The Coast!

Hello everyone! We just got back from the most wonderful weekend! To celebrate our first anniversary (on the 8th) we went to Manuel Antonio beach which is on the Pacific Coast. We had a chaotic time getting into San Jose to catch our shuttle (traffic is terrible as you may have gotten by now), but thanks to our dear friends Mike and Kathy, we were able to form a plan to meet up with the shuttle at a later stop. Lesson #1 of the weekend: leave very, very early!

We were very glad we took the shuttle for the 4 hour drive through the mountains so Mark didn't have to drive the windy, bumpy, hilly roads. It was very beautiful and kept getting sunnier and warmer as we approached the coast. It really felt like we were in Costa Rica! To celebrate, Mark made reservations at a fancier hotel called "The Mansion". It was beautiful - with an amazing view of the coast line and wonderful service, very friendly people worked there who Mark befriended practicing his Spanish. We got a cheaper reservation because this is the off-season. Lesson #2 - go to the touristy places in their "winter." We spent the weekend relaxing by and in the pool (it was VERY hot and humid - in the 90s), down by the beach (the water was so warm!), walking through the rain forest (where we saw many monkeys, sloths, iguanas and geckos, a sleeping snake, raccoons and an armadillo!) and just enjoying ourselves! We even got "star" treatment for our anniversary dinner. Initially, we were the only ones in the restaurant so they gave us a special table on our own private deck to celebrate. We felt like we were on "The Bachelor!"

After the wonderful weekend, we were ready to jump into Spanish classes today. We left really early this morning to get tested to see which classes we should be in. We both are very impressed with the program. The classes are very small (6 students or less) and interactive. We are meeting people from around the world who come to learn Spanish. It feels great to be back in school and to learn the language since we have such a "need to know" being in this country. Our classes are an easy drive - about 25 minutes away. On Wednesday we plan to take dancing and cooking classes - a perk to this program.

We plan to do a little visiting of the day care centers this week with Pame, with whom we will be working directly. We have homework each night and got a TV from our landlords so we can keep working on our Spanish (though there are many English-speaking channels). We are also in the process of buying a car with Mike's help. We'd appreciate prayers that we would buy a reliable car that we could resell after our year.

We are adjusting well and though we miss you, friends and family, we have enjoyed hearing from you and, or course, our families are just a skype call or email away - thank goodness! Much love!