LIFE WITH THE TICOS Part 3 – The Characters in My Stories aka My Friends October 21, 2009

My roommate’s name is Anna Troy and her family currently lives in Llano, Texas. I say “currently” because her father is actually a Methodist minister and he has been the preacher at many different Methodist churches all over South Texas. She graduated from Texas Lutheran University in December where she studied church music, and she has done loads of mission work, just like me! We’re the same age, but are pretty different. She’s a country girl and is just fine catching bugs and freeing them out into the wild – I went out and bought a can of Raid Max yesterday. I’m from the city, so the noise, lights, and traffic don’t bother me nearly as much. She prefers classical music – I still enjoy my classic rock. I like to clean when I’m procrastinating or stressed out – she’d rather pay someone to clean for her. BUT… we are very compatible as roomies and get along great! I feel very blessed to have her!

Now I get to tell you about the Tatum family!!! They consist of Bryan (the dad), Beth (the mom), and Jessie, Drew, and Kirsten, their 13-year-old triplets. The Tatum’s have just been amazing to Anna and me! They are so giving and helpful and fun to be around! They are actually going to be the first house family at the Methodist Children’s Home. Their house isn’t finished being built yet though, so in the meantime, they are living just two floors above us. The Tatum’s arrived in San Jose about a month and a half before Anna and I, so they had already done some exploring and figured out the transportation system here. They’ve walked us around our neighborhood, showed us how to hail a cab, taken us to the mall and grocery stores, and pretty much just been there whenever we’ve needed them. Anna and I couldn’t figure out how to get our washer to work one day (we’d turn it on but no water would come out), so Bryan came down with his tools and hooked it up for us. I honestly don’t think I’d be doing nearly as well without their company. Beth and Bryan are currently in language school learning Spanish and their kids attend the Methodist School.

The Zirkel family is the Methodist missionary family who Anna, myself, and the Tatum’s are all kind of under. They are: Ray, his wife Lidia, and their daughters Sarah and Emma. The Zirkel’s have been wonderful to us as well, helping us set up our lives here in Costa Rica. Lidia took us shopping the day after we arrived to buy all of the things we couldn’t bring with us from the states, such as an iron and kitchen stuff. Emma and Sarah are just precious! Sarah is in 4^th grade and is the most mature kid I’ve ever met. She has long, thick, light blonde hair, so she definitely sticks out at school! Emma is in 2^nd grade and is incredibly sweet. She’s also a blondie. I love them both and enjoy running into them during the school day. Maybe I’ll even have one of them as a student next year!

Kim Baldwin is another missionary down here who is actually from HPUMC! I’m not going to lie – it’s definitely a comfort having someone down here from home. She is actually attending the same language school as the Tatum’s right now. Before moving here in May, Kim was a nurse in Dallas. She is going to set up the Methodist clinic that they are planning to build in a town called Puerto Viejo (that is completely the wrong spelling I’m sure!), which is an hour or two from San Jose. I haven’t been to see it yet, but I hope to go sometime soon!

Will Hasley and Alli Adams are the two other missionary interns down here working with Ray. Will is the head intern and lives just down the street from us. He actually has a car and has taken Anna and I to church several times. Really nice guy! Alli lives and works about 20 minutes outside of San Jose in an area called Heradia. She’ll be moving to San Jose in January to go to language school and will be helping out at Colegio Metodista during her free time, which means I’ll get to see her much more often! Yay!

There is one other “North American” (that’s what we’re called down here) who is around my age and works at the primary school with me. His name is Ryan and he’s actually from Indiana. He’s been down here since February and lives a short bus ride away. It’s been great getting to know him!

Anna and I made a new friend on our way home from the grocery store last week! We were walking down the street when a girl who was walking about 10 feet in front of us turned around to ask where were from in English! Turns out, her name is Lisa, she’s from Denver, Colorado, and she is down here working for Young Life! I’ve hung out with her 3 or 4 times since then and she’s introduced me to all of her other Young Life friends. SO thankful to have met her!

LIFE WITH THE TICOS Part 2 – My Home October 21, 2009

Our apartment is actually located in a suburb of San Jose called Sabanilla, but unless you actually live here, you just call it San Jose. It reminds me of Dallas in a way – If you live in Plano and you’re talking to someone from Houston, you just tell them you live in Dallas. If you live in Plano and you’re talking to someone from the DFDub, you say you live in Plano. You can drive across the city and never know that you’re entering one suburb and leaving another.

My apartment building is almost brand new – not all of the places are rented out or sold yet. Anna and I live on the first floor. It has two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a utility room, and a living area. The walls are made of concrete and all of the floors are either wood or tile. Needless to say, it is impossible to be quiet around here, because the noise just bounces around and echoes. What I like most about our place is that there are windows everywhere which let in loads of natural light. In case you were wondering, we do not have air conditioning here, just air vents. We would never need it though, because the weather is perfect – since we live in a valley surrounded by mountains, it never gets below 60 degrees or above 80 or 85. It’s okay… you can be jealous.    Just kidding!

Our apartment complex has only two buildings and is surrounded by a tall fence. In order to get into the gate, the armed guard has to unlock and push it open it for you. Yes, you heard that right…. Armed – As in they carry guns. HA! I was a little shocked at first. They’re all very friendly though and walk around the property several times every hour just to check on things. I feel extremely safe here. 

LIFE WITH THE TICOS Part 1 – My Arrival October 21, 2009

Some details for those of you who don’t already know… On Tuesday, September 8^th, I took off from Houston at 5:30pm and arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica around 8:30. The flight was great, because instead of sitting in the back of the plane in a middle seat like I had planned to, I got bumped up to a row much closer to the front to a window seat! There was only one other person on my row and he sat next to the aisle, so it was an unexpectedly comfy trip! This is the second flight that I’ve taken this summer in which I got bumped to a much better seat (except in June I was moved up to 1^st class) and I have two theories…

1. Somebody upstairs is looking out for me who knows that I’m claustrophobic
2. The ticket checker people think I’m a 16-year-old traveling all by herself and they take pity on me. Let me explain: My passport picture was taken this past January during an extremely awkward period of my life when I had to get braces again, and in it, I look like I’m in middle school… seriously. Also, people just never believe I’m the age I say I am. For example, I got carded this past summer while I was buying a ticket to an R-rated movie. Sad day.

A driver was sent to pick us up from the airport, and we were greeted at our apartment by Bryan and Beth Tatum and Ray Zirkel (I’ll tell you more about them in a minute!).

GREETINGS FROM COSTA RICA! October 21, 2009

Hola everybody! It’s your long lost friend Meredith!

I know that it has been forever since I’ve written on my blog, but please know that all of my friends and family back in Texas have never been far from my thoughts since I moved here 6 weeks ago. That’s right… 6 weeks ago! Yesterday, October 20^th, marked my 6 week anniversary of living in Costa Rica! It also means that I have only 6 weeks left until I fly home to Texas on December 2^nd for my holiday break! Woot woot!

Since I have been neglecting my responsibilities here on my blog, I promise to commit the next several hours of my life to giving to giving you waaaay more information than you could ever care to know about me living in Costa Rica. I’ll divide it up into separate blog posts by topic, so that it’ll be easier for you to skip over the things you don’t care about. Happy Reading!

Finance Biz… September 1, 2009

If you’d like to support me financially and don’t feel like writing out a check, you can also contribute online!

Just follow this link:

http://www.hpumc.org/pages/09_mission_global_missionaries

Thanks!

Deliver de letter, de sooner de better! September 1, 2009

I’d like to share the fundraising letter that I’ve been sending out this summer.  I feel like it gives a great summary of who I am, what I’m doing, and how I got here!

Dear family and friends,

Hello! I hope this letter finds you and your family well! As you may already know, my life has changed dramatically in the past few weeks. I have officially graduated from college and joined what my parents like to call the “real world”. Evidently I’ve been living in fanatasyland these past four years… who knew! I’ve sent this letter to update you on what I’ve been up to, fill you in on my dreams for my future, and offer you an opportunity to be a part of it.

These last four years at Texas A&M have been wonderful. I matured a great deal during the experience and feel like I’ve come away with a much better sense of who I am as a person and what I value most in life.

After changing my degree three times(!), I finally landed in Early Childhood Education. I have no idea why it took me so long to find a career path that makes me so happy. I absolutely love kids and enjoy being around them.

While at A&M, my relationship with Jesus Christ grew into the close and peronsal bond I have with Him today. I made some solid friends who hold me accountable for my actions, and challenge me to really think about my beliefs.

Faith in action led to my involvement with Aggies In Mission which is a Christian-based service organization that I was a part of my entire college career. With this group, I travelled all over Texas and Louisiana to participate in hurricane relief efforts. I made three spring break trips to Juarez, Mexico to build homes with Amor Ministry and was a part of many community service projects in the Bryan/College Station area. I also had the opportunity to serve in leadership positions within AIM for two years.

It was through all of these experiences that I came to realize what I’m most passionate about: children, my relationship with Jesus, and serving Him through missions. I feel like the luckiest person in the world because after a lot of prayer and with the assistance of my church, I’ve been led to an opportunity that combines all three of these things!

I am so excited to tell you that with your help, I will become a volunteer teacher at Colegio Metodista de Costa Rica in September. The Methodist School is a highly respected private Christian school located right outside the city of San Jose. It uses a dual language program, which means part of the day is taught in English and part of the day is taught in Spanish. The children are taught by Costa Rican teachers as well as volunteers from the US.

My plans include moving to Costa Rica on September 8th, attending Spanish language immersion school, and starting to teach at the beginning of their school year in February. The Methodist church is currently building the Methodist Children’s Home in Costa Rica, and it is my intent to volunteer there during my free time. Once it is completed, the orphans will attend the Methodist School. These are my hopes for my future, but I cannot do this without your support.

First and foremost, I would value your prayers both for me and the people I will be working with in Costa Rica. I realize that adapting to a new culture away from my family and friends will not be easy, but just knowing that you’re praying will surely give me peace. Beyond the prayers, if you are led to join me by financially supporting my mission, I would be so grateful. My expenses for the year are an estimated $15,000 which covers housing, transportation, and language school. I feel this is a journey God has called me to and would appreciate any support you are able to offer.

Please feel free to visit my blog at meredithng.wordpress.com. I will use it to keep everyone informed of my adventures abroad!

In Him,

Meredith

Hello world! June 11, 2009

I have started this blog in anticipation that some day soon I will get to move to Costa Rica to teach! I will be using this as a way to fill you in on all of my adventures!

I can honestly say that I have no idea what I’m doing right now with this thing, but I will make it a priority to become an expert on this biz soon!

Thank you for visiting!