Desampa Culture

I've been living in Desamparados, Costa Rica, for 85 days now.  Every day I learn something new about the culture.  Today I thought I'd post some pics to give you some insight into Costa Rican culture.

Houses have bars/gates in front of them, and sometimes they have barbed wire.  It's a little tricky if you want to visit someone unexpectedly, but you just bang your keys on the gate and yell "upe!" to let your friends know you're there.

Soccer is huge.  It seems like everyone who lives around here is a very devoted fan of one of these two teams.  I have yet to choose which team/colors I support, I want to be fully informed before I make my decision.  :) 

Just one of the many young singers who is all the rage right now.  I hear Gusttavo Lima and his "Balada" everywhere.  It's pretty catchy, I'll admit.

Characters and clowns such as this are very popular.  Not quite sure why.

Combate, a reality tv game show, is the obsession of everyone high school and under.  You have to be super attractive and fit to be on this show.  I have chosen the orange team, strictly so I can relate with the students I work with.

Giant umbrellas like this are very common, especially with men.

Gallo pinto is the mix of black beans and rice with onions, known as a comida tipica.  Often served with eggs and platanos.  YUMMY!!

Faux hawk haircuts and piercings/tattoos are extremely popular with the young male population. 

Thursday is trash pickup day, so this is an accurate picture of what the streets look like.  Be careful where you walk on Thursdays!

Tutoring Center 101

Now that I've been at the tutoring center for two weeks, it's time to lay out for my blog readers what, in fact, it is that goes on at the tutoring center.  The easiest way to do that is to share what this past week looked like for me.


Monday I do not go to the center because it is our staff meeting and planning day.  Our staff meetings are held at Jeff and Tracey Dixon's home in the office they have upstairs.  During staff meetings we have a time of eating something delicious together, followed by a time of worship (both in English and Spanish).  We talk about prayer requests and praises, and then we take time to pray for each other.  We have been reading through the book of James together, as that is the book we will be studying with our teams that come.  I really appreciate these times of Bible study because they are done in Spanish and English, back and forth between the languages quite seamlessly.  My Spanish is not quite so seamless yet, but I am finding that I understand a whole lot and just need to keep on trucking with my oral Spanish.  After our James reading and discussion, we talk about logistical things such as the schedule of events for the upcoming week and needs at the specific sites.  We end around lunch time and then have the afternoon for planning together and running errands for the week ahead.  Today we did an  inventory and organization of donations we have received, lots of good stuff!

Coffee and chatting time before we begin our meeting

Intern Courtney and me, I'm sporting the national soccer jersey

Tuesday-Thursday the schedule at the tutoring center is pretty much the same.  On Tuesday we have the younger students come in the morning for tutoring, then the older students come after lunch. Because of their school schedules alternating every day, Wednesday we have older kids first, then the younger, and then on Thursday we're back to younger first than older. They come with their homework, notes from class, or practices to be finished to prepare for exams.  Jose and I talk with them to see what it is they need to be working on, and we get to work.  This past week I practiced reading ca, ma, sa, etc. syllables and words with Hadassah, helped Ruth practice her handwriting, drilled Weyner on his numbers in English, and read with Joyce, among other things.  Some of the students really struggle in school and need extra support from us, and some just need a quite place to work because their home is too noisy or chaotic.  It has been a stretch for me to explain math and science concepts in Spanish, and I'm so thankful for Jose's help (and the Spanish/English dictionary!)  

Joyce and me reading

On Tuesday afternoons during about the last 45 minutes of the day, Jose has been doing a Bible lesson with the students.  A lot of our students attend local churches and have a knowledge about God, but we have the privilege to share about Jesus with them on a more individual level, hear about what is going on in their lives, and pray with them.  Wednesday and Thursday afternoons we have art time together.  I've really enjoyed being able to share some of my experience of doing art at Malaga School with the students in Los Guido.  They have been doing a great job of being creative and getting to use some art supplies that they don't use at school or at home.  I am proud that I was able to teach the art lessons in Spanish, not perfectly, but well enough that they understood what my objective and instructions were.  :)


Friday we have girls' club in the morning while Jose has a bike club he does with the boys outside.  Girls' club is open to young ladies from about 9 and beyond, and it is a time for the girls to come and have a safe place to talk, be themselves, share about what is going on in their lives, and pray together.  We also have a lesson connected to some Scriptures to point the girls towards the biblical truths that Jesus wants them to be learning.  We also usually have a snack of some sort that we have made together or one of the leaders made ahead of time.  This week my team member, Tracey, was doing some counseling with one of our girls who has recently dropped out of school.  The girl is very discouraged and doesn't want to return, but because she only has a fifth grade education at this point, Tracey has been encouraging her to re-enter school and come to the tutoring center during the week to get some extra help from us.  The girls' group is a really special and important part of the job assignment in this community, and I'm looking forward to getting to know these girls more, investing in them, and helping to show them the value they have in the eyes of the Lord.


Friday afternoon we have library time with the students, and any age is welcome to come (as long as they are not ditching school to be with us, as some of them would like to do).  We have a time where they can read independently or in groups books they find in our library.  Then Jose or I do a read aloud with the students (which I just LOVE to do!) and then we have a book talk afterwards.  This week I read the book "El Pez Arco Iris el Rescate" or "Rainbow Fish to the Rescue."  We talked about the good Samaritan in connection with the plot of the book and then made our own rainbow fish drawings.  The students do not have very many (if any) of their own books in their homes, so library time is a special treat to get to share the love of literacy with them.  As a first grade teacher, there's nothing that I enjoy more than seeing kiddos loving to read.

Kiddos reading together during library time

Interns and kids reading together

So there you have it, that's my week of working at the tutoring center!  Every day is different and full of it's own challenges and rewards.  We'll see what this week has in store for me!

A week of firsts

This has probably been the most exciting week that I've had in Costa Rica to date.  The theme of this blog post is "firsts" because there have been a whole bunch of them.  It started off with my first staff retreat with the rest of the SI Costa Rica staff.  We went to the Ara Ambigua Lodge which is about 2 hours away from Desamparados.  While we were there we did team building activities, times of worship and Bible study, sharing of testimonies, and of course, yummy food.  This was the first time that I had shared "my story" in Spanish, and I was really proud of that big accomplishment.  Was it perfect, not even close, but did our national staff understand me, mas o menos.  :)  Overall, it was a really great time of getting to know my fellow staff members better and just enjoying a beautiful place together.  Here are some pictures of the place and my team:

Tracey being my mute guide while I'm unable to see.  What a team!

The cute casita that we stayed in.

View from the back patio.  Pretty much in the rain forest.

Our staff in a meeting, it was hard to not be distracted by the beautiful outdoors.

After we got back to Desamparados, I spent my first night in my new house with my roommate and friend and SI teammate Cailah!  It is a really cute house that is very comfortable.  A bonus is that my bedroom window has a stunning view.  I actually sat outside on my window sill this morning and had some time with the Lord.  I'll have to try and make that a regular occurrence.  Here is what I see when I look out my window:

 Monday was my first staff meeting that I attended.  Since Monday was also my birthday (the first of several that I will experience in Costa Rica), my friend Bekah made pancakes for us to enjoy.  It was cool to be able to be in the staff meeting and here everyone share about what's been going on at their sites as well as to pray for one another.  We also talked about the summer and the teams that will be coming within the next month.  After our meeting I had a meeting with Jose, my coworker at the tutoring center, but not until after we had eaten some Taco Bell and I enjoyed a Dr. Pepper (NOT an easy beverage to find in this area!)  

 In honor of my birthday, I went out to dinner in San Jose with Cailah and Bekah.  I had been to a yummy Asian restaurant the first month I was here and decided to try it again.  We enjoyed sushi, kung pow chicken and a shrimp stir fry.  Jokingly I was talking about how embarrassing it would be if they sang to me, and sure enough, within five minutes, I had a whole host of waiters come and sing the Happy Birthday song, supposedly in Thai.  Since I don't speak Thai, I can't really judge how well or poorly they sang it.  Nonetheless, a yummy dinner with new fun friends was a nice way to end the day. 

The really special hat they placed on my head while singing to me.

 A really important first was that this week was my first week of working at the tutoring center!!  More than a year and a half after first hearing about the position and the need for a teacher, I started working with the kiddos the day after my birthday.  Overall it has been a good week!  I've learned that it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the bus stop from my house, and then it is about a 15 minute bus ride to the Center.  My Spanish, while it is way better than it was when I came to Costa Rica in March, still has a long way to go and will be a continual prayer request.  But it has been special to get reacquainted with the kids I met last summer and try and help them in whatever areas they need to work on in their school work.  Wednesday and Thursday afternoons I taught art lessons to the kids and that was a lot of fun!  The first art lesson that I always did with my Enrichment kids when I worked in Fowler was a symmetry name art lesson, and that is the same lesson that I did with the kids on Wednesday.  Here are some pics of the kids in action and their finished products:

 Now I'm enjoying my first Friday night in my new house, and look forward to the first Saturday morning sleeping in tomorrow.  :) 

Fun day with my host family

As a way of saying thank you to my host family for all the love and care they have shown me, I treated them to a trip to the Museo de los Ninos in San Jose.  One thing I appreciate about the Desamparados and San Jose area, and perhaps all of Costa Rica, is that admission to things are really reasonable.  I can go to a movie in the evening for about $5 or a soccer game at the National Stadium for like $8.  The museum was also super affordable which is really nice for families.  So if your family would like to come visit me we can go to the children's museum.  :)

Here are some pictures of some of the things we saw/did there:

The girls driving a space vehicle

"Eating" comida tipica

The whole family, trying to smile while looking into the bright sunlight

Bubbles!

Really cool slide.  I was too big to go down unfortunately

Shopping at the faux Walmart

And just because Aladdin is my favorite and he was hanging there in the library section for some reason.

And here is one more photo because I'm gonna miss this precious little girl a lot.  We will have dinner dates and other things to do with each other in the future, but it will be different than living with them.

Gifts of Love

Today is May 1st, also known as May Day, and apparently, National Workers Day.  I actually don't know what today is called in English, but here in Costa Rica its called Dia del Trabajador.  I don't think I'd ever really heard about it until a few weeks ago, but Costa Rica celebrates it, and thus, I have no school today.  :)  

I was looking around my bedroom this morning and thinking that it's been a long time since I've had a place to truly call "my own."  I moved out of the house I'd lived in for 3 years, then I moved in with Annie, and now I've been living in my host family's home.  I think the "unsettledness" of not having a place where I can really unpack my things has been difficult.  I have two weeks left living with my host family and going to language school.  While it's been a really wonderful experience and I have been learning SO MUCH everyday, I'm looking forward to being able to unpack my suitcases and stay awhile.  

On the flip side, as I was looking around my room this morning, I noticed how many things I have that have been given to me out of love from friends and family.  I took photos of them to document my "gifts of love" and I'd like to share them.

Tim Tebow wasn't a gift :) but the journal is from Erin, the bilingual Bible from my girl friends, Jesus Calling from my counselor at MTI and the Spanish Bible from Cindy.

Deck of cards with "love notes" from my jr. girls, calendar from Malaga friends, heart box from Sofia, picture of jr. girls and me from Kaitlyn, and my pile of cards from lots of friends and family members.

My Tom's shoes that I wear ALL the time from my Malaga friends, and the pillow case made especially for me by my aunt.

Picture frame from Britni, note from Noel, and a very special photo book from my girl friends.

I have more special gifts that are still packed in my suitcase and will be displayed and used once I move in with Cailah.  I don't want to sound like I'm all about having "stuff" because that's not really it.  Sure, having stuff is fun, but it's what the stuff represents (or who they represent) that matters more.  Thanks to all the special people in my life for the visuals of your love and encouragement of me.