After my family took off, I went to work for one day and found out that it had been a rough week while I was gone. For the first time, all 9 students had shown up, and Guiselle and Ale said it was rough with just two of them. All the students need support to do work, and more than one needs constant vigilance to make sure there are no incidents. On top of that, a few need monitoring in the bathroom and at times need more than one set of hands. I felt badly to miss out on a tough week, but was grateful for time with my family.
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| Sr. Caryn, Friar Rick, & Jordan |
On Friday evening, we went to Alejuela to visit two groups of college students who were in San Jose for Alternative Spring Break trips. One of the groups was from Catholic University (the other from Duke) so Margie actually knew the chaperone and a few of the participants. We had pizza with them at the convent where we’ve had retreats. It was a lot of fun!
On Saturday, we left early for a retreat center in Heredia. The center is run by a community of cloistered nuns who originally come from Mexico. The ground were absolutely beautiful and we practically had the whole place to ourselves. We each had our own bedroom and were able to spend much of the weekend relaxing and reading. Our discussions and activities were based off a book that Friar Rick, Sister Caryn, and Jordan brought for us called Touching the Holy. In between reading and reflective discussions we enjoyed the perfect weather (though it was extremely windy…sounded like hurricane winds!), and did some fun crafty projects.
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| Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine |
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| coffee break! |
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| La Negrita shrine |
After the retreat, we went out to dinner with the friars, Yamy, and Marta. We went to a Spanish restaurant that opened just for us. The chef made the biggest paella I’ve ever seen, invited us into the kitchen to watch him cook, and kept the sangria and appetizers flowing while he was preparing. He has a soft spot for Franciscans since he used to be a friar himself!
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| Paella!! |
On Tuesday, we had a final meal with Friar Rick, Jordan, and Sister Caryn before they flew back to Syracuse. Nicole's friend came into town to visit and they made a delicious meal of chicken parm for us all! Later in the evening we skyped with the crew back in Syracuse (as we try to do on the 13th of every month since we are FC13!). It was fun to have the directors/co-ministers on our side of the computer screen for a change. Below you'll see Friar Rick and Molly modeling some of the gear they brought us from the States for St. Patrick's Day!
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