Costa Rica pt 3

Costa Rica Pt 2

Ok im back...
So since i had uploading the pics and then dragging them to the appropriate location im just gonna post them at the top.
So, the journey continues on with Sunday. On Sunday I had the privilege of spending all morning hovered over a toilet with some type of stomach virus which thank goodness only lasted a few hours. I later joined up with the rest of the group that was doing a carnival for the neighborhood. It was pretty fun to see it all come to play. I had been planning on this carnival for a while and buying a bunch of stuff like bean bags for the bean bag toss and face painting kits. It turned out great and both kids and parents seemed to enjoy themselves. We had about 6 different "booths" of different carnival activities and it was super fun. I dont think many people had ever been a part of anything like that before cause most carnivals in costa rica only take place in bigger cities. We also gave away a bunch of soccer balls and uniforms to the community to have.
That night we just rested with my family and prepared for Mondays adventure of going into the schools.
So, monday morning rolls around and we get to the school around 10:00. We weren't suppose to start the whole event until 11:00 but we got there early to set up and start filling up water balloons that we bought for the kids to play with. Well, that plan didn't turn out so well cause as soon as all the kids saw us they ran out of their classrooms and started stealing water balloons. Now I must say I have beena part of plenty of water balloon fights but to see about 100 kids running around with water ballons throwing them at each other... that was a whole other story. So, after everyone was soaking wet. We decided to officially start the event. We had different craft tables for them to make jewlery and bookmarks and such. We also had the bean bag toss and a mini soccer game going. It was pure orginized chaos. after about an hour of that we sat everyone down and gave away all the school supplies and manipulatives for the teachers. That was truly one of the best parts. Everyones faces were lit up so much you just couldn't help but smile. Afterwards, most kids went home but we escorted about 50 of the students into the cafeteria and gave them each a pair of shoes. They were, according to the teacher, one of the needier students and couldn't afford to buy new shoes. So, once they all left we were officially done with that school, or so we thought. As we were leaving, one of the teachers approached us and asked us if we could fix their basketball court that didn't even look like a court, it looked like nothing. We agreed and picked a time and day to do that. When we got back home we talked and decided on how much extra money we had to buy paint and even a new hoop and such and we happened to have just enough, it was a huge blessing. So, we sent one of my uncles to go and buy everything for us.
The next day we went to another school in the neighboring town and did basically the exact same thing, minus the giant balloon fight. Those students behaved better. haha. Instead we did what we were planning on doing in the first place, a water balloon toss. All the kids had fun and when we were done, the teachers cooked us an amazing meal that consisted of some amazing chicken, beans rice, and homemade tortillas.
Later that night we were asked to go visit this rehab facility and just kind of hang out with the people there and such... so we hesitantly accepted not really knowing what was going to happen. It turned out to be an amazing expereince. We got there and just listened to a lot of these guys stories and talked to them and encouraged them, it was really amazing. The area that they were at was once a bunch of cabins for tourists but they turned it into that center but it was in this really nice area and had a bunch of monkeys, tucans, and parrots all over the place.
We came home really late that night very much looking forward to our free day we were going to have the next day. We had no idea what kind of adventure we were in for though.

Costa Rica

First of all, im so happy to finally be home... I missed everyone tremendously.
So, Costa Rica finally came and went. So much happened so i think Im gonna recap the trip in several parts... you know, keep you all hanging.

First of all the trip was amazing! Like, everything that I have been planning and such all came together so smoothly. We were able to do so many things and so much more.
The first couple of days we stayed in the capitol of Costa Rica (San Jose) and stayed with my cousins. Wednesday we arrived early in the morning, got to the house and basically slept most of the afternoon. When we got up, my cousin took us to see some of the coffee plants that were all around the neighborhood he lived in. That night, we went to a local market place and bought random things that people forgot to pack and some food for the couple of days we were gonna be there. Thursday was our first fun day, we did the canopy tour and got to go zip-lining through the rain forest. It was absolutely glorious and beautiful. I've done it before but this was a new place and it was interesting cause it was raining so the cables were wet which made us go faster... i felt like superman... which made me smile (side note- i wore my SGP shirt that day so SGP soared through the rainforest). I believe there were about 10 different cable plus a few hang bridges that we had to cross to get to other cables.
The next day we went to central San Jose and went to a few historical museums (since i love history and all) and went to the national theater. The national theater is one of my favorite places to visit while at the capitol.
Friday night we took off for our 8 hour drive to Golfito which is where I planned on working with the schools and is where most of my family lives. My cousin's neighbor had this big van and he volunteered to drive us there. Its a beautiful but long drive up a ton of mountains and its also a dangerous road. Well, our driver could not stop drifting the whole time... probably one of the scariest things ever. I'm pretty we almost died at least 4 different times.
But we finally made it to Golfito Saturday morning at like 5:00am.
As soon as we got to Glofito we took a nap, slept, and then headed to the stores to buy shoes and school supplies for the school we were going to be working with that next week.
ok, so im gonna stop there so i dont bore you all too much. I also posted a ton of pictures on flickr if you want to see more.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/costarican_15/

California

Hey,
So, I am randomly flying down to CA tonight and will be gone until Sunday. Im going to be looking at a few areas and apartments and visiting the school I will be attending in the fall.

So, I just wanted to let everyone know just in case you don't see me online as much in the next couple of days.

that is all.

My Musical

yes I just posted a vlog like 5 minutes ago but I'll just say that Im making up for like the month that i went without posting anything.
So a couple of days ago, a friend dared me to only communicate in singing for a whole day. I wasn't able to talk just sing. Well I ended up just doing it for like 2 hours while we hung out, not because I couldn't do it, it was just simply because I had some important meeting and work that I couldn't necessarily get done whilst singing.
So, I was a bit upset. I really wanted to try and go a whole day without talking, just singing... because, I have always wanted my life to be a musical. I decided to come up with a playlist for a mini musical of my life.
I came up with a few songs that describe things that happen throughout the day including some conflicting things to make it that much more interesting.
Here is what I came up with. If you guys have any other suggestions please contribute cause I'm gonna pick a day and ind of make a video incorporating all these songs.

I'm Only Sleeping The Beatles
Good Morning Singin' In The Rain (Soundtrack)
I Say A Little Prayer My Best Friend's Wedding
Drive My Car The Beatles
I Have Confidence Julie Andrews
Good Day Sunshine The Beatles
The Office theme song
A Well Respected Man The Kinks
Happy Working Song Amy Adams
Think About It Flight of the Conchords
Lost! Coldplay
Raise It Up August Rush
Been a Long Day Rosi Golan
akuna matata The Lion King
Getting Better The Beatles
Here Comes The Sun The Beatles
Times Like These Foo Fighters
The Nicest Kids In Town Hairspray: Soundtrack
I'm singing in the rain Gene Kelly
A Hard Day's Night The Beatles
11:11 PM The All-American Rejects
So Long, Farewell Sound of Music Soundtrack
Viva La Vida Coldplay

So yes, I think most of these are pretty self explanatory as to when I would sing them but there ya go. Suggestions?
Is it too obvious that I am done with work and have some extra free time?

My accent

hey everyone.
so here is my rendition of this amazing and hilarious story.
my accent is definitely different than when i was little. Before i had more of a Hispanic accent but now as you will hear its changed.
side note- i had literally just gotten back from the gym and work when i did this cause i was so excited to do this so you don't have to look at me, just listen.

appreciating some west coast history

what a random but fun day...
so today was my dad's birthday and we spent most of the day trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Well we finally figured it out, we went down to the historical part of Vancouver and walked along the columbian river (end of the oregon trail). I discovered some amazing historical things about my state, it was quite exciting. If you didn't already know, I LOVE history and have always been fascinated by the east coast and all the history over there but never really took the time to appreciate the history here on this side of the states.
It was so nice today and there were so many beautiful sites... i was upset i didn't have my camera. I did however have me cell phone so i was able to take some pics.
Here are a few, the rest are on flickr.

a successful night

Well hey everyone!

So, what a long day, heck i should say what a long week. I've never had to prepare, plan, an organize something like this before and i have to say... it was pretty insane. But, i believe it was a success. We had about 80 people show up and make about $1,000 so i can't complain. The guy who came and sang did a really good job as well. He got everyone involved and taught people a few phrases in spanish, it was pretty funny. I spoke a few times and attempted to throw in a few funny lines, i think i got some sympathy laughs... haha.
But i made a little video of tonight if y'all want to see. Thank you thank you thank you for al the support and prayers. I really could not have done it without you and i know that the kids and school that we work with down in costa rica will appreciate it as well.

-Raquel

last leg of the race...

so... i haven't done a blog in a ridiculously long time so i thought i would give a little update. I feel like I'm finishing up this last leg of the race that I've been heavily running and its slowly coming to an end soon. Of course, a new race will start soon after but there are a few things that I'm excited about.

first of all, i only have less than 2 weeks left at work! I'm so excited! As much as I have enjoyed the experiences from the past 2 years, I am ready to start this new chapter of my life down in L.A.

Second of all, this friday I am having a big fundraiser dinner for my missions trip to costa rica. I'm really hoping that everything goes well and we'll be able to raise enough money to help buy extra shoes for the kids down there.

thirdly, orchestra has been going really well. Yes that may sound geeky but I don't even care. I have loved the experience of being in orchestra and improving myself in music reading. I'm excited about the couple of songs that I play cause i get to do some fun things on the snare drum oand tom toms.

so yeah, those are the big things happening right now. I hope you are all doing well.

Stay Classy SGP family.

to my pals, my friends, my SGP family

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
–Walt Disney

So, I don't even know where to begin. The past 5 months have been crazy. I don't think I have ever had to rely on God and trust as much as I have lately. I also have never felt so blessed by people that he has placed in my life either. Most of you I have only known for a couple of months, and I don't think I have met any of you either... well not yet at least... but I have felt so blessed by each and every one of you and I could not have made it through these past couple of months without your support and encouragement.
I just wanted to take the time to let you all know that but to also fill you in on my decisions for the fall.
Some of you have already heard of some form of what I have been going through from my blogs or by just talking to me... some already know the ending of this note. Others, have no idea what I'm talking about but I know have been praying for me and/or encouraging me.
Basically, around Christmas I was really feeling like teaching was just not something that I saw myself doing as a career. I had just finished a music class and was about to start orchestra. I soon rediscovered how much music truly was my passion and wanted to pursue it more... and i have.
At first my plan was to go to MI and get certified in music education but that plan fell through. Another opportunity also had been presented that I ignored for several months until about a month ago, and that was moving back to CA and going to school in L.A.
Well my friends, I am here to tell you that I have officially decided to move down to L.A. this summer. I am extremely excited about it and I know its going to be a crazy journey but I'm excited to take it together with God and my friends for support.
My plan is to finish off my general studies at L.A. City College then transfer to one of the many universities down there and major in some sort of music. Eventually I want to go into music therapy but I want to explore the music industry for a bit and see where God leads me.
So, yes... I still need prayer though. I still need to find a job while down there and we are still looking at different apartments and such. Its also just going to be a crazy transition ... hard times ahead... hard times but good times too.
I know this is very brief but I would love to tell you more about it if interested.

I appreciate you all so much.
Your friendship truly means so much to me.
Thanks,

Raquel

what teachers really do during lunch

so, its friday.
and fridays are a bit boring at work.
fridays are also casual days.
I wore my SGP shirt today.
I took some pics with me in my shirt.
I was bored during my lunch break.
enjoy.
more on flickr.

appologies and pillowman

Hi friends,
So, this week has been crazy. I have like a never ending to do list that I somehow need to get done by next Friday. As weird as it may sound... I miss being busy. Last quarter I took time off from school and I was going crazy with all my free time. I prefer staying busy... so well, now I am.
So, I'm sorry that I've sort of been MIA in the chat the past couple of days. Hopefully I will be able to drop in soon. I'm almost all caught up with everything.
Anyways, guess what I got in the mail today? Well if you read the title of this post you might have already guessed but if you didn't... I got "The Pillowman." YAY!! I have been wanting to read it for a while now. Hopefully I will have time this weekend to sit down and start it.
I hope that you are all having the best week and I hope you finish it off well.
Talk to you soon!

-Raquel

SGP Henna

So, Today I went to the Saturday Market down in Portland. It's probably Portlands best feature. I can't even describe what it is but its great. Anyways, I wore my SGP shirt and took a few pictures. Uploaded them on flickr if you want to see.
But I got myself a SGP henna tattoo...

The lady was really cute and sweet. She was asking about it and wondering what Southern Gothic was so I explained it to her. She wanted me to wish Southern Gothic the best of luck.

Exploration Book Vlog

I went to Portland today and had to stop by Powells.
I found a fun book.
See...




This is the quote at the beginning of the book:
We shall not cease from exploration
and at the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Act of Random Kindness

Ok, boy do I have a story for you!
ready?
Once upon a time me and my sister went to the airport to pick up two of her best friends. She was told that they were landing at 5:00. It turns out they were leaving at 5:00 and weren't arriving until 7:15. I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit frustrated. I had had a long day and really just wanted to pick them up and head home. So, we decided to just stay and hang out at the airport for 2 hours.
So... we were walking back from the security point and this random guy stopped us and asked us in spanish if we spoke spanish. I was kind of thrown off guard but responded yes and then was asked if I could help him out. I then followed him to the Frontier airline check-in and was asked to help translate for them. It turns out there was 4 of them traveling from Costa Rica and this was their first time traveling outside of their country. Their plane was 3 hours delayed and they were going to be missing their connecting flight in Denver so the airline was trying to explain to them that they were going to pay for a hotel and food and have them stay in Denver and get the next flight to Costa Rica tomorrow evening. Anyways, I ended up translating for about 40 min. In between translating I had a chance to talk to them about Costa Rica, since thats where I'm from as well, and it turns out they live right by one of my aunts. We ended up exchanging numbers and I made new friends.
So, after everything was resolved the airline lady asked for my name and gave me and my sister a $20 voucher for dinner to thank us for helping. I was totally caught off guard by that but was extremely thankful. So since we had a while to wait, we took advantage of that and went to the fancy airport restaurant. We ordered an amazing hamburger and got it a bit late cause I guess the kitchen staff had lost our meal ticket. So then we got free desert!
It was just a fun evening. I was just completely reminded by GOd about how much he truly is in control of everything. Even though at was stressed at first about having to stay a couple of hours... he was able to use me to help these people out.
So yeah, you never know when you are going to make a difference in someones life.
the end

My SGP T-Shirt!!!

What a great afternoon...
I came home from a very LONG day at work and saw a beautiful envelope on my doorstep.
I got one of my shirts in the mail today! I'm so excited :)
I'm definitely gonna be wearing it all the time starting tonight at orchestra!
the end

Can't Touch This...

So, the very first night that I was in VA, I was hanging out with my friends and it was extremely late. I was talking on the phone with some of my wednesday night girls and my "brothers" started to play "Can't Touch This" on my laptop. I had no idea that they were actually making a video until later but I thought I would share this with you. Well, actually I wasn't planning on sharing it but Liz convinced me to.
Try not to laugh too hard... oh and halfway through, I definitely tripped on a duffel bag. It was late... ok.
P.S. Vicki just started vlogging and I think you all should go to her blog... the end
veeceekay.blogspot.com

easter cream puffs

Happy Easter everyone!

So, tonight I felt like being creative and made some cream puffs for our easter desert... completely from scratch. Not gonna lie, they turned out sensational.
I thought I would share a pic.

"What will my future be? I wonder..."

"What will this day be like? I wonder.
What will my future be? I wonder.
It could be so exciting to be out in the world, to be free
My heart should be wildly rejoicing
Oh, what's the matter with me?
I've always longed for adventure
To do the things I've never dared
And here I'm facing adventure
Then why am I so scared?"

I feel like I'm turning into such a flake... but am I really? Or am I just being smart and keeping all my options open for the fall. I haven't really committed to anything yet so I can't technically be a flake. But I'm realizing that there are other doors being open for the fall that I should consider... doors that aren't necessarily MI.
Confused? Let me explain.
So, yes... in the past months I have changed my plans for the fall and my choices for a career a lot. When I first had my epiphany about moving to MI, I was so excited about the thought of just being out on my own, taking that leap, getting that 3 layer funfetti cake from God, it wasn't necessarily so much about the idea of MI itself. Since then, several other opportunities have come up to truly pursue a career in music. Weather or not I go into music therapy or sound mixing, just having the opportunity to be involved in music.
Earlier, I wrote about taking that leap and living life without regrets... and not just doing things because I feel obligated by others to do something.
Well, I am considering all the doors now. I don't want to regret moving to MI when another door is presenting itself. A door that has been there for the past 6 months that I refused to see only until recently. That door is moving to L.A.
I was scared to write this blog. I don't know who is going to be reading this but I fell like I owe people an apology for being flaky and constantly changing my plans. But then, do I really need to apologize for that?
I know who I am. I am a passionate person and when I commit to things, I commit to things 100%. I know who I am in my faith, I know what my passion is. And I know that I can't please everyone. The only two people that I should please is God and myself. And I know that God has my back cause we're buds.
But anyways, back to the whole possibly not moving to MI...
I had originally wanted to go there because they had an amazing music educators program. Then when I realized that I really didn't want to go into teaching, I found out they also offered music therapy. Well last week I found out that they will no longer be accepting applicants for that program after this summer. My plan was to do community college in Lansing for the first year then transfer to MSU. I'm still waiting to hear back if I got admitted or not but if I don't get admitted, I really don't see the point in moving all the way over there just to do a community college when I can go somewhere else.
So, I'm not committing to anything yet, and I'm not saying that I'm moving to MI or CA or anywhere yet for that matter.
Basically I just wanted to let you all know the latest update so that if I ended up looking more into L.A., it wouldn't be a complete surprise.
so, go ahead and criticize or encourage... to be honest I really just had to be honest and let y'all know.
Like I said, I feel like I'm turning into a flake and into an unreliable person... but at the same time, I feel like because I'm considering all my options, I'm growing as an individual and being smart about this move, wherever it may be.

First day success!

Man, what a great Monday! Today I started my after school program that has been in the works for a while and I couldn't have gone any better. God just totally brought everything together last minute and all the students seemed to really enjoy themselves. For those of you who didn't know, I have been trying to start an after school program at the school that I work at to give students the opportunity to get involve in the arts and learn a different language. I have been working with several community organizations and members and finally got everything approved to start today.
We had about 30 students between the ages of 6-10 stay after school for art and spanish lessons. I taught the spanish lessons and it was amazing! Next week we are hoping to get a few more when we start a guitar class as well.
These kids were just so excited and it was so neat to see them wanting to learn spanish and taking their art class.
I am just so humbled by everyone who has helped me out and made this vision a reality. I truly believe that these student's lives will be impacted by this. One of the main reasons I wanted to do something like this was because our town is extremely small and kids get bored. I wanted to provide an outlet for them to invest their time in.
So yeah, I also hope and pray that this would leave a mark, a legacy, in the school since this is my last time teaching. I want to make sure I took full advantage of what God gave me. Even though I disliked most days, I still try to do everything 100%. I want to make sure that I truly do live life to the fullest and end this this with a bang! Again, it was a great learning experience but teaching is definitely not for me and I know that God has great plans ahead.
So, I will definitely be updating as this program continues. Its only gonna be 8 weeks long but hopefully it create a good foundation for next year.
Hope you all had a great monday!