Ahora tengo veinte años!

The sweet cake that Priscilla had made for me!

Last Friday, I turned 20. How exciting that I left my teenage years in such a beautiful and foreign country. 

This entire past weekend was seriously the BEST. It was so beautiful in every way.

When I arrived at School, all of the kids swarmed me in a giant bear hug. We went to Bible, where they sang Happy Birthday to me in Spanish and English. They prayed for me.

The last period of the day, I was surprised by NOT having to teach Science (thank goodness)! The kids led me into the cafeteria, where they sang to me AGAIN and presented the beautiful cake above.

Most of the kidlets!

Right when they were done singing, a taxi pulled up to the school, and I watched as my incredible boyfriend stepped out of the passengers side. I excused myself from the cafeteria and tackled him. All of the kids had followed me, and they tackled Kenton right after I was done. We went back, ate cake, I received amazing hand-made cards and a purple t-shirt, and then played with the kids for the next hour before school was dismissed at 12. All of the kids immediately LOVED Kenton. He played football (proper American!) with them, and they wished he would never leave. I, of course, agreed with them wholeheartedly.

I monkeyed around with the ladies, cheering the boys on.

After school was out, Kenton, Krystal and I went into town to purchase food for the next few days. Because it was my birthday, we bought stuff to make another cake (including chocolate frosting! SO HAPPY.), peanut butter (again... SO HAPPY!) bread, jelly, a baguette, popcorn, pasta, sauce, tomatoes, green beans, and these little guava pastries. When we had bought all of the food, we introduced Kenton to even MORE food! We got delicious smoothies from Cosechas, and then bought fresh little pastries at the Panaderia to snack on.

We went to Priscilla's, made popcorn, watched Ocean's 13, baked a cake, laughed more than should be allowed, and had a FANTASTIC afternoon together.

At 6, we went to the church for the last day of their week of prayer. The church family sang me happy birthday, and kissed and hugged me, and welcomed Kenton with open arms. (Kenton is the great-grandson of an Adventist Celebrity here. Everyone is thrilled to talk to him about how much they loved Pastor Arroyo.)

Once that was over, we returned to Priscilla's house and made Grilled PB&J's per my request. It was, truly, delicious. We laughed some more, shared each others company.

The next morning before church, Kenton came over to Priscilla's early so that we could all eat breakfast. We made French Toast with the leftover bread, and ate some of the first mango we've had since coming to Costa Rica (it doesn't grow in MonteVerde!) because Kenton had been so generous as to bring us some.

We went to church, enjoyed a lovely service, and then attempted to walk back to Priscilla's to make Sabbath lunch.

5 seconds in, it started POURING. We were walking down 50 degree declines with enough water to qualify as a water slide. Needless to say, once we actually got to the house, we looked like drowned rats.

I had to literally ring out my skirt.

It sure made for a great laugh, however. Poor Kenton had to wear some of my pajama pants while we dried his only clothes.

After, we made a delicious lunch, and that evening we went to teacher Yolanda's house for dinner. Kenton entertained us all with coin and card tricks.

The next morning before Kenton left, we made pancakes with M&M's because they don't sell chocolate chips. They were delicious.

My birthday weekend was AMAZING and full of joy. I couldn't have asked for anything better.(:

Pura Vida.(:

Growing, always Growing.

The Second Cost Rican sunset I've seen since I've been here, due to all of the rain. The picture doesn't do the beauty justice.

“Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” - Heath L. Buckmaster

I am growing.

I am growing into the culture, into a teacher, into bilingualism, into myself.

A significant part of growing into myself means forgetting who I am. I know that doesn't make any sense. I'm not sure I really understand it, either.

Let me try to explain:

How do we always define ourselves? Hola, me llamo Kayla/Hello, I'm Kayla. Soy de los estados unidos/I'm from the United States. Yo estudio Ingles, y quiero ensenar Colegio/I study English, and hope to teach High School. Si, tengo tres hermanos/Yes, I have three siblings. Tengo diecinueve anos/I am 19 years old.

This is pretty standard. I have recited this introduction countless times. However, I am no longer in the US. I am not currently studying English. I am no longer with my family. I turn 20 on Friday.

The only thing that never changes is my name, and here, even that is different! Everyone pronounces it 'Kyla'.

Everything that I have ever defined myself by is no longer my constant. What is my constant, then? What is unchanging about me? Who am I?

Because I have been thrust into a new place, I have had to re-evaluate who I am and who I want to become. 

Why am I even on a Mission?

I am not only growing in myself; I am growing in Faith. I am growing in Christ.

First and foremost, that is all I am. I am empty. I am open and ready for Him to fill me; to use me.

I have already seen Him at work.

A quick story to elaborate: 

Krystal and I were hungry for something other than rice and beans, so we walked down the street to one of the little Pulperia's. As we were walking, I smiled and greeted the people that we passed.  As we walked by a restaurant, I gave the woman sitting outside the same greeting as all the rest: "Buenas!"

"Y a usted! Oh, tus botas, que linda! Fue un buen idea!" Or, "And to you! Oh, your (rain) boots, how cute! That was a good idea!"

Krystal and I paused, and I thanked her for her compliment. She asked if I was a student, and I explained that no, I was a volunteer teacher at the Adventist school. She paused, looked closer at my face, and burst out laughing.  I didn't know how to respond to that, so I laughed nervously along with her, waiting for her to explain. She finally did, and translated, she said:

"Oh my goodness, Maria had shown me a picture of you from her cell phone! She was saying that you, the new volunteer, was so beautiful, and kind, and loving. I'm so happy to have met you! She was right!"

Maria is the name of the woman who prepares our breakfast and our lunch. She is one of the hardest working women I have ever met. She has four jobs, walks everywhere in Monteverde (which - Trust me - is impressive. These streets are worse than San Fran!) and does everything to put her two daughters into private school. It turns out that the little restaurant we had stopped at was one of her other jobs.

I almost felt like crying, I was so shocked and happy. I honestly couldn't think of anything remarkable I had ever said or done for Maria - I just talked with her, thanked her for my food, kissed her cheek in greeting - and here, she had spoken of ME in such a positive way.  I thanked the woman, and we continued walking.

God has already used me. I could not have done that on my own.

So, I have decided to start defining myself by the one thing that never changes:

I am Kayla. I am a child of God.

Soy Kayla(Kyla), y soy una nina de Jesus.

Pura Vida. <3

The Education Cycle: Who's Learning Most?

Teaching is hard. I mean, it's really hard.

Especially Science. I have three grades in one classroom, and I have to teach three different subjects to three different grades in one hour and hope and pray that they actually understand a little bit of what I'm saying.

Which is made even harder when they don't understand my primary language, yet I'm supposed to only speak to them in English.

That being said, teaching is amazing. It's the most remarkable thing I've ever done. I mean, look at these guys!

Here they look unassumingly organized and compliant. Do not be fooled.

They are adorable. Super adorable. But when I teach, most of them share this look:

Closely followed by the whine: "Ay, teacher!" 

Still. They may be crazy, and they may try to cuss in Spanish just because I was never taught bad words and they think they can get away with it, but teaching them is rewarding. It's a beautiful thing. I love it.

I have learned WAY more than I think they have in the two weeks I've been teaching. I have made mistakes, but have learned from them, and am growing as a teacher. I am comforted by the fact that I have 8 more months to make up for a rough start.

Teaching is why I'm here; it is my mission.

However, my experience in Costa Rica is already so much more than just working at the school. For example - I am in a completely different culture with completely different values, world views, and food. The food here is typically DELICIOUS. I love it. I love Gallo Pinto, I love the fruit (so much PAPAYA!) I love the rice and beans. 

What I do NOT like is eating a generous helping of lentils with yuka, to find 3/4 of the way through my meal that the yuka was covered in blue spots. That evening, my stomach didn't like it either. I woke up mid-vomit at 11pm. The remains of my entire un-digested dinner covered my blankets. It had been years since I'd thrown up.

It was a terrible experience. I showered and woke up Priscilla to ask for some new blankets after cleaning up what I could. I still felt ridiculously weak and yucky, so I went back to bed and washed the blankets the next day.

Thankfully, I did not continue to throw up. It was only that one time to get the rotten food out of my stomach. It could have been a lot worse.

I even went to school the next day to help the kids prepare for their special program that we had at church this Sabbath. The kids all dressed up and shared the importance of Adventist Education. Krystal and I sang, they played guitars, and recited poems.

After church, 12 people all crammed into a car to go to this beautiful location for lunch. The table was covered by a ceiling, but it was outdoors and we could watch as it poured a few feet away.

The amazing covered outdoor lunch spot of yesterday.

 The food was delicious, too. I was grateful to have my appetite back.

A happy girl, far away from home.

Afterwards we went on a nature walk through one of the reserves, even though it was still pouring. We didn't see a lot of animals, but the trees were crazy awesome.

This beasty is the cousin of the Ficus! Yes, the Ficus! You probably have one in your house.

Today, Krystal and I are at the school preparing (blogging) for next week. Soon we'll leave and walk into town to buy some fruit and food to make Priscilla and her aunt dinner.

Life here is just that - life. But it's beautiful.

Pura Vida.(:

A Week in Review

I am staying with Priscilla. She does not always have internet, so it has been difficult to prepare for classes, let alone blog.

Yet here the three of us (yes - 3! Krystal has finally joined me) sit, each looking at their own computer contentedly. I should be looking up how to teach 6th graders Chemistry, but for now, I will write.

I have had an terrifying, exhilarating, exhausting, lonely, jubilant, patriotic, confusing and amazing week.

Terrifying: Waking up at two in the morning, stumbling out of bed to use the restroom, returning after completing the task and nearly stepping on a three-inch long scorpion. Don't worry, I killed that sucker with my conveniently located shoe; however, I would have wet myself if I had any pee left in me.

Exhilarating: Riding on the back of a motorcycle as I returned from los nubles (literally translated as The Clouds) on Sabbath afternoon. An amazing family - the Barrantes - brought me from church nearly 40 minutes away to their home. They fed me delicious food, consisting of baked spaghetti, some sort of squash, lime tossed salad, beans, and bread.  They spoke to me only in Spanish, but were forgiving, amiable, and slow to talk.  They laughed easy, and I could tell they loved me, too. It was honestly something I have never experienced quite before - being so loved by such perfect strangers.

I played Skip-Bo with the abuelita and her 21 year old grandson while it poured outside. The parents sat on the couch, curled perfectly against each other, content.

As soon as it stopped raining, they insisted that their son take me home, because they did not know when it would start raining again. So, I hopped behind him, held on as tight as I could, and trusted him and God to get me back. He tried to talk to me in Spanish over the sound of the motor, but the only thing I caught was, "La calle es muy fayo porque fue mucho lluvia. Lo siento!" or, "The road is really ugly because there was so much rain. I'm sorry!" The road was, indeed, a bit dangerous. Muddy, slippery. Exhilarating.

Exhausting and Patriotic: The next day was Independence Day here in Costa Rica. What a beautiful thing to have witnessed. We were up early with all of the children from all of the different schools here in Monteverde. Everyone met in the Centro Commercial, and waited for the activities to begin. I had no idea what was happening, really, but was proud to be involved with whatever was starting. Soon, different schools had their opportunity to begin parading down the streets, drumming incredible songs with matching marches, or dancing in full costume typical of Costa Rica.  All of the kids were radiant as they walked, celebrating their independence. I remained beside my school, encouraging them practically every step to be mindful of their line. "Valeria! Donde esta tu fila, chiquita?"

The kids were exhausted by the end, but I had loved it all. After, we all met at one of the hostels for a potluck with the kids and their families. It was wonderful.

The next day was a free day, because all of the children had been so involved during the weekend. It was a lonely day for me. I watched a lot of New Girl on my computer, read a lot, and thought about my friends and family. I also did laundry, which was important.

Jubilant: Tuesday finally arrived. I taught all of my classes in a blur, got into a car, and rode down to Allejuelah with Priscilla and her husband. We were forced to go a back way, because the typical route had been mud-swept thanks to land-slides induced by all of the flooding. The road we took was still narrow, flooded, and muddy. I was grateful to have purchased car-sick medicine before leaving.

We arrived just in time. After stopping at a store that was remarkably similar to Costco, I found myself peering anxiously at the faces of every weary traveler that rounded the corner of the airport. Finally, I heard Priscilla say, "Oh, I think I've found him...!"

Sure enough, clad in a purple shirt, lime green bow-tie, and at least 6 articles of luggage was Kenton in the flesh. Krystal was directly in front of him, smiling. I hugged her tightly before accosting Kenton. I think I knocked the air out of him.

Priscilla and her husband took all three of us to Taco Bell before we went back to Tito's for the evening. Those few waking moments I spent with Kenton were inexplicably buoyant. Krystal, Kenton and I laughed and shared stories and ate our Taco Bell happily.

We returned early this morning, meeting the bus by 6:45.  I slept most of the way back, thankfully, and had to teach when we arrived.

So, I'm about to head to bed. I'll look up Chemistry during my lunch period tomorrow.

Pura Vida. <3

And Here I Go... and Go... and Go!

The morning after I left Tito's house, I was taken to the Adventist College in San Jose to meet Priscilla. She walked with me around the campus while we waited for her husband to be ready.  Once he was ready, they took my luggage in their car, and drove me to the Tracopa bus station, where I met Jassica and Rachel, and a group of 3 from WWU who were vacationing in Costa Rica.  I had literally no idea what the plan was, but had my carry on packed for the beach because they had told me to come prepared.

From San Jose, we took the bus 3.5 hours to a place on the Pacific side of the country called Manuel Antonio, where Vanessa had already reserved a hostel for us 6 to spend the night. It was actually super nice, but really hot. The manager himself shrugged and said, "For $10 a night, it's not the Hilton!" We still enjoyed ourselves.

We walked from the hostel at least 5 kilometers to this tiny, secluded beach, where we tried swimming first.  The guy that was with us, Ben, said, "I really hope we don't run into any stingrays!" And that made me super paranoid, because I remembered that one of the previous SMs, Karalee, had gotten stung by one on the Pacific side. Still, I swam, because it was beautiful and warm. We grew tired of the little beach, though, and wanted to look at the bigger one that the Hostel Manager had told us about.  We walked, sweaty, sticky and sandy at least 3 more kilometers to find the beach.  Once we got there, we knew it was one of the beaches they put on postcards. The water was BEAUTIFUL, there were picturesque rocks, and all around was the forest to border it.

We stayed until sunset, but knew we had to leave soon because it was already growing dark, and we had quite a ways to walk. We started the long climb back up to the main road, and made it back to the hostel safely.

Considering I hadn't eaten anything since Breakfast at Tito's, we were all hungry.  We walked to the corner market and bought some bread, and I got my first bag of plantain chips, which were AMAZING. They have all different kinds of flavors.

The next day was LONG with traveling. We were up at five, and got a bus back to San Jose at 7:30am in Quepos.  However, once we got to San Jose, a kind taxi driver helped us find the bus that was leaving to Monteverde - from Arajuela.  The only problem was, it didn't leave until 3pm, and it was barely 11am. So, he dropped us off at a Centro Commercial (mall) down the street. We got Subway and water, and walked into most of the stores because the stores were individually air conditioned.

The bus ride to Monteverde was one of the worst of my life.

I get violently carsick, and had no idea what to prepare for.  It took about 4 hours from Arajuela to Monteverde, and the entire time I thought I was going to throw up on the creepy man sitting next to me. He kept wanting me to lay my head on his shoulder.

We FINALLY got to Monteverde, and it was already incredibly dark.  I followed the girls up a SUPER steep hill to the school, where I waited to shower and get my luggage from Priscilla.

Today, I got to meet the adorable children that I'll be teaching for the next 9 months. The youngest is 2 years old, named Sebastion, but everyone calls him 'Sepas'. He's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

The kids are super loud, rowdy,  but loving. Tomorrow is Jassica and Rachel's last day here - they leave for Alajuela right after school gets out at 3. Then, I am on my own until Kenton and Krystal arrive on the 17th. I hope the week goes by quickly.

It's been amazing, but I feel like I haven't stopped GOING since I've gotten off the bus. Hopefully I'll find time to rest soon. <3

Now, the rain is pouring outside, the thunder is rolling, and I am about to walk down the hill to Priscilla's house for a going away dinner for the girls.

Pura Vida.(:

In a Foreign Land

It is really sticky. I am really sticky. I am in Costa Rica.

All I know is that today has been really sad, lonely, and long.  

My first flight left from Medford at 8am, so I was at the airport by 6:30. Nicole showed up and surprised me. That made the goodbyes almost harder, but it was so good to feel her support.

On the plane, I sat in the aisle seat by a pleasant old Mexican woman who talked the entire time. Also on board was an elderly couple that had brought a cat in a carrier.  It complained unendingly, mewing loudly while I yawned. 

Before the second flight left San Francisco, I stopped to grab a scone. I shoved it into my purse along with some bottled water, and ran to my terminal. This flight was the longest. Fortunately, I sat on the window seat, so I could distract myself that way. There was a woman two seats away that hardly looked at me the entire time. She paid to watch America's Next Top Model and ate the airplane food. There was an empty seat between us. That only intensified my loneliness. I had to fight really hard not to think about my family waving goodbye, or how much I would have loved to have Kenton by my side. To make things worse, the air conditioning had broken, so we were delayed 45 minutes sitting in the stale, circulating heat before take off. I was so nervous about missing my connecting flight in Houston.

I made it to Houston, obviously. I looked for the shortest food line, grabbed a bagel, and peed as quickly as I could while running towards my gate. Once I boarded, I was almost in the very back. I was the first to my row, and sat down in the aisle seat.

"Excuse me, but we are bay and say... B and C? A is the window seat, no?"

I looked up to find a tall, attractive couple who turned out to be from the Netherlands. I apologized and moved to the window, happy to be there. The couple spoke to each other in a different language and kissed a lot. I, once again, felt alone.

When we were over the ocean, we flew into a huge electrical storm.  It was super dark outside, and every time the lightning would flash, it would light up the entire purple sky. I was pretty scared. This storm caused a lot of turbulence, and delayed my flight by almost 45 minutes.

Getting to San Jose was a relief. I was very tired of traveling. It was almost a miracle that I found Tito; I practically ran into him.

Now I am at his house, ready to sleep for a long time. I can't, though, I will probably get up pretty early to find out what is going on tomorrow. I think I'm meeting the other SM girls at the San Jose bus station to go to a beach. We'll see how that goes.

Pura Vida.

(: