games

jenga.

the strong tower i once was is no more. there are gaps and holes and emptiness. blocks of comfort, friends, family, home is quickly removed. new pressures, surroundings, people, language are added one by one. i am wobbling and the slightest blow will make me topple. dear Dad, please fill the emptiness with Your love, please help me stand firm with the knowledge that You are with me.

catch phrase. charades.

my señora and i communicate. there are words and phrases i don't know how to say. i fill the space with umms and uhhs. i jump from one word to another trying to express an idea. she moves her arms and makes facial expressions. i match these with what i think she is saying.

telephone.

it is physically draining because i feel the need to understand everything. but, i find myself easily zoning out. spanish so quickly becomes background noise. to prevent this, i mentally slap myself back into reality. i think i'm getting better, but it's difficult to understand. i hear things that aren't said.

maria (what i hear): "quieres ver algo?" [do you want to see something?]

me (thinking: hmm, i don't know what else there is to see in this pueblo, i'll just say i don't know): "no sé"

everyone stops and just stares at me for a second. i find out later:

maria (what was actually said): "quieres beber algo?" [do you want something to drink?]

at the swimming pool:

a friend of my señora (what was actually said): "sabes nadar?" [do you know how to swim?]

a friend of my señora (what i hear): "sabes nada?" [do you know nothing?]

at first, i was quite taken aback. (what i was thinking): excuse me? i'm not the best at spanish, but that doesn't mean i know nothing!

tarzan & jane

Uff! What a day... I arrived at the Barajas Aiport at about 10am (here). This was my first time riding a taxi alone. [I think the last time I rode a taxi was with my mom when we went to Korea 13 yrs ago]. The driver and I had a decent conversation; I tried to sound as confident as I could speaking Spanish. haha. When I got to my Señora's house, she was waiting for me outside; she greeted me with a hug and a kiss on each cheek. :) After we took all my luggage up, she showed me around. She is super sweet. Then, I took a nap and woke up around lunchtime. After the meal, I unpacked everything and then watched some Spanish tv. Later, my Señora and I took a walk around Old Madrid. She even bought me some helado! The architecture was quite beautiful. As she took me around, she explained things/places to me. The sad part was that I could only understand about half of what she said. Although I got the gist of what was said, I wish I could make out all the details.

[My Señora knew my name as Sang. I told her she could call me Jane. She kept forgetting and asked me several times. Then, a few hours later, she came by my room and said "Jane! like Tarzan's girlfriend, Jane!" :) ]

When I first departed, my biggest worry was that I wouldn't make my connecting flight. Then, my next worries were finding my baggage, calling my Señora, exchanging money, and taking a taxi without being ripped off. Once I was in bed to take my nap, I was relieved to know that the worst was over. It was then that it hit me. I hadn't even thought about my time here yet! A part (a very small part) of me was excited about traveling and learning. But, a bigger part of me wanted to beat myself up for being here. This part wants me to pack up again and go back to Duke. What am I doing here in a foreign country? My biggest fears now are that I won't have any friends [I don't know the other Duke-in-Madrid kids], that I'll run out of money, and that I won't get the language down. :(

It's like when I ride a roller coaster. As I wait in line and get in the seats, I'm uber-excited. But as the ride gets going, I'm like "What did I get myself into?". This happens to be all in vain because I end up enjoying the ride.

Hopefully, my time here will be like my roller coaster story. Dios mío, ayudame por favor.

Settling In at the Biological Station

Hi Everyone! Not sure how often I'll post on this blog, but I thought I'd at least say hi! I'm in Costa Rica with the Organization for Tropical Studies, on their program in "Tropical Medicine and Global Health." There are 4 guys + 15 girls = 19 students total. I like everyone so far and have even been blessed to find 2 Christians, which is an answered prayer for sure. God has been so good to me on this trip: He helped me get over homesickness on my first day, has protected me so far from stomach issues and from bee stings :), and the classes have been interesting. I go to bed around 11 pm and get up at 5:30 am in order to shower and make it to breakfast by 6:30 am. Class is 6 days a week. We have field trips in the morning, lunch, 2 class sessions in the afternoon, dinner, and 1 class session. But there are breaks throughout; in fact right now I'm sitting on my bunk, resting after a nature walk, waiting for the lunch bell to ring.

The first few days we were in San José, which is a city but not like a "city" in the United States for sure. I haven't found it to be culture shock because I've been to Puerto Rico and Malaysia and there are some similarities. Now we are at a biological station right outside of the little town of San Vito. The large house we live in is right in the middle of a botanical garden: not manicured like the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, but beautiful nonetheless. It's probably cooler and less humid than Duke, in fact, because we are on a mountain, 4,000 feet above sea level.

Yesterday we visited two clinics and I saw firsthand how different the healthcare system is here compared to that of the United States.

I know that I'm going to have moments of homesickness, or feeling like I'm stuck here for so much longer, but for now it's enjoyable and I've already learned a lot.

I hope all of you who are abroad or are about to be abroad are doing well. I pray that you find Christian fellowship wherever you go, that you learn a lot, and that you bless the people around you. For everyone at Duke, have a great NSO and Fresh Start!

Perfect timing, the lunch bell just rang. Sounds a little like a cow bell! :)

~Liz