And the story continues....

I thought the Coffee Story was over in January with the Coffee Fair and all, but I recently learned that what we've been experiencing since we've been in Tarrazu, has only been the end of the story.  So now I'm going to tell what I think is the last, but really the beginning of the coffee story.  And that is....that the coffee bean starts with the flower--of course!  And those flowers are starting to bloom now!  So, we had to hurry with Vilma this past weekend, and pick the rest of her coffee beans, being careful not to knock off the flowers which have already bloomed--in order to protect next year's crop!  Now I know what the white color is from, that is beginning to turn our green hills to white!

Little white flowers are the new coffee beans.

We spent another morning picking the last of Vilma's coffee.

Below is a picture of the women from Panama.  The Panamanians who came to 'recoger' cafe, are starting to leave, as they finish their jobs around the coffee growing regions of CR.  I will miss their colorful dress and beautiful children!

   
Things were kind of slow around here during Jan-Feb. as far as PC activity, but we managed to find ways to use our time effectively, regardless.  After all, we are Norte Americanos, and that's one of the things that makes us different from Latin Americans.  We tend to have that drive to be very productive and get things done.  I always prided myself on how many things I could do at the same time. The more I had to do, the more efficient I was.  We continue to find ways to keep ourselves busy(thanks to the many Peace Corps paperwork 'reglas', but it also includes finding new adventures in parts of Costa Rica.
   During the last week of January, Francis and I helped other PCVs with their Jumpstart Camp in Tarcoles, on the Pacific Coast, where we spent a few days back in July.  Jumpstart is a month-long, English camp for 6th graders, which we wanted to be a part of in order to learn the process and determine if we want to have our own camp next January.
 
So we enjoyed more walks on the beach and more ocean sunsets and this cute but deceivingly grande set of oxen that hang out at their beachside home, when they weren't busy carting things around town.

 Francis, participated in a "Restaurant" activity at the Jumpstart Camp.

 We helped some other PCVs one day with their mural project on the wall of the Learning Center in El Empalme, in Los Santos, where they teach English.

 We enjoyed watching some of the 300 horses parade down main street in Santa Maria.  They were part of the "Tope", a beautiful display of the region's proud cowboys, prancing their well-trained horses through town.  Again, this fair reminded me a lot of our Ft. Collins festivals, although this time, it did include the beerfest, which the fairs in San Marcos didn't!

 School finally started the 2nd week of February.  The kids got to enjoy some of the school's talent, by listening to some profes sing: "Knock knock knockin' on heaven's doors" by Bob Dylan, in English, no less!

 They also watched 2 highschoolers performing some really cool feats hanging from fabric, known as "acróbatas del aire", which many of you are aware of and/or have participated in (Allison Faris and Sara Hayden, to name the 2 that I know)!  I wouldn't say they are 'high tech' here in Costa Rica, by any means (the highschool is just now installing an internet cable); but this Air Acrobats act truly impressed me in terms of the advances in the performing arts, esp. in the highschool!

 We actually got some classroom time with the kids recently, introducing ourselves again and talking to the 10th graders about one of our projects that we'll start the 1st week of March.  We are going to train 2 classes of 10th graders to be Mentor Guias (guides) for 7th graders (that's their first year of highschool; there are no Jr. Highs or Middle Schools in CR).  They will spend 1 hr/wk. w/ 2-3, 7th graders  throughout the year(those who have been identified as benefitting from the extra attention and/or help w/ studies).  After a lot of research and preparation for this program, we are anxious to get started.

During one of our monthly mini excursions (we get 3 days/month OOC, 'out of community'), we explored a new gem, not far from us.  It is the country's newest national park, though there isn't a single sign designating it as such, and we never actually knew when we were in the park or just walking on a public or private road. Parque Nacional de Los Quetzales is only 1 1/2 hrs. from us and easy to get to by bus.  The problem that we had is that there is no public transportation once you get off the bus at the hwy, down to the town at the bottom of the park where the lodging is.  We walked the 12 kms downhill, and found a beautiful waterfall at the end of the road, but Francis ended up w/ a sore and swollen knee from the impact.  The area is higher than San Marcos, so therefore, sits in the clouds and naturally what appears, are frequent and always beautiful rainbows (arco iris).
  
 Unfortunately, what we didn't see that weekend, was a Quetzal, but we did see some beautiful flame tanagers and acorn woodpeckers.  I don't know if these are common in other parts of N.America, but I was impressed with the beautiful colors!

This woodpecker reminds me of a Costa Rican teenager, because mohawks are all the rage!

I visited another nearby park this past week with a stateside visitor, Jen, from Asheville, who is bringing a group of 8th graders to San Marcos in May (whom Francis and I are arranging homestays and activities for).  Lucky for us, Jen brought along with her, some much craved for goodies from Hannah and Chad as well as some unexpected treats.  And, just in case you are wondering about our dearly missed children these days, Hannah and Chad are enjoying their new home in Asheville, while Emilee, just completed yet another cross-country trip back to Worcester, MA, where she will begin a 1 year law fellowship with the Legal Aid Society, partially sponsored by Americorps.  Noah is enjoying Chicago even more now that he's found Allie, and is looking for a new job where he can work with other engineers. 

 We enjoyed a nice hike in another moist, cloud forest viewing las cataratas or cascadas like this appropriately named: "La Corbata" (the tie).  

                                                                                                            

This is Jen, from Asheville's, French Broad River Academy,  and our 2 guides at Madre Selva. 

On another note, one of the things that I enjoy most about the language, which at times, I also dread, are the Costa Ricanismos  or' costarricenses dichos', which they are also known as; phrases that are known commonly by Ticos, and can't be translated literally. Since I'm a newcomer to the language, I wouldn't know a 'dicho' if I heard one, but once you learn them, you start to recognize how frequently they are used.  Here are some frequently used Tico dichos:  Instead of asking the store clerk to give you something, you ask them to 'gift' you the item....ie, "Regalame un taza de cafe, por favor".   "What's up?"="Que me cuenta?" (What can you tell me?).    

Always, when you ask someone 'how are you', you get the response, "Bien, por dicha"  (Good, 'thank goodness, or luckily').   

Costa Ricans love to refer to others as "Mi Amor", not only their children; but bus drivers refer to passengers as 'mi amor', store clerks refer to clients, etc.  

 Of course, there's the common "Si Dios quiere"= 'if God wants'.  It's a good reasoning/excuse to explain why something happens -or not.

  Raquel Chanto from the Tico Times, writes that she feels these phrases are more than idioms, but actually communicate a world view, or a country view in this case.  "Gracias a dios" is also commonly heard from someone answering the question "¿Como estas"?  She states that Costa Ricans, who are fairly entrenched in the Catholic tradition, are only reminding themselves that they have something to be thankful for.  We find this a lot when we talk to people about their work.  Costa Ricans tend to be very thankful that they have jobs, good health, children, a beautiful sunrise, sunset or food on the table.  It's a marvelous attitude to have, to be appreciative and not take things for granted, which I've read also adds years onto people's lives.  Maybe that's another reason why Costa Rica has some high density pockets of centenarians, people who live to be 100 yrs. or more.

And so, while the coffee story may be over for now, there will be other stories to tell as we get busy with our projects and flowers continue to bloom (si Dios quiere)!

Special Coffee Edition

     The coffee season blog wouldn't be complete until we got to taste the coffee, and so it was, last weekend was the big Feria de Cafe, concluding with the Feria de Bendición de la Tierra.  After a big truckload of dirt was blessed by the priests, and people collected bagsful of dirt to take home (along the lines of holy water), there was a little parade of trucks, each carrying a representation of their community's bounty, from Los Santos (lots of towns w/ saints' names were represented).

                                                            Camion de Santa Marta
This was a BIG fair, complete w/ rides for the kids (jugetes mecánico), food, artensans' crafts for sale, coffee tasting and clowns (all that was lacking was the Fat Tire)!

 The traditional oxen and cart, which carried the coffee beans in the 'old' days.

 We got our hand at picking coffee last week.  Vilma's coffee plants are on the side of a rather steep hill, without much of a "calle" (street) for walking, which is what they call the narrow paths where they plant the coffee.  I take it the professional coffee pickers don't have so much trouble staying on the 'calle'.  Vilma has a very small section of land dedicated to coffee, so the 3 of us were finished in 4 hrs., and had collected about 2 laundry sized baskets full.  Vilma figures, we would have earned $2 total for our work that day.  It certainly makes you appreciate that cup of coffee all the more!  That brings our coffee education full circle, though I'm sure we'll continue to find new types of coffee to try. There are Coffee Fairs that continue in different towns around Costa Rica throughout the year, and we heard from one man who works for the Gov't of CR, marketing and certifying coffee, that the one of the biggest Coffee Fairs in the world is in Seattle in April.  There are people in San Jose and other parts of CR who drink Bush Light (Cafe Rey), but I've never seen it served anywhere in Los Santos.  San Marcos and the other pueblos in Los Santos  is much like the Ft. Collins of Costa Rica when it comes to coffee production and growing.  They take great pride in their coffees and boast that theirs is very unique and either grown or produced in a way that makes it stand out.  Their are many family run micro-breweries here, I mean coffee producers, and then there are the giants, the big Cooperativa de Tarrazú(New Belgium).  Most of the coffees from this region are IPA's, but I'm not a fan of the bitter, acidic coffee taste, so I was very happy at the Coffee Fair, to find some milder, but still very rich tasting coffees!  By the way, some of my favorites are Buen Dia (good blend, but mild, along the lines of Sunshine Wheat), La Cumbre and Cerro Alto, my new favorites, the 1554 of coffees; also true in the way that as one would  never be able to find these coffees in the states; one would never be able to find these beers in Costa Rica).  (I'm sure there are technical terms for all of this, but I haven't taken the 'coffee cupping' classes or read the book yet!  They all say that the best coffee is exported to US, Europe and Japan, so it's possible we haven't even tasted the best that Tarrazú has to offer.  Coffee picking will continue into March in this area and then the migrant workers will move on or return to their homelands.

The banana bunches(seen above) are from the trees that shade the coffee, so we get to enjoy both the products of her backyard produce, though she takes her coffee beans to a coop for production. Vilma also has limón trees, which are a cross between an orange and a lemon.  I learned of a great, new drink, which you can also easily try back in the states if you have molasses.  I didn't know that molasses came directly from sugar cane(duh).   Well, they cut the top off the sugar cane plant, which is called "tapa de caña", also called 'rana' (frog) de caña (no one seems to know how the name frog got in there) and looks like brown sugar; add a small chunk to water and 1/2 of a limón and you have a refreshing sweet drink called Aqua Dulce!  When I finish my bottle of 'miel de caña", I'm going to buy a piece of this 'tapa', add water to it in a container and I'll have my own, fresh, organic molasses, without preservatives!

                                                       "Tapa de Caña"

Francis and I spent 3 days on the Caribbean Coast over Christmas and hiked on a coastal trail in Cahuita Nat'l Park.  It was a beautiful day and luckily a guide on the trail pointed out a sleeping Eyelash Viper on a leaf overhanging the shore.

The little yellow snake on this leaf is the Eyelash Viper.

The guide didn't need to point out this Capuchin Monkey, because he came down to the shore where we were sitting, and having just pulled out a bag of fruit for a snack, the 'mono', swiped the whole bag and ran off!  The guide threw his water bottle at the monkey and recovered my fruit, but lost his water bottle!

 We walked back from visiting friends in a nearby pueblo this week and spotted this rainbow on our way, it dropped right into San Marcos de Tarrazú!
    We're headed to San Jose for 5 days of training, reporting on our project plans and various insundry other PC topics, so I'm sure there won't be much to write about following that week, but after that we're headed to Tarcoles again(Pacific coast), to help other PCVs with their English Camp, before school starts up again the 2nd wk. of February. Prior to school starting, we're going to hold our own version of an English Club, for those who have a foundation of English, but just need conversation to practice.  We were asked to hold the "club", at the local academia (it's a private school where they teach English, among other subjects), and we agreed as long as we can invite whomever we want and there's no charge.  However, if the library opens back up again since it's closure for the holidays, our first choice will be to hold the club there.
     Friends and family are keeping us posted on weather and beautiful snowshoeing and skiing (hut) trips in the mountains!  While I miss those awesome adventures in the snowy mountains of Colorado and N.Carolina, I'm going to enjoy our beautiful summer here in Costa Rica, while it lasts!  I do love seeing those photos and hearing those stories though, knowing that you all are also taking full advantage of the wonderful access to the 4 seasons and beautiful nature of the USA, so keep 'em coming!
Amor y abrazos!    Chris

El Café Está Listo

                                              The Coffee is Ready for Picking!
You can't live in one of the biggest coffee producing regions in the world and not feel the suspense building and excitement growing during coffee picking season!  In the past, I've 'smelled the coffee', but never before have I 'heard' the sound of coffee in this way or  'seen' the people who work so hard to pick the beans and drive the trucks.  Thousands of people(literally 15,000) are rolling into Los Santos Region of Costa Rica right now from Panama, Nicaragua and other parts of CR in order  to pick coffee (recoger café).  The migrant workers are coming to the park each day, waiting to be selected by a farm owner to work on their farm, at which time, they go with their family to live in the little huts on the fincas.  During the days, the beans are picked and then at the end of the day, the big trucks that take the coffee beans to the cooperativas, return to their homes up the hill from us, so for me, the "sound of  coffee" includes the sounds of the trucks that make their way around town.  Vilma tells us her coffee beans are usually ready for picking in January.  So until then, Francis and I have a lot of work to do, to free up some time to pick!

Look closely for the red beans on the bushes!

The guy at the loading dock, told me it took one 'short' day (7 hrs), for 200 people to fill this truck.  He said, when things really get rolling, they'll fill 2 trucks like this /day.  

Our 2 new friends from the park. Most of the Panamanian women and children wear their traditional dress; they are all different colors and quite beautiful!  There's a church near us where the indigenous celebrate, so we hear them almost everyday in song and lament.  This town is transformed for several months, kind of like how we feel about the difference in Ft.Collins when the university students are there and when they're not.

Another recent cultural activity that Francis and I participated in was "Fuego Noche".  It's every December 8, and is actually a celebration of light for the Immaculate Conception.  But most people use it as a time to burn their leaf pile; so I volunteered for the honor of trimming the old dried branches and leaves(something I always look forward to in Colorado), only I got to try my hands at using a machete, the only tool on the rack, and found that it did the trick quite well!  We dedicated the fire to Francis in memory of the fire building days of his youth!  We also shared some of our N.American traditions with sparklers, roasted marshmallows, BBQ and S'mores!

First the fuel, and then the fire.

To back up a little, you'll see the picture below of our Thanksgiving meal, which we prepared; complete with green beans,  mashed sweet potatoes and dairy-free, no bake pumpkin bars! (Vilma is allergic to meat and eggs, so between her food issues and our lactose intolerance, we make a perfect match!) We prepared a fresh pineapple and strawberry salad in lieu of cranberry sauce and substituted chicken for turkey, since there were no turkeys to be found in the Los Santos Region of Costa Rica (occasionally we prepare chicken for ourselves and Monica, and luckily, we all enjoy fish!)

We had a visitor on Thanksgiving Day, which was at first mistaken for a piece of lint on the floor, until we saw it hop!

Over a long weekend in November, Francis and I took a short trip to Cartago and nearby Volcan Irazu. It was a fun get away and we're certainly enjoying getting to know new parts of Costa Rica. 

This crater of Volcan Irazu has been dry for the past 2 years. Volcan Irazu is considered to be an active volcano, though it hasn't erupted since 1960.    It is 300 meters deep and 1050 m. in diameter.  On a clear day, from the top, you can see both oceans, on either side of Costa Rica.  (desafortunadamente, it wasn't a clear by the time we got up there).

The Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angelos, is the most important site in Cartago and the most venerated and famous church in CR.  It's quite a spectacular structure and is visited every August 2nd, by thousands of Costa Ricans who walk from their homes wherever they live in CR,(it's called "The Romeria"; people walk long distances, taking from 6 hrs. to 6 days),  to honor the day "La Negrita" (a small statue of the Black Virgin), was found on this site of the existing church. As the story goes, in 1635, the young indigenous woman who discovered the small statue, took it with her to show the priest and her family.   The statue miraculously reappeared back where she'd found it, twice.   Two hundred years later, La Señora de los Angeles was declared CR's patron saint.  The original statuette resides on the main altar of this church in Cartago.  During our first 3 months of training (on Aug. 2nd), when Francis and  I lived in San Fransisco de Heredia, we walked a short part of "The Romeria"with thousands of others, in their holy procession.  The experience of taking part in that walk became even more impactful 3 months later, after seeing the destination of the full procession! 

The church is quite impressive both inside and out.

Another event we got to take part in in early December, was the very special Cena y Baile (dinner and dance) for the 6th grade class of Escuela Leon Cortés Castro.  Monica is moving on to 'el colegio' (7th-11th/12th); and next week we'll go to her graduation ceremony, when school will be officially over for the year, though students haven't been attending classes for the past 2-3 wks.

Since language continues to be the barrier to developing deep relationships (mas profundo), we also enjoy spending time with our English speaking friends when we get the chance.  A group of us PCV's, along with 2 Ticos,  spent a day helping a friend of a friend get his Italian Restaurant ready to open next week.  I told Paolo "I'd work for vino and pizza" any day!  He speaks primarily Italian, but its very close to spanish, so we can communicate with him about as well as with any Tico!  Actually, I must admit, I can see a gradual improvement in every aspect of my spanish, but it's not nearly as 'rapido' as I'd like!

We hiked to the Cerro del Cruz("cross on the hill") last week and got a really good workout; it was about a 2 hr. hike, almost straight up! There are other, less steep trails, but this time we went for "the road less traveled." Next time I'll take the road 'more travelled', which happens to be less steep and much more manageable!  There's a beautiful view of the San Marcos valley and surrounding pueblos from the top.  I really felt like I was back in Colorado hiking, though the trees were palms and junipers instead of pines and furs.

You can see the cross at the top of the hill. 

Views from the top: The pueblo in the near vista with the field, we passed on our way up to the cross, and the pueblo in the far distance is across the valley from where we live.  Every pueblo has its church and 'cancha' (soccer field), both of which are highly utilized facilities in all the pueblos around CR.

There are lots of coffee farms you can see from here.

Francis with Rachel (another PCV) and Nikki, a friend from Scotland who teaches English in San Marcos. They guided us up the 'cerro'.

This is a pool at a local hotel we have been to a couple of times with Monica and her friends, both to "supervise" and to swim.  

While it may seem  that we haven't done anything but play lately, we try to sneak in a little work when we have to.  This was an event w/ a group called PANI,  Patronato Nacional de la Infancia.  It's the equivalent of our Child Protection Services.  In addition to protecting the rights of children; PANI also has a mandate by the government to provide PREVENTION activities.  That's where we'll come in. PANI is charged with designing and carrying out programs to develop youth as leaders and get them involved in the community.  We have been invited to several of their events where the youth have had to create programs that would address problems in the communities where they live.  It's a pretty big task for young kids (5th-11th graders), but with a little guidance, they've done a pretty good job of coming up with ideas.  It's been a great opportunity for us to meet many people.  In addition to the kids in the group from the local escuelas and colegios, we've met adults  from around the community in different organizations that support youth.  Starting in January, we'll be involved at a different level, when they start enacting some of their ideas, for example, giving talks to groups of parents, or training kids in teamwork and leadership.  

Last week we led a morning's worth of activities with a group of kids from Cruz Roja.  The main mission of the Red Cross here is that of an ambulance service.  But another brilliant program the government of Costa Rica has designed, is to charge the Red Cross, with a branch which also develops programs for youth.  They do educational and recreational programs around the community.  We decided to partner with them(which means getting involved as much as we can w/ their activities), in order to meet people in the community, learn cultural strategies for teaching and integrating into the community and to use them as a resource to refer kids to who are in need of alternative forms of recreation.

I can't do a blog that doesn't include flora or fauna!  There are always so many beautiful colors of flowers and trees. Right now, the amaryllises are blooming all around town!

Monica painted this picture for us, so we have a Snowman and a Christmas season decoration! Contrary to Francis, I like NOT having things around that remind me of Christmas back home, so I don't feel so homesick.  Neighbors DO have their Christmas trees and lights up though and the municipal band is playing Christmas music that we can hear from our hillside  home.   (I did however, bake some cookies the other day to share w/ the people we work with and that helps to give this season its special meaning!)

 It's fun to experience traditions of other cultures, especially during holidays.  I'm looking forward to the Christmas tamales and fruitcake!  Francis and I are going to the beach for a few days leaving on Dec.25, so that will be another little variation on the Christmas tradition.  But either way, we will miss being home and with our kids and friends during the holidays.  The weather is drying up and getting quite warm during the day, so 'summer' is on its way.  We will be on our own schedule for the next 2 months, preparing the data that we've gathered since we've been here, to present to our PC counterparts in January along with our project plans.  We'll be picking coffee, smelling coffee, drinking coffee and listening to the sounds of coffee and hopefully, enjoying every minute of it!

  We love you and think of you often!  Please let us know about your holiday festivities as well, because hearing from you is very important to us!

 Feliz Navidad  y Feliz Año Nuevo to all of you, our Friends and Family!
Love,
Chris and Francis

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