Surprising

Last week was our IST (In-Service Training) which is given on our 3 month mark of living in our site.  That also means we have lived in country for 6 months!  I cannot believe that it has been 6 months.  It has been a true emotional roller coaster.

Back to IST, it is a full week of technical and core training (very similar to PST) but the best part is that our whole training group has to be there.  So we got to catch up with everyone (but one who had an interruption of service and left for the States last week) and just hang out together after classes.

Taco Tuesday!

It was wonderful to see people who have been come some of our dearest friends.  We have built strong relationships with some of the volunteers and with our common bond of serving in the Peace Corps we will forever have this connection.

The boys posing like girls and the girls posing like boys. 

IST was informational and allowed for me to talk with my boss and a PCV from another group, who is currently transitioning to a job like mine.  This 2 hour+ conversation helped us define what our specific goals are and define the specific activities to carry out the goals.  I do not work in a school like the others in my group do.  I was asked to work along side the English assessor with the goal of providing opportunities to train the teachers.  This assignment means I have a totally different PCV experience and it was nice to sit and talk with someone who had similar situations as me.  The conversation will hopefully lead to some new and exciting opportunities for us and I can't wait to see them play out.

IST was a wonderful moral booster as well as rejuvenated us.  I got excited to go back to work and put into place ideas that were imagined from the past week.

To end IST, the Hubs and I picked up his fam for their first visit to Costa Rica!

Upon greeting them, my mom-in-law said that they had accidentally left a gift back over there and they had sent one of my sisters in law to go get it.  I had hugged all that were present and went (with some encouragement) to go find my other sister in law.  I found her and put her in a bear hug while hearing my mom in law ask if I had found my present yet.  I look up and saw my present.....
MY MOM!

Running and jumping off the porch.

Our two families have been conspiring this for two months.  My in-laws invited my mom to come with them to visit for the week.  That is in the top 3 of my favorite surprises (even though, ironically, I am not a fan of surprises).
This is the third surprise that our families have pulled over me.  The first one was getting the Hubs to Texas where I was working after we had spent the summer apart (he in Africa).

Shocked 

The second surprise was when the Hubs proposed  to me at the annual Christmas party at the church I worked at.  It consisted of 200+ roses (that were given to me by my CHill family) and a popped question that forever changed my life.










I am so blessed to have such TWO loving families.  I am off to the beach with the family!
Have a great week!

Introducing

After 6 months of living in Costa Rica and 3 of them in our new home.  I am finally going to introduce our family and town to you.

First off, our familia Tica:

Meet our host parents, Papa M and Mama I.

Ending a day of fishing with a bonfire. 

Oh, yea, Papa M is an artist.  See?

One of our Tico brothers and his family lives with us.  These are Host Bro #1's kids.  

Oh yea, they are hardcore typical dancers. 

Meet La Lisa, the house's guard puppy.

We also have two other host brothers and their families that are our neighbors.

 Now here are two reasons for being here...

the Hubs spends his time here at the bilingual.

This is where I spend a good portion of my time.  The MEP regional office of Santa Cruz. 

But Santa Cruz has much more to offer.  It is home to about 20,000 people.  Has two Catholic churches, a methodist church, and few that we haven't figured out just yet.  5 major grocery stores, 2 bus stations, a lot of little tiendas, 4 electronic/furniture stores, a large variety of restaurants, a park, and two plazas.  And few fresh fruit stands/store where I can buy some tasty fruit, like these....

My favorite fruit, mamon chino.  Google how to eat them.

With Peace Corps we have had wonderful opportunities such as spending time with the president of Costa Rica.  

Since living in another country we have missed younger brother's college graduation, two of my best friends moving, two other best friends' first baby, the start of high school senior year for baby brother, my favorite Sonic drink, favorite food in general (gallo pinto can only be eaten at every meal for so long), and other things like driving and air conditioning.

However, it has brought new things, like meeting seeing the president, meeting people from the national MEP office, starting classes, learning a new language (I just declared today that I have a grasp, however small, on Spanish), building relationships, getting a haircut from me for the first time, and exploring another culture.  

The next six months will bring another haircut for the Hubs, visit from the Hub's family, a week long training in a nice hotel with the rest of our group for a week, the actual start of new projects, first major holiday miss for me, a visit to the States to celebrate my favorite holiday, a (hopeful) opportunity at facilitating workshops on a larger scale, and who else knows.  

Hope you have a great weekend!