Primera Semana

Well ive officially been here for a whole week! And so much has happened and changed that I feel like I have been here for months. The last few days in Monteverde were so great…I went horsebackriding through the mountains on a really cool farm where there was a litter of german Shepard puppies that were sooo cute and we got to make cheese and see how milk, sugar and coffee is produced. We got to eat fresh coffee beans and different forms of sugar like agua dulce, caramels and something else really good ohh and we rode in an ox cart that are hand painted and saw how the ox used to pull this machine to produce sugar from suar cane which we also ate and was soo good. Went shopping in Santa Elena and all got icecream. Than my last two nights with my family were sooo wonderful…there was a party with all the families of the group and I accidently said the word for shit instead of snack which my table found very amusing as did I and now is one of the favorite stories of one of the program directors who is so affectionate and friendly like most people here. Than walked back in complete darkness with my family which was actually really fun, we all tried to scare eachother in the dark and the amount of stars you could see was incredible it was so beautiful. Than the last night with my family we all looked at pictures of my sisters when they were little and it was soo cute and we were all finally able to really loosen up and feel like a family and of course I had to leave the next day..que triste! I had a great talk with my madre there she told me about how both the fathers of her two kids left her and she didn’t have money to send her daughter to school but her church group and family came together and helped. We have very similar ideas of faith and life…the church group came over to our house because that is how they have there gatherings every Saturday at a different house of about 20 people and all the kids play and anyone can participate and add to the service…(for dana and krystn) it was totally like the Gathering Costa Rican style!!!! It was sooo cool and moving for me, they sang like the same songs but in Spanish and it was just that exact same surrounding of faith that the Gathering has, my madre has a somewhat similar philosophy on religion that all the rules and like sins are not what the importance of faith is all about anyway the sermon was given my a family friend and from what I could understand she had a wonderful mentality and talked about how the material things that we worry and think about are not what jesus and god teach I guess? Anyway it was an awesome experience and the next morning after playing futbol with mi hermana I tried to like hide from the guy from the institute who came to get me. But my family said I can come back and visit and even buy the really high quality coffee straight from her friend who works in the farm we toured. I miss them and Monteverde sooo much. I really loved it there it was just so beautiful all the time and I will never forget the people I met there. I was telling them how I was sad to leave and scared of the new family cuz its just a retired couple and mi madre said “we are your real family and they are like your grandparents” so far that is exactly how I feel this will be like.

So obviously I am now in heredia with my new family and University. It is 2 different worlds yet again between here and Monteverde. My new family is very nice, both the mother and father are easy to talk to and have one married son who lives near by. I went with them the first day to a big family gathering and the people here are soo soo different from in Monteverde, it really reminded me of American family gatherings..the adults talked about politics and the kids just came in and out. I talked to this 18 year old girl for awhile and really had to be patient with my own Spanish skills..i taught all the little kids the word fart which they repeated very loudly and often the rest of the time. Even in the kids there were major differences in Monteverde the kids I met were very polite, shy, patient and mature..here its defiantly more like America. The house here is very nice I walked in and was like taken aback at the big TV, modern kitchen and bathroom that coming straight from Monteverde were incredible luxuries. Anyway Monteverde obviously holds very special memories and experiences of this trip but hopefully Heredia will also be full of good things to tell. Sooo on to life here now!

Today toured the University and city all day and it is a very interesting city with lots to do and see.