Cartago Catholic Church

Costa Rica's national religion is Catholicism. Usually the church is in the center of any given town and off the center park. Since we were in Cartago, we visited the church. It was a busy place even in the middle of the day. A mass was in progress and we also went down below where people would put the holy water in bottles to take home to drink and even get their hands wet from the water and place it on the part of the body that was in pain. What a moment to realize that the power is not in the water from the mountain but in Jesus alone.

Lankester Gardens, Cartago Costa Rica

The trimester is soon coming to a close. Graduation is upon us. The classroom teaching is only a part of the learning experience. Most of our learning is in the classroom, however the academic assistant is also very aware that cultural events are part of the learning process. A couple of times in the trimester she organizes day trips for the entire student body. Last Friday we had the pleasure of going to the gardens to see the orchids. Costa Rica's national flower is the orchid. Lankester Gardens is part of the University of Costa Rica. It is a beautiful place. The peak season for the orchids is the month of March. Our guides name was Jimmy, what a sweetheart!

Beautiful garbage!

Since I arrived in Costa Rica, I have also been a student in the classroom. I lived in the states too long to remember the Spanish I learned in 1987. It has been such a pleasure to be in the class and to learn along side the student missionaries. My classmates and I have bonded through thick and thin, through laughter and tears!

Recently one of the chapters in my class was about recycling. Our professor began to tell us about a lady here in town that goes to the central market every weekend and picks up discarded fruits, seeds, and natural things that are garbage. She takes these throw aways and makes jewelry. We found the story to be so amazing and intriguing that she suggested we go visit Dona Rosa.

What an incredible time we had. She has a little shop in her home where she sells her wares. She also sells items in hotel boutiques and expositions. Her husband Luis markets her treasures in different places. As a matter of fact on Friday one of the schools field trips took us to Lankester Gardens to see the orchids in bloom and there in the gift shop were things from Dona Rosa.

She talked to us about how she finds the things to use and then how she uses veggies and fruits to also dye the jewelry fruit pieces. It is all natural. Amazing!

Heredia, Costa Rica

While CINCEL is a language and cultural training center, it is also a place to converse out of the classroom. Paseos are day trips where together the teachers and students sightsee. It makes for a wonderful opportunity to use the language and to get to know the teachers out of the classroom. We took the train to Heredia and it was so much fun. The people in the blue CINCEL shirts are the teachers and we get to wear one too!
Getting to the train!

First Stop the Central Market

Next Stop  on to the Town Center, Catholic Church and Fort

On to the next stop!
The first president of Costa Rica. He was quite a man. We went into his house, the house that he built for his family. There a guide gave us information and told us so much about the country, the president and then we were able to walk through the house. Today it serves as a cultural location featuring different artists from the country.

and then our most favorite time of the day! CAFECITIO.
always at 10:00 and wouldn't you know it when it was time it was 10:00. I think the teachers bodies are wired that way, they don't even have to have a clock telling them it is cafecitio time.

The first president started the teachers college. He had it built right next door to his residence. Now it is a high school.

Our last stop for the day was the University. Here is where one of our teachers is a student, working on her Masters in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. Lybia is from Venezuela. She married a Costa Rican and has taught at CINCEL for two years. She took the new spanish speakers and had them interview students. She was right there with them in case they got stuck. What an opportunity.

It was such a terrific day, the weather was just beautiful and the friendship great!