My host family consists of 2 lovely ticas (Costa Ricans), Evelyn Naranjo (31) and her daughter Karolyn (11). Both are quite fun and very relaxed. Karolyn and I enjoy dancing to latino music late into the evening and I have had several good conversations with Evelyn since I arrived.
Living in our house with us are also two of Evelyn's brothers and two of her sisters. And, until the end of January, a girl named Allison, who did my study abroad program last spring, is here to visit. Allison has been an invaluable resource in providing tips about anything I would need to know for the next three months. We are going to go dancing tomorrow at a club called "Castro's". Apparently it's a wonderful place to dance salsa and meringue, so I'm really excited.
There are also two other students from my program living in the house: Dominique and Johanna. Dominique is from Ohio, but goes to school at the University of Pittsburgh and Johanna is from Nebraska and goes to school at the University of Omaha. The two of them have become good friends in the short time we have been here. We all share the same temperament of not being crazy drinkers or club-goers, so that makes it easy to get along well. This weekend we are going to a beach called "Manuel Antonio".* It is a beach located on the edge of a rain-forest on the west coast. I am so excited!
In addition, we have a dog named Chubeli and a cat who doesn't actually have a name. Chubeli is a chihuahua and the cat is about the same size as Chubeli and black and white. The two of them are great friends and often wrestle on the floor to pass time, although it sounds like they are trying to kill each other when they get going. The cat also tends to fall asleep in weird positions and is really hard to wake up, so it's fun to mess with her when one gets the chance.
Two characteristics God has been impressing upon my heart today are that of self-control and humility. I am reading the book of Esther and it seems to me, through the characters of Esther, Haman and Mordecai, that these two qualities are really visible, either through their blatant existence or lack thereof.
Anyway, after this weekend, I will definitely post pictures of the beach, those with whom I am living, the school, etc.
Chau!
*For a picture of Manuel Antonio, look at this link:
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=EEvLUxFtzG8HGM:&imgrefurl=http://delargy.com/2003_8_CostaRica/manuel_antonio.htm&docid=xDOcEVZgashliM&imgurl=http://delargy.com/images/2003_8_CostaRica/manuel_antonio_view_1024.jpg&w=1024&h=768&ei=fxLuUL-eH4nO9ASvs4DoBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=714&vpy=116&dur=3493&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=149&ty=138&sig=114227264090604066148&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=169&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:122
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete