Change

   In the blink of an eye, it seems, the weather has changed. I'm sure we will get more rain, but since one week ago, the nights have been cooler, we wake to blue skies and it's hot and sunny all day!

    And that's not all that has changed. We had been winding down projects over the last 2 months, but once the students took their last exams, the 3rd week of November, they had no reason to return to school (nor did we except to do planning with our Project Partners)!  So we celebrated the end of the Mentor Guia Program with a little party of all the Mentors and their 7th grade Mentees  (Aprendices).  We presented a slideshow with the results from the questionnaires that we did, asking the students about how they had changed in certain skills, based on having been involved in the program.  The results were fantastic, as 100% of the students said they would recommend the program to their friends and 100% of the Mentees said they wanted to be Guias when they reach 10th grade.

7th grade Aprendices

 A week later, we presented these results as well as those from the other programs we had been involved in at the high school, to the Sub-director, and some teachers and counselors, with whom we had worked.  They asked if we could do the same thing next year!  We had prepared ideas of changes we would make to the programs, based on what we learned this year (which was a ton!), and it seems they are all on board.  The Subdirector, even suggested putting the Mentor Guia Program on the schedules of all 7th graders, and giving them a classroom (which we had to scrounge for each week this year!).  That was all very positive; but we're not sure how we will accommodate approximately 180,  7th graders.  We'll have to figure out some criteria, or we'll need to train a ton more Mentors!  But those are all good problems to solve!

8 of the 11 Mentor Guias

   I hope to see some of our students from the high school this summer, during some of our other activities. I will be holding a couple of Workshops of Sexual Education, along with leaders of the Red Cross Youth Team and putting up a big mosaic on the side of a park building.  Francis will be running a month-long English Camp (along with another PCV), for a group of 23, 6th graders.




 This is in addition to ongoing activities with the Girl and Boy Scouts. We are in the process of preparing our 2nd in a series of Yoga and Orienteering Sessions for them. Francis has some really fun games planned for learning to use a compass, which they had never used before!

   In the meantime, we are also preparing a presentation for an Annual Conference of the Regional Counseling Department Coordinators of all the schools in the country (it's Dec 7th).  The Youth Development Program of Peace Corps is trying to improve its effectiveness (based on the input of our group, Tico 28), not only by presenting and carrying our projects at our designated sites, but also by training and encouraging change from the top-down!  Francis and I were asked, along with another PCV from our group, to present our projects at this conference.  And so, Circulos de Amistad (Friendship Circles Program), is taking its show on the road, only this time, it's in Spanish!  (Thank goodness for Power Point slides!)  This program's foundation is teaching Peaceful Conflict Resolution through Negotiation and Mediation, as well as dynamic activities for developing teamwork, empathy and positive communication.  Mara, a compañera of ours, is presenting a project she created at her high school, along with the Counselor and students, called Cortes de Paz (Peace Courts), where the student leaders assist the students who are the victims and perpetrators of conflicts at school, to create restorative justice solutions.  In other words, they identify a means of restoring the harm done to the victim, through a solution that is agreed upon by both parties.  It is not so much a punishment, as it is a means of restoring the relationship.  Mara is an attorney by profession and this idea was a big success for it's first year and will be continued next year as well.  As with most programs, our goals are to figure out a way for the programs to run without the PCVs involvement, since we'll be leaving, obviously.  So this year, we will all be changing things up a bit in order to focus on the sustainability of the project, if they so choose to continue it.  You can see how Peace Corps is a never ending set of challenges!  They certainly keep us on our toes!

We helped Vilma make some traditional CR food recently.  These empanadas are filled with either potatoes or cheese.  They were fun to make, even though we couldn't eat them: fried foods do a number on my stomach, not to mention the cheese!

Francis took his job of folding and filling the empanadas very seriously.

After frying, they slice them open and put cabbage inside as well; that part I liked!

                                                              ¡Speaking of food!
   Francis and I were invited to join other PCVs at the home of an American Embassy family for Thanksgiving!  Maybe it's a matter of missing it last year, or like when you haven't eaten in a while, or like when you're camping, anything tastes good!  I must admit, it was one of the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had, but, more than that, it was the company and the complete indulgence in all things American that was so appreciated that day, that made it so special!

I volunteered to carve the turkey.  Felt just like home!

The Green Family.  Travis manages the Embassy facilities in San Jose.  Sarah manages the family and all of the moves  every 2 years.  She home schools Thomas, Sadie and Helen.  Sadie and Thomas are dancing in the Nutcracker Ballet this month in San Jose.

    We have been on several awesome hikes this last month, have seen lots more beautiful countryside, mostly green vistas everywhere you look.  But I was also treated to a Quetzal siting, a bird that's famous in the rain forest, for it's beautiful colors and long tail.  Myself, and some of the teachers from the high school, with whom I hiked, watched a few female Quetzals (and they watched us), for quite a while.  We also enjoyed some beautiful hummingbirds, which surprisingly allowed me some great shots!  That was one successful hiking and birding day!

The elusive Quetzal (center of picture)

View from "El Dragon" (2506 meters)

Moon Rise (photo by Francis)

It's been a busy, but wonderful month of activity: work and play.  We have vacation plans at the end of the month with Hannah and Chad, so we can report on some new vistas in CR that we haven't yet explored!  In the meantime, we'll be thinking of you and missing you much during the Christmas holidays.  As you know, it's hard to identify with this being "summer" and "Christmas" at the same time.  But somehow we'll manage.  Please keep us posted on your lives and your own holiday adventures, so we can feel a part of it from afar!  Mucho amor y saludos de Navideño, Hanukkah, y otras celebraciones!  We'll see what other changes lie ahead in the months to come, I expect there will be many.

Tis the season "el pelo del gato"

It's the rainy season, in all its forms right now!  When it is just misting, they call it "el pelo del gato" (the hair of the cat), and in the afternoons, when it's really coming down, they say " está cayendo unos baldazos" (it's dropping buckets!).  Costa Ricans don't complain about the rain though, they are very grateful and in San Marcos specifically, "Es rico para el cafe" (it's great for the coffee)!  It reminds me of Northern Coloradoans who don't complain about the smell from the feedlots in Greeley, because they say 'it smells like green' ($).
Friends and family back home ask me if I miss the seasons.  There really are only 2 seasons here, the dry season and the rainy season, while the temps are fairly steady year-round (ave. 70 in San Marcos).
  We recently enjoyed the rainy season of Hacienda Baru, a Reserva for Wildlife and Nature on the Pacific Coast.

I love these dense jungles,

tall, strong trees,

these cool fungi look like steps,

and these draping vines sometimes swinging in the breeze...

or with the jungle animals.

I don't know the name of this flower, but it has a real velvety appearance, and falls over with its heavy weight

The calabash tree is a favorite of many types of orchids.

This plant almost looks like it belongs underwater!  Que raro!

We saw wild peacocks in the jungle; they guided us for part of the trail, though they kept their distance!

We hiked up to one high lookout point for a view of the Reserva and the Pacific Ocean.

Things grow so easily here.  People cut branches and limbs off trees and plants and stick them in the ground during this season, and before you know it, there are beautiful new plants! Those plants on the left were just planted in this way along the side of the road.  So 'vamos a ver' (we'll see how they do)! On the right, here, is a garden we started in front of the house.  We are growing basil, cilantro, thyme, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers.

"Comida Tipica"(typical food which we literally eat almost every day, resulting from the temperate climate and abundant rain: rice and one of the many varieties of frijoles they grow, called "cubaces", cooked over a wood stove all day (so tasty!).  There's a real, starchy looking vegetable on this plate, called a 'chayote blanco'(not a favorite of mine).  And the small banana is called a 'guineos', cooked in water and salt. (I prefer platanos, much sweeter, also cooked in water or fried).  The pork was cooked in a pan in the oven of the wood burning stove and is super flavorful and 'suave'.  When meat is cooked only with garlic and salt, it is called, chicharrones (don't pass up an opportunity to eat chicharrones!)  Salad is a specialty of mine, so when invited to someone's house for a meal, we often contribute a salad, but I've been told that my Apple crisp cooked in a crockpot is also a favorite.  Avocados abound here, so we can afford to indulge more frequently than when in the Colorado.

Anona fruit.  Very soft and a little grainy like a pear, and oh so delicious!

Chorreadas are my new favorite food.  If I could eat them everyday I would, but they are very labor intensive when made from scratch.  They are like crepes, but made from fresh, young corn off the cob, with milk, eggs, sugar and a little flour.  Serve with mermelada and you're in heaven!  I was invited to the house of our friend, Diego's parents (his mom is on the left), to enjoy the chorreadas.  Nori, (on the right) is their housekeeper and cook.

Rain or Shine, a favorite Friday night activity for many people is BINGO at the school or church.

This is Bingo night at Santa Marta school where Vilma teaches.  I was the lucky winner of one BINGO prize: 2 bottles of diesel fuel injector cleaner and a bottle of Rum!  Francis cashed in on a raffle ticket by winning a big, yummy, rich cake!

I tried to keep a few young boys at the BINGO night entertained as well, by asking them to catch moths for me.  Here are a few of their finds:

Getting back to the reason why we're in Costa Rica...after facilitating lessons on empathy and the impact of bullying, one of our 10th grade classes made posters to put up around the school about Bullying.  We can only hope that it made an impact at least on the students who were involved in this activity.  They are a very thoughtful and participative group!

Last weekend, we were invited to lead and participate in some Guias and Scouts activities.  It was a fun way to get to know more kids in the community, though some of them are students of ours in the elementary and highschool.  We're going to continue working with them on different topics: next month: compass and map use, and later, the older girls said they'd like activities on leadership, self esteem and managing stress.

These boy and girl scouts of different ages get together every weekend.  They are very easy going and don't mind getting down and dirty!

Last weekend we hiked with Diego and his daughter, Andrea.  We walked on primative roads passing rushing streams and colorful houses.

  So, do I miss the seasons here?  Yes! and I definitely miss the Colorado landscape (Ticos say we don't have trees in our mountains, but I say they don't have mountains in their trees)!  The trails and hikes here are nice, but not what I'm used to.  I miss the fall colors (except for raking the leaves) and I miss the snow (in the mountains), and the fun of xc skiing and snowshoeing.  It's the lifestyle that we had created around our seasons that I miss.  But at the same time,  it's not really a sacrifice to live in the "mountains" of Costa Rica for the 2+ years that we are here.  We'll suffer through the abundance of local fresh fruits and vegetables, gorgeous, year round flowers, lush green jungles and beaches, beautiful birds and mild temperatures, for as long as we are given the opportunity to do so!
    I hope you get the opportunity to enjoy this spectacular country as well, (maybe on a visit to some PCVs you might know?) !

New Perspectives

We're still riding high after our vacation with 'the fam', but boy have we been busy! We jumped back into work, which included training students who were participating in the County Spelling Bee.  

 This year they added a new category, called Impromptu Speech, where the students got 1 minute to talk about a subject from a short list that they prepared ideas from.  Only one gets to represent the school in the Impromptu Speech competition and one from the Spelling Bee competition.  We'll start coaching after school again next week for the Regional English Festival next month.  It's a lot of fun working with the kids in this area.  These are the kids from the school in San Marcos where we work.  Some of them are better spellers than some Estadosunidenses that I know!

     Shortly after the English Festival, we spent 5 days in San Jose in our Mid Service Training(MST), which is the 1/2 way mark for our service.  It's really hard to believe we only have 1 year left, but a month ago I was saying 'I don't know if I can do this for 1 more year'!  I had been feeling stuck in my negativity, frustrations and expectations about the school system here, feeling like that is what is actually failing the kids.  But one can't really make a difference with a negative attitude, and there's plenty to be done, even if it isn't at the level where I think it would make the biggest difference(I have a hard time settling for small changes).  And that whole sustainability piece that the Peace Corps wants; that was seeming very out of reach.  But MST really helped me change my perspective, through exercises of reflection, talking with PC staff, other PCVs, as well as sharing our own stories and activities with TICO 30, who are currently in training.  It turns out, I guess I actually am making a difference, though the sustainability part is fairly debatable.  I continue to question whether Youth Development is a need in Costa Rica, though it does seem to vary from region to region.  Our group also made recommendations to the Country Director of PC, during MST, about some changes we'd recommend for the Youth Development Project that could make it more effective and possibly impact more change from the top down.  There's probably a syndrome that's been identified for PCVs who fall into the trap of judging and labeling the host country and feeling like they have the solutions to the problems.  If so, I definitely have symptoms of that syndrome, though I work on acceptance and just enjoying the process.  It's a lot more fun and healthier that way too!
       We're moving into our 2nd year in a completely different place, than we were in when we came to San Marcos 1 year ago.  We can understand and speak the language better (key word: better),  we know a lot of people and they ask us where we've been if they haven't seen us for a couple of weeks. We have learned a lot from the projects that we've done; and understand the process of project design and management better. The keys are identifying what the people here want and facilitating them through the process (that's how you get to sustainability).   These are the really tough lessons of Peace Corps, that like most things in life,  have to be experienced the hard way in order to learn.

  This was our final activity during MST; we had to "cross over the symbolic wall" of 1st year, into 2nd year,  by helping each other.  Luckily we have some really strong, young backs in our group!

We all made it to the other side!

We celebrated Tico 30's Site Assignment Day on our last night of MST. All PCVs in country are invited to attend this celebration.

The next week, Tamalyapo and Lauren (from our very own Tico 28), came to visit us in San Marcos)!  We got to share the success of our Mentor Guia groups with them; see below:

Our Mentor Guias carry out a team building activity with their 7th grade Aprendices.  These Guias are demonstrating some great leadership skills, but other groups have no students showing up(we have 5 groups), so we are always in the process of evaluation and change.  They also tutor in academic subjects during their weekly time together.  We teach weekly classes to the Mentors, demonstrating, role playing and participating in activities they can use during their Mentor groups.

Francis and I spent our monthly  3 day "out of community" this month in Montezuma, a small beach town on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula.  While there, we enjoyed snorkeling and swimming near Tortuga Island,  eating and listening to the waves crashing on the rocks in front of our lodge room!

Lola and Pablo

After returning from Montezuma, we arrived on the eve of the Independence Day celebrations of Costa Rica.  Ticos are very proud people as demonstrated by their many celebrations of their traditions,  like dancing and singing national songs.  

These are examples of the lanterns the children parade around with on Sept. 14th,  paying homage to the women of Antigua, Guatemala,  who surrounded the capital where the Presidents of all the Central American countries were meeting, in 1821, to discuss their liberation from Spain.  And then, on Sept.15, Independence Day is celebrated with parades involving the local schools. 

The students with the highest marks get to carry the flags in the parade. Mileidy and Sofia, also flagbearers, are 2 of our Mentor Guias. (They make us proud!)

Marielis is one of 3 kids in a family with special needs that we know from the school and our work at the CENCINAI.  

When these kids passed by in the parade, I felt just like I have when watching and waving to my own kids and their friends at local parades!  They are playing the lira and drums.

Dancing, acting, singing and speeches by Community members and School principals, took the place of classes the rest of the week.  The students loved it!  This is where my own American values are hard to separate from the expectations I place on the country of Costa Rica to improve the educational system!

I learned an important lesson these past few months, but one that I seem to have to learn over and over throughout my life.  Our attitude and perspective can really impact our behavior.  Sometimes it helps to talk to other people about their perspective in order to get a new take on something that is difficult to change.  It helped me a lot and now I feel I can move into this 2nd year with a more positive attitude, a lot happier and that my effort will make a difference.

Sunset at Montezuma

One more thing to share:  PCVs in Costa Rica publish a quarterly magazine.  Francis and I were interviewed in this issue and played a version of the "Newlywed Game"(let's see who can guess the other's response)!  You might find our responses entertaining.  see pg. 36 of La Cadena: (it's the Aug. 2015 edition)

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B33NT_1ViLFnbFJrNWtkOTdsRm8&usp=sharing_eid&tid=0B33NT_1ViLFnRmRkR3VCRmhnMlk