LA PLAYA!

Well I suppose it's time for another update from the world of la Pura Vida. This past weekend (10-12) I traveled to Manuel Antonio, in the province of Puntarenas, with two of the students, Rachel Brown and Lauren Drake. I had never been there before, so it was a new experience for all of us, which was exciting to share! Trevor (one of the staff members here) drew me what came to be called "The Magic Trevor Map" which was basically one of the most detailed, well-drawn maps I've ever seen. Haha. But seriously! He told us lots of good places to stay, good beaches to go to, and good places to eat. And boy, was he right! We basically just followed the map around for all the things we wanted to do. It was a life saver, because none of us knew anything about Manuel Antonio before we arrived!

Saturday morning we left early from San Jose, for the 4 hour bus ride. Once we got to Manuel Antonio/Quepos area, we began the 2 hours of walking around looking for somewhere to stay. The first place we walked in offered us $60 a night, but we had no view, so we thought we could find something better. Thus, we wandered up and down this road for a while, finding places from $85-185 a night (and this is the low travel season). Eventually we were hot, tired, and wanted to be at the beach. So we wandered back to the first place, who then told us they now had a room with a view available (it was always available, they just weren't going to give it to us in the first place unless we haggled a little). We took it, done deal, with a pool and breakfast included. Awesome. So we wandered around after dropping off our stuff, and spent most of the afternoon at this very secluded beach called Playa Biesanz, which was nice. That night we hit up a Tapas bar called Salsipuedes, then headed back to relax in the AC of our room. Awesome.
Sunday we got up early for a delicious breakfast, then headed to el Parque de Manuel Antonio, which basically is jungle/beach area all in one. The first beach we got to was awwweeesome (see picture) and we stayed there most of the day before heading to the other side of the peninsula to the other beach, where we had fun exploring on the rocks. Then we hit up this place called Barba Roja (Red Beard's) for a yummy supper and dessert. Loved it.

Our last morning (Monday) we got up, ate breakfast, then spent an hour in the pool, since we had to check out early and head back to Quepos to catch a bus to San Jose. We just had a great time wandering all around and getting to know the place. It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend, and I finally worked on my tan a little. :) It's nice to break up the monotony of life once in a while with these trips! :)

Yesterday (Friday) was the students' last day at ICADS (spanish classes) and so we went over in the afternoon for their graduation, which was fun! :) Then I went out with Trevor and Laura for a little snack time and relaxation after a crazy couple of weeks.

I also have been going to the gym now, which is awesome! I just signed up on the 9th, it's a brand new gym just a little up the hill from LASP, so I usually walk there from work most days. It has been great to work out, and since I paid for it, I really make myself go all the time. I am liking it, and looking forward to see how my "training plan" will help me out! :)

Basically, life is going really well here! I am truly feeling comfortable now, and really enjoying what I am doing and especially the people that I am working with! The only cruddy part is that I know I'm only here until May..and so now I've got to start applying to different things I may want to do after this experience..but I really have no clue at all what I would like to do. Bah. Asi es life, right? We'll see how that goes in the coming weeks. :)

Well, I love you all and miss you like crazy! I can't wait to hear from you!!!
Peace.

Nicaragua: Lots of food. Lots of love.

Well, we just returned from a 12 day trip to the beautiful country of Nicaragua. As usual, it has opened my eyes anew to love and hospitality. In Nicaragua, food = love. Well, maybe it's more accurate to say that food is a Nicaraguan love language. They show us their love and hospitality with plates filled with gallo pinto, eggs, and the infamously salty strong-smelling Nicaraguan cheese. They sit and watch us eat, as we smile and shove the food down our already-full throats, our stomaches literally expanding minute by minute. They kill one of their chickens, just to feed us chicken. They run to the pulperia for Coke, just so we can drink it. Nicaraguan food is not just sustenense, it's a labor of love for the visitor; a hallmark of great Nicaraguan hospitality.

We were welcomed into this world of hospitality for one week during our Nicaraguan trip, when we all lived near/around the capital city of Managua with different host families. I lived with a pastor and his wife outside of the city of Masaya, sharing time with them and their 5 year old daughter Genesis. It was a week of being: sitting in a chair with a fan pointed on me (more hospitality) while my host sister and I colored and drew pictures. A week of sharing with my host mom, when she was less shy and talked to me more, a week of riding in the back of pickups, a week of drinking more Coke than I have in the last 4 years (literally) and loving it, a week of processing and thinking about what life looks like here. I had a great time sharing with my family and learning from them, as well as learning from the other students in my group and their families.

One girl lived with a family who makes hammocks and sells them for a living. Basically the whole family works together to make hammocks/bracelets, and they make a total of about 10 hammocks a month. When we were at the border I saw people selling hammocks for $5 each. So, if this family sells theirs for $5 each, and they actually sell all 10, that would be $50. For a large family. For a month. Yeah. They were just the sweetest, most awesome people ever. So happy, always laughing and smiling, and always happy to share with us. Hermana Marta (the woman who makes the hammocks) even was paid by our host families to make one for each of us. How awesome is that, to have a hammock from the woman I know made it? And how challenging to look at it everyday and realize the reality that her family lives in. Now that's a gift.

This is the Nicaraguan adventure: sharing with people, making comparisons, trying not to rush to judgements about culture/poverty/etc, feeling lost, frustrated, and confused. And at the same time, feeling loved in ways we never imagined we would feel. This is why we do it, this is why we love it: Nicaragua.

On a side note that isn't so deeply reflective, I also celebrated my 23 birthday in Nicaragua! So that was really exciting! We were in Granada, and on my birthday we took a tour of the little islands that are along the shore in Lake Nicaragua (one of the largest freshwater lakes in the entire world, where a canal was originally supposed to have been built instead of in Panama, but that's another story entirely) and it was GORGEOUS and so fun! :) I had a great time just relaxing with the students as we all worked to process our week in Nicaragua, and just enjoyed living life together in a new place. We had some awesome lunch on an island, had a monkey commandeer our boat, and ended the night with some great pizza and cheesecake! (I know, I could hardly believe it either!) :)

All in all, it was a great 12 days that I wouldn't trade for anything. Glory to God for all the relationships formed and lessons only begun to be learned from this trip. What a blessing we all have been given through these opportunities. :)

Amor to you all. I miss you mucho mucho. :)

PS: If you don't have facebook and would like to see fotos, check out this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014222&id=137900097&l=1cb2fc74fb

It's supposedly supposed to allow you to see pictures on facebook even if you don't have facebook. test it out and let me know. :) LOVE!