Catching up on missed time

It has been a wonderful and busy 2 weeks!!!

So here's why... My parents and sister came to visit!!!!

Here's the first beautiful sunset we saw



So saturday the 15 of May, my parents and sister arrived in Costa Rica!

So Krystle and I got a ride into San Jose at 8am. We walked around and enjoyed a park in Sabana Norte. Once the room was ready at our hotel we checked in and did the waiting game as their flight arrived in the evening. Krystle stayed at the hotel and I left to meet them at the airport.

My father was looking for the cultural experience, so I planned on initiating this enjoyment first thing. I found a bus that would take me to the airport and remembered it color and company so that we could take the same route home.

I waited outside the airport for a while and eventually their plane arrived (they were late because someone had to be taken off the plane in Sky harbor, after everyone had boarded!). So we hugged, teared up and headed out to the bus stop! We were very fortunate, a bus arrived within minutes! We loaded our bags on to the bus and were on our way to San Jose!

We got Krystle and went to dinner at the Rosti Pollo! Delicious chicken!!! We caught up on what we had missed and went to bed early in order to start off early in the morning!

My dad and I woke up early and walked in downtown San Jose. I showed him some interesting churches, businesses, people, and explained what I had understood about the culture and people of Costa Rica. We then got our rental car and went to the church we had been attending. My parents and sister got translators, Alex (husband of Krystle's teacher during language school) and a college student from the University of Costa Rica who was learning English, while Krystle and I continued to practice our spanish!

Here's 2 ticos!


Here's the translators with the gringos



Here is us with our Tico friends



We then drove to Brasilito and our first desination in Costa Rica!
Krystle and Charlene in the car



Coming next.. Hotel horrors

Bugs!!! Love it!!!

The other night we had one of our protectors doing his job!!


Spider!!! Catching it's dinner!





Then last night we were watching a movie and from beneath the door to the patio crawled this guy!!!




Check out this horned beetle!! Escarabajo en espanol!!

Panama

So I'm finally getting a little caught up..

We went to Panama for 4 days!


On the bus into Panama there was a nun riding with us. I found it something very interesting. She was wearing a gucci purse (not sure if it was real or fake). However, my point is this.. Isn't the whole point of being a nun, monk, or pastoral staff is to resake worldly living and serve the LORD more closely by separating oneself from the world.. Thought it was a interesting paradox and definite contradiction.

Panama Canal
The canal was amazing! This is definitely a site that everyone should see at some point in their lives. Even better would be to float through it on a boat. We saw multiples boats go through: 3 sailboats tied together, a big gas hauler, and other cargo ships.

Pictures from the Canal








Hostel
The layout of hostel we stayed in had 4 levels, had a shared kitchen that anyone staying at the hostel could use, had a movie room-huge projector and screen with a uniquely constructed multi-layered couch, a room for relaxing with hammocks and couches, a computer room with 4 comps, a bar, a outside patio for relaxing, book exchange, ping pong table, and a balcony that one could enjoy the views of the city and harbor.

Pictures from the Hostel







Humidity is fun for no one... I prefer and enjoy a dry heat any day of the week. We stayed in Panama City which was extremely humid, probably due to the fact that our hostel was 20 feet away from a fish dock and the ocean.

El bueno, el malo, y el feo... good (beautiful old architecture that looked right out of Europe in the 1700s and 1800s), bad (old buildings that need restoring that have simply been boarded up-there was such a waste at times as countless men and women lined the streets trying to sell uselss tourist trinkets or "art" yet great potential laid next to them if they just worked hard to repair and rebuild houses that had simply been abandoned..) and the ugly (skyscrapers of Panama City-downtown Panama City was full of skyscrapers, yet within 5 miles was such extreme poverty and shacks after shacks-which granted is no different than the large cities of the U.S. but Panama City opened my eyes to how we ignore the poverty of others while pursuing our financial security)

San Ramon

So Jordan and I are now renting a house in the pueblo of El Empalme, which is very close to the main town of San Ramon de Alajuela. We are about 30 minutes to the airport, about 45 minutes to downtown San Jose, and about 45 minutes to the beach. There aren't very many people around us, so it is very quiet and relaxing. We are renting from a retired couple whose names are Deb and Bob. They are very nice and helpful. They own a very nice house down the street, and then rent out our place, and 2 other places right next to us. The best part… they all have an absolutely amazing, breathtaking view of the country! On a clear day we can see the Pacific ocean and we have now seen 2 cruise ships at the ports. There is a town called Esparza that we can see all the lights at night and it is pretty awesome. Here are a few pictures of our 2 bedroom house.







Right now I am sitting at the table typing, I can look out and hear the sounds of night, see the lights of the town, and occasionally see some lightning. Supposedly it rains most days in the afternoons here, but we didn’t get any rain today or the past few days. Its been pretty clear most of the day. It is amazingly relaxing here. We love it!

Jordan and I are going to get in a routine of waking up early, going for a run in the country side, and then eating breakfast and relaxing, studying Spanish, and talking to the people who own our house. We also hope to meet some Spanish speakers in the area, and work on our Spanish with others. Jordan and I are using only Spanish with each other when other people aren’t around.

Here are a few pictures of the amazing view…





We will be here until June 11th when we leave for Spain. Jordans parents and sister are coming to visit soon, so that will be so great to see some family in person. We are very excited for the next month here, and then of course heading over to Spain!!

16 Hour bus rides!

So we had to ride in a bus for 16 hours! Insanity!

It truly was a blessing as it was a cheap way to avoid having to pay for a hotel room as we planned our buses to leave at 11pm and arrive the following days around 5pm or so.

Thankfully the buses were luxurious enough to have air condicioning, despite it being turned up to high to the point that we were freezing on the buses.

The trip was a huge success as we were able to renew our visas in Costa Rica and see the beatiful countryside of Panama and learn some interesting tidbits about the Panama Canals!

Our time at church

In front of the church:


Oh LORD Jehova, I have heard your word and I fear you.


Pictures of inside the sanctuary:




Here is Krystle and I with our friends Caleb and Jerlyn.



It’s interesting. We met a group of youth/young adults who attend church 4 to 5 times a week. They have services at night on all weekdays, a Saturday night service, and a Sunday morning service. They are getting some serious bible study in, as each service is on a different topic or even focus as some nights its all prayer or singing/worship. These services usually go for 2 hours total! Worship is involved, as well as brief socializing, while the majority of the time is taken up with the preaching! One Tuesday night, the pastor spent 1 ½ preaching on Nehemiah! It’s been super enjoyable practicing our listening skills with a topic that interests us, as well as leaving us dumbfounded at time because we didn't understand a joke or the context of something said! The people in the church have been extremely welcoming and often want to speak to us in Spanish and even test their English skills.

A running joke between most of them is to say that "Jose here speaks great English". When in reality he does not or is too shy to practice or say anything. It's been eyeopening to learn the cultural inferences and jokes that are prevalent between the youth. Makes me feel right at home!