What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
- Author unknown
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Más Adventuras
This weekend we went zip lining, bright and early on Sunday morning. Thank goodness it was the Lord's day, I was praying extra hard for protection. Other than the fact that I was flying over the forest on a cable, it was beautiful and exciting!
For dinner on Sunday night, we walked to "El Rancho de Lelo" - a local restaurant that serves fresh Tillapia. On the very long walk to Lelo's house, we encountered a parrot sitting in a tree, just watching us. After taking some pictures we continued down the road and so did the parrot. For about 20 minutes the parrot flew with us down the road, stopping occasionally on a nearby tree limb. (This is not normal behavior for wild parrots) When we stopped at the school to take a picture, Polly the Parrot landed on top of Paula's (Dr. Mellom) head. Polly wanted a taxi, she was tired of flying! So we cotinued walking and the parrot just sat right on top of her head and stared at us.
At Lelo's we fished for our dinner with a net. This was a first for all of us, and I really enjoyed it. It took me about three casts and I caught myself a nice sized Tillapia fish.
¡Buen Provecho!
For dinner on Sunday night, we walked to "El Rancho de Lelo" - a local restaurant that serves fresh Tillapia. On the very long walk to Lelo's house, we encountered a parrot sitting in a tree, just watching us. After taking some pictures we continued down the road and so did the parrot. For about 20 minutes the parrot flew with us down the road, stopping occasionally on a nearby tree limb. (This is not normal behavior for wild parrots) When we stopped at the school to take a picture, Polly the Parrot landed on top of Paula's (Dr. Mellom) head. Polly wanted a taxi, she was tired of flying! So we cotinued walking and the parrot just sat right on top of her head and stared at us.
At Lelo's we fished for our dinner with a net. This was a first for all of us, and I really enjoyed it. It took me about three casts and I caught myself a nice sized Tillapia fish.
¡Buen Provecho!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
La Vista
Today is Saturday, and that means no school! (Even in Costa Rica) So we have the day off today. This morning I went on an adventure around San Luis. Today is the most gorgeous day, it's truly a gift. No rain, beautiful sunshine, a light breeze. It doesn't get better than that.
So I set off to find somewhere peaceful. I've seen this old abandoned house each time we walk down the road. Someone had previously told me about the incredible view from the back porch, but I'd never had time to check it out. When I saw it, I knew that today was the day.
It walked around the back, and this was a little creepy at first. But the view was breathtaking. Again, the picture doesn't begin to do this justice. There were birds and butterflies everywhere.
I could feel the presence of God. I could hear and see him in everything. I had to pull myself inside this afternoon to work on my project, which is due in a few days.
4 more days in San Luis, then we will leave for the beach!
So I set off to find somewhere peaceful. I've seen this old abandoned house each time we walk down the road. Someone had previously told me about the incredible view from the back porch, but I'd never had time to check it out. When I saw it, I knew that today was the day.
It walked around the back, and this was a little creepy at first. But the view was breathtaking. Again, the picture doesn't begin to do this justice. There were birds and butterflies everywhere.
I could feel the presence of God. I could hear and see him in everything. I had to pull myself inside this afternoon to work on my project, which is due in a few days.
4 more days in San Luis, then we will leave for the beach!
Friday, July 23, 2010
La luz del mundo...
Jesus said,
During my first week in Costa Rica, some of us went on a night hike through the forest with a naturalist. The point was to see the forest in a different way - new creatures and insects are around at night as opposed to the daytime. This was not one of my favorite adventures because 1. Bugs scare me 2. It was really dark. Early on in the hike, the naturalist had the group turn off our flashlights in order to see glow-in-the-dark fungus on a tree. You don't really appreciate true darkness until you've been in the rainforest at night with no light at all. We could see absolutely nothing. Not even a hand in front of our faces. After about one minute of complete darkness, I was freaked out. I was desperate for some kind of light.
Last night as I was walking to my room in the dark (with a flashlight) I was reminded of the verse above in John. Jesus is the light of the world. Without him we have no light. This brought a whole new meaning to the verse after I'd experienced true darkness. I'm so thankful for The Light in my life and in this world.
En Español:
"Yo soy la luz del mundo. El que me sigue no andará en tinieblas, sino que tendrá la luz de la vida."
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
During my first week in Costa Rica, some of us went on a night hike through the forest with a naturalist. The point was to see the forest in a different way - new creatures and insects are around at night as opposed to the daytime. This was not one of my favorite adventures because 1. Bugs scare me 2. It was really dark. Early on in the hike, the naturalist had the group turn off our flashlights in order to see glow-in-the-dark fungus on a tree. You don't really appreciate true darkness until you've been in the rainforest at night with no light at all. We could see absolutely nothing. Not even a hand in front of our faces. After about one minute of complete darkness, I was freaked out. I was desperate for some kind of light.
Last night as I was walking to my room in the dark (with a flashlight) I was reminded of the verse above in John. Jesus is the light of the world. Without him we have no light. This brought a whole new meaning to the verse after I'd experienced true darkness. I'm so thankful for The Light in my life and in this world.
En Español:
"Yo soy la luz del mundo. El que me sigue no andará en tinieblas, sino que tendrá la luz de la vida."
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Canyon in Rio Pacuare
This is a picture I found on the internet of my favorite canyon in Rio Pacuare. I floated on my back down this canyon, looking up at the beautiful scenery. The picture doesn't begin to do it justice.
At the CATIE library. I love spiral staircases. I'm determined to have one in my house someday.
My friends Andrea and Ashley. We had some extra "playground time" at one of the preschools on the college campus.
Esteban...whose real name is Steven
This brought back memories to the time I flipped off the back of one of these swings, then blacked out in the Glenfield's backyard. :) Good times.
Diva time :-)
In the jardin botanico (botannical garden) at CATIE.
Have you heard of passion fruit? This is the flower on the passion fruit tree. It gets its name "Passion Fruit" from the passion of Christ (not the Mel Gibson movie). Each part of the flower represents something regarding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Not sure what this flower is called, but the grasshopper was ginormous!
A small alligator on the CATIE campus. We were lucky to see one, normally they are camouflaged under the surface.
My meal after white water rafting. Pescado Milanesa. (Breaded fish) Delicious!
Taxi ride, on the way to the restaurant "Turrialtico" for our last night out in Turrialba.
Christina, Aurora, and I at Turrialtico
Pescado Milanesa...again. I'm addicted to this meal!
Crepes for Dessert! This was my first time trying Crepes, I loved them.
Monday, July 19, 2010
CATIE
Today we visited CATIE, which is an Agricultural Research center. They offer Master's and Doctorate degree programs. We toured the botannical garden, saw some incredible plants and flowers, then ended with a tour of some local schools on the CATIE campus.
Also, Aurora's quincenera was on Saturday. This was my first quincenera, and it was great. There was a live band, all latin music of course. Lots of dancing, food, and laughter. She looked beautiful!
Also, Aurora's quincenera was on Saturday. This was my first quincenera, and it was great. There was a live band, all latin music of course. Lots of dancing, food, and laughter. She looked beautiful!
Rio Pacuare
Yesterday was the ever anticipated white water rafting trip. But before I tell you about the day, let me preface this with a dream I had the night before we went rafting...
In my dream, I was tubing behind my dad's ski boat (which he won in a raffle), and the tube had at least 6 people in it. But we were tubing in really shallow water, and there were rocks everywhere. Since my dad was an inexperienced boater, he took a turn too sharp, and I flew out of the tube, through the air, and onto the rock. Now, luckily, in this dream I was not hurt. There must have been an angel to soften the fall. Later on in the dream, my cousin Rachel hits her head against a boat in the lake, and I have to save her life.
And at 7am I wake up with these thoughts in my head, ready to raft in a class 4 river all day long. I honestly didn't know what to think. Is this a bad sign? Am I just anxious? Did the Benydrl mess with my mind? Regardless, lets just say I prayed a lot that morning. A lot.
The bus came to pick us up and we ate breakfast at a beautiful hotel with a gorgeous view. Once we were back on the bus, one of the guides begins to brief the group (which included other crazy people outside of our UGA group) on the safety rules and procedures. I quickly realized that there was a lot to remember, and no "practice run". It was get it right the first time or fall out of the boat. The latter was not an option for me. And the fact that he gave some terrifying "what-if" example/scenarios, didn't help my fear any. One of my favorites was- "When you fall out of the boat, float on your back. If your legs are down they'll get caught in a rock and you will drown." Well, that's wonderful. Or this one was good- "The paddle is the most dangerous thing today. I lost a tooth because a lady in my boat let go of her paddle." At this point, it was all I could do to breath and try to pray some more. Honestly, I wanted to turn around and go home, but it was way too late for that.
We arrived at Rio Pacuare and there were several other groups there, probably ten rafts. Each raft holds six people and one guide. The guides were local Ticos who knew the river well. We had 5 girls and 1 boy in our raft, which didn't make me feel any better. Our guide's name was Roberto, he had a little crush on me. :-) "Me gusta sus ojos bonitas" was just one of the things I heard from him that day. Along with, "Want to be my girlfriend?"
Once we got on the river and through the first few rapids, I LOVED it. Rafting the Rio Pacuare was one of my favorite experiences in Costa Rica so far. It was an amazing way to see the country. The river bends and winds through beautiful canyons, mountains, waterfalls, etc. I really can't describe the view, it was breathtaking. So when the rapids weren't keeping us busy, I would just stare at the view. Water would just flow down the side of the mountains and into the river.
We ate lunch at a beautiful spot on the side of the river, then departed again for more rafting. In all, it was about 4 hours on the river and 18 miles. My favorite part of the day was one of the narrow canyons we went through. It was a very calm part of the river, and Roberto let us get out of the raft and float down the canyon. It was relaxing and peaceful. What a beautiful way to enjoy God's creation.
Roberto was sad to see us go, but we had a wonderful time. And I might actually do it again if given the opportunity. Gracias a Dios for keeping us safe :-)
I'll try to post our group picture with Roberto soon.
In my dream, I was tubing behind my dad's ski boat (which he won in a raffle), and the tube had at least 6 people in it. But we were tubing in really shallow water, and there were rocks everywhere. Since my dad was an inexperienced boater, he took a turn too sharp, and I flew out of the tube, through the air, and onto the rock. Now, luckily, in this dream I was not hurt. There must have been an angel to soften the fall. Later on in the dream, my cousin Rachel hits her head against a boat in the lake, and I have to save her life.
And at 7am I wake up with these thoughts in my head, ready to raft in a class 4 river all day long. I honestly didn't know what to think. Is this a bad sign? Am I just anxious? Did the Benydrl mess with my mind? Regardless, lets just say I prayed a lot that morning. A lot.
The bus came to pick us up and we ate breakfast at a beautiful hotel with a gorgeous view. Once we were back on the bus, one of the guides begins to brief the group (which included other crazy people outside of our UGA group) on the safety rules and procedures. I quickly realized that there was a lot to remember, and no "practice run". It was get it right the first time or fall out of the boat. The latter was not an option for me. And the fact that he gave some terrifying "what-if" example/scenarios, didn't help my fear any. One of my favorites was- "When you fall out of the boat, float on your back. If your legs are down they'll get caught in a rock and you will drown." Well, that's wonderful. Or this one was good- "The paddle is the most dangerous thing today. I lost a tooth because a lady in my boat let go of her paddle." At this point, it was all I could do to breath and try to pray some more. Honestly, I wanted to turn around and go home, but it was way too late for that.
We arrived at Rio Pacuare and there were several other groups there, probably ten rafts. Each raft holds six people and one guide. The guides were local Ticos who knew the river well. We had 5 girls and 1 boy in our raft, which didn't make me feel any better. Our guide's name was Roberto, he had a little crush on me. :-) "Me gusta sus ojos bonitas" was just one of the things I heard from him that day. Along with, "Want to be my girlfriend?"
Once we got on the river and through the first few rapids, I LOVED it. Rafting the Rio Pacuare was one of my favorite experiences in Costa Rica so far. It was an amazing way to see the country. The river bends and winds through beautiful canyons, mountains, waterfalls, etc. I really can't describe the view, it was breathtaking. So when the rapids weren't keeping us busy, I would just stare at the view. Water would just flow down the side of the mountains and into the river.
We ate lunch at a beautiful spot on the side of the river, then departed again for more rafting. In all, it was about 4 hours on the river and 18 miles. My favorite part of the day was one of the narrow canyons we went through. It was a very calm part of the river, and Roberto let us get out of the raft and float down the canyon. It was relaxing and peaceful. What a beautiful way to enjoy God's creation.
Roberto was sad to see us go, but we had a wonderful time. And I might actually do it again if given the opportunity. Gracias a Dios for keeping us safe :-)
I'll try to post our group picture with Roberto soon.
Friday, July 16, 2010
A New Place
After a 6 1/2 hour bus trip, we finally made it to Turrialba, Costa Rica (our weekend vacation). This afternoon we explored the city and found some great local food for dinner. I've had my full share of plantains today! I can't get enough of those things. I said goodbye to my homestay family this morning, I will miss living with them and learning Spanish.
My legs are completely covered in horrific bug bites, I've am surviving on Benydryl right now. Tomorrow we are going to the market for a communication practice. I've found that I'm more willing to speak Spanish to locals now that I've practiced. My first day in Costa Rica, I could barely order my food because I was so scared of messing up the language.
My professor's daughter is here with us, and we are celebrating her quincienera tomorrow night with her HUGE family. 36 first cousins alone!
Pura Vida!
My legs are completely covered in horrific bug bites, I've am surviving on Benydryl right now. Tomorrow we are going to the market for a communication practice. I've found that I'm more willing to speak Spanish to locals now that I've practiced. My first day in Costa Rica, I could barely order my food because I was so scared of messing up the language.
My professor's daughter is here with us, and we are celebrating her quincienera tomorrow night with her HUGE family. 36 first cousins alone!
Pura Vida!
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