It's hard being pioneers...

So tomorrow makes one full month that we've been here...Can you believe it!

No bug scares since the other night, thank God. Today we bought more Mata Todo- the bug spray we've been using- and we plan on self-fumigating again tomorrow, or Sunday- or sometime soon- I don't really know when. We've been seeing some little tiny baby roaches, like ant-size and that makes us nervous that they will soon be giant roaches and take over our house (cause I gotta say, we wouldn't put up much of a fight against them)

Yesterday we lost power around two o'clock, luckily I had already taken a shower. However, Amber hadn't so she had to take a nice cold one...The power stayed off until after we left for class last night so there's no telling how long it was off. During our taxi ride to the school we heard them saying on the radio that they were shutting off power in different parts of the city to work on it and it would only be off for a few hours at a time. We did have power at the school but they did inform us that we would be having class regardless (of if we had it or not)- which was hard for Amber and I to understand because each class only has one candle and no candle holder. So we'd have to walk around with the candle during the instruction time and hold it over their papers so they could write and next to the board so they could read, etc...while hot wax dripped down our hands...We just don't think that was a good plan. But fortunatelty we didn't have to worry about it cause we had power all night.

This morning when we woke up we were powerless again though. It went out sometime before 10 and was out until about 3:30. This was especially sad for me because I have missed Lola (my novela) for the past couple days and when I start working next week I'll never get to watch it. But I did get to see the last half of it today, so that was nice. We also cooked on the gas burners which is never fun. Amber screamed cause the flames were engulfing her pan (my friend on the phone asked if she had seen a roach since she was screaming) then when I used it I burned my hand in two places. It's hard being pioneers...

Well since the power was out for so long today we did absolutely nothing. We cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom, went to Pali and watched a lot of 'Friends' (thank you Corey Devereaux...did I spell that right? I'm going from memory here) And you know what...I decided, and I think Amber would agree with me, that all tile floor is a really bad idea. It's impossible to ever keep it clean. Plus the tile in the bathroom is white so it just always looks dirty. I don't know what to do anymore and it drives me crazy!

But, sadly enough, that about sums it up! =) I'm sure we'll have some better stories once we start working (hopefully) and have real lives- right now we're just like highschool freshman on summer vacation without a car to go do anything....


PS- I just realized if you click on the photos you can see them in full size...you know since some of them are so small...

The Attack of Flying Insects....

So the last few days haven't been very eventful but I'll make a new entry anyway...

Saturday's class was good, we played alot of games and spent about 1 of the 4 hours just in conversation practicing the new grammar focus. Then after class we went to the mall for ice cream with Daniel. He had a friend, a highschool boy, that told him I was so beautiful he had to hold on the railing when I was talking to them. Haha, I love how dramatic some people can be, but don't worry nothing's gonna happen he has a girlfriend...oh and he's like 5 or 6 years younger than me haha....

Anyway on Sunday I left in the morning to go to the airport to return the suitcase from my parents. However, the bus driver didn't stop at the airport like he said he would- he took the ramp going the opposite way and we were headed to the next state over! So we had to get off at a little stop in the middle of the highway and walk back to the airport, it was probably about a mile or so which wouldn't have been that bad had it not been so hot and we were both wearing black shirts carrying a huge suitcase. But we got there and security let us wait inside the airport (which was airconditioned) to give them the bag. They got there about an hour after us, despite our trek down the highway, but they were very grateful because they had too much stuff in their bags and needed the extra space.

Yesterday we REALLY didn't do anything intersting. We did go to the post office and to an outlet mall for about an hour, but that was the highlight of our day. We could've stayed longer if we had money to spend and if my 'novela' Lola wasn't coming on. But I'm addicted to that show, it's just so good! I'll be so sad when I'm working during the day and miss it. If only it came on an hour later...

However, last night was a little bit interesting. We were laying in bed with the TV on and there was something flying around the TV so Amber wanted to turn the light on and kill it cause she thought it was a beetle (I only thought it was a moth) So we turned the light on only to reveal about 100 of these things flying around our room! We were screaming and racing to get out of the room trying to grab our flip flops on the way out while we were ducking and covering our heads...When we got out we tried to make a plan to kill them. We went back in with flyswatters and went at it. Amber got scared cause one was flying at her so she went running out of the room only to trip and fall- sliding a little bit through the doorway. Then we were laughing so we both went out into the hall and decided we needed to turn on just the hallway light to attract them all there and then we could kill more. So we turned off the bedroom light and just waited in the hall with the flyswatters. Slowly they came out, then a little faster and we were swatting like crazy- Amber said it felt like a video game to her....But we were killing them left and right- it was a bloodbath in the hallway. We still aren't completely sure what they were. At first we thought flying ants, then we thought termites, but we still aren't sure. We just know that there is a HUGE pile of what's left of them in the hall.

Today we don't really have any big plans again. I need to go to Mas X Menos to get stuff to make rice krispie treats for class on Saturday. We're going over sequence adverbs so we're gonna make them together using those words. The grocery store next door doesn't have plain marshmallows, just flavored ones- and they also only have choco-krispies. I just don't think it would come out good if I bought those haha.

Ok well that's about all that's going on here!

This is how dark it was, us at the table (using a flash), and then each of us (no flash) it was SO dark!


Oh my gosh, so these last couple days have been a little crazy! On Thursday Amber and I went to UNELA to teach our classes. I didn't like my class at all- not because of the students but because of the material. The students talk at a beginning level but are in an unpper-intermediate class. They could not grasp the grammar concept so we ended up spending the ENTIRE class trying to get it right. I felt so bad for them- they were supposed to learn 8 new phrases and how to use them with the proper grammar, thats a lot for such a short amount of time.

Anyway, at the end of the class the lights flickered a little and then they went off completely. I remembered that there was a candle and a box of matches in my box of materials so I got it out and lit it. We dismissed class and put our stuff away and then I met Amber outside, she was on one side of the building yelling for me to hurry up cause it was dark and she was alone.

So we leave the school (remember this is a dangerous part of town so we always take taxis) and the guard at the school says something along the lines of- 'hey its dangerous'. So Amber and I were like great, what are we supposed to do, theres no lights anywhere in site, just car lights. So we were standing there and this man comes out of UNELA and tells us he can give us a ride (and we accepted because he is a pastor) and he also said he can give us a ride each night we're there which is so great since we were a little worried about being in out at night alone....

Anyway so we get home and theres no power forever, but we did have two candles that we found earlier this week so we lit them and pretty much did nothing- hung out with our neighbors and then we read magazines by candle light.

Well Friday was good but we noticed the power was out again in the afternoon cause the microwave clock wasn't on so we went to the grocery store next door and bought some extra candles since it was running on a generator. We got home and just kinda waited for the sun to go away and by six or so it was dark in the house (we only have windows on one side of the house). Then we didnt know what to do about dinner cause the oven didnt work. THEN, we remembered that we have three gas burners! So we finally got one to light (after a huge flame and screaming) and we started dinner. Rice, beans, platanos and tomatoes- It was really great. Then Amber and I ate it by candle light and then washed the dishes- she said we were like pioneers. So the whole country was without power for hours!!!

So far today the power has been good, but we'll see what happens, its only 6:30! haha Tonight we're having some of Daniels friends over for a get together with food, it'll be a good chance to practice our Spanish...Ok talk to you later

Amber and Daniel washing dishes after lunch today

For my students...

This entry is for my students at home! I miss you all very much and think about you alot, I wish you could be in my classes here! =)....So this is what has happened in the last few days...

I have been sick for about two weeks now. I think it is some sort of infection, but I'm not sure. I've gone to the pharmacy several times to get medicine but nothing seems to be working! I keep having headaches and I'm dizzy, I also have alot of congestion. Maybe it's a sinus infection. At least I feel a little better today...However, I'm still peeling from my sunburn two weeks ago! (when I went to Nicoya for Semana Santa)

Over the last few days we've been doing some shopping for the house. We went to the hardware store and bought some light bulbs for the dining room and had a key made for the front door. We also went to a department store and bought some towels for the bathroom and kitchen. When we put the light bulbs into the lamp we lost all power in the house! We blew a fuse and didn't know what to do. So we lit some candles and had a friend fix it for us. We took the new bulbs out and tried to turn it on with the old bulbs but it went out again! And everytime it went out it made a very loud noise so Amber and I would scream. We talked to the owner and she told us not to touch the light anymore until the electician comes to fix it.

Last night we went to Quizno's for dinner. I think it was the first time we've had American food since we've been here. I had a sandwich with three types of meat and cheese, it was called the Classic Italian. It also came with lettuce, tomato, dressing, onions (my favorite!), and black olives, but I ordered it without olives because they are so disgusting (I hate olives).

Grocery shopping is very different here also. I am getting used to all the Latin American brands, but it is sometimes difficult because I cannot find the same foods that I eat in the US. But, I have learned to love the food here. For breakfast I eat eggs with red beans and onions and I usually buy bread at the bakery across the street. For lunch I have ham and cheese sandwiches, and I toast them in the oven (they are so delicious!) . And for dinner we have rice and beans with plantains or tomatoes or some other sort of vegetable. We don't ALWAYS have the same things to eat, but usually we do because it's easy =) This morning we made the yellow plantains for breakfast (maduros? is that the name?), they were very sweet.

We are having so many problems with bugs in the house! This week we haven't seen any roaches (thank God!) but we had lots of flying ants and flys. And the ants are very strange, they lose thier wings and then they crawl around the house, they are so gross, I hate them.

Tonight I have English class again, it is a new class for me. They are advanced learners and what they are learning tonight is very difficult, I hope it goes well!

Ok, well I need to go get ready, because I still haven't taken a shower or anything! haha, but I do miss you all very much! =) And if you ever want to call you can, my number here is 506.234.6059....

Here are pictures of Amber and I going out to dinner- the first one is us in front of the bread store and the other is with our neighbor who found this house for us! (my skirt looks shorter than it really is! haha)

UPDATE...

Ok, so it's been a couple days...Let's see what's new...

We went downtown on Friday and bought some stuff for our classes and our house. Just stuff like index cards, paper clips, and construction paper WOW so exciting I know...But we did buy a rice cooker and a big thing to hang on the wall- like a white board for the house.

Saturday was my first class! It went pretty good. It was a little hard to transition from beginners to intermediate for me. At home we do a lot of vocabulary because theyre just learning, but here I did almost all grammar. It's kind of hard to make things fun when it's grammar- but it'll come, I just have to get into the swing of things and get to know how my students learn and what they like to do. I had to get up so early, at 6 o'clock. Then I went out to the bus stop around 10 till 7 and caught a bus downtown and then walked a few blocks and then decided I didn't know where I was going so I got a taxi the rest of the way...

However, while I was walking I ran into this short little guy from LA. He asked me if I spoke English and then went on to tell me that he was robbed last night and didn't know any Spanish and everyone has been so mean to him and that our conversation was the longest one hes had since hes been here. So he asked me for some money for breakfast and I told him he could go into the bakery with me and I'd buy him something there since I was getting something too. Well he was set on a rice and beans breakfast from up the street and it was only like a dollar fifty. Well everyone knows how I am, so I gave him the money after I bought my breakfast and he said hed 'pay it forward, like the movie'...well since i hadnt seen the movie i didnt know what he was talking about but i told him to have a nice day...

After I got home I went to the Pharmacy to get some medicine because the night before I didn't sleep at ALL (and neither did Amber cause she had to listen to me coughing ALL night- sorry Amber) I think I've just had a headcold, or some sort of allergies- maybe to the change of climate and the fact that the seasons are changing here. I don't know but it was awful. Well Randall was at our house and I was about to pass out from the therma-flu stuff and I told him I gave some money that morning so Amber told him the story (I was too tired to do it myself) and he described the guy to us before we even got a chance to tell him what happened. He even knew the story the guy told me. Now I'm mad that I gave him money, unless he really did use it for breakfast and then it's ok, but if not that was so mean of him. About me being sick- today it's just sinus pressure...so we'll see what happens.

Sunday we left around 12 to go to the airport to get a suitcase from my parents. We go there and had to wait about an hour for the family to get through the airport, but it was worth the wait! She sent us lots of stuff for the kitchen (towels, pots, aluminum foil, saran wrap, pot holders, silverware, snacks, coffee creamer for amber, etc), bathroom (towels, deodorant-we cant seem to find any good brands here- lotions, etc) and then just other fun stuff like magazines in english TONS of roach killer and traps and candy =) THANKS SO MUCH!!! =) from both of us...Now whenever Mr. & Mrs. Henderson want to send us a package we're ready...just kidding =) but really...haha

Today was a holiday here- Juan Santamaria day- He was some kind of hero that saved a bunch of people from the Nicaraguans (or something like that) So alot of stuff was closed, but we didn't go anywhere anyway- we just stayed here and did lesson planning and stuff like that....I know we're living such an exciting life here!!!!

This is what we're using the white

board for right now...

I killed this one myself!!! (the first one)

And Amber cleaned it up on her own...(another first)

I think I drowned her with the bug spray...

Dinner with our neighbors....

Randall making the chicken...

Matty making the toast... a more efficient way than our broken-down toaster

Amber & I made the rice & beans...

A Few Pictures...

The ladies over the ESL Department (Elizabeth & Bridget): A typical classroom that we'll be using at UNELA: The courtyard at the university: The little alley we live in: Our house:

ADDRESS....

We finally got our address! This is at the post office, so everything that is sent should be pretty secure (rather than sending stuff to the house)...

Sara Britt
Apdo 1087-2050
San Jose, CR

That's all you have to put on it. To send Amber stuff you may have to put a c/o with my name too, we don't know for sure if she can sign stuff out of the box or not so it'll just be safer to do this. Not like its much effort anyway =)

Ok great! So now I'll just be waiting here for everyone to send me stuff! =)

Tupperware? Really?

Rice & Beans, and platanos! Mmmm...this was one of our first homemade meals...

So again we had problems with the roaches...this is becoming all too common for me. Our neighbor sprayed throughout our house for bugs and used the whole can of spray but told us not to worry, everything was dead, and we could buy a new can of spray in the morning (I should not have trusted him)...well he left to go somewhere with his friend- the only other person we really know here, and Amber and I went to the bedroom. Well she went in first and said, "Oh my gosh, come look at this." I told her I didn't want to see it so I went to get the bug spray for her, but the can was empty so she said go get someone. So I hurried to the end of the little alley of apartments to this guy's house that we met earlier- but don't really know- and I asked if he had bug spray he said, "You won't believe it but I actually do," I was so relieved! But, then he gave me a can of OFF, so I said "Oh, no, I mean the kind that kills bugs." He said, "Oh that stuff? No," and handed me a plastic tupperware and a lid. I gave him a smartalic smile and said, "Are you kidding me? I'm not using that." So he said, "Oh my gosh, you're such a girl!" So he put on his shoes and went to our room. He went in and saw it on the wall and went to capture it, but somehow lost track of it and it fell off the wall onto the floor and scurried into our closet!!! And all my shoes are there on the ground!!! And the drawers we keep our panties in! (Sorry if that's too much information, but it is very traumatic for us) We never found him, but as precaution we scooted our bed away from the wall and I moved my nightstand to be in between me and where the roach was last seen. I also left the TV on all night hoping that he'd be scared of the light and stay hidden away. But good news- we found 6 DEAD roaches in the kitchen from our neighbor spraying under the cabinets, yay! (Now if we could only find the one in our bed room...)


We went to UNELA this morning for our interview, and we got the job, well I don't know if job is the correct word? We're actually doing volunteer work, haha...hopefully the job at Mall San Pedro will pay enough that we can afford our rent, food and transportaion! Because UNELA is far away and it will be necessary to take a taxi there every time we work (the bus route doesn't pass the university). But UNELA seems like it'll be a great place to work! I start a Saturday class this week- I"m so nervous. I am also taking over a Thursday evening class starting the 19th. They are both intermediate levels, mainly dealing with grammar. I am so excited about that because I have done beginning levels and feel that I am good at that level but now I will learn how to successfully teach grammar, something that will be very useful when I go home. Amber will be covering absences for several of the teachers and hopefully taking over this one woman's classes twice a week. She will be doing beginning level classes because that is what she is most comfortable with.


We got a call back from Datascension (at the mall) we go in tomorrow to turn in our resumes and to get the rest of the info on what exactly we'll be doing. We have training for the next two or three weeks from 9 to 5 (and it's paid- Praise God!) So as I said before, we're hoping it will supplement not being paid for teaching.


I went to the arcade at the mall today and hit the jackpot on one of the games and got 394 tickets! It was so amazing! I got one of those guns that shoots the foam ball at people (but is attached to a string), I'm really excited about that. I also got 26 candles with my remaining tickets, 23 of them will be for Amber's birthday next month and the other three will just be for special occasions...


Ok well that's enough for today I just wanted to give an update about UNELA...(sorry if there's spelling errors, spell check isn't working and I don't want to take the time to recheck it myself)

Where there's one there's a thousand....

Amber's makeshift coffee pot:
This is how we have to rig the toaster to make it work:

Making oatmeal- I don't know what's going on with my hair:

Sunday we went to the AG language school for an Easter service. There were a lot of people there learning Spanish to be missionaries and some of them were from Southeastern. We had a big buffet afterwards with American food, it was good, but the desserts were the best. I can't remember what else we did on Sunday but we sprayed the kitchen and our bedroom for bugs. We sprayed behind the counter and something ran out, so we screamed. Then I made Amber spray down this crack and I saw her elbow shadow move across the floor so I screamed and then she screamed and then our neighbor Randall came over and took the bug spray and took over. It was much less nerve-racking when someone else was doing it. However, while Randall was spraying our house, we told his friend we had seen a roach last week and he said where there's one there's a thousand...that doesn't make me feel well. And to top it off, before we went to bed we saw a baby roach climbing up the wall next to the bed....we've yet to see the parents...

Today after we got up we went to the bread store and bought some bread, it was about 25cents for a loaf so I think we'll be going there pretty often. Then when we came back I made myself breakfast- beans and eggs, sounds weird, but it was really good. Then we got ready and took the bus to Mall San Pedro. We got a job there at a call center, but we will be doing customer service for them. They were so impressed with our English that they hired us on the spot. We had to do an English evaluation and I got a 100% but Amber only got an A-...she put the wrong verb in a sentence. She wrote: The store opens everyday at 9pm....should've been closes. But her English is still pretty good anyway.

After that we went downtown and I printed out my resumes and the application for UNELA. We're going to UNELA for an interview tomorrow,I'm pretty sure we already have the job, but I guess we'll find out later. With the job at the mall we should make enough money to cover the rent and to get taxis to and from UNELA, since the jobs would be at night downtown we don't feel comfortable walking or taking the bus.

But that's the exciting news for today...

PS- I wish Patty Neuerman was here because my skin is peeling and she loves peeling it off!

Semana Santa...

This past week I went to Nicoya, a city in Guanacaste for Semana Santa...the hottest city ever! I don't know how to describe how hot it was. But here are a few examples: It was 41 degrees C, which is close to (if not more) than 100 degrees F. When we were in the city, no matter what we were doing, we were dripping sweat. We were so worn out from the heat that we fell asleep around 9/9:30 every night, then we woke up between 6 and 7 because we were so hot. We took a couple showers everyday and the water was ice cold, yet it never felt cold and I never had goosebumps. My shampoo and conditioner were warm when I washed my hair, it was weird. Anyway that covers the weather.

We left Saturday afternoon at 3. We didn't even have tickets until an hour before because all the buses were sold out. So our friend, Daniel, bought he and I tickets where we had to stand the entire drive (about 5 hours or so) and he gave Amber his ticket. There ended up being one empty seat so the bus driver told me to sit in it, then some boy gave Daniel a camping chair to sit in in the aisle. So it wasn't so bad.

Sunday we went to the beach. We went off the highway and drove through the woods then hiked down the woods a little further and came out at this beautiful beach. We spent several hours there with Daniel and his friends, although we didn't do much because the ocean was too dangerous so we mostly sat around talking and listening to music. Amber got burned.

Monday we slept in a little (close to 8!) then got up, got ready, watched some TV and then went to Maria del Mar's house where we made empanadas, probably a hundred or so, there were so many. We made them with pineapple, dule de leche, and a fruit that tasted alot like pumpkin. They were really good. Amber and I are gonna try and make them sometime soon.

Tuesday we went to Tamarindo, a beach that apparently is famous to people in the US. There were tons of Americans and Europeans there. This beach was also very beautiful, a ton of people surfing. There was a river that flowed into the ocean so that's where we went swimming because it was much more calm. Remember how Amber was burned on Sunday? Well she bought SPF 70 to put on her burn that day so that it wouldn't get any worse. Well, the SPF in her words, 'totally works' however after she applied it to her burned shoulders and chest she crossed her arms while she was waiting for us to finish up. Halfway through the day we started noticing that she was getting a really weird tan line, like squiggly lines down each arm. So after closer inspection we realized she had hand prints from the sunscreen. It was very funny because her shoulders were burned from Sunday and midway down her arm was burned from Tuesday and then there was a gap in between that didn't get any sun at all.

Wednesday we didn't do anything at all because all of us were burned so badly. I even had little blisters on my shoulders and one side of my neck, it hurt so much. Everyone was in bed except for Amber and I we were in the kitchen. While we were talking a roach ran across the kitchen floor. I ran out of the kitchen yelping and she ran to the corner of the kitchen screaming a little herself. She got the spray and killed it, but in the process two more ran out towards her. It was awful to watch, but I was so glad it wasn't me!

Thursday and Friday we went to Daniel's grandmothers house. We ate ALOT of food. Every hour or so someone would come out with a plate of food for us, or ask us if we were hungry for something, but it was delicious. We played with his little cousins- soccer, volleyball, and jump rope. I have to say jumping rope was my favorite, we did it like in elementary school where two people spun the rope and you have to run in and jump while they sang a song. In this song you had to touch the ground twice, do a 90 degree turn and then a full spin. It was so fun. We also did a lot of cartwheels and stuff with the other neighborhood kids. Friday there was a procession sort of thing for Good Friday. Everyone took tables or chairs out to the end of their driveway and covered them with tablecloths and then put big pictures of Jesus and lots of flowers to decorate it. Then the priest came and they all said a prayer and then recited the lord's prayer then walked together to the next house and did the same thing until everyone was together and then they ended up at the church.

I woke up at 1 in the morning because I felt something run across my chest and down my arm, I was definitely in panic mode. It was awful. So since I was wide awake I decided to go to the restroom. When I got there I turned on the light and a huge roach came running towards me, I ran down the hall and saw it was coming the same way. I decided I didn't need to go to the bathroom anymore so I ran back to turn off the light (the roach was under the table). Well when I got there, there were two more roaches, now I'm to the point of tears and so scared that I can't hold it anymore so I found the bug killer-spray and went back towards the bathroom. I killed one and then sprayed the second who was now running up the door frame, it fell off and was going crazy on the floor so I ran away then went back to see it, they stopped moving so I went real quick then ran to my room and had a VERY restless night...

Saturday we got up at 6 and left at 8, this time we both had seats, 50 and 51- however Amber was at one window and I was one row behind her on the other side of the bus. I was so fortunate to sit next to a very large woman with a very large bag. She was wearing a floral skirt and a white, see-through, lace top. She also hadn't shaved her legs for about a year but had them up in front of us the whole time. She was taking up one third of my seat and her shoulder and arm were overlapping me so I was just squished into the corner, and her lace shirt was rubbing my arm raw. But I survived!

When we got home Amber and I made beans. They weren't precooked so they took about 4 hours to cook all the way through. Then we made some rice and platanos. It was a great dinner. After that we made some fresh orange juice, only 16 oz worth though because it was such a long process, so we can have that tomorrow with breakfast.

But that's what's been going on, every thing's great! And if you're still reading this, sorry I didn't update till now, but Daniel's house didn't have a computer and we never went to the Internet Cafe. But I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

PS- I responded to some of the comments on the first blog under the comment section there, I think that's the best way for me to respond to them...any other suggestions?