Study, study, work

Study spot at the Institute

I hope you've enjoyed the last updates. I'm going to attempt to keep them coming. Believe it or not, I'm not too exciting, even though I finally have some time in the big city. My typical day has stayed mostly the same with lots of studying and ADE work.

For class we started close to the middle of both the grammar book and the corresponding workbook. However, since I've never studied Spanish, there are a lot of basics that I want to learn properly. I've decided not only to go back and read all the first parts of the grammar book, but also to do most of the exercises in the workbook that go with the grammar points. I've done a lot of verb conjugations, pronouns, direct and indirect objects, questions and a lot more practice. I really want to take advantage of this time and, though I'm cramming a lot in, I'll have time here to ask for guidance while I'm here and to practice over the next year and a half. So, most days I spend in my room or one of my other study spots studying!

Around the Institute - admin building on the right

I tried to have a little fun this weekend, also. On Friday after class I took the bus with some classmates to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," at the movie theater. It was fun and made me think of Kirsten the whole time, who was leaving for Zambia that night. (If you didn't know, my sister Kirsten will be in Zambia for a month working with a ministry there. Definitely keep her in your prayers!)

Saturday night I went to church with a missionary couple, Bob and B, who live here but have helped us up in Vara Blanca a number of times. It was really great to get to worship the Lord in Spanish but with the words on a screen to sing along. Also the pastor spoke on Luke 15:11-32 about "Influencia positiva a nuestros hijos" (how to be a positive influence to our children). It was Father's Day here in Costa Rica also, and, looking at the example God gives us to be good fathers, it made me so so grateful for both my awesome fathers: My earthly father, whom I love, and points me so well to my heavenly father. I'm so thankful for both, and the encouragement, compassion, and unconditional love that they offer to me. ¡Feliz Día Papá!

Since then I've mostly been studying and working. Keep praying for me in this time as I seek to focus on my studies and the gift it is that I can be here.

Let the extracurriculars begin!

This week, was a whirlwind of reading stories, studying together, and creating poems. Here is the ADE high school schedule for extracurricular classes:

Monday: Creative Writing (led by intern Leigh Anne Coble)
Wednesday: Tutoring
Thursday: Spoken-word poetry (led by intern Angeley Crawford)
Friday: Soccer

**Click here to read and see more about the classes**

Language School in the City!

I'm writing to you from my bedroom in a host family's house down in the city of San José (more specifically San Francisco de Dos Ríos) and a big change from the rural mountains. I moved down here on Sunday and then had my first day of language school Monday and will be here for 4 weeks.

The first day was really interesting. The first half was orientation and was sooo much English, which was weird to me but informative. Within that I took 2 placement exams: a written grammar one and a verbal one. I was taking the written one and thinking how awful it was and how I might be put in the total beginner class. It was my first time doing some verb charts and things in Spanish and I had to keep trying to say them in my head to maybe get a correct answer. The conversation on the other hand went smoothly and though all my grammar wasn't perfect I felt like I expressed myself fine. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was placed in level 3 (out of 4) for both grammar and conversation. On that same day we had our first day of classes which were really great. (I'll talk more about classes down below).

My host family is really great also. It's a couple and they have 3 sons. The mom, Maribel, is so sweet. She cooks for me and I try and help out with dishes and things as I can. We talk a lot and she's always happy to help me with my homework or whatever I need. I think she likes having another woman around the house. The dad seems nice, but I don't see him or interact with him much. The three boys are Andres (7), Pablo (9) and Manuel (11). They're so funny. Manuel and Paulo are cute and I ask them about their day and what they learned in school, but they like to give me short answers. Andres is my little bud though as he likes to hang around me and help me with homework and talk to me a lot. He's a little cutie and not at all shy. (He's my favorite, but don't tell the others).

The boys Adrés, Paulo and Manuel

My host mom in the middle
(unfortunately not the most flattering picture)

You can see why Andrés is my favorite!

So now on to my typical day...I wake up around 8 and have breakfast, get ready and head over to the Institute, which the entrance is literally less than a block away from where I'm staying. I then spend the morning studying for 2 to 3 hours. One of the nice things about the workbook is there are lots of extra activities that I can do, plus since I never studied even the basics I'm going back and doing a lot of those too. I then take the long walk (2 minutes) home and eat a quick lunch before heading back to the Institute for class that starts at 12:35. My first class is a grammar class with Lissette. She's a great teacher and explains things really well. She's happy to go back and quickly review things that we might not understand. We're moving really fast (we did Pretérito Perfecto on Monday, Pretérito Imperfecto on Tuesday, and along with a few minor points Futuro today), but I love it because it's pushing me and gives me lots to study outside of class. I'm definitely trying to take advantage of this time here. In that class it is me, Mary (she's Korean, in her mid-thirties and is currently working at a bilingual school in Nicaragua), and A.J. (he's from the D.C. area, mid-twenties and is planning to move with his wife and 4 month old to Belize in the fall). It's a small class which is awesome, though I seem to be the one always with lots of questions. My other class is the conversation class that is supposed to build on the things we're learning in our grammar class but to really be comfortable using it. My teacher, Dixiana, is very lively and very blunt. It forces me a lot to try and speak well which is good though not easy and we're always put on the spot as this class is also only 3 people. In this one it's me, Mary and James (he's in his sixties and him and his wife have worked short term in different areas though live in Florida...they both say they don't yet know what they want to be when they grow up - he's funny and definitely keeps things interesting). Today in class we were practicing narrating stories and as you probably know I'm not a good story teller in English and so it was really hard for me in Spanish, but great practice with the past tenses. After class I spend most of the rest of the night mixed between a few more hours of studying and homework, getting work done for ADE, and talking with my host family (OK...I'll admit and some time watching House online). Today right after classes I took a nice little walk around there area as I was feeling a little bit of cabin fever stuck between the Institute and the house a block away. It was good to get out and I found a nice park I might have to try out for a few of my study hours in the next few days.

One of my many study areas

Hopefully that gives you a good idea of what I'm up to, mostly just studying. I'm so happy to be here and have this opportunity, which I'm definitely trying to get  the most out of. Before I left, my students were telling me I had to come back with perfect Spanish (impossible, but I'm gonna get as close as I can). I'm excited to see how God uses this time and the work I'm putting into this. I was encouraged today by Galations 6:9 (go ahead and look it up!).

Tropical Agriculture & Missions

For three weeks, the TAM (Tropical Agriculture and Missions) class by the Au Sable Institute was led by Dr. Unander into the strawberry fields of local farmers, up to the top of volcanoes, and into the ADE classroom to share their presentations. Not only did these U.S. students learn first-hand about local agriculture, but they also had the opportunity to travel for three days to the beach, the selva, and all around. After living together at the ADE center and riding in the green van for hours on end, they experienced Costa Rica together and became close friends.

**Click here to read and see more about the trip**