Colorado

We arrived in Palmer Lake, CO (just north of Colorado Springs) two weeks ago to begin our last formal training time before we leave in December. The first two weeks of the program are focused on language learning. American English uses 44 of the 1,000s of sounds that our mouths are capable of making. Along with giving us some great material and guidelines for language learning, this program is also designed to loosen your tongue to be able to make some of the 966+ sounds we don't use in English in order to give you a more pleasing accent in the language you are going to learn to speak. The training has been so beneficial and we have the added bonus of spending our days with some amazing people in a beautiful state! Here's a snapshot...

Last Sunday we drove up Pike's Peak with our friends Jonathan and Lauren who are headed to Sudan this fall. To say they're the 'outdoorsy' type would be an understatement. Thanks to the Vissani's for sharing this friendship with us!

An evening hike to the reservoir armed with canned soup and corn on the cob. As you can see, it rained. But it was one of those nights that you will always remember.

The wildflowers in CO are gorgeous; when you go hiking you run into sprawling fields of them that make me smile every time. Our friends decided that we needed a picture in the middle of them. They were right.

An impromptu s'mores night with some of our fellow trainees. For those who know Courtney, this might end up being the highlight of our time here.


Here are some videos for you to enjoy. Just imagine a room full of 45 people doing this in unison all day long. The drills can be tiring, but it's amazing how much of an improvement we can see in just two weeks! Enjoy :)