The last week of October was pretty uneventful. I can’t even remember what I did for most of it. I guess the highlights were getting my exercise class going por fin! (finally) and visiting my host-dad’s crops. Lowlights were my English music class getting canned (as my nephew once said, “bummer shit.”), and a fairly uneventful Halloween. As for November thus far, I had to go into San Jose for a medical checkup and that was a long slow day.

So, like I said, I got my exercise class started. It went a lot better than I thought it would, but like all starts, there were a few kinks in the works. My class starts at 5 pm. I got there with my host-mom and host-sister about 5 minutes to 5 and was slightly disheartened when there was nobody there. “Well fine,” I said, “it will still be fine with just the three of us, but let’s wait to see if more people come.” Well, people came about 20 minutes later. Seriously though, 20 minutes late? What’s with that? Sometimes I just want to shake Ticos and say, “You see that watch on your wrist?! USE IT!” Well at least they came. It’s more annoying when you have something planned and people just don’t come. Both scenarios are common for PCV’s.

I put on my music and get everyone warmed up. Then, we realize it’s starting to get dark. Well, of course it is. The sun goes down at around 6 daily. Usually, when it’s dark, people turn on lights. The problem with our salon is that they don’t have lights. “Está bien!” I say. We can keep going without lights. Who needs lights? Well, considering people are following my lead, maybe we do. We made the best of it. Though, I think that they weren’t doing the exercises correctly because nobody seemed to be aching the next day, besides myself.

Then, for some reason, my music died. Great. Well, there goes the rhythm! Keep pushing on! I’m not sure why it died. The speakers and the ipod had full battery. Even my own equipment is working against me! We keep going. Well, around 30 minutes in, people are starting to ask about when it will end because they have to cook dinner for their families. So, I cut my losses, stop class early and go home. On the upside, people really seemed to enjoy it. Also, I hear that through word of mouth, a lot of interest has been generated for my next class. We shall see!

Thank God I have my exercise class going, because that week the English teacher came up to me and told me that our music project could no longer continue. Apparently, the kids have two more units to left in their book that they need to finish by the end of the year. I guess the kids move super slow, so we don’t have the time for my project. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

Friday I went to my host-dad’s field to see the work he’s been doing. I’ve always known that he had some kind of field in which he harvests corn, squash, sugar cane, beans, and rice but I did not realize the extent of how hard the man works. The field was big. It was big and it was full of crops. That itself is always cool to see, but when you think that this man plants, cares for, and harvests everything on his own, it’s just plain inspiring. My host-dad is kind of a badass. There aren’t many who work as hard as he does.

There was also something completely soothing about being in a field. I know my dad grew up as a farm boy and spent a whole lot of time in the rice fields and I find it interesting that I am now living in a tropical country, with a poor family whose income is dependent on the harvest of their crops. It feels right. The perspective is amazing. It is really cool to get a taste of what it was like for my dad and his family while knowing that they ended up in California where I come from. While there are aspects of the simple life that I enjoy and have come to appreciate, I have a deeper appreciation for where I come from and the work my dad did to get us to where we are.

Halloween came and went without much activity. It makes me sad that it’s not a big holiday here. People know about it, but it’s not a Tico celebration. So the day just passed without a fuss. However, I refused to let it go by without a little bit of celebration. I went into town to the candy store and bought 5 American candy bars to give to my host-family. They were pretty excited about it. They had never tried any of them. That made up for missing Halloween. It’s always fun introducing a little bit of America to the people.

On Tuesday, I had to go into San Jose for a checkup about my allergic reaction. I really don’t see why I had to go back. It was over a month ago and I had been off my meds for a week without a problem. Also, I had an exercise class scheduled that people wanted to do. I tried to get out of it earlier, but got yelled at by our med office secretary. And when I say yelled at, I mean I got a verbal whooping over the phone. So, I begrudgingly cancelled my class and went to San Jose.

The ride to San Jose was horrible. I took the direct bus which normally only lasts an hour, but there was a monster parade of protesters in big-wheelers, which doubled our time. Like other rules of the road (I’m big on rules of the road), road etiquette doesn’t seem to exist here. Slower traffic does not stay to the right. In fact they stay wherever they want. I guess it didn’t matter anyway. I got into San Jose super early, had lunch and still had time to kill.

When I finally saw my doctor he concurred that I was doing a lot better and yet he put me on more mind-numbing medication. He put me on a regimen that slowly weans me off the meds. Fifteen more days of medication for me! I’m not really sure why when I’m obviously not having withdrawals from the drugs nor am I breaking out in hives. Oh whatever.

So, the ride back home was not any more fun than the ride to San Jose. There was an accident on the road that backed up traffic for a long while. This made me paranoid that I would miss the last bus back to my site from Orotina. As we passed the accident, everyone wanted to see. I know we have rubber neckers in the States also, but people here really go for it. I mean some people could have broken their necks trying to catch a little peek. As we passed, people got out of their seats to see what happened. From what I saw, which wasn’t much due to all the people blocking the view, but it looked pretty bad. One of the cars looked like a coke can that had been smashed on all sides and there were still people inside.

After that, the guy next to me started to talk to me about is personal life and his problems, which was interesting but really weird since I had been asleep the entire time up until the accident and hadn’t glanced at him, let alone talk to him. I don’t know what it is about me and buses, but I always end up sitting next to someone strange. So this guy is talking to me about his kids and the girl he wants to marry and I’m trying to pay attention and not barf on him due to carsickness. He seemed really nice and everything, but I just wanted to sleep and get home. He then hands me juice and some fried platanos that he had bought from a vendor on the bus. Hmmm, maybe you should’ve asked me if I wanted anything before buying. I felt bad and took them, which actually helped with my carsickness. As we get into Orotina, he asks for my number. WHAT. You just told me about this woman you are with whom you want to marry and you want my number. Blegh. I say goodbye, barely make my next bus, and go home.

That’s all I’ve got for now. This week I’m going to Limón for a friend’s birthday. Should be fun. Catch you later.

This plot of land is where my host-dad plants beans.

Part of my host-dad's fields.

My host-sister, Anita, in the middle of a corn row.

This is corn that grew fungus and thus is inedible.

This is my host-dad holding up rice that is ready to be harvested.