Just one of those days...

This morning started out in the usual way: gallo pinto (Costa Rican rice and beans), juevos (eggs), fruta (fruit), cafe con leche (coffee with milk), y postres (pastries). Yummm! But I had a growing feeling of dread as I thought about going to work today; I was nervous! I was feeling frustrated with my Spanish, out of the loop with my Spanish-speaking colleagues (even though they have all been beyond wonderful!), and just generally anxious about facing another day in a different language.  But as I was walking to work this morning, I resolved to be optimistic and humble about the whole situation and just do my best to keep engaging and practicing, practicing, practicing!

Sometimes, I feel like I must sound like Mrs. Doubtfire when she was pretending to be an applicant for a nannying position who didn't speak any English. "I. Am. Job."

(Forgive the poor quality of the video!)

Over the course of today, I had one of those experiences when you think that the Lord must have known exactly what I needed today because within the first few hours of work, two colleagues had given me their Skype and cell phone numbers to stay in touch, several others had stopped by to chat in the morning, and another had asked if we'd like to visit the nearby volcanoes with his wife and children one weekend! All of a sudden, I started feeling more confident and less anxious, and the day was so much better than I thought it was going to be.  By the end of the day, I realized that, most likely, this week will be the hardest week of the year (in terms of language acquisition) for me.  As I continue practicing, hanging out with colleagues, and just making a point to talk to the people that cross my path each day, I think (*hopefully?*) that I'll get better soon enough. I've never been very good at being patient!

Galatians 5:22 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

In fact, here's one of the things I've been doing every day to help me stick to the plan. It reminds me of what I did when I was first allowed to talk to boys; I'd get so nervous that I would write down a list of things we could talk about so it wouldn't get awkward (Note to self: Clearly, this is an admission that I was never very cool, and it still got awkward).

1) I open up Google's Translate tool. Awesome, awesome tool.

2) I make a list of all the things I could talk about that day with my colleagues, and then I hit "translate."

3) I keep that list open all day long and glance it it periodically when I want to try to strike up a conversation.

For example, here's what today's list looked like:

English:

I think it's going to rain today!

Do you have any recommendations for things to do this weekend?

I need a new pair of brown shoes. Where should I go shopping?

Can you help me...

I like your jacket!

Spanish:

¡Creo que va a llover hoy!
¿Tiene alguna recomendación sobre qué hacer este fin de semana?
Necesito un nuevo par de zapatos marrones.  ¿Dónde debo ir de compras?
¿Me pueden ayudar ...
¡Me gusta tu chaqueta!

You get the point. I realize these aren't the most scintillating topics I've ever discussed, but a girl has to start somewhere right?

Mi oficina en Costa Rica

Every day, I walk up a very steep hill from the hotel to our office. By the time I arrive, I'm usually out of breath and sweating. It's quite the workout! I'm sure that my appearance, combined with my daily attempts at Spanish, makes for quite a laughable sight. But everyone at the office has been nothing but wonderful and incredibly patient with me! 


While I haven't *yet* taken a picture of me, sweating and tired, at the beginning of the work day, I thought you might like to see where I'll be working this year.

Here is our office; we share the space with several other organizations.

My mini office (I share it with a colleague).

The funny thing about our office - and most of the homes, businesses, shops, etc. - is that addresses are virtually non-existent here in Costa Rica.  In fact, here's a funny excerpt from the book, Living Abroad in Costa Rica, where the author explains how crazy some of these "addresses" can be: 

"...If you think it's confusing, consider that many "addresses" aren't even that specific.  Some use landmarks that you probably won't know; some of the landmarks used to be there but aren't any more.  Addresses and directions in Costa Rica are definitely geared toward long-term locals -- who would know that "Coca Cola" means where the Coca Cola bottling plant used to be 20 years ago.  Some addresses take as their reference point a tree (god help you if it's been cut down) or the big house where the doctor killed himself. I'm not kidding..."

In fact, the office address for my organization basically translates to "the office in front of the commercial center called 'the Village' in the office with the towers."  The address should include mention of the very steep hill that it sits on too!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Brian's favorite part of the day: treats!

The "caramelos blando de café" (caramel coffee chews)

There are a lot of things that are challenging about living out of a hotel - like not having a kitchen or a laundry machine (not that we had one in Boston) - but I think we would both agree that the perks far outweigh the challenges.  For example, one of Brian's favorite things about our current living situation is something we've recently discovered here that we like to call "the evening ritual."


Every day, around 6 p.m., one of the hotel staffers knocks on our door with a pleasant, "Buenos noches."  Brian opens the door, greeting them with a smile and the limited Spanish he's picked up so far (which usually includes some variation on "mucho," "bueno," and "gracias." Not too bad for Day 6 and no previous experience with Spanish!).  He holds out his hands eagerly, and they give him two "caramelos blando de café," or "caramel coffee chews," from a company here called Cafe Britt.  Delicious, sweet and sticky, these early evening treats are becoming a pleasant surprise to our semi-transient lives right now.  ¡Qué bueno!

First day at work

It is a tradition at my house to take a picture on the first day of work or school.  So, here I am, getting ready for my first day at work.  Mom, thought you'd like this!

After three days of exploring the city and getting used to our new surroundings, today was the day to get down to business and head back to work.

The biggest coup of the day: submitting an expense report that was due Wednesday.  This may sound easy when you're operating in your native language, but I had to 1) find the tech specialist and ask him to help me install the local printer on my computer, 2) print out the expense report and then wander around the office until I found the right printer, 3) find the copier, ask for help in using it, and then copy my receipt, and finally, 4) find the fax machine and ask for help faxing the entire report to the U.S. Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with my Day One Spanish!  Baby steps, right? Or, as I learned to say today in Spanish, poco a poco...

(And a pleasant surprise, the torrential afternoon rains that I've mentioned held off until I got home!  Was thankful for that considering that I had really cute pants on and had to walk about 1/4 mile from the office back to our hotel).

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.