Yea! This is the first blog written from Santa Rosa! Habitat finally gave me a computer to use up here on the mountain! Granted, there’s no internet or anything, but at least I can blog more often, and also work on grant proposals and such from here! How many exclamation points do I need to use to express my excitement!!!!!!!!!? I would like to give my thanks to one Jose Montero, the new technology-guy/intern at Habitat, who made all this possible. Since he’s been in the office, things have actually been getting done! For instance, some of you may remember that when I first got here, I had a laptop for about 4 days, then it just stopped working. Since then, Habitat has consistently been promising to arreglar me one of the many broken computers that were sitting around, but Jose was the first person who actually put those plans into action. So, thank you José. Also on a happy computer-y note: my personal thumb drive hasn’t worked in the whole 4 months I have been here, and I was pretty bummed that it broke. However, when I stuck it in this máquina, it worked totally fine. My resumes and grad school documents and personal photos that I brought with me aren’t lost after all =) It’s a good day. On to more important issues:
On Wednesday we had a meeting with the whole Habitat Housing Community. I was much less nervous than the first time when I met everyone (at Eric's despedida in July). I was WAY more comfortable talking in front of everyone, and definitely made more sense that 3 months ago. Helen was going to come and talk to the committees about what Habitat can do to support them, but she had car trouble and couldn't make it. After an initial reaction where I was freaking out about what we would talk about, Abdon came to the rescue and managed to make it a very productive meeting, where we talked about a lot of issues that the families are facing right now. The global economic crisis is hitting these Costa Rican families hard. Many families barely make enough to get by, plus now the interest rates are going up on their houses (due to poor economic conditions everywhere). Some are seriously concerned about how they are going to pay their bills. This has lent some urgency to our projects in Santa Rosa. For instance, the hydroponics committee has pretty much decided that, instead of growing hydroponic lettuce, they want to join forces with more members of the housing community and start an association of organic farmers; they are going to grow mushrooms! I think that its a great idea- they have found a market where they really think they will be successful. They are in the process of legally forming an association (a lot like a farming cooperative). The proceeds will go directly to the families who participate. I am pretty excited about it, especially because this has been executed completely without my help- a sign that the project will be self-sustainable after I leave. I have offered to help however they need me, though. At the meeting we also decided to throw a fundraising BINGO to benefit the housing association. The recent torrential rains have trashed the roads in the Habitat neighborhood, and it looks like some of the funds from the BINGO will go towards these repairs. I also used this gathering to get the last few names, ages, and sizes of the kids in the Habitat neighborhood that I hadn't been able to track down when I went to visit their houses. There is a business that is going to donate Christmas gifts for all of the kids in Habitat Houses. I think its awesome that a business is so willing to look out for these kids, especially over the Holidays.
Ok, really, I don’t have all that much to write about, but am mostly just excited that I CAN write. This new addition to my household will mean that you all will get a more in depth picture of what I am doing, but that there will be like 4 new entries in one day… that I will upload when I drag my butt to the internet. Ok, love, love, love ya friends and family. Keep the emails coming!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
So, I am pretty much the worst blogger ever! I apologize to all my readers (I sound so important when I say that) for being so inconsistant in my posting. It is that some days the Habitat webfiltering blocks blogger, but today it let me get on, so I am goign to aprovechar, and I will try to make up for my previous blogging deficiencies with a long, detailed blog today. I will try to keep it from being boring though.
Examenes- This week was exam week for my adult English class in the noches. Actually, they were scheduled for last week, but there were such aguaceros (torrential rain) that one night 0 people showed up for class, and the other night only a few could come. So, we postponed the tests. on Friday they took the written and listening portions, and on Monday they did short presentations as an oral exam. On Monday, I baked apple pie and brought it so that we could eat while they were doing their presentations. We have recently been learning food vocabulary, and they had mentioned that they wanted some typical American food. I figured apple pie was about as comida tipica as you get. I am so proud of my students! Most of them got As and Bs, and the lowest grade was a 65% (but she admitted outright that she hadn't studied at all). The high schoolers have their tests tomorrow and Monday, and I hope that they do as well.
Teaching-Yeah, um, my 6th graders made me cry on Tuesday. Its not even as if they were any worse than usual (they are ALWAYS awful), but if just got to me more that day. I was tryign to explain to them how I had a fun day planned, where we were going to have like a little ? words olympics (they'll be learning words like "How much" "Who" and "How long"). However, they wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to explain it! There are 3 girls in particular who give me nothing but attitude, it is a serious falta de respeto. Anyway, I let my emotions get the best of me, and I started crying, then, I was embarrassed to be crying, and that made me cry more. It was awful. I am going to try and meet with the principal tomorrow and talk to her about how we can make these rude kids obey.
First communions- On Sunday, we celebrated the first communions in Santa Rosa. There were two celebrations in my extended host family: Frander and Gerard, my host nephews. Eric (the volunteer who I replaced) arrived in Santa Rosa last year on the day that they were celebrating the third graders' first communions- he told me that it was craziness; he arrived to meet our whole host family all at once (there must be like 50 of them) at a big party in Gaudy and Hilbert's house. Our family is definitely escandolosa (loud!) and I can understand how hard and overwhelming it must have been for him to be instroduced to the community in that way. At least I have three months of family under my belt already, so I was a little bit more prepared, but it was still a LONG day! We went to mass in the morning, and most of the family sat together. I woke up with an awful cold and was sneezing all through the service. I was pretty miserable, and Marta kept looking at me and giving me this look that seemed to convey "Mikey, you look miserable, but its kind of funny". From the misa we headed to Wilma's house to celebrate. On the table were two beautiful cakes, one for each boy. One was shaped like a Bible, the other said ¡Felicidades!. There were a ton of people there, but it was probably one of the most successfully executed parties I have ever been to, in any country. When we arrived, there were chairs set up, and there were actually enough! Then, Margoth and Silvana brought around little cups of rompope (a lot like Eggnog- with alcohol for the adults, virgin Rompope for the kids) for everyone. Padre Pablo then led us in a prayer, and we toasted the two young men with our rompope. Then, everyone immediately had a bowl of delicious posole (a soup of hominy, pork, and other delicousness). As soon as we finished the posole, someone took the bowl, and replaced it with a plate of rice, some tasty pork, and a potato salad. Plus, a homeade refresco of kas. But wait, there is more! After this main course came desert: individualized dishes of something that they called crema alemana which was kind of like pudding, but fluffier, and with graham cracker crumbles on top. Then, there was a short respite, and out came a HUGE container of icecream, which was spooned into cones and given to everyone who could manage to stuff something else into their stomachs. By this point, it was about 3pm, which is the traditional time for the Costa Rican cafecito. Out came the coffee, accompanied by a variety of pastries, crousants, and cakes. There were also tacos. Throughout all of this, the two huge cakes sat on the table, and I kept thinking"they can't possibly expect us to eat the cakes!I will explode!" As it turned out, the cakes were for the next day, (but they brought me a piece at my house!). By the time Marta, Patri, and I left, it was 5 pm, and I was exhausted. My cold definitely hadn't improved. I went home, took a sudafed, and fell asleep until about 6:30. When I woke up and wandered back over to Marta's house, she informed me that we were going back to Wilma's. I tagged along, and there were still about 20 people sitting around chatting and drinking and eating. I couldn't believe it. I apparently don't have the party stamina that Santa Rosans do. I probably gained like 20 pounds, but I didn't even care. It was a really fun day, and I was glad that I was able to celebrate it with my familia tica.
Centro Infantil- Dustin (the other international volunteer, who lives in Alajuela) has been a huge help with our childcare center project! He got in touch with some architects, and it looks like he found one that is willing to draw us a building plan, for free! This is awesome, because once we have plans, we can estimate costs, and once we know about how much it would cost to build the building, I can start fundraising and grant writing and searching for that amount. So, Dustin came up to the village last weekend to take pictures and measure the lot that has already been donated. I am super excited about these developments, and hope that things keep going smoothly. Also, I am applying for a grant of like 8000 Euros from the German Embassy- it will be totally awesome if we get it! However, there are a lot of hoops I have to jump through first, so we'll see.
That's probably good for now- a little update on how I have been doing. Tuanis-
Examenes- This week was exam week for my adult English class in the noches. Actually, they were scheduled for last week, but there were such aguaceros (torrential rain) that one night 0 people showed up for class, and the other night only a few could come. So, we postponed the tests. on Friday they took the written and listening portions, and on Monday they did short presentations as an oral exam. On Monday, I baked apple pie and brought it so that we could eat while they were doing their presentations. We have recently been learning food vocabulary, and they had mentioned that they wanted some typical American food. I figured apple pie was about as comida tipica as you get. I am so proud of my students! Most of them got As and Bs, and the lowest grade was a 65% (but she admitted outright that she hadn't studied at all). The high schoolers have their tests tomorrow and Monday, and I hope that they do as well.
Teaching-Yeah, um, my 6th graders made me cry on Tuesday. Its not even as if they were any worse than usual (they are ALWAYS awful), but if just got to me more that day. I was tryign to explain to them how I had a fun day planned, where we were going to have like a little ? words olympics (they'll be learning words like "How much" "Who" and "How long"). However, they wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to explain it! There are 3 girls in particular who give me nothing but attitude, it is a serious falta de respeto. Anyway, I let my emotions get the best of me, and I started crying, then, I was embarrassed to be crying, and that made me cry more. It was awful. I am going to try and meet with the principal tomorrow and talk to her about how we can make these rude kids obey.
First communions- On Sunday, we celebrated the first communions in Santa Rosa. There were two celebrations in my extended host family: Frander and Gerard, my host nephews. Eric (the volunteer who I replaced) arrived in Santa Rosa last year on the day that they were celebrating the third graders' first communions- he told me that it was craziness; he arrived to meet our whole host family all at once (there must be like 50 of them) at a big party in Gaudy and Hilbert's house. Our family is definitely escandolosa (loud!) and I can understand how hard and overwhelming it must have been for him to be instroduced to the community in that way. At least I have three months of family under my belt already, so I was a little bit more prepared, but it was still a LONG day! We went to mass in the morning, and most of the family sat together. I woke up with an awful cold and was sneezing all through the service. I was pretty miserable, and Marta kept looking at me and giving me this look that seemed to convey "Mikey, you look miserable, but its kind of funny". From the misa we headed to Wilma's house to celebrate. On the table were two beautiful cakes, one for each boy. One was shaped like a Bible, the other said ¡Felicidades!. There were a ton of people there, but it was probably one of the most successfully executed parties I have ever been to, in any country. When we arrived, there were chairs set up, and there were actually enough! Then, Margoth and Silvana brought around little cups of rompope (a lot like Eggnog- with alcohol for the adults, virgin Rompope for the kids) for everyone. Padre Pablo then led us in a prayer, and we toasted the two young men with our rompope. Then, everyone immediately had a bowl of delicious posole (a soup of hominy, pork, and other delicousness). As soon as we finished the posole, someone took the bowl, and replaced it with a plate of rice, some tasty pork, and a potato salad. Plus, a homeade refresco of kas. But wait, there is more! After this main course came desert: individualized dishes of something that they called crema alemana which was kind of like pudding, but fluffier, and with graham cracker crumbles on top. Then, there was a short respite, and out came a HUGE container of icecream, which was spooned into cones and given to everyone who could manage to stuff something else into their stomachs. By this point, it was about 3pm, which is the traditional time for the Costa Rican cafecito. Out came the coffee, accompanied by a variety of pastries, crousants, and cakes. There were also tacos. Throughout all of this, the two huge cakes sat on the table, and I kept thinking"they can't possibly expect us to eat the cakes!I will explode!" As it turned out, the cakes were for the next day, (but they brought me a piece at my house!). By the time Marta, Patri, and I left, it was 5 pm, and I was exhausted. My cold definitely hadn't improved. I went home, took a sudafed, and fell asleep until about 6:30. When I woke up and wandered back over to Marta's house, she informed me that we were going back to Wilma's. I tagged along, and there were still about 20 people sitting around chatting and drinking and eating. I couldn't believe it. I apparently don't have the party stamina that Santa Rosans do. I probably gained like 20 pounds, but I didn't even care. It was a really fun day, and I was glad that I was able to celebrate it with my familia tica.
Centro Infantil- Dustin (the other international volunteer, who lives in Alajuela) has been a huge help with our childcare center project! He got in touch with some architects, and it looks like he found one that is willing to draw us a building plan, for free! This is awesome, because once we have plans, we can estimate costs, and once we know about how much it would cost to build the building, I can start fundraising and grant writing and searching for that amount. So, Dustin came up to the village last weekend to take pictures and measure the lot that has already been donated. I am super excited about these developments, and hope that things keep going smoothly. Also, I am applying for a grant of like 8000 Euros from the German Embassy- it will be totally awesome if we get it! However, there are a lot of hoops I have to jump through first, so we'll see.
That's probably good for now- a little update on how I have been doing. Tuanis-
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Post rapido
Heyo-
I, as always, am waiting for a bus, but am gonna try and write a quick post in the 15 minutes that I have. Actually, I am gonna make two short lists: one of things that I am loving about being here right now, and another of the things that I am not digging so much right this second. That way, more content, less time. Who needs sentences? (this coming from the girl who spent all of last year studying pronouns =))
Loving:
-My friends here
-The fact that we got a donation and maybe (fingers crossed) will be building a hydroponics greenhouse soon.
-The fact that Caty and Nancy are for sure coming down on December 26th to visit me! I am so excited! I have so many ideas for things for us to do!
-Walking in the mornings- the only time its not raining- gorgeous.
-The card game UNO, and dominoes.
Not loving so much:
-Rain all the time.
-Mudslides that trap us on the mountain
-How expensive it is to call home.
-How inefficient somethings can be.
Ok, times up, gotta run. I'll try and post more later this week. I am working at a Habitat bnefit concert on Saturday-Mal Pais- and will probably be able to parar at an Internet cafe.
Hugs!
I, as always, am waiting for a bus, but am gonna try and write a quick post in the 15 minutes that I have. Actually, I am gonna make two short lists: one of things that I am loving about being here right now, and another of the things that I am not digging so much right this second. That way, more content, less time. Who needs sentences? (this coming from the girl who spent all of last year studying pronouns =))
Loving:
-My friends here
-The fact that we got a donation and maybe (fingers crossed) will be building a hydroponics greenhouse soon.
-The fact that Caty and Nancy are for sure coming down on December 26th to visit me! I am so excited! I have so many ideas for things for us to do!
-Walking in the mornings- the only time its not raining- gorgeous.
-The card game UNO, and dominoes.
Not loving so much:
-Rain all the time.
-Mudslides that trap us on the mountain
-How expensive it is to call home.
-How inefficient somethings can be.
Ok, times up, gotta run. I'll try and post more later this week. I am working at a Habitat bnefit concert on Saturday-Mal Pais- and will probably be able to parar at an Internet cafe.
Hugs!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Greetings from Panama
Hey y'all- This blog is coming at you straight from Panama City, Panama. When I decided to come to CR, they told me that I had a couple of options in th Visa department: I could go through the official channels and get a work visa and residence permit or I could just stay on a tourist visa, but I would have to leave the country every 90 days to keep it valid. So, here I am in Panama, spending 72 hours outside of the country in order to be legit for another 3 months.
The bus ride took 15 hours. I am traveling with the only other Habitat volunteer in CR, Dustin. We left San Jose at noon on Wednesday, and got to Panama City at 4 am. We hung around the bus station for a couple of hours, and then headed straight to the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. When we got there, we were informed that it didn't open for another 2 hours... so we waited some more =) . Once we finally got in, it was pretty impressive- we saw a huge ship get pushed through the locks on its way to the Atlantic. There was also a museum anda video- it was one of the more touristy things I have done since I left the U.S. I liked it.
After the canal, Dustin and I embarked on a search for our hostel. We took a cab from the locks, and told the driver what hostel we were hoping to stay at. He dropped us off on a corner, and told us that it was right around the way. Well, we walked to where it should have been, and discovered that it had been torn down =( The same story applied to our second choice. That cab driver is a hobo. Finally, thanks to Dustin's navigational skills, we found the Voyager Backpacker's hostel- not exactly luxurious, but it has beds, and only costs $11 a night (including breakfast).
Panama is WAY hotter than Costa Rica (especially in comparison to Santa Rosa). Our hostel doesn't have AC, but at least it has fans. I am super reminded of a hostel that we stayed in in Rome- The Yellow. It was hot and a bit sketchy, but had character. The rest of today we spent eating lunch, gelato, and window shopping. Apparently, everything is waycheaper in Panama, so our host families gave us lists of things that they want us to bring back. I just woke up from a nice nap, took a shower, and feel way less sticky and hot now that its dark out. Dustin is downstairs using a payphone, and then I think we're gonna get dinner. So, that's Panama so far.
The bus ride took 15 hours. I am traveling with the only other Habitat volunteer in CR, Dustin. We left San Jose at noon on Wednesday, and got to Panama City at 4 am. We hung around the bus station for a couple of hours, and then headed straight to the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. When we got there, we were informed that it didn't open for another 2 hours... so we waited some more =) . Once we finally got in, it was pretty impressive- we saw a huge ship get pushed through the locks on its way to the Atlantic. There was also a museum anda video- it was one of the more touristy things I have done since I left the U.S. I liked it.
After the canal, Dustin and I embarked on a search for our hostel. We took a cab from the locks, and told the driver what hostel we were hoping to stay at. He dropped us off on a corner, and told us that it was right around the way. Well, we walked to where it should have been, and discovered that it had been torn down =( The same story applied to our second choice. That cab driver is a hobo. Finally, thanks to Dustin's navigational skills, we found the Voyager Backpacker's hostel- not exactly luxurious, but it has beds, and only costs $11 a night (including breakfast).
Panama is WAY hotter than Costa Rica (especially in comparison to Santa Rosa). Our hostel doesn't have AC, but at least it has fans. I am super reminded of a hostel that we stayed in in Rome- The Yellow. It was hot and a bit sketchy, but had character. The rest of today we spent eating lunch, gelato, and window shopping. Apparently, everything is waycheaper in Panama, so our host families gave us lists of things that they want us to bring back. I just woke up from a nice nap, took a shower, and feel way less sticky and hot now that its dark out. Dustin is downstairs using a payphone, and then I think we're gonna get dinner. So, that's Panama so far.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Emo Mikey
Last night, I went out to dinner and drinks with my cousin Brent who is here in CR. He is here opening up a site for Amazon.com. He was in the newspaper here like a month ago and I showed all my coworkers. I am really proud of him; he is super successful but still really young and fun. Since he is from the older generation of cousins and from Texas, we actually don't know eachother all that well. We didn't grow up together like the cousins that are my age or from AZ. I was telling him that he has the family image of being "the funny one". And, my family aren't liars-I had a good time hanging out with him. He also brought me a big bag of goodies like Goldfish crackers and Doritos and Reeses- I am super excited! We went to dinner at this restaurant in the mountains of Heredia. It was comida tipica, but pretty good. I honestly was just excited to be able to speak in English and make movie quotes and have someone know what I was talking about! After dinner we had to push our taxi up a little hill, and I totally ate it and fell. Embarrassing! Apparently the wine at dinner affected me more than I thought =) We also went to a bar in central Heredia, and talked about a lot of different stuff. It was nice to have a meaningful conversation- when it comes down to it I just can't have those kinds of talks in Spanish- I am not that good yet.
He kept joking with me that I should "sell out" and go into business or something, so that way I can have money to help people the way I want. We actually talked a lot about my future, and it got me thinking. Most days, I am content to not know right now what I am going to do with my life. I have changed a lot from a year ago when I was applying to graduate schools and thought that I had it all figured out. When I came here I told myself that I was going to stay open to all different types of opportunities, and not be closed minded. Brent made a good point- I only know the things that I have encountered- but there are definitely a ton of things out there that I haven't even heard of that I could love to do, and would be really good at. About a month and a half ago I made a list of some of some possible life scenarios that I would like to be in-in like twenty years. Then, I made another list of what steps I need to be taking to make those scenarios possible. I don't know. I still don't have it all figured out, and I need to stop thinking that I do. Sometimes I think that I get so caught up in thinking that I know everything, I end up acting ignorant and ridiculous. Like with politics- I have been espousing my views on Barack Obama and singing his praises, but when it comes down to it, I really don't know that much about him. I am probably not making any sense. Just thinking out loud.
I am actually feeling pretty down today. I have been on the verge of tears all morning, and I am not exactly sure why. I kind of felt this way after Matt and Stephanie left from their visit down here, too. It's almost like I can ignore the things that I miss about home until I hang out with someone that reminds me. Now I just feel really homesick and alone. Then I feel worse, because I know that in the States I would have Caty or Britney or Erica to go to, and they would cheer me up, but here I don't have anyone like that. I am missing my girlfriends, and going out to eat with them, and just simple everyday stuff that we did.
I need to stop writing. I am turning into that EMO girl that writes about her feelings in her blog. Next thing you know I will be posting poems with really deep meanings and getting tattoos of broken hearts and crying roses =). Actually, getting this crap out has made me feel a little bit better (thank you Pennebaker). Don't worry, I am sure that EMO MIKEY won't be here that long, and PEPPY OPTIMISTIC MIKEY will be back for the next blog entry.
He kept joking with me that I should "sell out" and go into business or something, so that way I can have money to help people the way I want. We actually talked a lot about my future, and it got me thinking. Most days, I am content to not know right now what I am going to do with my life. I have changed a lot from a year ago when I was applying to graduate schools and thought that I had it all figured out. When I came here I told myself that I was going to stay open to all different types of opportunities, and not be closed minded. Brent made a good point- I only know the things that I have encountered- but there are definitely a ton of things out there that I haven't even heard of that I could love to do, and would be really good at. About a month and a half ago I made a list of some of some possible life scenarios that I would like to be in-in like twenty years. Then, I made another list of what steps I need to be taking to make those scenarios possible. I don't know. I still don't have it all figured out, and I need to stop thinking that I do. Sometimes I think that I get so caught up in thinking that I know everything, I end up acting ignorant and ridiculous. Like with politics- I have been espousing my views on Barack Obama and singing his praises, but when it comes down to it, I really don't know that much about him. I am probably not making any sense. Just thinking out loud.
I am actually feeling pretty down today. I have been on the verge of tears all morning, and I am not exactly sure why. I kind of felt this way after Matt and Stephanie left from their visit down here, too. It's almost like I can ignore the things that I miss about home until I hang out with someone that reminds me. Now I just feel really homesick and alone. Then I feel worse, because I know that in the States I would have Caty or Britney or Erica to go to, and they would cheer me up, but here I don't have anyone like that. I am missing my girlfriends, and going out to eat with them, and just simple everyday stuff that we did.
I need to stop writing. I am turning into that EMO girl that writes about her feelings in her blog. Next thing you know I will be posting poems with really deep meanings and getting tattoos of broken hearts and crying roses =). Actually, getting this crap out has made me feel a little bit better (thank you Pennebaker). Don't worry, I am sure that EMO MIKEY won't be here that long, and PEPPY OPTIMISTIC MIKEY will be back for the next blog entry.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Solo quiere basilar
It seems like this week I had quite a few moments where I thought: I need to put this in my blog. Some were funny, some serious. So, here you are:
One of Marta's grown daughters, Leonore, invited me to the rezo (prayer and Rosary) that they hold annually to remember her husband's death. I accepted, even though I was pretty nervous about going to a recitation of the Rosary when I do not in fact know how to say the Rosary, especially in Spanish. I can stumble through it in English (we Presbyterians know the "Our father", and I can pick up on the rest by the second recitation) but I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to Catholic ceremonies in Spanish. As I may have already noted in an early blog- I demonstrated this incompetence when asked to say grace at dinner at Don Abdon's house. I said the classic: thanks for the food, for each other, watch over and guide us- pretty proficiently. But then everyone looked at me awkwardly, and someone else mercifully led them through the Lord's prayer without me. I didn't know that was part of grace here. Similarly, I went to mass once and was pretty lost. In any case, I went to the Rezo, assured by Marta that no one was going to be offended that if I didn't recite along with them. Leo's oldest son Pablo is a priest, and he was officiating. It was actually a really awesome experience. The whole family got together, prayed, and then had a cafecito. I admire that they still take the time to remember their deceased husband/father/uncle/son in a formal way, even though he died thirteen years ago. Marta was pretty curious how we mourn someone in the United States. She says that mourning is a big deal here, with 9 days straight right after the death, and then a big ceremoney one year later, and then continued prayer sessions every year thereafter. I explained to her that, while traditions vary by family and religion, I have not experienced grief as as such a formal and extended process. We have a funeral, and we pray there, but after that there is not usually any official celebration. If there is a continued remembrance, it is usually initiated by the family, and usually doesn't keep happening for thirteen years. Of course, every family is different: in my three years volunteering as a grief support group facilitator in Tucson, I was invited to a couple of death-anniversary remembrance ceremonies. Also, my sister and I, and sometimes our friends, try to go to the site where my mom died from time to time and maintain the cross that her friends put there. I do appreciate the respect that Leonore's family has for the memory of their dad; and it wasn't sad. They prayed, and then they drank coffee. It was simple, yet I am sure that their dad would be glad to be remembered in such a way.
This fairly serious family event on Saturday contrasted completely with lunch on Sunday. I thought I was going to go insane! There were probably 15 people in the kitchen; Patri was cleaning out and defrosting the refrigerator, and so there was water and food everywhere. Marta was cooking and serving soup, Gaudi and Sharon were yelling to each other across the house, while Macho was jumping up and down and screaming, but apparently for no specific reason. Leo, Rosita, and I were trying to find room on the cluttered table for the soup bowls we were being handed, while also locating spoons, and quieting Macho, and arranging chairs. It was, to say the least, chaotic. I finished my lunch in half the time that it took everyone else, mostly because I couldn't follow the 5 different conversations closely enough to contribute. So, I ate quickly and in silence, and then hastily gave up my seat to someone else who needed it. I had to go lay down afterwards, because I was a little bit stressed out. After more than two months here, I am pretty confident in my Spanish skills, but this was defiinitely a scenario where they failed me. My Spanish also proves pretty weak when I go out dancing with Dixie and Nelson; loud music isn't conducive to serious conversation in any language, but it's even harder for me when it isn't my first language.
Speaking of dancing, I went to Los Pinares (the only bar in Santa Rosa) with most of my friends here to watch the Costa Rica-Surinam fútbol match on Satruday. I even dressed in Red and Blue (national colors). We destroyed Surinam, 7-0. It was fun. Afterward, we stayed and danced a bit. I was wearing my crocs (not exactly high class attire) but didn't really worry about it (I stand out no matter what I wear here). I got more awkward when Rene asked me to dance Merengue with him- I am not so good at Merengue yet. And then, to make matters worse, the DJ (who lives in a Habitat house) decides to give me a shout out over the loudspeaker and comment on my dancing skills. I was bastante embarrassed! But wait, there's more: Cuti (the DJ) then proceeded to play a Phil Collins song and dedicate it to me. Everyone sat down and stopped dancing, and I was left to regret ever having mentioned to Cuti my dorky obsession with old Phil Collins music. I survived the verguenza (embarrassment) however, and ended up havind a pretty fun night. For some reason, my friends decided that I needed a theme song. They narrowed it down to 2 options. The first one's lyrics go: "ella no tiene novio, solo quiere basilar" (She doesn't have a boyfriend, she just wants to joke around). The other option goes: "¿Tan bonita para que? Si no tiene alma, ¿Tan bonita para que? Si no tiene corazon" (which means, So pretty for what? if she doesn't have a soul, so pretty for what? if she doesn't have a heart?" I had to assure them that I do indeed have a soul. But, since I have shown no interest in finding a romance in Santa Rosa, they insist I must be heartless. In any case, it was funny, and they were all singing, and the bartender had to come ask them to be quiet.
The Child Care Center committee is making me happy: they are taking more initiative to plan things, and are not relying on me to do all of the work, as much. This is a necessary step, especially since the Child Care Center is a really long term project, and there is no way that we are going to be able to get it up and runnign while I am here. It's just not possible. So, I was ecstatic when Doña Rosario approached me and said that she want to organize a karaoke night to benefit the Centro Infantil. We are planning to hold the event in October, with food and prizes and music. We even had a meeting and divided up planning responsibilites. I hope that it all turns out well. Today I worked on writing a grant for the Child Care Center (first in English, now I am translating). It's boring. But hopefully it gets us some plata (money). Sometimes I worry that I am doing all of this work, and it won't amount to anything. But that's only on days when I am being negative. Usually I am pretty optimistic. Today, I am somewhere in between.
That's all I have for now.
One of Marta's grown daughters, Leonore, invited me to the rezo (prayer and Rosary) that they hold annually to remember her husband's death. I accepted, even though I was pretty nervous about going to a recitation of the Rosary when I do not in fact know how to say the Rosary, especially in Spanish. I can stumble through it in English (we Presbyterians know the "Our father", and I can pick up on the rest by the second recitation) but I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to Catholic ceremonies in Spanish. As I may have already noted in an early blog- I demonstrated this incompetence when asked to say grace at dinner at Don Abdon's house. I said the classic: thanks for the food, for each other, watch over and guide us- pretty proficiently. But then everyone looked at me awkwardly, and someone else mercifully led them through the Lord's prayer without me. I didn't know that was part of grace here. Similarly, I went to mass once and was pretty lost. In any case, I went to the Rezo, assured by Marta that no one was going to be offended that if I didn't recite along with them. Leo's oldest son Pablo is a priest, and he was officiating. It was actually a really awesome experience. The whole family got together, prayed, and then had a cafecito. I admire that they still take the time to remember their deceased husband/father/uncle/son in a formal way, even though he died thirteen years ago. Marta was pretty curious how we mourn someone in the United States. She says that mourning is a big deal here, with 9 days straight right after the death, and then a big ceremoney one year later, and then continued prayer sessions every year thereafter. I explained to her that, while traditions vary by family and religion, I have not experienced grief as as such a formal and extended process. We have a funeral, and we pray there, but after that there is not usually any official celebration. If there is a continued remembrance, it is usually initiated by the family, and usually doesn't keep happening for thirteen years. Of course, every family is different: in my three years volunteering as a grief support group facilitator in Tucson, I was invited to a couple of death-anniversary remembrance ceremonies. Also, my sister and I, and sometimes our friends, try to go to the site where my mom died from time to time and maintain the cross that her friends put there. I do appreciate the respect that Leonore's family has for the memory of their dad; and it wasn't sad. They prayed, and then they drank coffee. It was simple, yet I am sure that their dad would be glad to be remembered in such a way.
This fairly serious family event on Saturday contrasted completely with lunch on Sunday. I thought I was going to go insane! There were probably 15 people in the kitchen; Patri was cleaning out and defrosting the refrigerator, and so there was water and food everywhere. Marta was cooking and serving soup, Gaudi and Sharon were yelling to each other across the house, while Macho was jumping up and down and screaming, but apparently for no specific reason. Leo, Rosita, and I were trying to find room on the cluttered table for the soup bowls we were being handed, while also locating spoons, and quieting Macho, and arranging chairs. It was, to say the least, chaotic. I finished my lunch in half the time that it took everyone else, mostly because I couldn't follow the 5 different conversations closely enough to contribute. So, I ate quickly and in silence, and then hastily gave up my seat to someone else who needed it. I had to go lay down afterwards, because I was a little bit stressed out. After more than two months here, I am pretty confident in my Spanish skills, but this was defiinitely a scenario where they failed me. My Spanish also proves pretty weak when I go out dancing with Dixie and Nelson; loud music isn't conducive to serious conversation in any language, but it's even harder for me when it isn't my first language.
Speaking of dancing, I went to Los Pinares (the only bar in Santa Rosa) with most of my friends here to watch the Costa Rica-Surinam fútbol match on Satruday. I even dressed in Red and Blue (national colors). We destroyed Surinam, 7-0. It was fun. Afterward, we stayed and danced a bit. I was wearing my crocs (not exactly high class attire) but didn't really worry about it (I stand out no matter what I wear here). I got more awkward when Rene asked me to dance Merengue with him- I am not so good at Merengue yet. And then, to make matters worse, the DJ (who lives in a Habitat house) decides to give me a shout out over the loudspeaker and comment on my dancing skills. I was bastante embarrassed! But wait, there's more: Cuti (the DJ) then proceeded to play a Phil Collins song and dedicate it to me. Everyone sat down and stopped dancing, and I was left to regret ever having mentioned to Cuti my dorky obsession with old Phil Collins music. I survived the verguenza (embarrassment) however, and ended up havind a pretty fun night. For some reason, my friends decided that I needed a theme song. They narrowed it down to 2 options. The first one's lyrics go: "ella no tiene novio, solo quiere basilar" (She doesn't have a boyfriend, she just wants to joke around). The other option goes: "¿Tan bonita para que? Si no tiene alma, ¿Tan bonita para que? Si no tiene corazon" (which means, So pretty for what? if she doesn't have a soul, so pretty for what? if she doesn't have a heart?" I had to assure them that I do indeed have a soul. But, since I have shown no interest in finding a romance in Santa Rosa, they insist I must be heartless. In any case, it was funny, and they were all singing, and the bartender had to come ask them to be quiet.
The Child Care Center committee is making me happy: they are taking more initiative to plan things, and are not relying on me to do all of the work, as much. This is a necessary step, especially since the Child Care Center is a really long term project, and there is no way that we are going to be able to get it up and runnign while I am here. It's just not possible. So, I was ecstatic when Doña Rosario approached me and said that she want to organize a karaoke night to benefit the Centro Infantil. We are planning to hold the event in October, with food and prizes and music. We even had a meeting and divided up planning responsibilites. I hope that it all turns out well. Today I worked on writing a grant for the Child Care Center (first in English, now I am translating). It's boring. But hopefully it gets us some plata (money). Sometimes I worry that I am doing all of this work, and it won't amount to anything. But that's only on days when I am being negative. Usually I am pretty optimistic. Today, I am somewhere in between.
That's all I have for now.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Bar fight
So, the past two weeks were the annual town-wide fiestas (think a combination of tiny county fair and rodeo days). They kicked the weekend off with a Tope- which is like a parade, except there are only horses. A bunch of horses. We basically ate and danced all day. I can now do something that resembles an ugly form of Cumbia. Thus, keeping with the festivities, I went to my first baile in the village, at the only bar there is in town: Los Pinares. It was fun, crowded, and everyone in the community was there-the prinicipal of my elementary school, some of my fifth graders (apparently they don't ask for ID at the door). Dixie (my best village friend) was having some boyfriend drama because her novio said he was going to come, then called and said he was sick, then showed up like 30 minutes later dancing with another girl and not even acknowledging Dixie. In my book, that is enough to be pissed off about, but she seemed to be taking it pretty well. As the end of the night came around, we were all dancing to some salsa, and Dixie was dancing with her brother, Rene. Rene proceeded to punch Damian (Dixie's now EX-boyfriend) in the face, and Dixie was quite caught up in the middle of it. Usually, when a fight at a concert or a bar breaks out, I would try and get as far away as possible. However, I don't have a ton of friends in Santa Rosa yet, and I didn't exactly feel like watching Dixie get the crap beat out of her. Thus, I proceeded to jump in too =) The boy I was dancing with was spending his time trying to pull me out, as I was simultaneously trying to extracate Dixie. With the help of the bouncer, the situation was diffused: Dixie was crying and had a broken high heel, Dixie an Rene's mom (who was watching all of this ensue) was outside yelling at Damian in Spanish (I didn't quite catch all of it, but it wasn't good), and I gathered up all of our stuff from the table we were sitting at and that everyone else had left in the drama. So, there we were, outside in the cold, regrouping to head home. Suddenly, Rene runs right past me and jumps on Damian (I am not quite sure why he would come back). I turn, wielding 2 huge umbrellas that I had just collected from the table, and start yelling in Spanglish about how Rene is to stop right this instant and come home with us! Looking back now, it was hilarious. At the time, a little disconcerting. In any case, the night ended up fine, and now I have a single girlfriend to hang out with, instead of one that was always busy with her lame boyfriend!
While bar fights are fun and all, I have been doing other stuff. Last week I went with a group of like 30 people from Habitat International on a tour of a housing community in Northern Costa Rica, as well as some sight seeing. Basically, I was invited along because 1- I speak Enlgish, 2- I can tell the international people about what we are doing in Costa Rica, and 3- I can be charming and try and get them excited to send funds to our projects =) It turns out that the group was made up of the people who work for Habitat in the States doing fundraising and finances. This was a really awesome group of people to spend my day with! I don't think that I have posted it here yet, but lately I have been thinking about changing my life plan (I'm still mulling it over though, nothing definite). I may want to go into non-profit management when I get back, specifically into resource development (read: fundraising). Thus, it was a lucky break that I found myself on a bus with 30 people who are doing exactly what I would like to be doing in the near future. I got some really good advice on how to go about enacting this new, different life plan, and made some really good contacts. So, we'll see. Also, it was nice to eat at nice restaurants and see touristy stuff like volcanoes for a day (especially since Habitat was footing the bill).
Let's see, what else have I been up to? Dustin, who is the only other U.S. volunteer in the country, came and saw my community this weekend. He came up to S.R. on Saturday, hung out, met my friends, saw the houses, etc. We went to a party at Dixie and Rene's house, and somehow Dustin ended up getting people to do the limbo. It was fun, though not nearly as dramatic as the previous weekend with all the dancing and fighting; I hope that he wasn't disappointed.
I am sure that I am forgetting a ton of stuff, but oh well. Thanks for all the emails I have been getting! I love hearing from y'all!
While bar fights are fun and all, I have been doing other stuff. Last week I went with a group of like 30 people from Habitat International on a tour of a housing community in Northern Costa Rica, as well as some sight seeing. Basically, I was invited along because 1- I speak Enlgish, 2- I can tell the international people about what we are doing in Costa Rica, and 3- I can be charming and try and get them excited to send funds to our projects =) It turns out that the group was made up of the people who work for Habitat in the States doing fundraising and finances. This was a really awesome group of people to spend my day with! I don't think that I have posted it here yet, but lately I have been thinking about changing my life plan (I'm still mulling it over though, nothing definite). I may want to go into non-profit management when I get back, specifically into resource development (read: fundraising). Thus, it was a lucky break that I found myself on a bus with 30 people who are doing exactly what I would like to be doing in the near future. I got some really good advice on how to go about enacting this new, different life plan, and made some really good contacts. So, we'll see. Also, it was nice to eat at nice restaurants and see touristy stuff like volcanoes for a day (especially since Habitat was footing the bill).
Let's see, what else have I been up to? Dustin, who is the only other U.S. volunteer in the country, came and saw my community this weekend. He came up to S.R. on Saturday, hung out, met my friends, saw the houses, etc. We went to a party at Dixie and Rene's house, and somehow Dustin ended up getting people to do the limbo. It was fun, though not nearly as dramatic as the previous weekend with all the dancing and fighting; I hope that he wasn't disappointed.
I am sure that I am forgetting a ton of stuff, but oh well. Thanks for all the emails I have been getting! I love hearing from y'all!
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