¡Pura Vida!

Alaba al SEÑOR, nuestro Dios y Salvador que día tras día sobrelleva nuestras cargas. Salmo 68:19
(Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. –Psalm 68:19)

I have only spent 4 days in Costa Rica, but I have learned muchísimo thus far. This first week of LASP is Orientation. We (somos 34 estudiantes en total) spent the first full day (Wednesday) in a retreat center in Coronado. Our host families came to the retreat center to take us home in the afternoon. What an emotional and nerve racking time for many of the students. It was also exciting to hear the parents’ excitement for us and watch the greetings (a hug and a ‘kiss’ on the cheek). We drew our families out of a hat. All are Christian families that are carefully and mindfully selected by the LASP staff. I shall share about my familia later…

The second day of Orientation (Thursday) we met in the center of San Jose for a scavenger hunt in groups of 3-4 students. A major theme of LASP is “learning by doing” (aprender haciendo). This is exactly what we did to orient ourselves to the city. Learning….the main calles and avenidas, money exchange, post office, pharmacy, public phone booth, POPS (popular ice cream shop), market, Mall San Pedro, bus system, taxi, etc. We also learned our way to ICADS in Curridabat where we will go in the afternoons for conversational Spanish classes during the next 5 weeks. A professor of this school interviewed us individually to evaluate our current level of conversational Spanish. Finally, to bring closure to the experience, our smaller groups merged with 2 other groups to have coffee in a Café with one of the LASP professors.

-My new favorite Spanish word is “cafeteando”….which means to have coffee, which implies the value of relationships over time in Latin American culture – to make time to spend “cafeteando” with friends at a Café or in the house with family o neighbors. This concept I greatly appreciate about Latin Americans.-

The third day of Orientation (Friday), the LASP students met at the institute of LASP in Carmen where we will meet for Basic Seminar each morning for the next 5 weeks. The staff challenged us through a cultural exchange activity, which demonstrated how quick we are to stereotype a culture not our own or to easily discern the negative things about another culture before understanding its perspective. A director of the preventative police force spoke to us about security. The LASP staff and our host families also stress the importance of safety.

I also learned more about the Concentration of Advanced Language and Literature (ALL) that I will participate in with 11 other students halfway through the semester. We will spend the first 2 weeks of this concentration having class together at LASP with Profe Laura. We will read pieces of literature that represent prominent themes of Latin America. The following 3 ½ weeks will be a placement in the countryside working among the people in a school or a farm or other area of work. Spanish will be the tool for learning….because we value Spanish, we care about the people who represent this identity and will learn through interacting with the locals and our families. The final week of the semester, the ALL students will spend a week on an indigenous island with the Kunas learning how to communicate in our second language with people who share that commonality. I look forward to these experiences, but will enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Día por día.

Lastly, mi familia!!! I am blessed to have the opportunity to live in the center of bustling Guadalupe (a neighborhood of San Jose) in a simple house with Mamá Carmen, sister Giovanni, brothers Alejandro and Sebastian, and mini toy poodles Cookie and Sakumi. Everyone has a nickname, and I was welcomed into the family this way on the first evening together. I am now “Jo” or “JoJo.” A mi no me importa.
Giovi is 15. Ale is 11, and Sebas is 8. I am enthralled with having 2 little brothers because I only have younger sisters at home in Ohio. I have never had this experience! Ale plays fútbol (soccer) and Sebas loves videojuegos (videogames). In the evenings so far, we have played multiple games of Clue and Uno (in Spanish). Very fun! They also enjoy telenovelas and fútbol on TV. Giovi is a teen who hangs out in her own room watching TV in the evening or spends time with friends or her boyfriend. But the curfew is ALWAYS 9 PM, which is sufficient.

My mom is a single mother who works full time in school administration and manages the house as well. She is a great example of a Christian mother as I have observed thus far. She explains everything to me and is very patient. She is not the stereotypical Mamá that expects me to eat plate after plate of rice and beans. She would rather know what I do like and do not like of the meals that she fixes. So far we have had pasta with chicken, and soup of pasta, plátanos, and hardboiled egg. We eat white toast and drink coffee for breakfast. My lunch consists of a ham sandwich and a jam and butter sandwich on white bread. This is common. I will eat what she provides for me! I am grateful for a loving and welcoming family whom I get to be a part of (do what they do) for 5 straight weeks.

Gracias a Dios.

Wisdom for the journey: Be flexible; Be slow to judge; Listen first; Do not complain, Be grateful.
*pray that I can continue to be open minded and living out this wisdom!

En paz, Joanne