, please put the Gonzalez family in your prayers. Needless to say, the whole household, myself included, was exhausted today.

We got a new student in class today. His name is Javier, yes, Javier. His mom is from Mexico and his dad is from Puerto Rico. Spanish was his first language and he attended bilingual school until third grade. He's fluent, so I have no idea why Javier is in a class to learn Spanish. Any ideas? I've got none. He says he wants to learn how to write better in Spanish. Probably a dumb question, but if you can speak fluently and use grammar correctly when speaking, why can't you just write what you say onto paper? Yo no sé.

Because we had a new student, we all had to introduce ourselves and tell our life stories. When it was my turn I said "Me llamo es Morgan." Jesús about had a heart attack. Here I am in the highest class that Intercultura offers and I said "Me llamo ES Morgan." I blame this on my lack of sleep, because I learned this in Spanish One, on the first day! Ay caramba.

Anyways Intercultura is bursting at the seams now. Several large groups arrived over the weekend, so it is no longer the quiet little refuge it was last week. Now, I am weasling my way through a throng of people just to get through the reception area to get a cup of coffee. It's as if I'm walking in the streets of New York...no me gusta. There are so many people that there was a shortage of teachers today! Apparently, one called in sick, so the teacher that my classmates and I were supposed to have this week covered for the sick teacher, so we were back with Jesús, who was kind of teaching two classes at once, because Cailin and I are in advanced 6 and before Javier came, we had a student from Advanced 1 in our class because he didn't have a teacher either. Mucha locura hoy.

On a brighter note, I have to share this photo. Last night after dinner I came into my room and as I turned on the light, this is what I saw:



Gia y Angie

Is that not the cutest thing ever?  They were being such good girls and keeping watch of the backyard!

día de los padres

Washington DC, 2009

Today's blog entry is dedicated to my wonderful Daddy. This is probably the first Father's Day in all of my 20 years that I have not spent with him, but the miles between us doesn't change anything. He is still the best dad any girl could ever dream of having, and I am so blessed that he is mine.

A little bit about this wonderful man that I call my Daddy: I think he has a servant's heart. For example, I have seen his dedication to Volusia Honor Air and to our church. He doesn't do these things for the recognition, but because he wants to serve. I see that his job as a Financial Advisor is more than just about investments. He is successful because he has founded his businness on the relationships he has formed with his clients. People who started out as his clients are now his friends. He works hard for his clients because he cares.

I have always enjoyed our father-daughter dates. These began at an early age for me, but unfortunately are less frequent now that I'm in college (and especially since I'm in Costa Rica.) Just recently we were recounting one of our early "dates." It was probably my 5th or 6th birthday and he took me to see the Pocahontas movie that had just come out. I was wearing a little Pocahontus costume, complete with jewerely. He recalls I was even wearing lipstick.

I particularly remember the time he surprised me by taking me to the Nutcracker Ballet. I specifically remember the dark red dress I wore that night. (It still hangs in my closet to this day.) I remember father daughter outings with girl scouts. I was so scared to go canooing, but he was there for me. On another outing I remember slicing my foot on metal. It probably wasn't as bad as I remember, but I do remember he carried me and cleaned up my wound.

During my high school years, our dates involved driving lessons around the SCC parking lot on weekends, and then later shopping for my first car (the green machine). Then after my first year of college we began test driving new cars on the weekends I came home. Although I loved the 2010 white mustang with brown leather interior, I tried not to get too attached, because we were searching for a "new-used car." I was perfectly content with getting a newer used car, but a few weeks after I had first seen it, he drove home with the 2010 white Mustang. I know it's not about material items, but my Daddy has given me so much.

Last summer, we made several trips to and from St. Augustine in search of my first apartment. Finally finding a place, we then began working on painting my furniture white during the weekends. He would sand and I would paint. I remember the day he moved me in. As my mom worked on organizing and cleaning, Daddy and I worked to put together my first kitchen table that we had picked out. Neither one of us felt like reading the directions, and we almost didn't complete the task because we couldn't find a bag of screws.

Most recently, we repainted my room. It was a bittersweet weekend, because we had painted it pink about 10 years earlier. At the time I was obsessed with the Pink Panther. We had a large piece of plywood. I drew the pink panther, he cut it with some tool, I painted it, and he hung it on my wall where it had remained until late April of this year. But we made new memories this summer as we painted my room a calming Tiffany Blue color.

More than just items, he has given me an abundance of love, time, and he has supported me with most everything I've wanted to pursue. I truly and blessed to have such a wonderful father and I'm really sad that I can't give you the huge hug that you deserve today. But in less than a week you will be here in Costa Rica with me!!

Daddy, I love you more than the sun and the moon and the stars and the whole big, wide world... HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Estoy perezosa.

Boredom: the state of being bored.

This is a strange sentiment for me, because I never have tiempo libre. Or if I do have free time, I find something to do with it. I am so used to running from one place to the next and filling every waking moment with some activity or another. Is it bad that I found myself wishing that I had homework this weekend so I would have something to do? Probably so. I'm still looking for something to do--maybe I need a lesson on how to do absolutely nothing at all.

This week has been so chill; I don't know any better word to describe it. I was actually excited to have absolutely nothing to do with myself this weekend since we have taken so many trips. I didn't set my alarm, but still woke up at 6:45 ready to get ready for school. Then I remembered it was Saturday and went back to sleep until 8:15. That's still considered early for me, but I was ready to get up and moving.

I ate breakfast, took a shower, and got dressed. For what? I'm not exactly sure. Mama Tica is feeling a bit better, but still sick, so I washed all the dishes that had piled up. Despite being ill, I woke up to a plate of eggs, bowl of fruit, cinnamon raisin toast, and coffee. It was in my spot at the table and covered up to stay warm. She is so the Costa Rican version of my Nana. She told me the other day that her secret to cooking is "amor." (love)

I took a little stroll the the grocery store to find myself something for lunch and I also bought Mama Tica a bouqet of flowers. Mostly I just wanted an iced coffee. I don't know what I am going to do without Cafe Britt's iced coffee after I return to the US. (I've already checked and it is not sold online since it is refrigerated.) My point of the story was that I went to go find my own food, and within five minutes of me being home, she had brought me a bowl of fresh fruit. I just don't want her to feel obligated to be cooking elaborate meals for me, but she insists. What's a girl to do?

I have a tv in my room, have been here 6 weeks, and have yet to turn it on. Maybe it's time I whip out the remote...




delicioso.



Yes, I took a picture of my fruit, but yes, you are looking at it!



La vida de una estudiante cansada

Last night, I had practically written a novel for my blog entry and right as I went to click "Post," I lost internet connection.  For the majority, I don't remember what I had even written, to be honest.  I know I had to drink 3 cups of coffee just to make it through class, and I still managed to take a 2 hour siesta after school.  Yesterday we watched Mar Adentro in class, and it was actually quite interesting and left me thinking.  It was based off of a true story of Ramon Sampedro who was paralized and wanted euthanasia.  Entonces, I had to write an essay about my opinion of the movie and of euthanasia.  Then I also had to prepare for my 10-15 minute presentation, and also study for my examen.  Long night.




ay caramba.


I ended up presenting about my mission trip to Mexico.  For the first time I actually wasn't completely prepared and decided to "wing it."  I have talked about Mexico so many times (and even written a children's book!) that I thought I could handle it without hours of preparation.  All I had was a basic outline of what I wanted to talk about.  This is the first time that I have felt comfortable enough with the Spanish language that I didn't feel the need to make notecards or anything. :)

Today I didn't have class with Jesus, bc he had to teach his afternoon class in the morning.  Instead we went with Mayela, who I had for my 2nd and 3rd weeks here.  It was odd being back in her classroom without my former classmates.  Oh and the two other girls who are in my class today conveniently decided to not show up on the day we have a presentation and an examen.  (They are not taking classes for credits so there aren't repercussions for them.)  Some random girl sat in with Mayela and me, but she didn't stay the whole time.  It was basically  like I had my own private class.  Neither Mayela nor the other girl had seen Mar adentro so I was the lucky one to recount the entire movie.  Then I got to give my presentation, which actually went well.  Then I got to take my test.  Lucky me!  Mayela said it was "torture Morgan day." haha.  The exam was SO LONG.  I opted not to take my second break so I could work on the exam.  When the bell went off, I looked at the clock and it was already the end of the day!!  I don't know how much time I had spent on the exam, but clearly it had consumed me and I lost track of time.

I do know that it started pouring rain while I was taking my exam.  This explains why I have internet access--I'm still at school.  Of course, the one day I don't bring my raincoat!  Seriously, weather, you could be a little more considerate!

My plans for the weekend: nada.  And I couldn't be happier.  I am triste that I can't spend Father's Day with my Daddy in the United States.  What kind of daughter leaves on the morning of Mother's Day and then extends her trip and misses Father's Day?!  Tisk, tisk.

Depending on the internet problems at the casa, it is likely that I won't update again until Monday. 

Mujeres y Piratas

On Friday we will be giving presentations on cualquier topic that we choose... the field is wide, so what should I choose?  We have been encouraged to bring music or pictures or something that supports the chosen topic.  I don't really have much to choose from because it's not as if I brought my scrapbooks with me.  We have to talk for at least 10 minutes so I need to be really interested in my topic...right now I am leaning toward talking about my trip to Mexico last summer and how it has left a lasting impact on my life.  Unfortunately I don't have my scrapbook with me or the book I wrote, The Children of Monterrey.  But I think I will bring my laptop and will show a short video one of the guys made last year, and I will also show some of my pictures on the computer.

Our class this week has allowed us to have a lot of time for conversation.  I feel like we spend nearly all of the first hour of class in conversation.  This is so good, because it is really reinforcing what I've learned over the past 5 weeks.  Actually putting grammar into practice is so much better than just filling out a worksheet.  We have also been reading literature, which I haven't done much of in my earlier classes. Yesterday we read "Una cartera de una mujer."  It described the many things a woman carries in her purse.  Basically the items in a woman's purse are a metaphor for the stereotypes and expectations of a woman.

Today we were given the book Mujeres de Ojos Grandes escrito por Angeles Mastretta.  Each chapter tells a story of a different woman, but in general the book describes the prescribed role of a traditional woman.  I have only read a little bit, since it's not the easiest read, but I think it will present some pretty interesting themes.  All that we have read this week takes me back to the Women's Literature class that I took my sophomore year. 

After class I went home for a bit to work on my homework and I took a short siesta :).  I entered my room to find Angie (the kitty) curled up asleep in my bed, and as soon as I sat my mochilla down, took of my raincoat and sat down, Molly (my baby poodle) was in my room wimpering.  She soon joined me and Angie on my bed.  They stayed for the whole time that I did my homework.  So sweet.




my little "homework helpers"


Later, un amigo y yo went to Paseo de los Flores to go to the cine.  On Wednesday all movie tickets are two for the price of one.  And the price of one is extremely inexpensive to begin with when it's compared to the $10 movie tickets at home.  We watched Piratas del Caribe: Navegando aguas misteriosas.  Don't let the Spanish title fool you...the movie was unfortunately in English with Spanish subtitles.  Nonetheless I really enjoyed it! 

My Mama Tica is seriously the best.  When I told her I was going to the movies, she told me not to rush home for dinner.  That was nice, since we usually eat fairly early.  I got home around 7ish and her granddaughter told me that Mama Tica wasn't feeling well and had already gone to bed, but my dinner was on the table.  How sweet of her to go to the trouble of cooking a full meal when she wasn't feeling well!  Although I'm sorry she's not feeling well, I'm glad that this gave me the opportunity to wash my own dishes.  Mama Tica never lets me wash the dishes or wash my own clothes!  Most of the time she won't even let me take my own dishes to the sink.  I want to do something to help her.  I think she is a true servant of Christ, because she shows love in everything that she does. ♥

Tranquilidad

Life is good.  I don't have anything of importance to report on.  With only one class to take, which ends at 12:30, the rest of the day is mine.  Yesterday that turned into a siesta.  Today I continued reading a book I started while in Samara: El amor es eterno mientras dura.  This is the book one of my professors recommended several weeks ago while we were in San Jose.  I am really enjoying the story, and it is written by a Costa Rican author:  Alfredo Aguilar.  Part of the story takes place right here in Heredia!

And today, I finally got video proof of something I noted in my blog several weeks ago:

Volando sola (6/13/11)

It was so wonderful to return to Mama Tica last night.  Before we even sat our bags down, we were both in her arms!  And Molly, the poodle, was super excited to see us too.  Molly is such a Mama's girl and always follows Mama Tica everywhere, but interestingly enough, Molly jumped onto the bottom of my bed last night and eventually weasled her way up to my pillow.  She stayed with me for quite some time until her Mama called her to go to sleep.

Hoy empieza mi tiempo de estudiar sin Flagler.  Tuve que decir adios al grupo de Flagler anoche en la esquina de la calle despues de regresar de Samara.  (Today begins my time to study without Flagler.  I had to say goodbye to everyone last night in the street corner after we got back from Samara.)  It was somewhat strange being at Intercultura without Flagler people.  Several people asked me where everyone else was.  "In the United States."  My professor from advanced 2, which I took the first week, seemed surprised to see me this morning, thinking that we had all left. 

I'm in a class with two other girls who have been studying at Intercultura for months.  One girl was supposed to begin grad school last September but deffered and came to Intercultura.  She started with a host family, but after deciding to stay, she found a furnished apartment to live in.  The other girl took a year off of college to "figure out what she wanted to study."  She came to Intercultura for 4 months last year and is back again.  (So, Mom and Dad, my little two week extension could have been a lot worse!)

In other news:  I moved into my new room today.  I'm still at the same house with my wonderful Mama Tica, thank goodness, but I no longer have a roomie.  So I'm now in a room with only one bed, instead of two.  Soy sola.  I like it.  And I have a desk in this room, so maybe I will be a bit quicker doing my hw since I had been completing my hw on my bed and this almost always turned into a nap for me.  I think a change in rooms is good, so I won't be looking at the empty bed in the other room feeling like something is missing. 
It's also nice that I am only taking Intercultura classes, not Intercultura and Flagler classes.  This makes for a much easier day.  Class from 8:30 to 12:30 and then I'm free to do whatever I please.

el final día en Sámara (6/11/10)

Have you ever been so hot that you stuck your head in the freezer to cool down? Well that's what Lindsay and I have been doing tonight. No lie, Samara is the hottest place I've ever been and this apartment has no ventilation, so I feel like I'm suffocating in an oven. It's not the fact that we don't have air conditioning, because we were fine in Heredia without it. But then again, we had a ceiling fan and a window, neither of which we have here. I can hardly wait to return to Heredia tomorrow!

In other news: the "weather girl" was right today, clear sky and plenty of sun. It was beach day, all day. On the way, we saw the world's largest iguana. It had to be at least 3 feet long!




check out those spikes on his back!

 Tonight, our last night in Samara, the girl who never goes out, finally went out to enjoy the night life. The rest of the group was shocked to see me, but I'm glad I went out because I had a great time!

¡Felicidades! (6/10/10)

This morning as we were all walking to school, we heard this roaring noise, equivalent to something you'd hear in Jurassic Park. I knew it was a mono (monkey) because the other day in class we heard this same noise and nearly jumped out of our seats for the fear of what was about to break through the windows. It didn't take long to spot the monkey in the tree this morning. For such a loud noise, it sure does come from a fairly small creature.



yes, he is roaring!

Today was the Flagler group's last day off class in Costa Rica. Everyone graduated, except for me, since I will be continuing for two more weeks in Heredia. Speaking of Heredia, I'm ready to be back there. I do like the beach here, but this is seriously one of the hottest places I've ever been, and the mosquitos are eating me alive. I have far too many bites to count. No bueno. And I miss my familia Tica back in Heredia. 
 I don't know if it's a difference between city people and country people, but we have not bonded well with this family. The twins love us, but the rest of the family barely talks to us aside from hola, como esta, bien, gracias, de nada, adios. That's about the extent of our conversation unless Lindsay and I initiate anything. In Heredia, dinner lasts at least an hour, but usually longer, because we have many interesting conversations with the family there. Oh and the night before last, the mom here had to leave during dinner to go to choir practice. The twins went with her, so it was just Lindsay and me. I took it upon myself to handwash a sink full of dishes to at least help a little bit. The next morning neither of us received a "thank you." I'm sure she had to notice that her full sink was miraculously empty, and since Lindsay and I were the only ones home it had to be obvious that one of us had washed the dishes. I don't get it.

Anywho, In addition to studying more Spanish, I should also learn to read more than just the minute hand of my watch. This morning we had from 8 to 9:50 to complete our exam. Friday's schedule is weird so she was teaching a class while we took our exams so we went outside to take the exam. It was an essay exam because of all of the confusion and switching of levels mid-week. I kept track of time, so I could pace myself, but all of a sudden it was 45 after the hour....I rushed to finish the essay and took it upstairs to turn it in. The professor told me to return for class at 9:50...I looked at my watch and it was only 8:50! I had rushed for nothing, but I still managed to make a 98 on the exam! But maybe I need to go back to elementary school and learn how to tell time better.


con mi profesora, María

 After our reading our cuentos cortos, we went out to ice cream to celebrate. This is only the second time I have had ice cream since I have been in Costa Rica for 5 weeks. It's not that I don't want any, but coffee is a bit more popular than ice cream. Lindsay and I split a banana split (that's fun to say!) and we devoured that monster.




Five weeks of study= a banana split well deserved

The weather girl (that's me!) says it's going to be a beautiful day tomorrow. Clear sky with lots of sun. She has been right every day, except for one so far so the odds are in our favor. We plan to go to the beach tomorrow (obviously), but are going to a different beach somewhere within walking distance. I don't know these things, but I do know that the weather girl will be right. She just has to be!

Montar en bicicleta (6/9/11)

En Samara, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my favorite days, because once again, my day started off with an 8 am yoga class. Estuve muy relajada, except for the mosquitos that devoured me during the class. I wish I could start every day with a yoga class on the beach. Unfortunately, I don't think that is possible in Lake Mary, but maybe in St. Augustine?!




la clase de yoga


Our first night here, the family had offered to lend bikes to us. Tired of trekking through the mud everyday, we took them up on this offer today. We got to school so quickly, locked up the bikes and walked down the beach to yoga class. Inoportunamente, it was too cloudy after yoga to lay out as we had done on Tuesday so we walked around a bit. Then, miraculously, it was a clear and sunny day! Back to the beach we went.

With our new mode of transportation (mas rapido que caminar), we were able to return to our apartment before class. The gemelas (twins) didn't have school today. They have taken a liking to us and were excited that we came back mid-day. They love following us into the apartment and looking at all of our stuff. They like to guess what belongs to whom. One of them picked up my travel alarm clock and told me she can hear it in her room, because her room is on the other side of our wall. Ooops! I routinely hit snooze at least four times everymorning. For their sanity, I will try to get up the first time it buzzes. (Emphasis on TRY).

Unfortunately I can't tell them apart, but one of the twins started wearing my pantuflas (slippers) around today--it was so cute because they were super BIG on her. I had some clothes to hand wash, and the gemelas followed me outside to "help" me with this. My little helpers liked to add soap to the sink and wring my clothes out. Gracias chicas!

Last night I figured out the secret, if you want to call it a secret, to taking a cold shower. Take it at night or mid day. That way, the arctic temperature is actually refreshing unlike the shock to my body I receive when I attempt to shower in the morning.
After getting all fresh and clean we returned to school for clase. I obviously wasn't thinking when I chose my outfit for the day, because I don't think it was very "lady-like" to ride a bike in a dress. Oh well, I got to where I needed to go.

I was able to skype with mis padres for the first time in a week. (Hola madre y padre, Buddy y Jack!) As much as I enjoyed yoga and the beach today, I must say that seeing their faces and hearing their voices again had to be the highlight of my day. Only 17 more days until they come join me in Costa Rica...

I can't believe that today is already Thursday. The week has gone so fast; faster than in Heredia, probably because I'm at the beach. Tomorrow will be my last day of class here in Samara. It will also be my last class with other Flagler students, because they return to the US on Monday morning. After that, I'll be flying solo!

¿un cambio hoy?

This morning about halfway through class, I was giving a short talk about my favorite time of the life, when the director of Intercultura called our professor out of the room. They were out of the room for about 5 minutes but we couldn't hear what they were talking about. Finally, when our Professor came back, she basically told us that we had to stop what we were doing and we would not be continuing with today's plan or that of the rest of the week. We were told that Intercultura in Heredia had called and it was a problem that the two of us in the class who already took advanced 3 and 4 were in advanced 3 again. Yes, I agree, it was a problem. ¿Tenemos que salir de clase ahora? I asked. (Do we have to leave the class now.) No. We were told that the two of us would immediately begin with Advance 5, while the other student in the class would continue with Advanced 3. So, now the two of us have to complete a whole level in a day in a half before the exam on Friday! ¡Ay caramba! Mucho estrés adentro de la clase. So, now the two of us have to complete a whole level in a day in a half before the exam on Friday!

On a more pleasant note, today was a gorgeous day. After we got out of class, there was not a cloud in the sky. I got a good 3 and 1/2 hours of sun today. Last night at dinner una de las gemelas me dijo que mi cara está como un tomate. (One of the twins told me that my face looked like a tomato) Who knows what she will say about me tonight!



Sámara Language School



And when I turn around, this is what I see!

 

¡Bienvenidos a Sámara!

For those of you who are still reading my blog, just be glad that I didn't add an entry on Monday. (My blog entries will be a day late, since I don't have internet at mi casa... so this is my entry from Tuesday even though today is Wednesday!) I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. I had to wake up at 6 am to play Hokey Pokey with the shower. It's so cold, that that's about all I could handle--stick my right leg in, stick my right leg out, stick my right leg in and shake it all about! I feel like a spoiled American because I can't contently take a shower without any hot water. Let's just say our accommodations here are a lot different from those in Heredia.

Yeah so the towel I was given to use is an old beach towel with holes in it, but I am gracious that, although this family doesn't have much, they are sharing it with me. It really puts things into perspective for me. With only the basics, I am realizing how much I take for granted. I didn't expect to get a reality check like I got last year in Mexico, but here it is. Although it's not perfect, I truly am blessed to have the life that I live. I once again can see how it is possible to live without many material items. I didn't realize until this week just how much I rely on the internet.

What else can I complain about from my manic Monday? I had plans to lay in the sun after we got out of class at noon. That didn't happen because it started raining at 7 am when we were eating breakfast and it continued like this all day. I felt like a wet dog once I got "home." Oh yes, I know! I was also put in the wrong class here in Samara. Me and another Flagler student have been on the same track since we got here in May. We both began in advanced 2 and worked our way through advanced 4. We were told that we would be in advanced 5 in Samara. To our surprise, we have been put into advanced 3, so basically I am repeating stuff I have already done. Even the professor was surprised when we told her we had already taken both advanced 3 and 4, because she was expecting a group of students who had just completed advanced 2. Apparently, the two of us have to stay in this class this week because nobody is teaching an Advanced 5 class this week. I'm frustrated because I feel like I am wasting time and money, but on a more positive note, a review of the subjunctive is always a good thing, and I'll have an easy week as far as studies go.

Our family here consists of a married couple, two 7 year old twins, and a 14 year old son. The twins are named Racquel and Genesis, and they love coming to knock on our door when it is time for dinner. They are too cute! When we arrived on Sunday, we met the family's parrot named Lolita. Monday when we came home from school, she had gotten out of her cage and flown away. The parents said she has done this before and eventually returned because she was probably hungry. The dad has spent two days searching the neighborhood for the lost lora, but no luck just yet.

Today was a lot better day because I started it off right. We didn't have class until 1 today, but if we want breakfast we must be in the kitchen at 7 am. No complaints, because we were up and moving by the time our yoga class began at 8 am. I haven't done yoga in quite a while, but a) yoga is very relaxing and b) doing yoga on the beach is even more relaxing. Imagine: eyes closed, holding yourself in child's pose, inhaling and exhaling as the waves crash on the beach in front of you. Yoga on the beach was SO worth getting up early when I didn't have too (and that's saying a lot, because I HATE waking up early). Then to improve matters, today was a very sunny day until about 11 when the clouds began to roll in. So after yoga, we spent some much needed time in the sun!

Even though I LOVE the beach, I don't like a beach with rain. It sounds like there will be a lot of that this week, unfortunately. I miss Heredia and my other Familia Tica.