The final week

April 27-30, 2007

Here I sit in darkness once again with a few candles lighting the room. Over the past week there have been black-outs all over the country because there is not enough water for running the electric plants. The summer was long and dry and the rains have not come soon enough. I guess that my parents are getting a good taste of what life in Honduras is like because there brown outs are much more common. I thought Costa Rica would be a gentle adjustment for them.

I can hardly believe that I leave tomorrow for Honduras. My parents will fly out in the morning and I, twelve hours later at 8:00PM. The goodbyes have not been the easiest because I made a lot of good friends here. I will probably get to see most of my Costa Rican friends again since Costa Rica is almost the closest country to Honduras where I can go to renew my visa. Some of them may also travel to Honduras and we can visit there.

The past few weeks have gone quickly. I passed all my exams and was able to graduate on Wednesday. The exams and attempting to pack made a long week from April 16-20. My parents arrived on the 20^th and we headed almost immediately to Volcan Arenal where we spent the weekend. I was up late journaling and from the porch of our hotel room I was able to see a bit of the orange lava shooting out of the volcano. Both days in the area we were blessed with good weather and visibility so throughout the day we would see ashes and rocks tumbling down the mountainside. According to the locals, Arenal had not been that visible for months so the timing was great for us.

After Arenal we went east and visited the town of Sarapiqui. There we took a riverboat tour and saw many lizards, birds, and monkeys. The highlight for me was seeing a caiman up close. (I had hoped for a crocodile but a caiman is close enough that I cannot complain). The hotel we stayed at was a bit of tropical paradise but without air condition (I had forgotten to ask for it) so it was a bit stretching for my parents. My dad and I took an early morning hike and saw howler monkeys and many kinds of birds, including the Montezuma Oropendola.

I returned to San Jose for classes on Tuesday though in reality there was no learning that took place so late in the school year. In the afternoon we went to downtown San Jose and my parents were able to experience the bus system. A true experience involves standing in the aisle for a good 20 minutes or more but since the bus was not crowded, they did not have to deal with that adventure. In the evening we had a birthday celebration with my parents and my Tico family. I had to do a fair amount of translating from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. The challenge came when I would forget to translate into English and would just start talking to my parents in Spanish. On Wednesday I graduated from the Language Institute and helped to make sure that the reception went smoothly. After scrambling to pack several bags to send to Honduras with friends, my parents and I left for La Cumbre camp in the mountains. I wanted to be there during their science camp but unfortunately I missed all of the science classes and was there for the activities that I had already witnessed, such as the high ropes course. It was fun nonetheless.

I had yet another birthday cake and had opportunity to talk with my camp friends and say the goodbyes. My parents and I relaxed quite a bit, hiked, and played games. Just before we left we were able to see the Resplendent Quetzal, my favorite bird that I have seen here in Costa Rica. We were quite the tourists standing out under a steady rainfall, trying to peer through binoculars from beneath an umbrella to get a better view of the Quetzal.

During the last 2 days that my parents were here we went on a tour to an old, working farm where they showed how they process sugar cane, coffee, and macadamia nuts. In spite of the rain off and on throughout the day, it was a beautiful setting and I learned a lot. Then on Sunday my Tico family, my parents, and I went to Poas Volcano and La Paz Waterfall Gardens. I do not think I ever had a more beautiful travel day which was an incredible gift from God. The day was sandwiched between many dreary days. We were able to see both the crater (with its sulfuric smoke) and the lagoon at Poas. And at the waterfall gardens we enjoyed the birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, and of course the waterfalls themselves. I thought it fitting that I finished my journal (of the past 2 months) sitting by the La Paz Waterfall. La Paz means “the peace” and as I leave Costa Rica today, I want to go in peace knowing that though I leave behind many friends and memories, I can go in peace because the Lord is going before and with me to Honduras. My prayer too is that I will have peace in my heart as I trust in Him to do His work and His will in my life. Peace as I follow Him. That is not to say that there will not be stormy times – quite the contrary. But I know that God can fill me with His peace in the midst of those trials. A key is that I keep the focus of my heart, mind, and eyes on Him. It is interesting how the lessons of the beginning of my time in Costa Rica are coming back to me.

And so an hour before I left the electric was out again. I was actually glad to arrive at the airport where I could use my computer. Having just been at the airport at 6:00AM this morning when it was a madhouse, I was shocked to enter and find that I was almost the only customer there for any airline. Apparently the evening flights are not so busy and 2 hours for the lines is not necessary. There were no lines! I was quite ecstatic. Today, my last day in Costa Rica, I finally found a place that sells Chai Tea. And I was drinking coffee for nothing!! Oh well, I enjoyed a cup of Chai with one of my Tica friends before having to say goodbye. I guess I just have one more thing to look forward to when I visit Costa Rica again.

Easter Day

April 8, 2007

This morning I went for a run before church and as I left the house I noticed that the hill with the crosses was obscured by clouds and yet a small hill in front of it was bathed in sunshine. I thought it was fitting that the crosses were out of sight because today is Easter, the celebration of Christ's resurrection. He is not on the cross anymore; He is alive! I did miss singing some of the traditional Easter hymns this morning. The service was good but not what I am used to for the Easter Day celebration. After church I headed home for a little bit before going over to my friends' house (Matthew and Jennifer) for lunch. It seemed like an Easter dinner because I was definitely stuffed afterwards. After dinner we went to a nearby park and the guys hid white (unpainted) Easter eggs for the 2 boys. It is encouraging that Easter has not become such a commercialized holiday here and you cannot actually buy Easter egg dye, Easter candy, or bunnies. Later in the afternoon I taught my friends Settler's of Catan and we played 2 games. I should do a little studying yet this evening but we will see. After a week of vacation from classes it is hard to think of going to school again tomorrow but I need to get ready to finish out the next two weeks.

Exploring Monteverde

April 1, 2007

Several weeks ago I took a trip to Monteverde which is a large cloud forest. I went with three friends, two of whom are Ticos from camp. Friday after classes we left on the 5 hour bus ride. The bus was packed with people headed to Monteverde, most of whom were American tourists like myself. Many had to stand for the entire bus ride and because I was not feeling the greatest I did not end up offering my seat to any of them, though I would have liked to. I saw several students with Penn State x-country shirts on the bus and discovered that they were here studying for the semester.

We stayed in the little mountain town of Santa Elena, a town sustained mostly by tourism. Our first day we went to the Monteverde Reserve which is reported to have many monkeys, wild cats, and beautiful birds. Unfortunately we did not actually see much other than a few birds. Later in the day we visited a serpentarium which contained many species of poisonous snakes. A Quaker school group from Philadelphia was also there doing a tour and it brought back memories of Outdoor Education in Pennsylvania. There is a Quaker community in Monteverde but I did not actually visit their cheese factory or cross paths with them. That night my one friend and I went on a guided night hike. We were able to see tarantulas, the Mexican hairy porcupine, coatis, raccoons, sleeping birds, and praying mantises. I was hoping to see a poisonous snake (from a distance of course) but we did not see anything quite that exciting. I enjoyed being on the receiving end of a night hike after having led many at Black Rock Retreat.

On Sunday we had the opportunity to do the Canopy Tours and hanging bridges. Canopy tours are very similar to gigantic zip-lines but they span gorges and run through the very top of the trees. A few of them reached heights and lengths that were quite thrilling. Because it was very windy that day, there were several cables where you had to go in pairs to prevent getting stuck out in the middle and having to pull yourself in. I was thankful that I am comfortable with heights or else the letting go would have been very difficult.

Kinkajou
Monday two of my friends left to return to San Jose while the other two of us took a guided tour at another reserve. Unfortunately it rained and rained which limited what we could see. We did see a Kinkajou (the above picture was taken in the zoo, not on the hike) up in the trees and then a peccary walking around outside the café area. Interesting fact: the kinkajou has a very long tongue that is twice the size of its head. Before heading back to San Jose I was able to get some ice cream from a little shop. It was rich and creamy and reminded me of the ice cream made in the dairies in Lancaster. Due to some accidents and broken down vehicles in the middle of the road the trip back to San Jose took an extra long time but thankfully it was much cooler this time and the bus was not so crowded. We also got to witness a beautiful rainbow coverng the sky to the left of the bus.

A quiet week

I have had vacation from classes since last Friday, March 30th because nearly everything closes down over Holy Week. At first I had planned to take a trip to Panama to renew my visa but the details were not coming together for the trip and I did not really have a peace about going. (Of course there was also the issue of choosing between various things that I wanted to do). In the end I opted to stay in Costa Rica and go to La Cumbre camp on Saturday the 31st. There was an English-speaking youth group at the camp and they needed help with the ropes course and climbing center.
I left early Saturday morning on the bus and figured that I could use the 2 hour bus ride to do some reading. (I had lots of things that I wanted to accomplish this week from studying, to reading, to finishing taxes). But God had other plans for the ride because almost soon as I sat down, the girl beside me and I began talking. We talked for almost the entire trip. She is a university student who was returning home for the week. As we talked I learned that she is a Christian but has not found a church or Christian friends in San Jose. Because I know a lot of youth from among the camp volunteers, I know of a few youth groups and churches that she can maybe connect with. I am planning to visit a church with her in 2 weeks when she is back in town.
The time at camp was both relaxing and fun. I enjoyed being able to debrief activities in English again. At the same time there were enough Spanish speaking staff around that I got to practice Spanish a fair amount. The one evening I was able to chat with one of the youth group members who had just moved to the area and to pray with her. Through this and other events, God showed me that He did have plans for me in being here in Costa Rica this week. I was thankful for the confirmation because I had been debating whether I should have just left and renewed my visa. On Monday we finished the programming with the youth group but I decided to stick around for a few more days because my plans to go hiking had fallen through and I did not want to return to the city any sooner than I had to. I wanted to have a few last days in the cool mountain air. Monday night there was an awesome view because the moon, which was almost full, had a huge halo around it. I had never seen one so big though the next night it was there again though fainter this time.
I was able to do some rock climbing at a new site on camp and also just spend time with God down by the river or up on the rock after a climb and some bushwhacking. All in all it was a refreshing time and great time even though I did not have the adventure of traveling.

Semana Santa/Holy Week

April 6, 2007

Today is Good Friday, a day of processions and services here in the Catholic church. Almost everything in the city of San Jose has been shut down. No buses, not much shopping. (Hipermas which is similar to Walmart was still open of course). Although Good Friday is very much celebrated, from what I hear Easter, the day of resurrection is forgotten. This morning I got up at around 5:00AM to do a short hike just outside of the city. I did not realize it until I was hiking up the moutain to the 3 crosses (all in different areas) that this was the same day that Jesus carried the cross up the hill. My climb was absolutely nothing in comparison. It was neat to sit for a few moments below the crosses and remember what Jesus did for me on that day so long ago.
I had done the same hike during the first week that I was in Costa Rica though that time it was in the heat of day. Today I was hiking with a bunch of young teenagers who are a part of a soccer team from La Carpio. Their abundance of energy was refreshing to see.
This evening as I was leaving my friends' house after a couple of games of Settler's I walked out into a gray world of light rain. I could not help but be reminded again of fall in Pennsylvania with its gentile (sometimes), but steady rains. I actually wanted to just walk and walk in the rain but opted to head home instead. Most of the world has vacated San Jose and gone to the beach so for once the streets are quiet and you can walk without worrying about traffic.