So a hard situation got even harder. I went to write some emails on Sunday and my lap top wouldn't turn on. I freaked out because the only thing keeping me sane was being able to talk to everyone at home. I took a bus into San Jose and met Carlos and he took me to the toshiba store. They said that my mother board was shot and it will be ready next Monday. Luckily it was under warranty. Feel free to keep sending me emails, and I will try to make it to an internet cafe as much as I can but I'm not sure how that will all work out. So if I dont email you back for awhile then that is why. Please pray for me.
-Fran
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Conversation of the Day
Carlitos: "You know what is the heaviest thing in the world?"
Me: "What?"
Carlitos: "The World."
Me: "Ohhhh I see."
Carlitos: "You know what is the heaviest thing EVER though?"
Me "What?"
Carlitos: "God. He must be really fat."
Me: "What?"
Carlitos: "The World."
Me: "Ohhhh I see."
Carlitos: "You know what is the heaviest thing EVER though?"
Me "What?"
Carlitos: "God. He must be really fat."
Friday, August 24, 2007
Costa Rica la Pura Vida
OK! So I have been in Costa Rica for a little over a week so far. My dad flew down with me, and we had a small vacation before I started school. Saying goodbye to him was really, really hard. This has all been a lot harder than I anticipated. It is teaching me to seek God in a way I never have before. In Michigan I was home safe with all of my friends and family. Since I have been here, there have been moments where I have felt like I cant physically go on unless I reach out to God to help me. So far, this experience has been good, but extremely difficult, if that makes sense?
My roommate is a surfer chick from San Diego. A really cool girl. We have weekends off and she is going to the south-western tip of Costa Rica for the weekend, where there is the longest surf break in the world. I guess you can just ride the waves forever and its sweet. I'm going to lay in the sun, read, and sleep!
There are people here from all over the world. I have spent a lot of time with these two people from Germany. They are really nice. There are two guys from Switzerland and one from Brazil, but mostly everyone else is from California or Canada. I had a conversation with a friend named Marek a couple of nights ago, he lives in Canada. His Polish parents were doing medical mission work in north Africa so he was born in Tunisia. Then Poland wouldn't accept them back because this was before the fall of communism in Poland. They were political refugees so they were "forced" to move to Italy for a year, and then ended up in Canada. He speaks Polish, French, English, and Spanish. His dad speaks 7 languages. I felt like a very boring person after that conversation.
I have been surfing for two hours every morning, then studying Spanish for 2-4 hours every afternoon. Surfing has been amazing, I'm really glad I decided to do it. It is such a good work out. You have to paddle out as fast as you can while getting the crap kicked out of you by breaking waves. You then sit on your board and rest while you wait for a good wave to come. I really like that part. There is just you, God, the ocean, and islands in the distance. When a good wave comes you paddle as fast as you can to catch it and then you either wipe out really hard or you get the best rush ever! I am getting a little better each day, although I drank like a gallon of salt water when I wiped out today. Even if I have had a rough morning missing home or feeling lonely, surfing takes all of the tension away from me. It wears me out so bad I am then too tired to miss home.
When I was waiting for a wave a couple of days ago, there were stingrays jumping all around me. I am scared to death of getting stung by one. They stick these two barbs into your body and inject venom. The wound swells up and you get dizzy and throw up for 30-90 minutes. Today I saw one swimming through a wave and I freaked out. Then my instructor Carlos proceeded to tell me about how when he got stung by one, he couldn't cry, couldn't breath, couldn't scream... because the pain was so great. Hah, please pray for me...
Spanish has been really good, I am learning a lot. I haven't had much of a chance to use it outside of the grocery store, but I am learning. My teacher is Sergio from Colombia. His style of teaching is very conversational, which is good because my weakness is comprehending what other people say to me. I can't understand what people say to me half of the time in English.
I went with a group of people from the school on a kayak trip two nights ago. We got in the vans and drove about 30 minutes north up the beach. We took the road on top of the mountains so we could see the ocean the whole time, it was beautiful. We drove up this little farm road that was lined with huge trees that the farmer used as fence posts. There was cattle on both sides of the trees. A little down the road there were two ticos (Costa Ricans) carrying machetes, walking with a horse. Interesting. We kept driving up to the beach where the kayak place was. We got in our Kayaks and paddled a mile 1/2 up the Gulf of Nicoya, passing huge rock cliffs with lava tubes all over them. It was so cool. I saw an iguana that was so big it looked like a dinosaur. We got to this secluded beach and played soccer, hiked up to a waterfall, ate pineapple, and watched whales jump in the distance. It was a pretty cool experience.
I like living so close to the beach and everything, and its beautiful here, but I really don't like Jacó very much. Everyone stares at me like they want to eat me because I have blond hair. I don't really go anywhere other than the school and the supermarket and I never go anywhere alone. I can't wait to move to San José. It is the capitol and biggest city in Costa Rica. I really liked it there. It is really diverse and liberal, reminded me a lot of Europe.
When I move there I will live with a GCLA (Great Commission Latin America) pastor (Carlos Gomez) and his family. They are Honduran. They are going to speak to me only in Spanish when I return to their house. They are the most amazing God centered family, I could not even dream up a better family to spend my time with while I am down here. I am really excited to live with a family again, to have sisters my age and a little brother. They have a Miami phone so I can call home (YES). I will be moving to San José just before the Costa Rican independence day. Valerie, Stephanie and I will take a bus downtown and watch the lantern parades. I guess they are a big deal, I'm excited to take lots of pictures. I will be doing mission work for the three months I am in San José. Most likely at an orphanage, or something else with kids. Kids who don't speak English. They said that the places I will be working there will be no way I will be able to speak a word of English. I can't wait.
I have found Costa Ricans to be very proud. They remind me so much of Europeans because they are extremely liberal and people are kind of ok with not having God. They just go about their day without a real interest in the purpose of life.
So God is shaping me quite a bit. "Knocking me on my ass" is the best way to put it into words I believe. And it has only been a week. I will keep updating about my little adventures.
Ok, here are some picures of inside and around my school:
My spanish classroom.
One of the dogs that wanders around the school.
The other dog that wanders around the school, Figi.
Miyah and Simon, speaking German in the Kitchen.
The spot where we have been surfing, on a cloudy day.
If I'm not surfing, studying or sleeping then I am here. Please send me emails, All of you, I seriously don't care who you are. I have a lot of time to sit in this little hammock chair thing, read books, and check my email, and feel lonely when I have no email in my inbox. It is easing the homesickness to hear from people at home. FrannyDeJongh@gmail.com
Take care wherever you are, ¡Pura Vida! as they say here in Costa Rica...
My roommate is a surfer chick from San Diego. A really cool girl. We have weekends off and she is going to the south-western tip of Costa Rica for the weekend, where there is the longest surf break in the world. I guess you can just ride the waves forever and its sweet. I'm going to lay in the sun, read, and sleep!
There are people here from all over the world. I have spent a lot of time with these two people from Germany. They are really nice. There are two guys from Switzerland and one from Brazil, but mostly everyone else is from California or Canada. I had a conversation with a friend named Marek a couple of nights ago, he lives in Canada. His Polish parents were doing medical mission work in north Africa so he was born in Tunisia. Then Poland wouldn't accept them back because this was before the fall of communism in Poland. They were political refugees so they were "forced" to move to Italy for a year, and then ended up in Canada. He speaks Polish, French, English, and Spanish. His dad speaks 7 languages. I felt like a very boring person after that conversation.
I have been surfing for two hours every morning, then studying Spanish for 2-4 hours every afternoon. Surfing has been amazing, I'm really glad I decided to do it. It is such a good work out. You have to paddle out as fast as you can while getting the crap kicked out of you by breaking waves. You then sit on your board and rest while you wait for a good wave to come. I really like that part. There is just you, God, the ocean, and islands in the distance. When a good wave comes you paddle as fast as you can to catch it and then you either wipe out really hard or you get the best rush ever! I am getting a little better each day, although I drank like a gallon of salt water when I wiped out today. Even if I have had a rough morning missing home or feeling lonely, surfing takes all of the tension away from me. It wears me out so bad I am then too tired to miss home.
When I was waiting for a wave a couple of days ago, there were stingrays jumping all around me. I am scared to death of getting stung by one. They stick these two barbs into your body and inject venom. The wound swells up and you get dizzy and throw up for 30-90 minutes. Today I saw one swimming through a wave and I freaked out. Then my instructor Carlos proceeded to tell me about how when he got stung by one, he couldn't cry, couldn't breath, couldn't scream... because the pain was so great. Hah, please pray for me...
Spanish has been really good, I am learning a lot. I haven't had much of a chance to use it outside of the grocery store, but I am learning. My teacher is Sergio from Colombia. His style of teaching is very conversational, which is good because my weakness is comprehending what other people say to me. I can't understand what people say to me half of the time in English.
I went with a group of people from the school on a kayak trip two nights ago. We got in the vans and drove about 30 minutes north up the beach. We took the road on top of the mountains so we could see the ocean the whole time, it was beautiful. We drove up this little farm road that was lined with huge trees that the farmer used as fence posts. There was cattle on both sides of the trees. A little down the road there were two ticos (Costa Ricans) carrying machetes, walking with a horse. Interesting. We kept driving up to the beach where the kayak place was. We got in our Kayaks and paddled a mile 1/2 up the Gulf of Nicoya, passing huge rock cliffs with lava tubes all over them. It was so cool. I saw an iguana that was so big it looked like a dinosaur. We got to this secluded beach and played soccer, hiked up to a waterfall, ate pineapple, and watched whales jump in the distance. It was a pretty cool experience.
I like living so close to the beach and everything, and its beautiful here, but I really don't like Jacó very much. Everyone stares at me like they want to eat me because I have blond hair. I don't really go anywhere other than the school and the supermarket and I never go anywhere alone. I can't wait to move to San José. It is the capitol and biggest city in Costa Rica. I really liked it there. It is really diverse and liberal, reminded me a lot of Europe.
When I move there I will live with a GCLA (Great Commission Latin America) pastor (Carlos Gomez) and his family. They are Honduran. They are going to speak to me only in Spanish when I return to their house. They are the most amazing God centered family, I could not even dream up a better family to spend my time with while I am down here. I am really excited to live with a family again, to have sisters my age and a little brother. They have a Miami phone so I can call home (YES). I will be moving to San José just before the Costa Rican independence day. Valerie, Stephanie and I will take a bus downtown and watch the lantern parades. I guess they are a big deal, I'm excited to take lots of pictures. I will be doing mission work for the three months I am in San José. Most likely at an orphanage, or something else with kids. Kids who don't speak English. They said that the places I will be working there will be no way I will be able to speak a word of English. I can't wait.
I have found Costa Ricans to be very proud. They remind me so much of Europeans because they are extremely liberal and people are kind of ok with not having God. They just go about their day without a real interest in the purpose of life.
So God is shaping me quite a bit. "Knocking me on my ass" is the best way to put it into words I believe. And it has only been a week. I will keep updating about my little adventures.
Ok, here are some picures of inside and around my school:
My spanish classroom.
One of the dogs that wanders around the school.
The other dog that wanders around the school, Figi.
Miyah and Simon, speaking German in the Kitchen.
The spot where we have been surfing, on a cloudy day.
If I'm not surfing, studying or sleeping then I am here. Please send me emails, All of you, I seriously don't care who you are. I have a lot of time to sit in this little hammock chair thing, read books, and check my email, and feel lonely when I have no email in my inbox. It is easing the homesickness to hear from people at home. FrannyDeJongh@gmail.comTake care wherever you are, ¡Pura Vida! as they say here in Costa Rica...
Friday, August 17, 2007
Muchas gracias to the toad
Last night I had a five minute freak out attack where I realize that I am far away from what I call home and I am staying this far away for 4 months. Then, a toad the size of my dog hopped by and everything was ok.
Devastating
There was an Earthquake in Peru that killed more than 500 people and injured more than 1,500 people. I don't know if it made much news in the states but it is a really big deal here in Costa Rica. Read about it here.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Estoy en Costa Rica
I arrived in Costa Rica at about noon today. Yes, they played "The Last Mimsy" on the plane ride here (you will only think that is funny if you went on the mission trip to Mexico). It was amazing to see Carlos and Gladys rushing towards me to kiss me on the cheek and welcome me to their home. We drove for about 45 minutes to get to their house. This is the coolest place I have ever been. It really reminds me a lot of Europe, not at all what I expected. The city is filled with art and architecture. We went downtown for dinner tonight, here are some pictures from my time in Costa Rica so far.
Tomorrow I will get up and drive the the pacific coast to a town called Jaco (where there is currently a tsunami warning). I will go to the language school there for a month. Check out the school's website if you want to : www.schooloftheworld.org
Tomorrow I will get up and drive the the pacific coast to a town called Jaco (where there is currently a tsunami warning). I will go to the language school there for a month. Check out the school's website if you want to : www.schooloftheworld.org
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Tegan & Sara
Justin, Devon, Mike and I went to see Tegan & Sara on Monday night at the Gem Theater in Detroit. Titled, "An Evening with Tegan & Sara", It was one of the most personal shows I've ever been to. They were really down to earth and told stories in between songs. The audience sat at bar tables and we were in the second row thanks to Mike's ticket buying skills. Seriously, listen to them. They are incredibly talented girls with a really unique sound.
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