My blogging has slowed down...

And its pretty much all downhill from here. I will make an attempt to update this with what is happening in my life. It probably wont be quite as exciting since I am no longer in an exotic land with dead people in the river and armed robbers on every corner.

Becca and I were talking last night about how amazing it is to go back to the place where everyone you love is. Even though I really don't like Michigan as a location, I love so many people here. It is so comforting to see the faces that I know so well.

The transition is getting much better. I still kind of suck at speaking English and sometimes people have no clue what I am trying to say because I have translated a phrase literally from Spanish and I end up saying things like "I have cold" instead of "I'm cold." But Spanish words have stopped echoing in my head when I try and order food in English... that's good because that was getting pretty annoying.

Christmas was stressful because I had one week to do Christmas shopping since I got back from CR so late. I am glad its over. I got a plane ticket to Spain for February to visit Anna, I am happy with Santa. I am looking forward to starting school and getting into a routine again. I have lots of crap to do before that! Back to reality! Wooo Hooo.

Entonces...

I have been home for almost a week now and things are getting a bit easier. It has been good to see everyone, although everyone has been pretty busy. I drove today for the first time in four months, it was weird. I keep forgetting I have a cell phone and I keep leaving the stupid thing everywhere. It's nice to have, but it was nice not having to worry about stuff like that.

It is cold, I miss Carlitos, and I miss seeing big green mountains when I look outside.

Carlitos keeps sending me little messages on Skype chat when I am away from my computer. He writes "Hello? Are you there? Well I miss you a lot Franny D. I love you!!! A lot!" It makes me want to cry.

I'm Home...

And it's a whole mix of emotions.

It was really nice to sleep in my bed, and aparently I have an accent now?

Cute/Funny/Disgusting

I was typing Kenna an email and Carlitos walked into my room with a really serious look on his face. He pauses, then says "Franny, I have bad news." I was like "what?" He was like "I have to go poop in your bathroom. My dad and my sister are both in the ones upstairs. I have no other choice." ..."Ok Carlitos, thats fine." It is so funny how well he articulates himself for a 7 year old. Everything that comes out of his mouth is really proper but it is usually on the subject of bodily movements or something totally off the wall. Every time he talks you are thinking he is going to say something so sophisticated and it turns out the be a conversation like the one above. I am seriously going to miss that little boy so much!

Also. We have had to keep a good eye on Summo (the dog) the past couple of days. He keeps sneaking inside the house and trying to pee on the Christmas tree.

Orosi Valley

Yesterday we went to the village of Orosi. It was really nice. The oldest church in Costa Rica is there and we got to walk through it.





I am coming home in two days! Holy crap! I seriously cant imagine what its going to be like to my family at the airport. I hope my dog remembers me...

4 days, 4 hours, 6 min, 45 sec

:) = Seeing my friends, family, food I'm used to, car, cell phone, not having to pick and choose what you can afford to get robbed off of you when you leave the house.

:( = 21 legal drinking age, cold, dark, no more Carlitos and the Gomez family.

Open Doors

Franny,
Congratulations!! You should be proud of the things you have accomplished and the person you've become. I took this picture on a plantation in N. Carolina about 2 years ago. These slave quarters remind me that many of us take for granted all of the invisible "doors" that have been opened for us; & that this was the only door opened for so many others. I know that you have the heart & the mind to do so much for yourself & for others. May your love & compassion continue to break down barriers & open doors for all who enter your life.

All of my best
-Mr K.



This is an inspiring letter that I got from Mr. Keckeisen on the day of my open house. I found it in my prayer journal today. This is a picture from Old Town, but he attached a picture of the slave quarters he talked about in the letter. What he said is so true about taking for granted the "doors" that have been opened for us. I have had so many "doors" opened for me that the little kids in the feeding center will never see just because they were born into a different place and family. It makes me sick when people try and act better than another person because of the situation they were born into. Umm, you did nothing to determine the country and family you were born into therefor you are no better than anyone else just because your "Amuurican" and people who think like that should be hit across the face with a 2x4.

Pictures from Los Guidos/Alajuelita

My previous post was freaking depressing so I am going to post on something else also. Like I said, today was my last day of Club De Arte. These are some pictures of the past three months:

This is not a happy post

Today was my last day teaching the art class at Alajuelita. On the way home walking to the bus with Lucía, there was a dead body in the river under a bridge we crossed. I looked at the man's body and it didn't process until I saw his mouth and eyes open, and I realized that he looked like he had been there awhile. I cant believe that no one from the community had done anything about it. It is the main river that flows through the slums I am sure that everyone had seen him there.

Also exhibitionism is a huge problem here. Maybe it is just as bad in the big cities in the United States, but I have seen it occurring here on more than one occasion, its really disturbing. On all of the occasions God has protected me by either a bus coming just in time to get away from the man or Don Carlos being there to scare him off. But it was still really disturbing. There is much less respect for women in the culture here. Zero respect. Its also hard because I look so different and it catches attention, and scummy sick men notice I'm not from here also. They say things to me and laugh thinking I don't understand. After these disturbing experiences I have really longed to be in a place where I blend in again. It will be nice to walk down the street without being the "Machita" or being sexually harassed 7 times in a row. Only 6 more days.

This world is messed up. And we all just need Jesus.

La Playa

My family took me to the beach yesterday as a goodbye trip. We went to a secluded beach on the Pacific. The waves were too small to surf, but it was a really nice time. Stef and I took some awesome pictures in the light of the sunset.

Christmas Tree Hunting in Costa Rica

I went with the family today to help them pick out their Christmas tree. There were rows and rows of trees and it took us forever to pick one. I never knew that picking a Christmas tree was such a hard thing to commit to. Normally when cutting down a Christmas tree you would be drinking hot chocolate. In Costa Rica we drink coconut milk!

Parque de la Paz

Stefanie, Carmen and I got up early today and Carlos took us to Parque de la Paz. We went for a run, did yoga, and had a Bible study on top of the beautiful hill. It was a nice morning.

Those three dots are us doing Yoga.
The bridge on our run.
The city of San José from the top of the hill.

Hahahah

A friend I met surfing at Escuela Del Mundo sent me this:

Food

Its all I think about. Sloppy joes, baked beans, potato salad, potato chips, curly fries, cheeseburgers, steak, mashed potatoes, hot dogs. Stuff I didn't even eat much of when I was home, I want really bad. I want venison jerky more than I have ever craved anything in my life. I think I'm going insane.

Pura Vida, Oh Well.

We had all of our backs packed and we were ready to hit the road for Nicaragua. Then we found out that the car needed a special permit to cross the boarder, which we didnt have. So now we have to figure out how to get the permit and we are going to try and go next weekend.

Plans ALWAYS change here. If we plan on something, we can pretty much trust that its not going to happen that way. When I first got here that kind of bothered me. I thought I was a late person, everything is like hours behind schedule here. I had to get used to it. Now I just turn to the phrase "Pura Vida" when I have no clue what the heck is going on.

Romeo and I talking on Skype

We were having a really intense conversation, obviously.

Cerca de Regresando

My time in Costa Rica is coming to an end very soon. I wonder how I am going to handle this whole saying goodbye thing. I imagine its going to be extremely bittersweet.

I am unbelievably excited to see my dog (and all of the human beings I love) of course. But as cheesy as it sounds, a part of me will forever remain in Costa Rica. As I drove home from Poás yesterday, I looked out of the window at the rolling hills and misty mountains in the distance, and the endless rows of coffee plants. Even though the roads in Costa Rica are like a roller coaster from HELL and I almost threw up again, I still realized something really beautiful. As we were winding and winding through the hills, I thought to myself, "I wont be leaving this place with my whole heart, some of it is staying here." Not only with the people and relationships I have made here, but with the place itself. The children's faces from the community I worked in will remain in my mind. When I left the beach after the first month I was here, I looked back at the sunset one last time and I knew that I was leaving a piece of myself there and I wont be able to leave completely whole.

I guess that's how experience is. God has taught me so much while I have been here, of course its going to be very special to me. Back in time a little bit: I have been a Christian for about 2 1/2 years now, and I have had huge seasons of growth and failure since then. I was lost, then saved, had the "new Christian spiritual high" (as I like to call it), then had a season of failure and immense stumbling (which is all of the time but this one was really bad), then had a short season of growth again. Then I got comfortable. I was having a hard time seeking God. I have always had a desire inside of me to live in a different country and specifically to learn a new language, ever since I was a child. I went to France for a week, I realized that if I wanted to, it was possible for me to walk on a plane, and leave to a different country. I got to thinking, what am I waiting for? After one message Noel gave at Riverview, It pushed me over the edge. I told Devon later that night at the Price's, "I'm going to Bolivia, Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, somewhere, I don't care and I'm not sure yet, but I'm going!" I planned my trip and got in contact with Carlos Gomez (The GCLA pastor in San José whose family I live with) within a week. My dad flew me down here, then a week later, he left. In Costa Rica I took my first real steps in living out my own faith, I learned what it was like to totally depend on God instead of on myself or other people. I saw God from a whole new angle. I realized that I NEEDED to seek him, not just that it was good for me to do. I came here not knowing a single person. Every face that I saw each day was brand new. It was just me, God, my Bible, and Costa Rica. It changed me so much. I really learned to walk on my own here, of course its going to be extremely special to me. It kicked my butt.

Usually this would be the time of year for me when I would feel like I am going to die of hypothermia every time I would walk outside into the grey sky, dead, cold Michigan winter. Here I walk outside to sun shinning on my face. I look out of the window of the bus to green rolling hills, palm trees, and gorgeous mountains. Now that I speak Spanish everyday, I don't know what it will be like to live in a place where I don't speak Spanish at all throughout my day. I had to adjust so much when I came here, I had to throw myself into a new culture and I couldn't look back because I would have freaked out. That was so drastic, I feel like its going to be really hard for me to adjust back. I do feel warm when I think about going to get coffee with a good friend at Beaner's. And it will be nice to drive past the places where I spent my childhood, or a place that reminds me of when me and all of the guys road our bikes up to Wilcox last summer just to swing on the swing set at midnight. Older memories than four months. But then I think about the park where we take Carlitos to play soccer here, and the place where we always went surfing in Jacó. Those places and what happened there is really special too.

This is the way life goes. And I need to get used to it, because I am beginning to realize something about myself. While I love home, really the only thing I love about it is the people, and the church. I don't think I will be living in Michigan for my whole life, or "si Dios quiere" if God desires, for very much longer. I am constantly thinking about the new country I want to spend time at or the new language I want to learn. I thought that these four months in Costa Rica and learning Spanish would satisfy the desire inside me to experience something totally different and far away, but I am beginning to fear it has only gotten me started. Maybe God made me this way for a reason. Or maybe I will sink my roots in a stop acting like a gypsy. We will see what has in store for me.

Poás and Grecia Viaje

I went to Poás Volcano today, It was a really cool day. God's creation blows my mind. It is one of the few active volcanoes in the world where you can actually walk up to the edge of the crater. It is considered to be the biggest crater in the world. It smelled like cold fart because of the lake of molten sulfur and an altitude of 8,884 feet. It was a really breathtaking view. I also went to a cute little village in the Volcanic mountain range. I ate lunch with a Mexican couple and had a cool conversation. Well, pretty much any conversation I have in Spanish is cool to me because I am so happy and proud of myself that I even had a conversation. Guess what we ate? Beans and rice. AHHH.

Volcan Poás from far away. Doesn't look like there is too much going on over there. The stuff in front is a coffee plantation.
The crater.
All of that steam smells like cold farts. And it was blowing right in my face.
My attempt to prove that I was there, but the cold fart steam took over and you cant even see the crater.
This church was brought to Grecia, Costa Rica in pieces over the course of two years. It was a gift from Belgium, they made it metal to protect from the volcanic ash.
Inside the church. It is called Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.
On the way home. Mi linda Costa Rica.

My Thanksgiving in Costa Rica

They don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Costa Rica, but my family here thought it would be a great reason to throw a party and invite people into their home. So we had close to 40 people over. We had an awesome feast with all of the traditional thanksgiving food and then we all danced until 1 AM. Salsa is so much fun, I've got a long way to go but I'm not bad for a gringa. Stef and Val's friends are like professionals because they have been doing it their whole lives. They are really fun to watch. It was an awesome time. I think I am going to suggest Salsa dancing at all of my future thanksgivings, we will see how that works with my Dutch family.

Here are some pictures:

¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

I woke up this morning and told (big)Carlos "Happy Thanksgiving!" He goes "Hey! Happy Thanksgiving!" Then there was a pause and he goes, "Is that what you guys say?"

Tomorrow we are having a thanksgiving dinner with 35 people! I have to make sweet potatoes!

I am so going here in February

Three Weeks Until I'm home

Might be a little culture shock for me...

Lost my lunch on a Costa Rican highway...

So I went to Arenal for the weekend. Some parts were amazing, some parts were not so amazing.

We got there on Friday afternoon, our hotel was awesome. I just relaxed in the hot tub the whole day and watched TV in ENGLISH at our hotel room. It was weird, the place was so touristy it didn't really feel like I was in Costa Rica. The Costa Rica that I am used to is the slums of Los Guidos, it was very relaxing but I sort of felt weird being there.

There was a crystal clear river right next to our hotel and I sat on a rock in the middle of it and read for like three hours each day. It was so nice to have some alone time. There was a stupid cloud over the top of the volcano the whole time so we didn't really get to see anything. We went on a hike and and took a tour of the national park which was awesome, we saw lots of animals, including monkeys! I have like the worst luck with seeing animals so this was a big deal. Then we went to Tabacón hot springs. Probably the coolest place I have EVER been. They built this resort around a river that is heated by the magma from Volcan Arenal. There were all of these waterfalls with pools and the water was all like a hot tub. When the volcano erupted you could feel it rumble and the water instantly got hotter. It was so awesome. We just laid in the river for like 2 hours and then ate at the most beautiful buffet I have ever seen.

Then on Sunday we checked out of our room at 1 and ate lunch while we waited for our bus to come pick us up from the hotel. About two hours into the ride (its a four hour ride) I started to feel really sick. I have not gotten car sick since I was in like 5th grade, so I thought I would be fine. These roads were like riding a merry go round at 60 MPH, on the edge of a cliff. All of a sudden, without warning, I needed to throw up. I lunged for the window, stuck my head out, and threw up for like seriously 2 minutes straight. Needless to say, it was not my finest hour. Here is my facebook graffiti depiction of what happened:



It was pretty freaking funny after the fact, and I felt fine after I was out of a moving vehicle. Whew, although like I said, it was not my finest hour.

Here are some more pleasant pictures of my weekend: