tico treasures

"Tico" is the slang term for people that live in Costa Rica. Below are some treasures I have found while living in San Jose for the past week.

~mariposas. (read previous blog for a little story on how these creatures have touched my life...they have been showing up in many random places since then!)

          ~bus rides. I ride the bus every day to and from language school for a total of almost an hour each day. Thankful for the opportunity on the bus to observe different parts of the city along the route, listen to worship music and sermons on podcasts to direct my heart towards Christ and chat with my sweet fellow intern and new closest friend, Sydney.

~rain rain rain. It's rains every day here in San Jose. It's annoying at times, but also so beautiful. Especially since in Houston we have not seen rain in such a long time! I enjoy walking in my yellow rain jacket and wearing chakos each day to defeat the elements!

         ~spanish school. I go to spanish language school in downtown San Jose 5 days a week, 8-12 for 6 weeks. In my grammar class there are 6 others chicas each from different places: Denmark, Finland, France, Italy and California. I have enjoyed getting to know them and their cultures and learning spanish together. I also have a conversation class for an hour, one-on-one with a teacher. She has been very open with me and asked a lot of questions about my life and my faith. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to share my faith with her (she is not a Christian) and spend the next 5 weeks chatting with her every day!

~simple life. life here is just that: simple. no abundance of unnecessary things, just a people getting by with what they got with people they share life with. we all could learn a little something from this tico treasure.

        ~rice and beans. Almost every meal has rice and beans. It's cheap and easy. I'm thankful to be fed by my host parents each night, even if it is the same thing every day. I've been successfully avoiding eating rice and beans for breakfast and lunch thus far... thankful for fresh fruit to go for bfast each day! Pineapple here is amazing!

~my room. I sleep and live out of a very small room with no windows to the outside. However, I can hear everything that goes on outside and in the house...everything! I'm used to the noise now and I'm so thankful for this little room and all the noisy activity in and outside my casa. It's the only place I can call my own here that is completely comfortable to be.

       ~inclines. I live on the incline of a mountain and I break a sweat every day walking from the bus stop up to my casa. So thankful for the forced work out and the incredible view along the way.

view up the mountain in the morning from outside my house (sun rises at 5:30 a.m. here!)

view down the mountain to the bus stop

after school going back up as the rain clouds roll in

a treasure in downtown San Jose across the street from my language school (Josephine is my middle name for those that don't know, so I thought this place was fun because we share names!)

PURA VIDA

(the expression all ticos say for, well, everything)

Gracias a Dios for all the tico treasures in my life and the ones yet to come!