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!
Apr 17, 2008
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.
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