No Glass Windows; No Windex

The Cutting of the Banana Tree!

Here we are four months into our year of adventure and service in Costa Rica.  What have we learned?  Have we done any good by being here?  Is this place better for us being here?  Questions such as these are daily discussed between the two of us, and we are finding them much more difficult to answer since leaving the Alajualita church building site.  When we were there it was easy to look at a completed wall or poured floor and know that we had helped construct a house of worship for God.  Now, I only wish that we could look into the future of each of our students and know that the English we are teaching them will benefit them some day in a way that will greatly improve their lives.  But alas, we can not know that.  Have we done any good by being here?  

We have recently realized that we are not going to receive any great encouragement or thanks from the Ticos (Costa Ricans).  It isn’t really in the culture of the Caribbean Coast to freely give out thanks, and we can’t expect them to understand what we have given up to be here.  More often we find that we take flak for being in a place where we are always thought of as tourists-that-can’t-speak-the-local-language.  But, “pura vida” (it’s all good).  We know that this is part of our learning experience.  We are all called to do good to the “widows and orphans” (James 1:27) and those that won’t be able to repay us with anything (even words).  We are working on it!

We continue contemplating these things and trying to adjust our course so that we are doing everything we can to help while we are here.  Thank you for all of your prayers.


Stories
It is not a law in Costa Rica that a person must carry identification.  Regardless (or irregardless…I always think it’s funny when people say that.  If you are one of those people, you should stop saying that because it isn’t a word), it is common knowledge that it is a good idea to carry a copy of your passport because the police like to look at it and shake their head (or nod, if you’re lucky).  Well, we were recently headed into Limon from Cahuita on the 8:00am bus for Jenn to tutor at 9:00.  The bus got stopped and boarded at a police checkpoint (another thing that Costa Rica has that the US does not; you guys don’t know what you’re missing!).  The policia quickly passed over the Ticos and headed straight for us, the tourists.  We provided our passports copies as we’d done before and we were immediately ordered off the bus.  The bus left without us and we were pointedly told that our copies were only good 200 meters from our place of residence, an erroneous claim.  I believe that this particular policia was just having a bad morning, but it caused our landlord to have to drive to the checkpoint and hand deliver passports to the two dangerous volunteer teacher tourists that were being detained.  As we boarded the next bus we were told we had to pay for another bus ticket.  We argued with the bus driver for some minutes while the whole bus waited.  Eventually we just said we weren’t going to pay and that we were going to sit down.  The bus driver finally gave in and drove on once we said that we might pay at some point and appeared to be reaching for our billfolds.  We never did.

During Semana Santa (Holy week, the week before Easter) the entire country basically shuts down and everyone goes to the beaches.  We went the other direction and spent Easter with the Baits family in San Jose (Woot Woot…that’s for you Gary).  It was a wonderful time in which there was a spectacular party, and we ate like royalty.   That’s exactly how a holiday should be; we’re still running those desserts off.  Quick tidbit, we eventually found a Catholic service to attend on Easter, but the first large church we went to wasn’t having mass because the priest was tired.  Hmmmmm….obviously Good Friday is a much bigger deal than Easter Sunday for the Catholic Church.

Since we didn’t have teaching that week, we were able to have a lot of play time.  I cut down my first banana tree to get a bunch of about 75 bananas.  It was spectacular, and since then I’ve already cut my second.



We went to Manzanillo (Mahn-za-nee-yo) Beach, a gorgeous picturesque beach about 25 miles from our home.  We actually got to do some snorkeling (Jenn’s second time)!!  It was very nice.  We got a little hungry at one point, so I just found a long stick, got a coconut down, and somehow opened it with my hands Castaway style.  It is incredible how full you can get on one coconut.

Jenn has still been tutoring Danie, the little six year old that is originally from the States but has been here long enough to not like speaking English.  This has been a wonderful way to help us offset the cost of transportation into Limon.  But, we’ve finally discovered that goods are expensive here (similar to prices in the States), but services are dirt cheap.  Common prices: tutoring is about $6 per hour, karate lessons are $20 per month, psychology and lawyer sessions are $15 per hour.

Cacao Pod

I’ve successfully made chocolate TWICE!  And a lengthy process it is.  First I tromp around in the rainforest collecting Cacao pods, crack them open and ferment the beans for 4-7 days.  The beans are then dried for a week then roasted until a few of them pop out of the pan like popcorn.  I then winnow the husks off of them, blend them, and add powdered sugar and milk.  We then enjoy an incredible dark chocolate paste that others have described as “marketable” and “I ate the almost the whole thing last night and my girlfriend yelled at me.”  Obviously these are words that prove its incredibleness!

Fermentation

Roasting and Winnowing

Powder with sugar

Amazingness!

Tidbits
1. Everyone assumes we’re not married.  Strange considering we moved here and live together.  But, not so strange in this culture where that is not uncommon.  Just weird to us.

2. One of our second graders (Denskel) demanded we bring back A LOT of snow when we come back from our trip to the States in August.

3. We make a fruit smoothie pretty much every day now that we invested in a cheap-o blender…hopefully it doesn’t fry on us.  We eat soooo much fruit!

4. Doors don’t have doorknobs.  A key must be turned to open a door.

5. Windows with glass are beginning to seem strange to us.

6. We mostly always have water now that we have two wells!

7. I consider eating a mango seed as my flossing for the day.

8. We’re obviously getting used to the heat here.  In San Jose we actually felt COLD! (San Jose=70 degrees and dry-ish; Caribbean Coast =85 degrees and HUMID!)

9. We’re finally being recognized by certain Ticos around town.  The security guard at the bus station is my best bud (after the bike transport) and gives me a good fist in the air with a, “Pura Vida” every time we walk by. Yesterday, the guy at the panaderia that we frequent said he was starting to wonder where we’d been after we hadn’t been in within the last week or two.

10. We wonder what the monkey are thinking when we howl back at them.


Blessings to all,
Christopher (and Jennifer) Savage

Once Again Legal

Red Frog Beach, Panama

Wow, so much has happened since our last blog! Life has definitely been exciting for us the last couple of weeks with several changes and new experiences under our belts.

Biggest event? We moved to Cahuita! We LOVE our new place. It truly feels like home, something we haven’t had in awhile, and it holds the record of the biggest place we lived in since being married. Bonus: It’s all on one floor and we have a couch! We’re clearly moving up in the world… :)

Our new home!

So a little about our place: It’s a bungalow in the jungle that our landlord, Sebastian, built after building his own home when he moved here with his family from Canada. It’s only about 1 ½ years old and constructed with beautiful wood. When we saw the place and the surroundings of God’s beautiful rainforest, we eventually decided that it was the place for us, despite the fact that it adds about an hour commute to school each way. Contrary to when we were in the States, time is something we have here. So, a week later we’re adjusting to the monkey’s echoing and quite terrifying howling at about 4am and our pet gecko that chirps from somewhere in the rafters.
The stillness of this place is so rejuvenating and the sound of the rain on our tin roof lulls us to sleep. Yes, we are so pleased with our new home.

Our lovely deck

Technicalities. It hardly seems like 3 months have gone by since we’ve been in Costa Rica, but we have another 90-day visa after spending a weekend on the island of Bocas del Toro, Panama. The trip there began with a 2-hour bus ride to the border town of Sixaola. Once there, we went through customs in Costa Rica and walked across the border river on a super sketch, wood-plank bridge with many dangerous gaps.

Treacherous Bridge

On the other side we went through customs in Panama, which involved paying ridiculous tourism taxes and buying proof that we were leaving soon, and squishing into a crammed van. We were then transferred to a speed boat for the 30-min ride to get to the islands. It was there that I snorkeled for the first time and saw the world Christopher loves so much. He enjoyed educating me on all of the fish and coral I was seeing, and we even saw a lobster! If we’d had a net, we would’ve taken him home with us for dinner.





While it was the prettiest water I’d ever seen, we were thankful to leave the stifling hot room that we rented for $15 without A/C ($25 with A/C) and the high tourist prices. We had to repeat the above process to then leave Panama and re-enter Costa Rica. All that to say, at least we have more stamps in our passports!

Mobile. We’re now the proud owners of 2 mountain bikes! I say proud because it was quite the feat getting the bikes from Limon to Cahuita AND because I’m so proud that Chris handled it all in Spanish while I was off tutoring. He’s learned so much! One of the few ways to transport things here is by bus and only a few have space beneath to haul items as large as bikes. After talking with a nice security guard at the bus station and the unwilling bus driver, Chris managed to successfully load the bikes into the back seats…all it took was a quick slip of 2 mil ($4) to the bus driver and presto, more willing!

Also, along the lines of being mobile we were searching for a more economical way to get to and from Limon 3 days a week. The bus is relatively cheap, but it adds up after 8 months. So, our friend Roy connected us with a van that takes students from Puerto Viejo and Cahuita up to Limon for school everyday and had 2 empty seats. Since he goes that way already, we were able to settle on a price that was a little cheaper than the bus. However, after the first day he said he’d been thinking more and wanted to charge us more, about the same as the bus fare. We believed that he was trying to milk us (not literally Chris adds), which is a common attempt towards “rich” Americans, so on principal we called and told him that we were going to take the bus after all, unless he’d honor the price we originally agreed on. He quickly decided that he’d still take us even though he would be “losing money.” Most of the people we’ve met have been kind and helpful, but there are definitely those who see us as dollar signs. Which, as you all know, is quite far from the truth in our current state. :)

Teaching. Most recently Chris has done some experiments with the 6th graders, including making sugar crystals from super-saturated sugar water and tin-can telephones to teach the nature of sound as vibrations. He’s also taught the 2nd graders about amphibians and reptiles by replicating scaly skin and proving the worth of camouflage by tossing colored noodles into the grass. They refer to Thursdays as the “fun day” because that’s when Mr. Savage teaches science. In English class they’ve been learning food vocab, many of the fruits and other typical dishes, and using more sentences. “I like…apples/I don’t like…watermelon.” I’ve found that using sentences gets them speaking more so that’s been a productive approach. Also, when they use English in class they receive points, and at the end of the week I give out an English award (including suckers of course). They’re so competitive that they’re always super eager to answer questions or offer responses just to have the most points for the day. At least it’s a great motivator!

I’ve also begun tutoring a 6-year old in reading. She’s the granddaughter of a woman who attends the New Hope Baptist Church in Limon, and it’s been fun to have yet another experience connected to the field of teaching.

New Hobbies. Chris has discovered a love of gardening (yes Jeff, be proud). We decided that since we’ll be here for a while, we might as well try to grow some of the produce that we readily consume, and hopefully even save some money. We’ll see how the seeds survive after the constant rain the last 2 days. Also, we don’t have easy access to a washing machine, so I did my first load of wash by hand and in the sink, which is not exactly what I would call a hobby, but a new experience for sure. I now understand the advice to avoid wearing jeans…it’s likely they’ll take all week to dry at the rate things are going on the deck.

Internet. Unfortunately we no longer have unlimited internet access. We’ve only had access once this past week, so that’s why we haven’t responded to messages and haven’t been able to talk on Skype. Please know that we love you all and we wish we could communicate more, but since the move it’s been a little trickier and we’re working on figuring something out.

Other random tidbits:

* It’s been steadily raining all night and morning…we may be welcoming the rainy season!

* We’ve moved on to powdered milk. No more warm, spoiling stuff sold in the stores for us.

* We’ve actually been “cold” several times and for the first time since moving to the Caribbean, we slept with a light blanket in addition to our sheet. This is clearly a sign of adjusting.

Bedroom-Note the blanket?

* Fans are super expensive here. Go figure, as they’re a definite necessity.

* Just as I got used to cooking solely with a rice cooker and electric griddle in Limon, we now have 4 burners, a toaster, no rice cooker, and no microwave.

Kitchen view

* People use the busses to preach or sell things and as the passengers can’t exactly go anywhere, they’re guaranteed a decent-sized audience.

My view from the sink- See Chris' cacao seeds
fermenting on the clothes line?

* Going without an oven makes you do pretty desperate things. For example, last night I made cookie dough (without chocolate chips as I haven’t seen any in months) and we tried cooking them on the stove…The few we tried ended up somewhere between a pancake and a pretty tasty cookie!

* We will never have to buy bananas as long as we are here because there are tons of un-owned banana trees around us with hundreds of bananas on each, so all we have to do is cut down the tree. They are quite delicious!

* If we ever master chocolate making, we’ll be able to rival the Wonka chocolate factory in production with how many cacao trees there are out here.

Thanks so much to those of you who continue to support us and for all who are praying for us. We are encouraged to know there are so many who care about us and keep up with us via the blog.

Dios te bendiga!

So this is why we are here.

The entryway and offices to the school. 

The 2nd grade classroom is the first door on the left.

We're several weeks into the school year now and during this time we've learned quite a bit about what it looks like to teach here.
1. We seem to find out things on a need-to-know basis.

2. If we need copies or materials, we have to go to a copy shop and print whatever we've created on our computer and make copies for our students. If we ever received a receipt, I suppose we could turn it into the secretary to get reimbursed.

3. The students (and parents) need 8 school days to prepare for coming tests. Therefore, study outlines must be given according to this time guideline, lest the parents complain that their children didn't have adequate study time.

4. If we need scissors, glue, paper, etc, the student is responsible for buying it and bringing it to school. This also requires several days notice.

5. Teachers here are called "niña/niño" which actually means "child," but in our classes we pretend we're in the United States and the students call us Mr. and Mrs. Savage. (I'm getting more used to being called a "Mr." however, primarily and randomly by the 1st graders, who have a hard time distinguishing between the two words).

6. They are just so cute in their little uniforms! :)

Shiwai, our little perfectionist

As for what our roles look like at the school, here's an overview. We teach English and Science in English (they have Science in Spanish too) three days a week at the Centro Educativo Bautista del Caribe aka the Baptist School. The school is a ministry of the

New Hope Baptist Church here, and the Pastor of the church is also the Director at the school. (Director is the equivalent to principal.) It's a growing ministry still, with about 60 students from pre-kinder to 6th grade. We get to spend our time with three of the grades: 1st, 2nd, and 6th. We spend most of our time with the 7 2nd graders (Argelyn, Denskel, Riggionnie, Aaliyah, Yuliana, Rieshly, and Shiwai-yes it took time to learn their unique names), since we teach them over the course of all 3 days. I only get to see the 11 adorable 1st graders once a week, while Chris is molding the minds of the 4 6th graders for the same amount of time.

2nd Grade English: "Today is sunny. Yesterday was cloudy."

The schedule is as follows:

Monday- 3 periods of 2nd grade English (Jenn)

Tuesday- 3 periods 2nd grade English (Jenn)

Thursday- 2 periods of 2nd grade English (Jenn)

2 periods of 2nd grade Science (Chris)

2 periods of 1st grade Science (Jenn)

2 periods of 6th grade Science (Chris)

Planting seeds during Science

Thursday is obviously our longest day and the only day we're there during lunch. Sometimes we eat there to experience the local food. Just to help you picture the situation, the cafeteria is different than in the States and is more like a Canteen. In fact, it's like a mix between a typical restaurant here and a snack stand. They serve breakfast and lunch to those students and teachers who buy it and don't bring food from home. They also are open during the morning and afternoon recess to sell chips, drinks, green mangoes in vinegar and salt (a common snack here), and other random munchies. They eat in their classrooms

at their desks unless their parent comes to eat with them at one of the 2 tables in front.

La Soda aka Cafeteria & Snack Shop

So, now that you have a general idea of the school situation, why exactly are we here doing this?? How is God using us at the school? Why do the students here need to learn English? Why isn't someone else teaching it to them if it's so necessary?  One question at a time.

Why exactly are we here doing this and how is God using us here?

The school doesn't have sufficient funds to even break even currently, and hiring another teacher to teach English and Science in English is out of the question. Last year the Director taught both of these subjects, but confessed that he simply does not have the time or experience needed for the position. By volunteering here, we're saving the school money and providing the students with the opportunity to learn English from native speakers and a certified teacher, and Biology from a Biologist. It's truly amazing how God brought this opportunity to us, matching our skills and desires with a definite need. Not only are we in Costa Rica learning all about the culture and, honestly, gaining a better appreciation of the many opportunities and privileges we left in the States, but we're also able to serve with our time, resources, experiences, knowledge, and even our presence. I'm getting to teach while using Spanish and Chris is getting field experience in teaching Biology before he completes his Master's Degree in teaching back in the States.

Bring technology to them: Watching a video of a seed growing.

Why do the students here need to learn English?

We were wondering the same thing until a conversation we had yesterday shed some more light on the subject. It started our with a question about tourists and how the locals view them. We found out that people here really like tourists because they recognize that tourism is currently their #1 income. Based on this they are figuring out how to bring income into their homes, and one way to do that is selling things on the streets and being able to converse with tourists, which often requires English. By teaching the children English they are learning a skill that will help them open doors all throughout their lives. The skill of being bilingual is very valuable and the school is striving to provide their students with a bilingual education.

Denskel- "Give a hug, sugar love." :D

Why isn't someone else teaching it to them if it's so necessary? 

If we weren't the ones teaching English, it would be the Director or another volunteer that came to them to serve. The students do know some English already, although it is very limited. They have memorized some phrases, such as when you ask them how they are, they respond with, "Fine, thanks, and you?" in the cutest accent ever. However, I found out that even if I asked them what their name was I got the same, "Fine, thanks, and you?" response. :) Needless to say, they have a lot to learn. I'm attempting to teach them more conversational English because they struggle the most with speaking and won't respond verbally even if they know the answer. I'm also focusing on practical words and conversation pieces that will be most helpful to them in real life outside the classroom. Furthermore, they are hearing English spoken by a native speaker, that is when I'm not re-explaining things in Spanish, which is quite different than listening to English spoken with a Jamaican accent. Like we've mentioned, we even have a tough time understanding that dialect of English. Hopefully their listening and comprehension will improve as well as their level of proficiency in speaking.

Learning shapes in English-showing off the "circle."

In English class we're progressing with parts of the body, commands, commons words that start with A, B, or C, family members, shapes, and so much more. In Science we've been learning the five senses and I think we've said "We see with our eyes, we taste with our tongues, we smell with our nose, etc." more times in the last two weeks than in our entire lives. It's okay though, because the whole time we're slowly saying this, I'm being intently stared at by the cutest 11 grinning faces of the concentrating 1st graders. Chris is teaching the scientific method and the characteristics that constitute life to the 4 6th graders. If anyone can email Chris and tell him why fire is not alive, you'll win a prize (he claims).

We Have Friends! (and a maid)

It had to happen. 

We're on our own. We were protected for a while with the Baits around, but now things have changed. We're vulnerable.  Story time.

Playa Negra, 10 min walk from our future home in Cahuita

Roy, our landlord and friend, took us for a walk down the beach a bit to the south of Limon. It's a dirty beach, but still quite nice and, obviously, still a beach with waters of 85 degrees.  A few days later, Jenn and I decided to go for a nice walk along that same beach. So, we packed up our new beach towels and water bottles, donned our swimming suits and headed out.  We soon turn off the main drag and onto the road along the water front.  I quickly notice something that I hadn't noticed the time Roy took us; the houses along that area were very shabby, and I would expect much nicer ones along the beach.  We also noticed the lack of people.  It looked like an abandoned area of town with newspapers and coconuts blowing across the road.  Soon, a number of cat-calls came (yes, for both of us), and one of the cat-callers came our way on his low-rider bike. That was our cue to be on our way-forget a walk on the beach, we'd head to the water downtown.  We made a bee-line for the main road and found plenty of people.  The next day Roy came up to us and said, "WHAT in the WORLD were you doing down there?"  His sister, whom we'd met once, had seen us there and reported back to him.  Only then did he inform us that we had taken an evening stroll into a well- known drug dealing and trading part of town.  He said, "If you want drugs or to get mugged, feel free to go by yourselves, if not, wait for me to go with you next time. I grew up in that area so they know I don't do drugs. Glad you're okay."

A similar story took place one day when Jenn suggested we explore on our way home so we could find a shorter walking route.  We ended up down some dirt road in the hills above Limon.  Once again, our cue to get out of there was a guy heading us off with his bike. We decided to change our route going the opposite way he thought we were headed.  Man, how are we still alive? (just joking parents)

We just stand out here a lot since we're two of the ten (rough estimate) North Americans in this city.  It just isn't a tourist destination, but that's how we like it.

Our favorite baby girl three-toed sloth, Lola

Lola coming to give me a hug

Lola hugging Jenn

Exiting news.

We've officially made friends.  Randall and Keyla are a dating couple that are really into SCUBA diving, snorkeling, turtle conservation and the like.  They both grew up here and speak very little English, although Keyla is learning. They're about our age, and we get along with them great. We've already spent plenty of time together kayaking, boating, and helping out at the Butterfly Garden of Moin (also a rehabilitation center).  Last night, they randomly stopped by our apartment, and tonight we're all going out for Chinese food.  And, sometime soon we're all going camping on Isla de los Pajaros (Bird Island); of which the best part will be diving for lobster and cooking them over a campfire.  It is such a blessing to have locals here that are good friends (and also to have Jenn so that I can talk to them through her).

On Randall and Keyla's boat (owned by the University).  Also the river we kayaked down for many an hour...with crocodiles.

Another story.

We attended a leather back sea turtle training program with Randall and Keyla.  That evening we were going to go walk on the beach to watch the leather backs (up to 2000 lb sea turtles) come up and lay their eggs.  There is a huge problem here with poaching, and we are going to be helping out protecting the nests over the next couple of  months.  Well, we ended up waiting around for 9 hours before we got to go, in which time we're warned that the poachers typically all carry guns...comforting.  So, the time had arrived (9pm...we had to be up to go teach the next morning at 6am, by the way) to head out to the beach.  Suddenly we learn that we are going to a special location only accessed by a bicycle modified to ride on the railroad tracks, and only about 6 people can go at a time.  Some hop on, we start to walk.  Apparently this is a 3 hours walk, or 30 minutes on the rigged bike train thing.  Oh, and if a train comes, which it did, I have no idea what the plan would be.  We walk for about 45 min, and it starts to rain... really hard.  Then the mosquitoes come out, with a vengeance. We stand there and wait for...who knows what.  Then the powers that be say to turn around and go home.  Arrival at home = 12:45pm.  Did we see turtles, or anything for that matter? NO.  

Oh, the wonders of living abroad.

The hawk-bill turtle at the Butterfly Garden we will be returning to the ocean ASAP.

Teaching is going excellently.  The first week we discovered that the second graders don't know a lick of English, and if the language is hiding somewhere in their brain they don't give a hint that it is there.  And, they are lazy little buggers.  We've got some work ahead of us.  But, the first graders are about the most bright eyed and bushy tailed tykes I have ever seen and I want to keep all of them.  They love speaking English and listening to me telling them why the sky is blue, why cement is hard, and why ants walk in a line.  Jenn has been teaching incredible English.  She has been focusing on greetings, days of the week, months, body parts and simple actions.  They're getting it.  And, my science class was on the 5 senses (tough stuff for 1st graders).  I'm pretty sure I said "We see with our eyes" more times than I've been bit by mosquitoes here.  Jenn teaches 3 days a week (Mon, Tues, and Thurs), and I teach science only on Thurs.  I'm also picking up 6th grade science as well!

Jenn and Keyla heading into the Butterfly Garden

Other random things:
1. Jenn is loving cooking Costa Rican foods.

2. We got a cell phone.

3. Clothes washers here are weird. There are no dryers, if you don't count the clothes lines.

4. We've found we like reading to each other (currently half-way through The Hobbit).

5. We'll be returning to the States in late July for Keith and Nicole's wedding on Aug 5th (Bashies back together)...and then coming back here to finish out teaching for the year.

6. Copo's are an icy, milky, sweet heaven on earth.

7. We're getting quite used to the heat, but we still strip down to swimming suit amounts of clothing once we regresar (return) home.

8. A wonderful rooster friend of mine wakes us at about 5am every morning. I think I understand why roosters aren't legal in cities in the States. 

9. We have a maid that cleans our place every Saturday...how sweet is that?

10. We don't have an oven or stove. We cook with only a plug in skillet and a rice cooker (incredible little contraptions).

11. EVERYTHING can come in bags (as we said before)...to add to the list: Jam, milk, liquid soap.

12. We've pretty much become vegetarians here...just because meat is so expensive.

We feel that we are in the right place right now and that God has prepared the way for us.  It is harder to see work being done here than it was building a church in Alajualita, but we are content.  May God bless this school and the New Hope Baptist Church that is affiliated with it.

We love you all.  Thank you for your support and prayers.

Tis the season for cold showers!

Puerto Limon

We survived the move and we're not even homeless; this was quite a feat! Thank you for all of your prayers as we moved to Puerto Limon on the Pacific Coast and are now beginning a new chapter of our adventure in Costa Rica. The last few days have been a whirlwind and much has happened. Here are the highlights to catch you all up:

1. We're living in an apartment in the city of Puerto Limon until the end of March.

Our first solo shopping experience to fill the kitchen in our
apartment. Here we are highlighting the fact that many
things come in bags (sour cream, salt, spices, ketchup, mayo,etc)!

2. In April we will move into this awesome bungalow in Cahuita (about an hour south of Limon) and likely live there until we head back to the States.

3. We're teaching! Chris and I will teach together at a small private, Christian school. The principal of this school is also the pastor of a Baptist church a few blocks down from our apartment, which we're currently attending. At his school we will teach Science in English to 1st and 2nd grade, and we will also teach English to 2nd grade. Our schedule is three days a week, teaching for a few hours Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We're very excited for this opportunity, especially as it will be a great experience the have under our belts before we look for teaching jobs in the States. If we can do this with the extra challenges of no curriculum and teaching in a different language than their native tongue, we think we'll be more equipped for later on.

4. We now have a better idea of a timeline for our adventure. The school year here begins next Monday (March) and finishes in November. Knowing this, we're planning on teaching until then and heading back in December to spend Christmas with family. Of course, nothing is set in stone here. We commonly repeat, "We hold our plans lightly," as things are often changing.

5. Our landlord, Roy, was a connection made for us by the pastor/principal, Miguel, and he's been extremely helpful since we arrived. He attends the Baptist church also and works in Tourism off and on. Due to this, it's as if we have our own private tour guide all of the time, and he's taken it upon himself to show us around town and connect us with all of "his people." He seriously knows about every other person he sees when walking down the street.

As for some of the things we've learned thus far...

FOOD: Thanks to Roy we now know: the best place to eat Pati, a typical food in Limon. Caribbean food is somewhat different than the food we ate in San Jose. It tends to be spicier, and they have a few meals that they are known for, like Pati and also rice and beans. This is pronounced in English, like it's all one word, "riceandbean." Typically it's served with marinated chicken, and it's quite delicious. There are trees laden with fruit all over the place. They have bananas and coconuts of course, but then they also have papaya, cocoa trees, and many other fruits that you won't find in the States. Of these new fruits to us, we've tried water apples (not too fantastic), and cacao (cocoa) seeds. Before they make chocolate with the fruit's seeds, you can suck on them to get the white substance surrounding them. It is delicious!! It's so sweet, it's as if you're eating a little bit of candy. Lucky for us, the bungalow in Cahuita is surrounded by cacao trees so we're excited at the prospect of getting our hands on some more of that fruit!

My favorite food here? Patacones! And I
made them myself for the first time on Sunday.

LANGUAGE:
They speak Spanish here of course, but the native tongue of many is an English-based Creole, or Limonese Creole here. It's spoken with such a thick Jamaican accent that sometimes Chris and I look at each other and ask if the other understood a word of what was spoken. After being here a couple of days it doesn't take us off guard as much, but we have to listen carefully if we want to understand what they're saying. One example: "Whappin" means "What's happening?" There's a rhythm with which they speak and it's quite entertaining, but I'd definitely be showing my color, or lack thereof, if I tried to speak like them. :) Speaking of which, having white skin here makes us stand out even more than our height. In general people are taller here than in the Central Valley, but their skin is much darker. It's a melting pot in many ways over here because of Limon's history. (Christopher Columbus dropped anchor here, introducing Spanish settlers to Costa Rica, and then the railroad project brought many Jamaicans, introducing the English dialect.)

WEATHER:
Yes, it is very hot. You won't find a bed here topped with more than a single, thin sheet because you do not need blankets here. It cools down ever so slightly during the nights, but not enough to always notice it. It's a mixture of high temperatures and high humidity, which justifies the cold showers. Even with the option of hot water last night, we both opted for cold showers because it's a reprieve from the heat and it lowers your body temperature to a more bearable level. Never really thought I would choose a cold shower, but then again, I never knew I'd be living in the Caribbean either. :)

Roy took us to one of the beaches last night, and as we were walking along and the sun was setting (not over the water for change) we had to pinch ourselves to make sure it was real. We're experiencing so many new aspects of God's creation and beauty, it hardly seems possible at times. We were thinking back to our life in the States just before we moved here, working to save up and not seeing each other nearly as much as needed. It makes us realize how blessed we are to have this opportunity to be here, volunteering in such different capacities, and all the while shoulder to shoulder. God is so good, so faithful, and so beautiful.

Pacific Coast Sunset, coming home from
Turtle Island on Valentine's Day

Dios te bendiga,
Jennifer

This is a Call Out!

The church in Alajuelita under construction

We're now professionals at flinging mud on the walls!!

Hello to all!  A time of another transition is upon Jennifer and me.  We are about to leave our cozy little room in the house of the Baits to fly solo (if you will) on the Caribbean coast.  There we will be teaching in a school for tykes and volunteering at a couple of the local churches.  I'm sure we'll get into some ministries that we can't foresee; we'll let you know when we know.

But before we go, there's something we must ask.  

The church needs help!

We've grown close to the people at the church in the above picture, Alajuelita.  We've put a lot of time and work into the construction of the church building.  We've seen three groups come through and bring their labor and funds to help the construction continue.  This church is being built because there is need of a church in this poorer community of Costa Rica, and Jenn and I believe in what is happening there.  The thing is, now that all the groups have come and gone, the building fund will be diminished in about a week.  There are two Ticos (Costa Ricans) that are hired to build the church, Hugo (the foreman), and Uriel (His assistant); both of whom we've grown very close to.  We'd love to see the church construction continue, but to make that possible they need more funds.  

We've set up a link on the right side of this blog.  Please, if you feel inclined to do so, give what you can!  Every penny that you give will go to the building of the Alajuelita church!  To give you an idea, it costs...

$10 for a bag of cement (110 lbs)

$8 for a bag of plaster (95lbs)

$35 for a gallon of paint

$170 for a truckload of sand (used for basically everything...we've blown through about 4 of these since January

$370 for both Hugo and Uriel to work for a week (let's keep them going!)

Hugo plastering the walls!  THE FINAL STEP OF FINISHING THE
 INTERIOR WALLS!

So far, it has taken 7 years to get this far in the building project.  This is not because construction takes that long, but because they've had to wait until there's money to continue.  Right now, they are in a working groove, and we'd love to see this thing to the end!  

Uriel working on the entrance steps

The interior with plastered walls and a floor!!

There has been incredible progress in the last month!  The floors are poured, the interior walls plastered, entrance steps completed, drain ditches dug, exterior walls splattered, and plenty of electrical work wired!  Windows, gates, and doors still need to be put in.  The church needs more seating.  Bathrooms need to be installed...the list goes on!

This community needs a church!

Thank you to all that have given their time and money to this church.  God has been and continues to be at work here.

Since being here I've been struggling to discover exactly where God wants us.  I'm always questioning if we're doing enough.  What I've found is that whenever I'm doing work with my hands building something for the church body, I can honestly say, "THIS is the right place to be!"  

Thank you all for reading this.  It means so much to us to see that you care.  

Mr. Christopher Savage

Sunny with a high of 75

It's been another beautiful week in San Ramon de Tres Rios (where we're living in our home stay with the Baits family); the morning just shouts potential when the sun is shining. We're especially appreciative of this summer weather when we hear about the freezing winter that most states are currently having. Sorry to all of you who this applies to...

This week we've been outside working once more at the church in Alajuelita in this lovely weather. Chris and I have become "pringa pros," spending all of our time splattering (pringando) the church walls with a mixture of sand, cement, and water. It's a very messy job since a portion of the mixture splatters back onto us (or anyone around). Instead of wearing hats to shield the sun, we wear them to shield our hair and faces from the cement. Needless to say, we leave the church much dirtier than we arrived.

Excitingly enough, the church is actually starting to look more like a normal building now! We've never been a part of such an elaborate process before and I definitely have a new appreciation of how these buildings here in Costa Rica come to be. Picture cinder block walls with tons of the sand, cement, water mixture inside and then splattered on the outsides. After smoothing and even more cement comes the plaster, which is what they're applying now. This step is making the church's appearance improve greatly and it looks like we now have walls. Eventually they will paint over this and ya esta. It'll be finished. This is a WAY simplified explanation of the process that we've been observing and learning to do over the last month, but now you know a little bit more about Tican construction.

Above Left: Chris is mixing up some of the material to splat on the walls. We do this countless times throughout the day. Above Right: See the light & dark gray on the wall behind me? That's what I was splatting (pringando) before I slipped down the rock pile.

This picture is for those of you from Illinois- Guis is working outside of the kitchen!!
For everone else, this is us being "pringa pros."

Plaster time! They're starting to look like walls vs. cement stucco.

We also spent part of an afternoon playing with the kids in a daycare across the street from the church. We were instant friends of course, and they were adorable! My favorite was the 6 year old who decided to quiz Chris nonstop. He would say a word in Spanish and expect Chris to answer in English. This was great practice for Chris as he was thinking of anything and everything to quiz him on. The next day as we were painting graffiti off the wall/fence around the church we hear, "Misioneros!!" (Missionaries) only to turn around and see a few of the kids smiling and waving through the fence around the daycare. Like I said, they were so great.

He also taught Chris some karate moves.

Other than working, last week we were able to relax a bit since there was a big Baptist conference that Gary and Mylinda were a part of, and because there wasn't a work group here. A few of our pastimes have included:

1. We went to a park one day that was beyond any park I'd ever been to. It was basically a rain forest hidden behind the main street, clad with a pool, tons of open space, pathways winding around awesome flowers and trees (and other plants that aren't found in the States) little playhouses for children, basketball courts, soccer fields, a zipline, etc. Truly an awesome find, and it only cost a little over a dollar to enter.

2. We've now gone to a couple of movies, and they're way cheaper here!! AND you get chairs that are more comfortable and recline/rock quite a bit for a movie chair. For example, Wednesdays are half off days, so we paid 1500 colones per ticket (approximately $3 each). As for regular days, well, you can do the math!

3. Ferias (like Saturday markets) are awesome. So much fruit and vegetables and for cheap prices. I've probably eaten more mangoes in the last month than in my whole life. DELICIOUS honestly. Other cheap produce here compared to the States: tomatoes, avocados, monkey brains (I'm not making this up, picture below), pineapple, and bananas. Not all produce is cheaper however. A tiny container of cherries could cost you $20, apples are expensive here, almonds and other fancy nuts are very costly, and potatoes are pricey so they substitute yuca which is much cheaper and has a similar texture.

4. This isn't a pastime, but we've walked around a couple of malls in order to go to the movies (the cinema is always in the mall instead of its own building) and the mannequins here are ridiculous! Completely disproportioned in certain areas and not always in a flattering way. Chris is currently quite fascinated by this and it has been the topic of conversation for the last week, so I think he'd want this shared with you.

5. Sometimes, or rather oftentimes, we spend our time at "home" catching up with people via skype, facebook, email etc. or reading. It's quite nice to have time to read leisurely rather than those books assigned from professors in college. Or we play games with the Baits: Banana Grams anyone?

Monkey Brains. You drink the juice and suck
on the seeds and they're quite tasty! Just nasty
to look at. You should've seen Chris' face!

Reflecting on Costa Rica however, the people are still one of my favorite aspects of living here. Everyday we're greeted by each person with a kiss on the cheek (not a real kiss, but by touching right cheeks and kissing the air) which is so much warmer than a wave or handshake in the States. Ticos are very hospitable and very sociable. If it's been a day or two since we've seen them, they'll probably tell us they've missed us or ask us what we've been up to. How could you not feel so loved?! We surely do, and we've even been offered multiple jobs, well, more like positions at a couple of places, but we're still planning to head over to the East Coast. We'll head over to the Coast in a couple of weeks, after we work with the next group that comes this Monday night. As for what exactly we'll be doing or where we'll be living, that still has to be decided. We have some ideas and leads, but we'll let you know once we know a little more!

As for the super exciting news...we're getting our camera back (in a way)!!! We have embraced the role as Robin Hood, as my best friend says. We give to the needy and take from the rich! More specifically, we purchased our camera on a credit card for the protection policy it offers. Since it was stolen within 90 days of purchasing it, the credit card company refunded our money for the camera, the case, and for the memory card! So, we have a camera on the way (prayerfully it'll arrive in time) with the next group who's coming! God is so good to us. We feel so thankful and so blessed. We didn't lose what we couldn't replace, because we'd downloaded the pictures from our memory card the night before it was stolen, and the camera was replaceable. Thank you for your sympathy in the process, and now feel free to rejoice with us. :)

Dios Te Bendiga,

Jennifer