Costa Rica: Pure Vida

With living abroad, there are chances that one must decide whether or not to take. One of those chances is eating at an "American" restaurant. The guys decided to go to Taco Bell Thursday for lunch. It is right next to campus and looks delicious. It was, hands down, one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Taco Bell. However, I regretted it later. Let's just say that I had some stomach problems and anything I ate went straight through me. I got up Friday and felt pretty bad. Didn't want to go to school. I ended up going but felt pretty weak and didn't want to do much. We went to Walmart for lunch. I couldn't hardly eat anything. My host mom walked me down the street to the pharmacy where i got some medicine.

Also on Friday, I had a 20 minute Spanish group presentation in my Conversation class. Luckily I had my new friend Mandi, and also Tyler and Kristin to talk with as well. It went fairly well if I must say. Friday night, I had to eat mashed potatoes for dinner while Justin and Mason had some wonderful food. I also couldn't drink any milk that night. Sad day.

Today was the trip to Tortuga Island. It was definitely the highlight of the trip so far. We got up at the 5 a.m. to make it to school by about 5:45. We left the school around 6:15 for a 2.5 hour bus ride to the coast. The drive was beautiful! We drove through all kinds of mountains to get to the Pacific Coast. We got to the coast and ate breakfast at a restaurant right on the ocean. Then we boarded a boat and headed for Tortuga. The ride to the island was gorgeous. We passed tons of mountains that were right off of the shore. Beautiful scenery everywhere I looked. We got to the island and it was perfect! I jumped in the water as soon as I could. Within about 3 minutes of being in the water, I feel my right arm starting to sting really bad. After a few minutes of stinging, my arm begins to break out with red bumps on it. I realized that I had been stung by a jellyfish. I talked to our tour guide about what to do. I've always heard people say to urinate on a jellyfish sting...well, i'm not really sure I wanted someone going on my arm. They ended up rubbing some sugar on it and it went away within the hour. The bumps are still somewhat visible but much better. We had lunch on the beach, played some volleyball, rode a banana boat, and finally went for another swim. Within about 5 minutes of the second swim, my other arm starts stinging. I looked down and saw a tentacle-like substance on my arm, pulled it off as fast as I could and got out. Another sting. This time, I knew exactly what to do. Got some sugar, rubbed it on, and it felt better within the hour. Shortly thereafter, it was time to leave. The boat ride was about an hour and a half, then another 2.5 back to the school. Had dinner at the mall and then finished off with the first warm shower in about a week and a half.

On the boat ride back to the shore, I spent some time enjoying creation and the Creator. I kept seeing the beautiful contrast of the mountains next to the ocean. I can't imagine that being an accident. I wish I could've been there in the beginning when God spoke the world into existence. From nothing, into this earth. I'm in awe that nature obeys His words. Just like when Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples wondered who He was that even the winds obeyed Him. I'm excited to open up to Acts 4 tonight to read about Peter and John before the Sanhedrin court. Peter: "For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." I want this to be my attitude about the Gospel, that I can't help but talk about what I've seen or heard. Unfortunately, I don't think I could say that right now. Could you?