Test Results- End of Language School

I mentioned on the last blog that I had 2 big tests coming up soon. Well, the first one was last Friday, and was a 30-minute oral exam. You can't really prepare for the test, because you just have a conversation with a teacher.In order to pass the oral test, I needed to achieve an 'advance' rating on my speaking abilities. (A teacher told a friend of mine that an 'advanced' level is when a Spanish speaker who has never talked to a gringo (English Speaker) before can walk up to me and hold a conversation, and I can understand and make myself understood.) Considering that I came to Costa Rica to study Spanish only 10 months ago, and that I knew absolutely no Spanish at the time, getting an advanced rating would be pretty huge.

The second test was last Tuesday, and was a comprehensive, 3 hour, 300 point written exam. It covered everything: present tense, past tense, future tense, subjunctives, parifrases, comparatives, quoting people... everything! In order to pass the written test, I need at least a 70% as a final score. Most students take both exams after their third semester at the school, but since I am leaving  this coming Monday, I decided to take them now. 

Well, thank you for all the prayers and encouraging notes. I did pass both tests so now I can focus on getting ready for the start of the school year in Shell, Ecuador!

The End of Some Times and The Beginning of Some Times

So its that time again. Time to start packing and looking forward to getting settled in a new place! That's right. I leave Costa Rica on Monday, August 6. I am very excited about this next step, but I am sure going to   miss my life here in Costa Rica as well.

Coming up this week: Exams Exams Exams... I will be taking the Final Exams for the Language School. On Friday, July 27 I will be taking the Oral Exam and the following Tuesday, July 31 I will be taking the 3 hour long Grammar test.

School starts August 23. I will be teaching 1st and 2nd grade this year, and I am beyond excited. So far, I will have 2 first graders and 2 second graders. I have been having fun thinking and planning for the new school year.

Below are some pictures of my apartment and the school. I don't have pictures of my actual classroom yet but you will get the idea below. :) These pictures are of the kindergarten classroom a few years ago.

The Front View of My House

The Patio

*Summer* In Costa Rica

The last two months have been packed but wonderful. I have said good bye to friends and hello to many new friends. I have definitely learned more Spanish. I have traveled to Panama, and all around enjoyed the many friendships that I have made here in Costa Rica. Although technically it is summertime, it doesn't seem much different to me, except for the fact that May is the start of rainy season here. I am still in school everyday and except for the rain the climate didn't change much.

We had a week break in between semesters. I ended up not going out of town, and just used the extra time to study and and catch up on some sleep. However, one day some friends and I set out to find the oldest Catholic church here in Costa Rica. After 2 buses and over 3 hours being lost in downtown trying to find the correct bus stop we made it to the church. And would you believe it, after all of that we didn't even go inside the church!

Church in Coronado, Costa Rica

This year the Spanish Language Institute celebrates its 70th anniversary! The school first started out in Columbia but moved to Costa Rica later on. It has been a wonderful time of learning and growth for hundreds of missionaries to Latin America.We had a grand party. Here is a short video of the band that came and surprised all of us. As you can see the children enjoyed dancing with characters. The only mishap is the band brought a devil like character with them. He was not so exciting.

70th aniversary movie from Jennifer Kendrick on Vimeo.

I have gone to 2 concerts with my Tica sister Mariela. I have really enjoyed getting to know her better. She is very patient with me! The concert is in Spanish of course. The first concert I did not understand anything. So for the next concert I printed out the lyrics to the songs and read the songs as they played them. That helped a ton.

Mariela and I at the concert

Crazy Busy Times!

Sorry that it has been so long since I have posted! I just realized that it has been over a month. Here is a short overview of some of the things that have been going on.

At the end of March, I had to leave the country to renew my visa. So we went to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It was a nice little beach town. Everyone had fun and it was a relaxing time.

The beach in Nicaragua was beautiful!

The church that I attend "Calvary Chapel San Pedro" had a youth gathering after school. They invited all of the students in middle school and high school in the area to come to the skating rink after school. We gave out snacks and the kids had fun skating. One of the teenagers shared his testimony, the pastor shared the Gospel and they showed a scene from Facing the Giants in Spanish.

Lisamarie and I

Today, we had a going away party at the Saturday Ministry with the kids. Chelsea, who has been studying since last April and has worked with the ministry the whole time, will be leaving in a week and a half. We had 65 children. We sang songs and played games and ate cake and donuts and orange soda. Talk about sugar hyper children.

Pile of children all around Chelsea!

The older kids had a cake fight. The only problem is that the colored icing stains

Chelsea with two of our regular kids!

The first few weeks that this little girl came, we couldn't get her  look at us, let alone get
 her to participate or  smile. Look at how far we have come!

¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

 Last week I had my first birthday out of the country. I had a wonderful 26th birthday weekend!

On Friday night friends from school and I had dinner downtown at an Italian restaurant. On Saturday, I visited the Feria with Lisamarie. On Saturday, Emy and Carlos, my Tica parents, threw me a birthday party. We had pizza and cake and icecream. 

Cafe Mundo in downtown San Jose.

Sara, Chelsea, Lisamarie and I

Friends from language school: Suni, Edward, Laura and Mark.

On Saturday, I went to the Feria with Lisamarie.
I bought cucumbers and onions for Emy, my  Tica Mom.

Paying for the onions.

Now I have my onions and the best fresh squeezed orange juice! (in the cup)

Chelsea and Lisamarie at the party.

Hello Kitty Birthday Cake!

Emy, Marreala, and Karla: My Tica mom and sisters.

Blessing In Disguise

I was thinking the other day about being here in Costa Rica, and thinking about what a fulfillment of a dream this is. But then I stopped. Really MY dream was completely different than this.

 I was reminded of the country song that talks about thanking God for unanswered prayers. Now I believe that God always answers my prayers. The answer might be "no" or completely different from what I thought it should be, but God answers my prayers. However, the premise of the song is that what the guy prayed for would not have been the best thing for him. He thanks God for what did happen because he realizes that God knows best.

How true this is in my life. When I was seven I knew that I was going to be a missionary. My dream was that I would get married and move with my husband and kids to Africa. I knew that I wanted to study education in college so that I could home-school my children.

I know that if God had called me to Africa and to home-school my kids, I would enjoy that as well. However, I would not trade what I am doing for anything. I love speaking Spanish (although it is a lot of work), I love the school that I will be teaching at in Ecuador.

Even after I knew that I was going to Ecuador to teach school (and that I was not married with kids), there were plans and dreams that I had that were not in the plans of God. I was dead set against going to Costa Rica to learn Spanish. I wanted to go straight to Ecuador and learn Spanish for a semester in the capital. I can't imagine not being in Costa Rica right now. This time has been such a blessing and I would not change it for the world.

 This reminded me to check my current hopes and dreams. Am I holding on too tight to something that is not in His perfect will for my life. I am fighting something that could be just what I need. I thank God that He knows what is best for me, even when MY dream is something completely different.

Life of a Student in Language School

I am getting into the swing of things here in school. I really like my teachers and my classes. I have a lot of homework at night, but all of it is helping me learn the language. I mostly do homework and normal life here in the afternoons. However, some nights I get to babysit children so that the parents can have a break. (I love these nights) On Tuesday afternoons, I visit a local orphanage so that I can play with the children and show them love. Usually the single adults do something interesting on Friday nights. (This might be just going to the mall to eat at the food court - Subway here I come) On Saturday afternoons, I join other students and go to a small neighborhood and work with very poor children. Sundays we take a bus to a neighboring town and attend a Spanish church. In the afternoons, we attend a English Bible study lead by some of the men students from the school. Although there is not anything really exciting happening, I really enjoy my days.

I included a very short video of me talking with a girl named Nicol that I met on Saturday afternoon. (She spells her name NICOL without the "e")

Transcript:
What is your name?  Nicol
My name is Jennifer. Nice to meet you Nicol.
How old are you? 9 years old
O how big!
Do you have any brothers or sisters?  Yes
How many? 5 brothers
Really? no I am just kidding I have four brothers
What are their names? Anderson, Tayler and Meychal
Talking to Baleria - Good Job! How Pretty!
Thanks Nicol

You are not late; Only the time is late

I thought that this was an interesting thing about the Spanish Language. As we were learning about how to say the time correctly in Spanish, the teacher explained that people can not be late. Only time can be late. People can be in a hurry because the time is late or because you woke up late, but it is not correct to say: Kathryn is late today. So next time you are in a hurry, relax. You are not late only the time is late.

On Saturdays, a friend of mine named Chelsea, helps at a ministry in a poor city in San Jose. This town is mostly gang members and their family. Most of the houses are squatter houses. Meaning they build their houses out of material like tin and scrap metal. The ministry has two Bible studies for the children in the neighborhood.. There is a older children Bible study (the children can read and write) and a younger children Bible study  (they are not able to read or write). For the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to join her and work with the younger children. I have a lot of fun and it is also a great way to practice my Spanish. Little children are usually very patient with people that are learning the language. Here are some pictures of my time there. You will notice in the pictures the different ages of the children. The "older children" in the group are there because they are still not able to read or write at a level that would allow them to participate in the other class.

The little boy in the red shirt is named Wayner. It took me 6 times to understand  his name
and I still could not spell it correctly until someone wrote it out for me.

Nicole is definitely meant to be a leader! She is very sweet and loves to
hug the teachers constantly.

Mark is a student with me at the Language School.
The children were enjoying putting crayons in his beard.

Coloring with the children!

The lady holding the little boy in the back of the picture is the owner of
this house. The ministry is working with her to improve her house so that the rats can not
get under her floor boards and the roof will not leak. It is coming along little by little.

As I was taking pictures, Jeffery asked to take a picture with me. He still was not so
sure that he wanted  to  stand to close me.

Grown men playing jump rope with kids. It's a beautiful thing.

The neighborhood where the children live.

A Photo Is Worth A Thousand Words

So since a photo is worth a thousand words, I thought this blog I would show a lot of pictures instead of a lot of words :) To catch you up, I am back in Costa Rica learning Spanish. I started class on January 10 and it is going very well so far. Enjoy the pictures!

My new friend Chelsea and I on our way to the small supermarket

This is the bus that I take to get downtown and it also goes right by my house

My friend Lisamarie, Chelsea, and I at the park

My friend Sara and I at the park. This is a park by the school where I do all of my studying

This is the view of the mountains from my house

This is the guard and the guard house across the street from my house

Doing homework at the park!

Hard at work!

If I need a break from studying, I can watch the watch the boys falling off their skateboards

Traffic on the way to the small supermarket

Jumbo - the small supermarket

Bueno Tiempos! (Good Times)

The time has practically flown here in Costa Rica. I only have 2 more days of class and then I fly home to Alabama for Christmas. These last few weeks have been steady but fun. I have worked hard in class and have had fun with friends and my Tica Family.

1. Babysitting
2. Black Friday
3. Matty's Fiesta

Babysitting!!
Two Saturdays ago, missionary friends of mine asked me to babysit their 3 children (ages between 6 -10) so that they could go out on a date. I was SO excited. For three reasons:

1. I love their children. They are well behaved but hilarious to be around.
2. I just enjoy getting out of the house and being around children in general.
3. They promised me Mac n Cheese - How could I say no to that kind of offer??

We ended up having a blast. We ate 4 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese, watched 2 movies, and ate 3 bags of butter popcorn. Then the Friday after Thanksgiving, other missionary friends of mine asked me to babysit their two little guys (ages 2 and 4) while they went Christmas shopping. That was fun as well. Again, I was offered Mac n Cheese for the deal! Forrest, the four year old, knows a good amount of Spanish. So when we played the game, "fix the babysitter something to eat" , Forrest and I played in Spanish while Elliott ( 2 year old) played in English. I have always enjoyed babysitting, but here in Costa Rica I find that I enjoy it even more. I feel like I am helping in a larger way here. Missionaries, ESPECIALLY missionaries with children, just need to relax sometimes, but living in a different country makes that difficult to do. Everything takes longer, its harder to go places, babysitters are harder to find... I am glad that in a small way I am able to help out.

Black Friday in Costa Rica !!?
I was surprised to learn that Costa Rica has Black Friday as well! Actually this is the first year that they have really done it up big. Emy, my Tica mom, asked me to go to the Mall with her on Friday night. Now most of you know, shopping is not really my thing. But I thought it would be fun to get out of the house. Don't get me wrong I had a wonderful time hanging out with Emy, but the Mall was ridiculous. Black Friday was definitely in action. There was people everywhere, I could hardly move with out bumping in to someone. We had a fun time shopping and eating at the food court. (I had really hot buffalo wings from KFC. They were so hot that I could not finish them.)

Matty's Fiesta

The Cake - Elmo Style !!
The Costa Rican word for cake is
 "el queque" (sounds like  "k k")

Matthias (grandson of my Tica mom and dad) turned 3 last week. So on Saturday night, his parents, Karla and Elvin, had a small fiesta for him at their house with Matty's family. Elvin's family was there as well as Karla's family (my tica family) and I was invited as well.

It really embarrassed Matty when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him
In the photo: Karla, Elvin and Matty - and his other granddad

In the photo: Matty, Mom and dad and his uncle Adrian

What Matty doesn't know is that this present is clothes, and as you can see in the picture below- no matter how nice the clothes are- no 3 year old child wants clothes.

Matty is sad because all he thinks he got for his birthday is clothes!

The good surprise was that he did get other toys like this computer
 from Carlos and Emy. That is Emy in the right of the photo.

Language School and Tica Family

I can't believe that I have been in classes for 4 weeks already! It has definitely gone fast. I have learned a lot, but that just makes me realize how much farther I have to go.

1. Language Learning and Plans
2. Tica family


Language Learning
I arrived in Costa Rica with very little Spanish knowledge. I took French in high school and in college. So the only Spanish that I knew was the few words that are common to hear every day during mission trips like “Buenas Dias” , “Como Esta?” , and

View of the mountains from the school grounds

“Bien, Gracias a Dios” – Good Morning, How are you? Good, Thanks to God. - I had learned a tiny bit more from other places, but I definitely still couldn’t say anything and I struggled to understand anything that was said to me. Now, after 2 weeks of tutoring and 4 weeks of class, I can have a basic conversation (keep in mind the word BASIC). I am able to talk with my host family and I am even feeling more confident in class. 

Spanish Language Institute

I was talking to my mom early this week and she was giving me some dates to write down. I found that instead of writing the word “date” in English, I automatically wrote it in Spanish! It’s funny how sometimes I will struggle for days to remember a certain word and then all of the sudden it finally come to me. For example: One of the first things we learned was how to describe how we are doing. The word for angry is “enojado”. Every time I wanted to use this word, I couldn’t think of it. I could “see” the word in my head, and I could say “you know that word for angry that starts with an ‘e’ “ But I couldn’t seem to ever say the word. All of the sudden one day, as I am walking home from school, the word just pops into my head and all of a sudden I knew the word. I am really enjoying this process of learning the language.

Plans
For those of you who are wondering about my plans - My plans are to be here in Costa Rica for language school until the end of July. I will arrive in Shell, Ecuador in August to start teaching when the school year starts. 

Also, I have decided that since I do not have class the entire month of December, I am going to go home for Christmas! I will be home on December 3 and return to Costa Rica on December 31. I am totally excited!

My Tica Family- an amazing blessing

The House -My room is the first 
set of windows in the right of the picture

I can’t express how blessed I feel to have been placed with the amazing host family that I live with here in Costa Rica. My “Tica” mom, Emy, is amazing and makes me feel so at home here. Her husband’s name is Carlos, and he is extremely funny and sweet as well. They have a daughter name Marreala, who lives at home. She is great and I have had several conversations with her. – They are all very helpful in my language learning adventure. Last weekend, friend from school and I were planning on going shopping for souvenirs. Our plan was to just take the bus and hope to find some tourist shops. However, when Carlos found out our plans he decided to drive us the best tourist shops. - He skipped eating his favorite breakfast that Emy had just made him and drove us 30 minutes to the shops. That afternoon Marreala asked me to go to church with her. She attends a service on Saturday nights for young people. It was fun going to church with her. Emy found out how much I like frogs and bought me a stuffed frog and a frog key chain. Emy and Carlos also have another daughter name Karla. She is married to Elvin and they have a 2½ year old son named Matthias. Matthias stays with Emy every morning since his parents are both at work. 

Matthias

I have really enjoyed getting to know Matthias as well. At first he was shy and it didn’t matter because I couldn’t understand anything he had to say anyway. But gradually he has begun to talk to me. He loves cars and airplanes. Every morning, he shows me his new car or shows me a car that he as already showed me and asks if I remember. It was a great breakthrough the first morning I actually understood was he was telling and asking me. He is learning his colors (in Spanish) and it just so happens that I am also learning my Spanish colors - imagine that!  So while he ate his Fruit Loops the other morning we quizzed each other on the colors of each Fruit Loop before he ate it. He turned to his grandmother and said in Spanish, "She sure is speaking a lot more than she used too!" That was great to hear for sure. (and just in case you are wondering if that it is a good thing that I am talking more- YES!! it most definitely a good thing) LOL 

Family Dog- Shena

Common Costa Rican breakfast - Gallo Pinto (red beans and rice)
eggs and a slice of cheese - We usually eat this on the weekends
but sometimes we also have it during the week.

A neighborhood close to the school that I walk through everyday
Beautiful flowers that I see all over the place 

A view of the main street that I walk down every day.

Ducks in the park in the middle of the city

Park that I walk through everyday to get to school

It was raining this morning is the only reason that there
wasn't several children playing on the playground