It's A Small World

We are so far away from home, yet sometimes the world doesn't seem quite so huge. I remember one day when we were living in Atlanta that a friend from my high school in Michigan showed up on my doorstep. He was working for a company that was going door to door and they just happened to be canvassing our neighborhood. Well, it's not that random here, but Corey's mom is in Kiwanis with a friend who has a house here just outside of San Jose. They are new friends to us, but we are so blessed to have them near by! They were kind enough to bring things from our families when they flew in and we enjoyed a day at their house. We had so much fun! They have a beautiful condo and a fantastic swimming pool! We are so grateful for friends all over the world!
~Tona

Maggie with her new friend, Anna. Anna is from Ireland.

Alex found a quiet corner to hang out by the wall of fountains.

Do You Have A Good Heart?

Yesterday was our last day of classes for this trimester. Instead of staying in class during conversation class our teacher took us to her hair stylist, Mario. (We had worked very hard and completed our book a week early, so this was a bit of a reward.) Mario is apparently a famous stylist. He does a lot of work at the National Theater for the ballet company and other productions. What our teacher failed to tell us was that she was going to drop us off and go get her nails done somewhere else. That was fine, though, we all speak well enough to get through a styling appointment. So I wanted to get my hair cut. I explained to Mario that I wanted layers and to keep my hair long. That's basically what I had already, so I told him just to trim it up and clean it up a little bit. My visit was very enjoyable and we chatted while he started snipping away at the bottom of my hair. Then he had me lean over and he put all of my hair in a ponytail on the very top of my head. It looked real cool... :-). I thought, "Well, this is different," but I expected he would start pulling small chunks out and start trimming. That's when he asked me "Do you have a good heart?" "What?" I asked. And he repeated, "Do you have a good heart?" We had been talking about church and things, so I figured he was going on with the conversation. "I believe so," I said. "Good," he said and then he held up the ponytail, took the scissors and cut the entire ponytail about two inches away from my head. I could not breathe! He laughed and said, "You're probably wondering what I'm doing. Don't worry. It will still be long." At this point I just sat waiting to see what was going to come of it. In fact, the back of my hair still is pretty long, but the top is much, much shorter than I anticipated and I am not thrilled with my new hairstyle. Fortunately my hair grows out quickly, though, and soon it will be a little bit longer on top and I'm sure I'll love it then. But I have learned... if someone asks you if you have a good heart it is probably because they're about to do something to test how good your heart is. From now on I'll say no!! :-)

This picture actually makes it look a little better than it is in real life, but here you go...
~Tona

Change of Plans

We've been planning on staying in Costa Rica for a full year, which would mean leaving for Colombia in December. However, from the start we have juggled the idea of staying eight months or a year. It's a bit of a long explanation that I won't bore you with, but the bottom line of it all is that it is in our best interest to leave for Colombia in August. We need to go through some training with missionaries who are currently there because they will be leaving at the first of 2007 for a year and we will be taking on part of their responsibilities. Please keep us in your prayers. We are incredibly excited to get to Colombia, but that means we need to get focused on getting our visas, making sure we learn as much Spanish as possible and get in the "leaving mode" again. We have spent time in prayer about this decision and we feel at peace that this is the right thing to do. The biggest downfall to this decision is that it will cut Corey's language learning a bit short, which he is sure to pick up along the way in Colombia, but please remember him in your prayers as he tries to squeeze the most Spanish possible out of this next trimester.
~Tona

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone is having an amazing Easter and that all of you were somewhere rejoicing that Jesus rose from the grave. There is another cultural difference we have realized here. I've told you about the many processionals this week that mark Jesus's death. One missionary who has lived here in Costa Rica told us today that there is quite a time of mourning during Semana Santa and that through his years here he has been told that even children should refrain from playing loudly out of respect for Jesus. For us, the death of Jesus is also important. Jesus died to pay for our sins in order to save us. He went through incredible agony and torture and as we celebrate Easter we reflect on how much he gave for us. But here is where the difference in culture comes. On Easter we celebrate Jesus's resurrection, that not only did he die for our sins, but as he prophesied, he rose again and conquered even death. That part of the history is barely mentioned here. The focus is heavy on his death but almost non-existent when it comes to his resurrection. For example, hundreds of thousands of people show up on Friday for one of the country's biggest processionals marking Jesus's death on Friday, but only a handful of people show up at that same location on Sunday to celebrate his resurrection. Easter is about celebrating that resurrection. Jesus is not on the cross anymore. He lives! There is so much focus on his death and here you consistently see icons of Jesus on the cross, but he did not remain on the cross. We serve a living God! I hope today you are celebrating that Christ rose again, that he has saved us from the destruction we deserve if we believe in him.

"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Cor. 15:17)
~Tona

Volcan Arenal

We spent part of this week at Arenal. We rented a little Suzuki Alto… really little. It got us where we needed to go, though, so we were happy! Our drive to Volcan Arenal took about two and a half hours. On our way it was a very cloudy day and as we drove higher and higher into the mountains the clouds began to pass by. I’ve been in fog before, but this was different. You could actually see the clouds blowing by right in front of you. It was so strange. On our way there were many twists and turns, quite a few potholes and numerous single lane bridges. One of the bridges was a very high up bridge with a whole lot of gaps in the road. Only one car was supposed to pass at a time, but the people in front of us got a little confused and we managed to pass two cars on the bridge at once. The entrance to the bridge was like the little ramps they use at the mechanic’s shop. You have to exactly drive your car over these tiny ramps. Given how small our car and tires were, Corey was very nervous to pass over this bridge. We did make it, however, and continued our journey.

As we arrived into the town of La Fortuna, where Volcan Arenal is, it was very, very cloudy. It was hard to see much of anything past the sides of the road. We made our way to the cabins where we would be staying, Hotel Don Carlos. Many friends had stayed at these same cabins and because one of the other students goes up so often, we got a very nice discounted rate. She had told us of the amazing view from the cabins, but as we drove in all we saw in every direction was clouds. We weren’t even sure where the volcano was.

The cabins were adorable, basically one large room with two beds and a small tables and chair set. There was a TV and a nice-sized bathroom. One wall of the cabin was almost completely large windows that opened up to the view. At least now we knew what direction we should look in for the volcano! I had a picture in my head of what the volcano should look like. I imagined it far off in the distance, impressive, but far. The kids and I said a little prayer as we were standing there and asked God to please move the clouds so we could see the volcano. There is always a chance that the clouds will block your sight the entire time. I began unpacking when Alex yelled for me to look at the window. As I looked back the clouds had almost completely lifted and there before us stood the volcano – much, much closer than I ever expected – and so majestic. I was in awe. Maggie kept saying, “Mommy, you looked shocked!” I was. I have pictures to post, but they do no justice to how huge Volcan Arenal is and how incredibly close we were to it. I liken it to the ocean. It’s huge and beautiful and you want to be near it, yet I realized this volcano could unleash its full power at any time. It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time.

We spent our first evening exploring La Fortuna and taking lots of pictures of the volcano. Although there was a TV in our cabin, we opted for playing games and reading together. It was so incredibly peaceful. That night we drove out to this dirt road where people go to watch the volcano at night. Volcan Arenal is an active volcano that erupted back in the ‘60s. Since then it has smaller eruptions nearly every day. We were hoping for a large spectacle like we’ve seen in pictures. It was a clear night and although we never saw it really blow out much at the top, every so often large pieces of lava would fall down the side. It was beautiful. Unfortunately it was too inconsistent to take any good pictures of. We sat on this road for two hours watching the volcano until the kids eventually fell asleep in the car. We decided to head back to our cabin and rest up for the next day.

Hotel Don Carlos is actually on a farm. There are three horses, a pig, quite a few cows and quite a few new baby calves, one just three days old. Lorena, the owner, made us a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto, eggs, ham and toast. It was wonderful. After we ate they told us we were welcome to wander the farm. This was Maggie’s dream come true. We visited the cows, coming closer than I have ever been to a cow that wasn’t tied up in a stall. They saddled one of the horses for Maggie and I walked her around the farm. Alex ran around with one of the other boys that lived at the farm and tried to wrangle a horse. It didn’t work. There was a colt that let Alex walk up and pet it. The owner, Juan Carlos, told me the horse never lets the Ticos touch it and that it was so rare that it would let Alex touch it. He was even more amazed when Corey was able to pet it, too. We spent quite a while getting to know the family that took care of the farm and enjoying the animals.
We left to go on the adventure we had chosen for this trip. Before we went we were wondering how we would ever agree on an excursion. Maggie wanted to ride horses and Alex wanted to do a canopy tour, a zip line through the trees. We found out we could do both together – perfect! We rode horses for about 45 minutes to the base of the canopy tour where we suited up and took off through the trees. I wasn’t quite prepared for the 15 minute uphill hike we had to do before we ever hit the zip lines! The canopy tour was amazing and well worth the hike. I wish I knew how high in the air we were, it felt higher than I’d ever been before. We heard howler monkeys and saw toucans and many other interesting creatures. Alex was so brave. He did ever line by himself. Maggie went with a guide throughout the trip, but she had a blast. At one point we were standing on this tiny platform at the top of a tree, swaying as the wind blew, and as we looked out we saw the beautiful trees set against the backdrop of a very clear Volcan Arenal. At the end of the canopy tour we jumped back on our horses and rode back to the stables. It was an incredible day!

That evening we were far too tired to do much of anything. We showered, grabbed some dinner and played a few games before crashing early. The volcano was pretty clouded over, so we decided not to drive back out to the dirt road. I woke up at three o’clock in the morning and looked out at the volcano. The clouds were covering the top in a pretty thin layer. I could see the volcano was erupting. Although it wasn’t crystal clear, I could see reds and oranges bursting out of the top of it. I wish the clouds would have parted for even a minute, but even so it was such a humbling experience.

The next morning we woke up a bit sore from our excursion the day before. We packed up and had a wonderful breakfast again. On our way out of town we went to the Baldi Hot Springs. Apparently this is the second best hot springs in La Fortuna, but since we had never seen the best, we found Baldi pretty amazing. The pools vary in temperature from 88 degrees to 172 degrees. Some were too hot to get into and some we could only stay in a few minutes before we were too hot, but there were a lot that were perfect! We tried out every single pool! It was a wonderful way to relax our muscles for our drive home. Our drive home was much clearer and quicker. Before we could even get out of La Fortuna the kids were asking to go back again. It’s very rare that we have a family trip with just the four of us for the sake of just getting time away. We have made incredible memories that we will cherish forever. It was nice to get away, but now it's time to turn our focus back to our studies!

You can find more pictures from our trip here... Volcan Arenal Pictures
~Tona

Semana Santa

This week is Semana Santa. You can't miss that something is going on. The streets usually filled with traffic are nearly empty. We've driven through a few areas where processions are going on, parades with statues of Jesus and Mary and other icons. It's a week where you see the religious going through rituals with thier church and yet on the other hand there is a huge migration to the beach. I heard an interesting legend that at some point the church, in an effort to maintain focus on Easter, had told people if they went into the ocean during Semana Santa they would be turned into mermaids and mermen. I think it has become a well-loved legend, however, it didn't seem to deter the people from using this week to get away on vacation. It's interesting as we talk to students about the differences in Easter celebrations between our countries, the Costa Rican students are shocked to hear stories of Easter bunnies and egg hunts. It's very interesting to hear others perspectives on our culture and rituals at Easter. This is one of those times where we are learning more about the Latin American culture and preparing that much more for our work in Colombia.
~Tona

Sarchi

Last Friday we went on a wonderful adventure to Sarchi. They say getting there is half the fun... we were a little worried we weren't going to get home! Sarchi is famous for building ox carts, which are a national symbol here in Costa Rica. The ox cart is a symbol of labor. They are beautifully painted by hand. This was our first long bus ride and fortunately we had a taxi driver who took us exactly where we needed to go to catch the bus. Our guides had been a little bit off on their locations. The bus ride was an hour and a half. It started off comfortable, nice seats, no air, but wind from the windows. However, along the way we picked up what must have been double the capacity of the bus and the last half was a very sweaty packed ride. Sarchi was a very cool little town. We went to one of the famous factories and saw people painting the carts. This is a popular place to go to buy lots of souvenirs, too, so we toured a lot of the little shops. We were hoping to get home before dark, so around 5pm we found the bus stop to catch a bus back to San Jose. We knew on the way home we'd have to change busses in another little town, but we were pretty confident that we knew what we were doing. So we waited and waited and waited and waited... nearly an hour later we were getting very nervous that we may be stuck sitting in the dark at this bus stop when finally a bus came. The Ticos are so kind. They helped us make sure we got back on the right bus to head to San Jose and the ride home was quite nice, not full and pretty cool. We made it home, miniature sized ox carts in hand and glad that we had taken this little adventure! For more pictures check out this site... Sarchi Pictures
~Tona

Parrots, ECOs and Finally A Break!

I breathe a long sigh of relief on this wonderful Friday afternoon! It's been a long week, but I am rejoicing here at the end of it! Let me start with the parrots. It's common in every place we've lived to hear birds singing and here in Costa Rica almost constantly we hear different variations of birds making their music. It's not unusual to look out the window and see birds lining the roof of the school or playing in the trees, but a few days ago the song of the birds was different and when we looked out the window, lined across the top of our school was a long line of beautiful green parrots. It was amazing. We stopped class and just watched them for a while. Our teacher told us that they are usually in the mountains this time of year, but when you see one you know it's going to rain. Apparently they get confused and come back when they think it's rainy season. Sure enough, later that afternoon we had quite a rain! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but hopefully they'll be back again and I'll share their beauty with you!

I've written before about the ECO we have to do at the end of each trimester. Mine was this past Monday and Corey's on Tuesday. It's supposed to be a nonchalant interview with a professor you don't normally have and you're supposed to just chit chat while they assess your ability. Is sounds simple enough, HOWEVER, they are recording you and all the previous students are so stressed out about it you can't help but be nervous! We won't have the results for a few weeks, but I don't think I did the best I could have. My nerves kicked in and I was speaking very fast but paying little attention to my grammar. We had to act out a scenario and mine was that I had a grease stain on my jacket and I had an important interview in an hour. I was at the dry cleaners and had to ask them for help. I thought, "Not too bad, I can work my way through this one..." but what I hadn't been told was that they would contradict everything you say so that you have to argue your way through the situation. For example, I told the "dry cleaner" I needed the one hour service and, wouldn't you know it, they only do two hour service! It was fun, a bit stressful, but in the end I was just incredibly relieved to have it over with!

So here we are on Friday. We have one week of classes to go, but this week that's coming up we are off for Semana Santa. It's supposed to be a holy week, but from what I can gather from most of the Ticos I've talked to it's been turned into a week where everyone migrates to the beach. We will be sticking around San Jose and doing a few short bus excursions to a few places close to town.

For my final class today in Phonetics I had to recite by memory 12 versus from the Bible in Spanish. Actually, it was more than 12 because some were two or three verse sections and one of them was the entire chapter of Psalms 121. My brain is a little fried as I sit and type, but I am so grateful for this break that we will be enjoying this next week! I can't wait to tell you about the adventures we're about to have!

~Tona