Before I get to any blogging, I thought I would invite those of you who have been reading this and posting comment and e-mailing me to my Graduation/ Welcome Home party. I can't say it will be the greatest party of you life, and I will be either only 65% awake or really hyper (depending on well my parents succeed on there promise to suply me with coffee since it is only 3 days after I get home). Anyway, check your celenders and RSVP if you want to come because we need to get enough ice cream (that is probably the best reason to come). Here are the details. . .
Kate's Graduation Party
Where: Kate's house (e-mail me for directions)
When: Monday, May 26, 2-4 PM
I think the rest of the info is self explanitory but if you have any ?'s please e-mail me. I hope you all come. It has been so fun hearing about people who are reading my blog and it is always cool to get e-mails from people. You guys have been a pretty sweet audience!
now for the actual journals. . . .
May 8School went pretty good today. There is one girl that continues to frustrate me though. Rosa Emilia is little girl that is so sweet and she is only three but she is often unresponsive (not talking, not making eye contact, not paying attention) when you try to get her to do something structured and often doesn't do what she is supposed to be doing. I know some of my frustration with her is my fault, but I wish she would do more. I do feel better though that she has a friend in the class that she hangs out with a lot. That way he at least brings her out of her shell a bit.
May 9
Well tonight at our house, there was a pirate party. I was pretty impressed; people got really into it. There were some really good costumes. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to create a good costume and I didn't really but I did have a little cardboard sword and eye-patch. I was pretty intimidating (once you got pass the little cardboard sword and eye-patch- I could scowl scarily). It was pretty fun.
May 10The place that I am taking my spanish lessons is located in this really cool old building. Part of what makes it so cool is that it not only is beautiful but it is used for all sorts of things - not just the the language school. There are dance classes, a preschool, karate classes, aerobics classes, and events like a beauty pageants (kind of like little miss sunshine but less disturbing because the can't really afford to creepify their kids too much). Anyway, it's sweet to see a place that is really being used every day.
May 11
Okay, I get that I am sharing a house with others and that I will have to deal with behavior that I am not completely fond of but seriously, a line has been crossed! In my opinion, when you share a home with another fellow being, I really don't think it is ever appropriate to poop on them! Not cool. I know that animals live by different rules but I don't bother the bugs, geckos, and bats in the house and I don't know why it is too much to ask for a bat to look where it is going to the bathroom! I was just sitting down, watching a little tv when a little turd fell on my shirt! Gross!
May 12
Today only three kids showed up to school. Attendance has been a big problem lately so instead of doing a normal class, Martha (the teacher) took all 3 of the kids and me around to the houses of the kids that didn't show up and asked them why they weren't in school today and told them that they should come to school tomorrow. I was really shocked to see the houses that the kids live in. I knew that they didn't have much but to see the actual houses that they live in was really hard for me to see. The houses were similar to the ones that I saw in Costa Rica, and ones that I have seen around Granada but to see the kids that I help to teach coming out to greet us - these aren't proper houses for anyone to live but especially little children. One problem I have had with the kids is them running out of the classroom and going to the bathroom in the yard instead of going to the bathroom in a toilet. Now I realize that this is probably because they don't have toilets it their houses. It is so hard to see.
May 13Our little field trip paid off. 15 kids showed up in preschool which was pretty impressive. Two new kids even showed up. It was really good to see some kids finally come to school who hadn't shown up for a couple weeks. It can get kind of crazy with so many kids but the teacher is surprisingly good at keeping the kids kind of doing what they are supposed to be doing. Pretty good day, no major complaints and I had no trouble falling asleep.
May 14
I was really proud of all the stuff we did today in school. Granted, it was mostly fun stuff but we reviewed our colors, body parts and numbers in addition to making straw necklaces and mothers day cards. Also, even if the fun stuff doesn't really teach them stuff, it keeps them wanting to go to school the next day which does help them learn. Although, some days it seems like we do nothing and I on those days I feel like we could have done more. It feels good to have actually done several things in a school day!May 15Today I brought my camera to school and I had so much fun with the kids taking pictures of them during recess. I would take a pictures of them and then they would all run towards me to see the picture. What was really funny is when I tried to teach them to say "Go Bucks!" but it didn't really work because they felt really funny saying it and they couldn't really make the ck sound very well so it sounded more like "go butts". I suppose that's what I get for making that the english I have taught them out of all the much more useful vocabulary I could have tought them. Still. . . it was kind of cute.
May 16
Well, I only have one week left in Nicaragua. It is weird how time has gone so fast! I feel like a second ago I was kind of ready to go home and now I am like "hold up, uh, it's pretty sweet over here and I don't really want to go quite yet" seriously It's not so bad here and to document how great it is, I have made a list of a bunch of things I am going to miss.
SUPER SWEET GRANADA STUFF:
-It is so beautiful! There are a lot of really beautiful old building and the whole town is really picturesque.
-Chocolate covered bananas, "frescos" (really cheap beverages that are sold everywhere in plastic baggies) and ice cream sold in plastic baggies
-really yummy fruit
-having pet geckos in my house (they aren't really pets but they like to eat bugs so it is all good)
-laughing every time I buy Bimbo brand bread
-having a really great spanish teacher
-everything being way cheaper than in the states (for example I can get an ice cream cone with 2 scoops of ice cream for 60 cents, a medium pizza for less than four bucks, and any fruit for less than 50 cents)
- a volcanic lake is just an half an hour drive away, just waiting for me to swim in it
-I get to hang out with people from England, Wales, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Lebanon, El Salvador, and the States (that's more of an La Esperanza thing but I will still miss it)
-the Elba Zamora school, its students, and its teachers
seriously. . . it's pretty cool here!
May 16, 2008
May 7, 2008
the beach and the strike
April 30
Well today was really cool. First of all, we flew (a bunch of the volunteers went) to Corn Island on this little plane. It was by far the smallest plane I had ever been on. It only fit 12 passengers and there wasn't like a separate cockpit or anything, it sort of reminded me of a minivan with wings. I was a little freaked out because I don't really like to fly (Seriously, one time I was so scared that the night before a trip to the Netherlands I wrote letters to everyone knew and put them in my room for someone to find in case I died. It's pretty good I didn't die because I wrote really embarrassing stuff). Anyway, the flight was really smooth and it was totally ok. Then, since we decided to stay on Little Corn Island, we took a boat from Big Corn to Little Corn. It was the sweetest boat ride of my life. Whoever was driving the boat went really fast and when we went over the waves the front of the boat would be a little air born and than back smack down on the water. So fun.
Oh, and when we arrived on little Corn we had to hurry because there were 18 of us and we wanted everyone to get rooms so we were hurrying along the path to go when all the cabins are and who do we run into but. . . tuija!
May 1
So just FYI, this island is basically one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It doesn't quite grab the number one spot (any place where I am looking at myself in a mirror- just kidding!) but I am seriously amazed how picture perfect this island is. The view if the water is just completely breath taking. This is like the island vacation every always dreams about (although when I thought about it I didn't really think about the cabins that come with mosquitoes but without a bathroom but I am not picky and we totally would have an ocean view if we could open out wooden window all the way).
So because there is a lot of beach there is naturally a lot of crabs (a LOT of crabs). Last night, when I was walking back to the cabin, there were crabs everywhere!! I was so scared that I was go to step on one (I hate the crunch cockroaches make when you kill them, I had a feeling I would like the crunch of a little crab even less) or that I would get pinched by one. I was walking and the batteries in my flashlight were dying. . . I was kind of freaking out but then I caught up to Becky (or yelled for her to stop and shine her light ahead of me so I could quickly scamper up close to her) and I stuck with her till we got back to the cabin. The thing about the crabs were that they would necessarily hold still as you walked and they did their little side walk-y thing to wherever they thought they would be safest which may or may not cause them to scurry right in front of you. It was difficult even with a light. Crazy little things!
May 2
Today I got up early (5 AM!) and went to the beach and watched the sunrise over the water. It was so beautiful. The colors were amazing and the beach was already gorgeous, it was just the perfect start to the day. I am still amazed by the beauty of this place. Not only of this island but of this part of the world. It is really breathtaking.
May 3
Well this morning I got up early again to watch the sunrise (and it maintained its high marks on the sweetness scale) and promptly went back to (my increasing sandy) bed. There were plans for two snorkeling trips since so many people from our group wanted to go so I slept in a little longer and decided to go on the second trip. Well, everyone went on the first trip (and a few people decided at the last minute not to go on the second trip) so the second trip was canceled. I am quite bummed. It would have been so cool. They went to three places around the island. One was right by the coral reef and there were a lot of brightly colored fish and other ocean life. The second place they went to was a place where sharks were sleeping on the ocean floor. SHARKS!!! How completely awesome is that!! And as to not be outdone, by the sharks, the third place was a shipwreck!!! SO COOL!! I am a little jealous but I refuse to let it totally ruin the day so I am going to hang out in a hammock, read Harry Potter (yes, I brought Harry #7 with me) and be continue to be completely amazed by my surroundings. That's really all I can do and I am pretty sure the alternative isn't nearly as fun.
May 4
Well, I happen to be one of those people who happen to suffer from motion sickness. . . issues. I haven't thrown up yet but I do get extremely uncomfortable and tend to feel like I have just spun around in circles for ten minutes. I have figured out that this only happens when I am on winding roads, in a car where I am speeding up and slowing down a lot, and now I know small airplanes, and boats can be added to the list. Whew. . . it's not the most enjoyable trip for me to take and even though this trip has been completely cool, sweet and totally amazing, I am glad to be back to Granada. I am now in complete awe of the little ceiling fan in my bedroom (I am a little afraid it could fall at any minute but it is a major comfort), the fact that my bed doesn't contain large amounts of sand and that I don't have to use a bucket of water to flush the toilet. It kind of makes me wonder what I will feel like when I get home. I know I will feel glad to be home, but I wonder if I will be thankful about all the stuff I will have access to or will feel overwhelmed and resentful.
May 5
This morning was quite the wake up. Apparently, all the buses, transport vans (the ones that go from city to city), taxis, etc. has gone on strike throughout Nicaragua. The gas prices are really high here and the bus and taxi drivers don't want to raise their prices because people won't be able to afford them but now their profits are dwindling. This is fairly inconvenient for me (I mean that in a factual sense and in an as unselfishly as possible) because that means I have to walk 50 minutes in the hot sun to and from school. On the way there I did hitchhike the last ten minutes or so. I felt it was pretty safe because not only was I with another volunteer, but we were in the back of a truck with at least 7 other people who were in the same predicament we were. It was kind of cool that these people were driving around in their truck would stop and help people who are struggling to go the their jobs and schools and places that they need to go but would otherwise have trouble getting to. Just like a little friendly chunk o' kindness.
May 6
Well I walked all the way to and from school this time. Personally, I try not to smell too much or look too gross and I know on this walkabout we are supposed to be professional, and I really hope that I am meeting that requirement, but I must admit that I was completely disgusting by the time I finally made it to class. I was better when I dried off a bit and but it was a little embarrassing to be as sweaty as I was. But I didn't really have a choice especially since I am now walking alone (the guy I normally walk with got his hands on a bike). On the way home I had to stop by the grocery store and the market so I had to carry all my groceries home after walking 30 minutes or so already. I practically collapsed on my bed and took a nice long nap when I got home.
May 7
In my Spanish lesson today my teacher (who is now Perla, by the way, the Spanish school switched teachers on me) showed me this sheet that is a list of all things the school covers. The things were all categorized by level of difficulty. The stuff that I have been learning is in the intermediate and advanced intermediate and Perla said that by the time I leave I will be in the advanced!! ADVANCED!!!! That makes me feel so smart!!! Now, realistically, all that means is that I understand the theory of Spanish grammar and has absolutely nothing to do with me actually being able to apply it outside of my lessons (I feel like there is a major disconnect there) but I still feel proud.
Well, I am here to say miracles happen all the time and when you least expect them. La Esperanza has felt the needs of it's volunteers and is providing transportation for the volunteers and from the schools. WOO HOO!!!
Oh, and to help you all understand why I find my old spanish teacher to be compleatly hilarious even if she is a terrible teacher, I just found out that she said the following in a in a recent spanish class:
"Do you think that your moms married your dads because they were eh-spicy?" (after admitting that there are no "spicy" men in the United States)
Well today was really cool. First of all, we flew (a bunch of the volunteers went) to Corn Island on this little plane. It was by far the smallest plane I had ever been on. It only fit 12 passengers and there wasn't like a separate cockpit or anything, it sort of reminded me of a minivan with wings. I was a little freaked out because I don't really like to fly (Seriously, one time I was so scared that the night before a trip to the Netherlands I wrote letters to everyone knew and put them in my room for someone to find in case I died. It's pretty good I didn't die because I wrote really embarrassing stuff). Anyway, the flight was really smooth and it was totally ok. Then, since we decided to stay on Little Corn Island, we took a boat from Big Corn to Little Corn. It was the sweetest boat ride of my life. Whoever was driving the boat went really fast and when we went over the waves the front of the boat would be a little air born and than back smack down on the water. So fun.
Oh, and when we arrived on little Corn we had to hurry because there were 18 of us and we wanted everyone to get rooms so we were hurrying along the path to go when all the cabins are and who do we run into but. . . tuija!
May 1
So just FYI, this island is basically one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It doesn't quite grab the number one spot (any place where I am looking at myself in a mirror- just kidding!) but I am seriously amazed how picture perfect this island is. The view if the water is just completely breath taking. This is like the island vacation every always dreams about (although when I thought about it I didn't really think about the cabins that come with mosquitoes but without a bathroom but I am not picky and we totally would have an ocean view if we could open out wooden window all the way).
So because there is a lot of beach there is naturally a lot of crabs (a LOT of crabs). Last night, when I was walking back to the cabin, there were crabs everywhere!! I was so scared that I was go to step on one (I hate the crunch cockroaches make when you kill them, I had a feeling I would like the crunch of a little crab even less) or that I would get pinched by one. I was walking and the batteries in my flashlight were dying. . . I was kind of freaking out but then I caught up to Becky (or yelled for her to stop and shine her light ahead of me so I could quickly scamper up close to her) and I stuck with her till we got back to the cabin. The thing about the crabs were that they would necessarily hold still as you walked and they did their little side walk-y thing to wherever they thought they would be safest which may or may not cause them to scurry right in front of you. It was difficult even with a light. Crazy little things!
May 2
Today I got up early (5 AM!) and went to the beach and watched the sunrise over the water. It was so beautiful. The colors were amazing and the beach was already gorgeous, it was just the perfect start to the day. I am still amazed by the beauty of this place. Not only of this island but of this part of the world. It is really breathtaking.
May 3
Well this morning I got up early again to watch the sunrise (and it maintained its high marks on the sweetness scale) and promptly went back to (my increasing sandy) bed. There were plans for two snorkeling trips since so many people from our group wanted to go so I slept in a little longer and decided to go on the second trip. Well, everyone went on the first trip (and a few people decided at the last minute not to go on the second trip) so the second trip was canceled. I am quite bummed. It would have been so cool. They went to three places around the island. One was right by the coral reef and there were a lot of brightly colored fish and other ocean life. The second place they went to was a place where sharks were sleeping on the ocean floor. SHARKS!!! How completely awesome is that!! And as to not be outdone, by the sharks, the third place was a shipwreck!!! SO COOL!! I am a little jealous but I refuse to let it totally ruin the day so I am going to hang out in a hammock, read Harry Potter (yes, I brought Harry #7 with me) and be continue to be completely amazed by my surroundings. That's really all I can do and I am pretty sure the alternative isn't nearly as fun.
May 4
Well, I happen to be one of those people who happen to suffer from motion sickness. . . issues. I haven't thrown up yet but I do get extremely uncomfortable and tend to feel like I have just spun around in circles for ten minutes. I have figured out that this only happens when I am on winding roads, in a car where I am speeding up and slowing down a lot, and now I know small airplanes, and boats can be added to the list. Whew. . . it's not the most enjoyable trip for me to take and even though this trip has been completely cool, sweet and totally amazing, I am glad to be back to Granada. I am now in complete awe of the little ceiling fan in my bedroom (I am a little afraid it could fall at any minute but it is a major comfort), the fact that my bed doesn't contain large amounts of sand and that I don't have to use a bucket of water to flush the toilet. It kind of makes me wonder what I will feel like when I get home. I know I will feel glad to be home, but I wonder if I will be thankful about all the stuff I will have access to or will feel overwhelmed and resentful.
May 5
This morning was quite the wake up. Apparently, all the buses, transport vans (the ones that go from city to city), taxis, etc. has gone on strike throughout Nicaragua. The gas prices are really high here and the bus and taxi drivers don't want to raise their prices because people won't be able to afford them but now their profits are dwindling. This is fairly inconvenient for me (I mean that in a factual sense and in an as unselfishly as possible) because that means I have to walk 50 minutes in the hot sun to and from school. On the way there I did hitchhike the last ten minutes or so. I felt it was pretty safe because not only was I with another volunteer, but we were in the back of a truck with at least 7 other people who were in the same predicament we were. It was kind of cool that these people were driving around in their truck would stop and help people who are struggling to go the their jobs and schools and places that they need to go but would otherwise have trouble getting to. Just like a little friendly chunk o' kindness.
May 6
Well I walked all the way to and from school this time. Personally, I try not to smell too much or look too gross and I know on this walkabout we are supposed to be professional, and I really hope that I am meeting that requirement, but I must admit that I was completely disgusting by the time I finally made it to class. I was better when I dried off a bit and but it was a little embarrassing to be as sweaty as I was. But I didn't really have a choice especially since I am now walking alone (the guy I normally walk with got his hands on a bike). On the way home I had to stop by the grocery store and the market so I had to carry all my groceries home after walking 30 minutes or so already. I practically collapsed on my bed and took a nice long nap when I got home.
May 7
In my Spanish lesson today my teacher (who is now Perla, by the way, the Spanish school switched teachers on me) showed me this sheet that is a list of all things the school covers. The things were all categorized by level of difficulty. The stuff that I have been learning is in the intermediate and advanced intermediate and Perla said that by the time I leave I will be in the advanced!! ADVANCED!!!! That makes me feel so smart!!! Now, realistically, all that means is that I understand the theory of Spanish grammar and has absolutely nothing to do with me actually being able to apply it outside of my lessons (I feel like there is a major disconnect there) but I still feel proud.
Well, I am here to say miracles happen all the time and when you least expect them. La Esperanza has felt the needs of it's volunteers and is providing transportation for the volunteers and from the schools. WOO HOO!!!
Oh, and to help you all understand why I find my old spanish teacher to be compleatly hilarious even if she is a terrible teacher, I just found out that she said the following in a in a recent spanish class:
"Do you think that your moms married your dads because they were eh-spicy?" (after admitting that there are no "spicy" men in the United States)
Apr 29, 2008
uneventful days
27 de Abril
Well, earlier this week Brian and Tui left and Sharon moved out to live with a family and today we got a new guy, Jason. It's kind of weird to think that Kris and Asya are the only two people that are still living in the house that were there when I first arrived. People are constantly changing here!
Oh! Side Note- Yesterday Sharon went to Managua (the only place you can get American groceries) and she saw some peanut butter and thought of me so now I actually have three jars of peanut butter and every time I get a new jar I upgrade! I am seriously so lucky!!!
28 de Abril
Well today the kids were crazier than usual. There were more than usual (meaning the majority of the class showed up), so maybe there was a mob mentality thing happening or something. . . i don't know. It would be so nice if they were calm for a day. I do think some it has to do with the teaching itself though. The class has a range of ages so the teacher mostly addresses the 4 and 5 year olds and lets the two 3 years olds mostly do what they want because their ability level is lower than the other kids. What I have been trying to to lately is get them more involved in class. It can be hard sometimes because both of them aren't very verbal and don't like to communicate much so it's hard to ask them about colors or parts of the body. I just wish I could do my job better because I don't want to be too mean and make them not want to go to school (because then they might choose not to come to school at all) but I want them to learn too and I am afraid they aren't getting the things they could.
29 de Abril
Well today the kids were crazier than usual. There were more than usual (meaning the majority of the class showed up), so maybe there was a mob mentality thing happening or something. . . i don't know. It would be so nice if they were calm for a day. I do think some it has to do with the teaching itself though. The class has a range of ages so the teacher mostly addresses the 4 and 5 year olds and lets the two 3 years olds mostly do what they want because their ability level is lower than the other kids. What I have been trying to to lately is get them more involved in class. It can be hard sometimes because both of them aren't very verbal and don't like to communicate much so it's hard to ask them about colors or parts of the body. I just wish I could do my job better because I don't want to be too mean and make them not want to go to school (because then they might choose not to come to school at all) but I want them to learn too and I am afraid they aren't getting the things they could.
29 de Abril
Right now I am really excited because tomorrow I am going to the Corn Islands for four days. There is no school for the rest of the week so a bunch of volunteers decided to go. The Corn Islands are two islands off the Carribean coast and they are just supposed to be incredibly beautiful and just a lot of fun. Kris and Asya went during Semana Santa and loved it. I am really excited. Yay!
Apr 26, 2008
leg issues
April 18
First of all, I would like to say, that my night wasn't as gross as thought it was going to be. Yesterday some guy came over to look at our toilet problems and he turned all the water off overnight because today the came back to flush out our whole septic system or something like that. Anyway, that meant that there was no water running in the house. This isn't actually that unusual so there is a big water tank in the garden/yard for showering when there isn't water. However, I am guessing that made some people quite uncomfortable.
Anyway, I was one of the only volunteers to go to school because I think Elba Zamora was the only school to have class today and there wasn't normal classes, there was only preschool. So, because none of the kids would want to go to school when their siblings aren't going, exactly 2 kids showed up. The teacher then decided that there wasn't much she could do school-wise so I basically babysat them the whole time. It was really fun to just hang out with the kids instead of having to worry about keeping them on track. We just played. The day went so fast.
One bummer. . . I learned that the preschool teacher doesn't know what a clarinet is!
April 19
Today I went to the beautiful Luguna de Apoyo. It is this volcanic crater that has been filled up with water. I got to swim, relax, and even kayak a little! The water felt so good! In the afternoon I didn't feel like swimming again (I got a bit burned) and so I just relaxed in a hammock and read my book of the moment, To Kill a Mockingbird. I decided to reread it when I saw it in a used bookstore here because I remembered that I really liked it when I read it freshman year, but I forgot a lot about it. I am now remembering all the things I loved about it. It is such a great book- and it makes you think. Yesterday I saw Mulholand Drive at this restaurant that shows movies a few times a week and I hated it. Well, hate is a strong word, I came out of the restaurant feeling bewildered and like the movie had no real worth. Apparently (someone told me) that the movie is supposedly making some statement about how a few people run Hollywood or something. Now, this is just my opinion, but when reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I am drawn in, I like the characters, and I get at least some of the point the author is trying to make. Isn't that a better way to make a point? In Mulholand Drive, I am completely sidetracked by the fact that the movie actually makes no sense, and I don't get any possible message. Oh, well that´s just my opinion of the moment.
April 20
Well, That sunburn I mentioned is a bit painful. I don't think I reapplied sun screen soon enough and the sun is really strong in the Luguna so I am basically a red version of that Guy in Big Fat Liar (this guy swam in a pool with blue dye in it). My legs hurt the most because the skin moves the most there and had gotten much less sun compared to my arms and face. I also think my left shin must of gotten the most sun because I have this pain in my shin but it only hurts a lot if I am off my feet for a bit and then stand up. If I continue to walk, it doesn't hurt that much.
April 21
Well, quite a few of volunteers have gotten sick recently and have gotten to see this doctor. He is one crazy guy. First of all, he is quite the talker. if someone went to visit him, they shouldn't expect to leave for at least 5 hours and they shouldn't expect him to restrain himself from laughing at you. One of the volunteers he found to be hilarious and he laughed at her quite a bit. Also, in addition to being a doctor, Dr. Sicily (that is what I will call him because he is from Sicily) is also a lawyer and a bit of a arms dealer (he sells guns I guess). Apparently, if he is looking for something in one of his drawers of this big elaborate desk he owns, he will casually pull out a gun and lay it on his desk. He also is fond of giving shots. . . in the butt. All the people I have heard about going there have gotten 3 or 4 shots in the behind. Crazy guy. I am definitely going to hold off if possible to going to visit Dr. Sicily. Although it would make for a good story. . .
April 22
Well I can just say that my left leg is pretty attractive. One might think my right leg is gorgeous, I mean, it does have the slowly fading splotchy sunburn that looks a little like a unfortunate birthmark, but my left leg actually outshines my right one. My left leg, somehow got a much more severe sunburn so in addition so the beautiful scarlet overtones, it has this kind of weird texture. it is kind of strangely smooth. Then, because my burn hurts a lot, I occasionally have this limp that is really worthy of NY fashion week or something. Plus, my left ankle has randomly decided to swell up. It doesn't hurt or itch or anything but I has a cankle effect that really would make any beauty queen jealous. Plus, because of my burns, I haven't really wanted to shave my legs so I now have man-legs. Seriously, if I was a contestant on America's Next Top Model, I would totally win. In fact, my left leg is so amazingly Helen of Troy-esque that on the first episode the would just name me ANTM right away. Beauty just comes easily to me. . .
April 23
Wow. . time as flown! As of today, I only have one more month left in Central America. It's weird to think about all the normal stuff from home that I haven't seen for two and a half months and all the things that are normal for me here that I won't see when I am back in the states. Some of it is obvious stuff like I haven't had graters or Chinese food or gone to a movie theater but I don't really miss it. It's like I have two different lives sort of. Like I am a different person here. My personality isn't that different (except for the fact that I haven't been the weird crazy person like am with my family- I don´t want to scare people) but the way I do things is different. When I want a treat at home, graters is the place to go. Here, I go across the street to the pulperia and get oreos and fast food isn't wendy's or Mc Donalds, it's grabbing a bag of mango slices or these cheesy tortillas from a lady in the park. Life is just sort of different here. It will be strange when I go home but I am looking forward to it. I am not really homesick but I am looking forward to being around people that I have known for longer than a couple months. To be in a place that I am totally familiar and comfortable with. Not that I am uncomfortable here, but it's not home (literally or culturally).
April 24
Well I haven't been doing much lately, just hanging around the house. My leg has been bothering me and I don't want to irritate my ankle by being to active (I want to discourage the cankleism) so I have been watching tv, reading, talking, etc. I did go out once to run a couple errands and I stopped by this used bookstore. I have this place because they have a fairly good selection for a store its size (tiny). You can buy books and then sell it back to them for half price. That's where I got To Kill a Mockingbird and this other book that I got which was stupid and so I sold it back for Persuasion. I haven't read many Jane Austen books but I love P&P but I had seen the movie before so I was familiar with the dialogue and plot which helped a lot. I am really excited to read it. YAY!!
I am really happy to report that I got my hands on some proper peanut butter! Becky picked some up for me at this stand that is on the way to the school she works at. It is so great! Seriously, peanut butter is like cigarrettes in prison here or something. It´s like that one thing that all the americans go crazy for. . . and I got some!
April 25
Because of my leg (that is now oozing junk) I have been watching a lot more tv lately, including the news. Specifically I have been watching CNN world. All week they have been focusing on what they are calling the global food crisis. It's scary stuff. I guess food prices are growing at a really high rate because of a lot of factors including alternative fuels. It doesn't look like it going to be getting better either and now people in haiti are eating mud with a little food mixed in and people in Egypt can only buy 7 eggs when not to long ago they could have bought 12 with the same amount of money. It is really scary. Sometimes the news can totally get me down. I mean between the food crisis and global warming and AIDS and poverty and corruption, sometimes it feels like we are in quite the slump. Maybe it also has to do with the poverty I see here. I am a little freaked out. but people were freaked out 100 years ago about things changing so hopefully it's just me being paranoid. right?
April 26
One thing that someone commented about the other day that has kind of stuck with me is that it must bother some of the poorer Nicaraguans to see all the rich gringos around here. In granada, there are a lot of gringos from europe and the states. Not only is this area popular for tourism, but it is a place where a lot of people have settled down. There are several buisnesses that specifically cater to gringos and there are a lot of touristy stands set up in the park. I wonder if it bothers people to be struggling for money when there are lots of people running around with lots of money in their pockets.
On a brighter note, I am really excited about the new facebook chat! I have been able to have conversations with my friends! I am very happy!
First of all, I would like to say, that my night wasn't as gross as thought it was going to be. Yesterday some guy came over to look at our toilet problems and he turned all the water off overnight because today the came back to flush out our whole septic system or something like that. Anyway, that meant that there was no water running in the house. This isn't actually that unusual so there is a big water tank in the garden/yard for showering when there isn't water. However, I am guessing that made some people quite uncomfortable.
Anyway, I was one of the only volunteers to go to school because I think Elba Zamora was the only school to have class today and there wasn't normal classes, there was only preschool. So, because none of the kids would want to go to school when their siblings aren't going, exactly 2 kids showed up. The teacher then decided that there wasn't much she could do school-wise so I basically babysat them the whole time. It was really fun to just hang out with the kids instead of having to worry about keeping them on track. We just played. The day went so fast.
One bummer. . . I learned that the preschool teacher doesn't know what a clarinet is!
April 19
Today I went to the beautiful Luguna de Apoyo. It is this volcanic crater that has been filled up with water. I got to swim, relax, and even kayak a little! The water felt so good! In the afternoon I didn't feel like swimming again (I got a bit burned) and so I just relaxed in a hammock and read my book of the moment, To Kill a Mockingbird. I decided to reread it when I saw it in a used bookstore here because I remembered that I really liked it when I read it freshman year, but I forgot a lot about it. I am now remembering all the things I loved about it. It is such a great book- and it makes you think. Yesterday I saw Mulholand Drive at this restaurant that shows movies a few times a week and I hated it. Well, hate is a strong word, I came out of the restaurant feeling bewildered and like the movie had no real worth. Apparently (someone told me) that the movie is supposedly making some statement about how a few people run Hollywood or something. Now, this is just my opinion, but when reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I am drawn in, I like the characters, and I get at least some of the point the author is trying to make. Isn't that a better way to make a point? In Mulholand Drive, I am completely sidetracked by the fact that the movie actually makes no sense, and I don't get any possible message. Oh, well that´s just my opinion of the moment.
April 20
Well, That sunburn I mentioned is a bit painful. I don't think I reapplied sun screen soon enough and the sun is really strong in the Luguna so I am basically a red version of that Guy in Big Fat Liar (this guy swam in a pool with blue dye in it). My legs hurt the most because the skin moves the most there and had gotten much less sun compared to my arms and face. I also think my left shin must of gotten the most sun because I have this pain in my shin but it only hurts a lot if I am off my feet for a bit and then stand up. If I continue to walk, it doesn't hurt that much.
April 21
Well, quite a few of volunteers have gotten sick recently and have gotten to see this doctor. He is one crazy guy. First of all, he is quite the talker. if someone went to visit him, they shouldn't expect to leave for at least 5 hours and they shouldn't expect him to restrain himself from laughing at you. One of the volunteers he found to be hilarious and he laughed at her quite a bit. Also, in addition to being a doctor, Dr. Sicily (that is what I will call him because he is from Sicily) is also a lawyer and a bit of a arms dealer (he sells guns I guess). Apparently, if he is looking for something in one of his drawers of this big elaborate desk he owns, he will casually pull out a gun and lay it on his desk. He also is fond of giving shots. . . in the butt. All the people I have heard about going there have gotten 3 or 4 shots in the behind. Crazy guy. I am definitely going to hold off if possible to going to visit Dr. Sicily. Although it would make for a good story. . .
April 22
Well I can just say that my left leg is pretty attractive. One might think my right leg is gorgeous, I mean, it does have the slowly fading splotchy sunburn that looks a little like a unfortunate birthmark, but my left leg actually outshines my right one. My left leg, somehow got a much more severe sunburn so in addition so the beautiful scarlet overtones, it has this kind of weird texture. it is kind of strangely smooth. Then, because my burn hurts a lot, I occasionally have this limp that is really worthy of NY fashion week or something. Plus, my left ankle has randomly decided to swell up. It doesn't hurt or itch or anything but I has a cankle effect that really would make any beauty queen jealous. Plus, because of my burns, I haven't really wanted to shave my legs so I now have man-legs. Seriously, if I was a contestant on America's Next Top Model, I would totally win. In fact, my left leg is so amazingly Helen of Troy-esque that on the first episode the would just name me ANTM right away. Beauty just comes easily to me. . .
April 23
Wow. . time as flown! As of today, I only have one more month left in Central America. It's weird to think about all the normal stuff from home that I haven't seen for two and a half months and all the things that are normal for me here that I won't see when I am back in the states. Some of it is obvious stuff like I haven't had graters or Chinese food or gone to a movie theater but I don't really miss it. It's like I have two different lives sort of. Like I am a different person here. My personality isn't that different (except for the fact that I haven't been the weird crazy person like am with my family- I don´t want to scare people) but the way I do things is different. When I want a treat at home, graters is the place to go. Here, I go across the street to the pulperia and get oreos and fast food isn't wendy's or Mc Donalds, it's grabbing a bag of mango slices or these cheesy tortillas from a lady in the park. Life is just sort of different here. It will be strange when I go home but I am looking forward to it. I am not really homesick but I am looking forward to being around people that I have known for longer than a couple months. To be in a place that I am totally familiar and comfortable with. Not that I am uncomfortable here, but it's not home (literally or culturally).
April 24
Well I haven't been doing much lately, just hanging around the house. My leg has been bothering me and I don't want to irritate my ankle by being to active (I want to discourage the cankleism) so I have been watching tv, reading, talking, etc. I did go out once to run a couple errands and I stopped by this used bookstore. I have this place because they have a fairly good selection for a store its size (tiny). You can buy books and then sell it back to them for half price. That's where I got To Kill a Mockingbird and this other book that I got which was stupid and so I sold it back for Persuasion. I haven't read many Jane Austen books but I love P&P but I had seen the movie before so I was familiar with the dialogue and plot which helped a lot. I am really excited to read it. YAY!!
I am really happy to report that I got my hands on some proper peanut butter! Becky picked some up for me at this stand that is on the way to the school she works at. It is so great! Seriously, peanut butter is like cigarrettes in prison here or something. It´s like that one thing that all the americans go crazy for. . . and I got some!
April 25
Because of my leg (that is now oozing junk) I have been watching a lot more tv lately, including the news. Specifically I have been watching CNN world. All week they have been focusing on what they are calling the global food crisis. It's scary stuff. I guess food prices are growing at a really high rate because of a lot of factors including alternative fuels. It doesn't look like it going to be getting better either and now people in haiti are eating mud with a little food mixed in and people in Egypt can only buy 7 eggs when not to long ago they could have bought 12 with the same amount of money. It is really scary. Sometimes the news can totally get me down. I mean between the food crisis and global warming and AIDS and poverty and corruption, sometimes it feels like we are in quite the slump. Maybe it also has to do with the poverty I see here. I am a little freaked out. but people were freaked out 100 years ago about things changing so hopefully it's just me being paranoid. right?
April 26
One thing that someone commented about the other day that has kind of stuck with me is that it must bother some of the poorer Nicaraguans to see all the rich gringos around here. In granada, there are a lot of gringos from europe and the states. Not only is this area popular for tourism, but it is a place where a lot of people have settled down. There are several buisnesses that specifically cater to gringos and there are a lot of touristy stands set up in the park. I wonder if it bothers people to be struggling for money when there are lots of people running around with lots of money in their pockets.
On a brighter note, I am really excited about the new facebook chat! I have been able to have conversations with my friends! I am very happy!
Apr 17, 2008
new people and smells
April 11
Today Tuija left and Andrew is going to leave in a few days interesting things about La Esperanza is that most people volunteer for about 2 months and people are always coming and going so most of the volunteers that were here when I started won't be here when I leave. However, it will such having to say goodbye all the time. Also, Tuija is a pretty good roommate. my next roommate could be pretty gross or mean or something. Or, maybe she will be a really loud snorer or there will be a mix up and I will get assigned a guy roommate who has really bad BO. This could go bad so easily. . .
April 12
I watched this thing on CBS today (yes, we don't have hot water but we do have cable tv) called The Lord's Boot Camp. I only caught about ten minutes at the end but it really made me think. All that I figured out was that there were some people that went to Africa and did some volunteering with children with HIV/AIDS or something like that and it reminded me of Montaña de Luz, the place I volunteered at in Honduras. That week was really intense, actually that week kind of started off a period of about a month that was crazy, but that place was so amazing and I was learning about things that I heard about but had never really met people that had gone through living with HIV/AIDS, parents deaths, abandonment, abuse, etc. Montaña, made me want to go back to central america. Anyway, when I was watching this, it also reminded me of how much I want to go to Africa. I want to see so much of the world and it makes me sad because I also have a lot of places and people I want to visit again. To many choices!
Anyway, back to the Lord's Boot Camp, at the end they showed one of the girls when she was back home and she was doing some evangelical work in the street. She want up to this girl and her mother and asked the girl if she believed in the bible and the girl said that she did and that she was a morman. The evangelical girl (I will call her girl #1 because I don't remember her name) didn't really know much about mormanism so she asked the other girl (girl #2) what it was like. Well, I guess girl #2 was not giving very good answers because girl #1 became very conserned about the salvation of girl #2 and told her so. Well, the mother of girl #2 became a bit adjitated so girl #1 got someone to talk to the mom while she attemped to convert girl #2 to a more godly form of christianity. This kind of bothered me. I don't know that that is the best way to convert people. First of all, I would find it offencive if someone came up to me and did that and I would find it even more offencive if I was the mother. I think evangelizing is a very tricky thing and go tell someone you have known for about 5 seconds that they are going to hell is probably not the best way to start off any conversation, nevermind one where you want someone to understand your point of view. I used to be wary of any type of evangelicalism. I am of the opinion that god is bigger than all of us and that I think we should probably let him worry about deciding who is going to hell or not. In fact, I don't really want to know because there is a very good chance it would break my heart. If I discoved that everyone goes to heaven, I would be upswt that all the people that have committed attricities get to go to heaven. However, if I found out that there is some rule that if you don't do something, or if you do a certain bad thing, then you have to go to hell, I would be devestated by the lack of hope for those people. Anyway, When I was is Costa Rica, I came across a form of evengelism that I like. It's called servant evangelism. Basiclly, how it works is you do something nice for someone like a free car washing or a free coke and tell them that you are doing it to show the love of Jesus in a practical way. If they want to talk more, they can, or if they feel their time has been wasted, at least the coke or there washed car will make up for it.
April 13
Well my fears subsided when I met my new roommate, Becky. She doesn´t look dangerous (although, I have been told not to judge a book by it's cover, even if she seems nice so far she could easily snore really loudly or be really gross- just kidding she is cool). Another girl moved in the house today as well. The three of got pizza together and we got to know each other. Becky is from Florida and is taking a quick break before she goes after her PhD in geology in the fall. I asked her if there is like a special geeky geology thing that gets her really excited but she didn't really come up with anything but she did confirm that in her opinion, volcanoes are pretty sweet. She is pretty quiet and I think we will get along OK. Sharon is the other new girl and she is from California and she used to work in marketing and she liked it but she didn't find it fulfilling because what she was doing was helping the rich get richer. So, she quit her job and is going to business school to learn about business that helps people (she had a term for it but I forget what it was) Anyway, she has spent a month or two in southeast asia and now is here. Sharon also seems pretty cool and she is really outgoing and friendly. They will be cool to have around the house.
April 14
One thing I miss when I use Spanish are being able to use words that aren't proper grammar. When I use english, I like to say things like "hard core" and "that's sweet" and adding "-ish" on the ends of words. I think that the way we use words expresses a part of our personality, and it is hard when I don't have the vocabulary to do that.
April 15
Well, one not so cool thing about nicaragua at this time of this year is the heat. IT IS SO HOT! Since I probably walk at least an hour in this heat every day, I think that is what has been bothering me. Since, I have gotten here. I feel really tired all the time. The sun just takes my energy from me. It is becoming the problem of the hour. But I just don't know if I am not doing something I should to protect myself. I will work through it, I just have to figure out my best survival methods. I am kind of looking forward to the rainy season but that probably won't make things cool just more humid. I am hoping though that is will create more wind and there will be a few more clouds so at least it might make me feel a little cooler.
April 16
School was interesting today. A lot of what the day usually consists of is a lot of coloring and naming the colors (well, they actually only know red, yellow, blue, orange and brown so they mostly just go over those). However, today, they traced their names today. I am lovin' the variety. Also, some kind of doctor volunteers or something came to the school to give the kids shots. Some of the kids flipped out. They were so scared. There was one kid that when they even mentioned he was going to get a shot he would start sobbing. I felt so bad for them. They all got through it OK, although they did have to hold a couple of the kids down. That was the worst. I felt really bad for them but I was happy to see that they were getting vaccinated for something and that they have at least some form of ongoing healthcare in place.
April 17
Well, right now our house is going through tough times. There seems to be a disease of some kind that is spreading at an alarming rate and nearly everyone in our house has gotten it. I will spare you the details but I will say that is an affliction of the digestive system and that it is good to have a toilet near. That leads me to the second issue troubling those in the Santa Lucía house- all the toilets are broken except for one. That toilet just happens to be located in my bedroom. Oh yeah it's perfect. But that not all, the bathroom isn't like a totally separate room. There are walls but they don't go all the way to the ceiling and there isn't a proper door, just a curtain (that I supplied, by the way, it didn't come with the house). Any sounds or smells coming from the bathroom can and probably will be smelled from in the bedroom and probably from my bed. Tonight could get pretty disgusting. Maybe I should sleep on the couch!
Today Tuija left and Andrew is going to leave in a few days interesting things about La Esperanza is that most people volunteer for about 2 months and people are always coming and going so most of the volunteers that were here when I started won't be here when I leave. However, it will such having to say goodbye all the time. Also, Tuija is a pretty good roommate. my next roommate could be pretty gross or mean or something. Or, maybe she will be a really loud snorer or there will be a mix up and I will get assigned a guy roommate who has really bad BO. This could go bad so easily. . .
April 12
I watched this thing on CBS today (yes, we don't have hot water but we do have cable tv) called The Lord's Boot Camp. I only caught about ten minutes at the end but it really made me think. All that I figured out was that there were some people that went to Africa and did some volunteering with children with HIV/AIDS or something like that and it reminded me of Montaña de Luz, the place I volunteered at in Honduras. That week was really intense, actually that week kind of started off a period of about a month that was crazy, but that place was so amazing and I was learning about things that I heard about but had never really met people that had gone through living with HIV/AIDS, parents deaths, abandonment, abuse, etc. Montaña, made me want to go back to central america. Anyway, when I was watching this, it also reminded me of how much I want to go to Africa. I want to see so much of the world and it makes me sad because I also have a lot of places and people I want to visit again. To many choices!
Anyway, back to the Lord's Boot Camp, at the end they showed one of the girls when she was back home and she was doing some evangelical work in the street. She want up to this girl and her mother and asked the girl if she believed in the bible and the girl said that she did and that she was a morman. The evangelical girl (I will call her girl #1 because I don't remember her name) didn't really know much about mormanism so she asked the other girl (girl #2) what it was like. Well, I guess girl #2 was not giving very good answers because girl #1 became very conserned about the salvation of girl #2 and told her so. Well, the mother of girl #2 became a bit adjitated so girl #1 got someone to talk to the mom while she attemped to convert girl #2 to a more godly form of christianity. This kind of bothered me. I don't know that that is the best way to convert people. First of all, I would find it offencive if someone came up to me and did that and I would find it even more offencive if I was the mother. I think evangelizing is a very tricky thing and go tell someone you have known for about 5 seconds that they are going to hell is probably not the best way to start off any conversation, nevermind one where you want someone to understand your point of view. I used to be wary of any type of evangelicalism. I am of the opinion that god is bigger than all of us and that I think we should probably let him worry about deciding who is going to hell or not. In fact, I don't really want to know because there is a very good chance it would break my heart. If I discoved that everyone goes to heaven, I would be upswt that all the people that have committed attricities get to go to heaven. However, if I found out that there is some rule that if you don't do something, or if you do a certain bad thing, then you have to go to hell, I would be devestated by the lack of hope for those people. Anyway, When I was is Costa Rica, I came across a form of evengelism that I like. It's called servant evangelism. Basiclly, how it works is you do something nice for someone like a free car washing or a free coke and tell them that you are doing it to show the love of Jesus in a practical way. If they want to talk more, they can, or if they feel their time has been wasted, at least the coke or there washed car will make up for it.
April 13
Well my fears subsided when I met my new roommate, Becky. She doesn´t look dangerous (although, I have been told not to judge a book by it's cover, even if she seems nice so far she could easily snore really loudly or be really gross- just kidding she is cool). Another girl moved in the house today as well. The three of got pizza together and we got to know each other. Becky is from Florida and is taking a quick break before she goes after her PhD in geology in the fall. I asked her if there is like a special geeky geology thing that gets her really excited but she didn't really come up with anything but she did confirm that in her opinion, volcanoes are pretty sweet. She is pretty quiet and I think we will get along OK. Sharon is the other new girl and she is from California and she used to work in marketing and she liked it but she didn't find it fulfilling because what she was doing was helping the rich get richer. So, she quit her job and is going to business school to learn about business that helps people (she had a term for it but I forget what it was) Anyway, she has spent a month or two in southeast asia and now is here. Sharon also seems pretty cool and she is really outgoing and friendly. They will be cool to have around the house.
April 14
One thing I miss when I use Spanish are being able to use words that aren't proper grammar. When I use english, I like to say things like "hard core" and "that's sweet" and adding "-ish" on the ends of words. I think that the way we use words expresses a part of our personality, and it is hard when I don't have the vocabulary to do that.
April 15
Well, one not so cool thing about nicaragua at this time of this year is the heat. IT IS SO HOT! Since I probably walk at least an hour in this heat every day, I think that is what has been bothering me. Since, I have gotten here. I feel really tired all the time. The sun just takes my energy from me. It is becoming the problem of the hour. But I just don't know if I am not doing something I should to protect myself. I will work through it, I just have to figure out my best survival methods. I am kind of looking forward to the rainy season but that probably won't make things cool just more humid. I am hoping though that is will create more wind and there will be a few more clouds so at least it might make me feel a little cooler.
April 16
School was interesting today. A lot of what the day usually consists of is a lot of coloring and naming the colors (well, they actually only know red, yellow, blue, orange and brown so they mostly just go over those). However, today, they traced their names today. I am lovin' the variety. Also, some kind of doctor volunteers or something came to the school to give the kids shots. Some of the kids flipped out. They were so scared. There was one kid that when they even mentioned he was going to get a shot he would start sobbing. I felt so bad for them. They all got through it OK, although they did have to hold a couple of the kids down. That was the worst. I felt really bad for them but I was happy to see that they were getting vaccinated for something and that they have at least some form of ongoing healthcare in place.
April 17
Well, right now our house is going through tough times. There seems to be a disease of some kind that is spreading at an alarming rate and nearly everyone in our house has gotten it. I will spare you the details but I will say that is an affliction of the digestive system and that it is good to have a toilet near. That leads me to the second issue troubling those in the Santa Lucía house- all the toilets are broken except for one. That toilet just happens to be located in my bedroom. Oh yeah it's perfect. But that not all, the bathroom isn't like a totally separate room. There are walls but they don't go all the way to the ceiling and there isn't a proper door, just a curtain (that I supplied, by the way, it didn't come with the house). Any sounds or smells coming from the bathroom can and probably will be smelled from in the bedroom and probably from my bed. Tonight could get pretty disgusting. Maybe I should sleep on the couch!
Apr 10, 2008
my sweet gringaraguarican accent
April 4
I had a low key day today. the preschool class I am assigned to didn't meet today so I had the day off. I checked my e-mail, went to bookstore, did some grocery shopping, came back home and read, took a nap. . .it was just easy. It's nice to have a day like that because I have been so busy. Anyway, because not much happened today I am going to fill you in on the people in the Santa Lucía house (the house I am living in)
Tuija (formerly spelled Tooey, which is how her nickname is pronounced, her full name is pronounce too-ya)- is my roommate and is from Finland, she is always really nice and has shared her coffee with me and is always really friendly. She is interested in learning about different cultural differences so so we have had a couple cool conversations about the differences between Finland, the US, and Nicaragua.
Asya and Kris- They are a couple from the US. Kris is from NYC and Asya is from Jersey. Asya always states what she thinks including her opinion that New Jersey is the best state is the US. However, I personally find her reasoning a little faulty because her reasons are like "Jersey has syringes on the beach". I don't quite follow how that makes New Jersey a great state.
Andrew- Andrew is from the US and while originally from Boston, now lives in Cleveland. He is eighteen and going to college nex year so we have a lot in common. I don't really see that much of him but he seems fairly cool.
Tui and Brian- Tui (also formerly spelled Tooey) is also from Finland and Brian is from the states. They are easy to get along with. I see more of Brian than I do Tui and I am happy to report that he is is on the pale side of things as well. April 5The day was pretty low key but the night was eventful because there was a party at the Santa Lucía house. There was definitely drinking, but it was a lot easier than I thought to not drink any alcohol. Maybe it was because it was my house no one tried to serve me alcohol, I don't know but it wasn't really an issue. Whew! That makes me feel way more confident about my living situation. I know it will be OK.
Anyway, at the party I ended up talking to this guy for a while and I was so proud of myself because our conversation was not in English but in Spanish (actually at the end we spoke some English because he wanted to practice his English). It wasn't a short conversation either, it was like an hour!! It makes me so happy because there is no way I could have done that when I first arrived in Costa Rica. Yay!April 6Today was nice because a bunch of the volunteers (me included) went to an island that is in a lake that Granada is on the side of. We just hung out the whole time playing Spanish scrabble and jungle speed, talking, and swimming. There was also a nice breeze and we were in the shade so I felt the coolest I have been outside in about a week.Yesterday and today we got a couple new additions to the Santa Lucía house. Yesterday Jay, an American arrived. He studied peace and conflict studies at Berkley and has spent the past three weeks surfing in Costa Rica. I talked with him a bit on the way home and it's kind of interesting to think that we have both spent time in Costa Rica and our experiences were completely different. He was camping out and he spent hardly any time in the city and I spent most of my time in the city and hardly any time at the beach. Today, after we got home, the other new guy showed up and his name is Christian and he is from Italy. Right now, that is basically all I know about him because he arrived right about the same time that I was getting ready to go to bed.April 7Today was my first day solo at the school. Every day prior to today Ellen, another volunteer, was with me in the classroom. Ellen has since left to go home to the states, so I am the only volunteer in the class. Most of what I do in the class is just help the teacher any way I can, mostly by trying to keep the kids in track with what they are supposed to be doing. It can be really frustrating because there isn´t much discipline in the class and so sometimes a stubborn kid is just left to do what ever he wants during class. Sometimes kids don´t just don´t show up. Today, only about half the class showed up so there were only 8 kids there. I am still adjusting but I think I got the basics down which is a relief.
When I was probably 12 or 13 I watched the Disney channel and every month a new Disney Channel Original Movie came out. Now, there was one that I was particularly interested in because it came out in July (my favorite month) and it was called Gotta Kick It Up and it was about a bunch of cheerleader who can't dance who do get along with the teacher who ends up coaching their team and leading them to victory in the cheerleading championships or something like that (by the way, I do get how cheesy that is now, but back then I was totally drinking the disney channel kool-aid). Anyway, the school was mostly Hispanic and I remember that their cheer was ¡Si se puede! which means yes you can! in spanish. Well today, in class there was this little boy that said that he couldn't do something and so I of course, remembered that movie and said ¡Si se puede! That seemed to stick with the kid and throughout the rest of the the day I would hear him say that. It totally made my day.Another personal victory- I bought a soda, a sliced mango, and a taco, for about a dollar and ten cents!
April 8
Well, I made a decision about college. For the past couple months I have been going back and forth between my top two colleges, Hiram and Eastern Mennonite University. I have gone back and forth between the two, discussed to death, and made a pro-con list. After what seemed like forever, I have finally picked. . . . EMU. I knew that I want to be a nursing major but I also really wanted to be at least a Spanish minor and when I talked to a EMU Spanish professor about it, she was really encouraging and actually wants me to try to be a double major with Nursing and Spanish which I know would be really hard and maybe unrealistic but I want to at least try. Also, I would be able to have a whole semester abroad. I also like the idea of living in a area outside of Ohio and even though I originally liked the idea of going to a college where I didn´t know anyone, now I am happy to be going to a school where I know a few people. Right now, I am really relieved that I have made my choice and am looking forward to college.
April 9
Well I think it is time I talked a bit about Spanish. I am struggling a bit. I have gotten better at conversations where I am introducing myself but I am a lot worse at having casual conversations with people I already know and talking about my day. I am also having issues talking with some of the volunteers from Europe that don't know English. Christian the new housemate from Italy, actually lives in the south of Spain. Now, I am getting better at understanding central American Spanish, but Spanish Spanish spoken with a thick Italian accent? Way harder. I am also realizing that my Spanish at the end of this walkabout is going to be a little weird because I will have picked up weird Costa Rica and Nicaraguan things and mixed it with a strange gringa accent. For example, in Nicaragua, a lot of people drop the s at the end of words so "adios" becomes "adio" and "gracias" becomes "gracia". I have definitely started to do this and I have heard that this is something other central Americans make fun of Nicaragua for. uh oh. like I need another issue with my Spanish. great. Actually, it's ok though. I with just learn to speak really great Spanish here with a really cool sounding gringaraguarican accent. I always wanted an accent. . .
April 10
I had a really sad conversation with Lady (my Spanish instructor) today. We talked about all the natural disasters that Nicaragua has to deal with. They have hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, and sometimes floods. We talked a while about Hurricane Mitch and how devistating it was to Nicaragua. It killed so many people and then in the aftermath, the president stole money from the aid that was supposed to help people recover. Lady said that they don't know how much money he took, but it was probably close to 8 million dollars. In addition to this, a lot of people were suffering from different diseases like dengue fever, malaria, and cholera. All this information just makes me so sad. I knew most of what she said, but to hear it from her and realize that she was alive when this happened. Hurricane Mitch is a part of her life. It really made it seem more real than when I read about it in a book.
Apr 3, 2008
bad spanish and hyper children and blisters, oh my!
March 2
Today I just tried really hard to wake up fresh and ready to totally keep an open mind and do my best. I had had a few issues- I realized my Spanish is so limited that I can't understand what the teacher is telling the kids to do so I sort of have to guess but I am just going to work on it everyday until it gets better. I can do it!
Anyway, one interesting thing about Nicaragua is that there big sport is not soccer, it's baseball. I know, strange but true. I went with a few of the other volunteers last night to a game. It was really cool. It was kid of a weird mix of American and Nicaraguan stuff. For example, they played that song that you yell "charge!" after but no one ever said it. Also, there was (really bad) pizza, but they had mangoes and these little green fruits that I don't like instead of hot dogs. The thing that totally made the night though was this little boy who was somehow associated with the team we were rooting for would go out on the field with his dad(?) and start dancing. He was so cute! Everyone was cheering for him while he was dancing. So I had a good time and the team we were going for (I think it was the Granada team) won, so it was all good.
Oh, and basically a miracle happened today. the bed I was sleeping on is supported by four pegs and before I came, one broke. It was kind of shoved back into place and so I always had to be careful to not move around too much because the peg could give out. Anyway, I got a new bed to replace the broken one! A brand new bed! Seriously, it is sooo nice! I have lowered my living expectations so much while I have been in Central America so a nice new bed is like having, I don't know, a butler waking you up each morning with chocolate or something. I don't even have hot water ( I don't really mind that though because it has been in the 90s every day I have been here so far). I feel so lucky!
March 3
Well, school was ok today. The kids don't listen very well despite the fact that they are only in school for 4 hours a day (including lunch and recess) but today they didn't do as much because it was another volunteer's last day so she brought a pinata and they got to break it open and eat all the candy that was inside (which is one thing that you probably don't want to do with kids that are already hyper and have bad attentions spans, but maybe that's just me).
One thing I am having some problems with is all the walking. We have to walk everywhere here. And while my house is probably the nicest volunteer house, it is the farthest away from everything. This has resulted in four large blisters on my feet (Actually that is really my fault because I made a really bad judgment call on whether or not to wear flip flops). I will be fine in like a week when I adjust(and my blisters heal), but right now I'm just walking weirdly.
Oh, I had my first Spanish lesson today. It was so great! My teacher is name is Lady and she was really nice. A lot of what she was saying was review for me but it was a good review not a boring one. Plus, I was speaking Spanish the whole time so it was really fun- she is really easy to understand.
Another good thing about today is I had a really good conversation with Tooey (I still don't know how to spell her name). We were talking about how I am a christian and how I don't drink and she seemed to understand completely. It makes me feel so much better that even though she goes out a lot she knows that I when I say I don't want to, it's not because I don't want to hang out with them. I feel like a weight has lifted off of me.
Today was good!
Today I just tried really hard to wake up fresh and ready to totally keep an open mind and do my best. I had had a few issues- I realized my Spanish is so limited that I can't understand what the teacher is telling the kids to do so I sort of have to guess but I am just going to work on it everyday until it gets better. I can do it!
Anyway, one interesting thing about Nicaragua is that there big sport is not soccer, it's baseball. I know, strange but true. I went with a few of the other volunteers last night to a game. It was really cool. It was kid of a weird mix of American and Nicaraguan stuff. For example, they played that song that you yell "charge!" after but no one ever said it. Also, there was (really bad) pizza, but they had mangoes and these little green fruits that I don't like instead of hot dogs. The thing that totally made the night though was this little boy who was somehow associated with the team we were rooting for would go out on the field with his dad(?) and start dancing. He was so cute! Everyone was cheering for him while he was dancing. So I had a good time and the team we were going for (I think it was the Granada team) won, so it was all good.
Oh, and basically a miracle happened today. the bed I was sleeping on is supported by four pegs and before I came, one broke. It was kind of shoved back into place and so I always had to be careful to not move around too much because the peg could give out. Anyway, I got a new bed to replace the broken one! A brand new bed! Seriously, it is sooo nice! I have lowered my living expectations so much while I have been in Central America so a nice new bed is like having, I don't know, a butler waking you up each morning with chocolate or something. I don't even have hot water ( I don't really mind that though because it has been in the 90s every day I have been here so far). I feel so lucky!
March 3
Well, school was ok today. The kids don't listen very well despite the fact that they are only in school for 4 hours a day (including lunch and recess) but today they didn't do as much because it was another volunteer's last day so she brought a pinata and they got to break it open and eat all the candy that was inside (which is one thing that you probably don't want to do with kids that are already hyper and have bad attentions spans, but maybe that's just me).
One thing I am having some problems with is all the walking. We have to walk everywhere here. And while my house is probably the nicest volunteer house, it is the farthest away from everything. This has resulted in four large blisters on my feet (Actually that is really my fault because I made a really bad judgment call on whether or not to wear flip flops). I will be fine in like a week when I adjust(and my blisters heal), but right now I'm just walking weirdly.
Oh, I had my first Spanish lesson today. It was so great! My teacher is name is Lady and she was really nice. A lot of what she was saying was review for me but it was a good review not a boring one. Plus, I was speaking Spanish the whole time so it was really fun- she is really easy to understand.
Another good thing about today is I had a really good conversation with Tooey (I still don't know how to spell her name). We were talking about how I am a christian and how I don't drink and she seemed to understand completely. It makes me feel so much better that even though she goes out a lot she knows that I when I say I don't want to, it's not because I don't want to hang out with them. I feel like a weight has lifted off of me.
Today was good!
Apr 1, 2008
March 31
Well, I had orientation today and I got to meet the other volunteers that are just starting out. There is a guy from the states, and guy from England, a woman from Germany and a guy from the Netherlands! Yay! It's really cool to meet dutch people. Anyway, as part of orientation we visited three of the schools that La Esperanza Granada works in (the other two only have school on the afternoon) and they were all so small. It was kind of fun to picture myself at each school and to think about where i might be placed. After I talked to Pauline (my mentor) we decided that I would go to Alba Zamora and help with the preschoolers/kindergardeners because of my lack of Spanish skills. Also, we talked about maybe me going with kids when they go to the dentist. I would sit with them and play games with them while they are waiting. Also, I will sign up for Spanish lessons in the afternoon. I will be busy!
Today was my last day with my mom. When we said goodbye, I was ready to get started working but I know that it will be hard to be without her and all my family and friends.
April 1
Today was a little hard. I am having trouble adjusting- again. It was just hard to say goodbye to my mom and I feel alone. Its weird, but I feel like I have less in common with the people here than I did with the Pura Vida Missions people. I am starting all over and when I went to the school, I realized that after this week, I will be the only one that speaks English in the classroom I am working in. Uh oh. that is going to be interesting.
Well, I had orientation today and I got to meet the other volunteers that are just starting out. There is a guy from the states, and guy from England, a woman from Germany and a guy from the Netherlands! Yay! It's really cool to meet dutch people. Anyway, as part of orientation we visited three of the schools that La Esperanza Granada works in (the other two only have school on the afternoon) and they were all so small. It was kind of fun to picture myself at each school and to think about where i might be placed. After I talked to Pauline (my mentor) we decided that I would go to Alba Zamora and help with the preschoolers/kindergardeners because of my lack of Spanish skills. Also, we talked about maybe me going with kids when they go to the dentist. I would sit with them and play games with them while they are waiting. Also, I will sign up for Spanish lessons in the afternoon. I will be busy!
Today was my last day with my mom. When we said goodbye, I was ready to get started working but I know that it will be hard to be without her and all my family and friends.
April 1
Today was a little hard. I am having trouble adjusting- again. It was just hard to say goodbye to my mom and I feel alone. Its weird, but I feel like I have less in common with the people here than I did with the Pura Vida Missions people. I am starting all over and when I went to the school, I realized that after this week, I will be the only one that speaks English in the classroom I am working in. Uh oh. that is going to be interesting.
Mar 30, 2008
starting from scratch
Today was my first day in Nicaragua and I am really really excited for the next couple months. Granada is so beautiful. So beautiful. The building are all different colors ranging from a golden yellow to a mint green and there are some really cool looking cathedrals. I also checked into my hostel/house (I'm not sure what to call it) and my roommate is from Finland! Her name is Tooey (I am totally making up that spelling) and I actually in my little house there is actually another girl named Tooey who is from Finland! there is also a couple from the states and another guy. I am really excited!
Well, I think I should mention that I have a goal that I have been working on for just about my entire life. I have tried many times to complete it and failed many times resulting in much pain and sometimes humiliation. People told me I couldn't do it but I never quite gave up. However, during my first walkabout, I somehow managed to finally. . . . . GET A TAN(ish)!!!
Well, I think I should mention that I have a goal that I have been working on for just about my entire life. I have tried many times to complete it and failed many times resulting in much pain and sometimes humiliation. People told me I couldn't do it but I never quite gave up. However, during my first walkabout, I somehow managed to finally. . . . . GET A TAN(ish)!!!
Catching up (part three)
March 23
Well, Easter was low key. I went to church and they hardly even mentioned it. After church, we served lunch to the MEI kids and their homestays. This was originally going to be the time when the MEI kids and their homestay families would say goodbye but so many families wanted to have the afternoon to do things (They had Friday to do this but just about everything was closed) so Delynn said that the extra afternoon was optional. Every family chose to spend the afternoon with their homestay kids. It was pretty sweet to see how attached they had all become after just a week. It makes me think about how sad I will be to leave my homestay family.
March 24
I'm back at Bella Flor's. And guess what, I am shoveling more dirt! What a surprise! I don't care that much anymore though. I'm just glad to be back and to be hanging out with people. On the way to Bella Flor's, Gloria and I talked about my whole walkabout (it's the last time we were going to see each other because when I am back at the base for the last time the Hoover's are going to be out of town). She said that she was impressed with how I was with the groups and how I always seemed to put myself into whatever needed to be done. That made me feel really good. I definitely think my work ethic improved while I was here- I'm not sure I had the best work ethic before walkabout. It was really cool to hear that she thought I did a good job with the groups because half the time I didn't know how I was supposed to act. I felt like one of the kids in the groups because I was their age but I was also kind of part of staff. It was kind of weird but I guess I did OK at it.
Gloria told me an interesting story about the first time she saw Little Miss Sunshine (a really good movie, if you haven't seen it). Delynn, Carmelinda, and her were going to see Night at the Museum and they had already bought their tickets when they were told that the projector wasn't working but that they could pick another movie to see. Little Miss Sunshine was one of the movies listed and they didn't know what it was about so they asked the lady at the ticket counter who said it was about a little girl who enters a beauty pageant. Gloria and Delynn thought that might be something Carmelinda might like to see so they picked it. Carmelinda was probably six then and Little Miss Sunshine is rated R. The whole movie they kept debating whether to leave or not but it was so funny they ended up staying for the whole movie. They had a long discussion with Carmelinda afterwards about all they things in the movie (They had a lot of things to discuss: suicide, drugs, homosexuality, etc.) and Gloria is actually glad they did see they movie with her because many of those topics are ones that kids hear about at school before they hear about it at home and the movie was a funny way to introduce Carmelinda to them.
March 25
Yesterday, A big dump truck dumped a huge pile of dirt that we had to haul. Well, that was big, but today FOUR big dumptrucks dumped dirt so there is a HUGE pile of dirt down the street. I can't believe it! I asked Bella For, and she said she doesn't have any groups coming in the near future and tomorrow is my last day so only the people in La Tabla with their three wheelbarrows are going to hauling this dirt. Hopefully this will finish up the wall!
Today is my last full day in La Tabla. Tomorrow will be different because my mom will be here so I felt kind of like it was my last day. I am really going to miss everyone here.
In other news, My mom is here! Here flight was delayed 40 minutes and she had to wait in line for 2 hours at customs, but she made it!
March 26
I had to say goodbye to everyone today. It was really hard but I didn't cry or anything (I was expecting to but because my mom was here I think my brain was kind of in two places at once). My mom brought stuff for the kids to play with. The kids had a lot of fun playing with all the stickers and drawing and it was a good last afternoon.
After La Tabla, my mom and I took a bus to Cahuita, a small town on the Caribbean. I picked it out because it was small so we could walk to most places in town, it was on the beach, it had a coral reef, and it was on the Caribbean which I had always been told how different that part of Costa Rica is and I wanted to see a different side to Costa Rica. Anyway, on the bus ride there, I checked out a little map I had of Cahuita and realized that the hotel that we picked wasn't actually in the town but down the road a couple kilometers by the playa negro. This wouldn't be a problem except we were arriving at about 9 (sunset is about 6) and we were unfamiliar with the territory. Uh Oh. When we got there, the bus station was empty except for a security guard (At least that what we assumed he was because he had a uniform and a gun) who after hearing that we needed a taxi handed my mom's huge suitcase to this guy who he said was a taxi. Now, in my reading in preparation for this trip, I learned that all registered taxi's had a red vehicle with a taxi number on the side and that it wasn't recommended to go with non red "taxis". Well, this guy didn't have a red car so I was a little nervous. My mom, who didn't want to walk and figued that if the armed security guard trusted him, we could too. My mom was right. It went fine, the guy was nice and we got to the hotel ok. Whew!
March 27
Today was sweet! This guy Johnny (the brother of Cesar, who drove us last night) drove us around and we went to the Bribri Indian reservation and saw authentic native americans, hanging out it their house, cooking food. One of them was a 108 year old guy sleeping with a parrot on a shoulder. It was cool! We were really close to the Costa Rica/Panama border so we went to the river that divides the two countries and so we saw Panama! Then a Bribri woman showed us how chocolate is made (it comes from a fruit!) and we bought some really good black pepper chocolate from her. After that we went into Cahuita, grabbed some lunch at this Pizza place that named it's pizzas things like Marilyn Monroe, LSD, and John F Kennedy (we ordered "The Doors" pizza). We then walked along the beach in the National Park. We saw iguanas, white faced monkeys, and a beautiful beach. It was such a great day. It was beautiful and the people were nice. The beach was amazing and I got to see the Caribbean part of Costa Rica. it was a great vacation.
March 28
We took the bus back to San Jose and I realized how much I have learned about agriculture while I have been here. I learned that gourmet coffee is grown at high altitudes, pineapples don't grow on trees, and that chocolate comes from a fruit. In coming here I didn't even consider that I would learn anything about the things that are grown here and I just realized that in fact, I have.
March 29
I spent most of my day in a bus. It was my last day in Costa Rica. I think I have grown a lot while I have been here, my Spanish has improved a lot (and my willingness to make a fool out of myself while trying to speak Spanish), my work ethic has improved, my ability to have my things semi-neat when I am sharing a room with someone has developed, and I feel like I am more independent from my family now and more my own person. I also know more about the struggles of people in poverty and how we have so much more in the states than we really need. I am so glad I came here. I wouldn't be the person I am now if I hadn't.
My first walkabout is now complete.
Well, Easter was low key. I went to church and they hardly even mentioned it. After church, we served lunch to the MEI kids and their homestays. This was originally going to be the time when the MEI kids and their homestay families would say goodbye but so many families wanted to have the afternoon to do things (They had Friday to do this but just about everything was closed) so Delynn said that the extra afternoon was optional. Every family chose to spend the afternoon with their homestay kids. It was pretty sweet to see how attached they had all become after just a week. It makes me think about how sad I will be to leave my homestay family.
March 24
I'm back at Bella Flor's. And guess what, I am shoveling more dirt! What a surprise! I don't care that much anymore though. I'm just glad to be back and to be hanging out with people. On the way to Bella Flor's, Gloria and I talked about my whole walkabout (it's the last time we were going to see each other because when I am back at the base for the last time the Hoover's are going to be out of town). She said that she was impressed with how I was with the groups and how I always seemed to put myself into whatever needed to be done. That made me feel really good. I definitely think my work ethic improved while I was here- I'm not sure I had the best work ethic before walkabout. It was really cool to hear that she thought I did a good job with the groups because half the time I didn't know how I was supposed to act. I felt like one of the kids in the groups because I was their age but I was also kind of part of staff. It was kind of weird but I guess I did OK at it.
Gloria told me an interesting story about the first time she saw Little Miss Sunshine (a really good movie, if you haven't seen it). Delynn, Carmelinda, and her were going to see Night at the Museum and they had already bought their tickets when they were told that the projector wasn't working but that they could pick another movie to see. Little Miss Sunshine was one of the movies listed and they didn't know what it was about so they asked the lady at the ticket counter who said it was about a little girl who enters a beauty pageant. Gloria and Delynn thought that might be something Carmelinda might like to see so they picked it. Carmelinda was probably six then and Little Miss Sunshine is rated R. The whole movie they kept debating whether to leave or not but it was so funny they ended up staying for the whole movie. They had a long discussion with Carmelinda afterwards about all they things in the movie (They had a lot of things to discuss: suicide, drugs, homosexuality, etc.) and Gloria is actually glad they did see they movie with her because many of those topics are ones that kids hear about at school before they hear about it at home and the movie was a funny way to introduce Carmelinda to them.
March 25
Yesterday, A big dump truck dumped a huge pile of dirt that we had to haul. Well, that was big, but today FOUR big dumptrucks dumped dirt so there is a HUGE pile of dirt down the street. I can't believe it! I asked Bella For, and she said she doesn't have any groups coming in the near future and tomorrow is my last day so only the people in La Tabla with their three wheelbarrows are going to hauling this dirt. Hopefully this will finish up the wall!
Today is my last full day in La Tabla. Tomorrow will be different because my mom will be here so I felt kind of like it was my last day. I am really going to miss everyone here.
In other news, My mom is here! Here flight was delayed 40 minutes and she had to wait in line for 2 hours at customs, but she made it!
March 26
I had to say goodbye to everyone today. It was really hard but I didn't cry or anything (I was expecting to but because my mom was here I think my brain was kind of in two places at once). My mom brought stuff for the kids to play with. The kids had a lot of fun playing with all the stickers and drawing and it was a good last afternoon.
After La Tabla, my mom and I took a bus to Cahuita, a small town on the Caribbean. I picked it out because it was small so we could walk to most places in town, it was on the beach, it had a coral reef, and it was on the Caribbean which I had always been told how different that part of Costa Rica is and I wanted to see a different side to Costa Rica. Anyway, on the bus ride there, I checked out a little map I had of Cahuita and realized that the hotel that we picked wasn't actually in the town but down the road a couple kilometers by the playa negro. This wouldn't be a problem except we were arriving at about 9 (sunset is about 6) and we were unfamiliar with the territory. Uh Oh. When we got there, the bus station was empty except for a security guard (At least that what we assumed he was because he had a uniform and a gun) who after hearing that we needed a taxi handed my mom's huge suitcase to this guy who he said was a taxi. Now, in my reading in preparation for this trip, I learned that all registered taxi's had a red vehicle with a taxi number on the side and that it wasn't recommended to go with non red "taxis". Well, this guy didn't have a red car so I was a little nervous. My mom, who didn't want to walk and figued that if the armed security guard trusted him, we could too. My mom was right. It went fine, the guy was nice and we got to the hotel ok. Whew!
March 27
Today was sweet! This guy Johnny (the brother of Cesar, who drove us last night) drove us around and we went to the Bribri Indian reservation and saw authentic native americans, hanging out it their house, cooking food. One of them was a 108 year old guy sleeping with a parrot on a shoulder. It was cool! We were really close to the Costa Rica/Panama border so we went to the river that divides the two countries and so we saw Panama! Then a Bribri woman showed us how chocolate is made (it comes from a fruit!) and we bought some really good black pepper chocolate from her. After that we went into Cahuita, grabbed some lunch at this Pizza place that named it's pizzas things like Marilyn Monroe, LSD, and John F Kennedy (we ordered "The Doors" pizza). We then walked along the beach in the National Park. We saw iguanas, white faced monkeys, and a beautiful beach. It was such a great day. It was beautiful and the people were nice. The beach was amazing and I got to see the Caribbean part of Costa Rica. it was a great vacation.
March 28
We took the bus back to San Jose and I realized how much I have learned about agriculture while I have been here. I learned that gourmet coffee is grown at high altitudes, pineapples don't grow on trees, and that chocolate comes from a fruit. In coming here I didn't even consider that I would learn anything about the things that are grown here and I just realized that in fact, I have.
March 29
I spent most of my day in a bus. It was my last day in Costa Rica. I think I have grown a lot while I have been here, my Spanish has improved a lot (and my willingness to make a fool out of myself while trying to speak Spanish), my work ethic has improved, my ability to have my things semi-neat when I am sharing a room with someone has developed, and I feel like I am more independent from my family now and more my own person. I also know more about the struggles of people in poverty and how we have so much more in the states than we really need. I am so glad I came here. I wouldn't be the person I am now if I hadn't.
My first walkabout is now complete.
Mar 28, 2008
catching up (part 2)
March 20
Today I went with the MEI group to the semi-Mennonite church that we attended earlier in the week. We were doing maintenance stuff like painting and pulling weeds. At lunch, I had a conversation with Chad, one of the interns at PVM, and Javier, a member of the church who has been assisting us this week at La Quinca and today at the church. Javier has had a difficult life. He is from Nicaragua and was involved with the Sandinista guerrilla forces. I don't know all the details but I do know that he had been brainwashed to believe all North Americans (aka Americans and Canadians, here they don't consider Central Americans a part of North America) were bad. Now, he is really involved in the church and even leads worship. It was really interesting to meet him. Before this trip I had never met someone like him. I have found it really interesting to to hear about Nicaraguans in Costa Rica and the relationship between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Because of the conflicts in Nicaragua, many Nicaraguans have immigrated to Costa Rica. They have better jobs there and they have more stability there except many of them are so poor that they end up living in neighborhoods like La Tabla and La Quinca. I didn't even realize it at first but many of the people who I have been working with are Nicaraguans. I have even learned Nicaraguan Spanish vocabulary. Another thing that I have found to be interesting is how similar the relationship between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is with the US' relationship with Mexico. There are so many Nicaraguans in Costa Rica that Ticos don't want any more of them coming to Costa Rica. They feel like they are taking jobs and raising the crime rate. I haven't talked to Bella Flor about her views on it but I am definitely going to look into it more when I get to Granada.
March 21
Today I went with the MEI group and we went to see a reenactment of the Crucifixion of Jesus. It was really strange. It's supposed to a religious experience but if felt more like a play. It wasn't a part of a worship service which I think would make it a lot better and I kept getting distracted by the fake punching and the dramatic music. I still don't totally know how I feel about it but it didn't feel worshipful to me. This is the only big Semana Santa (Holy Week) event that we have done. Because it such a huge catholic holiday, most other churches seem to shy away from it so the things I have observed are the fact that there is hardly anyone on the road, the sound of roman soldiers marching, and the big stage in front of the Catholic church in town (it was set up for burning Judas at the stake- I think).
March 22
Today I went with the MEI group and we did and activity with the youth group at the church. We rented a soccer Field for a while and played soccer for an hour and then played octopus (it's like fish and minnows or british bulldog, kind of) It was so much fun even though we played Canadians versus Costa Ricans and the Costa Ricans won most of the time. I can just say that I am terrible at soccer. You would think that I could channel all my dutchness and pull some skill out but apperently it doesn't work like that. I promise that I try, but I just have trouble with the whole execution. I think it out, I try to study what people are doing but when I actually get to a point where I can do something, my foot eye coordination becomes zero and I have no balence and I feel really stupid. Maybe it's because when everyone else was learning sports, I was learning ballet (although I wasn't a very good ballet dancer either). The thing I am the worst at is the head butt thing. No matter how hard I try, I don't know that I will ever be able to willingly stick my head towards a speedy ball. It just doesn't work. Oh well, I guess I'll stick to Camp Luz rec games and really competitive games of spoons.
Today I went with the MEI group to the semi-Mennonite church that we attended earlier in the week. We were doing maintenance stuff like painting and pulling weeds. At lunch, I had a conversation with Chad, one of the interns at PVM, and Javier, a member of the church who has been assisting us this week at La Quinca and today at the church. Javier has had a difficult life. He is from Nicaragua and was involved with the Sandinista guerrilla forces. I don't know all the details but I do know that he had been brainwashed to believe all North Americans (aka Americans and Canadians, here they don't consider Central Americans a part of North America) were bad. Now, he is really involved in the church and even leads worship. It was really interesting to meet him. Before this trip I had never met someone like him. I have found it really interesting to to hear about Nicaraguans in Costa Rica and the relationship between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Because of the conflicts in Nicaragua, many Nicaraguans have immigrated to Costa Rica. They have better jobs there and they have more stability there except many of them are so poor that they end up living in neighborhoods like La Tabla and La Quinca. I didn't even realize it at first but many of the people who I have been working with are Nicaraguans. I have even learned Nicaraguan Spanish vocabulary. Another thing that I have found to be interesting is how similar the relationship between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is with the US' relationship with Mexico. There are so many Nicaraguans in Costa Rica that Ticos don't want any more of them coming to Costa Rica. They feel like they are taking jobs and raising the crime rate. I haven't talked to Bella Flor about her views on it but I am definitely going to look into it more when I get to Granada.
March 21
Today I went with the MEI group and we went to see a reenactment of the Crucifixion of Jesus. It was really strange. It's supposed to a religious experience but if felt more like a play. It wasn't a part of a worship service which I think would make it a lot better and I kept getting distracted by the fake punching and the dramatic music. I still don't totally know how I feel about it but it didn't feel worshipful to me. This is the only big Semana Santa (Holy Week) event that we have done. Because it such a huge catholic holiday, most other churches seem to shy away from it so the things I have observed are the fact that there is hardly anyone on the road, the sound of roman soldiers marching, and the big stage in front of the Catholic church in town (it was set up for burning Judas at the stake- I think).
March 22
Today I went with the MEI group and we did and activity with the youth group at the church. We rented a soccer Field for a while and played soccer for an hour and then played octopus (it's like fish and minnows or british bulldog, kind of) It was so much fun even though we played Canadians versus Costa Ricans and the Costa Ricans won most of the time. I can just say that I am terrible at soccer. You would think that I could channel all my dutchness and pull some skill out but apperently it doesn't work like that. I promise that I try, but I just have trouble with the whole execution. I think it out, I try to study what people are doing but when I actually get to a point where I can do something, my foot eye coordination becomes zero and I have no balence and I feel really stupid. Maybe it's because when everyone else was learning sports, I was learning ballet (although I wasn't a very good ballet dancer either). The thing I am the worst at is the head butt thing. No matter how hard I try, I don't know that I will ever be able to willingly stick my head towards a speedy ball. It just doesn't work. Oh well, I guess I'll stick to Camp Luz rec games and really competitive games of spoons.
Mar 26, 2008
catching up (part 1)
March 14
Today we (the Plain City group and I) continued to work at La Tabla. I spent the morning shoveling dirt from one side of the wall into buckets so it could be hauled to the other side. I they are trying to fill in the space between the wall and the bank of the creek. After lunch we continued with our work but it began to rain (and it Costa Rica it doesn't sprinkle or drizzle, it pours). We all were forced to come inside (which was a bummer because we couldn't work) but then we got to spend the rest of the afternoon playing with kids (which was really really fun). We played lots of different games and it was so fun just hanging out. After it was raining for a while I looked outside and the river was huge. All the water was rushing down and it looked really dangerous. It was shocking to see it transform like that. It really made me think about what they have to deal with. It has to be so scary to think that not only could you home be flooded, but if you home isn't sturdy enough it could get washed away. I can't even imagine that but is a reality for some of the people here.
March 15
It is crazy to think that I have been in Costa Rica for over a month and I have only 2 weeks left. Time has flown by! And while I am looking forward to Granada and seeing another part of Central America, I have realized that I am really going to miss everyone here in Costa Rica. The people have been so amazing to me and giving, especially Bella Flor and her whole family. I feel like I have families in three countries now- US, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica. Not only that but I have another church community that I care about. Before this trip I would have never thought that I would like going to a pentecostal-y church but not only do I not mind, I actually like it. It's not really my first choice and I have attended churches here that I like the worship style better but the people here are so amazing and so strong it totally makes the church.
March 16
Today I went to church with a different group that is at PVM from the Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) in Canada. The church is really close to the area they are going to be working in, a neighborhood called La Quinca (I don't really know how it's spelled, I am guess guessing). After church, all the students went to their homestays and I went with Delynn and the leaders of the MEI group (Rick and Nancy) to La Quinca to look at where we (I will be joining them) will be working. When I went there, I was actually quite overwhelmed. It is a lot bigger than La Tabla. La Quinca has about 800 families and from where we were, we just kept seeing more and more little shacks that were peoples homes. The size is just staggering. La Tabla is much smaller and the houses (for the most part) are actual houses. In La Quinka, all of the houses are made out of sheet metal that is kind of patch worked together to make walls ceilings, etc. However, in La Tabla, I am much more aware of the presence of drugs. Maybe in La Quinca, there is more space for drug dealers to live out of the main pathways, I don't know. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the two areas and to observe the differences and to try to figure out why they occur.
March 17
Well guess what I am doing in La Quinca? Yep, shoveling dirt and gravel to make cement. I seriously can't get away from this! It turns out, one of the jobs that we are doing here is moving a bridge that PVM build over the summer. the sides of the creek are eroding away so they are making a concrete base a few feet from where it is now and moving it there. So , because of this, I spent the majority of my day up at the top of this hill watching the dirt to make sure no one took it (it would all be gone if no one kept an eye on it) and then shoveling the dirt for the people who were wheelbarowing. It was kind of a dull job and it was really hot when the van wasn't there for me to sit in while I was waiting but I think that one day of boring work wouldn't ruin my trip but if someone from the MEI had to do it, it could put a damper on the three days they would be at La Quinca- especially when they could be making a irrigation ditch for sewage water!
March 18
Well today was pretty sweet. I went with the Plain City group for their last day in Costa Rica and we went to see a volcano! It was so cool! We were up so high and we looked down but instead of lava in a little hole in the bottom of the crater there was a pond of green (acid?) water. It was totally not what I was expecting but it was really awesome. One kind of freaky thing is that in the parking lot everyone has to park with the front of their car facing out so that was if something happens everyone can scatter quicker! That information freaked me out a little (volcano kind of scare me since a saw this movie about a volcano erupting and people melting in acid water and dying in boiling hot springs and dying in lava) but nothing really exciting happened so it was all good.
After we were at the volcano we went into San Jose and went to this souvenir market. It was pretty nifty. . . but we had to barter. Uh oh. I haven't covered bartering in my spanish class or in the spanish I was speaking here and I have suffered humiliations from when my dad made comments to people about thins being to expensive and now I was supposed to do the same thing! Yikes! A couple times I got the leaders from the Plain City group to help me because the were both fluent but I did use my skills once to get a three dollar magnet down to 2 dollars! I was a really touristy day but I got to see some sweet things (like a hat for sale that had dreadlocks attached to it) and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the PC group.
March 19
I was back in La Quinca today.and I can just say, If there is any project involving cement when I am on SWAP (a mission trip I am taking with my youth group in Kentucky), It is totally going to be no big deal. All morning I mixed cement. We didn't wimp out and use a mashing either, we did it Costa Rican style and mixed it on the ground. It was really hard work but, it made me fell really hard core, so it was all good.
We packed our lunches but when lunch time came, the homestay family of three of the boys brought up lunch! It was so nice of them! Apparently, they were the poorest homestay family but they wanted to house three boys and they bought lunch for us! I can't believe how giving they were. It makes you think of things you think about doing but you find an excuse not to, These people just gave so much to people that they hardly know. I know we didn't do that with when we had a study abroad student in our home.
Today we (the Plain City group and I) continued to work at La Tabla. I spent the morning shoveling dirt from one side of the wall into buckets so it could be hauled to the other side. I they are trying to fill in the space between the wall and the bank of the creek. After lunch we continued with our work but it began to rain (and it Costa Rica it doesn't sprinkle or drizzle, it pours). We all were forced to come inside (which was a bummer because we couldn't work) but then we got to spend the rest of the afternoon playing with kids (which was really really fun). We played lots of different games and it was so fun just hanging out. After it was raining for a while I looked outside and the river was huge. All the water was rushing down and it looked really dangerous. It was shocking to see it transform like that. It really made me think about what they have to deal with. It has to be so scary to think that not only could you home be flooded, but if you home isn't sturdy enough it could get washed away. I can't even imagine that but is a reality for some of the people here.
March 15
It is crazy to think that I have been in Costa Rica for over a month and I have only 2 weeks left. Time has flown by! And while I am looking forward to Granada and seeing another part of Central America, I have realized that I am really going to miss everyone here in Costa Rica. The people have been so amazing to me and giving, especially Bella Flor and her whole family. I feel like I have families in three countries now- US, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica. Not only that but I have another church community that I care about. Before this trip I would have never thought that I would like going to a pentecostal-y church but not only do I not mind, I actually like it. It's not really my first choice and I have attended churches here that I like the worship style better but the people here are so amazing and so strong it totally makes the church.
March 16
Today I went to church with a different group that is at PVM from the Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) in Canada. The church is really close to the area they are going to be working in, a neighborhood called La Quinca (I don't really know how it's spelled, I am guess guessing). After church, all the students went to their homestays and I went with Delynn and the leaders of the MEI group (Rick and Nancy) to La Quinca to look at where we (I will be joining them) will be working. When I went there, I was actually quite overwhelmed. It is a lot bigger than La Tabla. La Quinca has about 800 families and from where we were, we just kept seeing more and more little shacks that were peoples homes. The size is just staggering. La Tabla is much smaller and the houses (for the most part) are actual houses. In La Quinka, all of the houses are made out of sheet metal that is kind of patch worked together to make walls ceilings, etc. However, in La Tabla, I am much more aware of the presence of drugs. Maybe in La Quinca, there is more space for drug dealers to live out of the main pathways, I don't know. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the two areas and to observe the differences and to try to figure out why they occur.
March 17
Well guess what I am doing in La Quinca? Yep, shoveling dirt and gravel to make cement. I seriously can't get away from this! It turns out, one of the jobs that we are doing here is moving a bridge that PVM build over the summer. the sides of the creek are eroding away so they are making a concrete base a few feet from where it is now and moving it there. So , because of this, I spent the majority of my day up at the top of this hill watching the dirt to make sure no one took it (it would all be gone if no one kept an eye on it) and then shoveling the dirt for the people who were wheelbarowing. It was kind of a dull job and it was really hot when the van wasn't there for me to sit in while I was waiting but I think that one day of boring work wouldn't ruin my trip but if someone from the MEI had to do it, it could put a damper on the three days they would be at La Quinca- especially when they could be making a irrigation ditch for sewage water!
March 18
Well today was pretty sweet. I went with the Plain City group for their last day in Costa Rica and we went to see a volcano! It was so cool! We were up so high and we looked down but instead of lava in a little hole in the bottom of the crater there was a pond of green (acid?) water. It was totally not what I was expecting but it was really awesome. One kind of freaky thing is that in the parking lot everyone has to park with the front of their car facing out so that was if something happens everyone can scatter quicker! That information freaked me out a little (volcano kind of scare me since a saw this movie about a volcano erupting and people melting in acid water and dying in boiling hot springs and dying in lava) but nothing really exciting happened so it was all good.
After we were at the volcano we went into San Jose and went to this souvenir market. It was pretty nifty. . . but we had to barter. Uh oh. I haven't covered bartering in my spanish class or in the spanish I was speaking here and I have suffered humiliations from when my dad made comments to people about thins being to expensive and now I was supposed to do the same thing! Yikes! A couple times I got the leaders from the Plain City group to help me because the were both fluent but I did use my skills once to get a three dollar magnet down to 2 dollars! I was a really touristy day but I got to see some sweet things (like a hat for sale that had dreadlocks attached to it) and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the PC group.
March 19
I was back in La Quinca today.and I can just say, If there is any project involving cement when I am on SWAP (a mission trip I am taking with my youth group in Kentucky), It is totally going to be no big deal. All morning I mixed cement. We didn't wimp out and use a mashing either, we did it Costa Rican style and mixed it on the ground. It was really hard work but, it made me fell really hard core, so it was all good.
We packed our lunches but when lunch time came, the homestay family of three of the boys brought up lunch! It was so nice of them! Apparently, they were the poorest homestay family but they wanted to house three boys and they bought lunch for us! I can't believe how giving they were. It makes you think of things you think about doing but you find an excuse not to, These people just gave so much to people that they hardly know. I know we didn't do that with when we had a study abroad student in our home.
Mar 13, 2008
Warrior Kate, the spider killer
March 11
One thing that I have been thinking about lately is what the kids I help take care of will be like when they grow up. I am really scared for them. There is one boy, Johnny who I play with almost every day (when I am at the church). Ironically, he is the stubborn little boy who behaved really badly when I did childcare for the bible study. Anyway, I am so scared that growing up in the neighborhood he does, that he will rebel against his parents (he has a rebellious attitude) and start to sell or use drugs. As I get to know the kids I just am so worried about them. They are so smart and clever, and many of them have parents who are involved in the church and really love them. Take Johnny as an example. His dad works at an auto repair shop, his mom helps out at the church. His family lives on church property. But there are drug dealers who live down the street. He might go to school with their kids. If something happens and he breaks away from his parents, He doesn't have another church to turn to. He could make more money selling drugs. It could be a very tempting option for him. As I learn more about the reality of La Tabla, I am more and more worried about what will happen to the people I care about here.
March 12
I think I should give an update on the food. The food has gotten a lot better (or maybe I have gotten used to it) and I eat more than I did the first week though I still have not quite managed to eat enough to satisfy Bella Flor. I am on what I would describe as the Rice-and-beans-all-day-every-day diet. Actually it's not quite that bad but I would say I eat some form of rice and beans at least twice a day. The other staples are bread and coffee (without cream but with sugar). The bread they get fresh, almost every day in baguette form. The one thing I with the ate more of was fruit. I love fruit (and mangoes hold a special place in my heart) and I thought that here they would just eat fruit all the time (it makes perfect sense to me) because they produce so much fruit here and there are stands all over that sell it but unfortunately, they don't eat much more fruit than most people do at home. Bummer.
March 13
Today has been eventful. Pura Vida Missions brought a group from Plain City today and it was neat to talk to people from close to home. Actually, a second cousin of mine was there. I don't see a lot of my more distant relations (or even some of my close ones- I have only visited with one of my grandparents in the past two years) and I haven't been to a family reunion in years so it was kind of cool to talk to her again. I did more manual labor and tried to work with a pick-ax (I was terrible at it!) and so right now, I am so tired!
Gloria came with the group and she asked Bella Flor to talk about some of the history of the church. Here is some of what she mentioned: Bella Flor started the church 12 years ago. back then, La Tabla was worse off than it is now and there was more drugs. Drugs is easiest way to make money in La Tabla and it is hard for people to stuggle to get a good, normal job and to continue to keep that job once they get it because people make more money faster when they sell drugs. When Bella Flor started out, she didn't have the support of her husband or her kids but she felt very strongly that this was where God wanted her. Many times she didn't have money for the church or her family and herself. It's kind of a work in progress but her family started to support her and she also has gotten assistance from a few organizations. There is one organization that supplies food so she can serve food to kids and to families that need it, and another helped her get a computer lab to help children learn. One thing that is hurtful to the kids is that many parents don't place much value in a good education and don't support them very much. Bella Flor is trying to change that mentality. Also, she tries to help teenage girls who have babies because often father has abandoned them and the don't have the means to take care of their child. She tries to get women to marry before they have kids because it offers them protection and their children. Bella Flor has seminars for preventing domestic and child abuse. She also has campaigns where she gets people to come in and take care of people's health and hygiene. People have their eyes checked, teeth cleaned, even their hair cut! Last year there was a lot of flooding. The creek basically turned into a river and caused a lot of damage. Bella Flor said that when you looked down the river, you could see big trees floating down and their roots had big clumps of dirt that got washed down as well. Even a couple houses got washed out. When that happened, a bunch of people feared that church would leave. Bella Flor said this made her feel good to have to reassure them that the church wasn't going anywhere, it made her feel needed. She has been able to withstand a lot, and she has even made a sort of truce with the drug dealers - she leaves them alone and they leave her alone. She feels the God wants her there and even when there were terrible things happening, she felt God's presence. Because of this, she named the church Jehova Shama which means God is here in Hebrew.
Hearing all of this amazed me. Bella Flor has such strength! I have had a hard time with the short amount of time I have been here and she has withstood so much. She is such an amazing woman! She risked everything for this church and she has helped so many people. She has helped the whole neighborhood. Her life is like the the kind of lives that movies are based on. Seriously, she has my total admiration.
Okay, so a quick little side story (sorry if I have ruined my meaningful mood). I am in the middle of writing this journal when I glance to my left and on the wall, is a HUGE spider! It wasn't as big as the one I talked about earlier, but by my standards, it was pretty big. so I quickly jump up get my camera (of course) take a picture, and then I realize, I am home alone. There is no one to help me defeat this beast, I have no one to turn to. I AM HOME ALONE WITH A HUGE SPIDER!!! I probably would have let it go (as I said before, I am fine as long a they aren't going to touch me) but it was climbing down the wall, not up and it was heading to it's right (my left) right towards my stuff (if it hangs out there, it significantly increases the chance that we would touch). It started to crawl, so I banged the wall (with Bellita's flip flop- my best weapon against spider attacks) so it would stop crawling, which it did and we kind of stood there at a stand still for about 7-ish minutes and then it started to crawl again. I banged the wall. This didn't work, the spider kept going. I knew what I had to do. I counted to five (out loud) and at five I smashed, as hard as I could (I did not want to do it again) and killed it.
Kate-1 Spider-0
One thing that I have been thinking about lately is what the kids I help take care of will be like when they grow up. I am really scared for them. There is one boy, Johnny who I play with almost every day (when I am at the church). Ironically, he is the stubborn little boy who behaved really badly when I did childcare for the bible study. Anyway, I am so scared that growing up in the neighborhood he does, that he will rebel against his parents (he has a rebellious attitude) and start to sell or use drugs. As I get to know the kids I just am so worried about them. They are so smart and clever, and many of them have parents who are involved in the church and really love them. Take Johnny as an example. His dad works at an auto repair shop, his mom helps out at the church. His family lives on church property. But there are drug dealers who live down the street. He might go to school with their kids. If something happens and he breaks away from his parents, He doesn't have another church to turn to. He could make more money selling drugs. It could be a very tempting option for him. As I learn more about the reality of La Tabla, I am more and more worried about what will happen to the people I care about here.
March 12
I think I should give an update on the food. The food has gotten a lot better (or maybe I have gotten used to it) and I eat more than I did the first week though I still have not quite managed to eat enough to satisfy Bella Flor. I am on what I would describe as the Rice-and-beans-all-day-every-day diet. Actually it's not quite that bad but I would say I eat some form of rice and beans at least twice a day. The other staples are bread and coffee (without cream but with sugar). The bread they get fresh, almost every day in baguette form. The one thing I with the ate more of was fruit. I love fruit (and mangoes hold a special place in my heart) and I thought that here they would just eat fruit all the time (it makes perfect sense to me) because they produce so much fruit here and there are stands all over that sell it but unfortunately, they don't eat much more fruit than most people do at home. Bummer.
March 13
Today has been eventful. Pura Vida Missions brought a group from Plain City today and it was neat to talk to people from close to home. Actually, a second cousin of mine was there. I don't see a lot of my more distant relations (or even some of my close ones- I have only visited with one of my grandparents in the past two years) and I haven't been to a family reunion in years so it was kind of cool to talk to her again. I did more manual labor and tried to work with a pick-ax (I was terrible at it!) and so right now, I am so tired!
Gloria came with the group and she asked Bella Flor to talk about some of the history of the church. Here is some of what she mentioned: Bella Flor started the church 12 years ago. back then, La Tabla was worse off than it is now and there was more drugs. Drugs is easiest way to make money in La Tabla and it is hard for people to stuggle to get a good, normal job and to continue to keep that job once they get it because people make more money faster when they sell drugs. When Bella Flor started out, she didn't have the support of her husband or her kids but she felt very strongly that this was where God wanted her. Many times she didn't have money for the church or her family and herself. It's kind of a work in progress but her family started to support her and she also has gotten assistance from a few organizations. There is one organization that supplies food so she can serve food to kids and to families that need it, and another helped her get a computer lab to help children learn. One thing that is hurtful to the kids is that many parents don't place much value in a good education and don't support them very much. Bella Flor is trying to change that mentality. Also, she tries to help teenage girls who have babies because often father has abandoned them and the don't have the means to take care of their child. She tries to get women to marry before they have kids because it offers them protection and their children. Bella Flor has seminars for preventing domestic and child abuse. She also has campaigns where she gets people to come in and take care of people's health and hygiene. People have their eyes checked, teeth cleaned, even their hair cut! Last year there was a lot of flooding. The creek basically turned into a river and caused a lot of damage. Bella Flor said that when you looked down the river, you could see big trees floating down and their roots had big clumps of dirt that got washed down as well. Even a couple houses got washed out. When that happened, a bunch of people feared that church would leave. Bella Flor said this made her feel good to have to reassure them that the church wasn't going anywhere, it made her feel needed. She has been able to withstand a lot, and she has even made a sort of truce with the drug dealers - she leaves them alone and they leave her alone. She feels the God wants her there and even when there were terrible things happening, she felt God's presence. Because of this, she named the church Jehova Shama which means God is here in Hebrew.
Hearing all of this amazed me. Bella Flor has such strength! I have had a hard time with the short amount of time I have been here and she has withstood so much. She is such an amazing woman! She risked everything for this church and she has helped so many people. She has helped the whole neighborhood. Her life is like the the kind of lives that movies are based on. Seriously, she has my total admiration.
Okay, so a quick little side story (sorry if I have ruined my meaningful mood). I am in the middle of writing this journal when I glance to my left and on the wall, is a HUGE spider! It wasn't as big as the one I talked about earlier, but by my standards, it was pretty big. so I quickly jump up get my camera (of course) take a picture, and then I realize, I am home alone. There is no one to help me defeat this beast, I have no one to turn to. I AM HOME ALONE WITH A HUGE SPIDER!!! I probably would have let it go (as I said before, I am fine as long a they aren't going to touch me) but it was climbing down the wall, not up and it was heading to it's right (my left) right towards my stuff (if it hangs out there, it significantly increases the chance that we would touch). It started to crawl, so I banged the wall (with Bellita's flip flop- my best weapon against spider attacks) so it would stop crawling, which it did and we kind of stood there at a stand still for about 7-ish minutes and then it started to crawl again. I banged the wall. This didn't work, the spider kept going. I knew what I had to do. I counted to five (out loud) and at five I smashed, as hard as I could (I did not want to do it again) and killed it.
Kate-1 Spider-0
Mar 10, 2008
test run
One good thing about my sharing a room with Bellita is that I get to do a little "test run" before I actually have to be roommates with someone for a whole year in college. I mean, I know that there is supposedly some system that comes up with a good roommate for you, but who knows, if I put on the form that colleges give you to find your perfect roommate that I am a morning person, I could end up with a roommate who gets up at 5:00 in the morning to watch the morning news at full volume or, if I put that I am a messy person, I could end up with a roommate that is as messy as me! That would be terrible! However, assuming that I get a normal roommate, It is good that I will have had some experience sharing a room with someone. I mean, the last time I had to share a room with someone, it was my sister, and we were both feeling territorial. Now, that I have been sharing a room with Bellita, I feel a lot better. For one thing, I am putting a bigger effort into not having clothes strewn all over the place so I know that it is possible that I can be slightly neat and we haven't had any major problems arise. I totally lucked out with my living situation!
Mar 9, 2008
Aragog Jr
March 6
I had a very interesting day today. I had to get up early because a group was coming to help out at the church. They are from a small Christian high school in California and they have been coming to La Tabla every year for 8 years. Impressive! It is really cool that they have been able to come every year. The teacher that leads the group has a relationship with everyone and was catching up. It was really cool to see. The group brought money for supplies so the wall started up again but there were so many people and not enough jobs so I got to play with kids all day (the group also brought arts & crafts stuff). I finally was brave enough to bring out my camera and got some really great pictures of the kids. One of the women from the group (her daughter was one of the students) was taking pictures too. It was nice to talk with her and we swapped tips. She told me that a good way to better understand people speaking spanish is to tell them to use little words. That way they not only are using smaller words but they end up speaking slower because they are thinking about what words they are going to use. I shared with her that one way I get kids to loosen up around the camera is I take a really awful, goofy, weird picture of myself. It was fun talking to her.
After the group left, there was still a lot of work that still had to be done so I ended up working till 8 or 9. It was quite a workout but I don't feel bad about it at all- just a little tired. i do have a couple bruises (who would have thought trying to lift a heavy wheelbarrow with your leg might cause bruising?) which made me feel hard core. Overall, I feel good about my placement now and I know I can stick it out till the end.
March 7
Today was similar to yesterday. I played with kids some more, got some great pictures, but at the end of the day, I went back to the base instead of moving dirt. Later that night, everyone watched a movie together and In the middle of the movie, Delynn saw this huge spider! It was HUGE!!! It was a little smaller than the palm of my hand and it was black and furry and really fat. It looked kind of like a tarantula or Aragog from Harry Potter. In general, I don't think I freak out too much around bugs. . . as long as there isn't a chance they are going to touch me which is why I didn't freak out when I saw the spider, but I removed all the covers on my bed and shook out each layer individually.
March 8
Today was a kind of low key day. I got to sleep in and just hang out and relax which was nice. Later, I went to church (a different one, not the one in La Tabla) and I was so proud of myself because I actually kind of understood the main idea of the sermon! I Kind of feel like I am actually learning a little Spanish!
A new volunteer joined the staff. His name is Chris and he told me that he has never been to Costa Rica , can't speak any Spanish, and agreed to volunteer at Pura Vida missions for about a year and a half! How crazy is that! That is going to be so hard!
March 9
One of the more surprising results of this trip is that I am journaling more. Not for school but for myself. My mom is a big fan of journaling and but I have never been able to get into it. But now, I have nothing else to do in the evenings and it is a good way for me to vent or just talk a little. A few days ago, I wrote 2 whole pages without even trying! Now, I got some interesting news, which prompted me to write more, but I would have never done written about it before this trip.
I had a very interesting day today. I had to get up early because a group was coming to help out at the church. They are from a small Christian high school in California and they have been coming to La Tabla every year for 8 years. Impressive! It is really cool that they have been able to come every year. The teacher that leads the group has a relationship with everyone and was catching up. It was really cool to see. The group brought money for supplies so the wall started up again but there were so many people and not enough jobs so I got to play with kids all day (the group also brought arts & crafts stuff). I finally was brave enough to bring out my camera and got some really great pictures of the kids. One of the women from the group (her daughter was one of the students) was taking pictures too. It was nice to talk with her and we swapped tips. She told me that a good way to better understand people speaking spanish is to tell them to use little words. That way they not only are using smaller words but they end up speaking slower because they are thinking about what words they are going to use. I shared with her that one way I get kids to loosen up around the camera is I take a really awful, goofy, weird picture of myself. It was fun talking to her.
After the group left, there was still a lot of work that still had to be done so I ended up working till 8 or 9. It was quite a workout but I don't feel bad about it at all- just a little tired. i do have a couple bruises (who would have thought trying to lift a heavy wheelbarrow with your leg might cause bruising?) which made me feel hard core. Overall, I feel good about my placement now and I know I can stick it out till the end.
March 7
Today was similar to yesterday. I played with kids some more, got some great pictures, but at the end of the day, I went back to the base instead of moving dirt. Later that night, everyone watched a movie together and In the middle of the movie, Delynn saw this huge spider! It was HUGE!!! It was a little smaller than the palm of my hand and it was black and furry and really fat. It looked kind of like a tarantula or Aragog from Harry Potter. In general, I don't think I freak out too much around bugs. . . as long as there isn't a chance they are going to touch me which is why I didn't freak out when I saw the spider, but I removed all the covers on my bed and shook out each layer individually.
March 8
Today was a kind of low key day. I got to sleep in and just hang out and relax which was nice. Later, I went to church (a different one, not the one in La Tabla) and I was so proud of myself because I actually kind of understood the main idea of the sermon! I Kind of feel like I am actually learning a little Spanish!
A new volunteer joined the staff. His name is Chris and he told me that he has never been to Costa Rica , can't speak any Spanish, and agreed to volunteer at Pura Vida missions for about a year and a half! How crazy is that! That is going to be so hard!
March 9
One of the more surprising results of this trip is that I am journaling more. Not for school but for myself. My mom is a big fan of journaling and but I have never been able to get into it. But now, I have nothing else to do in the evenings and it is a good way for me to vent or just talk a little. A few days ago, I wrote 2 whole pages without even trying! Now, I got some interesting news, which prompted me to write more, but I would have never done written about it before this trip.
Mar 5, 2008
contains major run on sentences
March 3
I am back at Bella Flors and I am feeling a lot better about everything. Apparently, The flood wall is at a stand still because Bella Flor doesn't have enough money to buy the tires and concrete they need to finish. Bella Flor also said that even when they do start it up again, the worst is over so I am not too worried. Tomorrow, the feeding program is starting up so I have a feeling it is going to be a better week.
March 4
Today I went with Bella Flor & Co. to go pick up Abigail from the hospital (her mom is still there). Abigail so cute and so tiny. She even yawns cutely. Bellita told me that Abi's mom is in a room at the hospital with a bunch of other women, some of whom had babies that had stillborns or babies that died. Whenever Abi was brought in the room they would cry and they always would say how lucky Abi's mom was because her baby was still alive. Isn't that so sad? It is such an awkward situation as well. It would be so hard to lose a baby and then see someone else with their baby and it would be difficult to want to be happy and celebratory around your newborn but not want to rub it in the faces of your roommates that are mourning.
After I got home, Bellita and I watched a really good episode of Grey's Anatomy and it was fun to see Bellita's reactions to different things (like a character saying really embarrassing things when on morphine) It's was nice to be able to understand what people were saying in Spanish because I could remember what they said in English. I also came to the conclusion that while voice dubbing is nice for understanding what the characters are saying, a lot of authenticity is lost in translation because you can't hear things like southern accents and other pronunsiation things (I am slightly biased, but I still hold to this opinion). Plus, I always get distracted by the fact that their mouths and words don't match.
March 5
When I went to the church to help serve food, I talked with one of the little boys there and he taught me all these words. We went over things that I knew (and forgot) like puerta (door) but then I learned new words like escalateras (stairs- it is kind of like escalator) and barbilla (chin- it is what a barba (beard) grows on). It was a fun game and I think it will help my vocabulary. Another person who will help we with my spanish is Tia, one of the women who works in the kitchen. She is so funny because she makes be repeat everything she says (really loudly) even if it really basic stuff that I know. This is an excerpt of a conversation we had today:
Tia: "Buenas Tardes" (good afternoon) "BUEN. . ."
Katí (my Spanish name):"BUEN. . ."
Tia:" . . .NAS. . ."
Katí: ". . .NAS. . . "
Tia: ". . . TAR. . . "
Katí: ". . . TAR. . . "
Tia: ". . . DES "
Katí: ". . . DES"
Tia: "BUENAS TARDES"
Katí: "BUENAS TARDES"
This always makes me feel a little goofy, but it definitely helps.
I am back at Bella Flors and I am feeling a lot better about everything. Apparently, The flood wall is at a stand still because Bella Flor doesn't have enough money to buy the tires and concrete they need to finish. Bella Flor also said that even when they do start it up again, the worst is over so I am not too worried. Tomorrow, the feeding program is starting up so I have a feeling it is going to be a better week.
March 4
Today I went with Bella Flor & Co. to go pick up Abigail from the hospital (her mom is still there). Abigail so cute and so tiny. She even yawns cutely. Bellita told me that Abi's mom is in a room at the hospital with a bunch of other women, some of whom had babies that had stillborns or babies that died. Whenever Abi was brought in the room they would cry and they always would say how lucky Abi's mom was because her baby was still alive. Isn't that so sad? It is such an awkward situation as well. It would be so hard to lose a baby and then see someone else with their baby and it would be difficult to want to be happy and celebratory around your newborn but not want to rub it in the faces of your roommates that are mourning.
After I got home, Bellita and I watched a really good episode of Grey's Anatomy and it was fun to see Bellita's reactions to different things (like a character saying really embarrassing things when on morphine) It's was nice to be able to understand what people were saying in Spanish because I could remember what they said in English. I also came to the conclusion that while voice dubbing is nice for understanding what the characters are saying, a lot of authenticity is lost in translation because you can't hear things like southern accents and other pronunsiation things (I am slightly biased, but I still hold to this opinion). Plus, I always get distracted by the fact that their mouths and words don't match.
March 5
When I went to the church to help serve food, I talked with one of the little boys there and he taught me all these words. We went over things that I knew (and forgot) like puerta (door) but then I learned new words like escalateras (stairs- it is kind of like escalator) and barbilla (chin- it is what a barba (beard) grows on). It was a fun game and I think it will help my vocabulary. Another person who will help we with my spanish is Tia, one of the women who works in the kitchen. She is so funny because she makes be repeat everything she says (really loudly) even if it really basic stuff that I know. This is an excerpt of a conversation we had today:
Tia: "Buenas Tardes" (good afternoon) "BUEN. . ."
Katí (my Spanish name):"BUEN. . ."
Tia:" . . .NAS. . ."
Katí: ". . .NAS. . . "
Tia: ". . . TAR. . . "
Katí: ". . . TAR. . . "
Tia: ". . . DES "
Katí: ". . . DES"
Tia: "BUENAS TARDES"
Katí: "BUENAS TARDES"
This always makes me feel a little goofy, but it definitely helps.
Mar 2, 2008
more work
March 1
Today started out early. Bellita woke up at about 5:30 and started getting ready so I followed her lead. Normally, she tells me if she is getting up early to go to work but today she didn't say anything. I was totally ready to go and I asked her how I was going to get to the church. she answered that the didn't know but her parents were still asleep so once they woke up I would probably just go with them! So then I went back to sleep and about an hour later Bella Flor came into my room and said that they were leaving now and that once I got up I could just walk there alone. Well, because people had always told me that I probably shouldn't go walking around by myself so since I was already dressed I quickly just got up and said I would go with her then. We got to the church about 8 and that's when I had to do more physical labor it was all the things that I had to do earlier in the week. I had to roll tires, shovel gravel and dirt, and the grossest activity of all which was going down into the gross, disgusting creek and gathering rocks. I don't think I have ever been so unsanitary in my entire life. I was tired from earlier in the week and because of the early start I was grumpy. . .I just didn't have a good day. I called Gloria and made sure that I would get to come up to the base for the weekend. So then about 4 Delynn picked me up and we went to the base. I just feel disappointed. I came here expecting to be serving food to children but instead the feeding program has been discontinued because of all the work going into the wall. I don't really mind the labor I just wish it was supplemented with something else. I don't know how long the work is going to last. . . I just hope its not much longer.
March 2
Today I had a nice low key day. I was able to to sleep in (I slept about 12 hours!) and I just took my mind off things and just relaxed. I feel a lot better after talking with my mom and sister last night. They kind of talked me through it and helped a little with home sickness. I still am having a tough time. I am missing home. I miss being around a familiar setting with people I have known for longer than a month and being able to not have to monitor all my actions in order to make sure I don't offend someone. I miss being able to pick out the foods I eat. I hope in a couple of days I will feel better but today I just am a little sad.
Today started out early. Bellita woke up at about 5:30 and started getting ready so I followed her lead. Normally, she tells me if she is getting up early to go to work but today she didn't say anything. I was totally ready to go and I asked her how I was going to get to the church. she answered that the didn't know but her parents were still asleep so once they woke up I would probably just go with them! So then I went back to sleep and about an hour later Bella Flor came into my room and said that they were leaving now and that once I got up I could just walk there alone. Well, because people had always told me that I probably shouldn't go walking around by myself so since I was already dressed I quickly just got up and said I would go with her then. We got to the church about 8 and that's when I had to do more physical labor it was all the things that I had to do earlier in the week. I had to roll tires, shovel gravel and dirt, and the grossest activity of all which was going down into the gross, disgusting creek and gathering rocks. I don't think I have ever been so unsanitary in my entire life. I was tired from earlier in the week and because of the early start I was grumpy. . .I just didn't have a good day. I called Gloria and made sure that I would get to come up to the base for the weekend. So then about 4 Delynn picked me up and we went to the base. I just feel disappointed. I came here expecting to be serving food to children but instead the feeding program has been discontinued because of all the work going into the wall. I don't really mind the labor I just wish it was supplemented with something else. I don't know how long the work is going to last. . . I just hope its not much longer.
March 2
Today I had a nice low key day. I was able to to sleep in (I slept about 12 hours!) and I just took my mind off things and just relaxed. I feel a lot better after talking with my mom and sister last night. They kind of talked me through it and helped a little with home sickness. I still am having a tough time. I am missing home. I miss being around a familiar setting with people I have known for longer than a month and being able to not have to monitor all my actions in order to make sure I don't offend someone. I miss being able to pick out the foods I eat. I hope in a couple of days I will feel better but today I just am a little sad.
Feb 29, 2008
good communication
My inability to communicate has produced interesting situations that I didn't really think about before my trip. For example, what are you supposed to do when someone cracks a joke in Spanish that you can't understand and that everyone around you knows you can't understand? Are you supposed to laugh? smile? stand there without even cracking a smile while everyone around you is cracking up? I usually smile but I always feel awkward when I do so. I think it would be weird if I laughed but I would feel cold if I didn't do anything. Another awkward moments have been when I know a couple of people are talking about me, right in front of me, and I have no idea what they are saying and they know that. The other day when Gloria dropped me off at La Tabla we passed a couple kids chatting amongst themselves. Gloria asked me if I knew who they were and when I said I did (they come into the church sometimes) she told me that they were talking about me. Other times I have not been quite as oblivious. I have heard people say my name while whoever they are talking to glances over at me so it is quite obvious. It is so weird! I just hope they are saying things that aren't mean. It would be humiliating if they were saying bad things about me right in front of me! Oh well. . . I can't really do anything about it, I'll just have to wait till I can understand Spanish better so people around me can't do it anymore.
On a different note, Bella Flor now has a granddaughter! It was so exciting. Her daughter in law was in labor a long, long time but finally this morning Abigail was born! Oh, I am just so happy for them. Bellita was getting really worried but then when we were in the grocery store she got a message from her brother saying that he was a dad. It is so great! I am really happy for them!
On a different note, Bella Flor now has a granddaughter! It was so exciting. Her daughter in law was in labor a long, long time but finally this morning Abigail was born! Oh, I am just so happy for them. Bellita was getting really worried but then when we were in the grocery store she got a message from her brother saying that he was a dad. It is so great! I am really happy for them!
Feb 28, 2008
this is a long one. . .
February 22
Today I went with Bellita into San Jose (I don't think I mentioned it before- I am actually living in Ajuelita which is just outside of San Jose) and we walked around looking at the different sights like the national theater and the Jade museum. It was really cool to see some of the history of Costa Rica. I see so much of the sadness and the hardships of this place I am glad I can see some its glory. When we stopped for lunch a guy (who was clearly American) came up to us and said something (I won't go into detail) that was really rude and disgusting and it really bothered me. I think the US has a displayed itself through its politics and media that doesn't always speak well of it's people and as an American in a foreign country I think I have an obligation, as well as the guy in the Taco Bell, to set a good example. It angers me because he is going to make the people that he meets more wary of Americans so when someone like me comes along who is trying to do good it is harder because some jerk was trying to give himself a laugh.
February 23
Right now, I am at the Base and in addition to the other volunteers, Gloria's Aunt and Uncle are staying for the week. They are really funny in their own senior citizen kind of way. They are extremely technology illiterate (they needed help to check their e-mail online, to take the memory card out of their camera, etc.) they are always cheerily ignorant of what is happening around them. I mean, they get the gist of it, just not the details. Glen, Gloria's uncle, is also a little deaf so I kept having to repeat myself when I was around him. Going into this trip, I don't think I thought I would meet anyone like them. It makes me wonder what other people I will meet on this trip!
February 24
Today was sweeeeeeeeeet! I went on a river tour and I got to see all kinds of different animals. I saw fruit bats (about three feet from my face- and really ugly!), white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, and even caymans (they aren't seen very often on the tour). The coolest animal though was the toucan! It was so cool and we didn't see just one. . . . we saw four! Gloria said she hadn't seen so many together before in her life! They were so graceful and happy just hanging out in the forest. It was so amazing to see in real life, in their natural habitats, animals that you normally only see on TV or in the zoo. THEY WERE SO COOL! It makes me excited just thinking about it.:)
oh and I got to see the Oscars and I am really happy that the writer of Juno won. WAY TO GO DIABLO CODY!
February 25
I had so much fun today, We all went to the beach (Jaco, on the Pacific ocean) and I just spent a bunch of time in the ocean because it was way to hot to be on the beach. At first I played with Carmalinda, Delynn and Gloria's daughter, but because she is 7 we couldn't go out very far but we had a lot of fun just playing. After lunch though I went out as far as I thought was safe and just swam and swam and swam. It was my second time at the Pacific ocean and the first time it was so cold I didn't even bring a swim suit (I did get my feet wet) so this time I really just spent as much time as I could in the water. I really like the ocean. I like to swim in general but I especially like going to the ocean. I remember when I went with my family to Florida for Christmas and we would always go to the beach. My sister and I would insist on getting in the water even though it was freezing. We would be so cold but we had so much fun we couldn't not swim. . . we couldn't help ourselves.
February 26
Today I came back to La Tabla. Gloria dropped me off at the church, not at Bella Flor's and Bella Flor wasn't there so I helped out with the task of the day. Through a section of La Tabla there isn't a road and there just is a creek where a road would be on a normal street so cars and trucks can't go to any of the buildings there. As part of the project for La Tabla (they are working on a wall to keep flood water out), a truck brought gravel but couldn't make it to the place where it was to be stored so it had to dump the gravel down the street. My job was to shovel gravel into wheelbarrows so it could be transported. It was really really hot and we were in the sun and I already had a sunburn from the beach and I was with only Spanish speakers but it turned out OK. I was so hot at the end of it I practically collapsed on my bed when I came home but I also felt accomplished (and hardcore. . I even have a blister on my thumb to show my hard work!). The whole time, I only took a break when someone else wanted to work (there were more people than shovels and wheelbarrows) and I worked hard. I feel like I really have to prove myself here. I don't have a history or communication skills so I am going to have to do it by working for it.
February 27
I hurt so bad. It addition to my sunburns (on my face, shoulders, back, arms, and the back of my knees) I now have muscular aches from shoveling yesterday. It's OK I just don't like moving (on the bright side though, if anyone around me is cold all they have to do is stand next to me. . . I have heat radiating from my body). I did take a nice cold shower which helped. Anyway, I went to the church and I had another landmark. I helped cook food. Actually, I just chopped up a couple things but this whole time I haven't helped with food prep at all because either I didn't know what to do, there were a lot of people in the kitchen or I was doing something else. It made me really happy. There is a older lady named Tia who works in the kitchen every day and we get along really well. She always pronounces things out for me and today she introduced me to achiote. I looked it up and the dictionary said it was annatto seed. Does anyone know what that is? I have no idea. Anyway, Bella Flor is using tires to help make the flood wall and so everyone had to get tires that had been dropped off and roll them across the bridge and down the street to the church. It was hard work! It was fun though and everyone was having fun trying to keep their tires going straight. I kind of freaked myself out because one of my trips back to get a new tire I didn't go with anyone and I was about half way there when I realized no adults or kids were close by. I was kind of scared but I just kept walking and no one bothered me and everything was fine. It was another really tiring day and it didn't really matter how much it hurt to lay down. . . I fell asleep so fast I hardly remember laying down.
February 28
Today was cool because a youth group from Montana came and helped out. We did the same thing we did with the gravel on tuesday except with dirt. I had fun talking with them. At about lunch time all the girls left to go to an orphanage and so the guys and I finished off the pile. They were all nice but there was one guy who was a Costa Rican translator for the group. He kept trying to push YWAM (the organization they were with) on me and then just kept talking and talking while the rest of us were working. I also got to know Tomas, a local guy, better. He has been helping the past couple days with the wall but he doesn't speak English and is really quiet anyway so I never talked to him before but today we kind of introduced ourselves. He even showed me a picture of his daughters- they are really cute. Johnny, one of the little kids whose mom helps out at the church really likes Tomas and has kind of stuck to his side. At the end of the day when everyone was really tired, Johnny got Tomas to haul him around in his wheelbarrow in addition to the load of dirt. All I can say is, there is no way that I would of done it but made Johnny really happy. He had a huge smile on his face. Overall, it was a really fun day. . .and I am really excited to go to bed.
Just a note. . . sorry if I worried anyone (my mom said she got some calls) I am fine I just have been really busy the past few days and the person whose laptap I would normally use over the weekend was away. Also, I got a few comments from Annonomus and I think someone told my mom it the site wasn't letting her put a name in so if you want me to know who you are (if you don't thats ok too) you should mention it somewhere in the message. Thanks!
Today I went with Bellita into San Jose (I don't think I mentioned it before- I am actually living in Ajuelita which is just outside of San Jose) and we walked around looking at the different sights like the national theater and the Jade museum. It was really cool to see some of the history of Costa Rica. I see so much of the sadness and the hardships of this place I am glad I can see some its glory. When we stopped for lunch a guy (who was clearly American) came up to us and said something (I won't go into detail) that was really rude and disgusting and it really bothered me. I think the US has a displayed itself through its politics and media that doesn't always speak well of it's people and as an American in a foreign country I think I have an obligation, as well as the guy in the Taco Bell, to set a good example. It angers me because he is going to make the people that he meets more wary of Americans so when someone like me comes along who is trying to do good it is harder because some jerk was trying to give himself a laugh.
February 23
Right now, I am at the Base and in addition to the other volunteers, Gloria's Aunt and Uncle are staying for the week. They are really funny in their own senior citizen kind of way. They are extremely technology illiterate (they needed help to check their e-mail online, to take the memory card out of their camera, etc.) they are always cheerily ignorant of what is happening around them. I mean, they get the gist of it, just not the details. Glen, Gloria's uncle, is also a little deaf so I kept having to repeat myself when I was around him. Going into this trip, I don't think I thought I would meet anyone like them. It makes me wonder what other people I will meet on this trip!
February 24
Today was sweeeeeeeeeet! I went on a river tour and I got to see all kinds of different animals. I saw fruit bats (about three feet from my face- and really ugly!), white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, and even caymans (they aren't seen very often on the tour). The coolest animal though was the toucan! It was so cool and we didn't see just one. . . . we saw four! Gloria said she hadn't seen so many together before in her life! They were so graceful and happy just hanging out in the forest. It was so amazing to see in real life, in their natural habitats, animals that you normally only see on TV or in the zoo. THEY WERE SO COOL! It makes me excited just thinking about it.:)
oh and I got to see the Oscars and I am really happy that the writer of Juno won. WAY TO GO DIABLO CODY!
February 25
I had so much fun today, We all went to the beach (Jaco, on the Pacific ocean) and I just spent a bunch of time in the ocean because it was way to hot to be on the beach. At first I played with Carmalinda, Delynn and Gloria's daughter, but because she is 7 we couldn't go out very far but we had a lot of fun just playing. After lunch though I went out as far as I thought was safe and just swam and swam and swam. It was my second time at the Pacific ocean and the first time it was so cold I didn't even bring a swim suit (I did get my feet wet) so this time I really just spent as much time as I could in the water. I really like the ocean. I like to swim in general but I especially like going to the ocean. I remember when I went with my family to Florida for Christmas and we would always go to the beach. My sister and I would insist on getting in the water even though it was freezing. We would be so cold but we had so much fun we couldn't not swim. . . we couldn't help ourselves.
February 26
Today I came back to La Tabla. Gloria dropped me off at the church, not at Bella Flor's and Bella Flor wasn't there so I helped out with the task of the day. Through a section of La Tabla there isn't a road and there just is a creek where a road would be on a normal street so cars and trucks can't go to any of the buildings there. As part of the project for La Tabla (they are working on a wall to keep flood water out), a truck brought gravel but couldn't make it to the place where it was to be stored so it had to dump the gravel down the street. My job was to shovel gravel into wheelbarrows so it could be transported. It was really really hot and we were in the sun and I already had a sunburn from the beach and I was with only Spanish speakers but it turned out OK. I was so hot at the end of it I practically collapsed on my bed when I came home but I also felt accomplished (and hardcore. . I even have a blister on my thumb to show my hard work!). The whole time, I only took a break when someone else wanted to work (there were more people than shovels and wheelbarrows) and I worked hard. I feel like I really have to prove myself here. I don't have a history or communication skills so I am going to have to do it by working for it.
February 27
I hurt so bad. It addition to my sunburns (on my face, shoulders, back, arms, and the back of my knees) I now have muscular aches from shoveling yesterday. It's OK I just don't like moving (on the bright side though, if anyone around me is cold all they have to do is stand next to me. . . I have heat radiating from my body). I did take a nice cold shower which helped. Anyway, I went to the church and I had another landmark. I helped cook food. Actually, I just chopped up a couple things but this whole time I haven't helped with food prep at all because either I didn't know what to do, there were a lot of people in the kitchen or I was doing something else. It made me really happy. There is a older lady named Tia who works in the kitchen every day and we get along really well. She always pronounces things out for me and today she introduced me to achiote. I looked it up and the dictionary said it was annatto seed. Does anyone know what that is? I have no idea. Anyway, Bella Flor is using tires to help make the flood wall and so everyone had to get tires that had been dropped off and roll them across the bridge and down the street to the church. It was hard work! It was fun though and everyone was having fun trying to keep their tires going straight. I kind of freaked myself out because one of my trips back to get a new tire I didn't go with anyone and I was about half way there when I realized no adults or kids were close by. I was kind of scared but I just kept walking and no one bothered me and everything was fine. It was another really tiring day and it didn't really matter how much it hurt to lay down. . . I fell asleep so fast I hardly remember laying down.
February 28
Today was cool because a youth group from Montana came and helped out. We did the same thing we did with the gravel on tuesday except with dirt. I had fun talking with them. At about lunch time all the girls left to go to an orphanage and so the guys and I finished off the pile. They were all nice but there was one guy who was a Costa Rican translator for the group. He kept trying to push YWAM (the organization they were with) on me and then just kept talking and talking while the rest of us were working. I also got to know Tomas, a local guy, better. He has been helping the past couple days with the wall but he doesn't speak English and is really quiet anyway so I never talked to him before but today we kind of introduced ourselves. He even showed me a picture of his daughters- they are really cute. Johnny, one of the little kids whose mom helps out at the church really likes Tomas and has kind of stuck to his side. At the end of the day when everyone was really tired, Johnny got Tomas to haul him around in his wheelbarrow in addition to the load of dirt. All I can say is, there is no way that I would of done it but made Johnny really happy. He had a huge smile on his face. Overall, it was a really fun day. . .and I am really excited to go to bed.
Just a note. . . sorry if I worried anyone (my mom said she got some calls) I am fine I just have been really busy the past few days and the person whose laptap I would normally use over the weekend was away. Also, I got a few comments from Annonomus and I think someone told my mom it the site wasn't letting her put a name in so if you want me to know who you are (if you don't thats ok too) you should mention it somewhere in the message. Thanks!
Feb 21, 2008
the muddy boot worker
Febuary 20
Last night was really rough. There was a bible study at the church and I was in charge of childcare. I was the only one in charge on these kids and it was really hard. There were a couple 4 yr old boys who were just really loud and mischievous. I tried to play Telephone and Simon says (which were both games that they knew) after the drawing failed but neither one lasted long. Another one of the kids went and got Bella Flor and she put the two 4yr olds in time out which was fine except then they started to cry and scream (which was not helping my quest for quiet). Eventually, one of the boys started to behave better but the other one was soooo mad and soooo upset, that I dont think there was anything I could do. What made it really difficult was my lack of Spanish skills. I know I wasn't saying things correctly which was really bad for communicating with kids that were really upset. After that I came home and was able to have a little comfort from home in the form of Greys anatomy. it is one of Bellita's favorite tv shows and I was able to follow along. I learned that there isn't a specific word for muffin in Spanish and that they are just called bread or little bread (at least in the show they did).
Febuary 21
Right now, I would just like to say that I am the dirty boot master. Today I cleaned nine pairs of disgusting, muddy boots. These rubber boots had mud on the outside of them but what made it really gross was the mud caked on the inside of them. I had to fill every boot up with water and stick my hand inside each one and scrape as much mud off as I could. this was bad enough but when I was about half way through a big black beetle came crawling out one of the boots. I was so scared to put my hands back down into the boot! I has to will myself to not flinch every time I felt a round, beatle shaped peice of dirt. I was really happy when one of the girls whose mom helps out at La Tabla came and helped me. It was actually kind of a bonding experience working together to finish. All I can say is that I am very proud of my accomplishment today because it is very difficult to put your bare hand where only feet have gone before.
Last night was really rough. There was a bible study at the church and I was in charge of childcare. I was the only one in charge on these kids and it was really hard. There were a couple 4 yr old boys who were just really loud and mischievous. I tried to play Telephone and Simon says (which were both games that they knew) after the drawing failed but neither one lasted long. Another one of the kids went and got Bella Flor and she put the two 4yr olds in time out which was fine except then they started to cry and scream (which was not helping my quest for quiet). Eventually, one of the boys started to behave better but the other one was soooo mad and soooo upset, that I dont think there was anything I could do. What made it really difficult was my lack of Spanish skills. I know I wasn't saying things correctly which was really bad for communicating with kids that were really upset. After that I came home and was able to have a little comfort from home in the form of Greys anatomy. it is one of Bellita's favorite tv shows and I was able to follow along. I learned that there isn't a specific word for muffin in Spanish and that they are just called bread or little bread (at least in the show they did).
Febuary 21
Right now, I would just like to say that I am the dirty boot master. Today I cleaned nine pairs of disgusting, muddy boots. These rubber boots had mud on the outside of them but what made it really gross was the mud caked on the inside of them. I had to fill every boot up with water and stick my hand inside each one and scrape as much mud off as I could. this was bad enough but when I was about half way through a big black beetle came crawling out one of the boots. I was so scared to put my hands back down into the boot! I has to will myself to not flinch every time I felt a round, beatle shaped peice of dirt. I was really happy when one of the girls whose mom helps out at La Tabla came and helped me. It was actually kind of a bonding experience working together to finish. All I can say is that I am very proud of my accomplishment today because it is very difficult to put your bare hand where only feet have gone before.
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