Wednesday, July 8, 2009
...
I'll never again underestimate how challenging aerobics class can be. This morning I had a heaping serving of humble pie, as I sweated buckets and bumbled along in an attempt to follow the nimble footwork of our very fit instructor. Most of the regulars around me are older than I am (from mothers in their thirties with young children all the way up to seventy-ish), and they all stepped along without skipping a beat!
Monday, July 6, 2009
In Case You Didn't Know...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/07/06/honduras.political.turmoil/index.html
Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the military a little over a week ago for trying to push a vote to make a constitutional change to allow him to run for another term in office (under the current charter, he cannot be re-elected). He arrived in Costa Rica shortly after I did, before Hugo Chavez scooped him up in a plane and took him to Nicaragua and El Salvador. He made a failed attempt to return to Tegucigalpa yesterday night.
Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the military a little over a week ago for trying to push a vote to make a constitutional change to allow him to run for another term in office (under the current charter, he cannot be re-elected). He arrived in Costa Rica shortly after I did, before Hugo Chavez scooped him up in a plane and took him to Nicaragua and El Salvador. He made a failed attempt to return to Tegucigalpa yesterday night.
Between the Hours of 9pm and 6am...
For those of you who know me, you're probably well-acquainted with my sleeping tendencies. I can usually fall asleep anywhere, almost anytime, be it on someone's living room couch amidst a lively social gathering, in the middle of writing an email with my laptop in my lap, or in my own bed. I've been sleeping well here in my little room behind the garage, but I do wake up every now and then, as the neighborhood is wide awake outside the gates of our house. To demonstrate:
1) At 9pm, the 2 cocker spaniels next door raise a bit of a ruckus when they see the neighborhood strays patrolling the sidewalks.
2) Every once in a while a red taxi zooms by (drivers don't usually mind the road signs and zip at high speeds along neighborhood streets.).
3) Once every few hours, a car honks in the street. Because most houses here have several layers of gates, usually drivers honk outside to let their wives/husbands/children know to come out and unlock the gates one by one.
4) At approximately 1am (almost every night), two neighborhood cats commence their ritual of tag on our rooftop, complete with melodious singing and scampering.
5) At 5:30 or 6am, the engine of my family's car coughs and chokes a couple of times before starting completely. (Christian goes early to his job as a mechanic).
6) At 6:30 my own alarm starts buzzing, although I'm usually wide awake before my watch sounds.
1) At 9pm, the 2 cocker spaniels next door raise a bit of a ruckus when they see the neighborhood strays patrolling the sidewalks.
2) Every once in a while a red taxi zooms by (drivers don't usually mind the road signs and zip at high speeds along neighborhood streets.).
3) Once every few hours, a car honks in the street. Because most houses here have several layers of gates, usually drivers honk outside to let their wives/husbands/children know to come out and unlock the gates one by one.
4) At approximately 1am (almost every night), two neighborhood cats commence their ritual of tag on our rooftop, complete with melodious singing and scampering.
5) At 5:30 or 6am, the engine of my family's car coughs and chokes a couple of times before starting completely. (Christian goes early to his job as a mechanic).
6) At 6:30 my own alarm starts buzzing, although I'm usually wide awake before my watch sounds.
Something Random...
I went to my first (and maybe my last) aerobics class here last Friday. I insisted that I was only going to watch, but then one of the regulars insisted that I at least try the dancing portion of the class, which I did...and failed miserably.
There´s no way I can shake my body parts the way those women were (and mind you, the majority of them were at least fifteen to twenty years older than I am!).
There´s no way I can shake my body parts the way those women were (and mind you, the majority of them were at least fifteen to twenty years older than I am!).
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sin Palabras, Enamorado...
...dulcemente, quebrantado!
Thanks to the help of lovely friends and some new-found ones, I made it to La Vina del Este last night for the opening night of the H13 Conference and got to meet some peeps from the Southwest London Vineyard and Vineyard Columbus (in Ohio)!
More to come...
Thanks to the help of lovely friends and some new-found ones, I made it to La Vina del Este last night for the opening night of the H13 Conference and got to meet some peeps from the Southwest London Vineyard and Vineyard Columbus (in Ohio)!
More to come...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Some Getting Used to...
Things I´m adjusting to:
-A semi-cold shower in the mornings. Water heaters are expensive here, so most houses have an electric heater attached to the shower head. I didn´t know how to work the shower for the first four days and resigned myself to the idea of taking cold showers.
-Not understanding everything in my surroundings. Oh, wait. This happens back at home on a regular basis.
-Being aware of my surroundings during my walks to and from school. So far everything seems fine, but a fellow student at the Institute had her backpack taken during her walk to school yesterday morning. I´m guessing it can´t be any worse than walking solo in my neighborhood back in Houston at night, but yesterday I decided to stay for chapel so I could walk home with a girl who lives in my neighborhood.
-Relying on others for things that I need. I know God´s been reminding me that I shouldn´t and can´t rely on my own strength for the things I need.
-Not having my day planned to the last second. Back at home I´ve tended to fill my daily life with people, activities, email, etc, from the moment I get up to the second my head hits the pillow...all for what reason? It was weird not to have somewhere to go Wednesday night, and it´s a little bit weird to be stripped of all the things I normally do back at home.
-A semi-cold shower in the mornings. Water heaters are expensive here, so most houses have an electric heater attached to the shower head. I didn´t know how to work the shower for the first four days and resigned myself to the idea of taking cold showers.
-Not understanding everything in my surroundings. Oh, wait. This happens back at home on a regular basis.
-Being aware of my surroundings during my walks to and from school. So far everything seems fine, but a fellow student at the Institute had her backpack taken during her walk to school yesterday morning. I´m guessing it can´t be any worse than walking solo in my neighborhood back in Houston at night, but yesterday I decided to stay for chapel so I could walk home with a girl who lives in my neighborhood.
-Relying on others for things that I need. I know God´s been reminding me that I shouldn´t and can´t rely on my own strength for the things I need.
-Not having my day planned to the last second. Back at home I´ve tended to fill my daily life with people, activities, email, etc, from the moment I get up to the second my head hits the pillow...all for what reason? It was weird not to have somewhere to go Wednesday night, and it´s a little bit weird to be stripped of all the things I normally do back at home.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Typical Day...
I've just arrived at the Institute this morning to write a few quick emails and postcards before heading off to the library to study. My Tico family lives approximately a ten-minute walk away from the school in the neighborhood of San Francisco, and while it's cooler here than it is in Houston, I broke a sweat during my walk this morning.
I feel like a bit of a little kid again, living with my Tico family. While my Tico parents are approximately my age (Adriana is just a few months my elder), they do a tremendous amount to take care of me, including cooking meals, washing clothes, making sure I don't get lost, etc. It feels a bit unusual when I'm used to fending for myself, but I am appreciating it. Just this morning, Adriana sent me off to school with a slice of pineapple in hand to munch on during my walk, haha.
Classes are in the afternoon. I tested into a mid-beginner/beginning intermediate grammar class and an intermediate conversation class (thank you to all my friends who speak Spanish to me back at home!), so a lot of the concepts we're learning are a bit of a review. After a special chapel service, I usually sit outside to study/have some quiet time before eating lunch and going to class. When classes end at four, I make the trek home. I'm a little wary of taking my North Face backpack with me wherever I go; while I don't have valuables minus a bit of money in my pockets, the backpack makes me an easy target, I want to take a bit of precaution. Just yesterday a missionary friend told me about a friend of hers who was robbed at gunpoint not too far from here.
Despite all the walking, I'm not losing any weight! Adriana feeds me huge portions that I can't refuse. Just last night I had a plate of arroz con frijoles negra (rice with black beans), a small omelet, chayote (which is a root vegetable like a potato), and fresh veggies. And not too long before dinner, I had cafecito, which is a little like the Chilean once with coffee, fruit, and bread and cheese or bread and butter.
In the evenings I play with my Tico brother and sister before I work on homework. Fabian is 9 years old and loves to play soccer with me, and Jimena is just over 1 (we like to dance to reggaeton together). Fabian is still in school, so he usually works on homework or studying when I am. A bit of TV (I allow myself to watch since I think it helps me to learn), a bit of reading, and then I'm usually off to bed by 10:30 at the latest. No, seriously.
My time is up here, so I'll be back to update soon...
I feel like a bit of a little kid again, living with my Tico family. While my Tico parents are approximately my age (Adriana is just a few months my elder), they do a tremendous amount to take care of me, including cooking meals, washing clothes, making sure I don't get lost, etc. It feels a bit unusual when I'm used to fending for myself, but I am appreciating it. Just this morning, Adriana sent me off to school with a slice of pineapple in hand to munch on during my walk, haha.
Classes are in the afternoon. I tested into a mid-beginner/beginning intermediate grammar class and an intermediate conversation class (thank you to all my friends who speak Spanish to me back at home!), so a lot of the concepts we're learning are a bit of a review. After a special chapel service, I usually sit outside to study/have some quiet time before eating lunch and going to class. When classes end at four, I make the trek home. I'm a little wary of taking my North Face backpack with me wherever I go; while I don't have valuables minus a bit of money in my pockets, the backpack makes me an easy target, I want to take a bit of precaution. Just yesterday a missionary friend told me about a friend of hers who was robbed at gunpoint not too far from here.
Despite all the walking, I'm not losing any weight! Adriana feeds me huge portions that I can't refuse. Just last night I had a plate of arroz con frijoles negra (rice with black beans), a small omelet, chayote (which is a root vegetable like a potato), and fresh veggies. And not too long before dinner, I had cafecito, which is a little like the Chilean once with coffee, fruit, and bread and cheese or bread and butter.
In the evenings I play with my Tico brother and sister before I work on homework. Fabian is 9 years old and loves to play soccer with me, and Jimena is just over 1 (we like to dance to reggaeton together). Fabian is still in school, so he usually works on homework or studying when I am. A bit of TV (I allow myself to watch since I think it helps me to learn), a bit of reading, and then I'm usually off to bed by 10:30 at the latest. No, seriously.
My time is up here, so I'll be back to update soon...
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