tuesday january 23 2007
so since my last letter i have become much more confident with the bus system and how the tico culture works. everyday for the next 3 weeks i will be at language school for 2 classes, grammar and conversation. i have a great teacher, same one for both classes. she reminds me of an abuelita, a little grandma for all you non Spanish speakers. lol some days i have Latin American studies , LASP, classes in the morning which involve a speaker about different topics. a lot of them are political oriented so i struggle sometimes hearing all that stuff. but i am learning a lot about the Costa Rican government and issues.
since i am in the language and literature track every single homework assignment has to be in Spanish. crazy but i am doing and learning so much. i have found some words different than from what i learned, but no to much. ticos do have a different way to talk about future events and things. but i love my family they are so understanding.
last Friday a group of my friends out to dinner at a really gringo place called news cafe, but i loved the name. it was fun people had hamburgers. there is this really greta place to get ice cream called pops there is one on almost every corner, i recommend the coconut. lol yesterday i found a great place to get a chai frappe, it was so good. that will be my weakness as i pass through san jose.
this weekend the group is of the Limon which is on the Caribbean coast. i am so excited to go to the beach finally. dad i bought a sarong and though of you. hahaha bc we can only take a backpack to this trip, so packing will be hard.
well it is getting dark and i must get home, attached are two pics one of me and a group of friends on our 3rd day in CR. the other is of the house i am staying in. it is the salmon pink color one.
ok love to you all. bye.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Buenas tardes!
wednesday january 10 2007
¡Hola familia y amigos!
I am in Costa Rica now. The flights were very long but God provided some great people to talk with on the plane. We flew into Costa Rica at night se we saw all the beautiful city lights. San Jose is a very colorful city of 2 million people. The weather is everything a Santa Barbarian could ask for, lots of sun, mild temps and clouds that look like they are bursting with rain!
I have meet so many new people and it is safe to say that they are my freinds already. All the LASP students spent the night in a retreat center and had a one day orientation to the Costa Rican culture and how the program will work. We did an activity that asked us to make a collage about the North American culture. Everyone seemed to be cutting out negative and bad images of the USA. So I told my group that we should try to find some positive views of the North. Some students came up to me after and said they apprciated our groups positive outlook. I can see where the direction of this program is wanting to go. On the other hand LASP is wanting us to form our own opinions about issues and that is a valuable trait.
Today we recived our families via a raffle. My host mothers name is Guiselle Machado Tencio. She has a husband and two teen age daughters. I share a room with the oldest who is 16. I have just had a completed a tour of the house. I am writting this on their home computer. They have pretty fast internet! I think these ticos might be well off becasue they have a great phone and alarm system in the house. It has ben a very emotional day full of new information and thinking and speaking in Spanish.
The meals have been pretty large so far, but my host mom said they do not eat large dinners. So I think evreything is going to work great with this family. Tomorrow we have to meet at the Teatro Nacional to do a ¨scavenger hunt¨ type thing around the center of San Jose. The program directors have pretty much left it up to us to figure out the bus systems, banking and other culture elements. However I anticipate the Wards adevice and assistance in this city.
My house is 30 minutes away from the school, in a barrio called Del Pali de Calle Blancos, so I think every morning will be an early one. I apprciate all your prayers and thoughts as I fordge through this new culture.
That is all for now. I am not sure when I can get on her again but maybe every 2 weeks or something....
I really like it here and I have a lot of freinds that are going through the same thing here with me!
I love you all! Have a great weekend!!!
Claire Scholl
EagleVision News Team- Latin America Correspondant
www.biola.edu/eaglevision
¡Hola familia y amigos!
I am in Costa Rica now. The flights were very long but God provided some great people to talk with on the plane. We flew into Costa Rica at night se we saw all the beautiful city lights. San Jose is a very colorful city of 2 million people. The weather is everything a Santa Barbarian could ask for, lots of sun, mild temps and clouds that look like they are bursting with rain!
I have meet so many new people and it is safe to say that they are my freinds already. All the LASP students spent the night in a retreat center and had a one day orientation to the Costa Rican culture and how the program will work. We did an activity that asked us to make a collage about the North American culture. Everyone seemed to be cutting out negative and bad images of the USA. So I told my group that we should try to find some positive views of the North. Some students came up to me after and said they apprciated our groups positive outlook. I can see where the direction of this program is wanting to go. On the other hand LASP is wanting us to form our own opinions about issues and that is a valuable trait.
Today we recived our families via a raffle. My host mothers name is Guiselle Machado Tencio. She has a husband and two teen age daughters. I share a room with the oldest who is 16. I have just had a completed a tour of the house. I am writting this on their home computer. They have pretty fast internet! I think these ticos might be well off becasue they have a great phone and alarm system in the house. It has ben a very emotional day full of new information and thinking and speaking in Spanish.
The meals have been pretty large so far, but my host mom said they do not eat large dinners. So I think evreything is going to work great with this family. Tomorrow we have to meet at the Teatro Nacional to do a ¨scavenger hunt¨ type thing around the center of San Jose. The program directors have pretty much left it up to us to figure out the bus systems, banking and other culture elements. However I anticipate the Wards adevice and assistance in this city.
My house is 30 minutes away from the school, in a barrio called Del Pali de Calle Blancos, so I think every morning will be an early one. I apprciate all your prayers and thoughts as I fordge through this new culture.
That is all for now. I am not sure when I can get on her again but maybe every 2 weeks or something....
I really like it here and I have a lot of freinds that are going through the same thing here with me!
I love you all! Have a great weekend!!!
Claire Scholl
EagleVision News Team- Latin America Correspondant
www.biola.edu/eaglevision
day before school!
sunday january 14 2007
Hello again family and friends,
since my last email many new things have happened. LASP took us to Clinica Biblia to get a health orientation so we may be prapered for what illnesses may come our way. so far i have not gotten sick. i drink straight from the tap because the water is treated. all the food is wonderful. my family, i feel, is not into the same type of meal each day. we have had great sandwiches and fresh fruit drinks. i was prepared to live really scarcely but this family is amazing. my host mother loves to buy new cookbook type magazines and she saves them all. kindas sounds like someone else i know, my real mother. lol
it has been kinda cold actually i wish i brought more jeans and one more sweater, maybe i will do some shopping. :)
Dad, before i forget please email the exacts dates you plan to come because we have to let LASP now, along with my family.
this is my 5th day in CR and i already feel like my Spanish vocabualry has grown. every day i am trying to learn a new phrase to incorperate into my daily dialouge. today i went to church with my family it is called Iglesia el Divino Salvador. it is just like Harvest, lots of great hand-clapping music and Biblical teaching. today there were lots of north americans there so i got to chat with them for a while. one group was students here for 3 weeks from PA and the other was a church group from VA that is like a sister church with the Costa Rican one. ¡the church is alive and well in CR!
i am feeling more and more connected with the family. i bought some shampoo and stuff and put in the shower so i dont have to keep hauling my toiletry bag in and out of the shower. it is the little things in life that make you feel at home. also i had a homework assignment to interview my family about various things. i learned about their educational background, what they like to do in their free time and that the U.S. government is not generally liked in CR.
something more on the funny side, they way ticos great each other is by a kiss on the check. can you see where this is going? well even if you have just met the person you do it anyway. so these guys from the youth group came over to the house and of course greeted me with a kiss on the check. 2 of the 3 were cute but i can assure there will be no amor during this semester! do you guys think we could implement this custom in the U.S.?
so it is the day before school and i am very nervous to take the bus. my parents have been through the routs with me once but i am still very unsure about the stops and waht not. so please pray for me and the bus system. i am sure i will become more familar with it as the days go but right now i have butterflies in my tummy.
thank you all for your nice emails from the last letter! hope you all have awonderful week!
love from costa rica,
clara
Hello again family and friends,
since my last email many new things have happened. LASP took us to Clinica Biblia to get a health orientation so we may be prapered for what illnesses may come our way. so far i have not gotten sick. i drink straight from the tap because the water is treated. all the food is wonderful. my family, i feel, is not into the same type of meal each day. we have had great sandwiches and fresh fruit drinks. i was prepared to live really scarcely but this family is amazing. my host mother loves to buy new cookbook type magazines and she saves them all. kindas sounds like someone else i know, my real mother. lol
it has been kinda cold actually i wish i brought more jeans and one more sweater, maybe i will do some shopping. :)
Dad, before i forget please email the exacts dates you plan to come because we have to let LASP now, along with my family.
this is my 5th day in CR and i already feel like my Spanish vocabualry has grown. every day i am trying to learn a new phrase to incorperate into my daily dialouge. today i went to church with my family it is called Iglesia el Divino Salvador. it is just like Harvest, lots of great hand-clapping music and Biblical teaching. today there were lots of north americans there so i got to chat with them for a while. one group was students here for 3 weeks from PA and the other was a church group from VA that is like a sister church with the Costa Rican one. ¡the church is alive and well in CR!
i am feeling more and more connected with the family. i bought some shampoo and stuff and put in the shower so i dont have to keep hauling my toiletry bag in and out of the shower. it is the little things in life that make you feel at home. also i had a homework assignment to interview my family about various things. i learned about their educational background, what they like to do in their free time and that the U.S. government is not generally liked in CR.
something more on the funny side, they way ticos great each other is by a kiss on the check. can you see where this is going? well even if you have just met the person you do it anyway. so these guys from the youth group came over to the house and of course greeted me with a kiss on the check. 2 of the 3 were cute but i can assure there will be no amor during this semester! do you guys think we could implement this custom in the U.S.?
so it is the day before school and i am very nervous to take the bus. my parents have been through the routs with me once but i am still very unsure about the stops and waht not. so please pray for me and the bus system. i am sure i will become more familar with it as the days go but right now i have butterflies in my tummy.
thank you all for your nice emails from the last letter! hope you all have awonderful week!
love from costa rica,
clara
Saturday, January 06, 2007
3 days left...
Here is my mailing address while in Costa Rica....
Claire Scholl
Latin American Studies Program
Apdo. 54-2070
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica
The program recommends that packages are not sent becuase they will get
stolen in the mail. But letters are wonderful I suppose!
I have begun packing today. I am bringing only one large suitcase, a small duffle and then my new back pack. So in a sense I will be traveling light for a four month trip!
I leave in 3 days and I am getting very excited! Thank you for your continued prayer! Have a happy new year!
Claire Scholl
Latin American Studies Program
Apdo. 54-2070
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica
The program recommends that packages are not sent becuase they will get
stolen in the mail. But letters are wonderful I suppose!
I have begun packing today. I am bringing only one large suitcase, a small duffle and then my new back pack. So in a sense I will be traveling light for a four month trip!
I leave in 3 days and I am getting very excited! Thank you for your continued prayer! Have a happy new year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
