Colombian Christian Mission

THE COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
San José del Guaviare in Colombia, South America
Volume 2, Issue 6 June, 1974

(PHOTOS)

Top: A view of the barrio of San Pedro, where Dale and Jeanie live. This photo was taken from the Meade's front porch. Bottom: Casa LaPorte forms 1/2 of the classroom facilities of the Language school. A new building complex is under construction but will not be finished for another year or so.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Our much needed two week break in class is over. Classes are beginning again. It is the start of our third and final trimester; it is the beginning of the end as far as language school is concerned. We have a scant 3 1/2 months left in Costa Rica. Jeanie will be enrolled in only 2 classes for the first month. After that she will quit language school and wait for our "visitor" who is due around June 20 after the birth she will take no more classes. I will take a full load of classes and try to stick it out for the full trimester.
Classes will be slightly different this trimester. We will have no phonetics class but will continue with grammar. The other classes will be devoted to Spanish literature and preaching in Spanish. These classes are designed to continue to drill in Spanish sentence structure and increase our vocabulary. Greater fluency and smoother use of language are important goals for this trimester.
Again, we both look forward to the continued opportunity to study and learn, but continued study is beginning to take its toll. Both of us are glad that the end is in sight. It becomes harder to continue preparing for classes. Each day we look forward to the end of classes and our departure for Colombia. It has been six years since I visited Colombia and altered by plans when I decided to return. For 6 long years it has been nothing but prepare for that return. We are very thankful for the chance to study here in Costa Rica, but we praise God that the beginning of the end of this time of preparation has come.


COST OF LIVING

The cost of living here is about the same as it would be for us in the States. Some people think that it should be cheaper but it isn't. We pay about $80 a month for a two room furnished apartment with a kitchen and bathroom. That is cheap rent here. We have a hot water heater which is a luxury here. We don't have a bathtub (which is an even greater luxury) either. We have a shower like most other apartments.
Our telephone bill runs about $3 per month. We don't use it too often. They consider three minutes a call. After three minutes you are charged for another call for each additional three minutes.
The electric bill was about $4 per month when we first came. Now it is up to $10 per month and another raise is due to go into effect in a couple of weeks.
Food runs us a little more than it did in the States. (We eat other things besides hamburgers now). Canned food is very expensive so we buy very little of it. Meat is cheaper but a lot tougher. They don't age their meat. But I cook it in the pressure cooker and that makes it tender. Milk is cheaper too even though the price was just raised by a third two weeks ago. Now it is about 47 cents (U.S. currency) a half gallon. We tend to eat a larger amount of food here than we did in the States.
Gasoline is very expensive. When we first came it was about 50 cents a gallon. Then the government took over the refinery and the price went up to $1 a gallon. Needless to say, we don't go sightseeing too often.
All in all it costs us about the same to live here as it would in the States. It might even cost a little more due to high gas price and high electric prices. We are enjoying our stay in Costa Rica but we are looking forward to moving to Colombia. In about a year I'll be able to tell you about the cost of living there. J.A.M.