June 12th

Today we went to breakfast and after, we went to the farmers market. We split up into a few groups looking for different types of fruit. If you think that’s easy enough, here is the list of the fruits we had to find:

• Granadilla
• Naranjilla
• Tamarindo
• Guanabana
• Mandarina

We had to ask the locals IN SPANISH if they had the right fruit and how much it was. When we were finished, we all were able to taste the fruits at dinner that other groups gathered at the market. Then we were off to church!

We visited Openhouse, North Point's Strategic Partner here in San Jose, Costa Rica. They have the same family environments that we have at home such as Waumba Land, UpStreet, Transit, and InsideOut. The volunteers even wear the same t-shirts that our volunteers do! All of the kids went to the Transit service, and the parents went to the regular service. At service, the adults had a translator translating the message to them through an earpiece, while the kids had to figure it out the Spanish in Transit for themselves. It was really cool to hear the songs we sing at church in Spanish. One thing that struck us was that the church-goers here have to wait in line to pay for parking, while we complain about getting out of our FREE parking lot.

After church, we went to lunch at the hotel, then off to a souvenir shop called Mercado National Arts and Crafts Street Market. We were able to barter (in Spanish, again) with the local vendors for gifts for you guys at home.

Next, we began a walking tour of downtown San Jose. Thankfully the rain held off and we were able to see National Museum, Central Park, Supreme Court, and the National Theater. Fun fact–the Nationa Theater is an exact replica of the Opera House in Paris. How cool is that?!

We came back to the hotel and ate dinner (the meals have been AWESOME), and we got ready for our activities for tomorrow at the schools. The parents packed all the crafts, while the students played soccer inside until they almost broke a chandelier (oops). It was a great day, and we are looking forward to an even better day tomorrow!

Blog collaborated by the following:

Elizabeth Baum – Hi mom. <3

Michael Baum – Miss my wife being by my side. Love you!

Chloe Friedel – Miss you Tay and daddy. Cannot wait to see you on Saturday.

PJ Friedel – Thanks, Scott for not being able to go on this trip, so I could go. :) I love you!  Taylor – Miss you tons and I hope your finger heals fast!!! See you both Saturday!!!

Emma Nydam – I miss you Lily, daddy, and Bo keep rocking it at softball. I love you guys and miss you guys so much.

Erin Nydam – We are having a blast, but I miss my Rudy, Lily and Bocephus. Shout out to my sweet hubby for sneaking a picture in my suitcase that made me cry and miss them more.