Comparing San Jose, Mexico City, and Petoskey, Michigan

When I graduated from my Discipleship Training School, I was trying to come up with a few ways to save up money for my Children at Risk School. I was talking with my good friend Alisha from Washington State and asking her for suggestions. "What about taking the bus instead of driving and paying for gas?" Um.... what bus? It then occurred to me that Petoskey is a little bit.... well.... little and there is a lot of variety to be had in the world. And so in this post I intend to explore the difference between Petoskey, Michigan and some of the larger cities in the world that I have visited. Last summer I spent about two weeks in Mexico City during my Discipleship Training School outreach. For the next two weeks I will be in San Jose for my Children At Risk outreach. And Petoskey, Michigan is, of course, my hometown. Let's compare the three shall we?

• When one hears, "Mexico City," they immediately know that I am reffering to the capital of Mexico and the third largest city in the world. When one hears, "San Jose," they will probably guess that it is somewhere in Central America. If they are educated in geography, they may know that San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica. When one hears, "Petoskey, Michigan," the appropriate response is, "Where??"
• The population of Mexico City is about 27 million people. San Jose has about 4 million people. In Petoskey, Michigan we have about 6 thousand people on a good day.
• In Petoskey we say, "Huh?" or "Eh?" In Mexico they say, "?Mande?" In San Jose they say, "?Que?"
• The currency in Mexico is the peso (about 12 to a dollar.) In San Jose we pay with colones (about 500 to a dollar.) In Petoskey, Michigan we have the American dollar with the occasional Canadian penny.
• In Petoskey, you better pray you have a car. In Mexico City, the best way to get around is the subway. In San Jose, buses are the best way to get from point A to point B.
• San Jose has a YWAM base. Mexico City and Petoskey do not.
• In San Jose the taxis are red. In Mexico City the taxis are Volkswagen bugs painted red and gold. In Petoskey, you can call ahead and ask for a taxi only on a few holidays, like New Years (if you're planning on being really hammered.) It's an Astro-van.
•  In Petoskey, our staple foods are fudge and Roast and Toast coffee. In Mexico, they eat tacos. In San Jose, every meal has rice and beans.
• In Petoskey we say, "Cool," or, "That's swell." In Mexico they say, "Chido," "Que Padre," or, "Orale." In San Jose they say, "Chevere," and, "Tuanis."
• There is no Lake in Mexico City or San Jose. In Petoskey, we are blessed to live right on Lake Michigan.
• Spell check knows San Jose and Mexico City. Every time I type Petoskey, a squiggly red line shows up.
• In Petoskey, we have 7-11, in Mexico we go to the OXXO, and in Costa Rica they have AM/PM.
• The weirdest thing about Costa Rica is instead of pointing, they "kiss" in the direction that they are speaking. Rather than pointing a finger they pucker their lips in a general direction.

And there you have it. A basic comparison of three of the greatest cities in the world. (or at least in my opinion.)

On Cultural Norms and Differences.

A short story about acclimating to Costa Rican culture.

The other afternoon I was hanging out in my apartment when I heard, “Leez! Leez!” Lo and behold it was my good friend Warner walking up the stairs and calling my name. (Here my name is Lees, Leez, or Lis. Very rarely is it ever pronounced Liz.) Warner is a Costa Rican who speaks very good English and he was also my staff for the Children at Risk School. So up the stairs comes Warner with a large loaf of bread. I look at him puzzled. “Leez, I brought us bread,” he said as if he lived in my apartment and was coming home from doing the shopping. Confused, and wondering when Warner moved into my apartment, I looked at him and then looked back at the bread. “You brought me bread?” I asked. “Yes, I brought us bread. Because, you know, that’s what we do here in Costa Rica. We eat bread and drink coffee in the afternoons,” he said quite casually. “Oh, that’s brilliant! I love drinking coffee anytime of the day.” And with that, Warner handed me the bread and walked away, headed toward the half pipe. Now I was confused. He brought bread and walked away. Did he want any? Did he want to eat it later? Was it just for my roommates and me? I decided not to think much of it and went back to whatever nonsense I had been up to before. A few minutes later my roommate Robbie walked in and inquired about the bread. I told her what had occurred and asked her what she thought we were supposed to do with it. “I think he’s skating and I’m not sure what the bread is for. Does he want coffee? Are we supposed to make it for him and bring it to him?” I asked her. “I’m not sure,” she said, “Let me go ask him.” A few minutes later she returned and told me that yes indeed, Warner wanted coffee and was expecting it. So Robbie and I made a pot of coffee and informed our Costa Rican friend that the coffee was hot and ready. He joined us in our apartment with a few other friends and we drank coffee and ate bread and jam with cream cheese. I found out later (from a German friend) that in Costa Rica, if you want to have a cup of joe with your friends, you bring them bread. That way you’re not just waltzing into their house uninvited. By bringing bread you are saying, “Hey let’s hang out and have some coffee. And I brought bread so I’m not just mooching off of you and drinking your coffee.” So here in Costa Rica we provide the coffee if you provide the bread. Sounds pretty good right about now doesn't it? 

*Expect more stories like this one in the near future.*

When In Jaco...

A little guide on what to expect when living in Costa Rica.

In Jaco we:
·         Sweat… constantly. Twenty-four hours a day. No doubt about it.
·         Wear bug spray, not perfume.
·         Fall asleep to the sound of iguanas playing on our roof.
·         Ride our bikes everywhere,
·         Drink smoothies for lunch.
·         Say ciao as often as adios.
·         Mangos are our favorite snack. (They are free.)
·         Swim in the ocean. As often as possible.
·         “Shuffle” our feet when swimming to avoid stepping on the sting rays. Yikes.
·         Do NOT flush the toilet paper.
·         Wear flip flops and sunscreen.
·       *Serve Jesus*

Lamentations 2:19 

"Rise during the night and cry out.

      Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.
   Lift up your hands to him in prayer,
      pleading for your children,
   for in every street
      they are faint with hunger."

The Scoop.

Well, I've been in Jaco, Costa Rica just over a week! Crazy how this place will be my home for the next six months! Perhaps you're wondering what I've been up to so far and what I will be doing with my time here. So, here goes. For the next two weeks I am participating in a workshop called Celebrating Children with The Women and Children's Advocacy Centre. In the mornings I sit in on the classes (which are basically a little recap of what I've been learning the last three months) and in the afternoons I learn how to give the seminar. In theory, after these two weeks I'll be able to teach the seminar on how to work with kids. Yikes. Kind of intimidating when you have experts with degrees and years of experience in the same classroom. So what else is up here? My apartment is right above a hostel called Christian Surfers. On the Christian Surfers' property is a skate ramp and some rails. Five days a week we open up the property for kids to come and skate for a few hours and just hang out. We've met a few of the kids but unfortunately none of us skate! But I believe in this ministery because it gives the kids a safe place to hang out and build healthy relationships. Also, last Saturday Lisa, Robbie, and I went to Kid's Club at The River. The River is a Nicaraguan squatter camp. Basically what that means is that all of the people living in this little community are impoverished refugees from Nicaragua. In the River there are no fathers. Almost all of the men in this community have abandoned their families. In order to cope with the loneliness, most of the women have turned to alcohol, drugs, or complete indifference to their children. Kids growing up in The River are children at risk. There's so much need there. I hope that in these next six months there will be a major change in the lives of the residents in The River. Human Trafficking and child prostitution are also rampant in Jaco. I would love to see how I can help put an end to this injustice in Jaco. I'm not sure what my part will be in hindering prostituion but I'm excited to help out however I can. Unfortunately, I am not Liam Neeson and I will not be opperating like he did in the movie Taken. Guess I'll have to rely on God rather than my ninja powers. I think God is better anyway. In a week or so I'll be headed to San Jose, the capital city. I'll be taking a few Spanish lessons and checking out a kids' ministry. Hopefully with the Spanish classes, I can learn how to speak like a Costa Rican! The Spanish here is so different from the Spanish in Mexico. Sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out. I think it would keep my head cooler too! Also I'll be helping out with Metro Kids Ministry. See how it works and what I can apply when working with the kids in Jaco. So that's the scoop! Now you know almost everything I know. If you're interested in helping out I need HEAPS of PRAYER. I am sick.... again. This is the FOURTH time in FOUR months I've been sick. It's the pits. I'm having a hard time pooring myself out with I'm sick. Also I'm still short on finances. I'll be here for six months... right now I have enough money to pay for two or three months of my expenses. I appreciate everyone's support! Thank you all for blessing me and for all of the prayer!! I hope you all are as joyful and blessed as I am. :)

Lisa and Liz share a bike in dowtown Jaco.

I finally bought a bike this weekend! Thank you to all my supporters! 

This is a little video I made of what it was like when my friend Lisa and I had to share a bike!

A special thank you.

Tour of our house! (the before video)

Costa Rica is Gnarly!

Greetings from the beautiful but very HOT Costa Rica! I arrived yesterday morning at 5:00 in the morning. In less than twenty-four hours I had been in three different countries. I left Mexico, flew out of Los Angeles, and arrived in Costa Rica. Despite being extremely exhausted and extremely sweaty, we're having a jolly good time. Yesterday on the drive from the airport to Jaco, I saw crocodiles. Seeing crocodiles is exciting enough, but these ones were HUGE. And when I say huge I mean HUGE. A couple of them had heads about the size of my torso. Yeah. Just try picturing that. I also saw an iguana, and although I've seen an iguana before, this was also huge! Probably bigger than my puppy Pickle. The atmosphere here is very jungle-ish and beach-y. It is beautiful. There are mountains to the east and the ocean to the west. Very tropical. We have mango trees right outside our door. My friends Robbie, Lisa, and I are sharing a little one room apartment right outside downtown Jaco. We'll be riding bikes everywhere. I don't have a bike yet, hopefully I'll be able to get one next week. My poor friend Lisa has been chauffering me around on the front of her bike. We deffinitely stick out when we ride down the street. It's a pretty funny sight. I hold on for dear life and try not to freak out while Lisa avoids other people on bikes (including Robbie) and cars. So far we're still intact. Costa Rica is very hot. VERY HOT. Intolerably hot.... and apparently the weather so far has been unusually cool! I can't even believe it. I am not in Michigan anymore. Or Tijuana. I am not adjusted yet, that's for sure. I'm not sure if I ever will be. This is the farthest south I have ever been. Have I mentioned it's hot yet? I think you get the point. Here, deoderant is proof of God's provision. Today to escape the heat, we went to the beach and went swimming. I have never felt water that warm. The ocean was so nice and the waves are even bigger than In Tijuana. And the current is stronger. It's the perfect place for surfers. Looks like I'm going to have to learn! Do you want to know something funny about surfers? They actually say gnarly! I thought that was just a stereotype. Nope, they actually say gnarly. Just a little fun fact. I'll try to keep everyone posted on what's happening in my life but I'm afraid it will be a little difficult since I don't have internet at my house yet! Just so you know. If you try to contact me and I don't respond right away, don't freak out! Hopefully we'll be able to get internet sooner rather than later. We'll just have to see. So as they say in Costa Rica, "Pura Vida!" (It means "Hang Loose!)

School's out for summer

Yesterday I graduated from Youth with a Mission's Children at Risk School. What a mouthful. We had our graduation in the morning after breakfast and then went to our last class. Isn't that kind of funny? I suggested that we take the diplomas and run. But off to class we went and finished up our week about Human Trafficking with Ro Potter. I'm still not done processing it. But that is a blog entry for another day. After class and lunch, a few of my friends and I went to the beach for an adventure! Although I've been in Mexico for the last three months, yesterday was the first real beach day. Or at least the first real beach day that I didn't have to be in class. My friends Bex, from New Zealand, and Lisa, from Canada, and I went swimming. And the water was super cold. I remembered what swimming in the summer was like in Petoskey. It took me forever to get in the water until a wave knocked me down. Now, mind you, I like swimming, but swimming in Lake Michigan is completely different from swimming in the ocean. Lake Michigan is very placid. The Pacific Ocean is not. But it is so much fun!! So when I say that we went swimming... it looked something like this.....

My friend Lisa and I getting pummeled by a wave.

Bex and I between waves.

After some wonderful time in the sun, everyone got all dolled up and we went out to dinner for one last hoorah. We had an amazing dinner and then headed back to the base to eat more food and play games. We had a really fun time but at the end of the night I had to say goodbye to a lot of my friends. I met so many beautiful people and it was really hard watching them go. I still think that I'll see them on Monday morning, bright and early in our class room. I have been so blessed by all of them and have so many fond memories from this school. And I know that wherever they are headed, that they are going to do the work of God. Who could ask for better friends?