A Tica Weekend

Hey everyone!

I feel like I kind of have a lot to say, so brace yourself before reading this :)

First of all, today we started off by having a “Spiritual Journey” exercise. We had no idea what this was going to be like, but instead we were all just told to come to class at 8:00 like usual. The professors explained to us that we were going to be sharing our spiritual journeys with the group (there are just over 40 people total). We went around the circle and shared with the group kind of a brief description of where we are in life and what God is doing. This activity took over 3 hours to do, and I have some mixed feelings about it.

Now, I am not one to just share my deepest thoughts and experiences with people (which may seem surprising since my blog is pretty honest, huh?) In general, I am very distrustful of others, and I do not open up easily. This morning was no exception. I made up my mind from the beginning that I was not going to just spill my life story to these people. Mine was probably one of the shortest sharing times, and I just simply said that I am wrestling with God on getting my beliefs from my head to my heart. I said that I have doubts and questions right now but that God is working me through them. Pretty much that was it. well, for those of you who know me well, you know that there is a whole lot that I didn’t say :) There were some students who talked for like 10 minutes about their testimony, a major thing that happened in their life, an accident they had, or an experience where they really felt God. There were some people who were kind of general as well. For me, this is just totally not my type of experience. It is entirely too impersonal. I do not want to share my story with someone who doesn’t necessarily care and who is not going to follow-up with me. It is not genuine to me.

However, I also learned to see the beauty in an activity like this. Just because this is not my way of sharing does not mean that it is wrong. It just means that my personality and my personal experiences are not going to participate in this type of sharing. On the flip side, I see that there are good things about the people who do share in this type of situation. This sharing experience allowed me to see these people in a different light, and it helped me to appreciate them more. I am a firm believer that everyone has a story, and it was helpful for me to hear more of their stories. It helps me understand them and why they are like they are. The problem I have though is that it also leaves me feeling like there is soo much more that I don’t know about those people. I guess that’s the psychologist in me…I want to know more than just the 2 minute version. If I’m going to get to know them, I want to really know them. Nonetheless, I think that this activity really did increase my appreciation for the rest of the group. I have an increased appreciation for the huge variety of Christians in the world.

That leads me to something else: it is amazing how many different Chrisitans I have met on this trip. The Christians that talked this morning are totally different and varied in their beliefs, their passions, their career goals, and their personalities. I truly saw the diversity of the church like I usually do not get to see in rural Iowa. It is really quite something to see the variety in the church. However, it is also scary. It really makes me wonder if that is okay to have that much variety…can we really all be right? For the sake of time, I’ll keep that battle to myself :)

Another thing that I want to mention to you all is the idea of a Tico weekend (remember that Tico is what the people here are called). This topic came to mind as the students today were talking about and thinking about what we were going to do this weekend. As usual, I have no idea what I will actually end up doing this weekend, but my first reaction is that we need to go out and see and experience Costa Rica! Right? After all, we are in this paradise and I need to go experience it. Hmm...I guess I’m not sure about that type of thinking. Let me explain.

Here is the struggle that many of the students (including me) are feeling. We are from the United States which means that we come with values that we hold. One of those values is the value of “doing” and productivity. For a typical American who is in Costa Rica, a great weekend would be visiting a beach, eating in a new restaurant, seeing a volcano, hiking a mountain, or visiting a rainforest. Those things sound really awesome and fun, and you probably all want to do them, right?

Well, now let me explain what the typical Tico wants to do on the weekend: relax. What does that look like?  A good Saturday would be sleeping in til 10:00, eating breakfast, watching TV, eat lunch, take a nap, and watch TV again the rest of the day. A good weekend maybe includes a trip to the farmer’s market, but other than that, it would be great to not leave your house.

Why am I here in Costa Rica? I am here as a student to learn the culture of Costa Ricans. Notice that I did not say I was here to be a tourist. Therefore, I am really trying to work on what this looks like. It might mean that I do not do anything all weekend but homework and hang out with my family. This might mean that I do not go to the beach that is only a few hours away. This might mean that I do not really “do” anything. And I am learning to really try to be okay with this. The American in me wants to go and see stuff, experience the nature, and do all these unique things while I’m here in this tropical paradise. However, I am here to learn about Costa Rica and see what life is like here. Therefore, maybe I’ll sit all weekend with my family in our little house. This is actually more of the Costa Rican experience.

I know that when I get back, all the people I talk to will say: “Costa Rica! What did you do?” For sure. I bet every single oone of you asks me that very question :) However, it’s very possible that my answer will be “disappointing” for some people because it might not be a jammed pack list of things I did every weekend. What if I just told you that I learned about Costa Rican culture? What if I said that I build relationships with my Tica family? What if I told you that I relaxed and took the weekend off?  Now, in all reality, we do get to experience a lot on this trip. I will have had opportunities to see Costa Rica and experience different things, including Nicaragua and Cuba.

The point I’m trying to make is that not every weekend is full of tourism and sight-seeing. My American values say that I need to be doing something or I am boring or a loser or worthless. In reality, that is absolutely based in my American culture. I truly believe that life should not be about doing things. Life needs to be about being. I need to rest. I need to take a break. I need to enjoy life that I have today because tomorrow is not guaranteed. I also fully believe and accept that there is more to Costa Rica than just beautiful nature. There are also really awesome people here, and they are my priority. If I really want to be a tourist, I can come back on vacation some day. Instead, I’m here as a student who wants to learn and who wants to be changed by their culture. If I am going to get the most out of this experience and truly be open to being changed, I need to immerse myself in their culture. That means I might be sitting on my bum this weekend. And I’m okay with that.

I hope you all have a good weekend too, and I hope you rest. I hope you see that you do not have to DO something to be worthwhile and valuable. The importance and success of my life is not dependent on whether I accomplish something today. If you feel like your life is all about doing, I really encourage you to challenge this value and see if it is really a value that you want to keep holding on to.