We are now a few weeks into our last trimester here at the Spanish Language Institute, preparing to move to Ecuador in April.  For our studies this trimester, we have elected to do things a bit differently than we did the first two trimesters.

We are both taking a Grammar class.  But we have made some changes for our Language portion.

I (Steve) am taking the FARO option.  It’s an acronym for Facilitator, Ayudante (helper), Route, Observe.  Every week, I meet with at least 7 local people to discuss various themes, all in Spanish.  I review these themes with my helper, and discuss them in class with my facilitator.  Here is a picture of me with Henry, one of the people I have been meeting with.

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Henry owned a restaurant in a food court about a ten-minute bus ride from here.  I use the past tense because last week when we went to visit him, his restaurant was closed and locked.  I asked the lady in the restaurant next door, and she told me that he had gone out of business.  I called the phone number that he gave me, but it was disconnected.  I miss him already because we had some great conversations, and it was always so positive talking with him.

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Diane has chosen to have a private language teacher.  Maritza, who is a teacher at the Institute, comes to our apartment two days per week for an hour and a half.  This has worked out really well because Maritza is tailoring her teaching to language and vocabulary that is relevant to what Diane may be doing in Ecuador.  Here is a picture of Maritza and Diane at our kitchen table.

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Only 60 more days in Costa Rica   -   but who’s counting???

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We just received some pictures of the inside of what will be our new house in Ecuador when we move there in April.  All of the interior walls were wood, and had significant termite damage, so they have been removed.  They will be replaced with concrete block interior walls.

Here is the outside of the house, taken in 2007.  It is a duplex, and we will be living in the left half.

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Here are a few interior pics that were just taken last week.  Looks like a lot of work to do.

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We are back in Costa Rica after taking some time between trimesters to visit friends and family over Christmas and the new year. School starts next Monday, January 12.

First, we went to Maine and were greeted by a minor snowstorm. Then a few days later, we got another foot of snow. I (Steve) got a chance to practice my snow shoveling skills.

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We took the train to Philadelphia to visit Vicky and Jason and kids. The train is so much more relaxing than flying. And the elapsed time isn’t much different, all things considered.

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We were able to visit and speak (and sing) at two different churches while we were in Maine.

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Visiting with kids and grandkids is always a joy.

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We were greeted our second day back here with an earthquake. It was a bit unnerving for those of us not from earthquake prone areas. We only had one picture fall and break. People in other parts of the country were not so fortunate. Here is a link to one news story. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_costa_rica_earthquake

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This is our first Thanksgiving out of the country.  Since Thanksgiving is a US holiday, and is not celebrated in Costa Rica, we had school today.  But Diane had the great idea of just getting a few families together to have dinner after school, beginning at 1:00.  Since none of us had a house big enough, we looked for a place to rent.  We found a local place for $10 per hour, so we agreed to do it.  Well, the word got out, and we also found out about people who had no other plans, and before we knew it, there were about 80 people, including kids, who were signed up to come.

We went over and set up the night before.

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Since turkey is so expensive ($40 to $75 per bird), we opted for chicken.  There is a place nearby that makes a great roasted chicken, so we ordered 20 of them to be delivered.  Most deliveries here are done on motorcycles, and the delivery person had to make four trips of five birds each to get them to us.

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Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and we all got plenty to eat.  What a blessing!

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Check out the Photo Album for more pics.

My (Steve’s) dad lives in Florida in the winter.  I remember various times talking with him and asking about the weather.  He’d tell me that it was really cold – it had gotten into the 50′s!  I remember sitting there in Maine in the 10 degree weather and thinking, that’s not even close to being cold.

Now, we are in Costa Rica.  And the wind is blowing and it got into the 50′s here last night.  With no heat in the houses here, that means low 60′s inside.  And you guessed it, we’re feeling a bit cold.  I know, no sympathy from the northern folks.  That’s ok.  Even though there is no heat and you can’t close the windows completely, we have sweaters and blankets so we’re surviving just fine.  And in a couple of days it will be back in the 70′s and 80′s.  But I have a new understanding of my Dad’s point of view.  Yes, “cold” is a relative term.