As another year comes to a close, I am reminded of lyrics from my favorite Broadway play, Rent: “How do you measure a year?” In the case of the past year of my life, it is quite a question. I remember writing a blog post at the beginning of the year, slightly scared of the prospect of being in Costa Rica for the entire duration of 2009 and here it is, December already. Time really does fly by. So how can I measure 2009, spent living in a small agricultural town in Costa Rica working to promote community development? Here are a few…

In all of the things I have learned:
* milk a cow
* make tortillas and other yummy Tico food, as well as embracing cooking in general and learning to make all kinds things from apple sauce to pie crusts (things easily found in a US supermarket, but not here)
* various arts and crafts including cloth painting (decorating pillowcases, dish towels, etc.) embroidery, and making cards out of dried flowers
* create and maintain a garden
* identify banana trees, coffee bushes, pineapple plants, and countless other things that before I had only seen in supermarkets. I now know the rigorous process that enables so many things (corn, beans, rice, fruits, and vegetables) to arrive on my plate. And may I say that the pleasure taken in eating those things is considerably increased with that knowledge, as well as of the hard work that goes into getting it there.
* the joy of company: staying the afternoon at someone’s house enjoying the sheer state of being with others, drinking cafecito, telling stories, and being in no rush to do anything else
* conversely, yet equally important, the joy of solitude: going back to the states seeing everyone ever-connected with their iphones is jarring in comparison to the rural lifestyle and I have relished the opportunity to live alone with few distractions and the company of good books

In countless meetings, classes, and workshops on a wide variety of topics including:
* community assessment and prioritization of necessities
* project design and development, particularly letter and grant writing skills
* English with children and adults
* environmental education
* women’s personal development
* girls’ self-esteem/group dynamics
* arts & crafts and sports
* business computer skills
* theater productions

In the amount of English my students have learned:
When my last visitor, Jess, came to my town, I was pleasantly surprised with how much they were able to interact with her and understand what she was saying. We’ve come a long way and have all learned a lot (I certainly know more about English grammar than I ever did before teaching!).

In how I have grown as an individual:
* Learning the value of patience and utilizing it when it comes to things that may take a little longer than I would hope
* Acceptance in understanding that even the highest amount of patience may not bring certain things to fruition. And the fact that that’s o.k .
* Understanding the importance, as well as difficulty, of being a self-starter. I came to my town with the very loose and open job of “rural community developer” and have created a role for myself based on the needs of the community. I imagine that the lessons and skills I have learned in going through this quite challenging process will serve me well in the future.
* Having a considerably increased global understanding of the world, allowing me to see things (books, the news) from a different perspective.

In the love and support of friends and family from home:
From moving around so much growing up, I have always known that upon moving, you always make the effort to stay in touch with those who you want to stay in touch with. Living in a place with limited internet and expensive phone access has made keeping in touch a bit more difficult than say, when I went off to college. However it would be impossible to fully express my appreciation of family and friends alike who have continually made the effort to keep in touch during this time. Whether it be by writing an email, ending a card, or coming down here to visit, it means more to me than you know.

In the case of Rent, the answer to the question “how do you measure a year?” is a simple one: in love. So I thank you for sharing your support, enthusiasm, and love with me during these two years.

Happy Holidays and may 2010 bring health, happiness and a hearty dose of adventure to you all.

Love,
Tes

PS Very special wishes to my Mom on her birthday today. I look forward to celebrating with her, along with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and brother, who are coming down to CR this Wednesday!

As usual, time is flying by and I don’t know where to begin. I think I’ll spice things up and divide it into sections:

Costa Rica’s Up and Coming Neighbor

When I last wrote, I was about to venture off to the neighboring Nicaragua with some fellow Peace Corps volunteers. After one week in Nicaragua, I officially consider myself this under-visited country’s biggest fan. Everyone always talks about Costa Rica as the hot tropical destination spot, but I would highly recommend adding Nicaragua to the itinerary, which has a “road less traveled” authentic feel (though I imagine that, as with Costa Rica, this will change rapidly). Highlights included sand-boarding down the side of an active volcano, kayaking in a crystal clear lagoon formed by a (currently non-active) volcano, and exploring the charming colonial city of Leon. In addition, the people were incredibly warm and friendly, the food was delicious, and the countryside was stunning with volcano after volcano (part of the “Ring of Fire”) whose views could be appreciated on the drives from city to city, as well as atop the volcano where we went sand-boarding and the cathedral in Leon.

Thanksgiving by Candlelight

What a difference a year makes. This time last year I had recently come back from my first visit to the US since joining PC and was struggling with settling back in and finding my place in my community. Now that my town truly feels like home, who better to celebrate Thanksgiving than with my host family? I invited them to come over for a little Thanksgiving dinner. Little did I know what an adventure it would turn out to be. This year the Costa Rican rainy season has reversed March’s slogan of “in like a lion, out like a lamb;” while it has been unseasonably dry this year, there have been quite a few torrential downpours in the past month and that afternoon was a prime example. Around 3PM the electricity popped off and I naively thought it would pop right back on. As it gets dark here around 5.30, I ended up making my uniquely American dinner (olive oil with rosemary and bread as an appetizer, followed by salad, mashed potatoes, green beans, and (homemade!) fish sticks, with s’mores for dessert) all by candlelight, which was truly no easy feat. Though I was a bit frantic, it went very well and I think my host family enjoyed the meal as well as celebrating a tradition that they know is very special to me. While it is comforting knowing that this time next year I will be spending Thanksgiving with my family, as I had done every year for the first 23 years of my life, I know this was a Thanksgiving I will not soon forget and I am tremendously thankful for my host family who has truly been my surrogate family in my town.

Chicas Poderosas, Teen Version

PC volunteers are constantly creating manuals for various projects. In this respect, we truly are our greatest resources. These manuals are great guides for activities (examples include Chicas Poderosas and Arte por la Paz). Recently a group of volunteers came out with a new manual called “Voces Volerosas” (Valuable Voices), with the goal of developing adolescent girls’ abilities to analyze and reflect upon their experiences, express themselves through writing and art, while at the same time expanding consciousness on a variety of subjects as they relate to girls and women (ex: leadership, body image, human rights). I was hesitant to start this in my high school as working there has many challenges, but I talked to the English teacher about co-facilitating the workshops with me and with her on board, I decided to give it a try. We had our first workshop this past Wednesday and it was a real success! We had the girls lie on the floor and listen to music while envisioning themselves in 5 years; where they will be, what they will be doing, how will they get there. Then they traced each other’s bodies onto newsprint and filled them in with pictures and words outlining their future selves.. Very PC-y and very out of the box, as far as education here goes and I was delighted to see that the girls took it seriously and seemed to really enjoy it. It is powerful knowing that they don’t ordinarily have a forum to contemplate or express their future and the first step towards a bright future is identifying a goal and then taking the steps to achieve it and I believe that today was a positive step forward in defining those goals and critically thinking of how to reach them. Hopefully the next workshops will be as successful!

Ok, that’s all for now! I hope everyone had a very wonderful Thanksgiving with plenty of turkey and pumpkin pie =)