But much has happened since I wrote last, and I'll try to recap it well in a manner which allows you to "look at what you hear." (10 points to the person who can tell me where that quote came from. Hint: Trey Frye only gets one point, as does Shelley Dormont and Stephen Hollabaugh, but you can ask any of them).
But I'm settling in well, and as to get to my freshest memories first, I'll walk you all back in time over the past few weeks, starting the past couple of days. On Sunday I came home sick as a dog, with many common symptoms of heat exhaustion - I was hot, had the shivers, and had a headache. The church had an outdoor service at a campground and training center at which lunch time and afternoon activities such as football (soccer) and swimming proceeded. But since I had only played mostly keeper, and I do hail from Texas, I was befuddled at why I would have heat exhaustion. After slightly recovering Monday, plunging again Tuesday afternoon, and not recovered by Wednesday morning, it was time for a doctor visit in Atenas - it was now evident I had something way worse than heat exhaustion. The doctor here was pretty similar to a doctor visit in the States, taking vitals, temp (although with three devices I guess to get a good average, my temp - 39C). Then I was sent to the local lab to get some tests run and the results - an infection. Sounds bad, but it's way better than a Dangay diagnosis, which was good, and now, after about 30 hours on antibiotics, I am feeling great, eating again, and am almost ready to play in Jaco again.
Which takes me to Saturday, a day filled with much fun. I gotta say that I have so much fun simply driving in this beautiful place. It's sooo green and bright, and mountainous. And to see how the clouds obscure pieces of the mountains and leave the sun to highlight the next part is glorious. All that to say that the hour and a half drive to Jaco would have been worth the ride itself, but gladly for myself and the other interns, that awesome drive came with a canopy tour and waves taller than most of you reading this. I only lament not having adequate time to value renting a surfboard to learn to surf, but I didn't sweat the small stuff cause I did the best body surfing I've ever done. It's something else to be swimming atop a swirling curl of water six feet above the surface, and I got pounded pretty hard by numerous waves. I don't know how, but at one point, I even found myself falling down into the foam from behind, kind of like riding a really short but really powerful all natural water slide. Which is probably the thing that kept me treading water for hours on end - is that I was amidst such huge power and energy of the waves tossing me about with great force, but at the same time handled so gently by the water. Kind of describes God, who is infinitely powerful and we can feel that power in us, and at the same time, He is so gentle, like the water the waves pound you into. But on back in time to Saturday morning for the canopy tour. 13 unique ziplines took us in style from the top to the bottom of the hill with great birds eye views of the canopy and even of a world upside down. Very interesting to see a mountain go by upside down.
The week before was the first week of Language School (I skipped over the second week, shadowed by my being sick), and it went great. My professor's name is Adolfo, a man from Heredia, a northern region of CR, and our classes consists mainly of discussion on topics such as relationships, God, and culture with short grammar reviews mixed in. I came in with a pretty good understanding of the language, so the goal for me was to brush up on some things as well as catch some local lingo, and better comprehension and fluidity. We've had some great conversations and he's a very gentle man.
Please pray for my intimacy and closeness with God. It's a simple prayer, but closeness with God is huge, and very important. Also, pray for unity between the other interns and I. We're getting along hugely well, thanks be to God, but ask Him to continue deepening our relationships with Him and each other.
God Bless and Amen,
Brad
p.s. I have pictures coming soon. My connector cable from my camera to my computer has been detained and I shall receive it back shortly to transfer photos. I have many of them and will probably do a post solely devoted to pictures. Also, here's a cool video that shows about what the surf was like at Jaco. Farther out the waves were cresting much greater, much like the one this guy caught, but you can't see cause he's surfing.
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