Voy a mi casa

My class at graduation. Our teacher is in the middle. I'm going to miss these wonderful people.

Sandra Li and I. She is probably the greatest Spanish teacher that I have ever had.

I have only been home for about 3 days, but I already miss Claire so much!

We call this our spend the night club. Victoria and Lynnae hung out with Claire and I most days. And one of my last nights in Costa Rica we all spent the night together and ate cookie dough. Good times.

The University of Costa Rica has some seriously huge bamboo. This is one set that lined a bridge through campus, pretty awesome.

So excited to be graduating! :)

I had a "Mom" moment when I demanded that Claire get a picture in front of the sign too.

I realized on my last morning that I hadn't taken any pictures of my food! So, here it is a typical Costa Rican breakfast. Gallo Pinto, scrambled eggs, fruit, cafe con leche, and fresh squeezed juice.

 Now that I am home from Costa Rica I feel a lot more relaxed, even though I do have about a million things to do. Most of my projects consist of wedding prep. So, after dinner last night I had some of my beautiful, wonderful, and most talented friends (I had to butter them up a little) help me address wedding invitations. Valerie, Hannah, and Katie all helped me make a huge dent in this rather large project. Katelyn also helped with moral support and clever comments.

Hannah and Katie rocking the envelopes.

A little invitation preview. Getting these right took a lot of time and numerous emails, but they finally arrived exactly the way I wanted them.

Valerie is super-skilled in calligraphy and printed some of the most beautiful letters. She definitely put my print to shame.

Katelyn had a painting project of her own going on.

 After this crazy month abroad I am so delighted to be home. I don't know that I have ever appreciated it as much as I do now. I only have a month left in this house and I want to show off some of the wonderful things that I missed while away.

Although my dad pretends to dislike Essie I realized how much he loves her when I came home to find about 50 different cat toys scattered around the house.

How can you not love that face?!

Mom's gardens are pretty much amazing!

Blueberries, I have been enjoying these in my cereal in the mornings.

My home for the past 21 and half years.

Shelia the Civ

The path that leads to my Granny's yard. Always felt kind of magical to me.

The backyard and all it's greenery. 

Being home is certainly wonderful. I do miss my Tico family and definitely Claire, but I am so glad to be home. I have gotten to spend a little bit of time with Josh (which has been so nice!) and hopefully in the coming weeks we'll get to spend more together! I am just really excited about life right now. Our wedding is only 4 and half weeks away! I cannot believe it's so soon! I don't know that I have stopped smiling. I am really enjoying my time at home with my parents too. Mom played hooky on Monday and we did a lot of wedding activities. Pretty soon the teas and showers will be starting and then the wedding will be here!
Well, I hope to post more wedding projects later on, but for now I hope you're loving on your sweet family and friends!
-e

Costa Rica: El Día de la Adventura

 

Yesterday was probably one of the most fun days I have ever had! Claire and I decided to go on a super Costa Rican adventure (all by ourselves!). We went on a combo tour that included whitewater rafting and canopying (ziplining).  Since this was going to be my last adventure in Costa Rica, we decided that it better be big and let me tell you, it was amazing! Not only did we get to experience some of the most beautiful scenery in the country we got to raft and fly through the jungle! And to top it all off, I conquered a major fear of heights!

All geared up and ready to go (sort of!)

What you don't see in this picture is my shear terror!

We saw a sloth! So slow, but so adorable!

After a couple of times I finally got comfortable.

So crazy, I can't believe Claire convinced me to do it!

By the last course I felt pretty confident!

Met this gigantic spider during lunch!

We were very blessed weather-wise yesterday! Rained as soon as we finished ziplining!

Crazy-adventurous-sunburnt-wild-women

All in all my time in Costa Rica has been pretty crazy. I still can't believe that I have only been here a month.  I have a theory that Costa Rican time is very similar to Narnia time. But, I can say that I have learned a lot being here. I have conquered my fear of Spanish, heights, and ladrones. I acquired a love for plantains, smoothies, and a sweet little Tican family. I can ride the bus by myself and find my way around a pretty scary city.
I realized this morning over breakfast that I have spent pretty much every hour of the day with Claire. We have gone absolutely everywhere together this month, even class! I am ready to go home, but I wish I could take Claire with me! The thought of leaving her is making me pretty sad. I don't what I am going to do when I go out to eat, who will split everything with me?! But, seriously, I am so so so thankful that I got to experience this month with one of the coolest and most precious friend that I have.
Well, that is that for my Costa Rican adventure! Today, Claire and I are going to graduation and then I leave bright and early tomorrow morning! Can't wait to be home, I'm never going to eat rice again. :)
Thanks for keeping up with me here, and get excited for wedding extravaganza!
Go love on someone!
-e

Peeling off the dragon skin

I have been pretty out of sorts during my time in Costa Rica. Tonight I found myself completely baffled as to why I am even here. I even asked the Lord, "God, what am I doing here?!". I have been robbed, physically and emotionally drained, and completely put out by the stress that I've encountered. But when I went to the Lord what did I find? Joy, of course! It frustrates me that I didn't run to Him sooner. He desires the sacrifice of thanksgiving. That is not only when things are jolly-skippy, but when I can't possibly feel thankful.
Tonight, I came to the Lord with no joy at all and now am resting in His overwhelmingly joyous presence!
"I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord." -Psalm 116:17
"Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord Answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes." -Psalm 118:4-9

God has a way of peeling off my dragon skin and then covering me with the balm of His presence.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:4-8

I do not claim to be in a constant state of thanksgiving, but I do know when I call to the Lord, He answers. He is not harsh, nor is He condescending. I am here because He wants to draw me to Himself. Praise the Lord that He desires relationships with His children and loves us enough to seek us.
Tonight, I am resting in the joy of salvation. I am so thankful for the bad things because, if anything, they are what brings me to the table of the Lord.
-em

Costa Rica: Saturday Van Adventures

I am currently 26 days into my Costa Rica "experience", and only have 6 more to go. It is a crazy thought that I will be heading home on Sunday. I must say that I am so ready to be on the other side of that 7 hour flight. I am missing my family and friends quite a lot and especially missing Josh. I think skype is either the greatest or worst invention ever, still can't decide :)
But, until I leave on Sunday I have several more adventures in Costa Rica. I am actually experiencing one right now.
It is rainy season in Costa Rica (aka winter, although the temperature never falls below 75) and when it rains the bugs come out. And boy do they like my room. ( It must be the sweet cartoon animal train wallpaper). I am spending tonight battling the flying worms. I don't think that is the scientific name but that is the best way I can describe them. They start out as worms then grow wings and fly around my room until I kill them with my flip flop or until they die of natural causes and shed their wings all over the place. Death is not the end for these bugs however. Luckily for me I don't have to clean up these tragic remains because the "ant ambulance" comes by just in time for dinner. Yum.
Oh Costa Rica.
Well, beyond bugs I got a chance to get close to some other wildlife this weekend. Claire and I, along with 13 other friends from our program rented a tourism van and decided to go see Costa Rica. This adventure started off at 7 in the morning accidentally leaving one of our passengers ( we went back for him!). Then we traveled out of San Jose all the way to Puntarenas. Unfortunately, on our way we had a bit of van trouble. This is to be expected in Costa Rica, because everyone and everything is on Tico-time. I am learning that no matter what, things will take at least 30 minutes more than expected. This is if you're lucky. This is not too strange for me because I did grow up on Rock Creek time. :)  After a nice truck driver stopped we were able to  drive our van to a service station. While the van was getting worked on we went to do a little hiking in a river close to the service station. This was such a refreshing break!
We then headed to the coast of Puntarenas where we chowed down on tacos and smoothies. After our little break we kept driving to our destination of wonder. The Crocodile bridge.

Isn't she a beauty?!

The Coast of Jaco

After all the shenanigans Claire and I still love each other. I don't know what I am going to do without her next month!

We had a day full adventure that is for sure.
But the fun didn't stop there! After seeing the Crocs and trying to feed them frozen fish ( which is illegal, didn't know that) we headed to Jaco for dinner. After this short beach town detour we headed home. Our bus only broke down one more time on the way home and we were able to make it safely back to the house. PTL!
We had a wonderful weekend. On Sunday we got a new roommate from South Carolina and we went to our 1st Catholic Mass in Spanish!
Overall it was a memorable weekend. I am hoping that this week of classes goes by quickly because we're planning on going on an excursion this Friday. Stay tuned to see where we end up!
Thanks for keeping up with all my crazy Costa Rican adventures. I hope that you are loving on somebody this week, I know we all could use a little more of that!
amor,
e

Busy Week: Tico Style

My 2nd week of school started with a wonderful class picnic, then on Wednesday we took another field trip to the Teatro Nacional (National Theatre)( This is considered to be the jewel of San Jose..which in my book is not saying much. This city is pretty sketch and dirty. But after visiting it's jewel it made sense. The theatre is pretty gorgeous.)

 

This week has been a little bit rough, considering my home sickness and having class for 5 hours straight kind of makes ripping every hair out of my head seem like a pleasant idea. But, I refuse to be negative. (sort of...) After a long week (ironically only 3 days of classes , but really I think I aged dramatically.) we got a group together and decided to go to the beach. Not just any beach, but Santa Theresa, Mal País. This little beach town is home to some of the trendiest hostels and cafes and any kind of surfer you can imagine. The trip to this magical place took about 7 hours (crazy..I know). We took a taxi, a charter bus, a ferry, the same charter bus, a rather rickety bus, and finally walked 30 minutes to our bungalow. Although this may seem like a crazy thing to do just to go to the beach, but after arriving the first night I realized that it was so incredibly worth it.

On Friday night we spent a good deal of time at the beach and let me tell you, I have never been so shocked by scenery before in my entire 21 years of life. These pictures do not do this beach any justice! We I walked out onto the beach I was just in awe of the magnitude of this ocean.

We had an amazing open air bathroom. So, I got to shower outside! So cool!

This is a theme in Costa Rica and a very hard habit to break.

Out open air bungalow, it was so amazing to sleep in, especially when it rained.

Our view from the balcony.

Costa Rica has some pretty rough waves.

Our bungalow, the Funky Monkey.

When Lynnae was taking our picture a dog decided to go to the bathroom on her leg.

Lynnae fussing at the dog.

Jumping Photo Try #1

Jumping Try #3

Final Jumping Try.

All in all a great weekend. Ready for week #3!