lifewithomg

Greetings from Cacalote, mi familia.

I wasn’t feeling the greatest last week and it’s hard to pinpoint where it came from exactly. It’s likely that I may have accidentally ingested some of the water after I washed my water bottle, but it could’ve just as easily been the burrito I had the night before. Nonetheless, there was some dehydration mixed in with some other unpleasant symptoms and I’m pleased to announce that I’m fully recovered and my energy is back! My adoptive family came to my rescue and took care of me while I was down and I’m so grateful for people like them who love first and ask questions later.

Speaking of the water, I bought a real loofah sponge in the states to use in the shower. After it got wet once, it turned green. I wish I knew the science behind it, but I don’t. So yeah, don’t drink the water.

I love the slow pace here. Love it!

Is this Climate Change or…?

Many commented on my relationship status changing while I’m here, and you’re right, it did. Yes, I’m happy to announce that I’ve finally escaped a pretty toxic situation here with several individuals. Turns out, Off! has a 9hr protection bug spray solely for mosquitoes, so I make sure to spray myself every morning when I wake up. The 200+ scars from bug bites on my legs are starting to look like constellations now, so that’s pretty cool. I also saw my first scorpion earlier this week, but praise Jesus for brave women like Irma because I certainly didn’t want to be the one to kill it!!

I no longer am annoyed by the obnoxious roosters and the constant barking from the dogs and chirping from the birds sound more like white noise now. If you ever wondered what the birds sound like, think back to the tropical bird from The Incredibles that sounds the alarm when the kids are caught trespassing on the island and you’ve got it. Some asked about Honey and she’s also doing well. A little rusty on the handle bar and occasionally there’s a slight noise that she makes when I peddle now but I know her worth, so I continue to bring her upstairs to sleep under a shaded area away from the crazy rain.

Adventuresss

While studying for an exam one Sunday evening at the beach on base, a gentleman randomly asked if my friend and I wanted to release baby turtles with his family. I WAS SO EXCITED. I FLIPPED OUT. IT WAS SO COOL. THEY WERE SO CUTE. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND. Plus, it was free. 😉 I’d just so happened to have brought my waterproof phone case with me, so I was able to get some pretty cool shots of the little babies, but I wanted the ultimate shot. I was going to record them swimming in the water for the first time and it would be glorious. I was basically crawling next to them, but pro level status. You probably would’ve thought I was an expert mobile photographer if you saw me.

Iglesia

I’ve tried out a couple different churches in the last few weeks. I don’t know if this is the actual name, but we call it “the surfer church” because get this, a lot of surfers go there. It was small (20+ people) and they focus more on discussion and application. It was cool to meet so many people from around the world, too. Not everyone there was a surfer, but nonetheless, it was a nice change of pace.

Last week I visited my friend’s church in Puerto and thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew most of the songs, but quickly realized that I HEAVILY depend on the lyrics being on the screens. Lol! I knew the tune of the song, but couldn’t even sing along in English because I truly don’t know the words. For the first time, this church felt a little bit like my Spanish church back home.

Community

We’ve had a couple girl’s nights this session and I always make those a priority. The first one was in the guest house right off the beach where the short term missions groups stay when they visit and the views were breathtaking. I had my first hot shower in a month (did I mention we don’t have hot water here?) and we slept with A/C. Bliss.

Escuela

School is going well. I’m swimming out of my ears in vocabulary words and I’m having a bit of trouble with the tiempo imperfecto y pretérito (imperfect and preterit/past tense), but overall I’m doing pretty well. I’ve had three exams since my last newsletter and received mostly A’s and B’s. My last week of class is this upcoming week and we will have tests every day leading up to our last exam on Wednesday and our final on Friday. All I have to do is memorize three verses in Spanish, translate two conversations, take my exam, and then my final. Muy fácil.

I led my second devotion this past Wednesday and was told I showed improvement. I really tried to work on improving my pronunciation for the words I didn’t easily recognize, so I was glad to hear that others saw my growth too. I can’t believe I’m about to complete my first level already!! I’ll have a three week break before my next session (the longest of the year), but I still haven’t finalized what I’ll be doing to stay occupied.

Los Niños

I truly saved the best for last. I started volunteering with the kids in an after school club. In reality, I play with the kids until they quickly realize that I don’t know any Spanish, then proceed to go play somewhere else once they’re bored. Last week, we were walking and I saw a man riding a motorbike with an abnormally large white cooler attached to the back. I asked one of the kids if there was fish inside and she said, “no pescado.. tortilla.” Silly me. Later on, she tried teaching me “tiburón”, but I couldn’t understand her because the American “e” and the Spanish “i” sound the same. After several minutes of frustrating multiple children, the 3yr old girl nearby decided to take a whack at it and got in my face to make sure I pronounced the word correctly. After several tries of repeating after her, I finally did it, but I still didn’t know what the word meant. Turns out, they were trying to tell me something about a shark. I walked away being schooled by a toddler with the Baby Shark song stuck in my head.

Prayer Requests

My final. I haven’t been a student in years, so I’m still trying to figure out what study habits work best for me. I’m slightly nervous, but prayers for my exams would be much appreciated. Also, most of my classmates are leaving this week and I’ll have to start over with making new friends. This has already been something I’ve been practicing, as I’ve said goodbye to several of the clinic interns in the last two weeks. I know God will continue to bring the right people into my life at the right time, I just want to be emotionally available when He does.

With change comes growing pains. They can be good or bad. I can’t believe how far I’ve come in such a short (yet long) period of time. I’m learning a lot about myself and although I believe I’m getting a rhythm for my new life here, I’m still hitting a lot of growing pains I didn’t even consider. For instance, I miss my home. I miss just sitting on the couch, trying new coffee shops, and watching my nieces and nephews play. I miss my Midwesterners and people saying “ope” when they bump into me and not having to work so hard at developing relationships because I already had them developed. I’m truly starting over in more areas than I’d realized and I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I wish my family could be here with me. But, I am also grateful for proximity. I love that I was able to live a lot of my adult years close to my loved ones, but I’m also excited that I have this opportunity to be here. I still don’t know what the full plan is for my life, but I believe I’m on the right track. After all, if His plans are meant to prosper, I want to see it through.

Te hablaré pronto, amigos.

OMG