La Romeria

I always do this backwards. But this is when we got to the basilica and this picture KIND OF does justice to the amount of people that were there. Behind us and all around us looked similar.
Another picture of the basilica.

Welcome, Romeros (people who make the trek).

My pants are SO WET. Unfortunate.

We couldn't get a good picture of all the thousands of peole who walked with us.

Love this picture. It was VERY rainy.

At the beginning of our walk at about 5:00 PM leaving San Jose.

A pre-walk frosty was totally necessary.

UD International Club represent!

Noelle on her first day of school outside our house! Eee!

Parque de diversiones!!

So, this weekend, we got invited to go to the amusement park for Liz's co-worker's grandson's 4th birthday party...and it was awesome. We rode all the rides, met "Tio Chanchito" or... Uncle Piggy...who may or may not have been hitting on Liz and I during the child's birthday party. Yikes. Haha, it was really fun though, and I don't have too many stories to tell, but there are some good pictures I wanted to share :)

On the train ride around the park!

Yami and Jorge (the birthday boy and his grandma!) She is so awesome.

Watching the little kids have a blast.

Liz and I enjoying cake!

The progression of pictures here is excellent.

Ruined it.

Haha.

Paul and Marta, Charlie's parents (PS, Charlie's back from school!!! Woo hooooooo!)

Mi corazon esta colgando en tus manos...cuidado!

Haha, that song is in my head! It's very popular here, and on my way to and from work I always listen to Radio Disney (said in a Spanish accent), and I hear it at least twice a day. It's such a fabulous radio station!

So the last few weeks have been lots of fun, but I've been failing miserably at taking pictures. Two weekends ago we went on our Spring Retreat as a house, and it was awesome. We went with Fray Jorge, and it was a Spanglish retreat...but it was really good. We were able to reflect on what we've done this year and how we want to use what we've learned this year to go on to whatever is coming next in July. We all got to spend a lot of time together and in silence individually, and I think it was a much needed retreat, at least for me. I'm loving everything that I'm doing down here so much, and I'm still just not sure what I want to do next year, so it was good for me to reflect on that kind of thing. Not sure I got anywhere, but it was good to have some time to think about it at least.

So, Gabriel is leaving us. He got a fabulous job offer to work for a radio station doing reports on the World Cup and it starts in June! He's super excited about it, but that means he has to leave in a couple of weeks. It's sad, and we will miss him lots, but we obviously understand. We are all very supportive of him, but it will be weird without our fifth community member here. Anyway, on Friday, Liz, Juancho, Gabe, and I went with Gabe's cousin to El Castillo, which is kind of like a country club. Liz and I took a spinning class while Gabe, his cousin, and John played basketball or soccer or something. Then we all got in the hot tub and the pool...it was a blast! Spinning was not so much fun, but afterward I was glad that I did it and it was so nice to relax in the hot tub after that.

On Saturday, I went to a surprise birthday party for one of the girls from the school where I work (Maria del Mar) who was turning 15. It was a BOWLING party, and I was so excited about it...but as it turns out, bowling is not so popular here. I was EASILY the best bowler there with a score of 80. It was the first and last time I am sure that I will ever be the best bowler at a bowling alley. Haha, the girls that I was bowling with made me go first, and then they said, "Kelli, but how do you do it?" So I had to show them how to hold the ball and everything...it was so crazy! It's so sad that they had never been bowling before! And they were all just appalled by the shoes you had to wear, haha. It was pretty fabulous. The party in itself was fun, but also very awkward. There was only one other girl there from the school besides the birthday girl, and she left early, so I was the awkward gringa for a good portion of the party. But then when we sat down to eat, I kind of made friends with her mom's co-workers. I got really upset though, because at one point, Maria's mom was sitting near us, and one of her co-workers said, "Your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!" And her mom responded by rolling her eyes and saying, "Do you know how much she weighs?" I was so, so, so sad for Maria. I cannot imagine having a mother who thought of me like that. I am very blessed to have a mom who loves me no matter what and no matter how much I weigh. :)

Okay, daycare story of this blog entry: It was nap time the other day, and I was in the room where the little kids sleep (the big kids sleep in a different room) trying to get the kids to go to sleep, and Moises (one of the big kids) came running into where I was with this worried look on his face and saying, "Kelli!" I said, "Si, Moises?" And he said, "Te amo." (I love you). And walked away. Hahahaha, it was soooo cute. I like those kids most of the time.

Dorian, however, headbutted me the other day unfortunately. Did not love that.

Here are some pictures! :)

My college roommates know me so well. I got a book on the History of Farting from Allison, and cards from Barb and Erin that have fart jokes on them. Hahaha, I love them.

Maria del Mar, Brenda, and me at the birthday party!

Haha, Brenda's first ball that she bowled...you can see it in the background in the gutter.

All of us and Fray Jorge and his brother Alvaro out for dinner after our retreat :)

Wow...they are all really good at being candid.

Fray Jorge!

This was their, "Act like you're on retreat!" face.

Guatemala trip!!

Eeeee!! I got the best birthday present EVER and I got to go to Guatemala!! It was awesome. My parents rock. I went for about 5 days and had a blast...it was so good to see all my old friends/"family" again.

I left last Thursday, and traveled all alone, which I've never really done before. I've done quite a bit of traveling, but I rarely do it alone...so this was very exciting for me! When I got to the airport, I got through customs just fine and then got a cab to the bus station. The taxi driver was super friendly and complimented my Spanish, which turned out to be a theme throughout the weekend...it was AWESOME. I don't know what was going on, but my Spanish was kicking butt. I get so discouraged a lot of the time here in Costa Rica because I feel like I can't ever express what I want to in the way that I want to and I have trouble understanding at times, so it was fabulous to get complimented so much on my Spanish and actually feel somewhat capable. Haha. After I bought my bus ticket to Xela, I was pretty hungry, so I went in search of food. I stumbled upon a Wendy's and was the typical gringa eating Wendy's in Guatemala. Haha. But it sure was delicious. After lunch, I got on the bus to Xela, which I thought was going to be 5 hours, but as it turns out was only 3.5! That was a very nice surprise. We got to Xela, and I thought it was like a rest stop, and then I asked someone if we were there, and they gave me a weird look and said yes, haha. When I got to the school where I used to study (and where I stayed this weekend), the family was ready for me and had tea made and bread out. They were so sweet! It was pretty late after we ate dinner, so I decided to head to bed then.

Then on Friday, I went to visit my old "family," but only my two "brothers" were there. I chatted for a while with Jose and Freddy and they both told me my Spanish was so much better (yessss!). Then Jose and I went for a walk around the city for a while and I met some of his friends. After lunch at the school, I decided to take a class with my old teacher, Julio...and it was just like old times! Soooo fun. I just had a few grammar points I wanted cleared up, so we talked about those and then chatted a little.....it was very fun. After that, we had the weekly dinner that the school holds for all the students (even though at the time it was only me and a 65 year old Japanese woman, Kioko)...Hugo grilled some delicious meat and we had tortillas and guacamole...so good. Two years ago when I was there, I'm not sure I would have described the food as "so good," but after having spent the last 7 months eating a lot of food that often makes me gag while trying to swallow at work, it was delicious. At the dinner, Julio brought out the guitar and we listened and I sang Wonderwall and Dust in the Wind with him. Haha it was a blast. After dinner, Julio, Kioko and I went out and met another teacher, Nery, to go out. We went dancing and had soooo much fun! My host brother came and met us, too, and it turns out he is a very good dancer. When I was there 2 years ago, we went out dancing once, but I had NO IDEA what I was doing....now that I've taken some classes, I can at least follow someone when they lead well, so that was awesome. He was spinning me all over the dance floor! :)

On Saturday, Julio, Kioko and I went to the natural hot springs that are near by...it was just beeeeautiful. And so relaxing. I want to go back now! I was so cold the whole time I was in Xela, and the hot springs felt amazing. The rest of the weekend was pretty similar, just hanging out with old friends and catching up. On Sunday morning, though, there was a mini earthquake (temblor...I don't know how to say it in English...maybe tremor?)...it was definitely the strongest one I've ever felt. And it lasted for a good 30 seconds I think. It was rather terrifying, but there wasn't any damage or anything like that, thank goodness.

So, that was pretty much my trip to Guate....super fun, lots of friends, a confidence booster for my Spanish. Anyway, the pictures tell the story better, so here they are! :)

Julio, my teacher during our class!
He called me "estudiosa" after he took this picture, haha.

Julio singing something, and one of the kids that I taught 2 years ago, David.

Delicious dinner!

The family that owns the school and that I stayed with this weekend...such a great family.

Julio and I on our way to the hot springs! After a night of dancing, and a morning of not showering, I look really, really cute.

Pretty view.

Kioko, Julio and me on our way to the hot springs...about a 15 minute truck ride up the mountain!

Up at the top of the mountain...

Hot springs!

Kioko and me. At least my hair looks good.

This is where I was sitting and reading when everything started shaking! I noticed the vase moving first.

My host brother (Freddy), my host mom (Walda), and me!

My other host brother, Jose.

Nerrrrry! My other favorite teacher at the school :)

Nobody likes you when you're 23.

Well, yet again it's been quite a while since I have written...I think that it's starting to become a trend....sorry about that!! But it's alright, because I have loooots to talk about. :)

I went to my first soccer game here on St. Patrick's Day. Liz and I were going to go with Gabriel to the game, but he is a super soccer fan and left the house to go to the game before I even got home from work, so Liz and I went to eat some delicious chicken before the game and then headed over to the stadium together. We were unable to find Gabe, but we had a blast. We were sitting in the "crazy" section of the stadium, and it was just craaaazy. Everyone around us was chanting profane things and screaming and jumping up and down. It was super fun. And, Saprissa beat their rival, La Liga....Gabriel is a Saprissa fan, so I was going for them as well...and it's super fun to say to people here that I'm "Saprisista" just to see what happens. It's like the Cubs and the Cardinals rivalry. It's awesome.

My parents game to visit me (and to go to the beach of course) a couple of weeks ago. We went to Playa Flamingo and we stayed in this AMAZING resort. It was incredible. I have never stayed in a place like that before, and I'm not sure I ever will again. There was a swim up bar and it was right on the beach....and when we arrived, they greeted us with complimentary beverages. It was AWESOME! I think that my parents liked everything...well, minus the food. Haha, it's really funny, because everyone here says that I don't eat and that I'm really picky, but when my parents came, I realized where I get that from. Haha. I think that my mom's favorite meal was Pizza Hut with my roommates. We also went to see my worksites...I think that my mom's favorite part of the whole trip was the daycare. Soooo cute.

Right after my parents left, I had one day to do a last minute rehearsal with the girls for the Living Stations of the Cross that I directed. It was ridiculous, and they were supposed to practice the whole week that I was gone with my parents but of course they did not, so I was terrrrified for Friday when we finally had the big show. But it ended up being reeeeally really good. And the nuns and teachers all loved it, and I think the girls really liked it too. So that was great. Kinzie and Juancho came to see it, but they got there too late, and Juancho brought me flowers because he was going to be missing my birthday on Sunday. It was so nice! We hung out and Kinzie and John had some coffee, and all the girls were drooling over Juancho. Such a good time.

Nobody likes you when you're 23. It's true. Haha, seriously, though, my birthday was super fun. I woke up to French Toast a la Liz and some signs that my mom brought for Kinzie to put up (a tradition in the Finch household...having signs with pictures of the birthday kid). Then we went to mass, and I came back and talked to family and did exercise, and then Kinzie made a lunch/dinner that was DELICIOUS. I loved it, and Liz made me some fabulous FUNFETTI CUPCAKES!!! Excellent. And on the Saturday before my birthday, Liz and Kinzie and I got all dolled up and went out dancing. It was a really good birthday. :)

And for Holy Week, all of us had the whole week off (awesome), and Jeff, one of the volunteers from FrancisCorps Syracuse came to visit us, so he, Kinzie and i went to Puerto Jimenez...which is RIDICULOUSLY FAR AWAY. Ugh, such a long trip, but it was a beautiful beach. We went to all the Holy Week masses and kayaked with dolphins. It was so cool. Kinzie and I participated in a Stations of the Cross, as well...okay, so I was GOING to participate, and then the woman who was supposed to read the station before mine thought that we were a station behind. So we got to the 7th station, and nobody stepped up to read, so the preist did it, and then we got to the 8th station, and she got there before everyone else, and started reading the 7th station. Haha, so I didn't have to participate, which I was really okay with, because my reading aloud skills in Spanish aren't super. So the trip home was absolutely ridiculous. We got to the bus station the day before we were going to leave, because it wasn't open until then, and we wanted to buy bus tickets, but there was no sitting room left on the bus. So...we bought standing tickets. And we were planning on standing for 8 hours. But I was super lucky and I was standing next to this pair of young people around my age, and after about 2 hours, they scooted over and gave me half a seat. They were soooo nice! I love making friends here :) But poor Kinzie and Jeff...I felt bad about that...but didn't know if I should offer them my half a seat since it wasn't really mine to offer. But they understood.

Anyway...that's what I've been up to in the last month....and here are a ton of pictures!!

Easter Vigil fire in the shape of a cross...Liz saw this picture and said, "Hmmm...KKK much?"


Beautiful sunset at the end of our dolphin kayaking.

Kayaking!

We kayaked with the dolphins, then went to a mangrove, and climbed over a little hill and we were on the other side of the peninsula! And we at some delicious pineapple and went and played in the waves. So fun.

This cat stole my seat!

Kinzie and Jeff's reaction to having to stand on the bus for 8 hours....hahahaha.

Mom, I put this picture in here for you...I apparently do the eye thing, too.

Hahahaha, our waiter took our order on this, and labeled our table as "Americanos." Awesome. At least it doesn't say "Gringos."

Kinzie and Jeff say that these were the best nachos they've ever had because of the bean dip. I don't like beans.

Classic.

Kinzie praying during the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.

I dropped him about 2 seconds later...I'm not as strong as I used to be!

Kinzie and Jeff excited to be at the beach.

Directly after Kinzie said, "This hurts my balls!" Apparently, she was trying to pull off "abbrevs" like I often do (ex: She obvs wants to hang out with us.), and was trying to say that it hurts the balls of her feeeeet. Obvs didn't work.

Jeff and I excited to be at the beach.

Kinzie, Liz and I getting ready to go out for my birthday!

Gloria, the cook at the daycare (my favorite person at work), and I when my mom and dad came to visit. Love her!

Moises!! He's such a little sweetie.

Dorian being adorable and trying to imitate my face.

My dad and I at the swim up bar at our resort...awesome.

Hahahahahaha look at my mom!!! We were supposed to be pensive....

Yay!

Daddy :) And a pretty sunset.

On the way to the beach. You can't tell, but my mom was rather terrified for her life.

On the way to pizza hut for dinner. I love my roommates.

I freaking love this kid.

Roommates minus Gabe.

A Spanish birthday song! At Pizza Hut. There were like 15 birthdays being celebrated I think.

My first soccer game here!

Eeee!

Liz and I enjoying our St. Patrick's Day with a Saprissa win. :)