Rain, rain go away, come again another day...

I was warned about the rain before I came here, but I'm not quite sure I really understood just how.much.it.rains here during the "wet season." In fact, one of the first new words I learned when we arrived was aguacero (downpour). For us, it basically means that we're indoors from about 2 p.m. until bedtime because it rains nearly nonstop. It's cozy if you're warm and dry inside, but it's bad news if you live in one of Costa Rica's poorer or more rural communities.

Every day, when Brian and I head downstairs for breakfast, I grab a copy of La Nacion, the biggest Spanish language newspaper here in Costa Rica, and every day so far, the headlines have been full of words like alud (avalanche), derrumbe (collapse), and daños (damage). You can see some of the paper's photos here.


Courtesy: La Nacion

The damage has been limited to the smaller, more rural communities outside the capital, particularly those in the valleys around Costa Rica, but tonight, as we sit warm and dry inside our hotel room, I am thankful for our safety and prayerful for those who sit in the middle of yet another aguacero tonight.

Feliz Navidad....in October?

Pros and cons of today so far:

1. CON: We were running late this morning and didn't have enough time to enjoy the hotel's delicious (and free!) breakfast so we just grabbed a few pieces of coffee cake and headed to the shuttle bus stop.

2. PRO: While we were waiting for the shuttle bus, a Costa Rican woman (una Tica) walked up to us and asked us for directions to a bank she was looking for.

3. PRO PRO: The woman thought we were Costa Rican (and not tourists!), and even after I explained (in very garbled Spanish) that I would be happy to help her, she still stayed and talked with me. Win win win!

4. CON: Even though we gave ourselves plenty of time, we couldn't find the shuttle bus to the International Baptist Church of Costa Rica (and we didn't feel like spending nearly $20 USD in a cab) so we weren't able to go to church there this morning.

5. PRO: Instead, we followed the sound of some church bells to this beautiful Catholic church in downtown San Jose, Catedral Metropolitana, and celebrated Mass there in Spanish.



6. CON: After church, we ran a few errands and noticed that nearly every store in San Jose seems to think that Christmas is coming next week. Exhibit A: These Christmas trees (arboles de Navidad) in Universal this morning. Awesome.



7. PRO: While we were distracted by the early Christmas celebration, I also found some really cute notebooks (cuadernos) to use to help us keep track of what we're spending each day and the new Spanish words that we're learning.

A bird's eye view of the city

Good morning! I just heard church bells in the distance, and Brian and I are getting ready to visit a local church this morning. Going to churches in other countries has always been one of my fondest memories when I've traveled. I realized this morning that I've praised God in Ghana, China, Thailand, London, Scotland, Ireland, Israel, Guatemala, Haiti...and now Costa Rica! Thinking about that reminded me of the song we used to sing when we were little - "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world." Amen!

In the meantime, as we get ready to head to church, I thought you'd like to see what we see out our window every day:





Psalm 92: 1 - 8

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,

2 to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,

3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

5 How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!

6 The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand,

7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.

8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

Close encuentros with Spanish

I've heard many people say that when you're learning a language, you should realize that, unless you have a Rainman-style of learning languages, you will probably have the verbal capacity of a toddler for quite a while. Based on the conversations I've had over the past few days, I'm guessing I'm somewhere between 5 and 6 years old right now.

While humbling (to say the least), it certainly makes for some interesting conversations! Here are some of the things I've learned while trying to speak in Spanish so far:

1. Taxi drivers (taxistas) speak really, really fast. Like really fast. I got in the middle of a conversation with a local driver this morning while I was trying to find this great local farmer's market ( feria) and quickly realized that I was catching about every third word. Kind of. That's when I pulled out the "muchas gracias señor" and a big smile and tried to exit the conversation as gracefully as possible.

2. The waitress at the hotel restaurant loves Castro's Bar and recommended it to us this morning over our huevos fritos y patatas as the "best place in San Jose to go dancing." Although at first, I thought she said "Encuentro" instead of "Castro's," and I would've ended up taking us to a city about 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) away from our hotel. Nice.

3. This morning, while Brian was practicing Spanish vocab with an app on his iPhone, we discovered that we can quickly translate English children's songs into their Spanish equivalents to practice. For example, if you were in our hotel room this morning, you would have heard me singing this (with the motions of course!):

Cabezas, hombros, rodillas y dedos, rodillas y dedos,
Cabezas, hombros, rodillas y dedos, rodillas y dedos,
Ojos, orejas, bocas y nariz
Cabezas, hombros, rodillas y dedos, rodillas y dedos.

Anyone with children want to guess which popular song that is?
Hint: Check out this video for the answer.

And for those of you who want to learn along with us, here's a great resource we've been listening to - News in Slow Spanish. The name says it all!

Language Tip #1: Learn to say "How you doin'?" in Spanish

A few months before we left for Costa Rica, I borrowed Erin Van Rheenen's Living Abroad in Costa Rica from the Cambridge library. The book was so helpful that I bought it a few days before we left and have been reading it cover to cover since we left the U.S.

Her tips on learning Spanish are quite good (and I'll be trying a lot of them!), but I'd like to add one more to the list after tonight's experience. Read on, readers.

From Living Abroad in Costa Rica:
1. Don't be shy. How will you improve your conversation skills if you never say anything?

2. Ask the native Spanish speakers around you to correct your errors, and then keep reminding them. They'll probably hesitate at first for fear you'll feel bad if they tell you you're doing something wrong.

3. Keep a notebook on you, and jot down all the new words and phrases you encounter. Try to look up the new words every evening, and then use them in conversation at least five times the next day.

4. Immerse yourself in the language and the culture but realize you'll need to take breaks now and then.

5. Understand that at first you won't be able to convey all of who you are in the new language...Get used to having the verbal resources of a toddler.

6. Remember that your Spanish-speaking self will be different from your English-speaking self...I know people who are much more relaxed and fun in Spanish than in English, for example, and others who are more exacting and precise.

And I'd like to add one more:
7. Watch "Friends" reruns in English with Spanish subtitles. A great way to end the day and learn a little Spanish along the way! Haven't you always wanted to learn how to say "How you doin'?" in Spanish?

You just heard Spanish "in the wild!"

...Brian said to me as we made our way off the plane. One of the flight attendants had waved us off with a pleasant "buenos noches" and a smile, and as we walked off the tarmac and toward the airport, I realized -- we'd made it! We were actually here in Costa Rica. And so begins our year-long adventure in San Jose, learning Spanish "in the wild." Not because the country itself is wild, but because we are finally outside the classroom, away from our books-on-tape, and actually living and breathing Spanish for the next year. ¡Que bueno!

After arriving last night - with all six suitcases arriving at the same time as we did! - we couldn't find the cab driver we had booked to pick us up so we got a cab at the airport and headed into downtown San Jose to check into our room. For the next month, we'll be staying here, at the Clarion Hotel, in a neighborhood known as Barrio Amón. In the few weeks, we'll meet with a realtor and start looking for an apartment to move into in November.

It was pretty late by the time we arrived, so we checked in, and checked out for the night. After a great night's sleep, we woke up this morning and grabbed some breakfast in our hotel; it's free!



You can see the basics of our day here: reading La Nacion (with a dictionary in hand!), a San Jose map for our 3-hour walk around the city today, and an awesome buffet with arroz con frijoles (rice with beans), juevos (eggs), cafe con leche (coffee with milk), salchichas (sausages), and sandía (watermelon). So good and just what we needed to kick-off our day of exploring this new city of ours.

We walked all the way from our hotel to El Parque Metropolitano La Sabana - more than 8 kilometers (about 5 miles!) - was definitely a great way to see a good part of the city and stretch our legs after a long trip.

Later today, we'll head out to try to find a local mercado (market) and get some food for our hotel room.

¡Hasta luego!

One day from today...

A few weeks ago, it was our last MONTH in Boston.

Last week, we realized it was our last WEEK in Boston.

This afternoon, we just have one more DAY in Boston before we move to Costa Rica for the next year!



Things have been pretty busy - but not too crazy - this month, and I keep looking at B and saying "Are we forgetting something huge? We did remember to keep our passports out of storage right? Did we buy our tickets?" No, yes, and yes. (At least so far!)

When we first found out we'd have to leave our apartment a month before we were going to move, we were pretty disappointed. The thought of living in three different houses in two different states (for me) and out of one suitcase (for each of us) was a little bit daunting.

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

The Lord used this crazy month to teach me - again - to trust in Him and His plans for me and for our family. And you know what? If we had to do it all over again, we would choose to move out and have a month in between a major move like this.

We've had a great time catching up with friends and family, enjoying the city, and just gradually preparing for this big transition. We were surprised to find out that a month moving from home to home actually made us more flexible, more trusting, more laid back people. A good mindset to have as we prepare to move to Costa Rica and embrace the culture of Latin America.

Hasta luego, amigos!