La iglesia y la sala de clase

Last week and weekend Pastor David and the youth from the church painted the walls of the classroom a nice pale turquoise that I got to pick out. They sawed down strips of metal to create a ceiling, then covered it from underneath with large rectangular tiles that they screwed into the metal structure. They spent many long hours working, and up until just before the first class started. David says the construction was last minute because of a lack of funding, and that more development was possible as donations and class tuition came in.

On Monday, the morning of my first class, Leo, the main helper was still painting, and they decided to remove the large wooden picnic-style table that was in the room and replace it with three circular plywood tables. All of the last minute activity was pretty stressful for me because it didn't seem like we would finish in time. I helped to clean the chairs that went around the tables. 

Leo built a shelf for the air conditioning unit and they closed in the metal-barred window so that no hot air could get in. It is now a completely air conditioned/fanned space with no outside air and not much outside light. When installing the ceiling they had to take out the ceiling fan that hung from the roof, as well lower as two or three light bulbs. The ceiling is now plain white with screws showing and bare light bulbs are the lamps. On the inside wall there is a sliding glass window and opposite that is the white board (from a fellow Berry grad, Eva Gordon) and the air conditioner.

Pastor David, right, drilling in the ceiling tiles with some of the youth (a few of which are taking my Thurs/Fri class)

The church office where I lesson plan and David works.

 The office bathroom is in desperate need of a door. Click "Donate" on the right hand margin of my blog if you'd like to contribute :)

 Another classroom that is in the front part of the church. I won't be using this one.

There are no services Saturday at 7am! They're at 7pm, the sign maker just printed incorrectly.

 The main sanctuary

 The hallway between the two church buildings. My classroom is the second room on the left.

The church vision: To be a disciple of Christ and a disciple of souls. 

The church mission: Reach, Integrate, Disciple, Send.

Storage closet where I found a very large spider hiding between the chairs!

 Kitchen/cafe area

Hang out/seating area.

Women's bathroom and men's bathroom.

Escaleras en el carro

el jueves, 5 de febrero

I woke up and ate Ana’s gallo pinto, which was delicious just as the morning before, with coffee and a homemade corn tortilla.

David had told me the night before that he needed to go to Liberia to do some errands and pick up a financial gift from another pastor, so I asked if I could go with him, since I hadn’t been to Liberia yet, and he said sure. He picked me up around 10:30am in the Toyota and we toted a ladder along with us, and it took up the whole backseat as well as most of the front seat.

He brought the ladder in the car so he and some of the guys from the youth could start working on the ceiling in the classroom. On Wednesday some guys came in and replaced the metal-barred windows on one side of the classroom with real glass windows that slide shut from the inside, and Thursday was the day to start work on the ceiling. Leopoldo, one of the young adults who helps out with maintenance and music, etc helped David get the ladder out and put it inside the classroom to use later.

David and I drove to Liberia with the windows rolled down, and mind you, they manually roll up and down, which is an experience I don’t have often in the States, since most of our cars now have the automatic windows. David tells me that he is hoping to sell his car and get one that’s has air conditioning, but that here all cars cost a lot more since they are all imported. While we were on the way David called the other pastor, and it turned out that the other guy was on the road as well, driving the opposite direction. So they planned to meet at a gas station we had just passed, and we turned around, got the check from him and continued towards Liberia.

First we went to the bank to cash the check, and I enjoyed the air conditioning while David talked to the teller. Then we went to the Kolbi (cellular carrier) store to try to figure out a problem with my voice mail password and David enjoyed the air conditioning while I talked to the employee. Then we got batidos (smoothies/milkshakes) and walked around the main park in Liberia, next to a big, Catholic church with sharply pointed steeples and rooftops. Within about 5 minutes of being at the park, David spotted an old friend. After chatting for a while, he called another long-time friend who works at a home-improvement store and could get us a good deal on paint for the classroom and church buildings. I picked out a pale turquoise-green for the classroom and we drove back to Comunidad.

That afternoon some of the youth from church came and helped David work on the ceiling in the classroom. While they worked I did lesson plans in the office, but focusing was hard because of the warm air and sunlight streaming through the windows and doors. We had coffee around 3 or 4 and David around 5 to go to a pastor's meeting. I stayed at the church to be available to sign up potential students and answer questions about the ESL program. Not many students stopped by, but it was good to have extra time to organize the class plans. 

The pastor's meeting ran late and consequently so did David in getting back. The band practice scheduled for that night had to be cancelled and I got home later than expected. Ana made me dinner, I watched some crime docu-dramas with her and Modesto, showered and went to bed. 

 

Diferencias

Aspects of Costa Rica that are different than the US: 

News anchors say "Dios les bendiga" and "Si Dios quiere." Faith is still a part of everyday vocabulary here, even on secular/national tv channels.

Toilet paper goes in the trashcan, not in the toilet.

Air conditioning is a rare luxury so most people sleep with a fan on.

A typical greeting is a hug and a cheek-to-cheek kissing sound.

Dishwashing is done by hand.

Laundry is done either totally by hand or with semi-automatic machines, and normally clothes are washed three times, without any fabric softener, then hung to dry.

There are many tropical fruits here that we don't have in the States: cas, jewplum, guanábana, etc: http://www.insightguides.com/inspire-me/blog/costa-rican-fruit

Cars are more expensive here so many people rely on the bus system, bicycle or taxi for transportation.

Little "pulperias," convenience stores, are scattered throughout residential areas.

Stray dogs and chickens roam the streets freely.

Squirrels have a white stripe down their back.

People get married right out of highschool or sometimes before. 15-22 is the range of when many women marry and the husband is often a few years older than the wife. 

Llegada a Guanacaste

el 4 de febrero, 2015

I woke up at around 6 feeling very sweaty and not able to sleep anymore because of the light streaming through the window and the heat. Costa Rica is in central time, one hour earlier than Georgia and the sun rises at 5:45, about one hour earlier than it rises in Georgia, so it really feels like a 2 hour time change instead of one. I Facetimed with my mom for about 2 hours, catching her up on all the details of the trip so far. 

We had planned the night before for David to pick me up at 10 to take me to the church to start planning the class calendar. He arrived around 10:30, as I expected, from what now knew about "tico time." Apparently he is one of the worst in the family about getting up late. I was still eating gallo pinto and sweet bread when he arrived, but it was no big deal to him. 

We headed out to the church and it only took about 10 minutes to arrive at the orange and brown building in the little community of Comunidad. I knew my friend Laura's family nearby, so soon after arriving I called her mom to check in. She walked over within 10 minutes and took me to her house, just a 2 minute walk away from the church, and introduced me to her mom, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. She served me a fresco de piña, fresh pineapple juice, and the granddaughter showed me her pet puppy that upon seeing me jumped up on the couch and got dust all over my white pants. Thankfully none of the clothes I brought are my favorite or most fancy ones, and I was mentally prepared for things to get dirty and to give things away at the end of the trip. 

Dinora took me to visit with her sister who lives just down the street where I met some of Laura's cousins and drank some cold water they brought me. At that point I realized that I was drinking the local water on the first day, something Trellise and Marlen had advised against. The water in Guanacaste is clean but the minerals in it are different than the US and the taste is different even than the water in San José. It tasted fine to me and I pretty much decided to just go with the flow and drink what people gave me, because if you refuse the tap water you might as well refuse smoothies and fresh juice, since those don't have purified water either. So far I've felt fine and have continued drinking the water. 

I returned to the church office and started planning the class calendar with David. His office has a fan, wrought iron barred windows (the typical kind here) on both sides, yellow walls and two foldable wooden tables for the desk. I started planning the class calendar according to the basic English test that is required to get a certificate. The test includes content that is spread throughout all four levels of the books that Berry ESL donated to me. 

The heat was pretty bad that day and I took this screenshot of the weather: 

 And this picture of my bright red face. Needless to say I'm never wearing a scarf again here in the name of modesty because it's just too hot, and no church people are offended my shoulders here, just offended by too much leg.

Later that day I walked back to Dinora's house on my own for lunch and I think everyone else had already eaten because she made a plate just for me and it took her about 30 minutes. David went to the local "Soda" for lunch, a restaurant that serves typical Costarican home cooking, so I knew he'd be a while getting back. I sat outside and talked to Laura's sister-in-law while Dinor cooked, and her little daughter showed me her "pet" chickens and chicks. We ate raw mango with salt, a very sour and bitter experience, but tasty and fresh nevertheless. Here they eat the mango whenever it grows, not matter if it's still green or if it's ripened. 

David and I worked til 7ish when Raquel arrived from work and I rode back with her to Ana and Modesto's house. That evening Ana and I went to culto de oración (prayer meeting) at David's church. I wore my same clothes from earlier that day, white capris, brown sandals and a pink tank top, with my hair in a simple braid, and Ana and her daughters said I should wear whatever I felt comfortable in, so I just didn't change. I felt a little out of place once I saw all of the elderly women in their short-sleeved dresses with skirts down to their knees, but I don't think anyone judged me for that. I got a lot of stares and weird looks, probably just because I was the only pale-skinned, sandy-haired person there. David played piano and sang worship songs for the first 30 minutes as people filed in and took their seats. I think about 30 people came all together and 

el 3 de febrero, 2015

We ate breakfast together, Jose, Marlen and I and spent the rest of the day packing, cleaning and working on our computers. I finished some blog posts from other days and imported a lot of photos onto my computer, Jose worked and Marlen studied. It was a very low key day since we knew we were leaving in the afternoon. I talked with Trellise, the former missionary that organized this trip for me, and she reminded me to meet up with Pastor Guido in Santa Ana to give him a gift from her. I tried calling Guido 10 times, left him a Facebook message, text message and a whatsapp message, and still he didn't answer, so I did all I could do to make a connection. The plan was to leave at 5 but we ended up leaving around 6 (tico time) and went straight to the ATM for me to get cash and to add credit to my phone.

I called David, the pastor who I would be working with, and we planned for me to get dropped off at the church in Comunidad instead of at the house in Palmira. That wasn't the most convenient plan for Jose and Marlen since Comunidad was farther away, but David said he couldn't leave the church til 8. So we set out on the road driving north away from Santa Cruz and I texted David as we got closer. When we were almost to Palmira, passing Filadelfia de Guanacaste, I texted David and he said he could just meet us at a supermarket in Palmira instead of us having to drive all the way to Comunidad. That worked out a lot better for Jose and Marlen and saved them maybe 20 minutes extra driving time to get back to San José. We met at the Atsecatsa supermarket in Palmira and put all my bags in David's little Toyota sedan.

I said goodbye to Marlen and Jose and we promised to see each other again, sometime soon. David took me to his suegros (in-laws). David is the pastor of Iglesia Misionera Fuente de Restauración in Comunidad (north of Palmira) and his father-in-law, Modesto, is the pastor of the main church in Palmira. Modesto is the leader of a brotherhood of pastors in the area with 46 members. All the churches are evangelical Christian and are located in the surrounding province of Guanacaste. Once a month these pastors meet to plan activities and community gatherings between the churches. 

We parked on the right side of the street and opened a large metal gate that lead to the house. Just inside the front door I saw a long dining table with a turquoise table cloth and lots of young women sitting around it, as well as an elderly woman. I said hi to everyone and the mother-in-law, Ana showed me to my room. Ana is in her late 50s and has dark grey hair and brown skin. I met David's wife, Raquel and his son, Adrian, as well as a few of Raquel's sisters. Ana and Modesto had seven girls and one boy, and all of them are now married with children. Their youngest child is 22 and their oldest grandchild is 21, if I remember correctly. 

We all sat down and ate rice and beans together with fruit juice, all at the long table, Raquel, David, Adrian and Ana. Adrian is 5 years old and goes to a private school in the area where he is learning English. Raquel works with a tour company in the sales department, and Ana is the pastor's wife and takes care of everyone, including her ailing father. 

After David and Raquel left I sat on my bed and caught up with friends and family, reveling over the fact I had wifi in the house, my own bed and a fan in the room. I wasn't sure what to expect, although Trellise had told me there was lots of space in the house, I didn't think they'd have wifi. That night Ana gave me an extra quilt for the bed, one made by her daughters for their family business, and helped me make it up. The quilt is bright blue with flowers and has a skirt around the edges, kind of like a bed skirt/spread. My walls are turquoise/ green painted cinderblocks and I have sheer white curtains. The floor has brown linoleum tiles and the ceiling has a brown wooden molding. I have a small shelf and nook for my clothes and a table where I put books and toiletries. There are a few hooks on the wall where I can hang towels, scarves and bags. Out my window I have a nice view of the front porch, a fruit tree and the street. Ana and Modesto's room is next to mine and the bathroom is in the same hallway. 

Anna came in and sat on my bed for a while, telling me how happy she was to have another "daughter" in the house to keep her company, even though the rest of her daughters still live nearby and visit almost daily. She broke down and cried about the recent death of her mother and the fact that her father is sick. She said she always loves to host guests and is was happy to have me in her house. 

I met Modesto before I went to bed. He is a few years older than Ana, with short grey hair, dark brown skin and a smaller stature than that of Ana. He works in construction and is also the main pastor, so he comes home late every night, tired after working all day. They were both very friendly and welcoming to me, saying I should feel at home. 

Playa Avellanas

El 2 de febrero

I woke up around 8 and ate breakfast with Jose and Marlen in Santa Cruz. We had corn tortillas, cheese and scrambled eggs and coffee.
This was the day we were going to the beach! I was very eager to see it but we had plans to leave in the afternoon so that Jose could work that morning. So Marlen and i walked down to the river close to their house instead. I put on athletic clothes and running shoes, sunscreen and bugspray and we walked down the street to the left.

Their Santa Cruz house is on a dirt road, from what I remember, and it gets bumpier as you head towards the river. When the street hit a dead end, we turned to the right and separated the barbed wire in the fence of their neighbor's banana field and climbed through. We walked down along the edge until we reached another barbed wire fence, and we climbed through that as well, then turned left and walked on a trail downhill through the woods to the river.

Marlen made sure to warn me about certain plants where small ants build their homes, and said not to even touch the plants because the ants would come out to defend their home and their bites are worse than any other ant.

We walked down to the river that looked more like a creek, since it's the dry season here (December to July) and Marlen switched to her water shoes, while I took off my socks and put my running shoes back on. We walked around in the water and on the river bank, chatting the whole time and caught a glimpse of an iguana race on a hill above the river. We sat and read the Bible together and then headed back to get ready for the beach.

We packed up the car and drove about 40 min away to Playa Avellanas. The beach parking lot we stopped in had a huge pig in one corner, with its own hut and mud pit. Apparently the pic is legendary and the owners just keep it out all day on that part of their property for the surfers and tourists to see. We chose to park a little farther down so that we could have our own trees for shade and not be stuck in the sun or sharing shade with other people. We found another lot nearby and took about three trips back and forth bringing our bags and barbecue supplies out to a shady tree we found near a small lodge/restaurant's gate.

We arrived just before sunset and the view was amazing. I had a 180 degree view of beach and on the other side was trees and driftwood. Marlen and I swam in the water, collected shells and walked between the large black rocks looking for starfish. Jose sat back and watched until we returned and then he started grilling the chorizo, steak and pork we had brought along. We spread out a bedsheet on the sand for me and set out two plastic chairs for Marlen and Jose. We took pictures in the nearby trees as the sun set and once again found a dog that stuck with us the rest of the night, probably hoping to snag some food. We ate the meat with corn tortillas, pico de gallo, bean dip and corn chips. After we ate, Marlen and I walked down the beach a ways and she sang all the English praise songs she could remember and I sang as many Spanish ones as I knew. I also taught her some swing dance steps and she learned very quickly!

After that we went back to Jose and talked for a while, gazing at the stars and singing songs. On the way home we stopped and took pictures at the entrance of a resort, Hacienda Pinilla, run by the founder of the scholarship program that sends Guanacastecan students to universities in the United States.