So this stretch of not updating my blog has been longer than ever before. SORRY! The summer was crazy busy and then I was back in the States for most of the fall with my family. Well to be a little better I decided to try something a little new and hopefully more interesting than a somewhat monthly update. I'm going to try to regularly update an album on facebook with a lot of the daily type things that occur in my life here. I just started, but hope to keep up with it better. It should give you a greater glimpse into my daily life here.
Check it out here: Life in the CR is always interesting
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
First Summer Update (and much too late)
As you can probably tell from my lack of blogging, we've been kept very very busy this summer. It's hard to know even where to begin, but I'll try. (Warning: I'm way behind, so this is going to be long!)
Eastern: The Masters students from Eastern University's International Development program spent a week with us at the end of April. We outfitted the ADE center with a new kitchen and bunk beds enough for 27 people - and just in time. It was a great experience for everyone involved. The Eastern students got to see some of Costa Rica, study natural disasters (specifically volcanos), work with the ADE colegio students, and help both ADE and our local community. There were also lots of really good discussions between individuals and the whole group and development, sustainability, ecology, and community resilience to name just a few. For our ADE colegio students, it was great for them to get to build some relationships with new people, learn about development and disaster preparedness with the masters students, get a view of higher educational possibilities and take part in serving their own community alongside others. It was great for our staff (myself totally included) to really get to have meaningful conversations with others in the same mind and gain the experience of hosting a group of that size. I was really exhausted after that week, but it was definitely good.
Nicaragua: Shortly after the huge group left, I headed on the Tica Bus to Nicaragua to renew my visa, visit my friend Leah and relax. It was so great to see Leah and Hemby who are in Nicaragua for the year with Manna Project International. I just hung out in their house (and pool) for a few days and read. I also got to see some of their projects and have lots of good convos about community development, learning from the good and bad of their program. It was a sweet time thanks to Leah - You're awesome :)
Interns: We've got interns (and volunteers) here for the summer! Amanda Rinker, previous YL leader at East Mont, came down in May. She's taking her summer break from getting her masters and seminary degrees to get her hands dirty in this community. Her specific role is working with our agriculture project (which Morgan, who was here over spring break and then came back for a couple weeks in May, helped to start). Lauren Ko, also a Hokie alum, came down in May also to be here for the summer. She just graduated from Tech and is working hard here. She's specifically working with some of the environment issues going on here with the reconstruction. Lauren and Amanda have been each so helpful with all of the different projects and needs we've got here. They've done everything from moving rocks and painting signs, to creating handbooks and inventories. For one week in the end of June we had Karen here doing a week of intensive English learning with our students. With years of experience in teaching English and in the process of getting her masters degree in it, she worked hard for a week and brought down tons of awesome resources. Hopefully from the training and resources she gave me, I can be a better English teacher! Now Maria is here for the month of July all the way from Austria (we met while I was in Vienna). She's up for doing anything and everything we need and filling a great need for us this month. And of course, we can't forget Mikki who was here from April to the end of June. She definitely was here right when I personally needed her - and I miss her lots now that she's gone. Look at all the amazing people God brought to join us during this summer. Blows my mind!
Georgia Group: We had a group of high school students from Georgia here for 2 weeks. They spent the first week down in our ADE Center seeing the area, working with our students, and learning and serving in this area. For the second week, they went to a small town on the Caribbean coast to do some service/learning there and our group went with them. Our students worked hard to fundraise for the trip. They hosted a Bingo night in town and made enough money for everyone to go. (Bingo is maybe the most and only successful fundraiser in this community - no lie). It was a great time with our students and serving another small community like ours.
Restaurant: Here's the big one that has totally changed my time here in many ways. On June 11th, 2010 along with the opening of the World Cup, we opened a restaurant with women from our community! It's been an exciting but very challenging venture. I myself have never really worked at all in the food service industry (much less starting a new one). So I've been learning a ton. The women are incredible! For me that's been the greatest part, getting to know each one of the "associates" (as they're definitely not employees as we're all partners in this business). The women range in ages and family status, but what is greater is bringing together and seeking relationships across borders that are usually not crossed - specifically between Evangelicals and Catholics in this community. It's been so great for me getting to know each one and feeling more and more like a part of the community and have friends (close to my age or older - unlike before when my only friends were my students)! It has also been very challenging and definitely needs your prayers in terms of money and response from other local businesses. You can check out our new website (still with lots under construction) at: www.RestauranteArcoiris.org
To come in July and August... visitors, camps, and my family!
To come in July and August... visitors, camps, and my family!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Spring Time Pictures
I just put up lots of pictures on my facebook! You can check them out here whether or not you have facebook. I hope you enjoy.
I'll soon write more about the Eastern University group that was here at the end of April and my short relaxing trip to Nicaragua I took last week. Things have been busy. Please keep me and our team in your prayers!
I'll soon write more about the Eastern University group that was here at the end of April and my short relaxing trip to Nicaragua I took last week. Things have been busy. Please keep me and our team in your prayers!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
ADE Blog!
Hey friends! I've got another blog for you to follow: blog.glocalADE.org! I'll be doing a lot of updating on that regularly. Some of the info may overlap, but I guarantee it will be worth your while. Make sure to share it with others too!
Also be sure to be praying for us as we're having a group of 26 people coming this Friday! It's a graduate class from Eastern University studying international development. We'll be focusing on natural disasters and sustainable development. It's going to be an exciting week, but please keep us in mind :)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Viví. Vivo. Viviré.
So I lived in the cabin, then moved into the Dozier house for a week and now I'm down living at the center! Let's just say it's been an exciting few weeks. The owner of the cabin that I was living in (that had been free rent for the past few months), just sold it. Then we had a visitor and all lived at the Dozier house. Now Kim, Mikki, and I are all living down at the center.
You can watch this video that Tim, past intern and awesome writer, just put together the other week. He was living there, but now he's gone and us girls are there. Enjoy :)
You can watch this video that Tim, past intern and awesome writer, just put together the other week. He was living there, but now he's gone and us girls are there. Enjoy :)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Video of Spring Break!
Hope you enjoy and it gives you a good understanding of the week with our college student visitors.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Cultural Analysis of San Rafael
(from my perspective of course)
Though I’ve traveled to over 20 countries, each new country and specifically each community has its own unique culture in terms of identity, family structures, gender issues, and power structures. Now having lived in San Rafael de Vara Blanca in Costa Rica for almost 4 months, I am at a place where I can analyze that which I have seen and experienced from the perspective of an outsider to this community. (*Note: Throughout this I will be speaking specifically of my personal observations and experiences in San Rafael de Vara Blanca, but much of this may also relate to the whole of Costa Rica. Also understand that there are many generalizations and remember that they are just that: generalizations. I am not trying to say that every individual is this way, but simply give a general understanding from my personal time here.)
Always wanting to be polite, putting people over work, and being suspicious of outsiders are all cultural identities which I have seen through many different experiences living in San Rafael as a newcomer. People in San Rafael try to be polite and avoid confrontation as much as possible. This can be seen simply through the Costa Rican tagline “Pura Vida” which directly translated means “Pure Life”, but more generally is used as “It’s all good”. “Pura Vida” is often a simple greeting, but is used in many different contexts and even that of responding to problems. For example, a teenager in the community asked me one day “¿Como esta?” (How are you?) and I responded “Mas o menos” (More or less) as I was not having the best day. His response to my not so great day was “Pura Vida” or “It’s all good”. This experience is not uncommon. Further, I have seen people be very nice and friendly to other individuals that they have then told me they don’t like or can’t stand. Maybe this is simply their way of being polite or maybe it is fake and non-confrontational. I am not here to judge but simply to state the cultural issues and commonalities that I have observed. Many times I have experienced an individuals desire to be polite by inviting me over to their house for coffee or a meal and yet never following up on it, possibly because it is the “polite” thing to do. Similarly (and one of my favorite examples of this), when asked directions no one will tell you that they don’t know. Instead, they will politely tell you directions so who knows where so that they are not rude by not helping you. However, they often do much greater damage by getting the person farther lost than they may have been. This is country that abolished its army in 1949 and is very proud of it. They choose peace over conflict as a nation and individually.
Those in San Rafael also choose people over work, whether it is stopping on the street to say “Hi” to a friend (even if there are cars waiting behind you) or asking about the persons mother, aunt and cousin instead of a simple “How are you”. People here don’t seem to view the many interruptions throughout the workday by others as interruptions. Each person welcomes the breaks throughout the day, the walk, or the drive as they seem warm and friendly every time. A great example of this are the many coffee breaks that people take to simply sit and talk and drink lots of coffee; all of which keep them going for more work until the next break a few hours later. Simply the greeting of the kiss on the cheek when you say “Hello” or “Goodbye” exemplifies the closer nature of the individuals to each other within this community.
Within this small, somewhat isolated, community there is a sense of suspicion of outsiders. It can be seen through interactions, such as people not responding when you say “Hello” or not greeting you as they normally greet others. There tends to be a shyness and uncertainty about outsiders that I have personally felt throughout my time here. Language and word usage are clear ways that I see this along with the awkward interactions. White outsiders are always called “Gringos” which is not meant in a derogatory way, but always separates the Ticos (Costa Ricans) from the foreigners. All Asians are considered “Chinos” (Chinese), whether or not they are actually from China. Though this may seem like something insignificant, I have seen it differently due to the judgments that I have seen towards other outsiders. Costa Ricans do not like Nicaraguans, classify them all in the same category, and are constantly suspicious of them. They neatly classify all outsiders whether Gringos, Chinos, Nicaraguans, or Columbians. They keep their distance with specifically boxed peoples and a sense of “us vs. them” as much as possible. Though it is possible to get beyond this, the titles rarely go away and if they do tend to take years to do so. These cultural identities can all be either positive or negative depending on the extremes taken and the attitude out of which they come.
In analyzing the culture also comes the unique issue of family structure, which at first appears simple in San Rafael but instead is rather complicated and broken. At first glance, it seems just like a small town with everyone related to each other. It has a sort of idyllic sense of an old isolated town; however, the close relations in the town come out of more complex and broken families than first noticed. Women are generally married young and to men that are significantly older than them. Yet they are not often “officially” married, but simply living together and under the term giving both a way out if or when desired. The woman usually stays home and the man works long hours. Along with the young marriages, women often have children starting around the age of approximately 20 years old. Most families have 2 – 4 kids and the parents seem to genuinely care for and pursue the best for their children. Unfortunately such issues of alcoholism and adultery (most commonly by the father) tend to contribute greatly to the broken families seen throughout the community. Despite the often complicated and broken families, relatives often live close together and stay connected. The grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all live close by and take care of each other as needed. Though families are often broken, there tends to be someone that steps in to make sure everyone is taken care of. In understanding the family issues also brings up the role of gender in relationships and society.
Seen already through family relationships, this society is a male dominated society with only a few strong willed women making any changes. Men dominate the village through controlling relationships, especially exemplified in romantic and familiar relationships. The men tend to rule over the house as they do whatever they desire, while the women have to cook, clean and take care of the children. The word of the men in the community seems to stand over that of women as they hold most of the council positions. There are a few strong willed and tough women that break into this role, but they have to be pushy and unforgiving in order to do so. Overall men are forward and often objectify women in ways that women could never get away with but is culturally accepted. This can be seen through comments of strangers working on the street or even neighbors. In response to this culturally accepted mentality, women often seem to encourage it through dressing in tight fitting and provocative clothing. Young girls in their mid-teens are often forced to grow up quickly as the opportunities and men present themselves in a forward manner to the girls. At the age of 16 girls can be “married” to a man twice their age, forcing her to become the culturally normal housewife, cooking and cleaning and pleasing her husband. On the other hand, as men often marry much younger women they can live as an immature boy until they desire otherwise. As much of this is culturally accepted, men and women living differently are often the exception. Even with a woman president recently elected, the male dominated country and this community are maybe masking the deeper cultural issues that still stand.
Within the house and community men dominate the power structures and beyond men is wealth. The main influence in and decisions about this community seem to all be based around the rich male landowners. They are the ones that employ most of the community and therefore hold influence in their individual lives. The landowners seem to have influence one way or another in every council in the village along with the bigger decisions that come from higher up in the government. Most of the councils are dominated by men in the community with either wealth or historical influence, whether through family ties or ties to wealth. There are certainly exceptions with women and those with seemingly less money and ties, but these exceptions seem to be the outspoken bold individuals in the community. Throughout these power structures, corruption and conflict appears common both locally and nationally. Most are never directly addressed though they are common knowledge possibly due to the non-confrontational attitude of most Costa Ricans. Whether in the house, the business or the local government there always seems to be a clear individual or group dominating, if it’s talked about or not.
Understanding a culture takes time, observation and experience. Though I have some of that I recognize that I have plenty more to learn about the customs and individuals in this community in which I live. Some cultural issues seem positive and some seem negative, but within all of them there is a history and an attitude that goes far beyond my own experiences. It is also so much easier to analyze a culture other than the one in which you were brought up. I see that and only hope that this is a way for both me and you to understand another context and then turn it around to analyze our own.
Though I’ve traveled to over 20 countries, each new country and specifically each community has its own unique culture in terms of identity, family structures, gender issues, and power structures. Now having lived in San Rafael de Vara Blanca in Costa Rica for almost 4 months, I am at a place where I can analyze that which I have seen and experienced from the perspective of an outsider to this community. (*Note: Throughout this I will be speaking specifically of my personal observations and experiences in San Rafael de Vara Blanca, but much of this may also relate to the whole of Costa Rica. Also understand that there are many generalizations and remember that they are just that: generalizations. I am not trying to say that every individual is this way, but simply give a general understanding from my personal time here.)
Always wanting to be polite, putting people over work, and being suspicious of outsiders are all cultural identities which I have seen through many different experiences living in San Rafael as a newcomer. People in San Rafael try to be polite and avoid confrontation as much as possible. This can be seen simply through the Costa Rican tagline “Pura Vida” which directly translated means “Pure Life”, but more generally is used as “It’s all good”. “Pura Vida” is often a simple greeting, but is used in many different contexts and even that of responding to problems. For example, a teenager in the community asked me one day “¿Como esta?” (How are you?) and I responded “Mas o menos” (More or less) as I was not having the best day. His response to my not so great day was “Pura Vida” or “It’s all good”. This experience is not uncommon. Further, I have seen people be very nice and friendly to other individuals that they have then told me they don’t like or can’t stand. Maybe this is simply their way of being polite or maybe it is fake and non-confrontational. I am not here to judge but simply to state the cultural issues and commonalities that I have observed. Many times I have experienced an individuals desire to be polite by inviting me over to their house for coffee or a meal and yet never following up on it, possibly because it is the “polite” thing to do. Similarly (and one of my favorite examples of this), when asked directions no one will tell you that they don’t know. Instead, they will politely tell you directions so who knows where so that they are not rude by not helping you. However, they often do much greater damage by getting the person farther lost than they may have been. This is country that abolished its army in 1949 and is very proud of it. They choose peace over conflict as a nation and individually.
Those in San Rafael also choose people over work, whether it is stopping on the street to say “Hi” to a friend (even if there are cars waiting behind you) or asking about the persons mother, aunt and cousin instead of a simple “How are you”. People here don’t seem to view the many interruptions throughout the workday by others as interruptions. Each person welcomes the breaks throughout the day, the walk, or the drive as they seem warm and friendly every time. A great example of this are the many coffee breaks that people take to simply sit and talk and drink lots of coffee; all of which keep them going for more work until the next break a few hours later. Simply the greeting of the kiss on the cheek when you say “Hello” or “Goodbye” exemplifies the closer nature of the individuals to each other within this community.
Within this small, somewhat isolated, community there is a sense of suspicion of outsiders. It can be seen through interactions, such as people not responding when you say “Hello” or not greeting you as they normally greet others. There tends to be a shyness and uncertainty about outsiders that I have personally felt throughout my time here. Language and word usage are clear ways that I see this along with the awkward interactions. White outsiders are always called “Gringos” which is not meant in a derogatory way, but always separates the Ticos (Costa Ricans) from the foreigners. All Asians are considered “Chinos” (Chinese), whether or not they are actually from China. Though this may seem like something insignificant, I have seen it differently due to the judgments that I have seen towards other outsiders. Costa Ricans do not like Nicaraguans, classify them all in the same category, and are constantly suspicious of them. They neatly classify all outsiders whether Gringos, Chinos, Nicaraguans, or Columbians. They keep their distance with specifically boxed peoples and a sense of “us vs. them” as much as possible. Though it is possible to get beyond this, the titles rarely go away and if they do tend to take years to do so. These cultural identities can all be either positive or negative depending on the extremes taken and the attitude out of which they come.
In analyzing the culture also comes the unique issue of family structure, which at first appears simple in San Rafael but instead is rather complicated and broken. At first glance, it seems just like a small town with everyone related to each other. It has a sort of idyllic sense of an old isolated town; however, the close relations in the town come out of more complex and broken families than first noticed. Women are generally married young and to men that are significantly older than them. Yet they are not often “officially” married, but simply living together and under the term giving both a way out if or when desired. The woman usually stays home and the man works long hours. Along with the young marriages, women often have children starting around the age of approximately 20 years old. Most families have 2 – 4 kids and the parents seem to genuinely care for and pursue the best for their children. Unfortunately such issues of alcoholism and adultery (most commonly by the father) tend to contribute greatly to the broken families seen throughout the community. Despite the often complicated and broken families, relatives often live close together and stay connected. The grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all live close by and take care of each other as needed. Though families are often broken, there tends to be someone that steps in to make sure everyone is taken care of. In understanding the family issues also brings up the role of gender in relationships and society.
Seen already through family relationships, this society is a male dominated society with only a few strong willed women making any changes. Men dominate the village through controlling relationships, especially exemplified in romantic and familiar relationships. The men tend to rule over the house as they do whatever they desire, while the women have to cook, clean and take care of the children. The word of the men in the community seems to stand over that of women as they hold most of the council positions. There are a few strong willed and tough women that break into this role, but they have to be pushy and unforgiving in order to do so. Overall men are forward and often objectify women in ways that women could never get away with but is culturally accepted. This can be seen through comments of strangers working on the street or even neighbors. In response to this culturally accepted mentality, women often seem to encourage it through dressing in tight fitting and provocative clothing. Young girls in their mid-teens are often forced to grow up quickly as the opportunities and men present themselves in a forward manner to the girls. At the age of 16 girls can be “married” to a man twice their age, forcing her to become the culturally normal housewife, cooking and cleaning and pleasing her husband. On the other hand, as men often marry much younger women they can live as an immature boy until they desire otherwise. As much of this is culturally accepted, men and women living differently are often the exception. Even with a woman president recently elected, the male dominated country and this community are maybe masking the deeper cultural issues that still stand.
Within the house and community men dominate the power structures and beyond men is wealth. The main influence in and decisions about this community seem to all be based around the rich male landowners. They are the ones that employ most of the community and therefore hold influence in their individual lives. The landowners seem to have influence one way or another in every council in the village along with the bigger decisions that come from higher up in the government. Most of the councils are dominated by men in the community with either wealth or historical influence, whether through family ties or ties to wealth. There are certainly exceptions with women and those with seemingly less money and ties, but these exceptions seem to be the outspoken bold individuals in the community. Throughout these power structures, corruption and conflict appears common both locally and nationally. Most are never directly addressed though they are common knowledge possibly due to the non-confrontational attitude of most Costa Ricans. Whether in the house, the business or the local government there always seems to be a clear individual or group dominating, if it’s talked about or not.
Understanding a culture takes time, observation and experience. Though I have some of that I recognize that I have plenty more to learn about the customs and individuals in this community in which I live. Some cultural issues seem positive and some seem negative, but within all of them there is a history and an attitude that goes far beyond my own experiences. It is also so much easier to analyze a culture other than the one in which you were brought up. I see that and only hope that this is a way for both me and you to understand another context and then turn it around to analyze our own.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Spring Break 2010!
So this week we've got 4 spring break students from different schools in the US here learning Spanish, contributing to the community projects and getting to see Costa Rica. We've done so much already and it's only Tuesday:
- Worked on Spanish with local community students
- Gone to church (awesome cultural experience)
- Seen waterfalls, butterflies, and jungle cats
- Eaten typical foods
- Held toucans
- Made empanadas
- Seen the volcano
- Hiked in the jungle
- Tracked a tapir
- Milked cows
- Laughed a lot
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Lots going on...Sorry
Yet again, I'm sorry for not having written in like forever. Things have just been so busy here, but they're moving forward, which is awesome and exciting! I don't even know where to begin.
Well Jason (a good friend of mine from college) came down January 20th to spend a couple of months volunteering/interning with us. He's been working hard and helping out a ton where we need it. It's also nice to have someone that I've known for more than a few months around. Jason is living down at the ADE Center - meaning he is the first official ADE Center resident. We're still doing a lot of work on it but it's definitely come a long long way!
Well Jason (a good friend of mine from college) came down January 20th to spend a couple of months volunteering/interning with us. He's been working hard and helping out a ton where we need it. It's also nice to have someone that I've known for more than a few months around. Jason is living down at the ADE Center - meaning he is the first official ADE Center resident. We're still doing a lot of work on it but it's definitely come a long long way!
Jason and his roommate.
Shortly after Jason arrived and started working I actually headed back to the States for a week. My grandfather was turning 90 and we were making a big deal about it (as it definitely is a big deal). I took advantage of being home and spoke to all the Spanish classes at DCCS, which was sort of funny considering the whole time that I was a student there I took German. I also met with a biology professor at Eastern and spoke to a grad class there as well. Overall it was a good week, but very very busy and I was excited to get back here.
Once I got back, it was full force ahead getting the center and everything ready for school to start a week later. The night before we were up late as a team building desks and benches and talking about schedule.
And our school started February 10th, 2010! It was so exciting to actually see some of our hard work begin to be played out through the lives in this community. We only had 8 students this week (we'll have a few more soon), but they are awesome! Kim (my roommate and the "School Director") just kept talking about how our students are such angels. They're all between 13 and 16 with most of them just starting 7th grade. It's so exciting because most of them would not be going to school at all if this hadn't opened. This week was mostly orientation and going to get books. On Monday we'll be having biology professors from the University of Costa Rica come and see what we're doing, meet our students and families, and discuss how they can partner with us. And then Tuesday will begin more normal classes. So it's definitely an exciting time!
The bridge on the way to the ADE Center.
Now you should be at least sort of up to date on what's going on here. I did want to share with you a few random stories that have happened here that at least I find interesting:
*Walking back to the cabin at night, we often turn off our flashlights and things when it's clear outside and you can see so many stars it is ridiculous. You can often even see the Milky Way. I've also seen bats fly right in front of us and then learned that this is one of the few places in the world where there are real vampire bats...a comforting thought :)
*This is a large dairy area. So though you don't usually smell it (which I'm very grateful for), you pretty much always know as there are often cows or cute little calfs right on the side of the road. One little funny story that just happened the other day: I was walking up from the center and there's a little wire gate that was open because a truck had just gone through and so I left it open. A little while later as I'm hiking up the huge hill I look back and see 3 cows following me in a line on the gravel road! They had gotten out of their fence and weren't stopped by the wire gate and just kept following me. I didn't know what to do. So I turned around and started shooing the first one back and it starts to go...Until it gets to the second one that decides he's just going to walk passed me. So two cows are walking up the hill towards the main road in front of me and one behind me. I try and get in front of the two but they start running faster. I'm about to break down, thinking that it's going to be my fault that a family loses 3 of their cows. Then the son of the family sees and runs down the hill to put them away. I was so sorry and so grateful for him!
*Oh and I just wanted to share that my puppy is doing well and growing so so fast. She's great and I still love her a lot (even though she beats up on the other puppies and the now only one kitten).
Well thanks for reading and Happy Valentine's Day! I'm so grateful for such incredible support and encouragement from the people back in the States. You guys are awesome :)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
ADE Website
So the ADE website is up and running! There are still a couple of pages under construction, but overall it's good. You should definitely check it out:
On it you can see me on the ADE staff page and get my new email. You can see our internship opportunities as well as our short term opportunities for this spring and summer. We're even planning on doing a family camp this summer for a week, which should be awesome! You can start following us on Twitter and even become a fan of ADE on Facebook. Also go through our participate pages as you can see how you can be involved with us here in Costa Rica. (For those of you who had asked me to send you a support letter, though I'm still not raising support, we are asking for people to invest in our high school students and projects that we're doing. So check out the "Invest" page.)
There's a lot of exciting things going on and as usual: plenty of work to do. I'm getting really excited about our spring break opportunities and really building our network more and more to benefit this community.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
ADE & Me Update
Hi Friends! Sorry I've been so bad at updating this. Over the past couple of weeks I have been working a lot to get the ADE website up and going (I'll pass on the link ASAP). I wanted to update this blog every day this week, but that got off to a very bad start. So here's a couple interesting things from my time here and I'll try and update again soon.
- I eat tamales almost everyday (and often for breakfast)
- I woke up in the middle of the night the other night to an earthquake
- I watched my puppy get mauled by a rooster
- I made a papaya juice myself
- I can now officially make a fire in my fire place at the cabin
Check back again soon :)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
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