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.