I'm now 9 days into my time here in San Jose...and strangely on my 3rd hairbrush of the trip.
Quick story there-the brush I initially brought was snapped in half on the trip over in my baggage, so I went and bought brush #2 at the monstrous Wal-Mart on this side of town. That was on Sunday.This morning, after a cold shower and tangled hair, I broke brush #2 when I tried to pull it through my hair. Today I purchased brush #3 in downtown San Jose. I spent the big bucks on this one, so let's hope it lasts. 9 days and 3 brushes is not a good record.
However, if broken hairbrushes are the worst thing that happen to me here, I'll take it. Fortunately, I have nothing but wonderful experiences to share so far. Nicki & I started language school at Universal de Idiomas in downtown San Jose on Monday. The commute to school is a 7 minute walk to the bus stop, a 20 minute bus ride into downtown, and then a 15 minute walk down Avenida Central to the school. It's taking some getting used to. The hardest part of the entire commute is drinking my coffee on the bumpy bus. There are 50 people at this language school with us; 48 of them are from one organization and there other 2 are Nicki and me. Of those 48 people, 4 of them are from the States. The rest are from Germany, Switzerland, England, Taiwan, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Sweden...etc. My level of instruction has 10 people in the class and 2 of us learned English as our first and only language. I think it's so interesting that all of us came to San Jose from all over the world and enrolled in the same school to become fluent in Spanish. When we communicate at school, the only language we have in common is Spanish. I think it is a very cool connection. I'll keep you updated on when I actually consider myself "fluent". The picture below is looking up to the top of my street in Escazu. I walk to the stop sign and take a left to get on the bus.
Another cool thing I've been able to do this week is go visit another international school called Lighthouse. Fortunately, YoungLife/WyldLife and my area director Jessie have great relationships with the administration at this school and I was able to sign up to be a substitute teacher. The school also happens to be where we have WyldLife club every other week in an awesome outdoor but covered amphitheater-like setup.
Finally, I want ya'll to know that I have good friends here. The girls I work with are wonderful...me caen muy bien*. While we do not get to all be together at once often, one of those times was last night. It became very evident to me that God has provided me with a community of godly women, approximately my age, with similar life experiences, and we are all responding to the same call God has placed on our lives. Living in another country is not always easy, but it's such a blessing that we get to live a "tica" life together. It's going to be a great year.
*"Me caen bien" is a tico saying that literally translates to, "they fall on me well". It is a common phrase that people use when they get along well with someone. (I just learned it today!)
Quick story there-the brush I initially brought was snapped in half on the trip over in my baggage, so I went and bought brush #2 at the monstrous Wal-Mart on this side of town. That was on Sunday.This morning, after a cold shower and tangled hair, I broke brush #2 when I tried to pull it through my hair. Today I purchased brush #3 in downtown San Jose. I spent the big bucks on this one, so let's hope it lasts. 9 days and 3 brushes is not a good record.
However, if broken hairbrushes are the worst thing that happen to me here, I'll take it. Fortunately, I have nothing but wonderful experiences to share so far. Nicki & I started language school at Universal de Idiomas in downtown San Jose on Monday. The commute to school is a 7 minute walk to the bus stop, a 20 minute bus ride into downtown, and then a 15 minute walk down Avenida Central to the school. It's taking some getting used to. The hardest part of the entire commute is drinking my coffee on the bumpy bus. There are 50 people at this language school with us; 48 of them are from one organization and there other 2 are Nicki and me. Of those 48 people, 4 of them are from the States. The rest are from Germany, Switzerland, England, Taiwan, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Sweden...etc. My level of instruction has 10 people in the class and 2 of us learned English as our first and only language. I think it's so interesting that all of us came to San Jose from all over the world and enrolled in the same school to become fluent in Spanish. When we communicate at school, the only language we have in common is Spanish. I think it is a very cool connection. I'll keep you updated on when I actually consider myself "fluent". The picture below is looking up to the top of my street in Escazu. I walk to the stop sign and take a left to get on the bus.
Another cool thing I've been able to do this week is go visit another international school called Lighthouse. Fortunately, YoungLife/WyldLife and my area director Jessie have great relationships with the administration at this school and I was able to sign up to be a substitute teacher. The school also happens to be where we have WyldLife club every other week in an awesome outdoor but covered amphitheater-like setup.
Finally, I want ya'll to know that I have good friends here. The girls I work with are wonderful...me caen muy bien*. While we do not get to all be together at once often, one of those times was last night. It became very evident to me that God has provided me with a community of godly women, approximately my age, with similar life experiences, and we are all responding to the same call God has placed on our lives. Living in another country is not always easy, but it's such a blessing that we get to live a "tica" life together. It's going to be a great year.
*"Me caen bien" is a tico saying that literally translates to, "they fall on me well". It is a common phrase that people use when they get along well with someone. (I just learned it today!)
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