thunderstorms rolling through the mountains

My life is full of so many good things right now. The first month of culture shock and such things is over (PTL!) and I am so ready to head out to Nicaragua on Wednesday for the siguiente 10 days (I can't think of the word in english right now - the next 10 days after that?). So I will try and keep this short and sleep (also because I am VERY tired).

1. I am reading 2 Corinthians and Ecclesiastes. I don't know why, but I like it.
2. Asking people to pray for you is hard, makes you vulnerable, but it helps. So much. (thank you!)
3. On Tuesday there was a massive storm up on campus with hail, three REALLY close lightning strikes and rolling almost non-stop thunder for a solid hour at least.
4. Hammocks and good friends
5. Chocolate Crinkles
6. Olibollen
7. Jazz Cafe (pre-emptive)
8. La Viña Escazu
9. My co-workers
10. Lindy & Dinorah Scott.
11. Absurdly friendly taxi drivers, though sometimes they ask odd questions (are you going to get married???)
12. Jane Austen, I appreciate how you have written Jane Eyre
13. Cary Fukunaga, I appreciate your imaginative interpretation of Jane Eyre through the medium of film. Also Jean-Marc Vallée for the Young Victoria.
14. Catching up with and rebuilding friendships with people from the past.
15. A sometimes absurd amount of emails from Whitworth - I'm only a little out of the loop, now
16. Friends who take time out of their busy schedules to talk to me on skype or send me an email.
17. Getting snail mail in Costa Rica :)
18. My INTERNSHIP. It's awesome.
19. Realizing that I have people in my life who love me exactly as I am.
20. Finding the ability to be at peace with decisions I make.
21. Nicaragua - IN SIX DAYS

This for prayer:
1. Direction in applications for jobs.
2. Remembering who I am and in whom I find my strength.
3. I am learning (in COR[e]azón 350) trying to make decisions based on your beliefs. It is hard. Especially in the sense of liberation theology and how you think your faith plays a role in your life and in culture.
4. Safety in travels to Nicaragua (and the US for Lindy). Also the ability to be safe, smart but not overly-anxious as I tend to be.

Basically, last year I spent a lot of time trying to change myself to suit the desires of other people, what I thought other people wanted and to fix what I felt was 'wrong' with my personality and person, as it is. This semester, I came to Costa Rica to challenge myself. Again. More change. I am coming to see that it is more of me rediscovering who I am in Christ. How do I view myself outside of the lens of other people? I have grown up thinking I need to please people (not sure why) all the time, and it seems like I have been willing to try and do that at any cost. So now,  I will try and find who I am and try and learn to place decisions of my future into hands other than my own. 

An update!

The last few days have been incredible. On Sunday afternoon, I went up to campus with Bean and we found Lara and got to have a round of Zumba for some exercise: at 6700 feet. It was pretty intense, to say the least. We may be having another round again today. Then I got to stick around campus for a dinner in Lindy and Dinorah’s apartment. The campus family is wonderful J It was a nice rest moment for me since I have been so anxious.

ORMIGAS – they are everywhere (ants).

Internship update: I have no idea how I can write only a little bit out this (I know those who actually read this probably have a short attention span – cough, cough Jeff). I’m interning at the Starbucks Agronomy and C.A.F.E. practices office. My main goal is to learn more about how the company of Starbucks as a while treats their farmers and how the interaction benefits both sides. I LEARNED SO MUCH ON MONDAY. But first, I took the bus that I was supposed to take to get me to the EPA (apparently a giant hardware store that is painted yellow – false. It is grey). The driver said yes, I will drop you off there, and then did not. So I got off, almost at the Parque Central in Belen (20 minutes farther than I needed to go?) and got on a bus going in the other direction. This driver also said that he would drop me off, and I told him that I would appreciate it very much because I didn’t know where it was. Later I discovered that he had also not dropped me off. So I’m passing these buildings with names I recognize from where I was originally going to be picked up by my supervisor, so I called her and she said ‘Perfect! Get off the bus!’ And she picked me up 5 minutes after we had arranged for. Thank you Lord. I was a bit nervous since I was on a bus and I didn’t know where it was going.

So, actually being at the internship was amazing. The women working there are SO NICE. Monday was C.A.F.E. Practices orientation; next Monday is Coffee 101 (which, if you know me well enough, you know I’m incredibly excited about). I worked on helping a Peruvian woman with filing new applications for the Starbucks verification process and spent most of the time researching about the verification process so that I have a good knowledge of how it works. A short note about this process (if you want to know more, PLEASE ask). Starbucks has their own ‘certification’ process that they call verification. It is very similar to fair trade, and honestly, in some areas, surpasses the expectations of fair trade. All farmers have to be socially responsible, environmental leadership, have economic accountability and produce good quality coffee. The sub qualifications under each of these are really interesting, ranging from being financially transparent, the type of canopy cover, preserving local biodiversity, treatment of employees, too much more.

Yesterday was Tuesday, another class day. After class, kind of in honor of community building day on the Whitworth North campus (or more like coincidence), we cleared out a good 100 feet of one of our streams and started planting local shrubbery around it. I got to play with a machete. See pictures for joy J Oh! Last note – My supervisor took me out for lunch to an Israeli restaurant in Escazu (where my internship is) and then took me home to meet her daughter (who had wanted to meet me) after work. So great!

 Luis makes bridges. They are cool.

 Travis = SUPER EXCITED

 clearing ground and transplanting

 they gave me a machete.

 At bossa nova - a Brazilian restaurant near home

 Ticcia got something that had an inch of chocolate on the bottom

 Emily's caramel/chocolate something

The inch of chocolate being spread around. 

Independence Day!

The last few days have been great. Here are the comings and goings:

Freddy Mendez, who works with Intervarsity in Nicaragua, is here teaching us about the history of Latin America through colonialism and war. I don't even have the words to put to the challenges that he gives us as western students. How can we know what we believe and than act upon it? So much of liberation theology makes sense to me, but I question parts of it. There is a need for change in the world and I am struggling to see how society can change. How do you love your neighbor? I mean, REALLY love your neighbor. How can you struggle with something so strongly as you need to in order to learn when you are also trying to work through culture shock and buses and all of that. How do you live knowing that Jesus died for you?

I grew up in a Christian home. I've known for my whole life that Jesus died for me, but you don't really try and comprehend what that means, how it changes your life. To take those desires and thoughts and turn them into action is SO HARD.

I struggle. A lot, actually.

Yesterday's cultural experience: Sounders versus Herediano, the local team in Heredia (our nearby city). The man behind me in the stands was incredibly clear in his enunciation of swear words. It was absolutely ridiculous. I was sitting among nine other sounders fans, and we were loud (true to my character). I was loosing my voice occasionally by the end of it.

Today's cultural experience: watching the desfiles (parades) and taking the bus with a bunch of drunk teenagers/young adults. The police kicked about 20 off the bus and I saw a lot, a LOT of police. I also got to hang out with some students who go to school in San Jose (they're a part of the intervarsity fellowship here). It was tons of fun. I'm pretty sure I was the only person who understood more than 75% of what was being said, but it was still a lot of fun. Especially with the translations that were going on.

Also, want to know something about the Costa Rica Center? Read this