My motto from my time in Guatemala: "Expect the Unexpected" continues to work for me! Every day something different happens, no matter how small, and it's all part of the fun. The other day we were walking down the main street of our town and saw these 2 horses tied up outside the bar! This isn't exactly the wild west, but there is a lot of "campo" (country) around here, where people enjoy their caballos!
We take our language classes in a community building called the Salon Comunal, where the "seniors", referred to as "tercera edad" (the 3rd age/stage) also meet on Wednesdays. They have frequently invited us for refreshments and conversation; its part of how we integrate into the community and practice our language at the same time. Now we know a few more people in the community, and it's wonderful to hear their stories of happiness as well as sorrow. Rocky cried as he told us about the death of his wife 1 1/2 yrs. ago; he's still figuring out how to go on without her. Our life stories are the same everywhere. One woman in the group who we enjoy talking to is very proud of her English. After offering her a drink, she told me "muchas thankyou"!
Our host family's dog had her pups 3 wks. ago, and it's been fun watching them grow. The momma, Juli, would really prefer to be her adolescent self and go romping around the yard instead of staying in the space to feed her pups. We have to force her back into the room with her pups; sounds like she is developmentally appropriate! Luckily the pups are growing very well. Francis and I take Juli for a walk every day; it's a good excuse for all of us to get out for some exercise.
week one; the papa is a min pin
week 3 1/2
We arrived in the small town of a current PCV, outside of San Jose, for "Tech Week" this past Monday, where we spent 5 days in training and recreation. What I mean by "training" is, each of us had a turn to teach a class in one of the nearby schools; this was all pre-arranged by Laura, the PCV. Lauren(she's the one in the picture above with the colorful bag) and I taught a class on communication to a group of 4th graders. It came off pretty well, as they enjoyed the activities we used and we were able to pull off our Spanish along w/ a little mime! 
This was Francis' group of 4th graders, doing a Teamwork activity: pass the T-shirt from 1 person to the other w/ hands locked!
Francis and I stayed with a woman (tercera edad) during our time in this community, who has 2 mango trees in her yard and she left us w/ a bagfull of mangoes to bring back. That was after we had already eaten 5 mangoes for breakfast and lunch that day; can't decide if I like pineapples or mangoes better; but they are both maravilloso! One common dish here is pollo con arroz with fried tortilla pieces on top. I've learned to just mix my salad in with the rice like the Ticos; we call this Tico Chop Suey!
The mangoes on this tree are so big they have to hold up the branches w/ a stick!
Besides the training we did with the kids, a big part of our time was spent relaxing and enjoying nature in this area. We hiked through a virgin rain forest one day, in an area called Los Alpes Reserva. The land is owned by a German who is restoring 50 acres of deforested land. But this forest was lush and beautiful!
We visited a coffee farm and the farmer explained the process of growing the coffee plants and how the coop that he belongs to works for the local farmers. They have a processing plant for separating the husks, drying, etc., down in town. Their coop sells Fair Trade on the market and there's no middle man, which benefits the farmers. He's trialing a new variety of coffee right now, and we helped him bring the plants up to his farm from the hothouse and unloaded the truck of his 500 plants. I'd love to go back there during coffee picking season at least for one day (Nov-Feb) to be a part of and see out the whole process. It also really helps to get a feel for what the families' lives are like here. I'm thinking that's why the school year ends in Dec. and begins again mid Feb., though many kids, I hear, stop going to school to help their families w/ picking in early November. Even though tourism is currently the biggest industry in Costa Rica, coffee and bananas continue to be a very important product for export. And let me tell you, Costa Rican coffee is REALLY GOOD! If you can find Cafe de Altura on the shelves, it's from this area. I also recommend Cafe Britt!
We also spent one whole morning touring and learning about the technical highschool(collegio) in the area, where kids learn firsthand how to manage animals, plants, learn industrial cooking(for hotel work, etc) and some business management. There are 800 students that attend this school; it draws on a very large area because it is so comprehensive. They learn everything about raising the plants and animals (as well as tilapia), including killing the chickens, cleaning them and selling them in the town. The food that is raised at the school is used first in the cafeteria here, as students get breakfast and lunch; classes time is 7 a-4p. This picture is the egg farm and yes,unfortunately, cages is where these chickens spend their lives. But this school really prepares these kids well for either life on a farm, or preparation for university, whichever they choose. That's part of our job as PCVs in the smaller communities, is to help the kids who are at risk for dropping out, stay in school, so we'll be working w/ groups of kids or 1:1. We might also be running sexual education classes and teaching the directors how to run these classes. We'll be doing Girl Empowerment workshops, Mother-Daughter Workshops (for communication), Career Fairs and Parenting Classes. This will all depend on what the needs of the community are and which we'll find out about during our first few months there.
Next time I write we'll be able to share the exciting news about our site! Love to all and write when you can!
Mama! What a great post. You have already seen so much. I too would love to vist the coffee farm, do you know if they sell Cafe Altura and Cafe Britt in the states, in grocery stores? Se amo mucho!
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