La medica

Hey everyone!! Sorry i have not updated in a while, been very busy!!!

This past weekend a group of 20 of us went to Jaco which is about 2 hours from Conversa. We arrived around 5 ish and all got ready for dinner. We went to this place called Taco Bar and it was phenomenal!! Cannot even tell you how delicious the food was...it sounds so weird, but i ended up eating there 3 times that whole weekend. haha. I got a chicken burrito and it was muy bueno! And they had these power milkshakes that were filled with bananas, peanut butter, and cinnamon! so good! After dinner, we took a walk on the beach and it was beautiful. Jaco's beach is huge and just a vast amount of space surrounds you and the stars are heavenly. Steph, Christina and I started to sing praise songs and we actually ended up singing for about an hour! It was so much fun and we got into the harmony and we were getting lots of complements haha! Later that night, about 8 of us went to this club and went dancing! The funny thing was we get in there and not many people are dancing, but there was great music playing and a live saxophone! We all get in there and start dancing for over 2 hours! We were all just moving to the beat and being silly with one another. It felt good to just loosen up and have some fun with everyone! We headed to bed which Stephanie and i had to share a little twin bed in the hotel, but it was great! Little did we know that around 6 am there would be a loud squaking bird outside out window. It woke all of us up and we couldnt go back to sleep, we all ended up just laughing about it and sitting in bed until the sun came up so we could go to the beach! We got in our bathing suits and went to breakfast at the hotel, it consisted of pancakes, fruit, and of course coffee! By 8 am we were done with breakfast and off to the beautiful, dark sandy beach! I have never seen a beach quite like this one, the dark sand really makes a difference but it was beautiful in its own way. The day consisted of swimming and body surfing in the gigantic waves. And lots of people rented surf boards. We all definitely got tossed by the waves many times, but seemed to always make it out alive. That night we went to dinner and walked around the Jaco and did some shopping. Again we went out on the beach and just marvled at how the Lord made this earth for us! Sunday morning rolled around and we were all a little more tired than the day before, but we still headed to the beach and hung by the pool too! It was nice because our hotel was on the beach so you could go back and forth between the beach and pool really easily. The day went on and it finally came time to go back to Conversa. We always like the bus rides though because it gives us a chance to just sit and continue to get to know one another better! I know I keep saying this, but I am surrounded by awesome people and I enjoy hearing about their lives and how they were raised. We arrive back in Santa Ana and we all go out for pizza before returning to our individual houses. That night, I was getting ready for bed and I notice that my stomach, hip, hands, and arms are a little red and splotchy...so i thought to myself oh its just sun burn. I woke up the next morning and it was still hurting so I decided to go outside and cut off an aloe plant and put it on my skin. It actually made my skin very soft, but it didnt make my redness any better. As the day went on, my skin started to feel like knives were digging in and burning at the same time. I got back from school took off my clothes and saw that I had weird irregular shapes on my stomach and huge, red raised bumps all over and they killed! So I continued to put aloe on and took some benedryl. I still woke up in the middle of the night from the pain that i was feeling on my torso. This morning I woke up and came to school, but I decided i would ask someone about my rash. But when I got to school steph came up to me and was like look at my leg and she had the same thing except that it went from her hip all the way down to her knee in an irregular finger like shape. And she described her pain and it was exactly what i was feeling. We ended up going to a private doctor which was very nice and clean. But when we got there she checked us out and said we were having a bad allergic reaction to something, so we were thinking she would just give us cream, but oh no we had to get shots in our butts! And you all know how much i hate shots, and steph is even worse than me. So I go first and it actually hurt really bad, but i made it through with out passing out. Then steph gets up on the bed and she is already freaking out and saying i am about to pass out. The shot goes in, her butt jerks and then she is gone. Passed out, but she doesnt just lie there she actually starts to shake. About 4 seconds of that and she wakes up. She is completely fine, but just had an odd reaction to the shot. After we are done we go up to pay and my ears start ringing and i cant see straight....so i started to pass out. We both ended up sitting in the office for 20 minutes sucking on chocolate and just laughing at how pitiful we are. We are now back at Conversa just resting. The only thing is we are in a lot of pain and mine had spread to my lips and face. So we are just a little swollen and are rashes have started to bubble. So we are red, bubbly, and itchy. Somehow we still seem to be able to laugh about it! We are grateful we had each other this morning and it is something we will never forget. Our little booties are a little sore and we are both a little loopy from the shot, but as the costa Ricans would say Pura Vida! We are still so happy to be here and I am not wanting this trip to be over. But every good thing must come to an end!

Hope all of you are doing well! Miss you and I will continue to update for the next couple of days!

Love you,
Erin

hola!!!

This week has already been flying by and i kinda wish it wasnt going so fast! The last couple of days we have been having our regular school days at Conversa. i got a new teacher for this week and he has been so good! I got to learn all about natural medicines and what plants treat certain sicknesses. I really think that i want to be a nurse that only deals with natural products...not sure what that is called, but it made me excited because i may have a new carreer ahead of me. We will see though! And Instead of just teaching us spanish he has been teaching us recipies and how to cook spanish food, so it has been very interesting. Today we learned how to cook bull testicles! haha and we are cooking them next monday! I dont want to really eat them, but since i am only in costa rica once i am going to have to make myself try it! pura vida!!! This past Monday night we stayed in and just ate dinner with our family! It was so much fun because we talked about girl stuff for over an hour! haha it was very enertaining because of the language barrier! Christina and i have so much fun just joking around with our madre and sisters! We have cliked so well with them and our sisters are taking us to a disco tomorrow night to dance!! We will be doing the salsa and tango all night...it shall be interesting! What i really wanted to share with you all though is the opprotunity i had to go to a costa rican christian church last night. At the last minute, on of my friends from this trip said he was going and so a couple of us ended up going to a church called cca in san jose. it was a pretty long taxi drive, but so worth the money!! I really didnt know what to expect or if i would even be able to understand anything, since it would be in spanish. Four of us went and we had such a great time just getting to know eachother better! The church is in a very dangerous area and not really a place to go alone. We pull up at the church in the taxi and it is such a nice building admist the poverty area that surrounds it. We walk in the church and they hand us a little bible verse that is in spanish and we actually end up meeting a lady who lived in florida for 27 years so she spoke really good english and she ran the womens center at this church. This christian church is very contemporary, they had the drums and even DANCERS, dancing while worship was going on...it was so great! The best part was when the worship started i was thinking i would not be able to understand anything, but they put up english and spanish on the screen! While we were singing i was just praying that somehow i would be able to understand the sermon or just be able to pick up a little bit! My prayer was answered because the pastor got up and he said we want to welcome our vistors (he was saying this in spanish) and he pointed to us and people came and said hi and all. And because just us four americans there they had an interpeter for us! I was not expecting that at all and it was awesome because we were all able to understand everything they were saying! the lord really provided for us the whole night! It was such a treat to be able to get away from santa ana and go to church! I really needed it and it was encouraging to see Costa Ricans praising the lord! We ended the night by getting some french fries and hamburgers...haha. such an american food, but it was still so good!

Today we had school, but afterwards our whole group got to go to cafe britt where they make all the amazing costa rica coffee. We had a tour of the coffee farm and learned how they grow and make it! It was very interesting and the best part was at the end we got to buy some delicous coffee! No worries, i was able to get alot since i know so many coffee lovers! But, our group had such a fun time just laughing and hanging out with eachother! And we got to drink coffee and eat chocolate...what could be better???!!!

I cannot express how much grateful i am go be here and just enjoying every moment and trying to be content with every situation! I am surrounded by phenomonal people and beautiful mountains.

Miss you all and you are in my prayers!

LOVE YOU!
ERIN

kissed by the sun!

hello everyone!

i just got back from the beach tonight, it was fantastic and so beautiful!! We left Friday afternoon, it was a 5 hour bus ride and many people got sick because of the roads! But we finally got there around dinner time. When we pulled up to the hotel we were all amazed at how nice it was! We were thinking we would be in a normal hotel, but we were wrong! There were little bungalow rooms placed all over the jungle! i felt like i was living with tarzan and jane! ha. our room was very nice, with dark wood and a gorgeous view! we walked out of our room and overlooked the jungle and the the ocean! So the sunsets were amazing! Friday night we got dressed up and went to this reastuarnt called "el avion" i think that is how you spell plane in spanish! ha not sure. Anyways, the restaurant was shaped like a plan and was lifted up into the woods...it is hard to explain, but we were up high and surrounded by large trees, so it seemed like you were in the jungle! The food was great and we actually had a sloth swinging in the trees next to us during dinner! After dinner, we walked around town for a little bit and then hit the bed ready for a nice day at the beach! We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel. of course, i had french toast and it was so yummy with fresh fruit! Then we were off to manuel antonio national park (beach). We got on a bus and then they dropped us at the enterance to the park and then we had a 30 minute walk through the rainforest to get to the beach! we were all very sweaty because it was around 90 degrees and humid! But the scenery was beautiful and we were able to see many animals on our walk! We finally got to the beach and went straight into the ocean because we were so hott! I actually had to sit in the shade the whole day because it was dripping sweat in about 3 minutes, so i moved to the shade. But we were all able to walk the beach and climb over rocks to get to other beaches! We left the beach around 4 and went back to the hotel to take showers! i actually felt really sick all saturday night. We went to another restaurant, but i was not able to eat much because i felt so sick. i think it was either the water i was drinking or the sun, but steph and i ended up leaving everyone and going back to the hotel to go to bed around 9:30 ha! But if felt so good. i woke up sunday morning well rested! We spent today at the hotel pool that overlooked a gorgeous view of the ocean. We saw people parasailing, jet skiing, and kyaking. it was glorious and we all were just in awe of how the lord designed such a breath taking scenery. God is such a creative artist!!!

It was a long trip home, but so worth being able to relax at the beach and soak in the hott sun rays! i thankfully did not get fried! And our whole samford group on this trip is so fun! we are all getting along so well and it has been so fun to meet new friends! i feel very blessed! We start school again tomorrow...5 hours of spanish class tomorrow :)! Hopefully it will go by fast!

i miss you all and cant wait to show you pictures...and we say so many monkeys swinging through the trees, it was amazing!

hope you all are doing well! love you!
E

El Mangera!!

Hola,

Sorry I have not been posting for a while, but they have us very busy!!! So they typical week looks like this...wake up at 6:30 and then class starts at 8:30 we have a breakfast break and lunch break and then we are done with spanish around 1 and then the nutrition starts! it has been fun because we use the kitchen at Conversa and we learn how to cook spanish food! So dont worry i will be cooking some for you when i get home! Spanish has been going well, we basically just try to hold all conversations is spanish no english allowed...haha very difficult! I went on a hike the other day and it was beautiful scenery. I love being surrounded by all the mountains and beautiful plants! It is truly a special place and I am thoroughly enjoying the adventure! After class on wed, we had a dance class and learned the mangera (sp)! it was so much fun we had all the guys and girls paired up and just danced for an hour! It is similar to the salsa, but a little different and at the end we all made a circle and each couple had to do a performance for everyone! ha it was very entertaining and a great work out! I told my family that we had taken dance classes and so now they insist that we practice every night! So Christina and I actually learned the salsa too! Our sisters Mary and Maria taught us how to do it! The past two days we have cleared the tables in the living room and made a nice dance floor! We danced for an hour last night! Its amazing that even though we cannot speak each others languages we are still able to just be GIRLS and laugh and have a good time being silly! So after they taught us, we wanted to teach them a few American moves which consited of the skanky leg and pop lock and drop it! ha. We turned some snoop dog on and started doing pop lock and drop it with them....very funny! We had such a great time!

Also, on wed night we took a bus into san jose and went to the multi plaza which is thier mall! It was huge, three stories and just very American. I actually had quiznos for dinner...I was craving some American food! We just walked around the mall for a couple hours and it kind of made us feel like we were back in the states for a little bit!

Today, the nutrition class gets a little break since we do spanish and nutrition everyday. So we dont have classs on Friday, I am about to go lay by the pool and soak up some of the Costa Rican sun! Around 2 today we are leaving for Monwell Antonio, which is the beach! A group of 15 of us are going and staying at a hotel and just relax!

I miss you all very much, and appreciate your little posts and many e-mails! It amazes me how we can all still communicate so well even though we are so far away from each other! Hope you have great weekend and that you dont freeze! Stay warm!!

love you all!

hey everyone! well it has been my first couple of days in Costa Rica. And i have been loving every moment of it. Christina and i are living in the same house and when we first arrived it was kina of awkward with the host family because we could not speak each others language. little did we know...that our madre is a professor at Conversa where we are taking classes!! So she speaks more Enlglish that she told us. haha. She did that on purpose because she wants us to learn so she is teaching 4 kids from samford everday! This past weekend we went to the volcanos and rainforest. It was sad because it was very foggy when we went to the volcanos so we could not see much and it was very cold because it was so high up! The rainforest was amazing! We did the canopy and consisted of 10 lines so it took about 2 hours. we are all harnessed up the whole time, but then we clip on and clip off to go on the other lines. mom you would have died because we had to climb several ladders and they are so high up basically we are 60 ft and higher in the air the whole time!!! i enjoyed it alot because it was a very pretty view and i just love being in nature as you all know! The food has been really good and i have not gotten sick thank goodness! oh and just so you know christina and i have our own rooms, mine is small with a single bed, but we have been talking to our classmates and we have one of the nicest houses! probably because our mom is a professor! The house is very clean and organized! we are blessed to be in this house! We have two sisters that live here with us, but they speak no english. She cooks us breakfast and dinner every night! Today was our first day at school. We woke up and ate breakfast at 7 which consisted of mango ( mom you would love it) and pan (bread). AND CAFE! i drink coffee about 3 times a day haha. Conversa is about 10 minutes from santa ana, so not far! The school is up in the mountains, cori the scenery looks like the orphange that we went too in jamaica in the mountains! So it is beautiful, there is a pool and trails for us to walk on! So i am excited to explore. We are all split up into different classes depending on how well we speak spanish so of course i am in beginner. But there are no classes bigger than 4 so it is great learning. My professors name is Ronald! We learn in classrooms that are very small the size of a bathroom. just a table and board inside it, but its very airy so it seems like you are outisde. So we have 2 hours of class and then a second breakfast at 10: 30 and then 2 hours of class and then lunch! Then we are done for the day...we have the options of dance class, yoga etc. But the nutrition class will be cooking and visiting farms and stuff. So today we went to grocery stores and learned about the foods and fruit. So its a long day i go until 6 and then go home. We eat dinner about 7: 30 so very soon! She is cooking it right now and its her birthday! So christina and i went to a bakery and bought her a cake! so we are having a fiesta tonight! i also have to do some homework too, but i am excited to do it because i am really enjoying the spanish and hope to continue it down the road! The whole samford group is great and i love getting to meet new people and all from different grades! Already see potential friendships coming out of this trip. i wish you all could be here to experience this with me. costa rica is so BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for your prayers, please pray that i will not be tired from the long days, but keep a positive attitude. you all are in my prayers everyday and i miss you! coco i hope you like this blog! haha. Lastly one of the students with us has a beach house in costa rica so we are hoping to stay there this weekend which saves alot of money and it will be fun to hang with everyone! not sure what the plans will be though...could change.

i love you all and miss you! Take care,
Erin