Gracias a Dios

Oh my goodness I have so much to write about. I LOVE it here!!!!

I guess I'll start off telling you about my first adventure as a gringa. It is slightly embarrassing, but I've learned to laugh at myself in the last couple days. Where to start... I guess the story begins on the plane ride from Houston. I cried alot. That's pretty much all about the plane ride I guess. I sat next to this cute Asian tourist who wanted to talk the whole time, so I was trying to hold in my emotion and talk to her even though I was pretty freaked out. I was so nervous that no one would be at the airport to meet me. Finally I got off the plane, made it through immigration and customs so easy, and "ah, big sigh of relief," saw my name on a sign through the window. I walked out into a crowd of Ticos yelling at me "Taxi, taxi, taxi!" and quickly made my way to the guy who I THOUGHT was holding the sign. I said, "Hola, soy Katelyn" and quickly introduced myself to the other lost-looking white kids with him, all of whom were European. He said, "Bueno, vamos," and led us, dazed and confused, to a van. He didn't really talk to us at all except to say we had to drive for awhile to get to the school and did we want to stop for food. We stopped at a "soda," and got back in the van where we all fell asleep. Well... FOUR hours later we arrived at a little beach town called Tamarindo. Juan Carlos, the driver, was trying to figure out which student went to which family. Now it was 2 in the morning and Juan Carlos said, "Where is David?" Yes that's right... I went with the wrong shuttle to the wrong school, and poor David got left behind at the airport! I felt so stupid, but Juan Carlos was very kind. They let me stay the night at the school with this sweet girl from France, and then they helped me find a ride back to San Jose the next day... which is a story of its own. So my first 24 hours here were very exciting, and I had to speaka the spanish right away! I got to see so much of Costa Rica on the way back, which was incredible. I guess I learned that things will go wrong, but to just roll with it and pray a lot. Oh and David's flight was actually delayed, so it all worked out :)

Big Blessings:

1. My host family is amazing, and they only speak Spanish! Guess what? I prayed for that:)
2. Two other girls also live in the house, but one is only here for 3 weeks. Sarah has already been here a month and is staying until December. She showed us around today a little bit. She is great. Jess is the other one. She just finished PA school. She's only here for 3 weeks, but guess what?... She's a believer!
3. Today Jess and I successfully took a taxi to a nearby campus crusade meeting! It was so much fun, and we met some sweet people, both Ticos and Americans. We went to lunch with them, and it was really a blessing.
4. I absolutely love this culture. I love speaking Spanish, and I love the way people live. It's a harder life for sure, and often I feel my "Americanness," but the Ticos I've met are amazing. I love the way people talk to each other like they're all one big family, how they accept you and take you in, how life is more simple in a lot of ways....
5. In the three days I've been here, I already feel like my Spanish has improved so much!

Prayer Requests:

1. It's fun to meet the other American students, but of course a lot, if not most of them, are here to learn Spanish and to party. It's hard to stick out and feel alone in my beliefs when we're exploring and traveling.
2. My times with the Lord. I'm a pretty reserved person when it comes down to it, and I haven't really gotten alone time since being here. I feel bad hanging out in my room when my family is here, and obviously I'm not going to go walking the streets by myself. I think I'll get a routine down once school starts... tomorrow!

I want to tell you about Costa Rica, but it's hard to describe the culture that is quickly becoming normal to me. Some observations:

Beans and rice ALL THE TIME.
Feeling sticky and sweaty ALL THE TIME.
Rain every afternoon.
People everywhere.
Noise everywhere.
Spanish everywhere:)
Bars and barbed wire everywhere.
Palm trees.
Fruit! So many different kinds and fresh juices everywhere.
Good strong coffee every morning. PTL

Things I've learned:

Hold onto the rails with two hands on the bus.
If there's an accident or construction on a 2 lane highway, you'll be waiting a really long time.
Tico time... never arrive on time.
If the rice that has chicken in it sits on the counter overnight and gets served the next day... there's nothing I can do about it....
When people laugh at you, just laugh along and try again :)
ALWAYS lock the door.
ALWAYS keep your money close.
No addresses anywhere, so you have to use landmarks.

And as always... pray and watch God show up!

I promise to add some pics soon:)

Pura Vida!

Peace Like a River in My Soul

Just a quick post to let you all know that I leave TOMORROW! That's right... I'll be on the airplane in 17ish hours. Prayers much appreciated tomorrow. I go from Billings to Denver to Houston to San Jose, so pray that it would go smoothly! I should get there around 9 tomorrow night. I'm surprisingly calm, although I don't want to say goodbye to my family, and I already really miss this guy :)

Lay on all your long distance advice ha. We tried a new church last Sunday in Bozeman and sang that classic old hymn that just says, "I've got peace like a river in my soul" over and over again, and that's how I've felt all week. Deep peace about trusting God in the unknown and knowing that really... I'm not alone at all! More to come from Costa Rica.

Welcome to... my blog

I've secretly always wanted to blog, and I'm thinking this new Costa Rica adventure is a great excuse to start, since I won't be able to talk to most of you in person! I'll be using it to stay connected and share what God is doing in my life while I'm away. Here's the scoop: In 14 ish days I'll board a plane from the Billings INTERNATIONAL Airport.. ha... and head to a new land... by myself.

The strange thing is I'm so calm. It must mean all the emotion is coming... look out folks. Or maybe I got it all out in Bozeman. Sorry for those who had to experience it :)


Sometimes I like making lists of reasons I COULD freak out if I decided I wanted to. Here are a few:

The alone part.

HOPING that someone will pick me up at the airport in San Jose

Oh ya the speaking another language part

No milk! ... well regular American milk

Packing... how am I going to decide which books to bring? My plan is to wait until the last minute because I figure it will make those decisions easier.

Leaving... well people that I love. There are a lot of them.


But enough of that. I'm so excited to...

Meet my Tica family (Costa Ricans are called Ticos). I'll be staying with a host family for three months. I haven't met them or talked to them, so I'm in the dark at this point.

New foods - especially the fruit! This strange green thing is called a guanábana.


Speak Spanish! I love it so much, and I can't wait to be challenged.

Experience a new culture.

Ummmm... sorry guys but yes warm weather and beaches instead of the Bozeman blah.

New adventures! Costa Rica's crazy biodiversity means it's perfect for all kinds of outdoor stuff. Just a few examples: rafting, volcanoes, hiking, ziplines, and surfing. I like adventures :)

Really good coffee! French press already packed.

Finally, I can't wait to see what God has for me there and experience him in a different place and culture. It's all in his hands, and I know he'll take care of me. It's gonna be a new adventure in TRUSTING.

Costa Rica is between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America, the little strip of land in between continents. I'll be living in San Jose, right in the middle.



So that's my story. But before all of this craziness, I have a best friend to get married. Oh yeah!!