Happy Revolution Day

After a little consultation with a friend, I decided this doesn't really sound all that negative (and I think it's pretty good :), so I'll post it.  Happy New Year!

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Date: December 31, 2011
Listening to: fireworks, absurdly bassy music, and the other noises around my apartment.

Tonight will be one of the toughest nights of my time in Costa Rica, I think.  I’ve never been that big of a New Year’s person, but I’ve never spent one without family and friends.  A year ago, I spent what will probably be the best one of my life staring into the eyes of this girl I barely knew who, God knows how or why, had agreed to fly to Nebraska and come to a wedding on under two weeks’ notice.  It was all so strange - how do you introduce a girl you aren’t dating to your family under those circumstances?  Needless to say, she fit right in no matter which house, church, bar, or reception hall I threw her into.  She was unflappable and seemed like she was actually enjoying herself.  I guess the rest is history.

I was listening to a recent “Stuff You Should Know” podcast on daylight saving time (no, there’s no “s”) when something perked up my ears.  Apparently, some of the major opponents to this shift were farmers who appealed that “God’s Time” shouldn’t be meddled with.  At first, that seemed to make sense to me, but then I started to think about it.  Time, at least as far as the daylight saving variety is concerned, was not invented by God but was certainly based on creation.  The rhythms of life are based on the sun, the seasons, and the obsessive human need to organize.  I suppose that makes sense; Genesis seems to indicate that we were made in the image of a being who organized the creation of everything into seven distinct days.

The difference I see between God’s time and Man’s time is not repetition, but rigidity.  I’m not going to go into long-day creation or anything like that here because I don’t need to.  What “clocks” does God (or nature, if you like) provide humanity?  I see two: rotation and revolution.  The day and the year seem quite regular to the observant human being.  The same goes for the phases of the moon and the tide of the oceans.  Throughout the history of the world these markers seem to have dictated almost every important activity within our control.  Every morning, the sun comes up, and every night it disappears again.  It gives our world order, the fourth human necessity, and makes a scary world feel slightly more predictable.  Yet even this obvious and consistent measure of time is flexible.  How terrified must our ancestors have been to notice the days were contracting and expanding before they realized the cycle would repeat itself?  “This will never do,” they said.  “We need something more regular.”

You see, we’ve never been all that good at accepting change or disorder, especially when it lies outside the control of our species or ourselves.  God knows that, which means he knew it before time came to be.  Why, then, did he tilt the earth’s axis and confound our internal clocks?  Why did he make planets that spin backwards?  Why can water be supercooled or superheated, and why on earth does the platypus lay eggs?  I believe the answer isn’t all that hard; I think he wants us to remember who we are.  We didn’t make the earth, the sun it spins around, the force which holds the two together, or the tilt we see as a flaw in the system, and therefore we don’t get to make the rules.  We are not the masters of this universe, and even as amazing as Apple makes our ingenuity look, we never will be.  Those things are the way they are to remind us of two things: one, that all our creative, observational, communicative, and other capacities are imperfect, and second, that they come from a perfect source.

So as this year, an imperfect measurement of a once perfect world, passes into its successor, take a moment to reflect on your place in its story.  Think of your years in the context of natural history.  Feel small.  Relieve yourself of the perception that you are in some way more significant than your neighbor, and then consider a simple fact: despite your smallness, your weakness, your faults, and your pains, the being and force behind the creation of everything - everything - loved you enough to come into a dusty world and die an excruciating death at the demands of people just like you out of the extreme desire to offer each of us salvation.  Christ isn’t just the reason for the Christmas season; he’s the reason for every season.  After all, they were his idea.

You Never Miss It 'Till It's Gone

12/6/2011
Listening to: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 - Klavierconzert, Op.30

Well, the ICE finally shut off my internet account.  I’ve tried to pay them twice, but each time the agents have told me different numbers or information that I need in order to do it.  Here’s hoping I can figure it out tomorrow and post this sometime in the near future.  It’s strange; I think I’ve actually used the internet more here than at any prior point in my life.

Hi, Laura!

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea recently, particularly over the last weekend.  By all accounts, the Valparaiso University Chorale gave a wonderful performance in their first Christmas concert since I left the ensemble.  Many of my friends were there and jealousy doesn’t begin to describe my emotion concerning my absence.  I think it’s more like heartbreak.  Even after deciding to essentially major in choral singing, I never valued those people or that music to the degree I do today while I was an active member.  I thought the emotional highs (and lows), the physical gratification (and exhaustion), and the spiritual edification (and quandary) I experienced were the result of great music writ large.  While that is certainly true to an extent, I never sufficiently valued the people with whom I worked and the degree to which they contributed to that experience.  It is pure, unadulterated synergy when the fervor of Berlioz, the profundity of Bach, the lyricism of Brahms, the grace of Parker, the clarity of Shaw, the intricacy of DFC, the love of a national hero (Ballou) set to music, or simply the shimmering beauty of a perfectly tuned open fifth (or minor second) is cooperatively realized by the minds, bodies, and souls of more than forty other individuals singularly devoted to that mutual objective.  Sharing the experience with your best friend(s) is a privilege beyond words.  It is a life I covet daily and a memory I hope I will never forget.

As I believe I mentioned in my last post, I’m not exactly sure what it is I’m doing here.  I don’t say that out of any kind of spite: I’m feeling lost but trying hard to enjoy the view.  I have spent more time thinking about theology, politics, and my true sense of self than I ever did in college, something I did not anticipate.  I feel like I’m spending less and less time at the church even though my hours are static because I am struggling to feel effective in that capacity, while I look forward to my three weekly classes as the highlights of my week.  I would have predicted the reverse.  Rather than engineering a six month personal mission, I feel like I’m along for a ride on someone else’s bike.  Pedaling isn’t doing me any good and I don’t feel like I have much control, but I nonetheless get the feeling that my destination is intentional.  I’m even ambivalent about coming home - on the one hand, I miss my family and friends more than I previously knew to be possible.  On the other, I don’t feel like I’m leaving a legacy worthy of the 2.5 months I’ve invested here.  All in all, I’m very excited about it, but it’s not without its hitches.  Confused yet?  Me too.

This picture actually from Madrid, but
it gives you a good idea.

Again, I’m sure that all sounds much more gloomy than I intend.  The weather is finally becoming sunny (yes, it’s turning into summer down here) and the town is dressed to the nines for Christmas.  Just this evening I walked through San José’s parque central and marveled at the work done by whoever had decorated that part of town.  It’s beautiful, though I certainly wish the light were bouncing off a fresh bed of snow at times.  Maybe even the internet going out on me is beautiful.  Maybe I’ll start running every morning or playing my guitar every afternoon as a result.  Maybe I’ll finally catch up on my Bible reading.  Maybe I’ll re-learn Lao Tzu so I can talk about the intersection of Christianity and Taoism with my boss.  Maybe.

One celebratory note: on Sunday, Job and his family gave a little farewell concert at another little Lutheran church nearby.  He is a Peruvian pastor who has been finishing up his studies at the Universidad Biblico Latinoamericano since April and he’s returning to Peru the same day I return to the USA (though he won’t be coming back in January).  While we’re sad to see him go, I’m excited to hear about his future exploits in his home country and Wendy, Katis, Prax, and myself were privileged to play Salmo 8, Clama a Mi, and several other songs with him and Gabriel another time on Sunday.  You can see videos by clicking on those titles.

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Ok, now I'm sitting in an internet cafe in San Pedro.  Gregorio and I are going to the ICE tomorrow to try and fix my lack of internet - we'll see how that goes.  I'm feeling a bit better than yesterday, partially because I did take that early morning run a few hours ago.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been perfect; today was also the first day I've gotten fed up enough to kick out my entire English class over their lack of attention.  Anyway, I'm very excited to say I'll be coming home in 7 days.  If I'll see you then, see you soon!  If not, thanks for reading.

Thanksgiving

Listening to: The Five-Gallon Podcast, You First, After Me


You can find said podcast on iTunes - it's my boss from Inlingua ranting and playing a bunch of very wide-ranging indie tunes (but be ready for some occasional choice words).

Without a doubt, my 22nd Thanksgiving seems like the most difficult one so far, but I'm not sure that's such a bad thing.  While it's been a bit difficult recently, I think that in the long run I will be a more thankful person for it.  That sounds awfully gloomy - things aren't so bad.

I guess I'll start where that last post left off.  That weekend, I went to a bar with a friend from work where his friend was celebrating a birthday.  We wandered around for a solid half hour before we found them, but when we finally did we had a good time.  It was an incredible bar - for example, the dance floor had a live DJ and a mic'ed hand drummer with djembes, congas, etc playing off each other continuously.  It was nice to finally just hang out with some people (who seemed to be) my own age.  Turns out, they were all at least five years older but thought I was as well.  Must be the beard.

Being in that setting made me think pretty hard about what exactly it is I'm here to do.  Am I here for myself, like the majority of the people at work?  I don't say that as a negative; these people had the courage to come to Costa Rica seeking a different kind of life for myriad reasons.  If having fun were my objective, I feel I'd be doing a terrible job so far - I don't have the time or money to do otherwise.  If I'm not here for myself, I must be here to work with the church, right?  While that's certainly on the way up, I'm really starting to realize the mortality and other limitations of my work here.  Am I going to leave a permanent and positive mark on the community I'm trying to serve over the next three months?  Maybe.  Am I doing the best job I could?  Absolutely not.  I could definitely give more time and maybe even financial resources to that effort.  So...what am I doing?  Lincoln said, "Whatever you are, be a good one."  I guess that's what I'm working on.

Last Tuesday, I cooked approximately 11 or 12 liters of an adapted version of mom's pheasant and wild rice stew (using turkey and a bunch of other different ingredients) for our community Bible study.  It turned out about halfway between her stew and a white chili, which was a success in my book.  It was a big hit among the other church members, as was my papaya seed dressing for the salad and my baked papaya a la mode.  Between serving everything and running back to my apartment to get the dessert, I only heard one or two of the four readings and their responses, but that didn't stop Gregorio from nominating me to preach on Sunday.  Not wanting to turn him down a third time, so I accepted on the condition that I could draft the sermon and have Sergio proofread it, then read more or less from the page.  They enthusiastically agreed.

On Thursday, I was fortunate to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kat and a few new friends.  We had a great time and it definitely lessened the sting of missing my favorite holiday.  Before you laugh and call me a fatty, think about what that holiday really means.  I think it may be the only non-liturgical holiday based on a virtue.  To me, it represents everything that is good about my native country's culture: thankfulness for the rich blessings with which we find ourselves, with and including our families.  It was especially hard not to spend those hours and days with my parents and brothers as I have for the last 21 years.  Unfortunately, we have packaged the ugliest aspect of our culture (Black Friday) with this beautiful celebration in the same 48 hour period.  I really do hate this "holiday," but I won't go into that any further right now.  Suffice it to say I'm very thankful for everything last Thursday represents.

On Friday, a bunch of the youth from Sola Fe, Sergio, Belky, Wendy, Job, and myself left for a weekend retreat somewhere in the mountains North of San Jose.  It was about a three hour drive, so we didn't get in until fairly late or get to bed until much later.  I really, really don't miss being 14.  Those kids ran, screamed, and otherwise boiled over with energy on no more than 6 hours of sleep total from 5pm on Friday to 4pm on Sunday.  I did not do so well - in fact, I was very cranky by the time we got back.  I believe one is supposed to gradually adjust to cultural behavior, but I'm really struggling with their habits surrounding attention, self-discipline, and respect.  To me, when someone stands up to speak to a group with which I'm involved, I owe that person my attention.  I will watch and listen to her with all the attention I can muster, and if I really need to shoot off a text or whisper something to someone I will try my hardest not to let her see/hear it.  None of these concerns seem to be shared by those kids, which bothers me equally as a participant and leader.  Anyway, I don't want to rant about this either...I have to stop doing that!  Long story short, I emerged from the weekend tired and increasingly frustrated compared to when I went in.  Church yesterday started about an hour late (since the majority of the congregations were still on our way there at 3:30) and I tried my hardest to preach the sermon I hadn't had time to write down whatsoever.  Needless to say, I don't exactly feel I succeeded.

That brings us to today.  I had a percussion lesson and an English class today, each of which went very well.  Unfortunately, to top off this weekend, my fridge decided to quit working when I got back yesterday.  I'll be throwing out a week's worth of milk, meat, eggs, etc as soon as I finish this post, which is continuing to put a bit of a damper on my outlook.  Hopefully Sergio and I can recharge the freon tomorrow and get it working again.

I'm very excited to see some of you in about two weeks!  As you continue to shop this Christmas season, please continue to consider involvement in Operation: Instrumental.  Your contribution will make a direct difference in the life of a child down here, and I personally thank any of you who choose to do so in advance for your generosity.

Tempus Fugit

Listening to: The Liberty Jazz Band (Christmas album)

Jonathan, I doubt you'll read this, but if you do, thanks for the music.

Wow!  I remember writing that last post, but evidently I forgot about it pretty quickly.  I'm still working out a few details on Operation: Instrumental, but I can tell you what it's going to be.  The area I'm living next to and working in is a small shanty town just South of San José - not exactly a wealthy area.  I've switched from larger music classes to smaller or even one-on-one lessons because, frankly, I can't handle more than three of the kids at a time.  Unfortunately, many of these kids' families can't afford to outfit them with an instrument no matter how bad they want to play.  Even without their own instruments, I can already see a lot of potential in some of them.  My goal, therefore, is to get an instrument into the hands of every child in that church community who wants one.  I hope that those of you who have the means to do so will pray about this and help if possible.

On the right hand side of this page, you should be able to see two things under Operation: Instrumental - a link to the spreadsheet and a Donate button.  Click on the Spreadsheet link and check it out - this is my basic plan.  I may edit it a bit as I figure out which instruments the students do or don't want to play, but I think this is a safe starting point.  If you are moved to donate, click the button and donate the amount of the instrument you'd like to purchase.  Please put your name, address, and instrument selection in the box for additional information when you do so.  If you'd like to donate an instrument you have laying around, send me an email; depending on the instrument, that may or may not be feasible.  Once you send either a payment or an instrument, I will update the spreadsheet to reflect your donation.  That way, anyone considering a donation will be able to see exactly what our remaining needs are.

Ok, that's out of the way.  Quite a bit has happened since my last post, though I don't think I have time to write about all of it.  Here's a highlight reel:

Wednesday the 9th: I walked around San Jose all morning/afternoon looking for and pricing instruments.  En route, I got hit by a truck.  Yes, a real truck with a radiator high enough to hit the left half of my face.  It looked something like this.  The red line is my path, the green path would be a normal route for a truck to make a left turn, and the light blue line is what he did.  When I crossed into the far lane, I looked to my right to make sure no one was coming, and he hit me about two seconds into that look.  I stumbled a bit, but I didn't fall over.  The driver was yelling at me from the cab like it was my fault, but some older lady saw the whole thing, made sure I was ok, and then proceeded to scream at the driver until he pulled away.  I knew I wasn't hurt, so I just kept walking.

Friday the 11th: Heather and I celebrated ten months together.  In the scheme of human history, that's little more than a blink, and honestly that's what it feels like when I think back on it.  I feel incredibly blessed to be dating someone so beautiful in so many ways and I can't believe ten months have already gone by.

Saturday the 12th: Valpo won a football game.  If you don't understand why this matters, read this article.  Nebraska also won - I don't even know what to think about that whole Penn State situation.  So sad.

Monday the 13th: I have (sort of) hot water!  Gregorio and I installed my heated shower head in a very not-up-to-code way, but after getting in a shower that wasn't cold enough to make me scream like my girlfriend seeing a mouse (which I have only heard in my imagination), I didn't care.  It's warm, and everything's ok.  I still don't love my shower, but I no longer fear it.

Tuesday the yesterday: I went to two very different concerts.  The first was the Municipal Orchestra of Heredia (a NW suburb) performing a concert of Costa Rican and Cuban composers at the National Theatre.  There was an unbelievable composition by Eddie Mora for a flautist/ocarinist and string orchestra called ¿Quién Amanece?  This literally means "who dawns?"  and I have no idea how to translate accurately.  The flautist entered through the rear doors of the concert hall to start the piece, played the majority of it on stage, and then exited stage right to end it with the same initial solo.  Look it up if you're curious - it was very cool.  The second was at the San Pedro Jazz Café.  I went to see one of Kat's coworkers play a show with his jazz/funk/rock band, which was a lot of fun.  They have some cool sounds, including an occasional jazz clarinet solo.  I hope to go back sometime, though I'm not sure I'll be able to afford it too often.

And that brings us to today.  I need to get moving - I need to shower and eat before I leave for class in half an hour.  Thanks for reading and considering your involvement in Operation: Instrumental - together, I really do believe we have the potential to positively impact many lives in this way.  I'll be back in the USA in less than a month!

Operation: Instrumental

Good morning everybody!

You may have noticed a new addition to the page over on the right hand side.  I'm hoping to get a big update done tonight or tomorrow morning, which will include a new project - Operation: Instrumental.  More info to come very soon, but for now please do not use that "Donate" button until further notice.

Thanks!

Lessons in Humility

Listening to: Let it Be...Naked


"To love another person is to see the face of God" - Les Miserables

This is one of those posts where I have a lot of ideas and a unifying theme but no idea how to string them together.  Here goes.

When I wrote that post on Saturday, I could have had absolutely no idea how challenging these next few days would be.  I don't mean "challenging" as in "difficult" - I mean it in the sense that they have challenged my perceptions of who I am and how I relate to people around me.  On Sunday, rather than go to the farmers' market, I went with several of our members to our sister congregation in Pavas.  I had heard a lot about this church, but had yet to see it myself.  They apparently used to be closer, but severed in some sense due to some relational issues a few months ago.  They invited us to their campus to celebrate Reformation Sunday together, and we had a great time (except I left my brand new Spanish Bible there on accident).  It was challenging because, as I told Heather, even a tiny candle looks awfully bright in a dark room.  Pavas is a shanty-town, much like the community next to my apartment, but not long ago a neighboring community which had become mired in a drug culture was forcibly evicted.  Naturally, a portion of them came into Pavas, and I had the privilege on Sunday to see several people sitting on the railroad tracks who didn't seem too sure where they were.  Unfortunately, many were looking in the bottom of a half-liter can (at 10am on a Sunday).  Theirs were the emptiest eyes I have ever seen.

After our worship and fellowship together in Pavas, we came back to San Sebastian for a few hours, then headed out for a sort of Reformation day party at the ILCO (Iglesia Luterana Costarricense).  I think twelve or more churches turned out, most of which were Lutheran.  It was a sort of mini-concert followed by something like a worship service with no sermon.  There were some great musicians and dancers there and I relished the chance to meet some new people.  More on that later, if I have time.  When it was time for the offering, Wendy and I played my jazz arrangement of A Mighty Fortress (yes, you read that correctly) on soprano sax and guitar respectively.  Heidi accompanied us with a little percussion and sang on the last verse.  I forgot to bring my A/V recorder, but if we get it recorded sometime soon I'll put it up.  It went reasonably well except that I got really thrown off when Heidi started singing and sort of lost my place for a minute.

After we finished, the presiding pastor got up to explain why everyone planning this event had decided against a sermon, talking about the Spirit's ability to work in whatever avenue he likes.  A man I had noticed slinking in a few minutes earlier kept chiming in with "I agree" and "Amen"-type comments, which made him a fish out of water at a Lutheran service (this is one of the funny similarities I keep noticing).  The man had obviously come in off the street - his shirt, wool jacket, pants, shoes, and hat were all worn down to rags.  He looked dirty, greasy, and defeated, but he was there.  He was so loud that, eventually, the pastor asked him if he wanted to give a message.  The man seemed confused and embarrassed, but the pastor kept encouraging him to address the rest of us.  He turned to us and thanked the young man who had brought him a cup of coffee and an empañada as he stood outside the church and told us how he just wanted to be a part of the music and the dancing and the celebration.  Then he did something completely unexpected: he reached into his coat and pulled out a bill worth about $10 and said he wanted to give it as an offering.  "Who will take this?" he asked, waving it around.  One of the church workers volunteered and walked toward him, and the man promptly crumpled the bill into a tiny ball in his hand.  "And now?"  The crowd was silent.  "Is it still worth something?  Is it worth any less just because it's crumpled and dirty?"  More silence, his raised fist still clenching the bill.  "Soy yo."  I'm not exactly sure how to translate this - maybe "this is me."  He began to tell us his story - how he had been in a horse riding accident, sustained a brain injury, lost his ability to work, and begun his life on the streets.  He kept reiterating that he wasn't drugged out or asking for money.  He told another story about fine china teapot whose owner put it on the highest shelf of his glass cabinet to show it off.  This made the teapot feel great.  One day, the teapot was knocked down and broke in half.  The owner threw it out into the yard, and the teapot felt worthless, and hopeless.  Then, one day, the owner was startled to find a flower growing in each half of the "useless" teapot.  He told another story, which I won't relay for time's sake, but at the end of it he just up and left - thanked us for the coffee and walked back out to the street when we went on to the next song.

I was thoroughly shaken by the experience.  What had I just seen?  Was it human?  This poor little old man had just walked into our prosperity and delivered three parables like I imagine Jesus would have done had he been there himself.  Had he?  I have no idea what song we sang - I was completely absorbed in contemplation.  Had I just seen the face of God?  The hand?

The pastor broke that contemplation - "had any of you ever seen that man before?"  To my surprise (and, honestly, my dismay), twenty or so hands shot up.  "How many of you have heard of __some name I didn't know__?"  A murmur went through the crowd.  The man, it turns out, is a Costa Rican actor.  He does events like this as a volunteer, and even as a pretty cynical actor I can tell you I was completely had the entire time.  He was unreal, and I felt so let down and embarrassed.  Of course it had been an actor - how could I have been so gullible?  God doesn't show his face in our world - that's biblical stuff.  I tried to put it out of my mind, but failed miserably.

As I kept thinking about this, something dawned on me.  The man had not been God or an angel, true, but I had seen the face of God in what he did.  God doesn't physically appear in this world - he shows himself through us.  Maybe this doesn't seem like a revelation to you.  Maybe you had to be there, but maybe you don't.  Maybe every one of us can find the value in the discarded, dirty, broken, and crumpled up people we see every day.  Maybe we can all do just a little bit more to tap that potential.  Maybe our mission in this world is to love our neighbor.  Maybe.

"To love mercy" and at the same time "to do justly" is the difficult task; to fulfil the first requirement alone is to fall into the error of indiscriminate giving with all its disastrous results; to fulfil the second solely is to obtain the stern policy of withholding, and it results in such a dreary lack of sympathy and understanding that the establishment of justice is impossible. It may be that the combination of the two can never be attained save as we fulfil still the third requirement—"to walk humbly with God," which may mean to walk for many dreary miles beside the lowliest of His creatures, not even in that peace of mind which the company of the humble is popularly supposed to afford, but rather with the pangs and throes to which the poor human understanding is subjected whenever it attempts to comprehend the meaning of life. - Jane Addams, Democracy and Social Ethics

Just in case you haven't stopped reading, I have one final tidbit (though I could easily keep writing for another few hours).  Yesterday, I went to teach my class at HP.  It went well enough, but I left my umbrella in the classroom in my rush to get out after we went a few minutes late.  The weather, like usual, noticed and took advantage of the situation.  I only had to walk about half a mile in the rain, but my clothes were saturated in the first ten steps or so.  I must have been quite the sight - a clean cut businessman in a shirt and tie carrying a laptop case but no umbrella, soaked to the bone.  I walked by many people in that half mile from a wide range of backgrounds, but even those carrying a plastic bag and wearing the rest of their possessions had an umbrella.  In that moment, I wasn't the fortunate one.  I was the poor man, poorer in at least one respect than every person I saw.  This probably doesn't sound like much, but it really impacted me.  Fortune can be a very fleeting thing, and while we should be thankful for what we have doing so shouldn't give us a license to look past the have-nots nor to view them as inferior.  They're every bit as human as the rest of us, and we could involuntarily join their ranks at any moment.  I'll close with a quote from Bono, of all people:

All the other religions of the world teach karma. Only Jesus teaches grace.  Unfortunately, in most instances, even Christianity teaches karma. - Bono, Larry King Live

If you're curious to hear a little more of Bono's theology, read this interview, especially the second half.   It's a different interview, but I think it makes his stance a little more clear.

A Big Week

Listening to: O My Soul


I think I'll bring back the "Listening to" feature - it inspires my to actually select what I listen to rather than just hitting the magic shuffle button.  I'm on "The Coolin'" by Samuel Barber, which is causing some serious Chorale/Valpo nostalgia.  I've been feeling a lot of that recently - I miss the people, the place, the experiences: the life.  If any of you college kids are taking the time out of your insane schedules to read this (meaning you're not at the Halloween party for some reason), take that to heart.  Get the most out of "college" while it lasts; it is an experience that, as far as I can tell, is pretty much unique to 18-22 year olds living in the U.S.  That doesn't mean you should just "enjoy" college - living that life to its fullest means being productive, too.  Ok, done preaching.

This was definitely the fastest week yet.  It wasn't easy, but I feel like it was the first one that's resembled what the next 6 (5? how did that happen?) months will normally look like.  A brief rundown (not including a bunch of random meetings and other stuff I had this week):

Domingo: Farmer's market at about 8:00 am.  Best fruits, veggies, cheeses, and random (viz: very likely stolen) stuff at stupidly low prices.  Last week, I bought my tea kettle for 1,000 Colones (about $2), my pressure cooker for 12,000 (you can handle the math), and five pineapples for another 1,000.  Church at 3:00 pm, social time and sometimes a community supper after worship, then the general English class for the youth, then piano class.

Lunes: Class at HP from 4:00-7:00 pm.  That doesn't look bad, but I have to leave here by about 1:30 and don't get back until approximately 9:00.  Thankfully, it's paid per academic hour, so I get four hours' worth of pay instead of three.  They're very smart and are at a Beginning-Advanced level (C1).

Martes: My one day that's currently free as far as teaching, though I do get to go to a Bible study that often feels like a class.  I say "currently" because I may be picking up some more volunteer activity tomorrow when I visit the other Lutheran congregation in San Jose.  I'm technically here as a volunteer to their umbrella organization (Iglesia Luterana Centro-Americana), but I've only been working with Sola Fe so far.  The Bible study rotates between homes weekly, is accompanied by an awesome supper, and is led by Sergio, one of the pastors.  At the end of the study, the group decides who is going to preach on Sunday.  This seems like it's about 50/50 between the pastors and laity as far as preaching duty - they've already tried to get me to do it twice.  They said they aren't letting me leave until I do, but my Spanish is nowhere near the level it needs to be for that yet!

Miércoles: Two lessons, 4:30-6:00 and 6:00-7:00.  The first is a private lesson with Sergio.  He's at a beginning-intermediate (B1) level, which is probably about my favorite to teach.  They have enough background to believe in themselves, but they still have a very long way to go and are a little more eager to make mistakes and learn from them, which is very much the way I like to teach.  The second is the beginning English class for adults, which is a little more difficult but just as rewarding.

Jueves: Normally, general English for the youth at 6:00 and guitar class at 7:00, but this week I got a shift as a substitute and had to bump these to Friday after my other English lessons.

Viernes: Same schedule as Wednesday.

Sábado: Hopefully a morning shift with InLingua (currently pending).  Percussion class at 4:30, Youth Choir (starting next week!!!) at 6:00, youth group at 7:00.

Repeat.

Those are the basics of it, which probably look like almost nothing.  Unfortunately, as I have discovered, teaching well requires a lot of lesson planning (and I'm not even grading anything).  Additionally, I usually go to Heidi's for a sort of orientation class every week, run to the office(s) to make copies and file paperwork, go into San Jose for various things, Skyping, yada yada yada.  Long story short, I somehow usually manage to have a lot less free time than I think, which is probably a good thing.  I'm not very good at handling it.  Additionally, there are still two churches that want a piece of me and I want to start a recorder ensemble.  It would be a lot easier if I could work during the day or in the morning, but c'est la vie.

Tomorrow, there's some kind of inter-church service going on - I've only heard it discussed in Spanish so I'm very fuzzy on the details.  I'm just going to show up at Sola Fe with my guitar and let them lead me.  For this event, Wendy Mallette (a fellow Valpo student spending her semester here) and I have been working on a jazz arrangement of "A Mighty Fortress" for soprano saxophone and guitar per Heidi's request.  We practiced it again this morning, and it actually went really well.  Maybe I'll get a video up in the next few days.

I think I'd better call it a night as far as this post.  Heather and I are working through the Bible in six months, and last night she called me out for slacking by about a whole book (Joshua).  I need to read.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.  I feel like a lot more of my time so far has been spent trying to position myself to let God use me than actually letting him use me, but last night I got to catch a glimpse of it.  I brought three boys in guitar class from "this is a treble clef" to being able to play open E's, A's, and D's in time in about 90 minutes.  That was really cool, and I hope it was just a little taste of what's to come.

Running

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last actual post - things have been picking up quite a bit.  I now have two jobs with two separate English teaching companies plus two paid lessons at the church, so if I'm lucky I might pull in enough to cover this month's rent.  In addition to those, I've been doing some free lessons and classes at random times, and on Sunday we're going to sit down and figure out how that's all going to work on a weekly basis.  I hate to admit it, but I'm excited to feel at least somewhat busy again.

I taught my first class for ProLanguage on Thursday night at a factory called Eaton over in Moravia.  I should probably mention that if you want to track these places and get an idea of what I'm talking about, you can find most of them here.  I'm sure I don't have everything there, but it should give you a general idea (also, please let me know if that link doesn't work for you).  Even though I was just a sub, the class went unbelievably well.  I only had three students, all of whom were very different from each other but who had obviously already built some rapport between themselves.  On the way back, one of my students and I shared a bus since we were going the same direction and we got to talking.  I knew from our class discussion that she was a person of faith, but somehow our conversation turned to the two things you're never supposed to talk about in public anyway.  Honestly, I've had a very mixed reaction to living in a socialized democracy, and I'm sure I'll have time to talk about that at some point after I've chewed on it for a little bit longer.  Suffice it to say that so far, I have found Costa Ricans to be incredibly open about their own religious and political views and equally curious about others'.  The first thing my taxi driver asked after I told him where to take me was "so what do you make of this whole thing with Obama and Gaddafi?"

My other job, InLingua, is the organizational opposite of ProLanguage.  At ProLanguage, they focus on the "freedom" a teacher "enjoys" by doing most of the lesson planning, testing, etc...on their own.  To some degree, they're right - I enjoyed, for example, having my class make hotel brochures at the end of our session (mine was for the Hotel California, which got them all to start singing).  At InLingua, however, I am a cog in a massive, international, well-known, and incredibly efficient machine.  I will never write a lesson plan, quiz, test, or progress report for that job, and with the exception of an attendance sheet and copies used in class the entire operation is paperless.  It's a Swiss company (go figure), and I'm really excited about the chance to work there.  My first class with them (which is actually a weekly gig) is Monday night at HP.  Yeah, that HP.  Like I said - it's a pretty legitimate brand.

I have to say that I probably gave the best interview of my life for this job.  It was like I couldn't say anything wrong, and by the end he was starting to bargain with me for terms I could accept rather than vice versa.  I really like my boss so far - he's a nutty but incredibly passionate, energetic, and authentic Canadian.  He knows all the company jargon sounds like a bunch of bull and he jokes about it sometimes, but he actually does believe in it and presents it very effectively as something we should buy into as well.  His philosophy is basically that the higher the percentage of our work that occurs inside a classroom, the better we'll be at it.  Perfect.  He also agreed to let me use their materials in my volunteer lessons at the church (after a little verification with Heidi or Sergio) - the company is big on philanthropic stuff.  Lucky for me, I sent in the trimmed down resume which includes mostly volunteer work and very little employment.

A Little Break from the Day to Day

So, instead of a life update (since you have to get tired of reading those eventually), I'm going to do a little political post.  If you're reading this, you probably know I would loosely consider myself a conservative and Republican.  I say loosely not because I don't know where I stand but because I honestly don't know exactly what those two words mean anymore.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm living in a (pretty well-run) socialist state or maybe it's just the distance from home but for some reason, I've been completely enthralled by catching up on the Republican Primary debates over the last few days.  This is especially weird given that I may or may not be around for Primary season, depending how that whole scene shapes up.  I just finished watching the debate from this evening.  Here are some very brief (mostly positive) comments about each candidate.

If you're going to comment, be civil.  Hatred and slander are at least as dangerous to a country as any other political problem, and healing a broken nation takes more casts and fewer clubs.

I'll go alphabetically:

Bachmann - I really do think you have a better understanding of Congressional issues than anyone in the race other than Newt.  I also respect your experience as a federal tax attorney, which I think has enabled you to concisely and correctly criticize the 9-9-9 plan.  If you want a serious chance at the nomination, you need to tone down the gimmicky phrases and undisguised appeals to emotional responses in your audience.  They're bringing out a Palin-esque side of you that, while valuable in quite a few areas, will absolutely crush your chances of winning the nomination and/or election.  We know you're a passionate mom.  Prove you can be a strong leader.

Cain - I like your boldness.  It takes guts to run a campaign on the underlying premise that you're not actually a politician.  Your position on the Fed is definitely your most concerning attribute in my opinion.  Your boldness is getting you into trouble on occasion; if you want to win this thing you have to be more careful about your first response and stop having to cover your tracks later.

Gingrich - Are you actually still running?  That's not an insult - I'm just confused.  If I had my druthers, you would drop out, win a VP nomination, and moderate the remainder of these debates.  You seem to be half cheerleader and half elderly advisor, which is fine by me.  Your comments are often insightful and useful, and to be honest I think you're already doing a better job of moderating them than have many of the official moderators.

Paul - More than anyone, I would love to see you debate Obama.  I think you're the most intelligent person in the race, but even more than that I respect your complete lack of partisanship.  You aren't bipartisan; you're nonpartisan if not anti-partisan (which would be even better).  Your allegiance lies with principles, not parties.  You honestly remind me of Yoda next to the rest of these candidates: you're old, wise, funny, (mentally) agile, and consistently screwed over by the man (by which I mean the moderators).  That said, your persona works better when you add a little boldness to your "frail little old man" image.  You have the vote of a lot of the deep thinkers in the party; work on your excitement and emotional appeal.  You have a near perfect track record and you're the only person in the race who seems unquestionably trustworthy, though Santorum also seems to shoot pretty straight.  Keep going.

Perry - I can't decide whether I want you to get out of the race or not.  On the one hand, you're a horrible debater.  I don't think I could, in good conscience, vote for a man who so poorly expresses himself, no matter how good the underlying ideas could possibly be.  They say Nixon lost because of the transition from radio to TV; you'd never have a shot with either.  You and Santorum also made yourselves look like fools in your dealings with Romney, but at least Santorum had a reasonable idea to express.  Telling the moderator ahead of time that you weren't actually going to answer his question and proceeding to hammer yet again on your only two points ("Obama is horrible" and "we need to use our untapped energy") embodied every negative stereotype your potential voters have of a lifetime politician from Texas.  You cannot win this nomination or election.  On the other hand, you are making the rest of the field look a heck of a lot better than they actually are, which may enable one of them to finally step (or in this case trampoline) into a real limelight and become a legitimate nominee.

Romney - You are the best rhetorician in the debate, particularly with your rebuttals.  While I would very much like to see Paul go up against Obama, I also believe you could beat him toe to toe.  You seem more comfortable thinking on your feet and rolling with the punches than any other candidate.  You have done a pretty good job of using Perry to springboard yourself forward by trying to maintain your opponent's integrity until he no longer allows you to do so and then separating yourself from him.  You will have to do this several more times, and I seriously doubt it will be that easy in the cases to come.  A lot of people like you but aren't sure they can trust you.  You have the most difficult track record for your potential voters; you're explaining yourself well, but you still have yet to earn that trust.

Santorum - While you get a bit whiny at times, I actually think you have some great ideas (particularly your emphasis in the reinstitution of the American family).  I appreciate your boldness and your obvious research; you depend more on principles and evidence than anyone in the field except Paul.  Your temper tantrum with Romney tonight was horrible and it made you look like a desperate outlier (which, statistically, you are).  I wish you were a bit higher in the polls, but I don't think you can outthink Paul, shout over Cain, or debate Romney and win.  On the bright side, you can definitely beat Perry.

I don't think I missed anyone.  Maybe that was worse than a normal post, but I feel better having gotten out those ideas.  Again, comments are welcome if well thought out and civil.

Cheers,
Jacob

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Well I'm watching youtube videos to catch up on political developments in the US for the last month or more - I pretty well missed the entire rise and fall of Rick Perry thanks to the LSAT.  My internet is too slow to actually load the videos realtime, so I'm going to write while they load up.

Today I got the chance to go to a farmer's market in San Jose called the mayoreo.  I bought a bunch of fruits and veggies, several of which I'd never seen (let alone tasted).  I also bought a pressure cooker, which was a complete mistake.  Either it's missing a part or no one in this apartment complex can figure out how to lock down the lid.  It's not the good old lock-on kind but a weird winged contraption with a sort of handle in the middle you're supposed to rotate to raise the wings and tighten the lid.  Regardless, I managed to make tortillas, black beans, chayote (imagine a fruit that most closely resembles a potato), and rice with peppers, onion, and several cloves of garlic.  I love me some garlic.  I've really enjoyed cooking here, if you haven't noticed the theme.

While I'm still job-hunting, I'm very excited to start up English lessons at the church this week.  I'm going to run a beginner-level help session every day and an intermediate class on Tuesday.  The help session is going to be very informal, but I hope it will be a big help to the kids.  Basically, I'm just going to offer tutorial and homework help in an English-speaking environment.  I have no idea how many will show up or how old they'll be, but hopefully we can make it work for everyone.

Church went well today - I successfully (with a little help) figured out a melody on a recorder, which I didn't really think I could do.  Wendy is going to stop by with her saxophone early in the morning so we can start working on an arrangement, so I had better hit the sack.  

Rough Patches

So, my last few posts have been pretty spotty at best - my bad.  It's been hard to find both time and internet (one of which should now be solved...read on).  I've been hired as an English teacher, but I'm waiting on classes to form up.  Essentially, I have a job but no work.  That means I've been looking for other kinds of work, both with other English companies and with what they call "call centers."  I don't really want to go back to doing surveys again, but it would beat telemarketing (or starving).

I'll hopefully be starting up English and Music lessons after church on Sunday afternoon.  We've been waiting to schedule those until I have a work schedule, but I think we might just have to go ahead with it.  There should be some fun projects as far as the music - we've got a couple of guitars, drums, recorders, and a keyboard, so I think I might start working on some arrangements to accompany the singers in church.  Right now it's basically whoever can play a plucked instrument (guitar, mandolin, etc...) chordally accompanying the singers by ear.  People who play violin, flute, etc will sometimes add whatever harmony they like or reinforce the melody.  This is a lot of fun, but for obvious reasons it has its occasional problems.  I'm hoping I can set up a few three or four part songs for some of those instruments and get some cool rhythmic stuff going as well.

This is an incredibly involved church, especially compared to the U.S. congregations I've experienced.  They only have around 30 members.  About 12 of them are adults, and they have an 6-person leadership board (which may or may not include the 2 pastors and deaconess).  They had elections last week, which was a pretty interesting affair (as someone used to running meetings with a system at least resembling Robert's rules).  They have three weekly Bible studies, two of which rotate homes and involve sharing supper, so they share a significant amount of time with one another at least once every other day.  It's very interesting - they have almost no resources in the material sense, but are more deeply catechistic and biblically knowledgable than all but the leadership of any church I've seen in the US.  Pastor Sergio leads these studies and doesn't hold anything back in the discussions - we discuss context, controversies, and deep theological implications of every passage.  His theology (and that of the majority of the congregation) is much more liberal than my own, but he is not at all militant about his own point of view.  He can get a little over-excited sometimes, but in general he does a lot more asking than answering.

Costa Rican Food Pyramid

I ran this morning, for the first time since coming to Costa Rica.  Miraculously, my waistline hasn't ballooned with the Costa Rican diet.  I would say their food pyramid would look a lot like the old USDA one, except you would have to switch vegetables with oil and salt.  They fry something at every meal, I think.  Another thing I didn't expect: they blend and drink almost all of their fruit intake.  I tried my hand at it yesterday with a pineapple and an orange, which turned out pretty well.  The only ones I've seen people eat "raw" are bananas and avocados.

Thanks to Gregorio, one of my friends at the church here, I now have internet access via a little USB stick.  It's pretty slow, but it only costs $10/month so I'm not complaining.  It works well for voice calling on Skype, but can be a little sketchy once you add the video, so feel free to call me if you see I'm online.

I guess the last thing I'll write about for today is my Spanish usage.  I'm definitely going through a bit of a rough patch the last few days.  I hit the ground running pretty well when I got here and did really well at the Bible study on Wednesday night, but for some reason my brain has been shutting down a bit recently.  I usually need a good half hour or so of conversation before the lightbulb comes on and I start understanding the majority of it, but the last couple of days that just hasn't happened.  I hope it will get better here soon.

That's it for now, thanks for reading and hopefully I'll have more news about a job and work at the church very soon!  ¡Hasta luego!

Rain

(10/11 6:30)

Things have been moving along slowly but steadily and I think I'm almost "there" - wherever that is.  I have my apartment stuffed pretty amply with the stuff Heidi had been saving for me.  A lot of it was very dirty after sitting in an outdoor garage for who knows how long, so I've used up at least half of my spray bottle of Clorox and my room smells a bit like a nursing home (old but well sanitized).  I'm in a little studio, probably about 12'x16', and I've managed to cram in a big bed (queen, I think), a dining table, a kitchenette (fridge, microwave, toaster oven, gas stove, blender), and the built-in bathroom.  I also have space open for a sleeper couch that we haven't been able to bring over due to the rain.

Ah, the rain.  Costa Rica is in its wet season right now, and the last couple of days (due to a storm in the Atlantic, I'm told) have really lived up to that title.  Normally, it's supposed to rain for a couple of hours in the early afternoon.  Yesterday, it rained from 10am to 10pm or later, and today it's been going since late this morning.  That said, I really don't mind it beside the inconveniences it causes.  It's a soft rain, as they say here, and I find it to be much more calming than depressing.  There's some occasional lightning, but nothing like a good midwestern thunderstorm.  The Ticos/as (people from Costa Rica) all seem to think Nebraska is always cold - it's funny to watch their faces when I tell them about the difference between our summer and our winter.

Finding internet has, obviously, been quite the challenge.  There is a network I can access right now that's named "5.000 x mes 2232-2215", but I tried calling that number today and it belongs to a hospital.  I also tried entering the number as a password, but that didn't work either.  5,000 Colones x mes means roughly $10/month, so this would be a great deal if I could access it.  None of the neighbors I've talked to so far know who owns it, but I'll keep looking.

Ah, my neighbors.  It's been a lot of fun meeting them.  Yesterday, Anna (who lives across the hall) saw me standing in the dark by myself eating an avocado with a spoon.  I apparently looked pathetic enough to earn a meal, because she brought in a casado (lunch dish) with rice, beans, yuca (kind of like squash), and chicken.  She came back to check on me once with an avocado, and another time with a coke.  It was so nice of her - I think we had spoken maybe five words before then.  Today, another one of my neighbors (the sister of one of our church members) taught me how to cook a typical lunch.  It was the same as my lunch yesterday, except we fried a kind of sausage instead of roasting chicken.  I have enough leftovers for at least three or four days.

I have a lot more to write about, but I have to get this down.  As of this evening I have been dating one of the most beautiful, intelligent, loving, and faithful people I have ever met for nine months.  Be jealous.

Settling In

Well, Mom just used up most of my blogging time via Skype so this will have to be an express post.  Short version:  I have an apartment, but haven't moved in yet, and I have my second interview for a job as an English teacher on Monday.  My apartment is very close (cercisima) to the church, so I should hopefully be able to spend a lot of time there.  Accessing the internet has been a little difficult - the wifi at Heidi's house doesn't work on my computer or iPod for some reason.  I'm hoping that's just a fluke (i.e. that they will work at internet cafes).  I can put in the password and connect to the network, but can't access the internet.  If any apple pros out there have any hints for me, I'd appreciate the help.

I haven't been able to start much work over at the church yet - I've pretty much just been meeting and getting to know the congregation.  I'm very much living a bilingual life at the moment; English at Heidi's, Spanish everywhere else.  I can get over to the church and back via the bus on my own, but I still have a lot to learn as far as the geography and bus routes.  Hopefully in the next week or so I'll be able to start English and Music lessons over there.  We did buy an electric keyboard in town, so hopefully that will come in handy.

Ok, have to run!  I'll fill in some more details when I have time.

Whirlwind #1

Wow, what a day.  I'm pretty tired and still trying to beat this cold, so I'll do a quick summary.

I was tired enough to sleep through a marching band practice about 20 yards outside my window this morning - Heidi was in utter disbelief when I finally came out of hibernation.  My itinerary yesterday took me through four U.S. airports before landing in San Jose, spanning about 20 hours from door to door.

The pastor of Sola Fe (our church) and his wife stopped by this morning.  Sergio ate (his second) breakfast with me and then showed me around San Pedro and San Jose, including the most crucial bus lines for me to learn.  He also helped me buy a cheap prepaid phone, which went significantly better than last time (see June 10 on jakeacrossthepond.blogspot.com for reference).  We walked around a bunch, then came back for lunch.

After lunch, Heidi took me through a presentation on the histories of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, since most of the members of the congregation are immigrants.  I never realized some of the major differences, but one analogy really stuck out to me.  Nicaragua was like the Deep South of the USA - a few white men running huge plantations based on indigenous, imported, and self-procreated slave labor.  Costa Rica was more like the United States' Midwest, where the government gave land they didn't really have to predominantly white settlers who worked it themselves.  Single white men who wanted to get rich quick were the typical Spaniards in Nicaragua.  Families trying to build a better life went to Costa Rica.

I had a little break at this point, where I practiced some guitar, then we went to the church.  We went first to Gregorio's house, but they quickly shoved me back out the door with a woman whose name I forget now.  She took me to a nearby home and served me supper while she and her daughter watched a telenovela (soap opera).  I thought it was odd that I would eat by myself, but I didn't want to be rude.  Afterwards, we returned to the other house where they were cooking supper.  When they sat down, I was implored to eat again.  I ate rice and some kind of meat or egg at all of these meals - egg and ham, chicken, beef, and fish.  The food is like the coffee - not spicy but incredibly rich and delicious.  I also had fried plantain slices (twice). Heidi later explained to me that this pre-supper is a common way to offer hospitality.

After supper #2, we went to a confirmation class.  This was quite the eye-opening experience.  The kids were obviously excited to be there, but they were under nothing I could recognize as control.  We sang a few songs and then went through an article of the Lord's prayer.  I'll save you any details, but it was certainly a challenge I have never experienced and one I look forward to meeting.

After that, it was just bus, blog, and now bed.  I am very tired, as I said, so I bid thee good night.

Running on Faith

...and caffeine.  I'm absurdly early for this flight - I arrived at my gate at 6:40 for an 8:10 flight to Dallas.  I'll be hopping around a bit today - Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and finally San Jose - but I imagine only Nebraska will give me free wifi so I figure I should write while I have the chance.  Given all the traveling I did this summer, I'm surprisingly not sure when I was last in an airport.  I suppose it would have been my trip home with Heather this Spring.

The sun's rising out the window to my left, washing away what has been a very short night and what felt like an instantaneous summer.  I've spent a lot of time wondering what God was doing with me over the last few months.  We like to wrestle sometimes.  In the end, I realized (yet again) that I cannot comprehend his timing, his plan, or his methods for accomplishing that plan, and consequently resigned myself to focus on simply taking the next step.  He's already promised to take care of the rest.


Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
   and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
   fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. (Pr. 3:5-7)

My translation/takeaway:

Don't fool yourself with your own flawed logic.
  Trust God with all your heart.
Remember who and whose you were made to be
  and he will take care of tomorrow.
Don't pretend to know what you're talking about;
  humble yourself and let God do the talking. Listen and obey.

As I said to mom this morning on my way in, I hope to learn much more than I teach over the next few months.  I don't know how it's going to happen, but I've got faith, and right now I think that's all I really need.