Well, Science Fair is officially over for us! I am very happy to again be studying from the science book with the kiddos again:). The kids presented all day to parents, older students, and their peers. It was a long day, but fun for them. They were especially excited to see the older kids' presentations and to have recess at unexpected times:).

2nd graders reading to each other during recess

playing Uno during recess

the day of the Science Fair, Meredith and I walked through a cloud, literally, to get to work...it was weird!!!

2nd grade Science Fair, practicing

The groups all did well, considering English is not their native language:). Some words we have to let them say the "tico" way, but that's ok as long as they know what we mean!

Now we are back on schedule, studying seasons with 1st grade and states of matter with 2nd grade. Unfortunately, we still have not seen the sun (for several days now) and it's making me rather sleepy during the day:). And now, the kids are back in the room and it's time to go!

¡Ciao!

Well, tomorrow is (finally!) Science Fair day! Andrea and I are very excited to be done with it. It's been fun and entertaining, but when you drag something out for nearly 6 months, you're ready to hand in the finished product:).

I had a really cool thing happen to me this past Friday. I was practicing piano over at the school, pretty much once school was over. I was in the middle of playing something by my piano teacher from TLU, What Wondrous Love is This, when two little girls peeked their heads around the piano to see me. The quickly drew back, and did it again. Well, before I knew it, there were 6 little girls in the room with me, the oldest being in 2nd grade, and a woman had come in with them. She sat down and had the girls sit with her while I played. I'm used to kids coming in like that since I have to practice in the Devo room, and just played. The woman kept the girls quiet (a feat in itself) and just listened. When I finished, she asked me, with tears in her eyes, "Is that song about Jesus?" When I replied that it was, she teared up even more and went on to say that she knew it had to have been because she felt His presence through the music, and that there was something just beautiful about it because of Him. HOLY COW!!!!!! I was so excited to hear that! Inside I was going, "YES!" We talked for a few minutes, and the girls plucked out a few notes for themselves. That was just too incredible to me:). I have had people tell me they love that arrangement, that there's so much emotion to it, etc, but this was the first time that someone came to me knowing what the song was about without knowing the title or the history, or even me. Talk about inspiring! Music is a language that transcends all other languages. You don't have to know how to read it to appreciate it. You don't have to have studied it to understand what the composer and/or performer is trying to convey. I am extremely blessed that I had such a wonderful piano instructor and was able to study music, and now, those blessings are bearing fruit for others. That is one of the most amazing things that has happened to me this past year:).

Meredith and I have decided to start eating healthier together. So, we're cooking in the evenings and actually sitting down to dinner together! Granted, this has only been day 2, but so far so good! It's really fun to cook with another person and not just for yourself:). And, since she has a cook book, we can actually make different things that are super-tasty! It's also a good time for us to just chit-chat and talk about our days, etc. Since we do not have cable, we are not distracted by that, and let's face it, we aren't missing much!

Well, I should be making my way to bed since I have Science Fair tomorrow, and parents are our first audience! Also, I need to make sure I get my excersise in the morning as well!

¡Ciao!

So there's a small group of us ladies that are working here in Costa Rica and every other Saturday we get together to catch up with one another, eat food, and talk about what's been on our hearts and minds. It's been such a blessing to have this kind of community in which we can speak our minds and know that the others support us. Also, we have some pretty awesome conversations!

One week, Kate and Michelle hosted us and Kate had a craft for us to do. So while we cut and glued and ate, we talked about where we are in our walk with God and any issues we are struggling with. Yesterday, we each took turns in telling what we would protest, it could be serious or something not so serious, and was very enlightning for all of us. Afterwards, Kate cut Allie's hair:). Oh, and dinner last night was shark! It was quite tasty I must say:).

Not everyone can make each week, but for whoever can, we always have a great time!

Dia de Independencia

September 15 is Independence Day in Costa Rica and is quite a celebration! The kids at the school worked for weeks before hand learning music things--band or choir or both--and making decorations for the school. The evening before the school had a celebration of sorts in honor of the day. The choir performed and the band also, and the torch (signifying the torch that went through the Central American countries to tell of independence for them) came in and there were a lot of national hymns sung--one for the flag, the national anthem, one for Independence Day, one for the torch...I think that was all:). On the downside, it took the parents 45 minutes to leave the school because of traffic...but you should know that the street the school (and my apartment) is on is only two lanes, one lane for each way. So there was quite a bit of horn honking for some time after the celebration. Thankfully, the next day we did not have school and I could stay up a little later listening to the cars trying to leave;).

There is also an Independence Day parade in each city. Colegio Metodista chose to join the San Pedro parade. Due to the time it began, I did not make it to a parade, but I could hear them, that's for sure!

Unlike the U.S., Costa Rica did not have to fight to gain independence. They, along with several other countries, chose to declare their independence from Spain, and Spain more or less said, "OK" since Costa Rica was not as profitable to them as other countries. Also, due to it's location (really, it's distance from the main cities) lack of major trading allowed those in Costa Rica to create a world far different from the other countries more controlled by Spain. Today, the celebration is just as fun and festive as the July 4 in the USA. In fact, the evening before, the whole country is synchronized (thanks to TV and radio stations) so that at 6pm everyone plays and/or sings the national anthem. It was really cool to experience a whole nation, as one, singing their country's song. I suppose it helps that Costa Rica only has one time zone, too:).

Traditional dances are a must!

Graziella and some other ILE teachers were asked to perform at the El Redentor Methdodist church

the band

running the torch in

lighting the barrel

the choir

On September 14, the school provided a typical breakfast for the kids and teachers. We had gallo pinto (rice and beans), fresh bread, and I opted out of the sour cream:). There were also marimba players playing traditiong music for us. I was in heaven--food and music!

first grade girls

first grade boys

the cart is a traditional symbol in Costa Rica



the marimba players!

it was so fun to see the kids in awe of the musicians

oh, the boys!

Manuel is an extremely enthusiastic soccer player, Costa Rica all the way! So on his work, he colored the pictures as the nation's flag!

there are several missionary kids in the school, and they serve as life-saving translators at times:)

second grade has begun studying space!

makind a solar system

Last Friday, I joined Andrea at a Mother's Day celebration the Lion's Club of Costa Rica hosted, which her mom had organized. This picture was towards the end, and the little old lady was dacing (salsa I think) and it was so cute! Latin dances are so much a part of the culture, all ages will dance! It was so much fun to see:) The whole deal was a lot of fun for me. I was the only gringa there among 100 or so Costa Rican women, and Andrea was the only one who spoke fluent English! I loved it! Afterwards we went to her parent's house to visit for a little while, and I met her younger sister. Her parents were very kind and welcoming, which is not unexpected here:). As it happened, her dad can understand enough English, and I enough Spanish, that we were able to speak our native tongue, with the foreign when needed, and understand each other! So the rest of my evening was a beautiful mix of both languages as we spoke about Obama (which was rather interesting), nearby beaches and what they offer, what Texas is like now and when Andrea and her husband, Geoge, (hopefully) come visit, and I don't remember what else! It was such a wonderful afternoon and evening!