Leaving Miami for Costa Rica

We just finished up training here in Miami. It went really well, probably as good as I could have thought it would go. The 35 others with me are some awesome people and I am looking forward to getting to know them better. Tomorrow morning we fly to Costa Rica where we'll have a 4 day retreat in the mountains near San Jose. On Saturday, we will all branch out to different communities anywhere from a 25 minute bus ride to San Jose to an hour and a half bus ride. Half of us are in the business program and the other half are in a youth and family program. Those of us in business will be in towns farther away from San Jose. From Saturday until September 14, 2007 I will be living with a host family. This will be training and there will be 3-4 others in the same town training with me. If everything goes well, I will officially become a Peace Corps volunteer on September 14. Until then I am just a trainee. After swearing in, I will move again to my final community where I'll live for two years!

Sample Day's Schedule during my 3 months of training:
A typical day in the community consists of waking up early, having breakfast of gallo pinto (rice and beans) and coffee with your family. Trainees then go to a language session from about 8-noon, usually in the community hall or church, then go home for lunch with their families. At 1:00, trainees will carry out integrated activities in the community related to the weekly theme. For example, in the week on education, trainees interview a teacher in the community. Trainees will use a guide to ask questions and then will discuss their findings with the facilitator. In late afternoon, trainees may participate in an activity with a local community group. Otherwise, this will be time to interact with family members, study and take care of other personal matters.

I am happy I got to check email and blog here in Miami, but I'm told we will have limited access to this in Costa Rica. I am very worried that if I personally can't write emails or blogs, people might not keep as much in touch than if I make an effort. That being said, I am so appreciative of all the support and prayers people have been giving. Everyone has been such a huge encouragement to me, and I think that's why orientation went so well--I know how much everyone supports me and is letting me know they care. You guys are awesome!

I don't think I'll get to write again for a while. For now, I'm going to focus on training and being safe in Costa Rica. My days are so jammed pack that finding time for my most important relationship, the one with our Creator, may be difficult. Don't be afraid to ask me the hard questions about how my faith is going and things like that. Most of all, just pray for me!

Thank you so much and I miss you already! But, so far I'm more excited than scared and I'm trying to enjoy this good time. :-)

Beauty From Pain

I'm supposed to be flying out of Omaha tomorrow morning at 6:20am, and I really hope that I still will be. I was up most of last night throwing up, having a headache, and freezing my butt off under 3 blankets (fever).

I woke up at 10ish this morning and still didn't feel good at all. My mom suggested trying to sleep some more so that I can hopefully get over this. I went back to sleep for a few hours and I am feeling lots better, but I still don't feel the greatest. Now I'm doing last minute packing and preperations.

Honestly, sickness can come at any time, and plus Alvin and Lily have been really sick lately--so I probably caught something from one of them. But still, I have been going through a lot of spiritual warfare these past few days, and I think satan is behind this sickness, trying to oppress me, make me hopeless, and keep me from going. Somehow through all this I almost laughed this morning and said "is this all you've got?" It's going to take more than this to get me down.

I must resume packing and getting ready. Hopefully I will be on that flight tomorrow, having a layover in Dallas and then arriving to Miami just before 2 for orientation. Wednesday, June 27 all 36 of us who are meeting tomorrow in Miami will be flying to Costa Rica together. I would desperately appreciate prayers through this as some crazy stuff is going on.

Eight days until I leave

Hey everyone. My purpose in creating this blog is to keep people informed of what's going on while I'm in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Relationships are what life is all about, and I am going to miss you all so much. I hope many of you will also write me letters or email me (norton.nick@gmail.com) so we can have more of a personal relationship. Don't hestitate to write me! I have already had to say goodbye to many people and it has been so hard. You guys mean so much to me!

I did some blogging about my thoughts and what was going on for the last year or so with this Peace Corps process. I don't think I'll update this old one anymore after this, as it is about before Costa Rica. If you want to check that seperate blog out, that web address is:

www.xanga.com/mxpxrulz23

I'm not sure how much access I will have to the internet. I may be updating this blog every couple days for a while, or maybe not for months. I will do my best with the resources I have. My information says airmail to/from Costa Rica takes one to two weeks. During my first three months of training in Costa Rica (June 27, 2007 to mid September) you can send mail to the Peace Corps office. My info says that you can send mail here both during my training and during my two years of service (where I will be in a different location). However, it also says after my training, you can send mail directly to me (most likely). I will have to let you know in September if I have a new address for you or if you should continue sending things to the Peace Corps office.

Here is where to send me mail at least until mid September 2007 (Peace Corps office):

Nick Norton, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1266
1000 San José
Costa Rica

Okay. I'm going to simply quote what the Peace Corps says for me to tell family and friends regarding sending me stuff. Letters should be fine--the following information is more for if you are going to send me a package or something other than simply a letter:

"We discourage you from having people send you money, airline tickets, or other valuable items through the mail. Items mailed in "bubbled" manila envelopes have a better chance of arriving at your site without being delayed by customs. Larger packages have to go through customs and sometimes mysteriously disappear in transit. Retrieving packages from customs is time-consuming and often requires payment of duty fees. "

"DHL, Federal Express, and other couriers have offices in Costa Rica. If your friends or relatives want to send you something by courier, they should send it to the Peace Corps office, for which a phone number and directions to a street address are usually required. The Peace Corps/Costa Rica office phone number is 011-506-231-4122; the fax number is 011-506-220-3275. The Peace Corps/Costa Rica office address and directions are:"

Nick Norton, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz

Del Banco Interfin en Sabana Norte, dos cuadras al oeste y una cuadra al sur. Diagonal a la residencia del embajador de España, frente al Parque Perú.

San José, Costa Rica

I love you and I hope that if you are reading this, me and you got a chance to say proper goodbyes. And hopefully, we will keep in touch.
-Nick