Home!

The morning I left Costa Rica was... intersting to say the least. I woke up at 5:00 am to find that there was no electricity in the house. I was familiar enough with the house to maneuver my way around in the dark, and I prepared myself to take a shower. In the dark. As I turned on the faucet, I was harshly reminded of two very unfriendly words: Electric shower. Which means not only did I take a dark shower, but it was freezing cold as well. I could only laugh, because I just THOUGHT I was making it out of Costa Rica without having a cold shower. I guess if my last shower in Costa Rica was my first cold one, then I can't complain!

The taxi picked Amy and me up outside our house around 6:30. Lili even got up to tell us bye, which I thought was very nice since it was pretty early! She wrote me a note in Spanish and gave it to me before I left. I will translate it for you:

"Hi, Whitney! Have a good trip. I enjoyed meeting you. Good luck with the new boyfriend. You will meet someone soon. Thank you so much for everything. I hope that you come back to Costa Rica. See you soon, Lili"


I swear, she wants me to have a boyfriend so bad! Haha.

My flight from San Jose to Dallas was about three and a half hours. Even though I was only in the Dallas airport, I immediately felt like I was home, because everything was so... In English! Lori, Amy, and I sat down for a nice American meal at TGI Friday's. Chicken tenders, french fries, and chocolate peanut butter pie. YUM! Our flight from Dallas to Little Rock was delayed, but it ended up being perfect and here is why: I had mentioned to Amy how unfortunate it was that during our time in Costa Rica, we had never gotten to see a sunset. (We were always home before dark... we made the joke that we were like the opposite of vampires.) Since our flight from Dallas was delayed, we flew into Little Rock just as the sun was setting, and it was so beautiful. :)



As I stepped off the plane, all I could think about was getting to baggage claim where I knew my family would be waiting for me. But the people in front of me were walking so slow! So I weaved my way around them, but what I did not realize at the time was that I was actually running! I got to the top of the escalator, but to get to the bottom would have taken too much time, so I took the stairs. On my way down, I saw this big group of familiar faces! Not only did I see my mom, dad, brother, and sister, but I also saw my aunt, grandma, a friend of my brother's, one of my best friends, and two of my roommates; and one of my roommates brought two of her German friends, her dad, and her dog! What a welcome party! I had no idea they would all be there. Although it was a bit overwhelming, I was so thankful that they were there to welcome me home. I felt so loved.


This is mostly everyone, although I don't think we were all ready for this picture!

As I walked up to hug my brother, he was cracking up, but I didn't know why. Come to find out, there is a camera located in the hallway where I got off the plane. I'm guessing it is so the people waiting by baggage claim can see if the people they are waiting on are about to be coming down the stairs. Well it just so happened that at the point I was weaving in and out of people and running, was when I was in view of the camera, so they all saw me. My brother said it looked just like a game on Wii, where all the Miis are walking except for one, and it is running through the crowd. We laughed about that for a good ten minutes.

After making a stop by my friend's bachelorette party and eating at Cozymel's, my family and I got home around midnight. In the days that I've been home, it's definitely been an adjustment. I was only gone for 5 weeks, but in that time, I developed new habits and new routines that are now having to be... undone basically. I find myself having a difficult time trying to explain my experiences and feelings in a way that people can fully understand. But even so, I know that I will have these memories for the rest of my life! Again, I am so grateful that God gave me this opportunity. If anyone reading this is interested in hearing more about my experiences in Costa Rica, let me know, because I would be happy to share!

Pura Vida :)

Last day in CR

Well.

Today was my last day in Costa Rica. This good thing has come to an end...

I'm trying to think of the words to describe how I feel right now... but it's a little difficult! I am sad that this journey, this part of my life, has come to an end, but I am also very excited to get home and see all the people I love... and sleep in my own bed! It will also be nice to be back where everything is familiar and English is spoken. :) Although it will be an adjustment, I think it will be an easy one.

As I think back to my first night here, I remember it being so strange. I knew nothing about this place. It was also very awkward coming into someone's home and not being able to communicate with them other than pointing at things and shaking my head. It's amazing to me how in just 5 weeks, I feel so at home here. I know which bus to take to get somewhere. I know how to get around the city of San Jose as well as the entire country! I know what to expect when I go somewhere. I know how to ask for things in Spanish. Converting dollars to colones and colones to dollars is second nature now.


Today after breakfast, we went to graduation! I received not one, but TWO certificates of achievement. They are so official!


Outside Cafe Kracovia... Our last picture together in Costa Rica :(

The ceremony was followed by lunch in the cafeteria, then we went to Cafe Kracovia for celebratory desserts. We also walked over to the main street by the University because some of the girls still had a few more souvenirs they needed to buy. Amy and I found an Internet cafe with a printer, so we went ahead and printed our boarding passes for tomorrow. When I got home, I turned on "Party in the U.S.A." to help me get pumped up for packing! Just for your information, I am now a professional "clothes roller upper." It's the best way to conserve space, and after doing it twice, I know all about it. If you ever need help packing, just let me know. Anyway, my room is so bare now... It looks like my dorm room walls whenever I move home from college for the summer. And I do not like that feeling.

If you're reading this, know that the next time I post, it will be from HOME!

Can't. Wait. :)

A's All Around

I got my grades today... A's in both classes! Woo hoo! Might I also add that all the OBU girls got A's as well!


This is me with Prof. Gamboa! She said I was an "excelente estudiante."

Before we went to the school, we went to the bank to pay our exit tax and get a customs form to fill out, just to save a little time at the airport on Saturday. After we got our grades, we rode the bus down to Central Avenue and ate lunch and looked around in the Central Market. It was so nice just to be able to walk around and know that we had no where we had to be! We eventually made our way to the Artisan Market (for the fourth time this month) to do a little last minute souvenir shopping.

Now that classes are over and grades are finalized, I feel such a sense of accomplishment. As I think back to that first day when I took my placement test, I realize just how much I have learned! If I didn't miss my family and friends so much, I would say I want to stay longer... just so I can learn even more. Even so, I feel like the experiences that I have been fortunate enough to have will definitely help me in the future. And not just with speaking another language... with becoming "an adult." :)

So I've been thinking about some of the things I am looking forward to the most when I get back, and here's what I have so far:

- Coming down the escalator at the airport and seeing my family for the first time (To be honest, there will probably be some tears of joy on my part!)
- My best friend's wedding!
- Dinner with my roommates
- Driving my car
- Mom's cooking :)
- Being able to flush toilet paper
- Texting!
- Personal space
- And many more.

Hasta PRONTO, familia y amigos!

Wonderful Wednesday :)

I had every intention on posting last night, but our internet was being stubborn! Which was really frustrating because I was in the middle of chatting with people on Facebook. So if you were one of them, I didn’t mean to leave you hanging! Anyway, I wrote this last night in hopes that I would be able to post it this morning.

Today was such a relaxed day. Our tica mom served us breakfast at 9:00, then we had the rest of the morning to hang out and get ready with no rush. We met John and Kathy at the mall around noon so we could eat and visit with them one last time before we leave. They ended up paying for our lunch, which I thought was so sweet of them! They have been so kind to us for the past month. They are always looking for groups to come down for mission trips… I have their contact information, so if you know of someone who’s interested, let me know! After lunch, we had nothing else to do and we were already at the mall so we went to see what movies were showing. The only ones in English were Eclipse (which we saw last Wednesday) and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (which we saw yesterday). But since it was only $2.00, we didn’t care… we went back to Eclipse! We made it home just before it started raining.


All of us with John and Kathy :)

Tonight at dinner was “pick-on-Whitney-night.” First, mama tica was teasing me about the fact that Hannah and Amy have boyfriends and I don’t. But she said I should get one here before I leave, and then get another one when I get home. So I told her that boys are complicated and one would be enough! Haha… Then, she started teasing me because I brought two suitcases, and Hannah and Amy only brought one. So I said, “Well, we’ll just see who has to pay a fee because their ONE suitcase is over the weight limit!” (American Airlines allows international travelers two suitcases each under 50 lbs.) Haha… All this was taking place in Spanish, which made it ten times funnier.

I'm getting so excited!!

Last Day of Class!

Apologies for not posting last night.... I had so much to do with my final and presentation being today! They both went well by the way. :) I will find out for sure what I made on Thursday. It feels so good to be officially done with class. No more studying in Costa Rica!

This is a brief synopsis of yesterday afternoon: We walk in the house after being soaked by an afternoon shower, and our tica mom accuses us of breaking her toilet. Let me just say that this toilet has not functioned properly since the day we got here. And just to be clear, we HAVE NOT flushed any toilet paper whatsoever. Haha... Lili later apologizes for being mean, and then everything is good. Weird day... and we are still having issues with the toilet.

Today after finals, we went to the mall (again.... we just LOVE the mall) to eat lunch and... see ANOTHER movie! This time it was The Sorcerer's Apprentice because that was the only one showing in English. So far, that's 3 movies in Costa Rica, and we still haven't paid what we would pay for ONE movie ticket in the states! How awesome it that? We still want to see Toy Story 3, so hopefully it will be showing tomorrow.

We have some plans for tomorrow, but Thursday is still up in the air. We will have the majority of that day to play! I was hoping to go bungee jumping, but Mom, you'll be glad to know that it doesn't look like it's going to work out. I may be recruiting someone to go with me someday in the states!


My conversation class... we had some fun times. :)


Me with my conversation teacher, Karla - She is amazing.

4 days...

Peanut Butter Par-tay!

I just had one of the greatest moments of the past 4 weeks. Hannah, Amy, and I just had a peanut butter party! We had about half a jar left after our weekend at the beach, and after dinner tonight, we just needed a little somethin-somethin to top everything off. Therefore, we gathered all the snacks we had (Oreos, saltine crackers, animal crackers) and smothered them all in peanut butter! It was pretty much a peanut butter buffet. Ah, it was so good. I'm ready for peanut butter to be a main staple in my diet again. :)


Don't you wish you could've been a part of the peanut butter feast? haha

This morning, I slept til 8:45, which is an accomplishment considering the dogs and bells that love to wake me up all the time. (The dogs were worse today than they have ever been. Some person outside thought they would be funny and howl and bark like a dog, just to get all the dogs in the neighborhood riled up. NOT. COOL.) After breakfast, I "did some homework" and got ready to leave for the day. We were originally supposed to be at the church at 1:30 because Mr. John and Mrs. Kathy wanted to cook lunch for us since it was our last Sunday. But Kathy, while she was grocery shopping for us, slipped on a puddle of water on the vegetable aisle and hurt herself. Sad day! So... we went to the mall for lunch instead. Kathy and John are wanting to meet up with us one day this week for lunch so we can say goodbye!

I was blessed today at church. I've been loving prayer request time, because everyone just voices their praises/requests in front of the whole congregation, which is small, but still. My favorite lady, the one who always prays for Obama, had lots to say today. She's so cute. One man (the one who preached the first time we were there) said that he wanted to pray for us as we go home and continue on with the rest of our lives. I really appreciated their prayers as well as their hospitality for the past 4 weeks! After the service, we all went to the fellowship hall for ice cream. :)

Here is the schedule for my last week in CR:

Monday: class
Tuesday: finals
Wednesday: free day
Thursday: pick up grades
Friday: "graduation"
Saturday: home!

I can not believe that at this time in 6 days, I will be home!

Monkeys and Sunshine

I love the beach. Yes, because of the feeling of the sand between my toes, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and the fact that you can just lay around all day and no one thinks of you as being lazy because they're all doing the same thing! But, I also like the beach for another reason. You know how some places just automatically make you feel closer to God? Well the beach is one of those places for me. I enjoy going to the beach with people, but I always have to get away by myself for a little while, just to spend some time praying and being still. As I walked along Manuel Antonio beach, I thought about the part of the creation story when God separated the land and the water:

Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the gathering of the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10

As you look at these pictures, remember that God spoke all of this into existence. I think sometimes I dismiss the fact that God wants us to enjoy His creation, but after being here in Costa Rica, I will never look at the sky, the sea, or the land in the same way. :)












Thursday after class we took a 4-hour bus ride to Quepos, which is where our hotel, The Blue Monkey, was. (Quepos is a little town about 5 miles outside of Manuel Antonio.) By the time we arrived, it was dark and pouring down rain. Luckily, our hotel just happened to be right beside the spot where the bus dropped us off! By the time we got settled in our rooms, we were so hungry. Our original plan was to find a grocery store and buy a loaf of bread to make PB&J sandwiches, but going anywhere was out of the question. Therefore, we just ate in the restaurant of the hotel. The next morning brought lots of sunshine! We had an early breakfast and then walked to the nearest store to get supplies for lunch and dinner... which was PB&J... for three meals. Haha! We then got on the bus to go to Manuel Antonio. Once we got there, the group split up because we wanted to go to different beaches. Amy, Hannah, and I walked down to the National Park, and the other girls stayed on the main public beach. To get to the beach inside the National Park, we got to walk through the rainforest! We saw several sloths and many different kinds of birds. Once we got down on the beach, we started seeing the monkeys we had been hearing so much about! After we found a spot to put our towels down, we had to find a stick to fight the monkeys away from our lunch! The three of us could not go in the water at the same time, because someone had to watch our bags... Not because a person might steal them, but because a monkey would! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.


They may be cute, but they are SNEAKY!

After a few hours, we decided to walk up to Punta Catedral, which has an awesome view over the ocean. I should actually use the word "hike" instead of walk, because that's what we did. And I was obviously not prepared, as I was wearing flip-flops! Haha! We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sand and the water, and when we felt a few raindrops, we headed back out to the main road. While waiting for the bus, we browsed through a couple of the tourist shops.

This morning, we slept in a little later (Is it sad that 7:30 is now "late" for me?) and had a hearty breakfast of pancakes! I got banana pancakes because I've never had them before, and I have to say I'm a huge fan. I mean I figured they were good if Jack Johnson had a song about them, but now I know! (Mom, please learn how to make banana pancakes.) After breakfast, I went and swam a few laps in the pool before getting ready to leave. Our bus ride back only lasted 3 1/2 hours, which we were all very happy about. Mama Tica had clean laundry and a wonderful meal ready for us when we got home!

One more week!