Learning the importance of "compartir-ing"

On Friday, we had devotions at the office and heard a small lesson from one of the visiting staffers with World Vision Bolivia on Luke 24 (Lucas 24). We learned about the importance of "compartir-ing" (sorry for the Spanglish!) - sharing our lives with each other in real and meaningful ways, even when we're tired, uninterested, etc.  During the lesson, she pointed out that in Luke 24:29 - 35 we see that it was after the two men took the time to invite Jesus into their home, eat dinner together, and stay the night, that they discovered he was really the Son of God.  


We experienced "compartir" firsthand this weekend in the kindness of our friends inviting us out to dinner on Friday night...then other friends asking us to join them for church at Vida Abundante on Saturday night and coffee afterwards at this cute new coffee shop called "Tuesto"...and then another colleague's wife helping us look for apartments on Saturday afternoon. We have felt so cared for and blessed this weekend!


compartir

v t compartir [kompaɾ'tiɾ]

1 distribuir alguien parte de sus posesiones (To give someone something that belongs to you)

compartir caramelos

2 usar, tener o realizar algo en común (To use, to have or to realize you have something in common)

compartir el baño

3 tener la misma opinión, actitud o estado de ánimo (To have the same opinion or same state of mind)

No comparto lo que dices.

Cheers!

San Jose is pretty crowded, and I don't really like city running that much. So, one of the creative ways that I've figured out how to get some exercise every day is through ExerciseTV.  They have FREE workout videos that you can do from your home...or hotel room. And they're great! 


Of course I didn't want to pack 8 lb. weights in my already-overloaded suitcases when we moved down here, so this morning, when I needed some dumbbells for my workout, Brian and I got a little, um, creative.  (Yes, that is a bottle of Smirnoff caipiriña mix from the local AutoMercado in my left hand and a bottle of water from the hotel in my right hand.  A little something for before the workout -- and a little something for after. ¡Salud!)

Oh what a night!

Our second weekend here has already started off with some great memories! I blogged earlier this week about how I had been feeling a little frustrated with my Spanish and how, when you don't always understand everything going on around you, it can be difficult to get to know people.  Then, I explained how incredible my new colleagues have been, patient and gracious with my developing language skills.

Well yesterday, I walked into the office and was asking one of my colleagues how hard it would be to get up to this restaurant, Baalbek Bar and Grille, that had been recommended to us from one of the waitresses at the hotel restaurant.  He said that the 30-minute cab ride would probably be $25 or more (at least 12,000 colones) and asked if we'd like to hang out with him and his wife that night! YES, please.

So instead of heading to Baalbek (still on our list for another weekend!), we headed up the mountain in the north to Club Campestre El Castillo, this private, members-only club, in the mountains outside of San Jose.  Through a friend of his, Pablo (my colleague) was able to get us passes for the night.  It was incredible!  It's in San Rafael de Heredia, and it was, as people had cautioned, surprisingly cooler just a few miles up the mountain.  The cool weather, the slight breeze, and the views from the outside of the restaurant where we sat all made for an absolutely stunning experience with our new friends, Pablo and Carla!

We had wine, chifrijo, and tres leches cake and enjoyed getting to know each other (talking in a mix of Spanish and English so Brian could keep up!).

Chifrjo: a tasty mix of rice, beans, tomatoes, spices, and chicharrónes (small pieces of fried pork)

¡The tres leches cake we had last night at Club Campestre el Castillo was increíble!

Saturday, another colleague invited us to go to church with him and his family in Coronado.  Excited to visit another church and see a new part of the city today!

PS - We had our first experience of a Costa Rican earthquake last night; not too bad! We were sitting in the car, waiting to get into the country club, and the car started rocking! When we came home, I saw that it was a 5.9 quake. Our Tico friends laughed when I told them I was a little nervous about the earthquakes here; they say it's all part of life and it's not really anything to be too concerned about. ¡Pura vida!

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).