Yo hablo un pocito espagnol (I speak a little spanish)

It's September now, we are in Costa Rica for the six more weeks, to learn spanish. We're enrolled at the Spanish Language Institute in San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica) and we're living in a house one block away from the school. We attend the school each afternoon (year-long students attend in the mornings). We've JUST completed our first week of classes.

photo: San Jose area near our little green house

They call our class the intensive language course. Its NASA-like in its speed and goal-orientation . . . On Monday we learned to make nouns, articles, and adjectives agree. Its a French-like concept, for those of us who took High School French. Instead of "le" the spanish masculine article is "el". In addition, in Spanish the end of each adjective changes to match the noun. So on our first day of class, we learned to say "la case blanca" (the white house, which is feminine), and "el clime trio" (the cold climate, masculine), or "las aves exoticas" (the exotic birds, feminine plural). The instructors spoke only in Spanish. I heard about a billion new words in first three hours on Monday. We came home with eight pages of homework.

photo: the school gates and with a guard on duty 24/7

Classes have continued at that pace. By the end of this first week, my instructors have covered pronouns in subject and object form, verb conjugation, and irregular verb rules and conjugation. I have a test on Monday!

photo: Tahiri, one of our Spanish teachers hard at work

That's the BEGINNER intensive course. Don is in the next class up (he took a university Spanish correspondence course this past spring). He's already learning crazy reflexive verb use. I hear him mumbling about third person plural reflexive, as he slaves over his homework. Our heads are full of Spanish after one week of afternoon classes.

Ethan, Lauren, and Katelyn are keen to learn Spanish. During the first week, we put sticky notes around our house: "la peurta" on the door, "la cocina" in the kitchen. Then Lisbeth, our ninera (child-care worker) began coming each afternoon to take care of the children while Don and I are in class. She speaks only spanish, but she has worked with missionary families in the past. When Don and I came home the first afternoon, Lisbeth and the kids had begun a word wall of spanish vocabulary. The kids really like her. And Don and I get LOTS of language practice trying to convey all kids of things to her. She has been a real blessing!

photo: Lisbeth and Amanda

Each morning, we're up and at it early. The children do three hours of homeschooling, then Don and I get ready for our classes. In amongst the marking, homeschool planning, cooking, and cleaning, we're practicing our spanish with each other, and fitting in our homework.

photo: homeschool hub

photo: Don's favorite homework spot

We're getting used to shopping around our neighbourhood. We've found the market, the bakery, and various sizes of grocery stores, thanks to great neighbours!

photo: getting to know the neighbourhood, where to shop, and how to cross a street and live

photo: Saturday's market allows us to purchase fresh fruit and veggies



We've begun e-mailing with the missionary family that we are going to work with in Ecuador. It helps make our purpose for being in San Jose very real . . . we need to learn as much Spanish as we can in the next six weeks, so that we can be useful (rather than a burden) when we get to Ecuador. We sure appreciate your prayers for our family!!!! especially for continued safety, health, and "sponge-like" language learning.

photo: we have to remember to drink LOTS of water! or the headaches hurt

photo: our "backyard", where the internet works best

photo: our front yard, where the kids play lots of soccer and catch geckos

photo: creative play is being discovered . . . empty juice bottles become "baby dolls"





Thank you for making time to think of us and pray for us! We pray many blessings for you and your family!
Love from the Murrays