Pascua- Easter

 Easter Eggsperiences ;)


Sorry, couldn't help myself with that title. Yes, I know Easter was ten days ago, but I never got to blog about my Easter Sunda,y and today I just so happened to receive an Easter package in the mail from my kindred spirit, so here are some highlights from my Easter, as well as what I've been up to these last two weeks. 

              sabado negro
(Black Saturday) April 7th
             Easter Vigil
 




 Saturday night I went with my host family to the community Easter vigil. It gets dark here around 5:30 PM (major bummer) so we arrived in the dark and gathered with many other believers around a fire pit outside. A Catholic priest (similar to the one in this picture on the left-I felt like it would be disrespectful to take a picture of the actual priest, so this Google image will have to suffice) was singing/chanting something in Spanish when we arrived. He had a huge white candle, which I learned is the "Paschal candle." The priest dipped the candle into the fire and the flame began shining. I found out that this flame is supposed to symbolize Christ as light of the world and His presence in the midst of His people. Everyone around the fire had a candle (similar to the ones I've seen at church advent services around Christmas time) and the priest began a domino effect by using the Pascal candle to light another candle, which lit another candle, etc...

Next, the priest led the congregation into the church, where it was pitch black. This darkness was supposed to represent the darkness of a world without God. A few other rituals took place, which you can read more about at this link: Paschal-Candle. Suddenly, the candles were blown out, the lights all turned on and people began hurrying about with flower arrangements, banners, and a variety of other things (it was so fast and I'm sure I missed things). And we began celebrating Christ's risen body. We sang this familiar Easter song: 

Cristo ha resucitado (Christ our Lord has risen)

Cristo ha resucitado; ¡Aleluya! Hoy gozoso oíd el canto; ¡Aleluya! Con trompetas proclamad: ¡Aleluya! Cielo y tierra entonad: ¡Aleluya! Nuestro Rey hoy tiene vida; ¡Aleluya! y la muerte fue vencida; ¡Aleluya! Él murió para salvar, ¡Aleluya! y la tumba conquistar; ¡Aleluya! Su amor lo ha logrado; ¡Aleluya! Redención Él no ha dado; ¡Aleluya! Su agonía terminó; ¡Aleluya! En fulgor se levantó; ¡Aleluya!

That was a whole new experience for me. Sunday was spent with my host family and extended family. Tata and Tita came over before lunch, along with cousin Josue (4 years old), Tio (Uncle Julio) and his wife and daughter (little Mai!). We celebrated the Passover Seder together. The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family. It was pretty cool to see three generations participating in our Seder feast.

The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8). It was a great reminder, and I was able to understand the majority of what we read/responded. We also drank the customary wine, ate pita bread (normally matzo), and a bunch of other little things, which are on the plate above.

Vero & Mai on a mission for eggs

Afterwards the moms prepared lunch and Vero and I took the two little cousins out to find chocolate Easter eggs. Here are some pictures from our adventures outside:

Egg in the hanging plant!

Más chocolate, por favor!

Attack of the chocolate Easter eggs.

Josue began his egg search

 Just as a little reminder- Josue is the little cousin, whom I originally hit with a rock (when I first arrived here). I had just met him and was learning how to skip rocks with his brother...but obviously I had a lot to learn.
Thankfully we are on good terms now and he even knows how to say "Rachel" and speed talks to me in Spanish, as if I was fluent or something :)

 

All three Tico's still searching

 

Found one!

Me showing Mai how my camera works :)

Altogether it was a wonderful Easter celebration with my Costa Rican family.

We went to church in the afternoon, where I learned to say ¡Cristo ha resucitado! (Christ has risen!) And the response: "¡En verdad ha resucitado!" (He has risen indeed!)



And that was my eggsperience of Easter with my Costa Rican family.


Two more things to highlight before I go finish my lesson plans for tomorrow:

#1. I didn't know (but I do now) that maids in Costa Rica are rather troublesome. The difficulty is finding a good/honest maid. Unfortunately this week we have now reached maid #4 in the house, since my arrival here. The 1st maid we had ended up having some other duty to attend to, so my host mom interviewed for another one. The next one was one of my favorites: Lorena. She was an excellent cook and she loved to talk to me in Spanish...even though I could hardly understand her accent. But my host mom caught her stealing food, my camera went missing, and she disappeared. The most recent when we had to let go was a sweet young girl, but we found out she was stealing my money. Quite a lot too :( The worst part is that I am afraid she used the money for drugs or some other bad reason. That is a long story, but she did confess to taking it, which was a start. I don't think I'll see this money again, but God has given me peace about it all and I'm going to continue to pray for her. We hit maid #4 today and she seems really nice...obviously I'm going to do take more precaution with the things in my room, but hopefully this maid works out. The house was looking sweet today and she was so cute and even put a hat that was laying around on the teddy bear's head.

 #2. School Update: I only have 10 days left of teaching! That seems so strange. I've slowly been decreasing one subject each week and this week I'm down to teaching Science and Social Studies. My students are still full of energy and lately they've been drawing me a ton of pictures and writing super cute notes. Here are some examples:

One of my students loves jokes...the answer to this riddle is: Student Teacher :)

The students call me T. Rachel (T.R for short) and my cooperating teacher T. Priscilla (T.P)

I could go on and write about the parent-teacher conferences I led, or the rain season which has begun, or church on Sunday, but it is getting late and I'm starting to find myself zoning out into space :) So I'll just show some pictures from these events and sign off. 

Baby dedication at church on Sunday

Mision Carismatica Internacional Church in San Pedro, Costa Rica

Matter-Mixture-Masterpiece Projects

One of my students' mixture projects for science-she made an extra one for me to keep, since she said it was so yummy :)

"Singing in the rain..." Welcome rainy season!

***Oh, side note: I got a job as a summer nanny for a family in Highland park (we Skype interviewed ;) So I will be sticking around Chicago from June 1st-July 20th.***



 Things are quickly wrapping up, which is bittersweet, but I am so thankful for all that God has taught me. Time to catch some zzz's!
Until next week :)  T. Rachel


 

Parent-teacher conferences-which I led :)

More rain

One of my favorite places to enjoy the rain, read, and right (write ;)

Still can't get over the amazing sunsets

La Cruz- The Cross

  
Isaac Watts wrote these though provoking lyrics for "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" back in 170, yet it is 2012 and they are still being sung in churches all around the world. Why? 

I believe it is due to the message that these lyrics were intended to share and that is La Cruz- The Cross. The original title for this song was "Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ." How appropriate as we celebrate Good Friday today and fix our eyes on the cross where our loving Savior sacrificed His life, so that we might have eternal life. 

Galatians 2:20-21 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

 This morning as I made breakfast I listened to the online recording of Pastor Colin Smith's sermon from April 1, 2012 on "The Glory of The Crucified Savior" (I highly recommend it and I included a link below if you want to listen to it online).

The Glory of the Crucified Savior- Pastor Colin Smith 

During this message Pastor Colin asked "What does the cross mean to you?" That made me stop beating my pancake mix and pause the sermon to really think, "What does the cross mean to me?" 

Jesus' death on the cross is the reason I  am able to get up each morning. 

It is the reason why my smile continues to shine and my eyes continue to twinkle. 

The cross is the reason why I am able to love because He first loved me. 

It is the reason why I have energy to work with kids and show them this amazing God created world. 

The cross is the reason why I am able to fellowship with other believers from every nation as one body. 

It is the reason why I am able to humbly acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of my gracious, forgiving, loving, Savior. 

The cross is why I am able to live the words of the Bible "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5

Not just when I feel like it. Not just when things are going good. No, everyday He demands my soul, my life, my all. Whatever I do, I am to do it unto the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Reflecting on the power of the cross and its impact in my life I began to also think about all the blessings God has poured out upon my life. My most recent blessings came in the form of two other Osborn's who had the special opportunity to come visit me in Costa Rica :) 

 Los padres! -The Parents! 

And they also brought along a good dose of laughter.  I don't think I've laughed so hard in such a long time. Dad said he didn't realize he was going to be the source of so much laughter on this trip, but it was one memorable trip!

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned our Osborn Opportunity adventures before and this trip was no exception. I'll try and share the highlights of the trip with accompanying pictures. But I 1st need to mention one inside joke, and that is dad's nickname during his time here: Mr. Bean. Here is a picture of Mr. Bean to help those of you who do not know who Mr. Bean is: 

I am pretty sure this is how dad felt after concluding his driving experience in Cost Rica.

There is actually a movie called "Mr. Bean's Holiday" and we teased dad during his time here that they could've filmed him and made a similar movie. 

Time to explain: Mr. Bean is a very goofy guy. He often does things that are not culturally correct, or he gets himself into trouble. Well, here are some Mr. Bean (daddyo) highlights from our trip*

*These highlights are used without his permission*

 Originally my parents reserved a rental car and a hotel downtown San Jose. The rental car worked out great (I'm not sure my dad would use those same words), but their hotel was in a very sketchy area of San Jose. For example, we spent one night there and as we left to go out to dinner at a Greek restaurant down the street the gate keeper had to unlock the gate by pushing an automatic button, using a key, taking off a padlock on the door, and pulling out another lock and after all of that he glanced down the street and told us "don't go too far!" 

 

Well, we were discussing the safety of this hotel my dad mentioned that their room had a safe. My mom started to laugh and explained that the "safe" was a tiny metal safe box that was under the TV in a small wicker cabinet. But she said if anyone broke into their room they could easily just take the safe with them. She then asked my dad if he put anything in the safe. He said yes and didn't say anything else. My mom said she didn't remember putting any valuables of hers in the safe, so she asked my dad what he put in the safe. "Well, I put my medicine, binoculars..." -We agreed those were good things to put in the safe, but then we broke down laughing after he told us the next  two items..."new black shoes, and Lindor Chocolate truffles." Oh, Mr. Bean :) Gotta make sure those chocolates are safe!

 

Mom in front of the bed & breakfast- Looks are deceiving :)

 After one night in that sketchy hotel we decided it would be better to just stay at my house. Plus, we we going to do some traveling around Costa Rica, so we checked out of that hotel and they stayed half of the nights with me in my host home. 

Friday mom and dad drove Vero (my host sister) and I to school. 

My classroom :)

 

Teacher Rachel in action

 


Dad and mom had fun seeing me in action in the classroom, as well as participating in the fun events of the school day. Dad played a little futbol (soccer) with my 2nd grade boys:

I am 21 years old, but my parents wanted me to get my picture taken with the Easter bunny. Hoppy day!

 The school day was packed with festivities, 
as we had our big Easter egg hunt/carnival. 
 
Here are my adorable little 2nd grade bunnies: 

My little 2nd grade boys went around all day saying "What's up doc?"

Saturday we followed my host mom to the small town of Cartago. We went to see Volcan Irazu (Volcano Irazu). I have never been to a volcano, so this was a fun experience! Here are some pictures of the crater we saw and other volcano related pictures:

Now time for our crazy adventures around Costa Rica :)

My poor father (Mr. Bean) was an excellent drive, but it was not an easy task. Driving in Costa Rica is very difficult! He likes a challenge, but this was a super challenge. However, once he got the hang of it he was speeding around corners, up and down the mountain like James Bond. Mom had quite a lot to say about that style of driving, but he just told her to shut her eyes :) 

Sunday we packed up everything and headed to La Fortuna. I reserved us a room at the backpackers hostel and it was a very nice hostel. It had a pool and a variety of hammocks to chill in. We stayed in a room with three other young adults. Two were from Colorado, and the other guy was a french sailor. 


We had a nice dinner downtown, typical Costa Rican food, and then played some games at the hostel before going to bed. In the morning we got up early and left to go zip line (canopy). I had done this exact zip line a month before, so I was excited to share the experience with my parents. Mom was pretty hesitant, but our guide Jonathan didn't give her time to back out. He clipped her in and went sailing down the line with her before she could say "No way jose!" 

Our guide Jonathan was a great guide and dad and I got some good laughs because he got mom to do the zip line all by herself and when she came in for the landing he yelled "I'm proud of you momma!" :)

                                                             

 

Mom was glad she did it and we all had a blast! Afterwards we hiked to the waterfall, which was quite a hike but a beautiful one. Here are some pictures from the jungle trek:

 


























We heard and saw a toucan in the canopy, but it was too far away to get a good picture :(

Three happy musketeer zip liners!

Nasty spider on the way down towards the waterfall

Recognize this photo? It is very similar to the picture I originally put with the Bible verse on my blog page :)

I made it across the rickety bridge :)

La Fortuna waterfall

Some giant trees in the jungle

Dad swimming in the waterfall

Look at those two love birds :)

Another nasty spider. Yuck!

Caleb let me borrow his camera and it takes cool panorama shots

Volcan Arenal in La Fortuna

Ant eaters on the side of the road

Lake Arenal- We had a nice road trip around it on our way to Monteverde

Dad's panic "deer-in-the-head-light" eyes as he checks out the dirt road to Monteverde

Another Mr. Bean adventure- Osborn Opportunity was our road trip to Monteverde. I had heard Monteverde was one of the most beautiful places to visit in Costa Rica and so we decided to stop by on our way to the beach. 






However, I didn't realize that the only way to get to this beautiful spot is by a windy, dirt road in the mountains.  It was a long trip, but it was a beautiful view!

 

We stayed at "Cabinas Eddy's" in Monteverde

 In the morning we had a nice breakfast and left for the beach!

The Pacific Ocean

Tourist Mr. Bean enjoying the beach

We arrived at the beach in Manuel Antonio and found another backpackers hostel to stay in. This one was not as nice as the last one, but it worked out.

This is a type of tarantula-freaked mom out on the trail :)

 

Manuel Antonio has a national park that we went to. We saw lots of monkey!

Mr. Bean even brought his walking sticks for the trails :)

Got to go swinging from some of the vines in the jungle!

Another monkey in the jungle ;)

Beach fun!

Salty Pacific Ocean :)

Sailboat on the Pacific- Dad would've liked to be in it.

National Park of Manuel Antonio

 Last Mr. Bean story :) We were on our way back to San Jose after a few days at the beach and stopped to grab some ice cream. I ran into the corner market to get some to go. Dad had said there was Haagen Dazs ice cream but I couldn't find any, so I grabbed the generic brand of "Strawberry Cheesecake" and hopped back into the car. However, as soon as I took a bite I realized it tasted like Costa Rican cheese, and nothing like ice cream. Nasty! 


Mom and dad said the same thing...we happened to be passing a policeman at the same time, so dad reached out the window and passed the pint of ice cream to the police officer and said "We no like, for you." The police officer looked at it a little suspiciously, but he took it and we drove off :)

Altogether it was a wonderful spring break! I had a lot of adventures with the parents, (Mr. Bean ;) and I was able to relax and enjoy some time away from school. 

This next week it is back to school, but I am losing a subject each week. And in less than  a month I will be back in the states! CrAzY!!!! The time has flown by. 

May you take time to reflect this Easter on what the cross means to you and thank God for sending His one and only Son to die for You! You are deeply loved.