Películas, Latin American Style

Throughout my time in Costa Rica, I have been able to see several movies in the theaters: Batman, James Bond, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, among others. Watching movies in Latin America has turned out to be an enjoyable, but different, experience. First, the movies come out here about one month after they do in the States, which means that by the time they reach the theaters here, the movies are already available for rental. It is sometimes weird hearing about movies that your friends and family have seen that have yet to come out in Costa Rica. Second, all of the movies from the States have subtitles: a great way to work on your Spanish, but often a distraction from watching the movie. Third, they have “palomitas dulces”, or sweet popcorn, which is fantastic. It is also nice that the snacks don’t cost an arm and a leg.

New things that are fun and exciting to experience; different things that make you miss home; familiar things that remind you of the similarities between cultures and people. Such is life in Costa Rica.

ESEPA…

…is the name of one of the seminaries here in San José. Yesterday was my third day of classes at ESEPA. Curtis – a good friend from language school – and I are taking a class over small-cell-(a billion other names) groups. An hour and a half of Spanish, a 20-minute coffee break, another hour and 15 minutes – plenty of Spanish for this gringo. But I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my classmates, listening to their thoughts and perspectives, and studying the Bible in a different language. My dorkiness continues to amaze me…

Frogger

When I was growing up, I loved to play Frogger. In order to get Frogger across the street, you had to match your quickness, agility, and decision making abilities against the cars and trucks that came whizzing by. In many ways, this game describes one aspect of my life in Costa Rica.

Costa Ricans love to cross streets, especially when they are not at a crosswalk. Often, you see people standing in the middle of the road, with cars whisking by on either side, waiting to cross the street. At other times, people dodge in and out of traffic in order to cross the street in the shortest amount of time possible. During my time here, I have learned to love crossing the street, once again testing my quickness and agility against the oncoming traffic. Who knew that moving to Latin America would allow me to become a real-life Frogger?

One Week Down

What a week! Great new teachers, fantastic classmates, soccer, new student fiesta, first student council meeting, amazing chapel services, and lots and lots of Spanish. The new semester has started off with a bang.

Beginning Again

My second first day of language school was yesterday, and it was fantastic! While I woke up dreading the prospect of attending classes from 7:30 am to 1 pm (with breaks, of course), my dread quickly changed to excitement as I met my new teachers, spent time with my classmates, and realized that I had learned a few things over the last four months. So, after two days of classes, I am thoroughly pumped about the next four months – quite a turnaround in 36-hours.

Terremoto

Today, I experienced my first major earthquake. As we were finishing lunch at my Tico family’s house, the world began shaking. Although I had already experienced three minor earthquakes since arriving, this one just kept going while it kept growing stronger (6.2). Needless to say, I was pretty nervous. Thankfully, no one was killed (that I know of), and there were only a few aftershocks. It was just the strangest feeling, especially after the major quake ended. The world just kept shaking. All my life, the world has been still, stable, “dependable”. Today, it felt like I was standing on Jell-O at times. Pure craziness.