My first Easter in Costa Rica :)

Soo...I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this Easter and was preparing myself for completely different experience (what a woman of little faith, right?!:)). Mainly because some time ago I found out that there was not much happening here in Costa Rica during this special season. People tend to go away from Wednesday until Sunday - mostly to the beach and enjoy the end of dry season.

 

Back in England I felt like I was part of sleepovers at church :) - Thursday night at church, back on Friday morning, Sunday morning and evening and don't get me wrong I loved it! Cause Easter is a special time to remember what Jesus did for us (for me) and naturally I wanted to be with my church family.

 

But God is good and He knows my heart - in the end I ended up having a great weekend. On Thursday evening I went to church and learnt more about the Fifth Cup (Passover meal) and meditated on God's goodness. On Friday I went to see the typical Costa Rican Catholic procession (see the picture below and more on my facebook). And also I got to eat the typical meal eaten here on Good Friday - a fish soup called 'La sopa de bacalao'.

 

On Saturday I was invited to a BBQ and really enjoyed it! Great food and company! And of course great weather! :)

 

 

On Sunday (of course:)) I rejoiced and celebrated the resurrection of our Lord! And in the evening I had a nice time with my Latin Link family. 

 

On Sunday night I thought - what a blessed Easter! Though I still missed being back at home and being in the familiar environment with familiar people. But God looked after me and made sure that I was not alone and was able to enjoy this important time. However I didn't realize that it wasn't the end - tonight I went to see the movie 'God is not dead' and it was very encouraging. But mainly it made me happy that there is a movie like this out there. And yeah I know - it has many bad reviews and some of them might have a point. However the fact is that God is not dead - He is very much alive and present in our lives (definitely in mine and I am very thankful for it). And not only that - He is also good, loving, faithful, merciful, forgiving, just and I could go on and on as He has so many great attributes. And I really liked that the movie showed the reality - the absence of God in many people's lives and either their ignorance or anger. But at the same time their need for His love and grace.

So at the end of this post I would like to express my thankfulness to my Heavenly Father that I so strongly felt during this Easter.

'Dear Lord,

 

Thank you for your sacrifice, for your willingness to carry the cross for me and for dying for all my sins - past, present and future.

 

Thank you for your love, grace, forgiveness and that I can call myself your child - what a privilege!

 

Thank you that you loved me yesterday, today and forever - when the sun is shining or when it's cloudy and rainy, when I am moody and when I am happy, when I praise you but also when I forget you.

 

Thank you that despite my flaws and failures you don't stop loving me and your love is unconditional. Thank you that I don't need to make myself beautiful for you,  that I don't need to work out hard to have a perfect body, to impress you with my knowledge or status or a well-paid job. You love me no matter what. 

 

Thank you for my family and friends - all the people you sent into my life - especially those who helped me to know you more.

 

Thank you that you speak to me even when I don't want to listen and that you hear my prayers and know my heart - even when I don't feel like talking to you.

 

Thank you that you know me so well (because you created me) and know what I like and need. And thank you for not always giving me what I want as you know better and can see the bigger picture.

 

Thank you that you are in control of everything so I can completely trust in you and rest in you. Thank you that all your plans for me are good and much better than mine!

 

Thank you for this time in Costa Rica and how much you have blessed me already, for your provision and protection.

 

Thank you for being my Heavenly Father, my Saviour, my Friend, my Shepherd, my Rock, my Comforter and everything I need!

 

Thank you for the cross!'

Festival Internacional de las Artes

First 2 weeks of April San Jose hosted the Festival of International Arts. The program was full and as the title suggests, it presented the arts from all over the world. The festival had many venues in the city - the main one was a big park called La Sabana. Here you could walk around and visit many stalls with arts and hand-made products from different countries. Very nice and interesting things!

Of course there were some food stalls as well. Besides this, many concerts, performances, workshops and kids activities took place  every day. Unfortunately for rather inconvenient location I didn't manage to get there as much as I wished. Here are some pictures and videos from my few visits. I apologize for the poor video quality - my phone is not the most advanced one ;) Hopefully you'll be able to experience at least a bit of what I did!:)

 

The concert of the National Symphony Orchestra

 

 Presenting some national dances (cumbia - creole, merengue, salsa, etc.)

 

 Concert of Flamenco guitar

 

The concert of Son Mayor (my most favourite one:))

 

 And here are the promised videos :)

http://youtu.be/9RR27ckEzi8

 

http://youtu.be/otvsBQDHaaE

 

http://youtu.be/UpgaaE_FVWI

 

http://youtu.be/RA2ObjSgd10

 

http://youtu.be/-Tqxlj6FOH4

 

http://youtu.be/OMik_bxDLxc

 

Really enjoyed the concert of Son Mayor - sadly only got the end of it! Loved how people just started to dance salsa, merengue and cumbia right there! :) What a great experience!

 

The advanture continues...my last day at school

Today was my last at the language school:( I spent there 10 weeks studying Spanish and really enjoyed it! It felt like I had put all my previous knowledge of this beautiful language together and (almost) everything made sense (or not:)). There is still so much to learn though! If I think about how many years it took me to learn English and speak it! (and don't get me wrong - I am still learning this language too) The truth is that the previous experience of studying a foreign language helps! Also, love for languages and especially the grammar part helps! :) And I can't forget - having a good teacher is very important too!

 

The question is - Am I ready to go out there and speak the language? Hmm...let me think about it...NO! But I will never be - well at least not for good couple years I wouldn't be (even if I continued to study the language at the language school). But I am quite excited about what's coming next - using what I have learnt and hopefully improving day by day. It definitely won't be the same as being in the classroom (or as my Spanish teacher would say 'in the laboratory':)) - it will be more frustrating and difficult but at the same time humbling and rewarding. And with God's help it will get easier and easier every day or week. I pray that God will use my basic (well according to the language school 'advanced') knowledge of Spanish for His glory here in San Jose.

 

Here are some pictures from the language school :)

 

 

Cooking class - making tortillas

 

 

At one point we were a class of 3 chicas + our teacher Paola

 

 

But also I was blessed to have 2 weeks of 1:1 with Paola

 

 

During this time we were able to look into more problematic areas of the language...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ...but we also visited the centre of San Jose and an exhibition in order to learn more about the culture of Costa Rica and Latin America generally (if you want to know who Mafalda is, read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafalda)...

 

 

Today (my last day) I prepared a little presentation about Slovakia - in Spanish of course! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A visit to Roblealto

Last Friday I had a privilege to visit a place called Roblealto (http://www.roblealto.org). It's located in the area of Heredia, north from San Jose. Though I have so far enjoyed visiting beaches, towns and exploring the nature of Costa Rica, I have to say that this place impressed me the most! It serves as a home for children from families with extreme problems. The children live in the houses with house parents while their real parents work with specialists who help them to become a stable and healthy family. There is also a school where the chilren go every day. In the afternoons they help with house work or have other activities.

Here is the mission of this place:
"The mission of the Roblealto Childcare Association is to share Christ's love, defending the fundamental rights of children and adolescents, with proactive initiatives directed toward the nuclear family, especially those in greatest need."

During my visit I had a chance to peek into one of the classrooms. The children were learning some songs and they gladly performed for us. They were so cute! I just wanted to take them home! :)

My first 'feria' (veg&fruit market) shopping on my own

On Saturday morning I went to buy some vegetables and fruit at the local market. It was my first time on my own with the aim of buying a lot for the whole week. As I hadn't had much time before to think about what I was going to cook and eat this week, I decided to stick to the known. As you can see, there is not much of the exotic veg&fruit spirit going on! Bananas, mandarins, apples, cantaloupe, broccoli, zucchini, potatoes, cucumber, onions, spring onions, radish and now getting a little more exciting - papaya and mango! Delicious! Now, there are 2 more types of veg that I haven't mentioned yet and they might not be so common across the ocean - chayote and yucca! I am quite excited about these two as I haven't used them in my cooking before. We shall see...

 

Needless to say, there is so much more out there! And I am very much looking forward to exploring new flavours and expanding my cooking skills.

 

I have been working on the photo collection of interesting and unknown (to Europe) kinds of fruit and veg - coming soon :)

 

 

Some of my observations :)

All right! So here are some of my observations on the life and culture of Costa Rica! These are just some and not all of them - there will be more coming in future so stay tuned! :)

Let me start with my favourite one - money - ehm...of course, not for what it represents but how it looks like here! :) See for yourself! Doesn't it remind you of play money?

 

By the way, the currency of Costa Rica is called the colón (approx. -  €1 = 693 colones, £1 = 840 colones, $1 = 502 colones).

Latinos know how to have a picnic!

Today I joined a group of ladies from my church and went to the thermal pools in Orosi Valley. When it comes to meal arrangements, it was a bring and share deal! I was amazed by the amount of food everyone brought! And the variety as well! Not just some boring sandwich stuff! I like! :)

 

Here is an example of so called 'almuercito' - it has everything in it! Tortillas, scrambled eggs, chicken, plantains and of course rice and beans - all wrapped in banana leaves! It's very typical - it's something that people working at fields from early hours used to and probably still do eat. Quite obvious why! :)

 

 

 The Orosi Valley is less than one hour away from San Jose, very close to other famous Costa Rican town called Cartago (it used to be the capital of Costa Rica). It offers beautiful views as well as some hot springs :) Nice!

 

Staying fit

And lastly, other thing I noticed about Ticos is that they like to stay fit and they do something about it! There is a sports area very nearby my current home - with a sports hall, football pitch and basketball court and something like a running track. And the amount of people that uses it every day is unbelievable! There are Zumba classes every morning and evening (besides Sunday I believe) for free! More than 100 people come and join in! And one time the class was cancelled and instead of going home, people stayed and ran! Love it!

Back to Costa Rica OR 1 month and 5 days update :)

I just returned from Quito, Ecuador where I spent one week at the Latin Link International Assembly (it takes place every 4 years). It was very good and encouraging time! More than 150 Latin Link missionaries at one place. People from England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, Finland, Slovakia (of course!) and Latin America plus couple Canadians and Northern Americans! What a great mixture! I loved the diversity! I also loved that I already knew some of them thanks to either our orientation at All Nations College in December or other Latin Link related events that had happened in Latin Link office last year. It was great to see everyone again and share our experience in LA so far!

 

 

I really enjoyed getting to know everyone, listening to different stories and learning new things from each other but mainly I loved our worship time. I have worshipped in 2 different languages before but never 4! What an amazing experience! I cannot wait to be in heaven and be a part of worship in even more languages!:)

Besides being part of multicultural group, I enjoyed being in a new country and culture. Quito is an interesting place, let me tell you! First of all, being 2,800 m above sea level surrounded by the mountains! It means being higher than Gerlachovsky stit (Gerlach Peak in the High Tatras - the highest peak of Slovakia) and not only for an hour or so but for the whole week! I couldn't get my head around it! The place where we stayed wasn't directly in Quito, it was about 45 minutes away from the centre. On clear days we could see one of the volcanoes in Ecuador called Cotopaxi.

Having worked in the events department and hotel industry, I couldn't stop myself from observing the conference venue and how our snack and meal breaks were done. I know I am so sad! :) And I have to say that I was really impressed - the food was great (and in fact it reminded me of Slovak cuisine) and I loved all the details such as table decorations, food presentation and on the last day (Valentine's Day) we all were given a little marshmallow in the shape of heart for breakfast (of course besides other stuff:)). And of course everyone was very nice and helpful! This place is actually a seminary but also used for conferences and other events. Well done Semi Sud team! :) (As you can see I haven't been here long enough - my previous work is still 'hunting' me! :))

Anyway!:) All I wanted to say is that it was a great experience to be part of this conference and I am very grateful for it! From the spiritual point of you, it was very encouraging to see so many people having a heart for Latin America and to hear about their experiences but mainly to be part of God's family and learn more about God's mission. And also, as being a big fan of traveling, I am very thankful for having the opportunity to visit Quito and experience at least a bit of Ecuadorian culture.

Now I am back to San Jose, Costa Rica. I cannot say anymore than I have been here 'only' 5 weeks - it's time to settle down, get into some kind of routine but mainly learn SPANISH! :) So on Monday I am going back to school and tackle the subjunctive and other joys of this language :)