I can not express to you guys how much I appreciate your prayers. I know that it helps to have specific things to pray for. I do have two things to ask you to be praying for me about.
1. Before I begin this, know that I AM FINE. God is good and He protected me from harm. However, at about 8:30 last night I was robbed. A car pulled up beside me and my friend as we made our way down our neighborhood street.One guy had a gun and grabbed my bag. The other girl that was with me ran screaming for help.The entire neighborhood, including my house parents came running out of their houses and the guys took off in their car. They did not get much from me. (Praise God for that) I only had my cheap cellphone, credit card and about $20 in the bag. (they did get all of my school books though). I immediately canceled my card so they couldn't use it. Although I was not hurt, I am still quite shook up. Some friends got me some mace today so I will have that with me at all times. God was there with me and of course is with me now. Please pray for my continued protection. I am also nervous now as I walk to school even though it is daylight. Pray for peace of mind and that I will turn my fears over to God.
2. Many of you will remember that last Spring I hurt my back pretty bad and had several months of pain and physical therapy. I am not sure why but my back is hurting this week as bad as it ever did last Spring. Pray for healing and/or medication to relieve the pain. {I am going to get my house mom to help me go to the pharmacy for some type of medication hopefully}
Again thank you for lifting me up in your prayers!
Trusting in Him
Jennifer
10/27/2011
10/25/2011
All sorts of new!
I can not believe that I have been here for over two weeks! I have learned so much already and seen so many interesting things! I wanted to share some of the interesting things that I have seen, done or learned about in Costa Rica. (there is a short video at the end)
1. Riding the Bus
2. Movies
3. Church
4. Food
So one of the first things that I learned to do here is to ride the bus system. I usually walk to school in the "morning" (tutoring and then classes start at 12:30). It's about a 30 minute walk but I tend to enjoy it. I put my ipod on some good tunes and start out. (I make a point to stop at the "grocery store" to buy a Coke Zero and sometimes buy a pack of gum or some cookies) I would prefer to walk home in the afternoons as well but by the time that I get out of class it is usually raining. If it is raining too much I take the bus instead. It cost 220 Colones. (equals about 50 cents). When I first got here I thought that there was no way I was going to be comfortable riding the bus because what if I missed my stop. Now, it's just a way of life. I see my stop, either push the stop button or if the bus I am riding does not have a stop button then I call out "Parada" and the bus stops.
On Wednesdays in Costa Rica the movies are half price. So Grace and I went to the "mall" for lunch and a movie last Wednesday. Some of the movies are dubbed in Spanish, especially children's movies. However some of the movies just have Spanish subtitles. We chose to see a movie in English with subtitles. There was several other people in the movie theater as well and they all had to read the subtitles. We are planning on going back this week as well. We decided to eat lunch in the Food Court, and I of course chose Subway. I didn't think about how difficult it would be to order in another language. (For example, McDonald's all you have to say is "Numero Uno" and you will get the combo number 1.) However, at Subway I had to order the specific sandwich that I wanted and then also the condiments and vegetables that I wanted in Spanish. I did my best but I think the reason that I got the correct sandwich was that the Sandwich Artist was very patient and helpful (and he made good guesses).
On Sunday, I wend to church with some friends. The church service was completely in Spanish. I did OK throughout the worship time because I could figure out the song was about. However, the sermon was extremely difficult. The pastor did not have any notes or slides and I couldn't even figure out what passage we were in until he had stopped reading the passage and moved on to something else. Needless to say, after church I had bit of a headache. I also had lunch the house of a family that I met that morning. They live across the street from me, but I had not met them yet. They are in language school as well and they are moving to Honduras.
I have really enjoyed the food here in Costa Rica. My "Tica Mom" Emy is a great cook and I have loved the meals. As many of you know, my favorite vegetable (practically the only one I eat) is onion. I get to eat onion in practically every meal here! I love it!! I love walking by the bread shops and smelling the bread. ( I can only let myself stop there sometimes) Two new fruits that I have fallen in love with are Cas and Mamon Chino. Cas is sour but not quite as sour as a lemon and it makes a very good juice, and I like it as an Icecream flavor. Mamon Chino is a crazy looking red fruit that tastes sort of like a grape. (see video below of my first time eating the mamon chino)
Eating Mamon Chino! from Jennifer Kendrick on Vimeo.
1. Riding the Bus
2. Movies
3. Church
4. Food
So one of the first things that I learned to do here is to ride the bus system. I usually walk to school in the "morning" (tutoring and then classes start at 12:30). It's about a 30 minute walk but I tend to enjoy it. I put my ipod on some good tunes and start out. (I make a point to stop at the "grocery store" to buy a Coke Zero and sometimes buy a pack of gum or some cookies) I would prefer to walk home in the afternoons as well but by the time that I get out of class it is usually raining. If it is raining too much I take the bus instead. It cost 220 Colones. (equals about 50 cents). When I first got here I thought that there was no way I was going to be comfortable riding the bus because what if I missed my stop. Now, it's just a way of life. I see my stop, either push the stop button or if the bus I am riding does not have a stop button then I call out "Parada" and the bus stops.
On Wednesdays in Costa Rica the movies are half price. So Grace and I went to the "mall" for lunch and a movie last Wednesday. Some of the movies are dubbed in Spanish, especially children's movies. However some of the movies just have Spanish subtitles. We chose to see a movie in English with subtitles. There was several other people in the movie theater as well and they all had to read the subtitles. We are planning on going back this week as well. We decided to eat lunch in the Food Court, and I of course chose Subway. I didn't think about how difficult it would be to order in another language. (For example, McDonald's all you have to say is "Numero Uno" and you will get the combo number 1.) However, at Subway I had to order the specific sandwich that I wanted and then also the condiments and vegetables that I wanted in Spanish. I did my best but I think the reason that I got the correct sandwich was that the Sandwich Artist was very patient and helpful (and he made good guesses).
On Sunday, I wend to church with some friends. The church service was completely in Spanish. I did OK throughout the worship time because I could figure out the song was about. However, the sermon was extremely difficult. The pastor did not have any notes or slides and I couldn't even figure out what passage we were in until he had stopped reading the passage and moved on to something else. Needless to say, after church I had bit of a headache. I also had lunch the house of a family that I met that morning. They live across the street from me, but I had not met them yet. They are in language school as well and they are moving to Honduras.
I have really enjoyed the food here in Costa Rica. My "Tica Mom" Emy is a great cook and I have loved the meals. As many of you know, my favorite vegetable (practically the only one I eat) is onion. I get to eat onion in practically every meal here! I love it!! I love walking by the bread shops and smelling the bread. ( I can only let myself stop there sometimes) Two new fruits that I have fallen in love with are Cas and Mamon Chino. Cas is sour but not quite as sour as a lemon and it makes a very good juice, and I like it as an Icecream flavor. Mamon Chino is a crazy looking red fruit that tastes sort of like a grape. (see video below of my first time eating the mamon chino)
Eating Mamon Chino! from Jennifer Kendrick on Vimeo.
10/18/2011
First Week in Costa Rica
I have had a wonderful first week here in Costa Rica. I really can't believe that I have only been here a week. So that this blog post is not 3 million words long, I am going to break it into a few sections with funnies mixed in where they fit.
1. Host Family and Language School
2. Weekend trips
3. Praises!
4. Pictures
I am getting to know my host family and the other student that is here at my house. The family is amazing and the mom, Emy, has been wonderful to help me with my Spanish. I have had several conversations with other members of the family in Spanish (I can understand a lot of what they say and I do my best to respond in very broken Spanish). Grace, the other student at my house, is from Korea. She is here until the end of October. She was in the States for a year learning English and then came here to learn Spanish! I hope to post pictures of my host family soon. Please pray for Emy (my house mom). She had surgery last week and is in a lot of pain.
On Saturday, Grace and I went to downtown San Jose. We went to buy a bus ticket for Monday to go to the beach but ended up spending the day shopping and ate lunch at Pizza Hut. It was quite an adventure to buy the bus ticket. We got in what we thought was the correct line to buy the ticket and waited for 30 minutes. When we got to the front of the line, we were told we were not in the correct line. Praise God that there was a man near that spoke some English. He helped us find the correct line. At Pizza Hut, I attempted to buy 1 slice of pizza and a drink. I ended up with 3 slices of pizza and a drink. Just one of many many language mistakes. We also fed the birds at the park. (My mom says that I look like a bag lady feeding the birds LOL) (See pictures of the day below)
Today, was a Costa Rican holiday called Culture Day. (has something to do with Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the new world) Grace and I took a bus to Playa de Jaco. (Jaco Beach) It was about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour bus ride. When the bus arrived in what we assumed was Jaco, we were not sure where to get off the bus. First, we didn't know where the beach was and we didn't know where the bus station was so that we could return this afternoon. Thankfully we were able to ask the bus driver and he understood us and pointed us in the correct direction. We ate lunch at KFC (yes I said Kentucky Fried Chicken LOL). Then we headed to the beach. As you will be able to see from the pictures below it was quite rainy but we had fun anyway. We returned this afternoon so we had only 3 hours in Jaco but since it was raining it was plenty of time.
PICTURES with Descriptions
1. Host Family and Language School
2. Weekend trips
3. Praises!
4. Pictures
I am getting to know my host family and the other student that is here at my house. The family is amazing and the mom, Emy, has been wonderful to help me with my Spanish. I have had several conversations with other members of the family in Spanish (I can understand a lot of what they say and I do my best to respond in very broken Spanish). Grace, the other student at my house, is from Korea. She is here until the end of October. She was in the States for a year learning English and then came here to learn Spanish! I hope to post pictures of my host family soon. Please pray for Emy (my house mom). She had surgery last week and is in a lot of pain.
On Saturday, Grace and I went to downtown San Jose. We went to buy a bus ticket for Monday to go to the beach but ended up spending the day shopping and ate lunch at Pizza Hut. It was quite an adventure to buy the bus ticket. We got in what we thought was the correct line to buy the ticket and waited for 30 minutes. When we got to the front of the line, we were told we were not in the correct line. Praise God that there was a man near that spoke some English. He helped us find the correct line. At Pizza Hut, I attempted to buy 1 slice of pizza and a drink. I ended up with 3 slices of pizza and a drink. Just one of many many language mistakes. We also fed the birds at the park. (My mom says that I look like a bag lady feeding the birds LOL) (See pictures of the day below)
Today, was a Costa Rican holiday called Culture Day. (has something to do with Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the new world) Grace and I took a bus to Playa de Jaco. (Jaco Beach) It was about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour bus ride. When the bus arrived in what we assumed was Jaco, we were not sure where to get off the bus. First, we didn't know where the beach was and we didn't know where the bus station was so that we could return this afternoon. Thankfully we were able to ask the bus driver and he understood us and pointed us in the correct direction. We ate lunch at KFC (yes I said Kentucky Fried Chicken LOL). Then we headed to the beach. As you will be able to see from the pictures below it was quite rainy but we had fun anyway. We returned this afternoon so we had only 3 hours in Jaco but since it was raining it was plenty of time.
PICTURES with Descriptions
 |
| Right before it started raining. Love the coconut trees! |
 |
| Some kind of animal tooth! I didn't actually want to touch it. |
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| Holding a coconut in the pouring rain next to some kind of fire structure? |
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| This would be even better if it was sunny! |
 |
| Grace and I met an American man who was gracious enough to take our picture. |
 |
| Eunseon is Grace's name in Korean |
 |
| Jennifer in the CR! The sand is not like Florida sand. It's mostly tiny rocks |
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| I am on a sand bar and it is beginning to rain quite hard. |
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| The sky had cleared some. Its quite pretty, but would be better with sun. |
 |
| I really wanted to wade out to the rocks but I couldn't tell how deep the water was. |
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| The water wasn't too cold, but when it is raining and the sun is hiding it can be chilly! |
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| There were palm trees and coconut trees everywhere. |
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| The stores in downtown San Jose are already decorating for Christmas! |
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| Feeding the birds. It felt really weird. |
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| Grace feeding the bird. She was braver than I was and went first. |
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| Standing behind an art structure in front of the "gold museum" |
10/10/2011
I am in Costa Rica!
As you can see from the title of this blog... I arrived in Costa Rica this morning! It has been a full day so I will just share some highlights.
But first, I wanted to share something funny that happened yesterday. (It's funny now. Not so funny when it was happening) I was in my hotel room in Miami. I had just started my shower and put the shampoo in my hair. And the fire alarm for the hotel goes off. So I washed the shampoo out as fast as I could, got dressed, grabbed my room key and headed to the nearest exit. I was staying on the 11th floor so I had a ways to go. I finally got outside and we all had to wait about 30 minutes while the firemen checked everything out. It was not a fire although I don't know what the problem was. Needless to say, when my alarm clock went off this morning I panicked thinking it was the fire alarm again!
So I arrived in Costa Rica this morning at 10:50am, but I had messed up and told my ride that I arrived at 11:50am. So I ended up standing with all of my bags (I checked 3 and had 2 carry-ons) at the curb outside of the airport for quite awhile waiting. But, everything turned out well.
I am staying with a very sweet family. The mother's name is Emy and she speaks English very well, but I am doing my best to work on Spanish :) I plan to go to the school tomorrow and find a tutor to help me until classes begin on October 24.
I am excited to be here and get started but I have to admit that everything is a little overwhelming right now!
But first, I wanted to share something funny that happened yesterday. (It's funny now. Not so funny when it was happening) I was in my hotel room in Miami. I had just started my shower and put the shampoo in my hair. And the fire alarm for the hotel goes off. So I washed the shampoo out as fast as I could, got dressed, grabbed my room key and headed to the nearest exit. I was staying on the 11th floor so I had a ways to go. I finally got outside and we all had to wait about 30 minutes while the firemen checked everything out. It was not a fire although I don't know what the problem was. Needless to say, when my alarm clock went off this morning I panicked thinking it was the fire alarm again!
So I arrived in Costa Rica this morning at 10:50am, but I had messed up and told my ride that I arrived at 11:50am. So I ended up standing with all of my bags (I checked 3 and had 2 carry-ons) at the curb outside of the airport for quite awhile waiting. But, everything turned out well.
I am staying with a very sweet family. The mother's name is Emy and she speaks English very well, but I am doing my best to work on Spanish :) I plan to go to the school tomorrow and find a tutor to help me until classes begin on October 24.
I am excited to be here and get started but I have to admit that everything is a little overwhelming right now!
10/09/2011
18 Year Long Dream
I was thinking the other day about how I couldn't believe that I was finally getting to do this. I realized that I have been dreaming of this day for 18 years. It seems like yesterday but also forever ago that I was an 8 year old kid listening to a woman speak about being a missionary in Africa. I knew that I was going to be a missionary some day. And that day is here!
So packing... Yeah that was fun (NOT). I was trying to get everything I would need for the next 3 years in to 2 suitcases. It ended up being 3 bags but who's counting :) Anyway, we finally got it all zipped up and ready to go. My flight left Birmingham at 12:45pm and I have an 18 hour layover in Miami. My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 10am.
So packing... Yeah that was fun (NOT). I was trying to get everything I would need for the next 3 years in to 2 suitcases. It ended up being 3 bags but who's counting :) Anyway, we finally got it all zipped up and ready to go. My flight left Birmingham at 12:45pm and I have an 18 hour layover in Miami. My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 10am.
 |
| This morning before my family took me to the airport we ate breakfast at IHOP! (I love french toast) |
10/03/2011
Last Week in America!
It's crazy. It does not even seem real. I am really packing to leave the country. So that's whats happening in my life. I am going through everything that I own and trying to fit what I need into only 2 suitcases. Everything else goes to the Thrift Store or the trash.
Tonight I went on a date night with my dad to the Cheesecake Factory and then to a movie. Pretty much all this week I am spending time with family and friends and saying goodbye.
My plan for the blog at least for a little while is to write posts that fall into 4 categories. This will hopefully help me to write short and focused blog topics that will help you guys know what is going on in my journey. (Thanks Imani Folks)
1. Mi Vida
- In this "category" I will just post general stories about my life and Language School. Expect to here things about school and work when I get to Ecuador, things about living in the Costa Rica and then Ecuador, prayer requests, etc. etc. (PS- Mi vida= My life)
2. "God is good because.."
- In these posts I will simply give thanksgiving to God for the ways he has been faithful/amazing to me. Joys about how He has worked my life.
3. Hola ___
- For these posts the blank space will be filled with a name of people that I meet with. I will include a picture, how I know them and some fun facts about them... just so you guys have a way of "meeting" the amazing people God has given me the opportunity to live and study among.
4. Laughter
- I love to laugh, and I am sure that I will make a million and two mistakes while learning the language and beyond (and they no doubt will be funny to laugh at). When moments are funny enough to share, I'll post them in this category.
Tonight I went on a date night with my dad to the Cheesecake Factory and then to a movie. Pretty much all this week I am spending time with family and friends and saying goodbye.
My plan for the blog at least for a little while is to write posts that fall into 4 categories. This will hopefully help me to write short and focused blog topics that will help you guys know what is going on in my journey. (Thanks Imani Folks)
1. Mi Vida
- In this "category" I will just post general stories about my life and Language School. Expect to here things about school and work when I get to Ecuador, things about living in the Costa Rica and then Ecuador, prayer requests, etc. etc. (PS- Mi vida= My life)
2. "God is good because.."
- In these posts I will simply give thanksgiving to God for the ways he has been faithful/amazing to me. Joys about how He has worked my life.
3. Hola ___
- For these posts the blank space will be filled with a name of people that I meet with. I will include a picture, how I know them and some fun facts about them... just so you guys have a way of "meeting" the amazing people God has given me the opportunity to live and study among.
4. Laughter
- I love to laugh, and I am sure that I will make a million and two mistakes while learning the language and beyond (and they no doubt will be funny to laugh at). When moments are funny enough to share, I'll post them in this category.
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