Monday, May 16, 2011

Weeks 15 & 16: A Family Visit

Despite not having the usual distractions of television (in English), internet and other forms of petty entertainment, I still have difficulty finding time to keep my blog updates regularly. Even though the lifestyle is more laid-back, somehow my personal time seems to be stuck on ‘fast-forward’. Another two weeks have passed with new experiences to ponder and share.

Question: How big is this tree?

For the past four days I was able to spend time with my brother and college friend who came to visit me and to see Costa Rica. We went to a couple of volcanoes, which I had not seen before, and experienced the land from a tourists’ point-of-view. Costa Rica is now in the rainy season and consequently also in the off-season for tourism. The result was good prices for tours and hotels, and we didn’t have to fight any crowds. In fact, the tourist town of La fortuna was nearly a ghost town except for the presence of the locals.

I finally saw my first snake in Costa Rica---a little guy but really spunky!

While I enjoyed the fun and novelty of being a tourist, I couldn’t help but be excited to return home to Atenas at the end of the weekend. I think my favorite part of my brother’s visit was when he came to meet my host family. He and my friend spent the afternoon with my host family as we set around and enjoyed coffee and conversation…Well, mas o menos ”conversation.” Neither of them speak Spanish, so I had to put on my translator hat—a role I’ve never played before. As I’ve said before, I don’t speak Spanish well, and translating is something usually reserved for the fluent. When I’m speaking for just myself, I can pick---very conveniently—the things I want to say in Spanish. My brother and friend put me to the test because they had no clue as to which words I knew and which ones that I did not. I felt like I was in a language whorl wind, and after thirty minutes my mind was fried. Regardless of my translation shortcomings, it was great to share my Tico family and their culture with my brother and friend. It gave them new perspective and insight on some of the past stories I had shared with them.


Volcan Arenal

This past weekend was also a reminder that life back in the US is moving forward without me. People are graduating, friends are getting married, and work is being done. It’s hard not to think about those things and feel like I am missing out on so much. As I watched my brother and friend drive away from my host family’s house, I was hit with a sense of loneliness and sadness because I wasn’t going with them. They were headed back to all the things that I missed. Fortunately, those feelings didn’t last long as God reminded of all the great blessings I am experiencing here in Costa Rica. Every day, Christ bids us to let go of the things of this world and to follow him whole-heartedly ---And now I am realizing that sometimes that means letting go of even the good things.


Answer: That big.



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