Connection.. How do you really connect with people.. Just recently I began working in a job in which I answer the phone a lot and seems like you are trying to be personal and yet detached at the same time? Does that even make sense or is that a contradiction in itself? And when I am not on the phone I am trying to talk to others whom I work with trying to connect? Is it in our human nature to feel this desire to be connected? Maybe this huge desire should be fulled mostly by Jesus Christ.. and I think it should.. but even beyond that should we or don't we still desire to be connected? Building relationships with peers... coworkers.. or just any other random person you may bump into? But what deterimines who or why we can or cannot connect with specific people why our we so individualistic and yet self-centered at the same time...
Why can I connect with one person so intimately and intensely that it is undescribible and yet with other people it takes time and lots of effort? I wonder why? And how long do you think it would take to show someone you care... and what if you are doing something as simple as taking an order can you do something that could make there day? Or something to let them know that you care... to really let them connect...
I think as a Christian... as a person... we should have a personal goal to connect with a variety and diverse population and try to connect and be a part of something beautiful in the world.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
LIfe and such
So how do you jump back into the blog world after being out for so long? To be honest with you I have no idea? I do not even know how to start? I do not have internet at home which puts a damper on the blogging time to begin with? But I am going to try and come to the library on a regular basis so that I can post halfway regular! :) I know that at least makes one person out there happy! :)
My life seems to have taken an unexpected detour but I know that it is a blessing in desguise! I have decided to take a year off for various reasons before entering dentistry school. After much confusion, frustration, and sleepless nights of pondering that is what I decided. I am still unfortunately in the process of finding a job out in the real world which I have seemed to stumble into ever so abruptly! Evidently graduation is synonomous with now you are an adult so go find a job NOW! Which is relatively hard fo r me to grasp... I mean don't get me wrong I want to work and not be lazy ... but I am not all that ready to grow up? But yet I am at the same time? Does anyone else out there feel like that? Trying to pick and chose which characteristics of growing up you want to accept and those you don't? Kind of like those people who never get older than 39 or those guys continue to be consumed by video games until the achieve arthritis (don't get me wrong I love video games but in moderation! :)) You know? But I think that I am beginning to have a early and yet simple revelation and it is that "Life goes on, it is NOt fair, and you do NOT get to customize your aging process." And that kind of sucks but yet not at the same time! Sorry I guess I am just in a confusing mood today!
Along with that LIfe does NOT ever stop? And that is HARD! I mean you graduate you have to find a job, start paying off loans, and trying to save at the same time! You want to do something and yet you don't have the money to do it? Sometimes I feel as if you just have to DO IT! Because you are never going to get ahead... or achieve some point in your life when you are like... wow you know what now that goal is acomplished lets start something new! Of course realizing this and then beginning to impliment it into my own life is yet another story? But I am trying!
Hmmm... Wow? I am not even sure what i have been writing about? I am excited for this weekend because my girlfriend will be down here in my hometown and we will get to hangout which will be amazing... and I heard we might even be trying to learn some ball room dancing! Romantic huh? You ladies out there eat your heart out! :) I am not even sure why such a saying even exists... but I just decided to throw it in there!
Well unfortunately I think that I should begin to wrap this up! I know that most of this blog entry was a lot of ramplings on about life and such.. .but that is what is going on in my life and that is what comes to my mind and my thoughts! So with much hope to bring more to you more often..
My life seems to have taken an unexpected detour but I know that it is a blessing in desguise! I have decided to take a year off for various reasons before entering dentistry school. After much confusion, frustration, and sleepless nights of pondering that is what I decided. I am still unfortunately in the process of finding a job out in the real world which I have seemed to stumble into ever so abruptly! Evidently graduation is synonomous with now you are an adult so go find a job NOW! Which is relatively hard fo r me to grasp... I mean don't get me wrong I want to work and not be lazy ... but I am not all that ready to grow up? But yet I am at the same time? Does anyone else out there feel like that? Trying to pick and chose which characteristics of growing up you want to accept and those you don't? Kind of like those people who never get older than 39 or those guys continue to be consumed by video games until the achieve arthritis (don't get me wrong I love video games but in moderation! :)) You know? But I think that I am beginning to have a early and yet simple revelation and it is that "Life goes on, it is NOt fair, and you do NOT get to customize your aging process." And that kind of sucks but yet not at the same time! Sorry I guess I am just in a confusing mood today!
Along with that LIfe does NOT ever stop? And that is HARD! I mean you graduate you have to find a job, start paying off loans, and trying to save at the same time! You want to do something and yet you don't have the money to do it? Sometimes I feel as if you just have to DO IT! Because you are never going to get ahead... or achieve some point in your life when you are like... wow you know what now that goal is acomplished lets start something new! Of course realizing this and then beginning to impliment it into my own life is yet another story? But I am trying!
Hmmm... Wow? I am not even sure what i have been writing about? I am excited for this weekend because my girlfriend will be down here in my hometown and we will get to hangout which will be amazing... and I heard we might even be trying to learn some ball room dancing! Romantic huh? You ladies out there eat your heart out! :) I am not even sure why such a saying even exists... but I just decided to throw it in there!
Well unfortunately I think that I should begin to wrap this up! I know that most of this blog entry was a lot of ramplings on about life and such.. .but that is what is going on in my life and that is what comes to my mind and my thoughts! So with much hope to bring more to you more often..
Monday, May 22, 2006
A long time ago!
I really stink at having a blog?? But you know I really want to start to post more often so be looking for that... in the near future! I hope that some people out there still read my blog? Hmmm.. Well if you do be praying for me cuz I have decided to take the DAT in like a week and I am going to need a lot of help and prayer! My beautiful and wonderful girlfriend came and suprised me this last weekend and it was great.. I am so thankful that I have her in my life and I could tell you so many things because there is so much on my mind but I have to go study for my DAT but be lookig for posts more frequently! :)
Friday, May 05, 2006
Back in the states....
Well I am back and still got a lot of processing to do, but I thought that I would include a couple of quotes from a book I have been reading... Confessions of an Economic Hit Man!
"Stop being so greedy and so selfish. Realize that there is more to the world than your big houses and fancy stores. People are starving and you worry about oil for you cars. Babies are dying of thirst and you search the fashion magazines for the latest styles. Nations like ours are drowning in poverty, but your people don't even hear our cries for help. You shut your ears to the voices of those who try to tell you these things. You label them radicals or Communists. You must open your hearts to the poor and downtrodden, instead of driving them further into poverty and servitude. There's not much time left. If you don't change, you're doomed." p. 53
"Is anyone in the U.S. innocent? Although those at the very pinnacle of the economic pyramid gain the most, millions of us depend -either directly or indirectly- on the exploitation of the LDCs (less-developed countries) for our livelihoods. The resources and cheap labor that feed nearly all our businesses come from places like Indonesia, and very little ever make its way back. The loans of foreign aid ensure that today's children and their grandchildren will be held hostage. They will have to allow our corporations to ravage their natural resources and will have to forego education, healh, and other social services merely to pay us back. The fact that our own companies already received most of thiis money to build the power plants, airports, and industrial parks does not factor into this formula. Does the excuse that most Americans are unaware of this constitute innocence? Uniformed and intentionally misinformed, yes -but innocent?" p. 56
I found this statements to be extremely powerful when I read them and I hope that you find them that way as well and I would recommend this book to anyone and I am not even halfway through it! Enjoy.. and I hope to post more often now that I am back in the country! :)
"Stop being so greedy and so selfish. Realize that there is more to the world than your big houses and fancy stores. People are starving and you worry about oil for you cars. Babies are dying of thirst and you search the fashion magazines for the latest styles. Nations like ours are drowning in poverty, but your people don't even hear our cries for help. You shut your ears to the voices of those who try to tell you these things. You label them radicals or Communists. You must open your hearts to the poor and downtrodden, instead of driving them further into poverty and servitude. There's not much time left. If you don't change, you're doomed." p. 53
"Is anyone in the U.S. innocent? Although those at the very pinnacle of the economic pyramid gain the most, millions of us depend -either directly or indirectly- on the exploitation of the LDCs (less-developed countries) for our livelihoods. The resources and cheap labor that feed nearly all our businesses come from places like Indonesia, and very little ever make its way back. The loans of foreign aid ensure that today's children and their grandchildren will be held hostage. They will have to allow our corporations to ravage their natural resources and will have to forego education, healh, and other social services merely to pay us back. The fact that our own companies already received most of thiis money to build the power plants, airports, and industrial parks does not factor into this formula. Does the excuse that most Americans are unaware of this constitute innocence? Uniformed and intentionally misinformed, yes -but innocent?" p. 56
I found this statements to be extremely powerful when I read them and I hope that you find them that way as well and I would recommend this book to anyone and I am not even halfway through it! Enjoy.. and I hope to post more often now that I am back in the country! :)
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Update from the Gringo
So I know that I have not blogged in awhile so I am going to try and write a little to update you! I am about to go into my third week of concentrations, where we are going to head off to another study center at a place called Campanario, which is down on the Osa Peninsula if you want to check it out on a map.. and the whole group is going to be there for a week studying mangrove, going to a National park, doing some rainforest stuff.. as well as some SNORKELING.. and other marine biology! So I am quite excited however when I leave this week I am going to stay an extra five days there because that is going to be where I am going to stay and do my research project! I am not exactly what my project is going to be on… it is either going to be studying bats… or I am going to be in the water doing a comparative study on the fish in the cove or gulf that is like twenty or thirty meters from where we are staying! But I probably won’t figure that out until I get out there.. Traveling there is going to be crazy as well… we are leaving at SIX on Monday morning… and we have about a five or six hour drive… then we jump on a boat for about two hours or so to get there… so this place is remote! But that is all I can tell you about that place because I haven’t been there yet.. but I am excited and I am sure it is going to be SWEET!
Okay so about the last week… it has been extremely eventful and demanding.. Like I think that I stated in my earlier blog.. we went to Arenal (an active volcano), went to Playa Ostional, and wrapped up the week at a place called Palo Verde, which is a Dry Forest! The volcano Arenal was really interesting… we went as close as we could which was not very close.. something like 2 kilometers.. since it is active an all. We could constantly hear it erupting… seeing the gases rise out of the volcano, we also watched it at night and watched the lava run down the side of it! Pretty surreal! Next we took off for Ostional.. which was a beach that we could not swim at.. and that made me sad, but what can you do! But we were there for two nights and both nights we went out to search for turtles who had come ashore to lay their eggs.. the first night we only found one and really didn’t get to see the whole process.. and we stayed up until like one.. and that is extremely late for being here in Latin America when you are used to going to be at like nine or ten at night! But some of stayed out the second night… and we saw TEN turtle tracks… and FIVE actual turtles and watched the laying egg process from start until finish and it was astonishing and I would love to tell anyone more about it at some point! Then finally we ended up at a Dry forest, which was exactly that HOT and DRY… we went hiking around there and learned about the dry forest, but I think that the main reason for going there was to see the contrast between it and other places that we are visiting!
That is about all I have to say about the last week or so.. but if you guys get a chance check out my flickr pictures.. I am going to try and post a few more from the last week… and if you don’t know how to check them out you should be able to click on the link off to the right where my picture thingy is.. and it should take you there? You know what is mind-boggling is the fact that I only have 36 days left before I am home.. however that does not equal the numbers of days left in Costa Rica.. because after I spend like 10 days in Campanario I will return somewhere like the 5th or 6th of April and then I only have like 8 or so days before we all leave to go to Guatemala and then spend ten days there.. and fly to Miami where I spend two or three days and it is done! So… I pretty much DONE! WOW this is going to go so fast because I still have soooooo much stuff I have to do! I mean I have a research project and PAPER to do! I canNOT believe it! I mean four months seem like they have flown by now that I look back at it! But I guess that is a bittersweet thing… Costa Rica has definitely GROWN on me A LOT! And right now this has begun to feel like home! The cool weather… gallo pinto… bus riding… colones… going to bed early and waking up early… But I am excited to see my family and friends and my girlfriend! But I am not sure that I am ready to go back and face graduation… face real life.. where I have no schedule… no plans… it is scary… It is kinda like I have to go back to real life… if that makes any sense.. Right now I feel as if I am a state of limbo… where everything in the states is a world away and everything I left behind that used to stress me out doesn’t here… obviously excluding some things like family and relationships… But does that make sense.. here I have the similar feeling to when you enter college for the first time and you have this liberating feeling of being on your own.. and having to figure everything out on your own… having a feeling of accomplishment when you do figure it all out… Here… the silly things do not matter… I am independent and for four months it was nice to not have to worry about taxes, driving, going to chapel, the United STATES, dental school, and more.. I mean I am not ignorant.. I know that those things still exist and do not totally ignore them.. but it have been nice to have done everything that I could before I came here and now I just am kind of waiting.. and anticipating acceptance…. Jobs… graduation… LIFE… Another interesting element that I am going to have to deal with is how this is going to affect my life when I return and how it is going to change my life… direction, career, what I do with the ample resources and opportunities that I have been given…I DON"T know! But you know what.. that is okay.. I don’t have to know everything right now! I have time… in fact I have a life time.. I need to get out of this mindset that society has influenced and taught me growing up that is placed on age and when I reach that age or when I can check off so many things; like have a job, married, kids… I can finally realize that "I have ARRIVED!" I have so many things that have been CRAMMED into my mind within these last three months so FAST that I have barely had time to process.. or research it.. and there are so many things that I am confused on.. don’t know what to think about them.. or just plain doubt some of it.. but I know that is okay.. cuz when I return.. that is the "homework" for the rest of my life.. to stay informed.. to begin to formulate my own opinions… and continue to figure things out for me the best that I CAN! Things don’t always go as you want them to.. but you have to be flexible and change whenever you need… Our society is tricky.. hiding… manipulating.. with help of government.. media and many other things.. I have realized that I have to become knowledgeable…and begin to challenge things.. and OPEN my EYES because the world is going to pass me by if I do not! That is my challenge for myself to get out of the mold that the world wants me to be in.. and STIR up things.. don’t follow the crowd.. and Be CRAZY by the world’s standards.. I am okay with that! I will leave at that for right now.. but this is not the end.. and there will be more to follow I can promise you that!
I also want to say, HI to my GIRLFRIEND.. because I today it is only two days until our one year anniversary.. and I am going to be in an isolated peninsula in Costa Rica and will most likely have no connection to Costa Rica, yet alone the States.. so HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I miss you.. and check it out.. only 36 some odd days until you can see.. me.. thanks for sticking this out.. and going through this.. I know that it wasn’t easy for you.. but I appreciate it and I want you to know that! SO THANKS for being MY girlfriend.. and the BEST GIRLFRIEND at that!
Well I should probably go for now? But I am still ALIVE.. breathing… and THINKING a LOT! I am off for the rainforest and much more this week… remember me in your prayers.. thoughts… you are MISSED! BYE for now!
Okay so about the last week… it has been extremely eventful and demanding.. Like I think that I stated in my earlier blog.. we went to Arenal (an active volcano), went to Playa Ostional, and wrapped up the week at a place called Palo Verde, which is a Dry Forest! The volcano Arenal was really interesting… we went as close as we could which was not very close.. something like 2 kilometers.. since it is active an all. We could constantly hear it erupting… seeing the gases rise out of the volcano, we also watched it at night and watched the lava run down the side of it! Pretty surreal! Next we took off for Ostional.. which was a beach that we could not swim at.. and that made me sad, but what can you do! But we were there for two nights and both nights we went out to search for turtles who had come ashore to lay their eggs.. the first night we only found one and really didn’t get to see the whole process.. and we stayed up until like one.. and that is extremely late for being here in Latin America when you are used to going to be at like nine or ten at night! But some of stayed out the second night… and we saw TEN turtle tracks… and FIVE actual turtles and watched the laying egg process from start until finish and it was astonishing and I would love to tell anyone more about it at some point! Then finally we ended up at a Dry forest, which was exactly that HOT and DRY… we went hiking around there and learned about the dry forest, but I think that the main reason for going there was to see the contrast between it and other places that we are visiting!
That is about all I have to say about the last week or so.. but if you guys get a chance check out my flickr pictures.. I am going to try and post a few more from the last week… and if you don’t know how to check them out you should be able to click on the link off to the right where my picture thingy is.. and it should take you there? You know what is mind-boggling is the fact that I only have 36 days left before I am home.. however that does not equal the numbers of days left in Costa Rica.. because after I spend like 10 days in Campanario I will return somewhere like the 5th or 6th of April and then I only have like 8 or so days before we all leave to go to Guatemala and then spend ten days there.. and fly to Miami where I spend two or three days and it is done! So… I pretty much DONE! WOW this is going to go so fast because I still have soooooo much stuff I have to do! I mean I have a research project and PAPER to do! I canNOT believe it! I mean four months seem like they have flown by now that I look back at it! But I guess that is a bittersweet thing… Costa Rica has definitely GROWN on me A LOT! And right now this has begun to feel like home! The cool weather… gallo pinto… bus riding… colones… going to bed early and waking up early… But I am excited to see my family and friends and my girlfriend! But I am not sure that I am ready to go back and face graduation… face real life.. where I have no schedule… no plans… it is scary… It is kinda like I have to go back to real life… if that makes any sense.. Right now I feel as if I am a state of limbo… where everything in the states is a world away and everything I left behind that used to stress me out doesn’t here… obviously excluding some things like family and relationships… But does that make sense.. here I have the similar feeling to when you enter college for the first time and you have this liberating feeling of being on your own.. and having to figure everything out on your own… having a feeling of accomplishment when you do figure it all out… Here… the silly things do not matter… I am independent and for four months it was nice to not have to worry about taxes, driving, going to chapel, the United STATES, dental school, and more.. I mean I am not ignorant.. I know that those things still exist and do not totally ignore them.. but it have been nice to have done everything that I could before I came here and now I just am kind of waiting.. and anticipating acceptance…. Jobs… graduation… LIFE… Another interesting element that I am going to have to deal with is how this is going to affect my life when I return and how it is going to change my life… direction, career, what I do with the ample resources and opportunities that I have been given…I DON"T know! But you know what.. that is okay.. I don’t have to know everything right now! I have time… in fact I have a life time.. I need to get out of this mindset that society has influenced and taught me growing up that is placed on age and when I reach that age or when I can check off so many things; like have a job, married, kids… I can finally realize that "I have ARRIVED!" I have so many things that have been CRAMMED into my mind within these last three months so FAST that I have barely had time to process.. or research it.. and there are so many things that I am confused on.. don’t know what to think about them.. or just plain doubt some of it.. but I know that is okay.. cuz when I return.. that is the "homework" for the rest of my life.. to stay informed.. to begin to formulate my own opinions… and continue to figure things out for me the best that I CAN! Things don’t always go as you want them to.. but you have to be flexible and change whenever you need… Our society is tricky.. hiding… manipulating.. with help of government.. media and many other things.. I have realized that I have to become knowledgeable…and begin to challenge things.. and OPEN my EYES because the world is going to pass me by if I do not! That is my challenge for myself to get out of the mold that the world wants me to be in.. and STIR up things.. don’t follow the crowd.. and Be CRAZY by the world’s standards.. I am okay with that! I will leave at that for right now.. but this is not the end.. and there will be more to follow I can promise you that!
I also want to say, HI to my GIRLFRIEND.. because I today it is only two days until our one year anniversary.. and I am going to be in an isolated peninsula in Costa Rica and will most likely have no connection to Costa Rica, yet alone the States.. so HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I miss you.. and check it out.. only 36 some odd days until you can see.. me.. thanks for sticking this out.. and going through this.. I know that it wasn’t easy for you.. but I appreciate it and I want you to know that! SO THANKS for being MY girlfriend.. and the BEST GIRLFRIEND at that!
Well I should probably go for now? But I am still ALIVE.. breathing… and THINKING a LOT! I am off for the rainforest and much more this week… remember me in your prayers.. thoughts… you are MISSED! BYE for now!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
words
So I am on a time limit.. but I wanted to write a little something! For those of you out there that really want to know I am in my concentration here in Costa Rica, which happens to be Environmental science... so I am traveling a lot! This last week I was in San Gerrado de Dota which is near a cloud forest which we went into all the time and studied and stuff.. it was a lot of fun.. I lived with yet another host family.. it was great... and I went swimming in a waterfall.. hiked a lot.. looked at birds.. and all that good stuff.. and I hope to post some pictures in the near future...
Well this week I am heading out on Monday Morning.. and am not coming back until saturday! I am going to an active volcano, a beach to watch the sea turtles lay their eggs, and then I am off to a dry forest to finish out the week! }
I do not know what to write.. I have like ten minutes left and I do not know what I could say to make a difference to someone out there! I miss everyone out there.. especially those who are reading this... I mean I am Costa Rica and that is all cool and all... but there are so many people out there that are marginalized... poor... dieing.. suffering.. starving... those are the people we should be thinking about.. praying about.. making a difference some how.. whether it be saving one child.. or starting the process of changing the overall systems that make people become like this... whatever your gift is..... USE IT! Not only are the human parts of this world important, but we need to remember the environment and God´s Creation... it is not ours... and we are suppose to be stewards of it! Take it SERIOUS and take care of it... Because it is God´s and it is GOOD... and we need to remember that!
I don´t know if any of this makes sense to you.. or even if it makes you think.. give you goosebumps.. or just make you want to ignore me and my blog.. but I would love to talk to anyone out there about these issues and anything else you want... especially when I get back into the states! So leave me comment and I will see what I can do! I hope all is well in the states! And remember that something like 21000 kids died today and about 170 species went extinct! How would you feel if the human species was one of those that went extinct?
Well.. that is all I have time for... but leave a comment.. or whatever.... But I have to run...
Well this week I am heading out on Monday Morning.. and am not coming back until saturday! I am going to an active volcano, a beach to watch the sea turtles lay their eggs, and then I am off to a dry forest to finish out the week! }
I do not know what to write.. I have like ten minutes left and I do not know what I could say to make a difference to someone out there! I miss everyone out there.. especially those who are reading this... I mean I am Costa Rica and that is all cool and all... but there are so many people out there that are marginalized... poor... dieing.. suffering.. starving... those are the people we should be thinking about.. praying about.. making a difference some how.. whether it be saving one child.. or starting the process of changing the overall systems that make people become like this... whatever your gift is..... USE IT! Not only are the human parts of this world important, but we need to remember the environment and God´s Creation... it is not ours... and we are suppose to be stewards of it! Take it SERIOUS and take care of it... Because it is God´s and it is GOOD... and we need to remember that!
I don´t know if any of this makes sense to you.. or even if it makes you think.. give you goosebumps.. or just make you want to ignore me and my blog.. but I would love to talk to anyone out there about these issues and anything else you want... especially when I get back into the states! So leave me comment and I will see what I can do! I hope all is well in the states! And remember that something like 21000 kids died today and about 170 species went extinct! How would you feel if the human species was one of those that went extinct?
Well.. that is all I have time for... but leave a comment.. or whatever.... But I have to run...
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Numblets from Costa Rica to ponder!
Today…. I had a little adventure.. A few of us here at LASP decided to go to a sustainable development farm today to do an interview for our research paper that is due in about a month… and it was amazing.. and sooo BEAUTIFUL… The farm was called, “Finca La Flor de Paraiso,” and it was so cool… you all should check it out… Their website is www.la-flor-de-paraiso.org and they also love to have volunteers, so it would be a sweet opportunity and you could be in Costa Rica! This organic farm was a self-sustaining community and it is so easy to say that such a theory could work in theory, but to see it lived out is another thing. The organization that is working on and through this farm is the Association for the Development of Environmental and Human Consciousness (ASODECAH) and their purpose is the following: “The project seeks to demonstrate human alternative community living coexisting symbiotically with nature, assuring the continuity of the natural resources and the health of the people for the survival of future generations.” Pretty neat huh? Well I think so but I guess I am a science nerd at heart… but I think that everyone should be able to see the power and significance of a place like this! Let me explain it a little more….
We arrived there today after taking a couple of buses and finding ourselves out in the middle of nowhere, but none the less we it. When we first arrived he talked to us for a little bit and then we had lunch… and if everything works out right there should be a picture of my plate of food in my flickr account… Click on the link on the right hand of my page! But the sweetest thing was that the food for our lunch was all organic… all natural! It was really good! Then after lunch he showed us around the farm…. And it was crazy… They compost everything… they save the rain water, by having collecting the water in these containers connected through the gutter system, they used manure and take it through this long process that with the help of some earthworms turns into some new rich soil that they will use in their continuous process of growing, picking and eating. They grow a diverse range of plants from mint to tobacco. But really the only reason they plant tobacco is because it acts as a kind of natural insect repellent, since they don’t use chemicals on anything they grow. They have even developed a way to use the animal waste with a combination of water to form natural gas, known as methane gas. It is so complex.. and it was really interesting to me… they combined it and then but it in this big tube like thing made out of plastic bags so that it would be heated by the sun and then the gas was formed and rises up out through a tube connecting to a holding tank and then the water that is left over runs off and waters other plants.. then they can use this natural gas for numerous things including cooking! Well I would love to talk about this more later if you would like.. but check out the few pictures I am going to try and post.. but no promises!
Also during the last few days I bought a paper and was just recently reading through it and I came across this poem written by a local person in Guadalupe and it goes like this:
Tomorrow
Just tomorrow at this time
We’ll be a day older.
Our dreams a little colder,
When we can’t accomplish in our way
The things we plan today.
So it’s not just another day
That comes and goes away.
Every moment we’ll be tested
In the seconds that we’ve wasted.
- Ronald J. Torres
I think that I have found this poem to be so true especially knowing that I am here in Costa Rica but life in the United States have not stopped, but yet continues to go on… and knowing that tomorrow brings more things and tests with it… and it is scared and I have so many dreams and I don not want them to go stagnant… or cold…. I know that through this experience that God is going to do to so many miraculous things… and he has already done some of that that by bringing new people… and friends into my life that pray and hope that they will in fact becomes friends for life!
The above was written yesterday night.. but to that I am going to add some of my thoughts so from this point on… when I say today.. I really mean today.. and before this today meant yesterday! So now that I have the confusing stuff out of the way let me continue! I really haven’t done much since I wrote last night.. but I did get up and go to church this morning and that is always interesting.. and this morning I was telling everyone that I was going to Nicaragua tomorrow for two weeks, and after telling them this after church a few of them took me aside and prayed for me.. it was really nice… and then beyond that on my way out the pastor told me that he was going to pray for me, too! That is so reassuring and nice to hear! It amazes me how religion, and my God transcends time, language, and countries.. as well as continents and more.. What a might God I serve! I know that all of you out there are already praying for me, and appreciate it immensely… and DO NOT stop.. especially for the next two weeks I am going to be Nicaragua and have heard some horror stories.. but I know that it is going to be an experience beyond my wildest dreams!
Oh ya and for all of you out there who are reading this I am not graduated from my Spanish classes at the “Instituto de Lengua Espanola” or (Spanish Language Institute), it is official and I have the certificate to prove it! We had a little graduation ceremony on Friday February 10, 2006… and I spent a total of 57 hours at the Institute in Spanish classes… Oh good times!
It is such a weird phenomena that I am beginning to feel at home here? I mean I can finally look like I know where I am going… I can do other things on the bus besides starring out the window looking for landmarks… and it is just getting to the point where I am adjusted to being here… Does that make sense? It is beginning to be the “norm” for me to see the things that were so foreign to me only a month earlier! I have become accustomed to the money here which is in colones which is like 500 colones to the dollar…. so everything here seemed to be really expense when in actuality it was not.. however things here are not as cheap as one may think. The other day when a few of us were over at Meg Bauhof’s host family’s house we pulled out some of our change from the states and it felt so weird…. And was sooo small… it was strange.. because yet another adjustment made.. It is intriguing.. and then for me to have to think about whether or not the same adjustment is going to needed when reentering the foreign culture of the United States… and am I going to want to reenter such a culture and all of the conditions that come with that? I cannot escape the fact that I am a North American and I need to take responsibility and begin to stay up to date on what my country is doing.. I need to be able to be relevant to people and when I refer to people I am not just talking about people in the states because that is easy I grew up there… but I am also talking about marginalized people and more… people who I have no idea what they are going through and facing daily? I need to be able to be relevant and effective to those people as well!
We arrived there today after taking a couple of buses and finding ourselves out in the middle of nowhere, but none the less we it. When we first arrived he talked to us for a little bit and then we had lunch… and if everything works out right there should be a picture of my plate of food in my flickr account… Click on the link on the right hand of my page! But the sweetest thing was that the food for our lunch was all organic… all natural! It was really good! Then after lunch he showed us around the farm…. And it was crazy… They compost everything… they save the rain water, by having collecting the water in these containers connected through the gutter system, they used manure and take it through this long process that with the help of some earthworms turns into some new rich soil that they will use in their continuous process of growing, picking and eating. They grow a diverse range of plants from mint to tobacco. But really the only reason they plant tobacco is because it acts as a kind of natural insect repellent, since they don’t use chemicals on anything they grow. They have even developed a way to use the animal waste with a combination of water to form natural gas, known as methane gas. It is so complex.. and it was really interesting to me… they combined it and then but it in this big tube like thing made out of plastic bags so that it would be heated by the sun and then the gas was formed and rises up out through a tube connecting to a holding tank and then the water that is left over runs off and waters other plants.. then they can use this natural gas for numerous things including cooking! Well I would love to talk about this more later if you would like.. but check out the few pictures I am going to try and post.. but no promises!
Also during the last few days I bought a paper and was just recently reading through it and I came across this poem written by a local person in Guadalupe and it goes like this:
Tomorrow
Just tomorrow at this time
We’ll be a day older.
Our dreams a little colder,
When we can’t accomplish in our way
The things we plan today.
So it’s not just another day
That comes and goes away.
Every moment we’ll be tested
In the seconds that we’ve wasted.
- Ronald J. Torres
I think that I have found this poem to be so true especially knowing that I am here in Costa Rica but life in the United States have not stopped, but yet continues to go on… and knowing that tomorrow brings more things and tests with it… and it is scared and I have so many dreams and I don not want them to go stagnant… or cold…. I know that through this experience that God is going to do to so many miraculous things… and he has already done some of that that by bringing new people… and friends into my life that pray and hope that they will in fact becomes friends for life!
The above was written yesterday night.. but to that I am going to add some of my thoughts so from this point on… when I say today.. I really mean today.. and before this today meant yesterday! So now that I have the confusing stuff out of the way let me continue! I really haven’t done much since I wrote last night.. but I did get up and go to church this morning and that is always interesting.. and this morning I was telling everyone that I was going to Nicaragua tomorrow for two weeks, and after telling them this after church a few of them took me aside and prayed for me.. it was really nice… and then beyond that on my way out the pastor told me that he was going to pray for me, too! That is so reassuring and nice to hear! It amazes me how religion, and my God transcends time, language, and countries.. as well as continents and more.. What a might God I serve! I know that all of you out there are already praying for me, and appreciate it immensely… and DO NOT stop.. especially for the next two weeks I am going to be Nicaragua and have heard some horror stories.. but I know that it is going to be an experience beyond my wildest dreams!
Oh ya and for all of you out there who are reading this I am not graduated from my Spanish classes at the “Instituto de Lengua Espanola” or (Spanish Language Institute), it is official and I have the certificate to prove it! We had a little graduation ceremony on Friday February 10, 2006… and I spent a total of 57 hours at the Institute in Spanish classes… Oh good times!
It is such a weird phenomena that I am beginning to feel at home here? I mean I can finally look like I know where I am going… I can do other things on the bus besides starring out the window looking for landmarks… and it is just getting to the point where I am adjusted to being here… Does that make sense? It is beginning to be the “norm” for me to see the things that were so foreign to me only a month earlier! I have become accustomed to the money here which is in colones which is like 500 colones to the dollar…. so everything here seemed to be really expense when in actuality it was not.. however things here are not as cheap as one may think. The other day when a few of us were over at Meg Bauhof’s host family’s house we pulled out some of our change from the states and it felt so weird…. And was sooo small… it was strange.. because yet another adjustment made.. It is intriguing.. and then for me to have to think about whether or not the same adjustment is going to needed when reentering the foreign culture of the United States… and am I going to want to reenter such a culture and all of the conditions that come with that? I cannot escape the fact that I am a North American and I need to take responsibility and begin to stay up to date on what my country is doing.. I need to be able to be relevant to people and when I refer to people I am not just talking about people in the states because that is easy I grew up there… but I am also talking about marginalized people and more… people who I have no idea what they are going through and facing daily? I need to be able to be relevant and effective to those people as well!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
CORRECT the QUIZ
LETS see how ya did? Leave me a comment and let me know I would be interested to know! Correct the quiz or take it.. and then correct it, but don´t look at the answers before you take it.. if you don´t know what quiz I am talking about scroll down to check it out! Leave a post to tell me how you did because everyone here at LASP failed horribly.. and well I would like to see how all you did! THANKS!
Answers to the State of the World Inventory!
1. D
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. D
6. D
7. A
8. 1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A
9. 1. A
2. C
3. E
4. D
5. B
6. F
10. B
11. B
12. D
13. E
14. D
15. 1. Israel
2. Egypt
3. Columbia
16. A
17. D
18. D
A
A
A
A
19. B
20. C
Answers to the State of the World Inventory!
1. D
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. D
6. D
7. A
8. 1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A
9. 1. A
2. C
3. E
4. D
5. B
6. F
10. B
11. B
12. D
13. E
14. D
15. 1. Israel
2. Egypt
3. Columbia
16. A
17. D
18. D
A
A
A
A
19. B
20. C
More tidbits from CR
Hmmm… So what can I even say? I have been so busy here in Central America! So it has officially been about 24 days that I been here in Costa Rica! And it has proven to be an interesting experience and never seem to have a dull moment.. or at least a spare moment. I am constantly on the go here in.. Today I had my midterm in my Core Seminar Class… and ya that was a lot of fun, but I have been educated about several things here in Costa Rica! For this test some of the things I learned about include: Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, Mixed Economies, Structural Adjustment Policies, Colonialism, Neo-liberalism, and much more. But I am sure for those of you who are reading this… you probably aren’t interested in reading about what I am learning or definitions of what I am learning? I have a must read book list and it continues to grow daily! I love to get mail here…. And I got my first two pieces of mail today from my magnificent GIRLFRIEND today… but if anyone out there wants to send me something it would be greatly appreciated… the address is the following:
Student: Jamos Mitchell
Latin American Studies Program
Apdo 54-2070
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica
AMERICA CENTRAL
Last weekend one free weekend that we have as a student here at LASP, but unfortunately I have so much to do this weekend that I am going to be unable to go and travel somewhere? L but I plan on Traveling soon.. and I am sure that I will let you know how everything goes when I do!
Lets see if I can think of some more interesting things going down in Costa Rica! Coming to Costa Rica is kind of like becoming a minority for me in my experience. I come to Costa Rica and I am never going to be able to fit into the culture no matter how hard I try! I have brownish blonde hair and light skin, not to mention that I don’t speak the language very well therefore I stick out in the Latin American culture like a sore thumb! But coming here it educates me on things that I have never heard of before, thought of before, or even could have made up! So in some aspects I come close to leaving in “someone else’s shoes” and let me tell you it is uncomfortable and those shoes are a little too small for me if you will. I have also often wondered about how my responsibility has changed now that I have this newfound knowledge. And how it would have been much easier if I did not know everything that I know now. Ignorance is bliss.. but I pray that will this knowledge and wisdom acquired I hope that I can incorporate it into my life and make a significant difference in the world. I want to remember the 21,000 kids that died today.. the day before yesterday… and the ones that will die tomorrow.. I need to remember them in my everyday life and try and figure out what that means to me and how it will play out in my life.
Well for all of those you out their still curious what I have I have been up to I have been bogged down with homework! On Saturday last weekend I ended up going out to a movie, then to pizza hut, and then ended up going to a Suprissa soccer game which was SO much fun! However this week has been extremely busy! I had so much homework that was due this week, but now most of it is done so it is a lot of eight of my shoulders, so that is good.
Sorry that I don´t have more time to write but I will try my best to write more... but definately keep me in your prayers cuz I am leaving for Nicaragua for weeks and it is kinda scary! I am neverous.. but I think time is starting to go by quicker.. but with everyday I get that much more information and have that much more info to try and process at some point? And I don´t know all of this info challenges everything that I have learned in the first 21 years of my life! So I am sure many of you will find me crazy or extreme but I am excited to come back and talk about everything.. and especially with my GREAT friend DREW! I miss you a ton man! But I gotta to send a shout out to my FAMILY... and my BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL girlfriend.. Miss you lots... and always remember that! Well I suppose that I should go for now? But send me mail... BYE for now...
Student: Jamos Mitchell
Latin American Studies Program
Apdo 54-2070
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica
AMERICA CENTRAL
Last weekend one free weekend that we have as a student here at LASP, but unfortunately I have so much to do this weekend that I am going to be unable to go and travel somewhere? L but I plan on Traveling soon.. and I am sure that I will let you know how everything goes when I do!
Lets see if I can think of some more interesting things going down in Costa Rica! Coming to Costa Rica is kind of like becoming a minority for me in my experience. I come to Costa Rica and I am never going to be able to fit into the culture no matter how hard I try! I have brownish blonde hair and light skin, not to mention that I don’t speak the language very well therefore I stick out in the Latin American culture like a sore thumb! But coming here it educates me on things that I have never heard of before, thought of before, or even could have made up! So in some aspects I come close to leaving in “someone else’s shoes” and let me tell you it is uncomfortable and those shoes are a little too small for me if you will. I have also often wondered about how my responsibility has changed now that I have this newfound knowledge. And how it would have been much easier if I did not know everything that I know now. Ignorance is bliss.. but I pray that will this knowledge and wisdom acquired I hope that I can incorporate it into my life and make a significant difference in the world. I want to remember the 21,000 kids that died today.. the day before yesterday… and the ones that will die tomorrow.. I need to remember them in my everyday life and try and figure out what that means to me and how it will play out in my life.
Well for all of those you out their still curious what I have I have been up to I have been bogged down with homework! On Saturday last weekend I ended up going out to a movie, then to pizza hut, and then ended up going to a Suprissa soccer game which was SO much fun! However this week has been extremely busy! I had so much homework that was due this week, but now most of it is done so it is a lot of eight of my shoulders, so that is good.
Sorry that I don´t have more time to write but I will try my best to write more... but definately keep me in your prayers cuz I am leaving for Nicaragua for weeks and it is kinda scary! I am neverous.. but I think time is starting to go by quicker.. but with everyday I get that much more information and have that much more info to try and process at some point? And I don´t know all of this info challenges everything that I have learned in the first 21 years of my life! So I am sure many of you will find me crazy or extreme but I am excited to come back and talk about everything.. and especially with my GREAT friend DREW! I miss you a ton man! But I gotta to send a shout out to my FAMILY... and my BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL girlfriend.. Miss you lots... and always remember that! Well I suppose that I should go for now? But send me mail... BYE for now...
The world we live!
HEy! SO I think this is really important that we stay informed about the world that we live.. and well check out this quizy thingy... and well take it and I will post the answers sometime... so you can see how much you truly know about the world you live in.... the questions were supposed to be numbered... but stupid technology over here isn´t what you would think or maybe it is either way check it out.. number the questions if you want.. and I will try and post the questions soon... I had to take this quiz too and it shocked me.. so stay informed and do your homework to stay truly informed in the world you live in. I know that I have been challenged to do so.. but not sure how I am going to do that yet but we will see...
State of the World Inventory: What do you know about the world?
Section 1: The World
Obviously, the richest 20% of the world’s population consumes more goods than the poorest 20%. How much more?
a. 20 times
b. 50 times
c. 100 times
d. 150 times
About how many of the world’s 6 billion people live on less than $2 per day?
a. 3 billion
b. 2 billion
c. 800 million
d. 80 million
The number of people in the world with insufficient food:
a. 100 million
b. 200 million
c. 500 million
d. 1 billion
The number of children who die each week as a result of inadequate diets:
a. 25,000
b. 90,000
c. 160,000
d. 210,000
The world’s 3 richest men have wealth equal to:
a. The combined GDP of the poorest 3 nations in the world
b. The combined GDP of the poorest 13 nations in the world
c. The combined GDP of the poorest 27 nations in the world
d. The combined GDP of the poorest 48 nations in the world
The world’s 225 richest people have a combined wealth equal to that of the poorest:
a. One million people
b. One hundred million people
c. One billion people
d. Two billion people
An annual ______ percent tax on the world’s 225 most well-to-do people would suffice to provide the following essentials for all those in developing countries: adequate food, safe water and sanitation, basic education, basic health care and reproductive health care.
a. 4
b. 11
c. 35
d. 62
Match the following countries to their “ecological footprint” (a measure of the resources consumed by the lifestyle of the average inhabitant, expressed as an area of land):
1. United States A. 0.5 hectares/average citizen
2. China B. 1.2 hectares/average citizen
3. United Kingdom C. 5.2 hectares/average citizen
4. Bangladesh D. 10.3 hectares/average citizen
Below is another list of countries, and a list of “prisoners per 100,000 population.” Match the country to its prison population percentage:
1. China A. 111 prisoners per 100,000 population
2. Cuba B. 139 prisoners per 100,000 population
3. Russia C. 297 prisoners per 100,000 population
4. South Africa D. 404 prisoners per 100,000 population
5. United Kingdom E. 638 prisoners per 100,000 population
6. United States F. 686 prisoners per 100,000 population
One out of every _____ African-American males ages 20-29 is currently in prison or jail or on probation or parole.
a. 2
b. 3
c. 7
d. 10
Section II: The United States
What percentage of the U.S. workforce is immigrant?
a. 5%
b. 13%
c. 20%
d. 31%
The wealth of the top 1% of American households is equal to that of the bottom:
a. 25%
b. 45%
c. 75%
d. 95%
Approximately what percentage of its GDP does the United States give as overseas Development Assistance (Foreign Aid)?
a. 20%
b. 10%
c. 5%
d. 1%
e. 0.1%
As a percentage of GNP, U.S. foreign aid is less than that contributed by:
a. Canada
b. Japan
c. All Western European nations
d. All of the above
Name the countries that are the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid:
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________
The military spending of the United States is approximately what percentage of the world’s total military spending?
a. 50%
b. 35%
c. 25%
d. 10%
e. 5%
The cost of the war in Iraq so far is:
a. 79 billion
b. 123 billion
c. 196 billion
d. 234 billion
The U.S. percentage of federal spending in 2004 that went for
Military expenditures/war debt: A. 10 B. 29 C. 35 D. 49
Education: A. 3.7 B. 11.7 C. 23.4 D. 30.2
Housing: A. 2.1 B. 14.4 C. 22.3 D. 26
Protecting the environment: A. 1.7 B. 8 C. 16.3 D. 21.1
Job training: A. 0.4 B. 1.4 C. 4.1 D. 14.1
U.S. Women who work full-time earn _____ for every dollar earned by men performing the same jobs.
a. $0.94
b. $0.84
c. $0.74
d. $0.64
How many million people in the United States lack health insurance?
a. 24
b. 34
c. 45
d. 54
State of the World Inventory: What do you know about the world?
Section 1: The World
Obviously, the richest 20% of the world’s population consumes more goods than the poorest 20%. How much more?
a. 20 times
b. 50 times
c. 100 times
d. 150 times
About how many of the world’s 6 billion people live on less than $2 per day?
a. 3 billion
b. 2 billion
c. 800 million
d. 80 million
The number of people in the world with insufficient food:
a. 100 million
b. 200 million
c. 500 million
d. 1 billion
The number of children who die each week as a result of inadequate diets:
a. 25,000
b. 90,000
c. 160,000
d. 210,000
The world’s 3 richest men have wealth equal to:
a. The combined GDP of the poorest 3 nations in the world
b. The combined GDP of the poorest 13 nations in the world
c. The combined GDP of the poorest 27 nations in the world
d. The combined GDP of the poorest 48 nations in the world
The world’s 225 richest people have a combined wealth equal to that of the poorest:
a. One million people
b. One hundred million people
c. One billion people
d. Two billion people
An annual ______ percent tax on the world’s 225 most well-to-do people would suffice to provide the following essentials for all those in developing countries: adequate food, safe water and sanitation, basic education, basic health care and reproductive health care.
a. 4
b. 11
c. 35
d. 62
Match the following countries to their “ecological footprint” (a measure of the resources consumed by the lifestyle of the average inhabitant, expressed as an area of land):
1. United States A. 0.5 hectares/average citizen
2. China B. 1.2 hectares/average citizen
3. United Kingdom C. 5.2 hectares/average citizen
4. Bangladesh D. 10.3 hectares/average citizen
Below is another list of countries, and a list of “prisoners per 100,000 population.” Match the country to its prison population percentage:
1. China A. 111 prisoners per 100,000 population
2. Cuba B. 139 prisoners per 100,000 population
3. Russia C. 297 prisoners per 100,000 population
4. South Africa D. 404 prisoners per 100,000 population
5. United Kingdom E. 638 prisoners per 100,000 population
6. United States F. 686 prisoners per 100,000 population
One out of every _____ African-American males ages 20-29 is currently in prison or jail or on probation or parole.
a. 2
b. 3
c. 7
d. 10
Section II: The United States
What percentage of the U.S. workforce is immigrant?
a. 5%
b. 13%
c. 20%
d. 31%
The wealth of the top 1% of American households is equal to that of the bottom:
a. 25%
b. 45%
c. 75%
d. 95%
Approximately what percentage of its GDP does the United States give as overseas Development Assistance (Foreign Aid)?
a. 20%
b. 10%
c. 5%
d. 1%
e. 0.1%
As a percentage of GNP, U.S. foreign aid is less than that contributed by:
a. Canada
b. Japan
c. All Western European nations
d. All of the above
Name the countries that are the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid:
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________
The military spending of the United States is approximately what percentage of the world’s total military spending?
a. 50%
b. 35%
c. 25%
d. 10%
e. 5%
The cost of the war in Iraq so far is:
a. 79 billion
b. 123 billion
c. 196 billion
d. 234 billion
The U.S. percentage of federal spending in 2004 that went for
Military expenditures/war debt: A. 10 B. 29 C. 35 D. 49
Education: A. 3.7 B. 11.7 C. 23.4 D. 30.2
Housing: A. 2.1 B. 14.4 C. 22.3 D. 26
Protecting the environment: A. 1.7 B. 8 C. 16.3 D. 21.1
Job training: A. 0.4 B. 1.4 C. 4.1 D. 14.1
U.S. Women who work full-time earn _____ for every dollar earned by men performing the same jobs.
a. $0.94
b. $0.84
c. $0.74
d. $0.64
How many million people in the United States lack health insurance?
a. 24
b. 34
c. 45
d. 54
Saturday, February 04, 2006
¿What to believe?
Tomorrow is election day here in Costa Rica... and that should prove to be interesting.. I am trying to find a politcal shirt so that I can buy it and support the candidate that I support and would vote for given that opportunity! Otton Solis... if you are interested check him out! Just google him! I feel like he has the best interest for Costa Rica in many things.. including the HOT issue here THE CAFTA.. the Central American Free Trade Agreement! Formulate your own opinion, but check out the facts and see what the US is truly doing? And what we as a Country do and enforce on others and countries... well enough political talk for now? But trust me there is plenty to be said and if you ever want to know more I will be more than happy to share with you sometime!
In about a week I will be leaving for Nicaragua for about 2 weeks or so.. and that should be really interesting because I have heard that Nicaragua is a very poor country and in my trip I get to pick how poor I go to some extent and well I have heard that some students take a boat for three hours and then take horseback for another two or three hours in order to reach where they are going to stay... even though we only stay with these families for about six days it should be quite the experience! My spanish classes end on the upcoming Friday and I am quite excited, and I am not sure if that is a bad thing or not...
I took my midterm on Friday and all I can say is that it is done... so I am extremely excited about that... and I think that it went well.... I also have a big Limon paper due on Monday.. and I will try and get a hold of a copy of it and try and post it on my blog so for those who are interested in politics can read a little about the Costa Rican stuff....
On Thursday I also went to the US Embassy and it was a unique experience in itself... being able to ask questions to a the chief economic advisor was quite interesting... and well bluntly it is hard to figure out what he says is true and not.. but maybe because I have just been learning so much I can´t believe some of the stuff he says and maybe rightly so! Well I really need to go but I hope to write soon!
In about a week I will be leaving for Nicaragua for about 2 weeks or so.. and that should be really interesting because I have heard that Nicaragua is a very poor country and in my trip I get to pick how poor I go to some extent and well I have heard that some students take a boat for three hours and then take horseback for another two or three hours in order to reach where they are going to stay... even though we only stay with these families for about six days it should be quite the experience! My spanish classes end on the upcoming Friday and I am quite excited, and I am not sure if that is a bad thing or not...
I took my midterm on Friday and all I can say is that it is done... so I am extremely excited about that... and I think that it went well.... I also have a big Limon paper due on Monday.. and I will try and get a hold of a copy of it and try and post it on my blog so for those who are interested in politics can read a little about the Costa Rican stuff....
On Thursday I also went to the US Embassy and it was a unique experience in itself... being able to ask questions to a the chief economic advisor was quite interesting... and well bluntly it is hard to figure out what he says is true and not.. but maybe because I have just been learning so much I can´t believe some of the stuff he says and maybe rightly so! Well I really need to go but I hope to write soon!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Little post!
Hey... really got not time to post.. but here is a little something something to keep you guys hanging and waiting and wanting more....
Hey! What is up? I actually stopped by an internet cafe on my way home from our field trip this weekend.. It was quite an interesting trip we went to Limon which is where most of the black population is located in Costa Rica and we had to go out and ask them a bunch of questions on politics and stuff and now have to write a BIG paper on it! So it kinda stunk that we had to go on a trip and have to do homework but I don´t know... it was still really nice and we actually went to a beach which was amazing because I got to go swimming play a little frisbee and got a little sunburnt.. but not to much because it ended up raining! But it was still amazing to get out of San Jose!
Costa Rica has some interesting affects on me... So far I have been part of a drama team here... okay... out of my comfort zone for sure.... and it really wasn´t something I was going to do but someone asked me personally and well I decided to do it... and I think that because of it, it might begin to make me more of an outgoing person but I am not sure.... Last night in Limon we also had a conferencia... like a talk with a speaker then we had dinner and actually had like a dance with some of the locals... and it was interesting to say the least and I was pretty much forced to dance... and I really don´t dance... but I really had a lot of fun... so EM... watch out we might be getting some spanish music and dancing it UP!
I am here during an interesting time in Costa Rica a week from today they will be electing a new president so there are lots of news about that as well as demonstrations and all that! And I have an assignment that is due a week from tomorrow which will offically make me now more about Costa Rican politics than I know about the Politics in the states...
This week is going to be extremely busy.. and I am scared about it... I have seminar class... Tues... Wed... Thurs.. Friday and not to mention my spanish class everyday for three hours... and I have a spanish test tomorrow in grammar so pray for me at about 1250 which would be 150 there... cuz that is when I will have the test and not to mention I have an oral exam in my conversation class on Thursday! AND I have a midterm on friday... I am not sure I can handle the pace and work load here... it is NUTS... but you know I am going to survive... I just have to make it through!
Miss you all... it is hard but time... keeps on ticking into the future and well with that I am closer to coming home!
Hey! What is up? I actually stopped by an internet cafe on my way home from our field trip this weekend.. It was quite an interesting trip we went to Limon which is where most of the black population is located in Costa Rica and we had to go out and ask them a bunch of questions on politics and stuff and now have to write a BIG paper on it! So it kinda stunk that we had to go on a trip and have to do homework but I don´t know... it was still really nice and we actually went to a beach which was amazing because I got to go swimming play a little frisbee and got a little sunburnt.. but not to much because it ended up raining! But it was still amazing to get out of San Jose!
Costa Rica has some interesting affects on me... So far I have been part of a drama team here... okay... out of my comfort zone for sure.... and it really wasn´t something I was going to do but someone asked me personally and well I decided to do it... and I think that because of it, it might begin to make me more of an outgoing person but I am not sure.... Last night in Limon we also had a conferencia... like a talk with a speaker then we had dinner and actually had like a dance with some of the locals... and it was interesting to say the least and I was pretty much forced to dance... and I really don´t dance... but I really had a lot of fun... so EM... watch out we might be getting some spanish music and dancing it UP!
I am here during an interesting time in Costa Rica a week from today they will be electing a new president so there are lots of news about that as well as demonstrations and all that! And I have an assignment that is due a week from tomorrow which will offically make me now more about Costa Rican politics than I know about the Politics in the states...
This week is going to be extremely busy.. and I am scared about it... I have seminar class... Tues... Wed... Thurs.. Friday and not to mention my spanish class everyday for three hours... and I have a spanish test tomorrow in grammar so pray for me at about 1250 which would be 150 there... cuz that is when I will have the test and not to mention I have an oral exam in my conversation class on Thursday! AND I have a midterm on friday... I am not sure I can handle the pace and work load here... it is NUTS... but you know I am going to survive... I just have to make it through!
Miss you all... it is hard but time... keeps on ticking into the future and well with that I am closer to coming home!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
A little side bar on CR
So I thought that I would try and write something to at least update those who are interested in what have been going on since I have arrived in Costa Rica. Concluding on the Friday that just past… Friday the 13th none-the-less wrapped up orientation for us. In orientation week we were all together and traveled together and had someone from our host family drop us off and pick us up… but as of now… NO MORE! The philosophy that the program has taken is throw us into the environment and then it is pretty much sink or swim… so I am little nervous about this philosophy, but there is not much I can do about it! On Monday I have to find my way to the LASP office with includes finding two buses and all of the directions so that is a little scary and hope for my sake that I get there in time!
I live in a city called Cornado. It is a neat little town. My family whom I live with in Costa Rica includes a papa whose name is Jose Luis Cordero Garro and he is 61 years old. My mama name is Eunice Aguero Chavez who is 48. My father here is retired and my mama does physical therapy stuff and kind of a cosmetologist kind of profession. I also have two brothers who are 16 and 20 years old. My 16-year-old brother’s name is Jose Eduardo and my other brother who is 20 is Carlos Luis. It is very interesting… Carlos is studying intercommunication in college here and actually knows quite a bit of English, however he is not suppose to talk to me in it… which kind of stinks.
Like I was saying earlier my classes start Monday. I have a Core Seminar class, which is going to give me a brief overview of a lot of cultural and other important parts of Costa Rica. And concurrent with my Core Seminar class I am taking Spanish classes every day for about three hours a day five days a week. I am not what level of Spanish I am in yet.. but I hope they figured out what level I am suppose to be in correctly or else it is going to be hard for me to understand. For my language classes I have to go to a place called the Institute of Language Espanola, which is actually an institute where missionaries go so that they can learn Spanish. So it is a neat place.
The weather here is beautiful. I wake up and it is kind of cool about pants and a long sleeve shirt.. then in the middle of the day it gets to where you could be in shorts and then by about five o’clock it is time for a long sleeve shirt again. I am excited to start my concentration here which will not start for four or five weeks, but when it does I will be studying science and traveling a lot! The food here is a little adjustment for me especially if you knew me at all… because in the states I was quite the picky eater, but since I have arrived here I have began to eat whatever I am given and not ask questions. I have not had the opportunity to take many pictures yet, but I plan on taking some more but I suppose that I should start huh?
I live in a city called Cornado. It is a neat little town. My family whom I live with in Costa Rica includes a papa whose name is Jose Luis Cordero Garro and he is 61 years old. My mama name is Eunice Aguero Chavez who is 48. My father here is retired and my mama does physical therapy stuff and kind of a cosmetologist kind of profession. I also have two brothers who are 16 and 20 years old. My 16-year-old brother’s name is Jose Eduardo and my other brother who is 20 is Carlos Luis. It is very interesting… Carlos is studying intercommunication in college here and actually knows quite a bit of English, however he is not suppose to talk to me in it… which kind of stinks.
Like I was saying earlier my classes start Monday. I have a Core Seminar class, which is going to give me a brief overview of a lot of cultural and other important parts of Costa Rica. And concurrent with my Core Seminar class I am taking Spanish classes every day for about three hours a day five days a week. I am not what level of Spanish I am in yet.. but I hope they figured out what level I am suppose to be in correctly or else it is going to be hard for me to understand. For my language classes I have to go to a place called the Institute of Language Espanola, which is actually an institute where missionaries go so that they can learn Spanish. So it is a neat place.
The weather here is beautiful. I wake up and it is kind of cool about pants and a long sleeve shirt.. then in the middle of the day it gets to where you could be in shorts and then by about five o’clock it is time for a long sleeve shirt again. I am excited to start my concentration here which will not start for four or five weeks, but when it does I will be studying science and traveling a lot! The food here is a little adjustment for me especially if you knew me at all… because in the states I was quite the picky eater, but since I have arrived here I have began to eat whatever I am given and not ask questions. I have not had the opportunity to take many pictures yet, but I plan on taking some more but I suppose that I should start huh?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Busyness
Break has been great.... really fun.. and busy and stressful... and well it is all coming down to this. I have my DAT test tomorrow which I really need to study for some more.. I haven't even began to pack for Costa Rica...and I leave in less than a week!!! So keep me in your prayers and thoughts... I need it... Love ya all and I will try and post again soon to keep you all updated on the life of Jamos in Costa Rica... I have an AMAZING girlfriend! I don't have any more time to write gotta run ... lots of stuff to do and NO time! Yikes!
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