A revolving door

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend of mine about life here as an SI Costa Rica staff person.  Just as a reminder, there are two main part to my job here: working with and ministering to the children of Los Guido in the Tutoring Center, and working with the short term teams that come down to partner with us for two weeks at our ministry sites.  Yesterday the third team of the summer left, and I found myself feeling kind of sad and down in the afternoon after I said goodbye to them at the airport.  I was telling my friend later that I knew that this was what it was going to be like; meeting new people, investing in them, serving alongside them, and then saying goodbye to them a short time later.  I've done camp ministry in the past, been a teacher to six different groups of first graders, and obviously said "goodbye" to my entire family and group of friends to move here.  But the hellos and goodbyes are going to be a way of life for me here, and I don't know if that's ever going to get easier.  Right now during the summer season, there are a lot of people coming and going, kind of like a revolving door.  Come fall season, things will be a lot quieter and the kids at the tutoring center will probably be a bit disappointed for a while when it is only Jose and I showing up to work without our intern Rebekah and a group of "gringos."  

So what does that mean for me?  It means that I want to try and invest in the people that are here, now, as best as I can.  I want to not worry about the future or having to say goodbye to people the moment I meet them, because then I will never be able to learn to know them or learn from them.  I want to be thankful for the people that are here full time with me and will still be here at the end of summer.  And I want to be encouraged and energized by the teams that come for the short term because we are able to do special projects, field trips and work with more kids because they are here.  They really are an important part of our ministry.  I'd ask that you could pray for me, that my heart would not become calloused to the "revolving door" of people coming in and out of SI Costa Rica, but that I would be able to love and serve them, with the Lord's strength and love, as best I can.  And to know that it's ok to be a bit sad to say goodbye, that means that it was energy and investment well spent and that there was a lot of love there.

Here are some photos of friends I've gotten to know since being here, either just for a few weeks, a few months, or we are here together for the long haul:

L to R: Cailah, interns Chelsea, Courtney and Rebekah, me

Intern Courtney, also my brother Aaron's girlfriend :)

Matchy matchy roommates, I'm so thankful to have her as a friend!

Friend Rebecca in the middle there, she is here doing language school for a few months and has been an awesome chica to get to know and hang out with.

Caleb and Austin, the two guys that were at my site this past outreach.  I will miss them.

Team LG as we like to call ourselves.  The tutoring center crew from this last outreach.

My lovely intern Rebekah.  She is here for a few more weeks.  Love this girl.

15 dias de vacacciones

We are right in the middle of the two week "winter vacation" that the kiddos around here have off from school.  We also have a team here during these two weeks, so we have been able to do some fun activities with the kids that they wouldn't normally get to do during school days.  

This past Thursday we took 20 kids from Los Guido, along with 8 adults/team members, lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, brownies, bananas, balls of all types, and a first aid kit to a local park.  Los Guido is surrounded by beautiful green mountains, but the kids don't get out of their community very often, so this was a real treat for them.  We only had one bloody knee (glad we had the first aid kit!) and a few kids complain that they didn't like peanut butter, but all in all, it was a really fun day!  It was such a treat to get to enjoy the kids and their energy and joy in a different setting.  Below are some pictures from our day together:

See-sawing it up

Team member Sunshine and some of the girls

Sweet Jefferson and me

Fabian, team member Caleb and my lovely intern Bekah

Two regular kiddos Wayner and Jordany

Jose giving a "talk" to our kids

Team member Ben is enjoying himself

Captured this when Eliza grabbed my hand while we were sitting together.  Sweet girl. 

 This next week we are going to do some baking and decorating cookies with the kids, art, a visit to the Children's museum, and TBD on Friday.  I am looking forward to all of these extra curricular activities and am blessed by the awesome team members we have with us these two weeks from Hanford, CA and Oregon.  We couldn't do it without them!

And here are some fun pics with my fellow SI staffers:

Jose and me in a photo that is indicative of our friendship and work partnership :)

"Mug shots" we took on the 4th of July, "Free like a Boss."  Thought up by our interns, not quite sure where that came from but I went along with it.  :)

L to R Cailah (my roomie), interns Rebekah, Tyler, me, and Chelsea enjoying 4th of July colored flan.  I wanted to make something patriotic and they didn't have instant pudding at the store I went to so flan is what we had to go with.  Turned out ok.

 

Friday mornings at the tutoring center

Fridays are one of my favorite days of the week at the tutoring center.  The pace is different, our activities are different, and it's a time that I can be more relational with the students we are working with.  The past two Fridays have been very sweet times with our girls group in the morning.  Generally, we have been doing some sort of art or craft activity with the girls, a lesson from the Bible, a time of praying together, and some sort of delicious treat. 

Last week we were talking about the fruits of the spirit with our kids during our afternoons at the tutoring center, so we continued that theme with our girls group.  I had been doing some brainstorming with the team members that were working with me, and all of the girls agreed that they would share about one of the fruits of the spirit and how the Lord has been growing them in that area.  I was very blessed to hear these college girls share from their hearts with the girls of Los Guido, especially some of the struggles and journeys that they have been on recently.  I think sometimes my Los Guido girls can have this image that those of us from the States have it all figured out and that life is easier for us.  In reality, some of the struggles that we deal with and need to depend on the Lord for are the very same issues these girls go through.  Talking about love, joy, patience, faithfulness and self-control was a really sweet way for the team to share with the girls on a very real and personal level.  And it blesses my heart to see the college students using their Spanish to share with the girls too.

Making our coffee cake muffins (lead by some of the college students)

Girls group

The recipe for our coffee cake (in Spanish, of course!) The girls like to write the recipes we make down in their journals.

Finished products!

L to R, Intern Rebekah, four college students from Arizona, Jose and me

Yesterday was another girls group and this time the high schoolers that are here for two weeks with me shared with them about the passage in 1 Peter about inner beauty being of great value in the eyes of the Lord.  It was so interesting to hear the high schoolers from the US and the girls from Los Guido going back and forth about how they struggle with their self-image at times and the need to find their worth in the Lord.  We all are bombarded with false images from the media that makes us feel less than beautiful and of worth to the world.  We ended with a time of prayer in small groups, praying for one another in the way that we find our worth and value.

The end of our time yesterday morning was wrapped up with some delicious fruit salad and just hanging out together.  Two of the girls were asking those of us native English speakers to sing songs for them in English and then they sang songs in Spanish.  Their request for me- "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion.  For some reason, Ticos have a huge fascination with Titanic and Celine Dion, so their choice did not surprise me.  I obliged them in my best Celine impersonation, and I think it was really good for them to see my goofy side.  I think little by little, the girls of Los Guido are learning that I'm going to be here with them for a while, and it's been really rewarding to see how they are opening up to me (as well as to our team members who are here for two weeks with them).  Friday mornings are a LOT different than the rest of the week at the tutoring center, but they are an anticipated part of my work week here.  :)

Tara's fabulous home tour

By request, I have put together a collection of videos showcasing my lovely home here in Costa Rica. I am blessed to live in a place that is comfy, a (mostly) quiet neighborhood, and a very reasonable price for rent.  We do have the occasional gecko visitors and my feet are perpetually dirty because of the tile floors, but hey, if that's the worst of it, I'd say it's a pretty great place to live.  The filming isn't Hollywood or MTV Cribs quality, but I think you'll still get a good idea of where I live. :)

 

The (beginning of the) season of summer

Hi friends!  The summer season is in full swing here for Students International, Costa Rica.  I thought that before I crash into my a (hopefully) deep sleep tonight after a full day of activity I would share some pictures from this first summer outreach.  These are some pictures of the awesome college students who are here working with us this week and the hard work they are doing at the Tutoring Center:

Working on telling time and reading comprehension.

Synonyms and Antonyms

My precious reading buddy

One of our college team members and a regular student at the Tutoring Center.

Working with the older girls on the English homework

Flashcards for colors and numbers in English

Interns and me at the beach, we will go there with every team this summer. :)

The cloudy, pre-rain storm beach

Making cookies at my house with the team to be used for rewards for the kids at the tutoring center.

Yummy!!

 

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!