Skype Video Chat

If you have ever lived overseas (or maybe just far away from your family) in the last few years, you may have discovered the amazing FREE Skype communication technology. As long as the other person also has Skype downloaded on his/her computer, you can chat for hours and it won't cost a penny! :)

I just found a folder of photos I have taken of people while chatting via Skype video. Please forgive the poor quality of photos...

Wes. Brother. He was in London studying at Oxford. 9.19.2009.

Jaclyn. Friend from Judson. She was volunteering with EMI in Uganda. 10.20.2009.

Jenny. Roommate from Judson. She is a teacher in the Chicago area. 3.10.2010.

Yoji. Friend from Costa Rica. He is studying in St. Louis, Missouri. 6.3.2010.

Trish. Best friend that I lived with here in CR. She was visiting family for the summer in Ohio. 8.4.2010.

Tiffany. Roommate from Judson. She's a teacher in Bandung, Indonesia. 8.27.2010.

Rosie. Friend since high school. She lives and works in Dubuque, Iowa. 8.27.2010.

Erin. Friend from Virginia that I met in CR. She now lives in VA and works as a substitute teacher. 9.2.2010.

I Think I Fell in Love...

...with a two-year-old!!! Santiago is seriously the light of my life right now :).

playing at the park...

Cheese!!!

He almost mastered this ladder on his own... He actually started climbing the bars on the windows here at the house last week... Maybe he's practicing for the next time we're at that park?

Mama Natalia, Aunt Andrea, and Uncle Noda taking a break.

Santi hides behind doors and then jumps out and whispers, ''Boo!!'' Whispers, not yells :).

Then at night he plays before he goes to bed.

The moment I knew this kid was special was the moment he said, ''Kay-sh.'' (Kate :)) He hasn't stopped saying it since! He knocked on my door on this last Saturday morning and said, ''Kaysh!!'' Good thing it was 9am or I may not have responded as positively :). I opened the door to find him there with a big grin on his face! So precious!

The New National Stadium!!

So a friend from work, Mariel, got tickets for another co-worker (Daniela) and I to go to the International Marathon event happening during the inauguration events surrounding the new Costa Rican stadium. Exciting? Yes!

The entrance into a very modern stadium!

A football field! A track! High-definition screens!

An interesting fact is that this stadium is actually a gift from China. You know, kind of like when the Statue of Liberty was gifted to the U.S. from France.

Here's a good video/photo slide show/article about the making of the stadium: http://www.canchallena.com/1361008-un-escenario-de-lujo

Mariel, me, Daniela with an inauguration painting

The marathon runners

The sun goes down... and the lights come on!

Now while all of this was very exciting to see the ''progress'' Costa Rica has with this stadium, I also have some critiques...

1. There´s no parking lot, so surrounding neighborhoods are crowded with cars parked for events.

2. What about all the noise and bright lights for the surrounding neighborhoods at night? I mean, I live a good 20 kilometers from the stadium (at least) and I can hear fireworks at night from the stadium!!!

3. The stadium is a gift, yes, but who is funding the yearly maintenance costs of 1.8 million dollars? Hmm...

A Surprise Bouquet!

A bouquet of... baby pineapples (!!)... waited for me by the classroom door when I arrived last Thursday. Mom requested to see pictures, so here they are :). Notice how pineapples have thorns on their leaves, kind of like roses have them on their stems. The pineapples are about 2 inches tall and 1 inch wide and super cute! I don't think there's any chance of eating them, haha!

Oxymorons

Recently, I have noticed many things about my life that just simply do not go together. For example:

1. Spaghetti and rice.
I know it's pretty normal for Italians to eat spaghetti and bread together, but for some reason, the combo of spaghetti and rice just seem strange to me. I ate this combo as a meal several times this past week because it was served to me, not because it was a deliberate choice. Rice and spaghetti sauce are an unusual combination as well.

2. March and heat.
In my 22 years of living stateside, March and heat just didn´t go together. In fact, it was the opposite: March and cold. But here in Costa Rica, I am provided with many opportunities to be thankful for all the 90 degree weather during what is Costa Rica's summer.

3. 5th Graders and ''hot''.
Along with the heat, many students (and teachers!) are complaining about how sweaty, how thirsty, or how tired they are. Warning: If you say ''I am hot'' around 5th Graders, they will automatically burst into giggles. Oh dear.

4. Pineapples and bushes.
I'm not sure what I pictured pineapples growing on, but they actually grow as part of a bush. That's right. Bush. It's the kind of bush that has long, straight leaves and the pineapples grow up like flowers. Click on this blog post to see a photo of pineapple bushes.

5. Dead bodies and speedbumps.
The word ''muerto'' in Spanish means two things: a dead body and a speedbump. Oxymoron? I think yes.

6. Sleeping in and living with dogs and babies.
The past few weekends, I have fully intended to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday. I wake up at 7am to the dogs barking and the baby crying.

7. Baby showers and beer.
I (randomly) was part of a baby shower yesterday and we toasted the mother-to-be with beer. I couldn't help wondering about alcohol fetal syndrome.

8. Buses and sidewalks.
Sometimes there are sidewalks here... but not often. I was 4 inches from being hit by a bus today as I was walking on a sidewalk-less road. Yikes!

Calling All Judson Alumni

http://blog.judsonu.edu/play/504/

Check out this link for my guest post as a Judson University alumni.  I give a testimony as to how Judson gave me the opportunity to travel that later sparked my interest in living overseas. Enjoy! :)

Latest Painting Series

My latest 5 paintings are all already claimed by my good friend Meredith, who is also teaching here in Costa Rica at another private school, Metodista. She bought the canvases and hired me to paint all 5 for her 4th grade classroom. She gave me the verses she wanted but other than that, I could do whatever I wanted! :)

I painted a dribble design first, then decided it was too busy, so I painted over that with yellow. You can still see the first design under the yellow layer in real life.

This is the only one that turned out iconic.

This one started out as a drip painting but quickly morphed into a splatter painting, haha.

I added blue sequin fabric in the corners to add texture.

Nothing like some bubble letters :).

I'll be delivering the paintings this next weekend! I'm excited for Meredith to be able to use them in her classroom.