Pimp Suite and Satisfaction

So much to update I don't even know where to begin.  I guess I'll start with Friday..

My class ended at 10:15 instead of 11:15 like usual because my teacher had to go to San Jose for a meeting in the afternoon.  I think she briefly tried to get me to get in the cab and come with her, but I couldn't really tell what she was saying, soo after a short conversation that probably made no sense, I just smiled and waved and said "Ciao!", and she drove off leaving me with an hour and half to kill before the bus came to take me back to the home base.  On most days, another volunteer who works down the street and I walk from our schools to a school that's about 20 minutes away to get picked up.  Friday I was on my own though because her school was closed for the day (it's a daycare with only one teacher).  After spending a good while just walking around, I ended up sitting and talking to the crossing guard who works in front of my usual pick-up spot.  

His name is Jose, and I would guess that he's about 45 years old.  He has 4 sons--3 from before he was married, and 1 with a wife that he was married to for 5 years.  He was born in Puriscal and has lived here his whole life but said that he would like to travel elsewhere someday.  It amazes me how many people are raised here and never leave--not even to look at their own, West Virginia-sized country.  For some reason I feel like there's so much, so many places, that I need to see in order to be satisfied.  I forget that, for some people, seeing a lot isn't a high priority.  I want Jose to want to see more though, and to have the chance to do it.  He was so cute.  And so interested in trying to learn English.  I helped him practice some phrases like "Where are you from?" and "My name is Jose", and I showed him how to pronounce "three" as opposed to "tree" because he said that th sound was always a problem.  I don't think the practicing helped too much, but I smiled and said "Si, si!" and pretended like he was getting better because I think it made him happy.  Then we talked about how only a handful of policemen here know English and how helpful it would be if more learned, not only in case of emergencies involving tourists, but also for simple things like asking directions.  And we even talked about how the Costa Rican president has made it a goal to make the whole country bilingual by 2020.  When the bus finally came to get me, I was just so satisfied that I had helped Jose learn a little more English, and so pleasantly surprised that I could talk about those things with him in Spanish, and so happy to see how excited he was by learning that I knew it was going to be a good weekend...

Rocking J's.  Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.  How oh how can I do it justice through a blog? 

I'm gonna put the link to the hostel's website here in case you want to look at it because I feel like my words and my lack of a camera won't be enough:

http://www.rockingjs.com/

Rocking J's is a hippie's paradise.  It's cheap as dirt, but the whole place is like a mural covered/mosaic filled/scribbled on piece of art.  It's not necessarily the kind of art you would want small, sheltered children to see (i.e. the back door of the pimp suite read something like "I'm a c*** whore a** licking mother f*****"--sorry! I hope that's ok to write on a blog!), but there was definitely no shortage of things to marvel at.  I literally could have spent a whole day just walking around reading the walls and looking at the mosaics.  I think there are actually plenty of people who do spend most of the day doing this, just not while they are sober.  This place was just such a far-removed sense of reality that I don't even know how to evoke the feeling of it...soo I guess I'll just try some description..

There was a live band playing at Rocking J's restaurant on Friday.  We were exhausted and trying to fall asleep in the Pimp Suite, which, despite it's attractive name, was not such an attractive place.  There was a gecko on the ceiling.  We were under no sheets and sweating and trying so hard not to think about what might have happened on those beds before.  The fans were broken.  We were still smiling at the fact that, on our short walk to the Pimp Suite, we had passed four fellow Rocking J's residents standing in a circle on the hotel's astro-turf lawn holding hands, jumping up and down in a circle and laughing hysterically.  Falling asleep was impossible because all we could hear through our large non-window windows (a few iron bars instead of something solid) were the band and the bar-goers singing at the top of their lungs the words to "Wonderwall".  During the break between songs, someone nearby outside was puking.  We were doused in bug spray.  The air tasted like bug spray.  I could roll over on my stomach, look up, and tell myself goodnight because on the wall behind the bed (and on the wall across from the bed, and on the wall behind the door, and on the wall behind the bunk beds, AND on the wall beside the door) was a huge mirror.  Sleep came eventually, but it was interrupted often as I had to itch myself throughout the night.  

(side note: I actually did love Rocking J's despite the poor descriptions...they just made the experience funnier)

Naturally, I woke up at approximately 6:15 Saturday morning.  Somehow, getting up at the crack of dawn seems to be my body's only option here in Costa Rica.  I wandered out of the pimp suite with my friend Jessica to find our friend Katie, who had already been up reading on a bench beside the rows of tents, which you could look down and see dirty feet sticking out of.  A boy walked past us and said "Ughhh, it's so late" (I probably would have used the word early here, but things don't work like that at Rocking J's).  Then, he proceeded to ask Katie if we had any papers (I guess he wanted an early/late start on his day's dosage of weed).  Now this is already funny because Katie, in her pearl earrings and J-Crew attire, is definitely not the type of person who would have papers on her.  So, she smiled at him and said "No, sorry" and attempted to move on.   But I, being the wholesome child that I am, and a little on the half-asleep side, said, "Wait what are you looking for?".  He said, "papers," again.  I must have completely forgotten I was at Rocking J's because for some reason I responded, "You mean like a newspaper?", at which point Katie preceded to burst into hysterical laughter and the guy looked at me and said, "What?? No. No, I don't want a newspaper.  I mean unless I wanted to roll like a HUGE one," and walked away. And then we all laughed so hard that I almost peed in my pants.   So I guess you could describe Rocking J's is a place where you're much more likely to find someone smoking a joint with their cup of morning coffee than reading a newspaper...(even though there were signs all over the place that read "por favor, no te fumes la marijuana").. 

Anyway, you know it's going to be a good day when it starts with laughing that hard.  We walked down the road a little to a breakfast place that had crepes and eggs and croissants.  Eating so much rice and beans has turned us into animals when we go to real restaurants, even after only 2 weeks.  I had a banana and nutella crepe, and I seriously thought I could have died afterwards and been happy (we went back the next morning and had more, and I actually picked up my plate and licked it haha).  Then, half of the group went snorkeling for the day while a few other people and I went surfing.  It was SO fun.  I'm glad I didn't actually die after eating my crepe because I had forgotten that another thing I wanted to do before I die is learn to surf.  Our guides provided us with soft surfboards, which are easier to learn on, so we all actually stood up a lot of times during our 2 hours in the water.  Sometimes I got caught a little off guard because I would be having a conversation with the guide and all of a sudden he would say "Ok paddle paddle!" and push me off with a wave.  Then he would yell "UP!" while I still felt like I should be responding the the conversation.  But, overall, I think it went really well considering that none of us had surfed before.  And it was the most beautiful setting, and we were the only people out in the water.  I could have just floated on the board out there all day.  

Then, the day only got better when it was time for lunch.  We had real American food--the kind you wouldn't expect to get out of a little beachside restaurant in a rastafarian town, and it was so good that I could have died and been happy again.  We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping around town and napping in the hammocks at Rocking J's.  And then we all wanted to die one last time when our dinner was so good.  We finished the night with a little salsa dancing before retiring back to our pimp suite where the fans were now working.  What a satisfying day.   

It's funny what a small place this whole country is.  In only one day in Puerto Viejo, we managed to make friends with our surfing guides and see them around town 2 other times, run into a Dutch girl we became friends with at our hostel last weekend, and pick up another guy who had been volunteering with CCS before all of us got here to add to our group!  Staying in these hostels makes me want to go hostel-hopping all over the place.  I don't know that I could do it alone though...maybe I'll be bold enough for that someday.

Sunday morning, we had a little scare before our 2nd amazingly delicious breakfast of the weekend.  One of the girls got a reeeally bad sunburn on her whole backside surfing and almost passed out Sunday morning a few minutes after she came out of her tent.  We were able to avoid having to get medical care or anything, which is good because I'm sure that would have been a slightly sketchy endeavor..

Some of us rented bikes for the day and we spent all morning biking around town and looking in the shops some more.  I LOVE bike riding.  I don't even know why.  Something about just pedaling around is so relaxing...especially near the beach...and on colorful bikes with really  cushiony seats.  I accidentally lost the key the man gave me for my lock though because who knew there was a huge hole in the bottom of the bike basket?? That was a poor bike-making decision.  Soo at the end of the day I just kind of chose to ignore the fact he had given me a lock and I brought it home with me.  I feel slightly guilty know...maybe like I owe something to the people of Costa Rica...so I'm gonna promise to be an extra hard working volunteer this week :)

We made it home safely Sunday night...we drove all the way from the Atlantic Ocean almost to the Pacific!  Again, small country.  It was really sad though because we had to stop in San Jose and say goodbye to 3 of our group members who are going back to Canada now :(  It's crazy how quickly you can bond with people in 2 weeks when you're together all of the time.  It's hard to not know someone one week, get to know them really well, and then have to say goodbye without knowing when you might ever see them.  And then once they're gone, all you have left is the impression they left on you and the hope that you left some sort of positive impression on them.  Hmm.  I'm hoping we can all make it to Canada sometime soon!

The house is so much quieter now because 7 people total left this week.  And it's going to be even weirder next week because 4 more will be leaving, and then those of us left are going to be outnumbered by a new group coming on Sunday.  It's kinda nice being the ones who have more of an idea what's going on though.  We got a new volunteer at my school this week and I felt like I'd been there so long being able to answer her questions and introduce her to the kids.  They are still as cute as ever.  They still come running with big hugs in the morning.  And they've even started calling me Nina Sophie!  I get sad though when one or more of them isn't there.  Like today, Antony, my little playmate who's always smiling and saying "Jugamos? Jugamos?," had to stay home sick.  Boo. Oh well...jugamos tomorrow.

K I think that's sufficiently updated!  I'm sure I could find more to say about Rocking J's, but I'll leave it at this for now..

:)

Peace

Things were kind of slow here today.  We had two afternoon activities scheduled, but they both got cancelled for different reasons.  We did finish yesterday's puzzle though! That was exciting/gave me a headache.  Then we started another..

Tomorrow we are headed to Puerto Viejo for the weekend.  It's on the Caribbean coast, complete with lots of rastafarians and dreadlocks.  We are staying at a hostel called Rockin J's with live reggae music and sleeping arrangements that range from hammocks to tents to treehouses.  I CANNOT WAIT to see it.  We will be sleeping in the "Pimp Suite". hahaha.  I'm half expecting to open the door tomorrow and see a random rasta-man awaiting us inside.. 

Tonight a couple of us went for a walk before dinner to this hill behind our house.  From the top you can see over the whole city, and there was a small band of drummers (like a marching band) practicing so loudly in town that you could hear it from the hilltop.  When we stopped at the top and looked to our left, away from the city, we saw a huge cloud of fog moving in.  I've never seen anything like it.  This fog was like a steam roller, moving out of the valley, over the hilltop, and down the city streets.  And you could literally just stand there for 2 minutes and watch the whole thing.  

Then somehow we ended up wandering into the town's new Catholic church where we sat and watched the first few minutes of a mass.  It's funny...I don't think there's anywhere in this town that's not really loud.  Anywhere from sitting in my bed to sitting on a pew in the church, the sound of a car driving by is magnified enough to make you think that the car is about to bust through the window.  But somehow I feel like the chaos in the noise is balanced out by the serenity in the view.  I wish so badly that my camera would have worked tonight to take a picture of the view of the foggy sunset out the back entrance of the church.  

Now to yesterday's field trip...I wanted to talk about that.  

Yesterday afternoon we drove to the University of Peace, a graduate school set up by the UN that's located about 45 minutes from Puriscal.  It's a pretty secluded little place, definitely giving off the hippie-ish, peace/love/tranquility vibe.  We were all excited to have the cafeteria's lasagna--something other than rice and beans for lunch!  But other than that, none of us really knew what we would be doing there or what the place was.  

This Canadian guy who had graduated from the University and was now working there as a publications editor ended up sitting down with us at lunch.  We asked how he ended up there, and he said he had gone to Ireland after graduating college in search of a place where he could just live and be happy with his extended family (basically looking for his idea of a utopia).  He wound up being discouraged by Ireland's weather though, so he essentially googled "tropical, peace, and grad school", and ended up finding this university.  After finishing the 11-month degree program, he got his editing job, and has now been there for almost 3 years.  When we asked how long he wanted to stay, he said he hoped to leave soon.  But, he said, it's so easy to get sucked in to the tranquil, tropical lifestyle that leaving might be hard.  In the next year, he's hoping that some ambition will grab him--that he might get the sudden urge to go out and save the world.

I though it was interesting listening to him talk about that.  It's strange sometimes, the contradiction in things.  This whole academic community is here training the world's young minds to promote peace (they currently have 150ish students from 42 countries), but, by being so far removed from greater society, it seems like there's a tendency for the very peace-promoters to fall into an assumption of permanent retreat.  I'm sure that doesn't happen for everyone.  I mean, this guy will probably leave soon and end up doing something good for the world...who knows what.  But still, his talk made me think about how sometimes those who seem to most value peace--those whom much of society most needs in order to improve, might go to measures to surround themselves with a certain sense of peace that, in turn, remove them from the position where they are actually needed, where they can help spread to others that much-desired sense of peace.

To apply for a thesis topic at the school, the students simply have to prove that what they want to study is in some way related to peace.  From promoting peace with sustainability and the environment to promoting inner, more psychological-based peace, the school handles a wide range of subjects.  And with such a small and diverse group of students, and so little outside of classes to do, the guy said that most time is spent just getting to know each other.  On one hand, the place sounded like a sort of ideal, but, on the other hand, I think going there might make me frustrated.  Too much time to think, too much of a sense of peace...I think I would get sucked into the lifestyle and then get restless like the Canadian...but then I think I might sit back and wait for an ambition too and just never figure out where I wanted to turn..

So I think I've decided that I'm not going to apply to the University of Peace, as nice of a place as it is.  Not that I was actually considering it in the first place..

Anyway, that's all for now.  I'm sure there will be plenty to come on Monday about the rastafarians and the Pimp Suite!

:)

Hmm..

Today when my class was ending, one of the students' moms came by to talk to my teacher. Her daughter, Cecil, is quite the charmer on the surface--she gave me a present on my first day, she's always grabbing for my hands, and, I've been told by the teacher, she tries her hardest to make friends with all the other little kids when she first meets them.  As I've come to know in only a week and a half though, Cecil is a renowned mischief-maker.  There's never a day that goes by when she doesn't make up lies to get the other kids in trouble, cry to get her way, or whisper gossip in my ear about the other students (I can't really understand it, but I try..).  

I had met Cecil's mom one time before, but I didn't know much about her until today. We had time for a brief conversation before she and the teacher had to meet, and I was able to find out quickly that she is 22 years old, single, and, understandably, overwhelmed.  When I asked if she wanted more kids, she said, "No, no.  I'm too young.  Now is not the time. Maybe when I'm 30...or maybe just no more," almost with a sad look on her face.  It was so strange to sit there and look at her, only 3 years older than I am, and imagine how I might feel right now if I had a 3-year-old daughter--and not just any daughter, but a daughter who was continually acting up.  I don't know if I was supposed to be listening to her and my teacher's conversation that followed, but I couldn't suppress my curiosity as I sat nearby cutting shapes out of construction paper, so I tried my hardest to decipher the Spanish that I heard.  

Cecil's mom was going on and on about how she didn't know how to deal with Cecil.  She couldn't figure out how to teach her to respect other children, how to respond to her crying, or how to enforce discipline at all.  She seemed like she was about to cry as my teacher just kept telling her that she had to take it day by day.  I think all those days were stretching out before her like a path she had little desire to travel down..  

It seems like people often think of the schools here as a sort of carefree place where children, who might not have the best family environment, can go to learn and grow in a safe and encouraging place.  These little kids seem to be so, SO happy at school, regardless of what may or may not be going on at home (I'm still trying to learn more about my kids' families).  But I had never thought of the reverse situation as also being true...I think that, for Cecil's mom, sending Cecil to school, where there is a Nina (that's what the kids call the teacher) who is so patient and practiced and good at what she does, might be a sort of daily relief from a life she was almost thrown into.

Now I know nobody is making 16-old-girls go get pregnant, but, we've been talking the past couple of days in our afternoon Spanish classes about gender roles and the education system in Costa Rica, and it seems like, for many girls here, young motherhood is the likely choice.  In Costa Rica, and especially in Puriscal, which is apparently considered a very rural town, the women don't seem to get much talk about being in any way independent or taking their own initiative.   Our Spanish teacher told us yesterday that many girls in the low socioeconomic classes start taking on mother-like responsibilities at a young age, so, by the time they are teens and find themselves with little to do but get pregnant, motherhood (and a whole life of motherhood..) often just happens.  The girls go to school--that's not the problem.  It's just that no one is here to tell them the value of their education, or that it's possible to prolong getting pregnant, or that, with some determination and planning, they could actually have a career and a family.  They don't necessarily choose the pregnancy, but, once it happens, they just kind of accept it, letting any other ambitions they might have had get discouraged in the process.  

Then the country is left with people like Cecil's mom who are too inexperienced and overwhelmed to teach their children how to be nice.  And if the moms can't even teach the kids proper social habits, who is going to teach the kids to take advantage of their talents, or their education?  And who is going to teach them that they might have the opportunity to do something more?  I guess, in the big picture, that would be where the teachers and the volunteers and the more educated or successful Costa Ricans come in.  But that's so much pressure, and such a big change...and I don't reallly even know why I'm going on and on about this..

I guess I've just been thinking about what I can do here, but I don't think that thinking about this kind of stuff is going to make me feel productive.  I think, like my teacher told Cecil's mom, I just have to take it day by day.   I'm obviously not going to incite any big changes in my month-long stay, especially not when most of my day is spent playing games with 6-year-olds.  So I think all I can do is to be nice to the kids and let them know they are loved...and I can hope that me acting as a positive role model might help to lighten the parents' loads.   

The whole school environment here is like a big family, with the teachers serving as the mothers to hundreds of rowdy kids.  It looks disordered from the outside, but we're learning that it's really just a type of order that stems from different values.  They aren't as focused on rules as we are...they're focused more on the social environment, the group dynamic.  The little kids call the teacher "Nina" and she responds with "Si, mi amor".  Teachers and students, and students and other students, greet each other with kisses and hugs.  They all run in and out all day hugging each other.  I've never seen so many hugs.  And while it seemed strange at first, I think it's just what the kids need.  AND I think that nobody knows that better than my teacher. I'm still obsessed with her.  The fact that she's such a good mother figure to the kindergarten kids, to her own kids, to the kids' mothers, and to the kids not even in her class...I just don't even know!

On a different note entirely--We took a field trip to the University of Peace this afternoon.  It's a school that was started by the UN, and I'm going to try to write about it tomorrow because it was pretty interesting.  Also, we just started an intense puzzle and it was literally painful to pull ourselves away to go to bed because we've become slightly addicted to it.  And, I accidentally just made hot chocolate with the sink water and drank it. The sink water is creepily cloudy and unsafe to drink.  No wonder the hot chocolate tasted nasty. Ew.

aaand I think that's it for now.  Sorry...sometimes I ramble.  Ciao! (that's what everyone says here)

:)

Oh--and a picture of some of the kids!  Meet Avril, Maria Jose, half of Antony, Jose, and half of Juan Carlos..

Good Times with Gemelo and the Wide Mouth Frog

Oh goodness.  I never thought our home base would seem so luxurious and home-like after just one weekend away.  I guess I'll start at the beginning of our weekend in Manuel Antonio..

We made reservations for 10 of us to stay in a dorm-style room at a hostel called The Wide Mouth Frog.  When we got there, surprise surprise, they had lost our reservation.  Well..actually, they had just reserved one bed for us, and that obviously wasn't going to happen, so after a good long time of translation and negotiation, we ended up with 4 separate rooms for us to stay in.  Now I've never been to a hostel before, so I don't know what most are like, but our room reminded me of a monastery.  It was spacious enough, but mostly barren with musty maroon sheets and a white tile floor.  One bed came with a sheet cover nicely folded like a giant decorative bow and wrapped with a trash bag at its foot.  My bed came with no cover, so I used my rain jacket to keep warm at night instead.  The walls were empty minus one piece of neon green laminated construction paper type artwork that appeared to have some brightly colored geometric shapes pasted on it by a 6-year-old.

The place actually had a cool environment, with nice, tropical vegetation, a communal kitchen and dining area, and a pool that we took advantage of during a thunderstorm on our first night (until the lightning started sounding a little too close).  It also offered continental breakfast in the form of a communal pot of oatmeal/watery mush and some bread loaves.  I'm not complaining though because I actually liked the watery mush, but I think I was the only one..

Anyway, on Saturday 6 of us signed up for a horseback trip that came with breakfast, a ride to a waterfall and back, swimming, and lunch.  I've always been a little nervous on horses, but I have to say, after this trip, I feel like I could be Indiana Jones and be okay with it.  We had a guide, but by guide I mean that an 18-year-old boy named Jimmy was kind enough to place each of us on a horse and follow from the way back of the pack as each of our horses (who all knew the way to the waterfall) set their own pace for the journey through the jungle.  The ride to the waterfall, which was about an hour and a half away, was nice and relaxing.  My horse, Gemelo, and another horse ended up at the front for a good portion of the way because they liked to walk fast, but we all made it there in one piece and not too far apart from each other.  By the time we swam and hiked to the waterfall though, those horses were ready to get back.  Jesus Christ.  

The calm Gemelo I thought I had been riding turned into a freaking racehorse.  He must have spent about 20 minutes total of the ride back walking.  Whenever we crossed water, whenever we reached the bottom of an incline, or just whenever Gemelo decided, we broke out into anything from a trot to a full-on sprint.  At one point, another girl and I were half-screaming half-laughing hysterically as our horses sprinted around a curve with Jimmy probably a good 1/2 mile behind us.  It was like a good ole Western plus a tropical backdrop and incompetent cowgirls.  Eventually, I lost the bag that was tied to my saddle, the towel I was sitting on (we were all wearing shorts--hence, all our legs got bruised and burned), AND my hat.  Good thing Jimmy was nice enough to pick them up when he passed by.  And good thing my body never fell off too.  It was definitely the funniest horse ride I've ever been on, but thank God it ended when it did because I don't know if I could have handled anymore jostling up and down or yelling "Woah, Gemelo, woahhh.  Let's walk for just one minute POR FAVOR!"

I'm going to put up a picture of the waterfall we saw eventually....it was absolutely gorgeous.  But, right now my camera is bathing in a container of rice because it got washed under a wave the next day.  Eeek.  I'll get there in a minute..

On Sunday we had to check out of the hostel by 11, but we didn't want to lug our stuff on our hike through the national park, so they let us store it in the office.   We packed some bags and prepared ourselves for a day at the beach (i.e. swimsuits and flip flops) and boarded the bus for Manuel Antonio, which was about 5 minutes by taxi from our hotel.  This bus was HOT.  And packed.  And moving at a turtle's pace around every curve.  But it's nice to be reminded every once in a while that things can still be enjoyable even if they don't live up to our personal definitions of what's comfortable.  I can't imagine getting around like most of the Costa Ricans do every day, but it's only because I have something else to compare it to.  I guess that goes to show you the power that pushing aside preset standards can have.

Once we got our sweaty selves to the national park, we set off to find some monkeys.  We opted to not pay for a tour guide, but shortly after our self-led trek through the rainforest began, we realized just how unprepared we were.  Word to the wise: if you're planning on hiking through the rainforest, do NOT wear flip flops! Bad idea.  Between the ups and downs, the water-crossings, and the bugs, I have no idea how we made it to this waterfall in the jungle and back without anyone getting injured. 

Once we got out, we took the only path there was to find the beach.  I should mention that we saw some of the worst sides of animals this weekend, namely the reptiles. First—Saturday night at a restaurant we saw two lizards having sex! I’m not kidding.  One was chasing another upside down around the ceiling (a ledge that hung out over the street) and we saw it lunge at the other lizard and grab its tail.  This lizard preceded to dangle to other poor lizard over the sidewalk from the second-story ledge and let it squirm for a good long while, and then he pulled him back up onto the ceiling and they had sex! It was grossly disturbing.  Then—on Sunday, as we were walking to the beach, we saw a big frog on the side of the path and stopped to take its picture…little did we know that we would be the last people to speak to the poor frog before its death.  Just after our camera flashes, it turned around and hopped about a foot, at which point a snake struck out from beneath some leaves and captured the squealing little frog in its mouth!  It was SO sad!  I felt partially responsible for the little thing’s death :(

Anyway, we made it to the beach at the end of this path finally, sweaty and very hungry.  We were a little upset to find no food there, but it was okay because this was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen…and the water was perfect.  It was like swimming in a wave pool.  The only problem we had after a while was that a big wave came and washed all of our stuff under it.  Soo, so much for putting on dry clothes or having clean towels.  And so much for my camera L  I’ve just accepted that everything I own is going to smell slightly of mildew, sandiness, and horses until I get home.

After the beach we made it back into town for lunch (we had to ford a river on some random boat with a Costa Rican boat driver who I think was drunk and tried to argue with us first).  And then we eventually got ourselves back to the Wide Mouth Frog where the man was nice enough to let us use the communal showers (even though we were towel-less).   I learned that bodies don’t really drip-dry quickly after a shower.  

AH I think this post has gotten way too long.  By the end of the weekend, we got to a point where we couldn’t do anything without something bad happening.  It was hilarious…although I would like to actually feel clean at some point soon..

All of our hygiene has kinda gone out the window.  I guess it’s just part of the experience!

Now it’s back to the kids for the week!  I’ll update more later…hopefully with pictures!

Agh. One more thing!  Trevor got kicked out of the program this morning because he missed his 2 am curfew last night!  He stayed with Holly at her hotel until 5.  AND they got matching tattoos on their feet yesterday that say "pura vida".  How cute.

:)

I Love Stretching

If all of my days included little children, an hour-long "stretching" class, and the feeling of a much-needed hot shower, I think I would be content.  

This afternoon, after lunch and Spanish lessons, a Costa Rican man clad in a bright green and black track suit showed up to lead us in a scheduled "stretching" class that we had all been anticipating for the past few days.  The intensity of his suit made me a little worried at first that this "stretching" might not be as soothing as I had expected, but, I have to say, my first experience with Costa Rican stretching was even better than I had expected.  I don't know what it was, but, for some reason, the stretches (which were basically yoga) made me feel more relaxed than I've felt in a long time.  I think it's just the environment here.  I mean, imagine doing yoga on a covered patio accompanied by Costa Rican music (and a Costa Rican man haha)...with the rain pouring down over the hillsides just hard enough that you can feel a cool mist.  What more could you ask for? (...well that plus the hot shower part.  We figured out how to make the showers hot!! yessss)

One of the staff members  told us the other day that the kids here might not have much, but they are always happy.  It's because, she said, they have these beautiful views.  The bus ride to my placement is full of views that rival, and probably beat, the views that people pay millions of dollars for in California and the like.  And while I don't think most of the kids at my school come from especially poor families, they most definitely live modest, simple lives.  It's true though...they always seem content.  Despite Cecil's frequent dramatic outbursts, and Juan Carlos' sensitive little self (I've learned that he's the other crier in my class), the kids are so happy just running around, just talking to you, and just laughing.  

(That was yesterday...I got tired of blogging and stopped and went to bed, but now I don't remember what else I was going to say..)

Anyway...now is today.  I'm still content. 

AHHH.  I like it more and more here every day.  We don't have too much to do at night and in the afternoon most days, but we are all getting along so well and having so much fun that there's never really a shortage of things to do.  We've been trying to schedule self-taught classes for our group outside of the afternoon activities that we do have scheduled--everything from French lessons led by the Canadians to Hannah Montana dance lessons to kickboxing class.  AND I've acquired a new piece of jewelry every day I've been here.  A bracelet made out of lanyard string, an anklet made out of yarn, and, my favorite, a bamboo bracelet that I got to make this afternoon when we went on a field trip to a woman's bamboo shop.  My limbs are becoming so colorful and Costa Rica-fied.  

I even got to stretch again today!  This afternoon, 4 of us decided to go for a run in the afternoon rain (it still comes like clockwork everyday at about 2).  I think the locals must have thought we were crazy when they saw us sopping wet looking like we were about to keel over trying to get up this massive hill.  I decided mid-run that the hills here are probably why you don't see Costa Ricans out running much..

Also, some of my bamboo beads are apparently actually nuts, sooo their outer layer decided to disintegrate in the rain.  I was slightly upset, but I've learned to love the new splotchiness they've assumed.  

Then, after our run, we put some yoga mats on the patio and did a make-shift repeat of yesterday's stretching class.  This time, though, our leader was Catherine, the little kindergarten-age volunteer who's living in the house with her parents and sister.  This is the first time I've ever been thrown into a group of people with such an age range, and I've been amazed at how much it hasn't mattered.  From the kindergartener to the old man, Alvin, there's never anyone who it's hard to find something to talk about with (and I'm not really even good at finding things to talk about!).  I guess when everyone is thrown into a new place with little knowledge of what to expect, people cling to the one thing they know they can find comfort in--the other people.  

I'm also connecting more and more with the kids at the school every day.  It's nice how the schools here are such open communities, with older kids coming in and out of the classroom all day.  I'm starting to know some of them, and I love seeing how curious they are about America.  Today, one boy came up to me and said "Is America beautiful??".  It was so precious (he didn't say it in English), but it also made me hope that the little kids here appreciate what's around them because, in all honesty, I think it's prettier here than it is in a large portion of America.  

Tonight after dinner we wandered over to a soccer stadium that's right across the street from our house to watch some of the local boys practice.  They were hidden in a cloud of fog when we got there, but we literally stood there and watched the whole field become uncovered in a span of about 3 minutes.  We listened to Hannah Montana music on someone's iPhone and judged people's attempts at runway walks while we watched.  I would love to know what the local boys thought of their audience haha.

Oh...I forgot to say that at the bamboo place we had the BEST coffee.  I don't really even like plain coffee but this was soo good.  I want it every day.

I think that's all for now.  I need to go pack for the weekend.  YAYY so excited.  

Oh, and love update: Holly's last day is tomorrow, but she and Trevor have planned one last weekend together.  They've spent lots of time wandering the streets of Puriscal alone at night, but when they're in the house, they like to place themselves prominently in the living area with their arms around each other, usually while Trevor plays the guitar.   Trevor is staying for 3 more weeks, so it should be interesting to see how he acts once she's gone.  We've guessed that he's going to attempt to move in on another volunteer...but I don't know...

Ok I'm finally done after these pictures.

:)

Play Time

So we actually had rice and beans for breakfast today.  And rice for snack at school at 9:30! And rice pudding cooking lessons this afternoon!  Ohh rice.  I guess it's a good thing that I like it.

After our first serving of rice for the day, we got to go to our placements.  The kids are adorable...so adorable that adorable doesn't even really describe them.  The elementary school where I'm working is a new placement, so they are just getting adjusted to having volunteers.  Another volunteer, Lou, and his 2nd grade daughter are also working there, but not in the kindergarten classroom with me.  For about the first hour I was there though I didn't even feel like I was in a kindergarten classroom.  The amount of disorder in that classroom, and the whole school for that matter, is shocking compared to American classrooms.  It was sort of like a free-for-all with the kids just running in and out of the buildings.  The kindergarteners, who, I must say, have a TON of energy, were doing everything from playing in the sand to painting to dressing up to crying to climbing on walls outside while the teacher explained to me how I was going to help her get the kids and the class in order.  

I tried my hardest to learn all of their names...it's definitely going to take some time though!  There are 15 in my class, and by the end of the day I was beginning to be able to put names with faces with personalities.  I know, for example, that Cecil is the crier.  I think she cried 4 times today.  But she was also the one who most wanted to hold my hand and get my attention...she even gave me a present!  The teacher said she isn't very nice to the other kids though, so I'm wondering if she has some sort of lack of attention at home or something.   I also learned April, Zhomara, Maria Jose, Juan Carlos, Antony, Naomi, Royner, aaand that's all I can remember for now.  I forgot the teacher's name too! Eeek.  All morning I kept hoping I would see it written somewhere but that plan failed.  Hopefully I'll learn it tomorrow..

We basically had play time all morning.  It went like this: playtime in the classroom, clean up time, play time outside, food time (rice), play time outside (but in a slightly different area), tooth-brushing time, story time, time to go home.  

I wanted so badly to be able to understand the little kids talking to me, but they talk in these rapid little mumbles.  They would look up at me with these big eyes and go, "blah blah esta blah blah aqui" or something like that, and all I could say was "Que? Los siento! No entiendo! Necesito aprender mas espanol!" I think I'll catch on eventually though.  I could at least understand the teacher.  PS I'm obsessed with her...she's like the mom of the whole school because she has taught all the kids and they always come by to see her. 

Tonight we had salsa lessons.  While we salsa-ed on the porch for two hours, this creepy man watched  through our gate and then salsa-ed along with us from the sidewalk.  Good thing we have a night guard at the house because that man didn't look like he was ever planning on leaving.

I really have a lot more to say, but I'm falling asleep as I blog.  And I think I'd rather be sleeping right now than blogging...sorry, blog :/

I'll write more details later.  Goodnight for now!

Necesitamos Agua

The days feel pretty long when they start at 5:30 to the sound of a lawn mower and barking dogs right outside the window.  We all thought it would be hard to get up early, but it turns out that we didn't even need alarm clocks.  If you're wondering why Costa Ricans mow their lawns at 5:30 am, I wish I had an answer..

We didn't go to our placements tod

ay, but we spent all morning learning about the program, the town, and the places we are volunteering.  Puriscal is actually a little bigger than I had imagined, and there's a really pretty park in the center of town that serves as a hang-out/meeting spot for all the locals.  We walked around for a little while, past countless schoolboys and girls, all in uniform, and random shop after random shop  (i.e. there would be a meat store next to a store full of large appliances next to a store full of coffins with a car parked in the middle of them).  After a lunch complete with rice and beans, we had Spanish lessons and some down time.  We were gonna walk around, but, surprise surprise, it started raining 

(and didn't stop for several hours).  Soo...we attempted some impromptu yoga and planned our weekend instead--a trip to Manuel Antonio that I'm really reallllly looking forward to.

ALSO--we discovered that there's an in-house romance between two of the volunteers who've been here for a little while.  Trevor and Holly.  The two have been spotted holding hands, reading to each other, sitting far too close to be just friends, and giggling flirtatiously.  I'll keep you updated with more juicy sightings.

After dinner, 5 of us wandered into town in search of ice cream.  Getting there was a bit sketchy...but we made it home safely in the end!  I feel like I just provided far too many details for a day that really just involved more getting to know each other and our surroundings, but oh well.  Mom, I'm sure you'll at least enjoy the details :)

Oh! one other thing--the water is out.  Apparently this happens often for anywhere between hours and days.  So we're all a little dirty and smelly, we can't flush any toilets, and we are going to have to go to our placements in the morning looking a little rough.  We've decided that if it rains in the middle of the night, we might go outside and shower.  Dirty or clean, I can't wait for tomorrow...finally time for the little kids!!!

:)  

(this is going to be my signature if you haven't noticed)

Day Numero Uno

I made it!! YAYYY!  It's raining.  It's been pouring down rain since we got here.  Earlier a lightning bolt/thunder blast came down right outside our little house and I think everyone thought a bomb had exploded inside.  But, we've all been bonding and laughing and trying to figure out what we are getting ourselves into.  It's funny--there hasn't really been any guidance at the house yet in the form of like program directors/people who know things about our volunteer placements/people to tell us what to do, so we've just entertained ourselves playing cards and ice-breaker games and reading the random info packets scattered about.  We decided that it's like the Real World, but a more wholesome version.

It seems like it's going to be a really fun group.  We've got a nice mix of Canadians and Americans, the majority of whom are college-aged girls.  There's this one old man and none of us can figure out where he lives or how long he's here.  And we think there's a room of boys somewhere in the house that has already been here a couple of weeks, but we have yet to see them.  

I wish I could put up a picture of the house, but I haven't gotten that far with my blogging skills yet.  My room is a little tight...and by that I mean there are 6 of us staying for 4 weeks on 3 sets of bunk beds in a room approximately the size of mine and Leah's room in Warehouse.  The other room upstairs in the house has 6 people too that are all staying for 3 weeks, and their room is a lot bigger...yet another thing we don't understand.  

I figured it out! Here's the house:

We have breakfast every morning at 6:40 AM!!! And we leave for our placements at 7:30.  This should be interesting.  Tomorrow we have orientation at 8 AM, and then I think we are doing a scavenger hunt type thing around town (although, again, we aren't really sure what's going on..)  

I feel like I have more to say, but I need to go jump in the shower because it's my turn.  Ohh--on the van ride (a tiny van) from the airport the girl sitting behind me (very close behind me) got sick.  Good thing we were only like 10 minutes away from the house because the smell of puke permeating this tiny van was about to make the rest of us sick.  Oh AND the girl is Brooke Worthington's cousin! Crazy!

Ok.  I'm super excited for tomorrow and the next day and the day after that and all the other days too.  And that's all I'm going to say for now. 

Plus that I think I really like blogging.

:)

The Beginning of a Blog

HELLO EVERYONE! Welcome to my blog. I guess I'm officially a blogger now...baha.  I don't know why blogging seems so funny to me.  I think it's because the word sounds funny.  Or maybe it's because I feel like I'm talking to myself.  Hmm.. 

Regardless of what it is, I'm really going to try to keep up with this thing because I think it will be a good way to let everyone know what I'm doing and a good thing to be able to look back on when I'm done.  First, though, I'm going to have to figure out how to upload pictures and such...so this may be experimental for a while.  

I'm going to try to think of this as more of a diary (that I'm letting you lucky people read :) ) because I have this problem where when I write things for other people, I tend to obsessively edit them.  Starting right now, though, I'm declaring this a candid blog.  No editing!...so whatever comes out, well...it came out.

Alright, so here's the deal.  I'm going to Costa Rica (tomorrow!!) for a month and volunteering in the kindergarten classroom of an elementary school.  I'm going to be living at a base with other volunteers and traveling on the weekends...so hopefully we will get ourselves into lots of adventures involving rainforests, ziplines, monkeys, tropical fruits, waterfalls, Costa Rican natives, and the like.  As far as the little kids go, I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to meet them, learn about their lives, and see what I can do to help.  I'm keeping my dad's advice in mind that these kids are probably going to teach me a lot more than I teach them, but I hope I can at lest make a small impact and share a little bit (or a lot bit) of love in the short time that I'm there.  Somehow, a month doesn't feel like very long to me anymore (I think that's why making myself pack has been so difficult), but I remember that when I was in kindergarten, a month felt like forever.  I mean, in the 2nd grade I thought that the average song was 15 minutes long! That was a little off.  Anyway, my point is that hopefully this month will be long enough, at least from the perspective of the kindergarteners, for a significant amount of learning to occur. 

 

I'm off tomorrow at 6:15 am! Leaving the house at 4:30...eesh.  I'm a little nervous, but mostly just excited. !!!!!!!!!!! (that's a sentence consisting of only punctuation to show me being excited) I'll update again soon, I promise! Goodbye all! (assuming that more people than my dad read this..) 

and goodbye for now, dear blog. baha.

:)