final exams and other things

I have been in Costa Rica one month from today! It is so crazy to think about boarding the plane in Miami a month ago from today, not knowing anyone, never having met my Costa Rican family, and arriving on a rainy, but warm night. That was a month ago. In some ways it feels like yesterday... I can't believe that I am almost a third of the way through my program. But at the same time it feels like years since I have been in the United States. I forget about certain things that seem and feel so normal at home, but that I have not experienced here. Hearing English all the time, walking around outside after dark, driving on highways, seeing SNOW and having snow days!, eating cereal for breakfast, lots of things. It's not that I need those things. I definitely do not miss snow and cold weather. But that all seems so far away and so long ago that those things were part of my daily routine. Time is weird: I feel like I have been here forever, but then at the same time I feel like time is flying by and escaping from me.

So today my first class ended- it was an extremely compressed class, but demanding in terms of time and work. It was 8 hours a week, plus a weekend trip to Limon, plus two papers. But... today we had the final exam, and it was actually the most interesting final exam I have ever had. We were in groups of 6-8 people, and given instructions to confront one of Costa Rica's problems and solve it with certain resources. Each group was given $500 of real money and two and half hours to come up with an action plan. At first I thought that the money was theoretical, but we actually did have five crisp five one hundred dollar bills! Pretty cool. My group decided that we wanted to create a means for people to grow their own food, organically and sustainably, like we saw on this farm last week. We contacted the farmer, and he is amenable to giving classes to poorer families in his church. We are going to subsidize the classes with the money we were given, and hopefully connect some of those families to him so they can learn about how they can grow some of their own food with limited land and resources.

I am actually getting excited about Nicaragua. I kind of like how so much of it is completely ambiguous. I am getting in a bus Monday morning, and will drive 10-12 hours in Nicaragua. From there, the details are pretty fuzzy. Later that week I will drive out (hopefully into the country) with a pastor and two other students and be placed with a family. I have no idea what each day will hold, but I am excited to see what God shows me and teaches me through all of this.

I miss you all. I really do. You will be in my thoughts and prayer while I journey around Nicaragua!