In my journal, I often find myself documenting vignettes--- seemingly small but personally significant experiences. I decided to share a couple of them here, with the hope that they may illuminate a bit more what life is like here:
In the pulperia by the soccer field, the main town hang out, one of the ways to pass the time (besides the usual chatting among neighbors) is by playing one of the coin slot machines where you put in 15 cents or so and then play some mindless game. I in no way endorse this activity, which I believe is tantamount to throwing one’s money away. As I explain to anyone that will listen: I would rather spend my money on something concrete, like food, than gamble it away on the off chance of winning. Regardless, one day one of the kids whose family owns the pulperia (I’ve talked about this family before—they have 8 kids who are all really great-- one of my favorite families in town) was playing and won the equivalent of a couple dollars. Needless to say, he was ecstatic (that much money can go a long way in a pulperia with tons of 5¢ and 10¢ candies). Immediately after the change spouted out of the machine, he proceeded to ask everyone in the store, which was a few of his brothers and sisters as well as myself, what we wanted from the pulperia, because he was going to treat us. I was overwhelmed by the fact that his immediate reaction was not to get something big for himself, but instead literally “share the wealth.” At first I felt uncomfortable asking for something, but I quickly realized it was a matter of pride on his part; he was really happy to be able to do this. I can honestly say I will never forget the innate generosity that was revealed on that day.
I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned the fact that Ticos are really into their gardens. Con razón, as the tropical flowers that bloom all over the place are absolutely beautiful, but it always cracks me up that if there is ever a lull in conversation when I am visiting someone, bringing up flowers is a fool-proof conversation starter. However one day I had the realization that this whole flower business has much more significance than meets the eye. I was visiting the daughter of my old friend, Flora, when the subject of flowers came up. This is a woman who grew up with 15 siblings, who has worked hard her entire life raising 3 kids, picking coffee year after year to try to get a bit ahead. She explained to me that tending to her garden is something that, despite the trials and tribulations of life, makes her truly happy. She can see a concrete cause and effect in the care and patience that goes into tending the flowers and the beauty that results from this hard work. It is a point of pride and the epitome of a “labor of love” caring for flowers. Many women in my town have to put up with a lot of “stuff” (i.e. lack of respect and appreciation on the part of husbands and children for tireless efforts cooking, cleaning, and general up- keep of the household, issues such as alcoholism and abuse, all of which comes under the umbrella of the machista culture that dominates Latin America. I want to be clear that while these issues are not seen in every family, they are some examples of the issues facing women in rural Costa Rica and, I venture to say, world-wide). None the less, I had never thought about it before that for them, caring for their flowers is a joyful time-out from life that provides an aesthetically pleasing outcome, (which, in turn, provides fodder for conversation when people come to visit!).
I have also kept meaningful quotes from books, magazines, and newspaper articles that I have read during the past year and a 1/2. Here are some I’d like to share with you all:
“It might have been tempting to remember Guineau as an experience, the last hoorah of my youth, but it never has been and never will be. It’s a place, like any other, with people who cannot be captured in a single photo. Time can’t be stopped. We are, all of us, constantly moving forward, along roads full of potholes and curves and red dust so thick we can’t always see exactly where we’re headed.”
-Annie Mascorro, PCV Guineau ‘00-‘02
“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life-- they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyance is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”
-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
“Maybe this is what we get in life, a few great loves: loves that return us to ourselves when we need it most. And maybe some of those loves aren’t people, but places—real and adopted homes—that fill us up with light and energy and hope at moments when we feel especially tired or lost. That is the beauty of love in all its forms. We don’t know when or how it is going to save us.”
-Laura Dave, Modern Love 1.20.08
“When it comes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up is really, in fact, where we always intended to be.”
-Julia Glass, Three June
“You can’t solve all the problems of the world, but each day you can do something. A certain peace comes from doing what you feel you should be doing.”
-Jane Goodall
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
I believe I am long overdue for a blog update, so here I am, updating! So, what’s new? Vamos a ver…
I am happy to report that, due to letters and meetings that were written and attended by development association members and myself, the Municipality sent machinery to my town to fix the roads for the first in longer than anyone can remember. As I have mentioned before, improving the quality of the roads here is the number one priority identified by town members. This past weekend, they used various equipment to level out the road and then brought in multiple truckloads of rocks and earth in order to leave the roads, as they would said here, “bien chineados” (very pretty). Needless to say, it is a huge improvement from before and I am hoping it will make a big difference in terms of being more easily transitable as the worst part of the rainy season rapidly approaches. This collaboration between the development association and the Municipality is a bigger deal than it might sound. For any project with the Municipality to come to fruition, a tireless set of requisites must be completed. It has certainly been a learning process, but what we have learned will be useful in years to come. Before this year, the development association was not aware of the procedure for being part of the municipality’s budget to fix the road. Now we are well aware and have already written a letter to the appropriate people to be included for next year, too. In other road-improving news, we have also submitted a proposal to make some cement drainage ditches (wow, I do not know what to call these things in English) in some of the steepest parts of the road so the water doesn’t run through the road. I will keep you posted, but as for now, every time I go running, any person I past will comment something to the effect of, “Isn’t it so nice to go running on this nice road, now?” And I happily answer, “Yes, it is!”
In the school, the basketball and volleyball nets were just put in this week, thanks to the grant from Kids to Kids. Now, when the kids get back from vacation (they have a 2 week winter break, kind of like our Christmas break, as the seasons are reversed here), they will learn how to play as part of the gym class they receive. Actually, that return to school, which should have been today, will not be for a little while. In Costa Rica, there is apparently a swine flu outbreak and so last week, the Ministry of Education declared that, in accordance to a decree by the Ministry of Health, elementary and high school will have an additional week (and possibly more) of vacation because 30% of kids are asthmatic and asthmatic people have a higher risk of catching the swine flu. What I fail to understand is why this is suddenly becoming a problem and why these same people have not been at risk from the beginning of this whole swine flu epidemic, but it’s hard to tell…
Ok, enough of my rant on Costa Rican institutions. So during this vacation, I have been reverting to my role of camp counselor, organizing arts and crafts activities, as well as games and yoga in the soccer field. When I’m brainstorming activities to do with the kids, I go back to my elementary school days and reminisce about what I liked to do. Therefore I have been making lanyard keychains, doing origami, and playing freeze tag and red light green light (remember?!). Any favorite childhood games that come to mind, feel free to pass them along, because I am always looking for something new to do!
In the last month, I received some very special visitors: my Mom, followed by Genie and Rus. My Mom’s visit was a perfect combination of relaxing at the beach and a beautiful hot springs that we had actually been to a few years ago on our visit to Costa Rica, as well as a few days in my town. It was an eye-opening realization how much things have changed since her last visit, which was in August of 2008. Last year, everything was new and exciting and now, at least for me, everything is more status quo. This is just my life and it’s not quite so new and exciting anymore. I think that has a lot to do with where I am at this point in my PC service--- over a year in site. Regardless, my students were really happy to practice English with her during the English class and my Mom also got to meet my chicas. And it was wonderful to spend time just with my Mom catching up on, well everything! Then the next week I went to the beach for a day with Genie and Rus and then we ventured out to my town in a rental car on a very little-transited road that is in less than ideal driving condition, especially now due to the rainy season. But they made it and enjoyed a typical cafecito at my house and also attended an English class. I know I’ve said this before, but it bares repeating: it means so much to me when people come visit my town because it really is impossible to get an idea of what it is like without seeing it firsthand. On the note of visiting, I have some exciting news: I officially have tickets to come to the US on September 10th. I will be spending a weekend in Baltimore and then the week in CT. Even if I can’t see everyone, it will be nice to at least have easier communication access for a little while! I am counting down the days to see everyone, especially to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with my family--- I can’t wait!
And on that note, I’m off to bed!
Pura Vida,
Tes
I am happy to report that, due to letters and meetings that were written and attended by development association members and myself, the Municipality sent machinery to my town to fix the roads for the first in longer than anyone can remember. As I have mentioned before, improving the quality of the roads here is the number one priority identified by town members. This past weekend, they used various equipment to level out the road and then brought in multiple truckloads of rocks and earth in order to leave the roads, as they would said here, “bien chineados” (very pretty). Needless to say, it is a huge improvement from before and I am hoping it will make a big difference in terms of being more easily transitable as the worst part of the rainy season rapidly approaches. This collaboration between the development association and the Municipality is a bigger deal than it might sound. For any project with the Municipality to come to fruition, a tireless set of requisites must be completed. It has certainly been a learning process, but what we have learned will be useful in years to come. Before this year, the development association was not aware of the procedure for being part of the municipality’s budget to fix the road. Now we are well aware and have already written a letter to the appropriate people to be included for next year, too. In other road-improving news, we have also submitted a proposal to make some cement drainage ditches (wow, I do not know what to call these things in English) in some of the steepest parts of the road so the water doesn’t run through the road. I will keep you posted, but as for now, every time I go running, any person I past will comment something to the effect of, “Isn’t it so nice to go running on this nice road, now?” And I happily answer, “Yes, it is!”
In the school, the basketball and volleyball nets were just put in this week, thanks to the grant from Kids to Kids. Now, when the kids get back from vacation (they have a 2 week winter break, kind of like our Christmas break, as the seasons are reversed here), they will learn how to play as part of the gym class they receive. Actually, that return to school, which should have been today, will not be for a little while. In Costa Rica, there is apparently a swine flu outbreak and so last week, the Ministry of Education declared that, in accordance to a decree by the Ministry of Health, elementary and high school will have an additional week (and possibly more) of vacation because 30% of kids are asthmatic and asthmatic people have a higher risk of catching the swine flu. What I fail to understand is why this is suddenly becoming a problem and why these same people have not been at risk from the beginning of this whole swine flu epidemic, but it’s hard to tell…
Ok, enough of my rant on Costa Rican institutions. So during this vacation, I have been reverting to my role of camp counselor, organizing arts and crafts activities, as well as games and yoga in the soccer field. When I’m brainstorming activities to do with the kids, I go back to my elementary school days and reminisce about what I liked to do. Therefore I have been making lanyard keychains, doing origami, and playing freeze tag and red light green light (remember?!). Any favorite childhood games that come to mind, feel free to pass them along, because I am always looking for something new to do!
In the last month, I received some very special visitors: my Mom, followed by Genie and Rus. My Mom’s visit was a perfect combination of relaxing at the beach and a beautiful hot springs that we had actually been to a few years ago on our visit to Costa Rica, as well as a few days in my town. It was an eye-opening realization how much things have changed since her last visit, which was in August of 2008. Last year, everything was new and exciting and now, at least for me, everything is more status quo. This is just my life and it’s not quite so new and exciting anymore. I think that has a lot to do with where I am at this point in my PC service--- over a year in site. Regardless, my students were really happy to practice English with her during the English class and my Mom also got to meet my chicas. And it was wonderful to spend time just with my Mom catching up on, well everything! Then the next week I went to the beach for a day with Genie and Rus and then we ventured out to my town in a rental car on a very little-transited road that is in less than ideal driving condition, especially now due to the rainy season. But they made it and enjoyed a typical cafecito at my house and also attended an English class. I know I’ve said this before, but it bares repeating: it means so much to me when people come visit my town because it really is impossible to get an idea of what it is like without seeing it firsthand. On the note of visiting, I have some exciting news: I officially have tickets to come to the US on September 10th. I will be spending a weekend in Baltimore and then the week in CT. Even if I can’t see everyone, it will be nice to at least have easier communication access for a little while! I am counting down the days to see everyone, especially to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with my family--- I can’t wait!
And on that note, I’m off to bed!
Pura Vida,
Tes
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