Learning the Ropes

So, I’ve decided to write a second blog for the week. 2 for 1 special! I’ve learned a lot this week and now it’s time to share.

The past couple days have been really interesting. On Wednesday, I went to meet with my counterpart from PANI (Patronato Nacional de Infancia or their version of child protection services I guess) because she and her office were holding some sort activity in the bigger town. I had no idea what was going to happen, all I knew was that I would go to her office and we would go to the venue together. It turns out that they were holding elections for their Junto de Proteción. This is basically a group of people representing the community and do activities that promote healthy family lifestyles, or in other words, anti-violence in the homes.

So I sat and observed while everything was being set up. When things start, the MC announces that the flag will process in; we need to stand up in respect and he starts to play some music. It starts with a drum roll and I automatically assume that they are going to play the Costa Rican National Anthem, which I am familiar with since we had to rehearse it a ton for our swearing in ceremony, and I think, “Great! I know this one!” Hahaha, how about no, actually I don’t. The music sounds like it could be the national anthem. People are singing to it like it’s the national anthem. They have their hands over their hearts. Why doesn’t this sound familiar? I decide that I don’t know what’s going on and wait for the activities to start. All of a sudden, they start to play another song. It’s the national anthem. Unfortunately, I still don’t know the words to the song even with all the practice, and I just observed. Again, I don’t know what’s going on. I later e-mailed one of my bosses about it and she explained that they have a song specifically for carrying in the flag and then they play the national anthem. Oh. Good to know.

The activity begins with an explanation of the Junto which I found pretty interesting, but hard to follow because the power point slides were hard to read. I’m still not really sure what exactly the Junto does or is responsible for, but I do know that I could possibly collaborate with them in the future so I am interested in them.

Then they started the elections. It was quite chaotic. Let me say that there were lots of classes from various schools invited to watch and participate, which meant that there were a lot of children. On the one hand, I think it’s really amazing that a government organization would take the opinions of children seriously and give them a vote. On the other hand, I’m not sure that the kids knew enough to make informed decisions. Ah, ‘cest la vie.

So, they began with the youth representative elections. This was done by people nominating himself or herself or another and then that person becomes a candidate. After the nominations, each candidate is allowed to say a little bit about why they want to be on the Junto. Then people vote. In the case of the youth representative, only the students are allowed to vote.

After all the ballots had been turned in, while they were counting, they call up a class, of what I would say was probably 1st grade, to perform a dance. It was cute and simple and quite chaotic. It was like any other 1st grade class performance I’ve ever seen.

After that, an older class, came up to perform. They looked to be around 6th grade or so. This is where things just confuse me. The music comes on and I realize it’s Jennifer Lopez, “Let’s Get Loud.” I don’t know why I find it hilarious, but for some reason I think of it as a song for middle-aged people that they play at weddings to amp them up. Then the dance begins, and I try my best not to burst out laughing. Their routine resembled some kind of sexy country routine that would be in the background of a Carrie Underwood performance during the CMA’s or something. I mean the combination of Jennifer Lopez, the routine and the age of these girls was just crazy to me. The effort was good, but a few got lost along the way. Actually a few looked really uncomfortable the entire time. I don’t blame them.

So then they continue with the adult representative elections, which was far less interesting, but this is where I question the kids’ vote. The person who ended up winning didn’t even want to be nominated in the first place, but after her students (who were really young) coerced her, she decided to throw her name in. At the end, she had the popular vote and won. I really think that this goes to prove that most elections are a popularity contest whether people like to believe it or not. Whoever gets the most votes wins, and generally that person in the most popular.

Yesterday, I went to the school to work with the English Teacher, Erlin. She’s really nice, and I love that I can speak English with her. We are trying to help each other become better at speaking English/Spanish. We were supposed to bring songs in each language and discuss them together. We did bring them, but we did not discuss them. We ended up talking about the community and the students here. This, was awesome. We spoke mostly in English except when other teachers came to talk also. While I didn’t really learn much Spanish, I learned a lot about my community.

It was really the first time I talked to anyone in depth about the community. I found out that my community is very poor, probably poorer than I originally thought. I found out that a lot of kids only come to school for the free food, and sometimes they don’t come to school because they don’t feel like it and their parents don’t make them. Drugs seem to be a really large problem here because people need a way to make money and selling drugs is perceived to be an easy way to do that. Most kids here don’t finish high school and educational opportunities are few. Career opportunities are few and to find them, you would have to look outside of the town. Girls get pregnant really early, which basically freezes their lives. Also, I found out that the kids don’t have schoolbooks because the government doesn’t provide books for them. They only get English books. Any supplies that the teachers need for class, they have to pay for themselves. Every photocopy for materials, every pencil, everything is paid by the teacher. The teachers don’t get paid enough to cover everything, so when they ask for parents to bring in money so they can make copies of things, it normally doesn’t happen and the kids don’t get the materials they need. It’s really quite sad. It’s so frustrating and it’s no wonder these kids get stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. I’d have to say, it is because of this, I have a difficult time believing that Costa Rica is the happiest country. I would like to see on what factors they measured this.

I went home full of thoughts, and very overwhelmed. I mean, what exactly am I supposed to do to change things around here? It seems impossible. It feels like I’m trying to move a mountain, blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back. Although I am glad that I’m getting to know the teachers, I really need to start getting to know my community. None of the teachers live here, but I know they will be great assets to my work and me. Now I need to get to know the community and let them get to know me so that I have a shot at getting their interest in my future projects.

As, I was sitting on my porch pondering all of these heavy thoughts and feelings, I notice a herd of horses starting to walk my house. Then they actually come into the yard to graze. It was really weird, but kind of amazing at the same time. Where did these horses come from? Where are they going? Why are they in the yard? Finally the dogs chased them away. An hour later, a herd of cows walked by the house. Again, where did they come from? Where are they going? Why are they unattended? Hm, life in a rural town.

Tomorrow I’m going to spend the day in San Jose with some PCV friends. It’s going to be amazing. A good break from life here and it’s a lot easier to bounce ideas off each other in person rather than over text messages.

Ok folks, until next time!


This is the herd of horses grazing in the yard.
This was taken at the beach last Saturday. From left to right it's my host-brother, Dennis, me, the little boy (I forgot his name), my host-sister, Laura, and her niece, Mixie.

This is one of the monkeys that were hanging out in the trees by the beach. Looks like Marcel right?

This is the beach. It wasn't a very sunny day, as it is their winter right now.

Peace Corps = Tower of Terror

Hello people. Firstly, I want to thank all of you who are reading my blog. Over the past week, I’ve been told of so many people who are following my journey and I have to admit I was surprised. I didn’t realize so many people took that much of an interest in me and what I’m doing, besides my family and a handful of friends. So, thank you. It sounds completely cheesy, but knowing that I have people reading and supporting what I am doing; knowing people are invested in me is truly inspiring. Right now, I definitely need all the motivation I can get.

So, the past week has had its ups and downs as forewarned by the Peace Corps. I’m sure the following weeks and months will continue in the same fashion. During training, they described the first 3 months in site as a rollercoaster. Actually, they described the entire service as a rollercoaster. I’m going to compare my experience thus far to the ride The Tower of Terror at Disneyland/Disneyworld. You start out contemplating jumping onto this crazy ride that they call the Tower of Terror (Peace Corps). You’ve heard plenty of good things about it: it’s thrilling, exciting, one of the best rides of people’s lives, etc. You hear a few disclaimers: it’s terrifying, it’s crazy, the line is long, etc. After weighing the possibilities, you decide to give it a whirl. What do you have to lose? So you jump in the crazy long line (or in my case started the ridiculously arduous application). Finally, you make it to the front of the line. You realize, “Oh shit, this is it.” This is your last chance. You can turn around, walk away and pretend it never happened or you can jump into the cage. You decide, “Yes, I’m going to do this.” You jump into the cage, and the friendly attendant trains you on safety measures, things you should know (Although it is quite vague; they can only tell you so much), and wish you the best of luck as you set off. Suddenly, you realize that you’re stuck. You’ve made your choice and now you have to live it. You sit in the dark wondering what’s going to happen, feeling the fact that you’re moving when all of a sudden you see something amazing. The special effects are awesome! You think, “Wow! This ride is crazy!” And before you know it, you drop. You’re plummeting in the dark not knowing what just happened and think, “Wow! This ride is crazy!” So you continue rising and falling, alternating between darkness and some amazing sites/views, until finally the ride is over and the attend welcomes you back to the real world.

Ok, so I’m only at the beginning of the ride. I’ve only said goodbye to my attendant. However, the ups and downs have begun. The past week has been full of culture shock and adjustment. Yes, you might think that training was the adjustment, but I should explain that training and being at site are two totally different games. It’s almost like moving up to the majors after playing in the minor league for a bit. All of a sudden the stakes are bigger and what you do affects not only your team but every fan who has become invested in your performance. Yes, I’m a rookie, so I have to give myself time to figure out how things are done here, but at the same time I feel like I have no idea what’s going on half the time.

In training, I was part of a group of people. We saw each other everyday and experienced the same things together. Now, I’m alone trying to figure out my life and my place here. Thus, I experience culture shock. I’m not sure I’m quite over it because I’m thinking it probably takes more than a week to adjust to being dropped in a foreign environment, but I have to say now that I’ve gotten my bearings a bit, it is definitely much easier that the first few days. The first days were kind of strange. I knew I was supposed to be integrating and establishing myself in my community. That sounds like a simple enough task, but then I get here and think, “Oh crap. How do you start integrating? What would be the first step to integrating?” Well let me tell you what I’ve done in the past week and let’s just call that the beginning of integration.

So, last week after I last wrote, I went back to the school the next day to work. I decided to start working on the diagnostic that I have to write up for my community. This is supposed to take up the bulk of our first 3 months at site. With this diagnostic, I have to interview the people and organizations of the community in order gather information about it in order to create a plan of action as to what projects I should be working on for the next two years. I figure the only place to begin would be writing a questionnaire for the interviews. I now have a draft in English and in Spanish and hope to wrap that up today so that I can start conducting interviews. I’m supposed to try and interview 10% of my community to get accurate data, which equals to about 250 people. We will see if that works out.

Oh, also on Wednesday I met the daughter of one of the cooks at the school. This was really exciting because she is the first person I have met here in her 20’s who doesn’t have kids or a husband. She is currently at university, but I’m definitely excited to have someone relatively close in age that I can call to do something with who doesn’t belong to my host family or bogged down with the responsibilities of a family.

On Thursday, I finally replaced my phone. I went into town with my host family and bought the same exact crappy little Nokia for about $50. However, this time I got a 1-year warranty. Why did I decide to buy the same exact crappy model if the first one has proven to be that lame? Well, because phones are expensive here and I’m living on a Peace Corps budget. Also, if this phone breaks, with the warranty, I can just buy another one. Also, my Auntie Dinna is coming in July and hopefully my sister will send her old blackberry with her so that I can upgrade for free in a couple of months.

That night was very strange. There was a power outage in our community for a good part of the night. Which was fine with me. I have a flashlight, a flashlight on my cell phone, and a kindle that has a light. I was set. I could have read in the dark until bed. It was just me, my host-mom and her boyfriend at the house that night. My little host-brother was spending the night at his dad’s place. All of a sudden, while I was sitting in the dark relaxing and enjoying the quiet, my host-mom tells me that we’re leaving. I attempt to go to my room to change into some clothing since I was just in my PJ’s or at least put on a bra, but my host-mom is adamant that we leave right away and I don’t need to change clothes. I try to protest a bit, but she doesn’t budge, so I just jump into her boyfriend’s car slightly bewildered. I’m not really sure what happened, but we end up picking up my host-brother, Dennis, but there is no exchange of words. The entire way home was full of awkwardness and silent tension. Add the fact that my host-mom’s boyfriend is blasting happy upbeat music on the radio, such as La Bamba (I do not lie). So we get home and I sit for a few minutes wondering what just happened as my host-brother starts to sob in the dark before I decide that I will probably never know and go to bed. It is true, I still don’t know what happened that night.

Friday was a downer because I was amped to go back to the school and work, but my host mom came home after dropping off my host-brother to school and told me that the school had been broken into the night before. So, I get my stuff ready to work at the school all day since it is Friday and it is my day to be there and try to check out what happened. I get there and the principal, Don Carlos, had left to go to the police station. I then walk to my classroom and am turned away by a teacher telling me that the classroom is occupied for the day. I am again bewildered. So then I walk home and decide that I would go run in the soccer field since I had nothing else to do that morning. After I change into workout clothes, my host-mom informs me that she saw Don Carlos heading back to the school. So, I decide to trek back to the school on the way to the field just to find out what happened. I talk to Don Carlos and he explained what had happened. The classroom that I use as my office was broken into, but nothing was stolen. Also, the kitchen was broken into and all the food was taken, but none of the appliances were touched. No other room was broken into, so his computer and all the other valuables were safe. He also explained that I couldn’t use the classroom because they were holding student elections in that room for the day. So I continue on with my day and go out for a run. I am no slightly paranoid that the thieves might have been after some of my stuff since my classroom was the only one that was touched and I now lock up my valuables whenever I leave my room at home. Although I’m pretty sure they weren’t after anything of mine since the principal’s computer was safe and sound in his office, one can never be too safe. Also, there is speculation that people stole the food because there are a lot of people in my community who don’t have food. This makes me sad. It’s sad to know that there are people who live with so little. That day, the kids had to go without lunch. This is especially sad because a lot of the kids only eat one meal a day, and that one meal is at school because it is free. I feel horrible for these families. It’s not like there’s a ton of opportunities for work around here, but my host-mom disagrees with me. She doesn’t sympathize at all. She believes that people are lazy and they could travel and find work if they really wanted to. That may be true, but I would like to believe that things are far more complicated than that.

Saturday was a more leisurely day. My host sister, Laura, and her in-laws took me to one the beaches close-by. This was a welcome relief. It was really nice to get out of my town for a bit and away from my host-mom who likes to hover. So, I get into the in-laws’ car, which is a very nice car by Costa Rican standards, and I become aware of a strange yet familiar sensation. I can’t figure out what it is. All of a sudden it hits me. The windows are closed yet I can feel a cool yet somehow artificial breeze. It’s the air conditioning. I don’t know when the last time I felt air conditioning. Oh yeah, probably on March 1st when I got here on an airplane.

The beach was pretty awesome. There were covered tables to have picnics and tropical trees surrounded the place. It took a while for me to realize this, but in those trees were monkeys. We were surrounded by monkeys. These were the kind of monkeys that looked like Ross’s monkey, Marcel, on Friends. I guess you could also compare it to the disease-ridden monkey from Outbreak. I thought of both. These monkeys were awesome. They would come down and take food from your hand if you wanted to feed them. I fed one a piece of bread.

It was so nice being at the beach. For a while I had forgotten that Costa Rica has nice places to relax and enjoy nature. There’s something soothing about being near the water, even better if you’re in it. Nothing beats the sounds and smells of the ocean. Also, I got to watch some people surf and it made me happy. I didn’t get to partake in any of that myself, but it felt good just to watch. It reminded me a little bit of home and a little bit of vacations. Oh also, it was really nice to get into the water and realize that it was super warm. It was like bath water. It was definitely a good day.

The next day was the feast day of my community. I was somehow coerced into participating in the parade and going to mass with my host-aunts. I supposed this was a good thing to do just to be seen out and about in the community. It was an interesting experience. I was told that I would be picked up at 9 am. So, I got ready and was waited and waited. I started to think that maybe they forgot and I could just go about my business when my host-sister, Adriana tells me to wait at the corner of the street and that they were on their way with a car. At this point, I think that we have to take a car to the parade. Oh, why do I even make assumptions anymore? All of a sudden the start of the parade comes by and the second pickup truck comes along and there’s one of my host-aunts telling me to jump into the truck as it does a slow roll. Since it didn’t really seem like I had a choice as the rest of the parade was lined behind the truck, I jumped in. So, I’m smashed in this truck that is full of people and I feel like I’m being trafficked somewhere and fight the urge to jump out. I look behind at the rest of the parade and realize that it’s only about 8 cars long. I guess the town wasn’t that excited for their feast day. So I go to mass and it was a relief because the format was exactly the same as it would be at home, if you take away the priest processing in and out. Instead of that, he puts on his robe thing and takes it off. If you remember the first time I attended mass in this country, I was utterly confused, so it was nice to have something familiar happen. Also, my sister informed me that this particular saint is the patron saint of lost causes. I found that kind of fitting. Sometimes work of the Peace Corps does feel like a lost cause. How much can a person change in two years?

So yesterday, I had a meeting with the principal/only teacher at the other school and met her afternoon students. It was really encouraging. She was really cool and very interested in my work here. She’s also very open to helping me out in the future. The class was amazing too. They all seemed really interested in who I am and what I’m doing here also. Oh, on top of all that, she had made her own diagnostic of the community earlier and is offering to let me use some of her information in my own diagnostic of the community. Amazing!

Also, on my way to the school, I ran into a girl and got to chatting. It turns out that she is 18 years old and works some days but some days she is just at home watching her younger siblings. She seems really open to future projects and hanging out so we exchanged numbers. She also is friends with the other girl I made friends with. It sounds stupid, but it was really exciting. The fact that she also owns a dog and seems to treat it well makes me like her even more. Yes, it is a small thing to chat with one girl, but it made me so happy. For me, it’s a sign that I can go out on my own and form relationships with individuals in the community. Take that integration!

So with those two accomplishments, I went home incredibly happy. Although, it did start to rain as soon as I stepped out of the school, I didn’t mind. And when I say that it rained, I mean that it really rained. Rain is no joke here in Costa Rica. It really made me glad that I invested in an umbrella the previous week. I’ve always really hated using umbrellas, but I was definitely glad to have one at that moment. I clung to that little thing like my life depended on it. On the way back, I ran into a guy on his horse and made small talk about the rain. By the time I got home, it had stopped raining, and despite my umbrella, I was pretty wet. Still, I felt that my day was successful. I had a good meeting, made a friend, and survived the rain all on my own. Yay me!

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for reading!

WE DID IT

I made it! I’m a volunteer! Right now I’m sitting at a desk at my part-time office at the local school in my site. It is only part-time because I have to share it with one of the teachers here. She uses it on Mondays and Thursdays and I can have it Tuesdays, Wednsdays, and Thursdays. It actually makes a big difference having a quiet private place to work/chill out. It’s a bit distracting trying to focus or relax at home where there’s only so much space and everyone stares and watches me all day. Of course, the first thing that I do when I some quiet space is work on my blog. You may be surprised, but this is considered work since one of the 3 goals of the Peace Corps is to share my experience with you at home so that you can better understand the people of Costa Rica as well.

I guess I should pick up where my last blog left off. I got some sad news from home about another uncle passing. While not unexpected, it is still very sad, especially considering what the family has been through already. It’s hard to know that things are tough at home when I’m so far away, yet at the same time, I’m glad that I didn’t have to experience another tragedy in person. While I can’t be with them now, they are in my thoughts and hope they know my heart is with them.

Back in Costa Rica, the last week of training was pretty mellow. We had to go to the Peace Corps Office to have our Final Assessment Training Interview. I have to say, mine went pretty swimmingly. Also, for our last Spanish class, our teachers decided to take all of us on a field trip to this house where we basically had a party. We set up a bbq and made all sort of yummy food. We used the left-over beef and chorizo from the family party and it was amazingly delicious. Since the meet had been marinating for all that time, it was full of flavor. During our class party, they had us learn and practice the Costa Rican national anthem since we had to sing it during out swearing-in ceremony. It definitely took a few tries before we got the hang of it, and even then we still were not perfect. I just don’t understand how the words flow with the music. At times it’s super fast and you’re trying to fit about 5 syllables into beat, and then later on you’re trying to stretch 2 syllables into like 4 beats. That’s where they lose me anyway.

So that brings me to swearing-in. We had to meet at a plaza in San Jose so that we could take busetas to the ambassador’s house where the ceremony was to take place. It was pretty interesting to travel around looking formal and cleaned up. Actually it was kind of strange seeing everyone looking so good since we normally don’t and also we’re in the Peace Corps. Hahaha. Also, I had to wear a huge corsage because our host mom demanded that we wear one. Apparently many people like it. Unfortunately, it is definitely not my style. I also had to take a little bit of crap from my peers about “going to prom.” Yes, it was definitely a moment where I chose my battles and wore it for the sake of avoiding conflict, insults, and drama. However, if you watched my ceremony or saw pictures, the flowers were not my idea at all.

Speaking of watching my ceremony, we found out that this was the first swearing-in ceremony in Latin America to be available to be viewed at home. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. It was good though. There were a lot of speeches and some of them were repetitive, but it was nice to hear some of the things said. Sometimes I forget what we’re doing here and it was a really good reminder. It is also fairly intimidating hearing about the legacy of the Peace Corps and how we are now part of it. Oh, also the ambassador is a pretty cool lady. She decided to pull some spontaneous stuff, such as letting us do shout outs to the camera after receiving our diploma/certificate. I heard that it was hard to hear because of the way the sound system was set up. I think they lowered the volume of the actual microphones used so that the translator could be heard, so that’s kind of a bummer. If you want to know what I said, here you go. “What’s up California?! To my friends and family, I love and miss you. Keep on keeping on!”

After the ceremony was over, things followed the typical after-graduation schedule. We took a ton of pictures. We said goodbye to our staff and our teachers. This was really shocking to me for some reason. I guess I was so focused on getting to swearing-in and being official that I forgot that leaving meant that I wouldn’t be able to see all my staff on a regular basis. It was a very sad realization. What is awesome though is that I get to be friends with all my Spanish teachers and can contact them whenever I need anything or want to hang out. As for my training team and staff, since I am working I will be seeing and contacting them fairly regularly. Also, after three months we all have to meet up somewhere in San Jose to do our In-Service Training.

So after all of the formalities, Claire and I went back to our house to pack our stuff and use the internet one last time before leaving. I talked to my mom, which was really great. We talked about my ceremony. She told me that she cried through the whole thing. That may have been one of the most touching experiences in my life. It was unexpected and it was amazing to realize that I had done something to make her that proud. It is just so encouraging to know that my family back home has my back and is 100% supportive of why I am here. Knowing this makes things easier when they get tough. They remind me why I’m here and it helps keep me grounded when I get caught up in all the little things.

Anyway, when we finally left, we took all of our belongings and took a taxi to one of the hostels in San Jose where a bunch of us were staying that night. We eventually met up with other volunteers and went out for pizza. There is a pizza place in San Jose that is a favorite of all the volunteers because it’s actually tasty and comparable to pizza in the States. The only thing is that it is super discreet and down this shady-looking alley. You have to follow these train tracks to find it. An Italian lady owns it, which is probably why it tastes so good.

So after filling up on what might be the last pizza I will have for a while, we all went back to the hostel to pre-party a bit before going out. That was really entertaining. Everyone was relaxed and laughing the entire time. Our group is actually really fun to hang out with because nobody’s scared of giving anyone else crap. We get called out on everything. It’s nice to see everyone be themselves uncensored. We then went to a local bar/club to blow off steam. It was an interesting place. Definitely not a place I would have chosen on my own, but it was fun. I started out by playing foosball with some of the other volunteers, but when we ran out of 100 colones coins, we joined the rest of our group on the dance floor. It was an amazing last night.

I can’t lie, the next day was really depressing. It was so sad to say goodbye to everyone one-by-one. I don’t think I was ready to leave everyone. I know that some people were ready to go, but I definitely was not. However, I didn’t have a choice. So, I had lunch with Claire, Maitreya, and Melissa J before having to take a cab to the bus terminal. It was actually convenient because Claire had to go to the same terminal, which ended up working out so that we could share a cab.

When I finally got to my site, I was exhausted. It rain really hard that day. I have to say, when it rains here, it really rains. I mean, I have never seen rain like that in my life. It’s so crazy. Then you add the lightning and thunder and it’s something else. When you’re inside and don’t have anywhere else to be, it’s kind of cool. It’s definitely hard to hear anything because with the tin roofs, it sounds like you’re sitting underneath a waterfall. However, when you’re trying to get somewhere, it’s a pain in the butt. It’s basically impossible to stay dry if you have to go out in the rain. However, it does stay a lot cooler when it is raining. I guess like everything in the Peace Corps it has it has ups and downs. Welcome to rainy season.

So, yesterday as I was trying to get out of my mosquito net covered bed, I dropped my cell phone and broke it. Now I need a new cell phone. My new host-sister, Laura, is trying to see if I can have her husband’s old phone. That would be awesome because I really don’t want to have to pay for another phone. Especially since I just dropped a load purchasing a data card for internet yesterday, I really don’t want to buy a phone. However, I don’t know when that will happen and I really want to have a phone soon. It just makes life a lot easier to stay in contact with my counterparts, the Peace Corps, and the other volunteers. It sounds so lame, but I feel even more isolated without that invisible cord to everyone else. I’m just glad that I have internet now, so I’m not completely cut off. I think the signal here can be sketchy though, because it can be incredibly slow. Either that or the network is busy. I’m on a 3G network.

That brings me today. The first time I have felt productive since getting here. I’ve written my blog, and I have talked to the lunch ladies about the other school and discovered a few things that I didn’t know earlier. It’s a small accomplishment, but it’s something. All I can do is cling on to the my successes no matter how small they are. Otherwise I would go insane. Hahaha. Now the hard stuff begins. Welcome to the Peace Corps. Catch you later.

Family Party

So this Sunday was the family party. The whole weekend I spent my time hanging out with the other trainees and/or getting ready for the big party. On Friday, some Trainees spent the night out in San Jose, but I decided to go hang out at a closer bar/restaurant in my community with the rest to watch sports. The bar had satellite TV so we got to watch the last 5 minutes of the Sharks game, which they lost with like 2 minutes left or something crazy. Then we watched game 3 of the Lakers/Dallas game, but I didn’t get to finish because I had to go home for my curfew. Actually, I got lucky and somehow charmed an extra half hour out of my family that night, so I got to stay out til 9:30. The madness. So late. Hahaha. Not really.

The next day, I left to meet up with my friend Maitreya so that we could work on the slideshow for the family party and get other decorations together since we were on the decorations committee. I ran into Thomas on the way, which was lucky since I had no idea where Maitreya lives. Basically, Thomas decided to hang out with us all day and help out with acquiring and making some of the decorations.

We decided to go to have Pizza Hut for lunch and go to one of the malls to see what was there and to see a movie. The pizza was incredibly delicious. It reminded me of being at home. On the way to the mall we saw that there was a fair going on a couple of blocks down. After walking around the mall for a little bit, we went to the theater to see if there were any good movies to see. There really wasn’t. We decided we should walk around come back later to potentially see “Arturo: Millionario Irresistable” starring Russel Brandt and Jennifer Garner. None of us had ever heard of it, but decided we would give it a shot.

We walked around the neighborhood and bought candles and such things for decorations the next day. Then we stopped at the fair because we had time to kill. After walking though and seeing a bunch of weird people and a crowd of clowns, we saw a broken down museum and decided to check it out. It turns out that it no longer runs as a museum. When we went in, we found out that they show independent movies for free there every week. At that point, we had a choice to wait a bout an hour for the independent movie or an hour and a half for “Arturo.”

In the meantime, we decided to sit at the fair out in the open. There were people in the street trying to convert us to, actually I don’t know what religion they were trying to recruit for because it said Jesus is our Savior or something, but the picture on the front looked like a hybrid of some Egyptian god and other random creatures. I was very confused. Then, Thomas saw that there was a station giving out free massages. More specifically that there was a girl giving out free massages. So, he goes up to the stand and he ends up getting rubbed down by a man. If you know anything about Thomas at all, this is hilarious.

So, since Thomas decided to get a massage, we didn’t have any time left for the independent movie and we came to a consensus that “Arturo” would be the one. Frankly, Maitreya didn’t want to watch it, but I’m pretty sure Tom wanted to see it. I don’t know if any of you have seen this movie, but let me tell you, DON’T DO IT! It wasn’t the worst movie I ever saw, but it was far from the best. It was so weird. I’m not sure if it’s because it was a British movie and sometimes those Brits lose me with their humor. It was just incredibly odd and slightly boring and slow for the most part.

After the movie, we walk out of the theater and start to go down the escalator in the mall to leave when we realize that there is a large group of people causing a traffic jam. I realize why there’s a crowd and I start to crack up. Remember when I went to visit Chamisa for tech week and we had that incident with the roller-skating? Well, the crowd had formed because they closed off the middle of the malls so that these three guys could roller skate and do these fancy roller skating tricks, which resembled figure skating more than bad-ass x-games stuff. To paint a better picture, these guys were dressed like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. However, they were skating to Trans music. Yes, it was bizarre. Maitreya and I were laughing so hard. It was so weird. It felt incredibly surreal. Anyway, we eventually made it home.

So the next day was the family party and all of our CYF trainees met at the place a couple of hours earlier than our guests so that we could set up and start cooking before people got there. My current host-mom decided to come with us because she didn’t know where it was. Yes, there was an address on the invitation, however I have to explain how streets/addresses/directions work here in Costa Rica. None of those things exist here. Houses and establishments don’t have numbers, streets don’t have names, and unless you know the area, you can’t understand directions. Seriously, addresses basically follow this format “Red House with a lawn 400 meters North of the old lemon tree.” If you need directions, the go as follow “Go to the town _____, turn left at the school, look for the old lemon tree, go north for 400 meters and look for the red house.”

Enough of that tangent, so we set up and eventually the party gets started. I have to say, it was pretty awesome. The food was amazing, the decorations looked legit, and the place was beautiful. We definitely over-estimated the number of people who were going to show up, but that’s OK. We ended with more food than we needed, which is always better than too little. Our boss told us that it was the best and most organized family party that she had attended since working for the Peace Corps. It was awesome.

There was one awkward part of the party where they made everyone go up on stage and thank their families and give them certificates and flowers. This normally shouldn’t be a big deal, however I feel awkward because my former host-brother and his family were there as well as the new family. Also, I felt bad that Andres’ family didn’t get any credit at all and had to watch while this other family got so much credit for not even doing much. Frankly, everyone in our group knows how Claire and I feel about this family, and they basically laughed at our obvious discomfort on stage. It was pretty awkward. Really, sometimes I think I’m living in an independent movie. I’m not sure how I always get into such situations.

Well, the family party ended up being a success and a bunch of us wanted to go out and celebrate and blow off some steam. We went to this local restaurant we call “White Castle” because they serve hamburgers/cheeseburgers. It is not a fast-food restaurant at all. It was a good night. We all had a few celebratory drinks and got kind of got emotional. We all started to talk about how much we love each other and are the best group ever. We keep being told how special our group is and how our manager had asked for the best volunteers and they got them. So my new thing is to say that “We are the best America has to offer.” Just to be a smart-ass. On the one hand, it’s flattering and pretty unbelievable. I mean, I’m the best in America? When did that happen? On the other hand it’s a lot of pressure. They have a lot of expectations of us. However, I do think that we are a pretty talented, passionate and hard-working group of people. So I hope we live up to the name.

That’s all for now! Laters!

A Whole New World

Yes, I decided to go with a Disney theme this time around. Oh, but don’t worry, there will be lots of other pop-cultural references as well. I have returned from my site visit, and yes it was a whole new world for me. My site is the most rural site for my project group, which is saying a lot because a lot of our sites are pretty rural, at least compared to what we’re used to. To paint a better picture, on my first day I saw a herd of cows, a couple of horse, a whole bunch of chickens, countless dogs, a rat, a pig that I will be eating at birthday party in a couple of weeks, a bunch of birds, a squirrel, and a partridge in a pear tree. Hahaha. Just kidding – about the partridge. There might have been a pear tree somewhere in the mix. I basically will be living in a town full of fruit. They are amazingly delicious because they are supposed to be the best fruit in Costa Rica, and I believe it. I hate papaya, and I have to say the papaya I had there wasn’t half-bad.

So, with a moo-moo here and a ruff-ruff there, here a oink there cluck everywhere a neigh-neigh, my town puts Old McDonald’s farm to shame. I must point out however, that my community has about 2,000 people in it, and is in Costa Rica, so try not to imagine the Kent Family Farm in Kansas or anything. Our neighbors are visible, and I’m surrounded by tons of green plants. Most of them happen to be mango trees (as I live across the street from a mango farm), but they are still beautiful. The houses in our town are basically made of wood, cement, and a tin roof. The walls don’t reach the ceilings/roofs, so you can pretty much hear everything going on in every part of the house. Also, my site is unbelievably hot. You would think that taking refuge in the house would be a good idea, but you would be wrong. Because of the tin roofs and the lack of insulation, all the heat gets trapped in the house and it turns into a human oven. Luckily my house has a shaded porch, which has become my favorite place in my town so far. I basically sit in a rocking chair and stare out into the mango farm and contemplate life while trying to stay cool. Staying cool means that I sit in the shade and try not to move while my sweat evaporates off of my body. That’s about it. Also, drinking lots of water is key. Also, everyone takes two showers a day – yes, they are cold, but they are so delicious. The cold showers are the highlight of my days there. You know how in Lost, all the characters look sweaty and gross all of the time? I always thought that they did that to emphasize that they were in a tropic area and to make it look more dramatic. Well, that is exactly what people look like in a tropic area. It is hot and it is basically impossible to look your best when you are sweaty and gross.

My community is not the richest of places. Everyone works either in the farms or in tourism since I’m fairly close to the beach. Supposedly we’re about an hour away by bus. Anyway, there are a lot of social problems that PC wants me to work on in the community. This includes child abuse/corporal punishment, child exploitation, drug prevention, and sex ed. I can also work in recreational projects and self-esteem projects. The community only has two elementary schools, one of which only has one teacher to teach all the grades. The principle at the other elementary school is giving me an office so I can have space to work. If I did want to work in the high school, I would have to go into the bigger town because there isn’t a high school in my community.

The people of my community are super nice. Everyone seems really interested in me and the work that I am going to do there. They are also very confused as to why I would want to spend the next two years of my life there. It’s kind of interesting. I was kind of frustrated when I got into my community at first because I was sick and had lost my voice the day before. I spent the next 3 days without a voice trying to communicate who I am and what I am doing in their town. They also asked all these questions that I could only croak answers to. I felt like the Little Mermaid trying to charm people to take me into their world in 3 days without a voice. She had the advantage of friends helping her out, but I guess I had the advantage of not being totally mute. Basically, my fall back plan was to flash that Suba smile and look amiable. Oh also, I ate all the food that was offered to me. That was the winner. You know how they say that the way into a man’s heart is through his stomach? Well here in Costa Rica, the way into the people’s hearts is to eat all the food. They are fascinated with what I like to eat and that I think all of it is yummy. They are also think it’s strange that I don’t like raw tomatoes.

The family that I will be living with is really nice. There’s a mom and a 7-year-old son who live in my house. She is separated from her husband who lives with their other son. My new host-mom has two daughters, Adriana (22 years old) and Laura (20 years old). They both are married with children. Adriana currently lives next door and Laura is building a house on the other side. So, both my host-sisters will be living next door to me. I have a little host-abuela who is so cute. She looks and talks exactly like the grandma in Mulan. I just want to hug her every time I see her. Also, I have many host-aunts and host-cousins. I don’t know all of their names yet, but I really like everyone I’ve met so far. Hopefully that means that I will get along well in the community.

So, I have since returned to the land of San Jose and the drama continues as usual. The tensions in the house that I’m currently living have been pretty thick and more conflicts came up. However, we are finishing up training and time is going by quickly. I am about to swear-in on the 13th, which is a huge deal. It’s basically like graduation for us and we officially become real volunteers instead of just trainees. I think it’s ridiculous that we have to wait for swearing in before being considered trainees, but for some reason it does feel gratifying to know we made it. We’re really here. If anyone wants to watch it, it will be streamed live starting at 8 am Pacific, but I think they will have it up for a while if you can’t watch it live, however I’m not positive on that. Here's the link:

http://www.livestream.com/usembassy

This weekend we will have a family party for all of our host families here. I’m sure I will write about it in the next blog. Hope all is well where you’re at! Pura vida!