Noticias!

A time in my PC service that I was not certain was going to come has officially arrived. PC requires a certain amount of time spent with a host family when one first gets to site for integration reasons. When I first got here, PC/CR had a somewhat extensive 1-year minimum, which has recently been shortened to 6 months. Especially in rural CR, it does not take long to assimilate and adapt--- and perhaps more importantly, for town members to adapt to you--- so this modification makes sense. However in my town of 300 people, empty houses are not common. When I arrived last year, there was a little cluster about 500 meters down the hill that continues down to my host family’s house with 3 empty houses, but they had since been occupied up until a few weeks ago, when I found out that 2 were vacant. I contacted my PC boss who came to approve it and moved in a few weeks ago. The house is fantastic--- 2 bedrooms, nice living room/dining room area, and a large kitchen—the kitchen is typical campo style where it’s not entirely enclosed, but rather enclosed with a fence material, making it more airy and spacious.

As I have mentioned in my blog, I have been incredibly lucky to have a host family who took me in and made me truly feel like another member of their family. I am beyond indebted to them for their kindness, opening their home to me and treating me like a daughter/sister. While I believe this is the right move for me at this point in my PC service, it is comforting to know that they live right down the road. They have already had me over multiple time sand I look forward to having them to my house (though my cooking cannot compare to my host mom’s!).

I believe that overall this change will be very positive, however all new experiences present their challenges and so here I have outlined the advantages and disadvantages of living solita in the campo of Costa Rica:

PROS
-having the opportunity to try my hand at cooking my own food
-getting to know my new people in the town; my new neighbors include a bunch of really sweet kids who constantly keep me busy, asking to do origami and practice yoga, among other activities
-making my own schedule
-embracing my inner Miss Fix-It
-being able to invite people over and play hostess, as opposed to always being the guest during the past year

CONS
- washing laundry by hand (and then worrying about clothes getting wet while they are hanging out to dry)
-no fridge (yet!), so no cheese, milk, or refrigerating leftovers (of which there are lots when only cooking for one person)
-dealing with scary tropical bugs (and what I believe was a bat in my bedroom my 2nd night here) by myself— my broom comes in quite handy for this so I can keep a considerable distance from them

This is the first time that I have ever lived alone, so it is quite an experience growing accustomed to all that living alone entails while being in a foreign country. I believe this will change my dynamic in town for the remaining months. Living with a host family kept me busy as there is always something to be done on the farm. Living on my own, I have the flexibility to make my own schedule and involve myself in more activities in the elementary and high schools. Another pro is the fact that my “commute” to the elementary school is now only 5 minutes, cutting out 15 minutes of steep hills. In that vein, I went this morning to the town next door, where I have done some work with the women’s group and approached the teacher about teaching English once a week. The school consists of 5 kids in all different grades and just one teacher, who does not speak English. Two of the kids are the ones who had approached me about teaching English over the winter vacation and I know they are really dedicated and excited. I also talked to the women’s group president about helping with some business computer classes (we’ll see how that goes—I need to brush up on my Excel!). At the elementary school in my town, my director skills, honed with arte por la paz a few months back, are again being put to the test--- and this time in English! In September there is a creativity day in the school and the principal asked me to do a play in English. In collaboration with the English teacher, we are going to put on “Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.” It should be quite the challenge, but I think it will be great!

So as my Mom says, “it’s all good!” And even better knowing I’ll be back in the US for a trip to visit family and friends September 10-21—can’t wait to see everyone!

Pura Vida,Tes