Orientation

This week we have been in Orientation classes. We have been told that our experience here in Costa Rica is not just about language learning, but also about learning to live cross-culturally. Today, Dr. Longworth, a former MK here originally from Canada, talked to us about health in Costa Rica--what the hospital offers, what to do when you need a prescription filled, should we call an ambulance or not, what to do when you need vaccinations before traveling on to your country of service, etc.

We also discussed some interesting things about the culture. I shared some of those yesterday, and here are a few more:

Costa Ricans:

prefer to bathe at 5:00 am, and in cold water. It's good for you and invigorating. (This is an aspect of the culture I choose not to experience).

When bathing, prefer to take showers, as sitting in a tub of bath water would be viewed as sitting in a tub of dirty water.

That goes even for their dishes. In Latin America, the choice for washing dishes is using a paste of dishwashing soap that sits in a little container (think margarine container size) on your sink. They never fill the sink up, but have clean water flowing over the dishes as they wash them. Filling the sink up with soapy water would again be leaving them in dirty water.

Latin Americans, in general, place a much greater importance on relationships than North Americans (again, generally speaking). We were advised to speak to each person upon entering a social situation, and before leaving, address each person. If not, it may leave one who was accidentally overlooked wondering what he/she might have done to offend the North American.

Latin American men mostly wear pants, (the only time we've seen them wear shorts is while they are doing yard work or washing their cars), and the women mostly dress up, even while staying at home for the day.

It is considered impolite to point with your finger--many here point with their mouths or noses. Speaking of noses, and cleanliness, public nose-blowing is a cultural no-no here.

Cleanliness is extremely important here. Floor tiles glisten, windows sparkle, cars are detailed on the weekends.

We North Americans puzzle at why they talk so much and don't seem to get to the point and they puzzle at our busyness and rush to activities rather than choosing to spend time with family. We Americans pride ourselves on punctuality and efficiency, and Latin Americans pride themselves on loving families and relationships with others.

I'm thankful for this time of orientation so that we can learn about our cultural differences!

Lessons Learned Thus Far in Costa Rica.

1. Try every food--the food is absolutely delicious!

2. Namebrand Crocs and Keens are worth every penny.

3. A stroller with big wheels is a must with the broken and slick, mossy sidewalks.

4. Walking around town is great family time. It's fun to buy groceries after a long walk to the store.

5. Costa Ricans take a very important coffee break mid-afternoon--and their coffee is the best.

6. The flowers are exquisite and will take your breath away.

7. If you have to break a bone, Costa Rica is a very inexpensive place to do it: $150 as opposed to $6000 in the States. That $150 includes cast, doctor's evaluation and XRay.

8. The meat market is cheap and delivers (see picture of fire pit in wall below) to your door.

9. It's far more fun to laugh at yourself and bumble through the language than it is to be quiet.

10. Animation is key to making yourself understood before knowing the language! : )My hand gestures and acting skills are developing at an equal pace to my language acquisition.

One more. . .5 am does not seem nearly as early here as the sun is coming up already! Plus, I have Costa Rican coffee to look forward to!

Our Mailing Address

So many have asked for it, and we would really love to hear from home! : )

Here it is:

Dawn and Tully Stoudemayer
Instituto de Lengua Espanola
Apartado 100-2350
San Jose, Costa Rica
America Central

First Photos from Costa Rica!

A tribute to Maggie

Dawn and I have been on this missionary journey for 3 plus years now. It has been a great experience until the Saturday before we left for Costa Rica. We had to decide what to do with our dog, Maggie. She has been with us for 5 years since she was a young puppy. We had a family council with our three older boys to discuss what to do. Ultimately we decided to take her to the humane society in hopes she would be adopted. This decision was very hard for several reasons. Most importantly, Maggie quite simply is the best dog I have ever had. She is extremely loyal, loving, and submissive. She always looked out for the children and wanted to protect them. For example, one morning two weeks before we left the country,she barked incessantly. I finally got out of bed and went outside to see what was the matter. In the back field were 2 coyotes. She had stood her ground and chased them away. She simply is a great dog.

So on Saturday morning, Timothy, Luke, and I put Maggie in the car and took her to the Spartanburg Humane Society. We said goodbye to a great dog and put her in a kennel. We hope she is adopted to a good home. When I got in the car, all three of us cried for a good bit of the way home.

We love you Maggie,

Written by Tully Stoudemayer

Our Last Few Days at Home

When I think about everything that happened before we arrived here in Costa Rica, it still leaves me teary and thrilled and humbled to have been a part of something so massive that clearly could not have happened had it not been for the body of Christ coming together. God's presence was all around us as we packed and said our final goodbyes--it could never have happened without our awesome God. To Him be the glory!

I hope you enjoy these pictures from our last few days before leaving for Costa Rica. I don't think they relay very well all of the many hours our friends and family devoted to our getting moved out of our house and packed and ready for Costa Rica: toilets scrubbed, trunks, suitcases, carryons, and backpacks packed and weighed, and re-packed and re-weighed, boxes packed and taken to storage, runs to Miracle Hill, delicious meals cooked for our family, lunches brought over, cars delivered where they need to be, our refrigerator (much neglected as of late) cleaned out, the girls entertained, us to the airport on time. Thank you everyone. You have deeply humbled our family with your servant spirits! : )

We're Here!!

We arrived safe and sound yesterday, but extremely tired as you can imagine. Our big sister met us at the airport and we were able to get all 35 bags through immigrations and customs (although the customs official did examine the bag with all the chocolate chips! : ) Our house is phenomenal--after being there and getting our stuff unloaded, our big sister, Lynda, took us to PriceSmart (the Sam's Club), where the Lord showed me that He is going to work on my patience (or lack of) while here. We waited in line FOREVER for the application. I was able to buy some fruits and vegetables, diapers, etc.

Last night, we slept GREAT!

Unfortunately, we learned how important good traction is for shoes here this afternoon. Timothy, who turns 13 tomorrow, fell on our tile floor outside the house and broke his wrist this afternoon after we had a rain. He is doing great, and was home pretty quickly after going to the hospital (unlike home, right!), but please pray for him as he recovers. He'll get the cast off in three weeks.

We should get our cable/phone in 8 to 10 days, so it will be much easier for us to be in touch then. The fellow missionaries here have stopped by both yesterday and today to introduce themselves and ask how they can help out. The Ticas (what the locals call themselves) walk by us and gape at our big family! : )

The boys have already met some kids their ages. Trey went and ate pizza tonight with a family with teenagers (from TN).

I can't wait to write more later, but for now that's it!

Anna Update. . .77,000. . .August 9,2008

We had a great doctor's appt. yesterday! Found out that her platelet count is up to 77,000!! Her doctor is very pleased and optimistic that she is well on her way to recovery. He said he would like to see her one more time before we leave, next Friday. If her platelet count is good, there will be no need to do anything else! Praise God!

The Girls

We started homeschooling together around the same time, I guess it's been nine years ago now. Although we knew each other then, we bonded together after that. We're talking cement. We bounced questions off of one another, got together when our kids were little and had playdates (which were definitely more for us than for our kids), shared frustrations with each other, and the hilarious moments that come with life with preschoolers. In the early years, we met at the lake mostly and our kids fished and caught tadpoles while we did Bible studies. As our kids grew, our time together became less in person and more on the phone as we kept up with what was going on in each of our lives. At Christmas, we have had marathon cookie swaps, which later evolved into soup swaps in the winter, which even later evolved into entree swaps. We have prayed together and encouraged one another through health crises, parent issues, children issues, etc. We have cooked meals for each other's families when the need arose.

Now we make it a point to get together every few months to celebrate birthdays, so we have evolved into a "birthday club." It is so much fun--just us talking about nothing in particular and everything in general. We usually laugh a lot, drink some coffee, cry a little at times, and eat something really bad for us but really scrumptious--

Life has changed us all through these years. Our bond, however, is still rock solid--but the most important bond we have will never change, and that is Jesus Christ. We are all believers and have encouraged one another in our relationships with Christ as we've gone about our lives. What a pleasure and a gift it has been, and I know it will continue to be . . . because, I, for one, girls, am already looking forward to another marathon cookie swap in December!

Random Thoughts on Not Saying Goodbye

"And a great time was had by all!" That was the comment at the end of a party held this past week in our honor. We feel blessed and humbled to have great friends and family who have given and attended send off parties for us recently! It has been so much fun. Although the days are going so quickly for Tully and me right now, the blessing comes in knowing that our friends and family are walking this journey alongside us. I'm sure our time of reflection on all that we have left behind will come in a month or so, when it is pouring rain and has been for days, after the new has worn off of Costa Rica, we are hungry for something like an American cheeseburger from Fuddrucker's or a mocha from Starbucks, and we just want to be with people we love from home. I can't bring myself to say goodbye as I want to think things will go on, just differently in each of our relationships. This is the hard part of leaving! But our peace, which passes all understanding, comes from God and knowing that He has called us to fulltime missions and we have said, "Here am I, send me!"

Vacation . . .

Although Tully and I would never have planned a vacation two and a half weeks before an international move, it was God appointed. This vacation was planned months ago, long before we knew we would be able to start language school in August, but God knew exactly what we were going to need at this time. We played all week, took naps with the kids who take them, visited with family, played games, built sandcastles, looked for shark teeth, rode bikes, fished, swam, played on the playground, read books, looked for seashells, and Tully had a friend visit from his residency days. It was a GREAT vacation!! We have come back recharged and refreshed and ready for the last push to get everything done before our departure date of August 20!