(pictures numbered from left to right)
These last three weeks have consisted of many things including finishing our final class, spending more time with friends, celebrating Thanksgiving, and beginning to decorate for Christmas! The class for the last three weeks was our concentration class which focused on a topic that we wanted to study more in depth. Cana and I were both in the Latin American History/Culture studies class, and we enjoyed learning more about the history of Latin America and seeing how it is connected/has affected the present. We also finished our final presentations for our Regional Studies Class that encompassed all of our travels to Limon and Guatemala (picture 3). Along with all of studies, and frankly quite a lot of essays, we still enjoyed spending time with our new friends that we have made here in Costa Rica! I was introduced to my first experience of go-karting and can say I have finally found something I am very competitive in (picture 1) We also went to our final Zumba class which had become a weekly tradition for us and some of the other students! (picture 2)
Being in Costa Rica during the fall means that we miss a lot of the holidays that happen in the States. So we were all very happy when the director at LASP hosted all of us at his house for an early Thanksgiving dinner! It was one of my favorite times together with all of the students and I loved trying all of the different dishes that everyone brought.
Cana and I baked some amazing pumpkin spice cookies, and had some leftover pumpkin filling to make a pie for our host families. There is something so fun and wholesome when you get to create and share a meal together with friends and family!
Christmas also comes earlier in Costa Rica that in the States, and that meant that our families began decorating for Christmas this last week! It's very delightful to see Christmas decorations being put up and to remember our own homes and how they will be decorated for Christmas when we return!
Now we are headed into our two and a half week immersions where we will be volunteering at our own separate organizations in San Jose. Below are the links of the websites for these organizations if you want to read about them and their missions in Costa Rica:
http://www.faceofjustice.org/ (Face of Justice-Rachel)
https://m.facebook.com/DepartamentoEcumenicoDeInvestigaciones/ (Ecumenical Department of Investigations-Cana)
Please continue to be praying that Jesus would be the one present and working through us in our immersions. That He would give a spirit of humility and of compassion towards the people that we will meet. We will be remaining with the same host families, and still living in the same neighborhood together, which is a blessing for us both! ¡Los amamos mucho! :)