A Double Bed Never Felt So Big

                                                    A Double Bed Never Felt So Big                                              I mentioned in the last blog that Francis and I were going to buy ourselves a double mattress, which we did, and the salesman at the store even matched the price of the mattress at the Walmart store in San Jose (always negotiating !).   Boy is it nice to have a little room to stretch!

    As I'm sure it is true for everyone, it's when we are separated from the things we get so used to having, that we learn to appreciate what we have all the more.  Everyday, each of us are faced with the opportunity to have an "attitude of gratitude", as Fr. Don would say, on a regular basis.  Being in a totally different setting, far away from the things we are used to having, along with living much more simply than we did in our home in Colorado, sure has brought that appreciation factor closer to home for me.  I'll mention a few things here that I am really grateful for, mainly to give you a better idea of life here in Costa Rica.  We have 2 comfy chairs and a nice kitchen table where we spend most of our time when home, doing our work. 

     Also every morning we have the opportunity to do our yoga and sit and meditate in our 2 comfy chairs.  We have a tv where we spend almost every evening watching a little, way more than I used to, because it's a great way to train our ear in Spanish  and try and follow along (we can understand the Disney channel or Nat'l Geo. programs the best!)
    Vilma is a great cook, so we enjoy several meals a week of hers, and the other meals we get to cook and share with Vilma and Monica.  I didn't realize how important cooking was to me until I didn't have a kitchen available(our first 3 months in CR)!  Bananas here are soooo sweet! and we normally enjoy papaya everyday for breakfast.  We also enjoy spending time with Monica, and being the stand-in parents (OK, grandparents), for activities during the day that Vilma can't attend because she's teaching in another town. Monica will be graduating from the 6th grade (at the escuela) next month and will start colegio in February, the start of the new school year.

    Everyday we get to take a hot shower! It's one of those things I really didn't expect to have at all going into the Peace Corps, so it was a pleasant surprise to find out people in parts of Costa Rica actually have hot showers!   For this I am so grateful, because we had so many cold ones our first 3 months here.  They have those "on demand" hot water heaters here that are wired very precariously right out of the wall; I kind of doubt they would pass code in the states, but at least there's hot water, and it's probably very economical.  (Beats a flooded basement from a malfunctioning solar hot water heater system)!  (Gracias a Dios to Yvonne, our friend who is managing our home: she's been dealing with the ramifications of our aging solar system).
     We've been involved in some fun events in the past 3 weeks, I've really enjoyed the variety of activities and meeting new people that has come with it!  One of the counselors we work with at the high school, organized a "No to Drugs" workshop for some students there, which we got to participate in.  I still feel like my biggest challenge here is communicating, though I can see little improvements.  I want to be able to talk to people like I would in English, so that's always frustrating, but I was able to pull off an activity for the kids at the workshop, with just a little help from the teachers.  In addition, I have had a couple of successful telephone conversations too, which is another big step, and a measure of improvement, and I just finished reading a book in Spanish: Pantalones Cortes, written from the perspective of a 13 yr. old, (well, it's a step up from the Primal Readers) !  
     We learned how to be judges for the Regional Spelling Bee, which is for kids learning English and a real fun event that takes place at the local, regional and national level.  Vilma, who is an English teacher at 2 nearby towns, had worked with her students on 2 theatrical productions in English, which they performed at the Spelling Bee event. That was even more impressive than the kids' performance at the Spelling Bee!  Either way, the schools here take English pretty seriously, since it is mandatory through 9th grade, and then in 10th grade they can choose between English and French.  We will be helping with  a 10th grade English class on a weekly basis until the end of the school year, which is coming right up.  

At the Spelling Bee these kids acted out the song "La Llorana", a popular Mexican song that was a featured in the movie "Frieda".  This 12 y.o. boy is an excellent guitarist and cantante; he has a great future in music ahead of him! 

                         photo of Francis at the judges table at the Spelling Bee; all of the judges are PCVs

Several of us PCVs from the area, have been involved with PANI, the local Social Services organization, which has been "wining and dining" us these past few weeks.  By that I mean we've been treated to some excellent coffee and tamales and they've been inviting us to all of their planning meetings and activities. 

      I feel so fortunate to be able to work with them, since our project goals fit right into their budget for Prevention and Promotion.   Last week we helped with an all day recreation event that displayed things to do in the community and we PCVs had our own activity area.  Thanks to the Pieper Family for this idea: we put together 2 games of "Washers" out of tin cans and, you guessed it, cardboard boxes, and taught kids of all ages how to make and play a very fun and very simple game! 

     Last week, we were invited to participate in a Leadership Workshop  with PANI, for kids from 11-17, and this time, Francis led an activity, which was a huge success, and demonstrated the leadership skill of planning.  The kids had to all stand on a sheet and figure out how to turn the sheet over to the other side without stepping off!  Luckily, most dynamic activities can be taught through demonstration! 

 One of PANI's big goals is to get kids involved on committees in the community, which is a spectacular idea, because what most people in the community complain about is the lack of things for kids to do.  The other benefit to recruiting kids to be leaders is the skills that it develops in the process!  So, as we get to know what's available for youth to participate in, we're also getting to know the kids and teachers in the schools and even being met by some of them on the streets or in the stores, who recognize us.  I have one little kindergarten friend who greets me by name when she sees me out and about.  It's really a good feeling to start to be recognized for more than just being the Gringos in town and to know there are people you can call "friend", even if it is a 5 yr. old!
   As we approach the end of the school year, and warmer, drier weather, I am really looking forward to getting out for more recreation.  But we did have a good time a few weeks ago on a "fishing trip" with Yamileth, one of the counselors that we work with at the HS, and her son, Jason.  Their fishing consists of putting your baited hook on a line,dropping it into a stocked pond, and 5 minutes later pulling out a big fish!  Well, after 45 minutes, everyone but Francis pulled out a fish; but he did get to enjoy the pink trout afterwards for both lunch and dinner! 

   As we all prepare for Thanksgiving, we are reminded of all that we have to be thankful for.  We have a beautiful view of the city from our home here and at night it is especially "hermoso"!

Muchas gracias a todos for your friendship and love, we think of you often !!
Chris

Making friends with the rain; Making friends con los insectos.

     To say I’m “making friends” with the insects is a bit of a stretch, but I’d like to think that at least I am getting used to seeing them around the house and am not worried about sharing our apartment with them.  Despite our efforts to keep the floors swept and the door closed, there are many ways these little creatures make their way into the house, not the least of which are through the missing window panes or openings through the ceiling to the roof.  But these are also the many ways that we receive the wonderful fresh air and sounds of the birds and the bright light that floods our home throughout the day. Vilma, of our host family, keeps her plates in the refrigerator, because she learned from her mother, that if you want to make sure you didn't have any unexpected visitors on your dishes, it's the only safe way to know.   You might be wondering just what type of insects I'm talking about, and so far, I really can't complain; they are mostly roly polies (sp?), little moths, spiders and an occasional cucaracha (those are pretty big though; picture little crawdads).  In actuality, in coffee country we have it a lot better than those in the hot, humid climate of the coast, Guanacaste or Limon; in those places you will find many more little creatures.  We aren't really even bothered by mosquitos here, so like I said, I'm not complaining!

    I took this picture right outside our door; nice spider web, eh?

I also took a picture of this orchid right outside our door!

October is supposedly the rainiest month in Los Santos (the name of our region).  Sometimes it rains off and on throughout the day and night, and sometimes for only a short period, but when it rains, it pours!  I bought 2 pairs of boots; one smaller pair to wear or carry in case of a downpour and another sturdier pair for when we get to work in the coffee finca (starting in December).  We learned early on to never leave the house without an umbrella and that it helps to wear pants that are fast drying ! (so much for the wardrobe we brought!) But this is where you just take it in stride and make peace with the wetness.  This is why the hillsides are so green and the coffee is so plentiful!

 Francis, outside our apartment; it's on the backside of the house of Vilma and Monica.  We also have 5 stately guard dogs!

                                          Jooey, one of our guard dogs!

The past few weeks have gone by in a flurry.  We finished up our training in September and had some relaxing get togethers with our training group.

  Our swearing in ceremony was Oct. 1, and was extraordinarily nice, at the home of the US Ambassador to Costa Rica.  (If you are interested in a career in politics; I would recommend trying to get a job at this embassy!) One of the speakers at the ceremony, Mario Fung, a Director from the Ministry of Education, gave a moving speech about the impact of PCVs on the lives of the people in CR.  He singled out Francis, now serving his second stint as a PCV, as an example of dedication and commitment.  Mario seemed to have been quite moved by the fact that these “abuelos” as he called us (grandparents), were coming here to serve.  It made me teary and proud.   I only hope it comes to fruition; so keep your positive and encouraging thoughts of us coming!
You can view the swearing in ceremony on you tube at this link:http://youtu.be/Tb1diGYlBgc

 Afterwards, we were chauffeured around again to the home of the CR PC director for a catered lunch.  The next day, reality began to set in as we walked to the bus station with our heavy packs, for San Marcos.

 At the swearing in ceremony at the Ambassador's home.

We’ve been in San Marcos for 10 days now, each day, adding to our ideas of how to organize our apartment and set up “our home”.  I never knew there were so many ways  we could use boxes.  I’m in the process of painting a piece of cardboard to make a picture frame!  For you creative folks out there; you would thrive here!  Necessity is the mother of invention, yes?   We bought a coffee maker the other day and are experimenting with  different coffees and blends.  There are so many different types of coffee just from this area to try, it’s a good thing we have 2 years to figure this out!

                                                                Our kitchen 

                                         Our living room, dining room; we're using mosquito net packs for pillows on our chairs.  We actually have 2 Bedrooms; so visitors are welcome to stay here!  We're going to buy ourselves a double mattress for our anniversary! 

This is our BR.  Today we had a an extension built onto the bed to accommodate a double mattress.

Francis got handy the other day and hung a metal pipe for us to hang our clothes from.  He hung a mirror in front of the sink (our kitchen sink doubles as a bathroom sink) and he hung hooks on the wooden walls and backs of doors for clothes and backpacks.  It's quite organized and feels like home!

Our main task for the first 2-3 months of our service, is to do an assessment of the needs of the youth here, in order to determine in which ways our skills can best be utilized.  This  “diagnostic,  will help us to identify which projects we’ll develop and with whom.  For now, we are sitting in on small classes with the “orientadors” (counselors) from the “colegio” (highschool) and “escuela” (primary) school in order to meet the kids, and start to formulate our assessments.  Last week we met the “docentes” (teachers) at the colegio and passed out our questionnaire for them.  Today, Sunday, there was a big event at the school called “Encuentro de Culturas” (meeting of the cultures) which all of the parents attended.  The kids dressed up and performed dances from the different cultures that contributed to the formation of Costa Rica, including the indigenous, Spaniards, Afro-Caribbeans and Chinese.  The principal of the school introduced Francis and I to all who attended the event, and invited them to welcome us into their community.  When we met with him earlier in the week, he seemed especially interested in our presence in San Marcos and the possibility of helping to create a “community of peace”, as he called it!  All of the work that Francis has done with Friendship Circles and Conflict Resolution in the schools and at John 23rd is going to come in handy in these next 2 years.  The Costa Ricans seem particularly proud of the fact that they don’t have an army and tend to be very cordial and concerned about everyone’s well being.  Conversations always start with questions about your well-being as well as your family, before delving into business.  Many times their answer to “como esta” ?  is “Pura Vida”!

                               Vilma and Monica in front of their house.  Our apt. is in the back.

This weekend, Francis and I went with our host family, Vilma and Monica, to visit Vilma’s parents in San Jose.  The drive reminded us of a drive to Grand Lake, via Estes Park and Trail Ridge Road.  We went up and down and around many “cuestas” (hills) to get there, through many low lying clouds, which at night made the visibility quite bad.  Luckily, Vilma has made this journey many times and knows the route by heart.  She said her old Toyota Tercel could probably make the trip on its own!  Another point of Tico pride is their social security system, which includes health care for everyone (as long as you contributed your % into the system while you worked).  Kids up to the age of 18, as well as pregnant women are covered regardless.  There are health care centers with primary care for every 4500 people and clinics and hospitals dispersed around the country to serve the healthcare needs of everyone.  Of course there are private practices as well, for those who can afford extra insurance; and as you may know, there are many “extranjeros” (foreigners), who come here for non-emergent or elective medical care as well, since it is more affordable than in the states.  From what I’ve heard, they have a very high standard of medical care  and I would suspect there’s no shortage of places to go to recuperate from surgery if you had it here!  Vilma’s mom is recovering from surgery for breast cancer and will be starting radiation therapy soon.  Vilma goes to visit her parents every 2 months to restock their supply of food and house basics.  One of their granddaughter’s takes care of them on a daily basis with cooking and cleaning, while Vilma and her siblings provide money for their needs.  Since her father was a farmer throughout his life and didn’t have enough money to contribute to the pension system, they are dependent on their family for this support.  It’s a system similar to ours in that regard.  There were people coming and going from the house during our 2 day visit there; it’s no wonder, given that there’s grandparents, nieces, nephews and grandchildren all nearby; not to mention, dogs, a cat, several birds and many fish. 

We hung out with Monica (Vilma's daughter, in the back) and Susan (5 y.o great-grandaughter of Vilma's parents).  I spent a lot of time braiding hair and Francis was a big hit with his deck of cards.

Even though their home is small, they welcomed us with open arms and invited us to return whenever we can.  It was nice being around young kids as well, for listening to and using our Spanish.  I view every activity as a Spanish lesson and am happy when I can learn a few new words every day.  I measure my progress by how many times I have to ask someone to repeat themselves or by the look I get when I’ve just expressed myself.  (I get that look a lot!)

As we sit here this Sunday afternoon, listening to the sound of the rain and look out at the greenery that frames our home, we are grateful for this time and feel so blessed to have our host family here and our “parientes” (relatives) and amigos back home to support us on this journey!

Love to all.

These little green hummingbirds love this purple plant, we see them frequently outside our apt. window.

Coffee Country Here We Come!

On Friday, Sept. 5, all of the PCTs met in San Isidro and were driven by private coach to a club outside of San Jose, where Site Assignment was to take place, followed by recreation, a picnic and a meeting with the regional leaders who gave us more information about our site. In true Youth Development form, we had to participate in a game, in order to find out our 2 yr. site assignment. The game consisted of learning 3 different regional Costa Rican customs in order to receive a clue, and after we received 3 clues, we were shown the sites on a map and got to guess, 1 by 1, where we thought we were assigned.

Francis and I were assigned to a town called San Marcos de Tarazu. It's about 2 hrs. south of San Jose; so easy access in and out and around the country.   It's a town of about 10,000 in the mountains, in a region referred to as Los Santos, because so many of the towns have saints' names. San Marcos is the main hub for the surrounding towns.  The principal, "directora" of the high school has worked w/ a PCV before and is excited to have us.  Our initial project partners are the h.s. school counselors and are interested in working with us on developing drug prevention programs, a support group for youth with drug addictions and violence prevention, among many other things.

 We are super excited to be invited to this site; it sits in the middle of coffee country, but is also a popular area for birding and hiking in the canopy.  There will be much more to come about all of this as we get familiar with the area.

After the Site Assignment Day picnic, we spent the evening at a hostel in San Jose, where PCVs from other groups gathered for the celebration as well.  We got to talk to other PCVs from the San Marcos area, so it was great to connect and start to network!  

The next day, before returning to our home, we walked through a big park in the city called Parque Sabana, which is the old converted airport.  It had these really cool type of Eucalyptus trees ('deglupta'), also known as the rainbow or painted tree.  The colors are from the shedding of the bark and the ongoing maturing of the next layers.  They were just beautiful!  We also enjoyed a great art museum in the park.

A cool sculpture at the park; representing the work of the 'agriculturos

I love seeing groves of bamboo trees; they're seen in many different areas and are used as fence posts and to hold up the covers they put over the many tomato plants in the tomato 'fincas'. Apparently the direct rain causes a mold on the plants that they try to prevent with the covers. (no picture of this)

We had a Taco Party a couple of weeks ago, and everybody contributed something to the table. 

I think these were the best tacos I've ever had, with fresh avocados and mangos.

We have an artist in our group who is really into face painting,

Of course, Francis was in charge of the BBQ; note the metal wheel rim on a stand, used for the BBQ pit.  This was inside the patio/garage of one of our group member's host family.

This weekend is Costa Rica's Independence Day celebrations, so the parades will be ongoing all weekend.  We enjoyed watching the pre-kinders carrying their flags and playing their xylophones.

These large headed masked people are very popular in Costa Rica; apparently they come out for various holidays.  Our host family has one that looks like the mom and dad; hope they bring it out this weekend!

This is the last of the pups, but he'll be going to his new home tomorrow.  It's been fun watching them grow over the last 6 weeks.  I feel like one of these pups; came into a new home, didn't know the language, stayed a short time, and soon will be heading off to another new home.  Hopefully, while there, I'll understand more and be able to speak the language of the people!  Adios for now.

"Expect the Unexpected"

I decided to go ahead and write now because the next 2 weeks are going to be pretty busy w/ projects and study.  Also, we'll be finding out in 2 weeks (Sept. 5) where our 2 yr. placement site will be, and that event takes place in San Jose, where we'll celebrate with the current PC volunteers (PCVs)!  It's something there's much excitement and speculation about.  We have our 2nd interview by our project coordinators this Monday, to help them make final decisions about our placements.  They determine which site to place us at based on our preferences for climate as well as the kind of youth development work we might feel the most comfortable doing, and how those interests mesh with the Project Partner's interests and what the community has requested.  The Project Partner is the Costa Rican who we might be working with or use as a resource, at least initially.

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!