September 29

Wow, it´s been a while! Sorry I don´t write much and I'll apologize in advance for the length. Since I don't have a computer, I don't come to the cafes much to use it. I guess I've gotten used to not having access to a computer and cell phone constantly; I actually kinda like it, but of course I miss talking with my family and friends so much.

Last week was pretty uneventful except that I had a cold. Just a sore throat, runny nose, and lack of energy. That didn't keep me from doing anything though. Friday (21st) was probably the worst of the cold as I got really hoarse and almost lost my voice. Caroline, Rachel, Jessie, and I went to a mall after school. It was really nice and we really enjoyed looking around. We ate dinner at an Italian place and went to see Hairspray (the movie). So good! I loved it. It was in English with Spanish subtitles so we were able to fully enjoy it and read along with the subtitles.

Saturday, the 22nd, I went bungee jumping! I left around 8 a.m. with 4 other girls from LASP: Kylie, Amie, Ally, and Rachel (but not the one from LU). We rode a bus for about 45 minutes and ended up at Tropical Bungee. It was in the middle of a forrest so it was beautiful. We jumped off a bridge that ran over a creek. I volunteered to be the brave soul to go first in the group. As you know, I'm very adventurous and love the rush, but wow, when I was standing up on that bridge, it's a pretty intense feeling. You have a thing around the waist like you do during rock climbing, but the main hold is on the feet. So I'm standing on a little ledge looking down to the creek, rocks, and trees as the guide counts down, practically feeling nothing on my body to protect me, and knowing I have to jump! Of course I didn't hesitate because I love to take risks, so down I fell. I kinda lost my breath half the way down because you just don't feel anything attactched to you. Then you spring back up and get the closest experience to flying that you're ever going to get. So amazing. I have a video of it and of course there's pictures on facebook.

The rest of the night I just stayed home to rest up and relax. Sunday I went to church with my mom and her sisters and friends. Caroline and Jessie came too. We ate at a chinese restaurant afterward. I was a little nervous because I don't like chinese much anyway and chinese in Costa Rica? I got fried rice with shrimp and it was really good. Tasted like Pei Wei. Hung out with my moms family that afternoon, did some homework, and got ready for another busy week.

The biggest project of the week was a group project about TLC or CAFTA. My group was me, Rachel and Adam from LU, and 2 other girls, Jen and Sara. This was a 2 week assignment which consisted of interviewing people about their opinions, reading articles about it, going to hear speakers, etc. We had to come up with our position on it and what we thought best represented the needs of the marginalized. We said no, that it was better to not ratify TLC. We wrote a paper (in Spanish, thankfully Adam is from Venezuela) and had to do a 1-2 minute presentation in front of the class on Wednesday. Ours was the bomb! We did a full-fledged musical including singing and dancing. Songs inclueded country song She Said Yes (changed to we say yes), High School Musical song Stick to the Status Quo, Look Down from Les Miserables, Money Money Money, and the grand finale Seize the Day from the Newsies. We only did a little from each but it was amazing. Rachel's putting it on youtube.com so I'll let you know where you can find it.

Wednesday we also had a Biblical Reflection due. The theme this time was poverty. We were given several scriptures and a couple of articles to read to prompt our thinking. The title was The Poor You'll Always Have with You, because this is a famous verse when it comes to the poor, but the sad thing is many people use this as an excuse to not do much about poverty. Through the readings I realized how important our relationship to the marginalized is as Christians. I realized how much of a core value it is but how deeply understressed it is in the church. There were countless verses of people coming before God with sacrifice and praise but Him saying, this is meaningless because you aren't participating in justice in the world! One of the articles talked about how Jesus said you'll always have the poor because as Christians they should always be around us. In churches today there is an obvious distance from the poor. We want to help but prefer to do it at a distance (speaking generally of course). Such an eye opener and now I continue to struggle with what this means in my life and what to do with this. Two verses that got me the most are Isaiah 58:2 specifically but continuing throughout the chapter and Amos 5:21-24. I encourage you to read it, but prepare to feel a little uncomfortable.

Thursday we had praise and worship after class and then a group went to a mexican restaurant to celebrate Becky's birthday. Got a little lost on the way home as I was walking thinking I knew where I was going, but I just got a taxi and arrived safely back to the house. It was only like 7:15, not very late, so don't worry about me roaming around at night by myself!

Friday morning, yesterday, I went to the University of Costa Rica with Rose to interview someone for our big end of term papers/projects. We interviewed a guy named Andres who had spoken to our class. He is only 22 but is a city councilman for the district of Cartago. It was very interesting to talk with him and hear his prospective as a politician. It was also very cool to see a young person in such a powerful position striving to make a difference. His party is kinda known as the radical, young party. They advocate environmental issues and are very focused on the future and changing things, which is very refreshing compared to the usual older politicians stuck in their ways so to say.

I enjoyed being back in the college atmosphere for just a bit. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was surrounded by so many people my age, so many fun shops and coffecitas, etc. I feel like there is just so much energy, so much idealogy, such a pivotal time as everyone is kinda seeking their own way to change the world. Latin American univeristies have more of this feel I feel like than North American because it is more uncommon to go to the university and people seem more focused, opposed to the typial party scene in the states. While there I bought some earrings and got this street vender to make me a ring ($1 baby!). 2 students approached Rose and I and asked if they could interview us for an English class. We gladly agreed, eager to return the favor since usually it is us who is asking to interview. We have projects all the time where we have to walk up to people on the street and engage them in conversation. It was fun to be on the other side.

Friday night we had Camino Espiritual, Spiritual Journey at LASP office. We all sat in a big circle, including all the profesors, and each had 3 minutes to tell about their spiritual journey. Luckily I was about halfway around so I had about an hour to think about what to say. I wasn't excited about this because it seemed so random and kinda awkward, but at the end of the night, after 4 hours of this, it was so cool to see how many walls are broken down and how much better you understand people after hearing a measely 3 minutes of their life. A teacher commented that just imagine in life if you took this time to get to know people, how differently you would view people and understand them. A good challenge. A common theme throughout the night was frustration with the church and how it often seems to be anything but a reflection of Christ. Through this frustration and hearing so many stories of struggles and basically how messed up the world is and how much it sucks, I definitely saw hope. Here is a group of 51 students all having around 20-22 years of age and with these frustrations some how holding on the faith. I saw the power in the room as I looked at 51 young people all desperate to follow God and make a difference in this world. A powerful, powerful night.

Currently I sit here on Saturday morning in downtown San Jose in an internet cafe. I'm about to meet up with friends for a Day o Fun! in the city. Tomorrow after church we're going to a soccer game which I am sooo excited about. It's crazy because it is really just flying by. One more week of ILE classes and then we're off to Nicaragua for 2 weeks. A week and a half of classes at LASP, Fall Break, a month of Advanced Language and Lit, a week and a half in Panama and then back to the states! So crazy! So if you're missing me a lot, just keep that in mind. It'll be here before we know it. So now let's just try to live in the moment and soak it up-I know I will! Love!