Otra semana... ya?

That means: another week... Already???

Whoa, time will fly here. I guess after spending 4 months in Costa Rica, 7 weeks seems like nothing...

Since my Wednesday update, I've been learning and experiencing some pretty awesome things.

On Thursday, I observed the "lab" class for an animal nutrition course. The second year animal production students have been leaning about ration formulation (whoa, flashback!). Their lab was held in the "concentrates plant" which I would basically title a feed mill. They were creating the concentrate rations for all of the university livestock! They used formulas established by the university for each type of production in the cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep. Watching boys throw around 100 pound bags of soy and corn meal, then mix them in the giant mixer made me feel like I was home on a my grandpa's dairy farm... It was fun to watch and they were an amusing group. I also observed another group of students (in their dairy production practicum) give selenium to a pregnant cow and others were inseminating heifers. All in all, an amusing and informative morning when it comes to learning about experiential learning in tropical universities. Here are some photos...






Corn Silage!





Then, after class, I went with the director of extension (kind of my "boss" here) to visit with the principal of a local elementary school.. K-6 and 69 students! It's rural, folks. Almost as small as a 1-room schoolhouse. The classes are combined (1/2, 3/4, 5/6). I got to see some of the kids and the facilities - and I learned that the principal is also the 5/6 teacher! She is also a rock star and has worked hard to fund programs for her kids, like the program Conectandonos, which is a 1-to-1 computer granting program, mainly focused on rural, low SES schools now. So all the kids have small personal laptops! And she has thought about and has begun the process of applying for a School Garden grant - the exact thing I was hoping to do with the school!

I returned to the school on Friday to "observe" and maybe talk with the principal a bit more about some options of "working" with the school and this program. She had to run an errand to town before a certain time and there really wasn't anyone else running the class... so instead of letting the kids just play on their laptops (which weren't working anyways), we had a short "Spanish" lesson.

Yes, I taught 13 5th grade Costa Rican kids how to use a comma... in Spanish. I might say that it was slightly challenging and somewhat unsuccessful, but we got through it (thanks to their workbooks).

So that was a surprise! Happy Friday to Alli! But it was fun, and the kids are awesome - I am hopeful to work with them more at the elementary school, even if it is only a few days a week. It would be even cooler to get to plan and implement and teach about a vegetable garden for the school! We shall see what happens with this goal...

I just got home from a wonderful weekend with some friends in Turrialba, where I lived 2 years ago on a short term immersion experience. It was so wonderful to spend time with a family (and their adorable puppy) and realize what really matters in life - not homework, not vacations, not the amount of money I will make or the jobs I will apply for - people matter. God made us for relationships - firstly, for a relationship with Him... then, as an extension of that, relationships with others. This family is a beautiful example of the love of Christ. We spent some nice quality time together, then, this morning, I got to see them get baptized!! It was done in a river up in the mountains (amazing) with tons of other members of their church. I didn't want to come back from the wonderful fellowship, but I remembered that there are opportunities to continue these meaningful relationships here - with people I encounter at UTN, with the children at the school who don't have much in terms of worldly possession, my host family, and more.

If you were to die tomorrow, how would people remember your today? They won't remember how hard you worked on a project, how good you were at interviewing, or how well you speak - they will remember how you loved them. Go love people! And remember that you are loved more than anything...



My new favorite CR dog - Sam!



Baptism in the River... awesome.





My girl, Mariana - she is 7 and a beautiful and respectful angel



I hope you had an awesome Sunday!