Monkey time

We were lucky enough to go to Punta Leona two weekends in a row - last weekend for Thanksgiving with friends and this weekend for my office Christmas party.  It ended up being a great little getaway for us to daydream about our next big decision (medical school) before Brian left today for his first round of interviews this week in New York City and Baltimore (pray for him please!). We feel very blessed in this season in life right now with so much to look forward to! 

Costa Rica has certainly been joyful - and at times very challenging - and we're also looking forward with expectation to this next phase of our lives as we begin medical school. Only the Lord knows where we'll end up! We should have a good idea by the spring and then we'll move in the late summer/early fall.

One of the challenges that I'm discovering in living here is that it can be a lot lonelier than I realized it would be - and I very much feel like "the outsider."  This has nothing to do with my colleagues who have been friendly, warm, and inviting (they even asked me to join their office Christmas choir for the office fiesta this Friday!), but it's constantly humbling, challenging, and emotionally limiting to be constrained by language.  

At the same time, I realized this weekend that I'm also learning some valuable life lessons about humility, learning to love others well (particularly those who may be "outsiders" in our community), and trusting the Lord for strength.  I told Brian that I hope to find a way to minister to Hispanic immigrants when we return to the States - as I think the Lord is using this year to help me develop my language skills but also increase my compassion for those who may struggle to live in the United States, feeling like "outsiders."  

Anyway....this morning, before we left Punta Leona, we had breakfast at their beautiful restaurant in the jungle.  They've really done a nice job of nestling it in the trees, and you feel like you're right in the middle of nature!

Traditional Tico breakfast - yummm! I missed these. Gallo pinto, huevos, plátanos maduros, papas fritas, fruta.

We realized just HOW close we were to nature when we walked into the restaurant and saw at least 20 monkeys (monos) and 20 pizotes  (I don't think these exist in the U.S., but the best translation would be a White-nosed Coati) climbing all over the walls, the roof, the chairs and the  tables.  It was fun to watch at first, but after awhile, they really became a nuisance!  One couple next to use got up from their table to get something else to eat, and as soon as they left, a monkey jumped down, grabbed the banana off their plate, and hopped back up on the roof.  A few minutes later, we saw a banana peel fall from the roof.  Glad someone enjoyed their breakfast!