School Begins & Ends for the Graefs

Well, since Dave and I just graduated in August, I got a bit behind in my posts. So I thought I'd tell you a little about our last month of classes, as well as a little about the education system of Costa Rica. Above is a photo of Aidan and Abby on their first day of school last week. They attend a private school on an American schedule, so classes start in the end of August. The typical Costa Rican school calendar starts in February since their summer (dry season) is from December until April.

Below is a photo of Aidan's schoolmates and teachers from last year. Sojourn Academy is a private school that educates the children of missionaries passing through the language school on the same campus. However, it is also an accredited Costa Rican school. Sojourn is a bilingual school where classes are taught in English and non-spanish speaking students are taught SSL (Spanish as a Second Language). The teachers are either nationals or teachers from the states who commit two years to teaching in a foreign field. So, if anyone knows a teacher that is considering missions or is willing to serve, please send them our way!

Costa Rica requires that every school have uniforms for it's students. The public schools of Costa Rica have taught English as a required class since 1994. However, due to the lack of qualified teachers, these classes are not available in every school. In addition to English classes, the President at that time started a computer literacy program. Although many of the schools do not have sufficient computers or technology for the demands of the program, Intel has agreed to donate 1000 computers to the public school system of Costa Rica. Intel is one of several industries here which has built up the economy by the manufacturing of exports in Costa Rica. Lastly, classes in the public schools have tests every month to review what students have learned. They have a final set of tests that students must pass in colegio (high school) in order to graduate.

As for Dave and I, our official Spanish education has come to an end. However, we are still students of the language since mastery doesn't come in one year! In August, we went through a series of three tests to evaluate our language efficiency. We had an ECO, which is an oral exam lasting about 30 minutes with one of the language professors at the institute. We also had an ECO with an external professor required by our mission and a 3 hour grammar test. Dave and I both passed the grammar test and received an advanced level for our ECO's. It is hard to believe sometimes since I seem to get tongue-tied when I speak Spanish! There will always be times where we make errors or forget vocabulary, but it is nice to be finished with the formal training! We will continue with a tutor and conversation partners, and of course, the daily practice that life in Costa Rica offers.

It was a blessing for us to have the Roughts attend our graduation ceremony. Dave spoke at the ceremony (in Spanish) in front of all our professors and did a great job. The Roughts were visiting their son and daughter-in-law who are our teammates but also come from one of our supporting churches, First Baptist Church of Hart, MI. Although we couldn't have family at our ceremony, it was a blessing to have them there as surrogate parents, wishing us the best. Thanks for coming!

Unwelcome Guests

This week we found our largest tarantula yet in our house! We have found smaller versions of the Aphonopelma moderatum in our house over the last 6 months but this guy spanned a few inches when his legs were fully extended. Here, he has pulled his legs over his torso in a defensive position but you can still get an idea of his size. The photo below was downloaded from a spider species website to show what he really looks like!

Costa Rica has over 500,000 thousand species of animals and insects within its borders, making it one of 20 countries with the highest biodiveristy in the world. This small country (about the size of West Virginia) contains 4% of the world's species due to its neotropical climate and geographical position. Of the 500,000 species, over 300,000 are insects.

Costa Rica is well known for its varieties of butterflies and moths as well. There are 1,250 varieties of mariposas (butterflies) and 8,000 varieties of moths. This 'little' guy was found in our room on vacation but we have also seen them in our garage as well! As you can see by the size of Dave's hand, we started referring to him as our 'pet'.





The variety of animals is incredible here, although I prefer seeing them in the zoo rather than in our home. Two weeks ago I had insomnia and went downstairs at 4 a.m. to watch a little TV. After I saw the small snake scurry under our TV cabinet, I woke Dave up to help me get it out. Regrettably, we discovered it was a harmless type after we killed it. However, with the three most deadly snakes living in Costa Rica, as well as a young baby who crawls on the floor, I decided not to take any chances. Needless to say, I never went back to sleep that night!

Giant cockroaches, snakes, an endless variety of ants - they've frustrated us at times but made life entertaining here as well. If you're a bug lover, please come see us and we'll be happy to show you around our lab, I mean our house!

The Last of the Birthdays - Abby turns 5!

We had the last of the kids birthdays for this year this week as Abby turned five. She celebrated her birthday in her class as well as with her friends from our team. In Tica fashion, we clebrated her birthday in her class with cupcakes, fruit, a pinata, and regalos (presents) from some of her classmates. Below is a picture of her class at the party and her teacher, Sra. Monica, who has been a wonderful help with Abby's adjustment to Costa Rica. She always welcomes Abby with a hug! Abby's class is taught completely in Spanish which has helped her to get a grasp on the language quickly.

We also had a party at our monthly team meeting since Abby's friends couldn't attend her class party. Here, the girls get their own table to eat at. Miranda and Alexa are 2 of Abby's friends that come to play quite often. Olivia enjoyed getting in on the action of the big girls and sits by herself now at the little table. Aidan helped Abby at the party by reading the cards for her, now that he is such a great reader!

Here is Abby showing us her pinata at her school, modeling a dress and jewelry sent by Grandma Rose, and catching a shot with Mom on her birthday. The parties were a success and despite the cake tipping over after we finished singing, it still tasted delicious!