Gray clouds and silver linings

This past week there have been several times where things have not gone as I had planned.  Last week at girls' club I made the mistake of leaving our Bible time discussion to the end of the morning, and the majority of the girls "conveniently" had to leave to get ready for school before we could have that talk.  To be honest, it was quite frustrating for me because I feel like I've had to fight a little bit with them as of late to have some serious time.  It's all well and good while we are baking together or doing a fun craft project, but some of them have been giving me some attitude when we pass out the Bibles.  And that is not to say that all of them are doing this; I have some VERY sweet girls who have great attitudes and want to read and learn about the Lord.  It's just those few that are outspoken and make it difficult for the rest.  Kind of like a first grade classroom with those few stinkers that can make any day a bad day with their poor attitudes.  
The silver lining came after almost all the girls had abruptly left and I noticed one of my sixth graders had stayed behind.  She was helping me clean up, and when I expressed to her that I was a little frustrated about everyone else leaving and not getting to share with them from the Word, she said that she and I could still talk about it together.  We ended up having a really great conversation about forgiveness and the value of being a part of a church congregation and the pressure she feels to protect her younger sister who doesn't always make great life choices.  It is encouraging to me to see girls like her share with me, and to know that they DO notice that I care about them and am available to talk about life and faith with them.  
This afternoon I had my English class with the high school boys, and I was expecting my normal 6 or 7 to show up.  Well, in part because of the heavy rain, and in part because of lack of transportation for a few of them, only 2 were able to make it.  But these two were able to ask me all kinds of questions about English and sentence structure; it turned out to be more like a 1 on 2 tutoring session.  It was encouraging to see their hunger for learning English and also the "light bulb" turn on when they understood a concept.  And more importantly than our English discussion was our discussion about faith and some hard life situations that we were able to have afterwards.  I felt like the Lord was able to use that situation of only the two of them showing up to and allow me to listen to some of His children who were really grappling with issues of faith.  It broke my heart to hear about some of the painful feelings and situations, but also encouraged me to know that these young men know God's love and that they are NOT alone to fight these battles. 
Please join me in continuing to pray for the community of Orowe in Los Guido where I work.  The Lord is doing some wonderful things in the lives of people there, but there is also so much pain and darkness.  It can be overwhelming and enough to want to throw up your hands and give up sometimes.  I am thankful for a sweet note that I received today, a reminder of why I do what I do: "Hi, how are you?  I want to thank you for all that you have helped me with in my homework.  I love you and you are very special to me.  These words come from my heart."  
On a completely different note, below are a few photos to show how my 30th birthday was celebrated.  It was a wonderful week of birthday fun! 

SI Costa Rica friend Diana and I, trying to stay dry in the rain!

Dinner at a yummy Spanish restaurant.  Complete with birthday tiaras. 

Roommate Cailah left fun notes for me all over the house.

Noisemakers with kids at the Centro

Wonderful banner filled with pictures of my sweet niece

Peacock from our trip to Zoo Ave

Getting wet exploring Zoo Ave.  We still had a wonderful time at this beautiful animal park.

Mexican food to celebrate both of our birthdays

30 fun filled facts and Spanish phrases learned over the past year...

On reflecting on the fact that I turn 30 this coming Tues, I thought it would be fun to write 30 things I have learned to say in Spanish and/or having to do with Costa Rican culture for your enjoyment today.  :)

1) If all else fails and you don't know how to answer a question in Spanish, just say "pura vida."  It's the country's national phrase meaning "pure life" or "it's all good" or "all right!" among other things.
2) You don't say "I like her" or "I like him" in Spanish, unless you LIKE them like in a romantic sense.  "Me gusta a el" means "I want to have a relationship with him" so you have to say "Me cae bien a el" if you want to express the sentiment of "he's a nice person, I like him."  You can get yourself into a lot of trouble going around saying "Me gusta (insert name here)" about multiple males, haha.
3) "molestar" means "to bother" in English, rather than the more strong definition of "molest" in English.  Don't be disturbed if someone uses the word "molestar" in Spanish, it's very different than it's English cognate.
4) If you do not shower every morning, you are looked down upon.  My students will tell us that they need to leave tutoring early so they can go home and shower, and the other kids think they are gross that they left the house without showering.
5) A person being described as "macho" or "macha" in CR culture is a lighter haired and lighter skinned person.  I get called macha regularly.
6) We have identified that there are 18 different "honks" used by drivers in Costa Rica.  Some are to say hi, some to say get moving, some to avoid accidents, and some just used by taxi drivers it would seem.
7) A "soda" here has nothing to do with a carbonated beverage but is the name of a local restaurant usually serving typical, Costa Rican food.
8) The most typical response to say "you're welcome" to someone is "con mucho gusto."  Literally translated, "it gives me great pleasure."  Whether or not that's what the person actually intends when they say con mucho gusto or not, I like the way it sounds.  
9) A typical plate ordered at a restaurant is called a "casado," which literally means "married person."  Interesting, right?
10) It is perfectly acceptable to pull off to the shoulder of a road, freeway, etc, and put on your hazards and just "park" there for an undetermined amount of time.  I may have done that yesterday while waiting for a friend who lived off the main road to come hop in my car.  
11) "Upe!" is what is yelled by a visitor to let a person know that you are outside of their gate and would like them to come out and talk to you/let you in. 
12) Something that I have had to get over being grossed out about is the following phrase: "Estoy orinando."  Literally, in my head, that translates as "I am peeing" but it is meant to mean "I really need to go to the bathroom."
13) The air kiss, or "besito" is a common greeting and way to say goodbye to people of both genders and of all ages.
14) Taco Bell at the Desampa mall on Mondays sells 4 crunchy tacos for 1,000 colones (about $2). 
15) Celine Dion is loved by the Costa Rican people.  Every other time I go into the grocery store or ride on a public bus I hear "My Heart Will Go On" playing.  Not an exaggeration.
16) Spanglish is a common language spoken and used- examples:
17) A "watchy man" is the name of the parking lot attendant who you pay to watch your car.
18) We make coffee in a "cofie maykir" (I tried to spell it out phonetically how it is said)
19) I have heard several dogs being called "poopy" which is how you would say the word puppy with a Spanish accent.  It makes me laugh real hard.
20) If there is an object that I don't know the Spanish name of, I call it a "chunche" which loosely means "thing."  I use that one a lot.
21) Cafecito is the name for the time and occasion (usually in the late afternoon) of having coffee and some sort of delicious bread treat with friends and family.
22) "Gringo" is a word used to refer to foreigners, mostly those from the States.  I was asked when more "gringos" were coming to the Tutoring Center, and when I told them that I am a gringa and I'm here every day, they told me "well, but you're part Tica!"  Made me smile.
23) If someone is being a cheapskate about something or is someone who doesn't share, they can be referred to as "codo," which means elbow in English.  Sometimes the word codo might not be used but a tapping of the elbow will happen to indicate that that person is stingy.
24) A combination of mayonnaise and ketchup is used to dip fries in, to smoother taquitos with, etc. I usually choose to not use this condiment combination, just my personal choice.
25) Green mangoes are often sold sliced up and served with chili sauce, salt, lime, etc.  My roommie, Caliah, loves to buy them at every opportunity she can.
26) "Si Dios quiere" is a phrase commonly used.  It translates, "If God wants," and is used to say that a person will be there or do something, as long as God permits.  I love the idea of making our plans but knowing that God ultimately could change them or have a different plan.
27) Cilantro, onion, and garlic are staples of most Costa Rican meals.  I love to cook with all of them.
28) Because most houses have tile floors rather than carpet, "house shoes" are worn most of the time.  Flip flops that Californians wear all over the place are generally only worn as house shoes here.
29) "Adios" is not just to say goodbye, but can be used to say hello to someone when passing them on the street.
30) Most of the year, bringing an umbrella with you whenever you leave the house is a must because you just never know when that cloud above you will burst!

If you are still reading, thank you for indulging me in my 30 fun filled facts that I have come to know and love about this wonderful country of Costa Rica.