I think one of the most challenging aspects of being a “rural community developer” is forming my own definition of what exactly that entails. As I’m sure any RCD PC volunteer would agree, it is a constantly evolving definition that is highly dependent on the nature of the community. The work that I’m doing in my town might have nothing to do with what another PCV is doing in her town. And that’s ok. While I imagine this, too, will be an ever-evolving aspect of my job, what I have come to realize in the last month or so is that a huge part has been that of a “connector” (or CONNector, as befits a Connecticut College alum). Allow me to explain: ever since I’ve gotten to my town, I’ve been meeting people left and right, from community members to the mayor of the county to leaders of various governmental organizations. It is sometimes to my embarrassment that someone comes up to me asking how I am and I don’t recognize him or cannot place him for the life of me (this only happens in my closest city as I know pretty much everyone in my town). As my career-counselor Mom has always told me, “it’s not just what you know, it’s who you know” and during my time here, I have been able to widen the circle of people who know about my town and the projects we are doing, as well as people of the town who are getting to know each other better. Here are some examples:
I believe I wrote about this when it happened, but a few months back, I helped coordinate a visit of a really awesome group facilitator for the women’s group in the neighboring town. The woman, who is affiliated with a religious organization, does anything and everything group development-related, came to give a charla (talk) on personal development. She did a very simple activity, but the women loved it and were so happy to add this woman to their ever-expanding “net” of contacts. It is great to know that these contacts, at the end of the day, will remain with the woman so that they may program activities for themselves in the future.
As the seasons here are reversed, kids are just heading back to school this week from summer vacation. During the break when many kids weren’t doing all that much, I had an English class for kids ages 10-14. The initial idea began because the elementary school in the town next door (also home of the women’s group) does not receive English classes— there are only 6 kids in attendance! When I was there for a meeting with the women’s group, a few girls in the school asked if I could teach them English, thus spawning the idea to have the class during the vacation. Therefore the class had kids from both towns which, though just 4 km. away, don’t have too much interaction. One of the girls from the town next door just graduated from 6th grade (the only one!) and is thus the only person heading to the high school from her town. Therewere several girls her age from my town in the class and she became friends with them during the past few months. It has been really sweet to see their friendships developing and know that it probably isn’t quite so scary heading to high school, now that she has a bunch of “compañeras” in her grade.
On what is basically the next mountain away, but still part of my town, a few Canadian builders are developing a housing complex of some quite large homes. The other day I was outside the pulpería waiting for the bus when I heard some people struggling to communicate with the owner, asking for a telephone card. I stepped in to translate and the people came out of the pulpería, surely curious to see who their fellow English-speaker was. Turns out they were a lovely Canadian couple who built a house to come down a few months of the year to escape the cold Canadian winters. I ended up telling them about my (adult) English class and inviting them to come and help out. A few weeks later the woman came and was a total hit with my students. They were really excited to have someone new come in and speak English and it was really cute to see them using what we’ve learned in the class to communicate. Following the class, many class members have gone to their house to practice English (it’s funny because they come back and tell me how hard it is thinking and speaking only in English for an afternoon and I tell them: welcome to my life!). The other day my host family invited the couple over for lunch and it was sweet because they were so touched to come and see what life is like on the “other side of the mountain.” It is a good feeling knowing that as a result of the English class, these connections are being made and friendships are beginning to flourish, which in turn are bridging language, cultural, and socio-economic barriers.
There are many more examples, but I will leave it at this. I think one of the huge challenges of volunteerism is the idea of sustainability. How will I make a “lasting mark.” In addition, what can I do so that my 2 years away from my family and friends are “worth it?” I think this remains to be seen and (gracias a dios, as they say here), I still have over a year to work on it, but I do believe this idea of being a “connector” is one way in which the work and collaboration of these two years will continue after I leave and provide peace of mind that there is a certain amount of sustainability in the human relationships that are formed during these 2 years.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Friendship
I was thinking today about one of the things I am most proud of at this point in my Peace Corps service is the many relationships I have with a wide-ranging number of people in my town. One of my neighbors commented to me one day that he admired how friendly I am to everyone and how I really have become a part of the town and I was truly touched by that comment. Of course it is easier for me coming into the situation with a tabula rasa, so to speak, whereas there are relationships between various town members or even entire families that are complicated beyond my “outsider’s” comprehension. But still, I feel good about the fact that I have made friends with all different kinds of people in my town. To illustrate that fact, I thought I’d give a little snapshot of some of those people and our friendship:
Flora is one of the oldest people in my town; she celebrated her 80th birthday in November. I first met her in my first couple months here when my host Mom took me around town to introduce me to people. While Flora lives in one of the most isolated houses in town and rarely leaves the house as it is hard for her to walk, she already knew who I was upon arrival and jokes that all the chisme (gossip) gets to her sooner rather than later. As usual with those visits, she told me I was invited to come visit whenever I like and I really took a liking to her and so try to stop by once every couple of weeks. I get the biggest kick out of visiting Flora because a visit consists of me coming to her house, one of the most humble in my town built of wood with a dirt floor in the kitchen, and her greeting me, “la gringita” (I don’t think she knows my actual name, but she definitely knows who I am) with a huge hug and kiss, saying how much she loves me “like a daughter.” Then she ushers me inside and proceeds to tell me stories about her life, her kids, the neighbors… I love it because she is the epitome of a natutal-born story-teller and she doesn’t have too many people come to visit, so I just sit back and listen. It’s fascinating to hear about what life was like “back in the day.” It was hard work on the farm picking coffee, grinding corn to make tortillas on a daily basis for families that were rarely less than 10 people, and all the other daily trials and tribulations of subsistence farming life, but hearing about walking around barefoot and having family sing-alongs accompanied by some family member on the guitar sounds wonderful in a wholesome, almost innocent way. It makes me nostalgic for a time that, though I didn’t live it myself, seems to be more incongruent with the way of life here with each passing day, due to factors like globalization and the fact that it is hard to get by solely farming (and will probably be even harder after CAFTA comes into effect here).
Esteban is a 21-year-old college student studying tourism and one of the star players on the guys’ soccer team. He had dropped out of high school but when the high school came to our town a few years ago, he turned over a new leaf, realizing he would be missing a real opportunity if he didn’t take advantage of the high school and was one of the 2 out of 15 or so students who graduated in his class (that was 2 years ago and this year 10 of 17 graduated, so at least there’s an upswing track record). He now serves as a constant example to my 13-year-old host brother of the importance of education and how one cannot take it for granted. These days Esteban is one of the most studious people I know—he’s in my English class and has the highest grade and is by far the most dedicated to improving his English. But my friendship with Esteban is not defined by academics, but rather in a different setting: the impromptu mejengas (pick-up soccer games) in the afternoons. We both almost inevitably end up playing till the very end (not the norm, as people are always flowing in and out of games) and then, often with some other neighbor kids, find ourselves sitting on the grass and having really interesting conversations from religion (me explaining Judaism which led to a more general conversation about the role of religion in one’s life) to the differences between learning Spanish and English to how I can improve my soccer game. He is so curious about life in the states and what I think about life in Costa Rica and it is nice to have someone my age to hang out with because, as I joke (although it isn’t nearly as true as when I first got here), my friends here are all ½ my age.
Which brings me to Clara. Clara is one of my Chicas Poderosas and while I have a close relationship with lots of the chicas who live in my neighborhood, Clara is one of my favorites (I know I shouldn’t have favorites— shhh!). Clara is the youngest of 8 kids with just one other sister, and in reality her entire family is one of my favorites in town because the kids are all really great— they are natural athletes, do well in school, and are just all-around good kids. Her family owns the pulperia (little convenience store) across from the soccer field, so I end up spending a fair amount of time there. She is shy, not at all the typical baby-of-the-family stereotype, and kind of reminds me of myself at that age, a little on the tentative side, at least at first. But she is totally adorable and I love seeing her open up during our Chicas Poderosas activities. We also have lots of fun doing anything from me teaching her yoga to doing gymnastic moves and trust falls on the soccer field with other neighborhood kids.
To finish I will briefly touch upon my host family, which I haven’t written about too much, I think because it seems kind of intrusive to write about them on my blog, perhaps because our relationships are personal (not that the ones above aren’t, but on a different level) and I do not know exactly who is reading this. But I cannot say enough (at least in person, if not here) about how lucky I am to have been placed in the family where I am. I cannot imagine living with another family in my town. My relationship with each member of my host family has it’s own unique dynamic and is reminiscent of that of a daughter/sister. My host Dad and I have deep conversations about everything from town politics and how to improve the town in general to random questions about how things work in the states vs. CR (tonight he was asking what the difference is between police and the military because CR doesn’t have a military. He also asked at what altitude airplanes fly, the answer to which I have no idea, if someone can help me with that one!). My host Mom is amazingly strong in a very under-stated way and incredibly sweet. Upon arriving, she told me that when they said they’d host a PC volunteer in their house they didn’t know if it would be a guy or girl, but had told my boss that if it was a girl, she was excited to have a new “compañera” or friend. I am happy to report that we truly are “compañeras” and I think the friendship has been equally meaningful to both of us. My host brother and I have a pretty typical brother/sister relationship and my host parents joke that we even fight like brother and sister (I maintain that because of him I will be deaf after 2 years of listening to him blasting horrible reggaeton music), but in reality he is a great kid and I can count on him to accompany me on an errand around town and play a heated game of Scrabble (in English or Spanish!).
So hopefully this gives an idea of the wide-ranging friendships that have arisen in these past months. I feel like I have a balanced idea of what life is like in my town because it is based on a variety of people from all “walks of life” relative to the spectrum of people living here and I look forward to an ever-increasing number of friendships as I meet and collaborate with people on projects, or just have a conversation with someone on the walk down the hill.
¡Ciao!
Tes
Flora is one of the oldest people in my town; she celebrated her 80th birthday in November. I first met her in my first couple months here when my host Mom took me around town to introduce me to people. While Flora lives in one of the most isolated houses in town and rarely leaves the house as it is hard for her to walk, she already knew who I was upon arrival and jokes that all the chisme (gossip) gets to her sooner rather than later. As usual with those visits, she told me I was invited to come visit whenever I like and I really took a liking to her and so try to stop by once every couple of weeks. I get the biggest kick out of visiting Flora because a visit consists of me coming to her house, one of the most humble in my town built of wood with a dirt floor in the kitchen, and her greeting me, “la gringita” (I don’t think she knows my actual name, but she definitely knows who I am) with a huge hug and kiss, saying how much she loves me “like a daughter.” Then she ushers me inside and proceeds to tell me stories about her life, her kids, the neighbors… I love it because she is the epitome of a natutal-born story-teller and she doesn’t have too many people come to visit, so I just sit back and listen. It’s fascinating to hear about what life was like “back in the day.” It was hard work on the farm picking coffee, grinding corn to make tortillas on a daily basis for families that were rarely less than 10 people, and all the other daily trials and tribulations of subsistence farming life, but hearing about walking around barefoot and having family sing-alongs accompanied by some family member on the guitar sounds wonderful in a wholesome, almost innocent way. It makes me nostalgic for a time that, though I didn’t live it myself, seems to be more incongruent with the way of life here with each passing day, due to factors like globalization and the fact that it is hard to get by solely farming (and will probably be even harder after CAFTA comes into effect here).
Esteban is a 21-year-old college student studying tourism and one of the star players on the guys’ soccer team. He had dropped out of high school but when the high school came to our town a few years ago, he turned over a new leaf, realizing he would be missing a real opportunity if he didn’t take advantage of the high school and was one of the 2 out of 15 or so students who graduated in his class (that was 2 years ago and this year 10 of 17 graduated, so at least there’s an upswing track record). He now serves as a constant example to my 13-year-old host brother of the importance of education and how one cannot take it for granted. These days Esteban is one of the most studious people I know—he’s in my English class and has the highest grade and is by far the most dedicated to improving his English. But my friendship with Esteban is not defined by academics, but rather in a different setting: the impromptu mejengas (pick-up soccer games) in the afternoons. We both almost inevitably end up playing till the very end (not the norm, as people are always flowing in and out of games) and then, often with some other neighbor kids, find ourselves sitting on the grass and having really interesting conversations from religion (me explaining Judaism which led to a more general conversation about the role of religion in one’s life) to the differences between learning Spanish and English to how I can improve my soccer game. He is so curious about life in the states and what I think about life in Costa Rica and it is nice to have someone my age to hang out with because, as I joke (although it isn’t nearly as true as when I first got here), my friends here are all ½ my age.
Which brings me to Clara. Clara is one of my Chicas Poderosas and while I have a close relationship with lots of the chicas who live in my neighborhood, Clara is one of my favorites (I know I shouldn’t have favorites— shhh!). Clara is the youngest of 8 kids with just one other sister, and in reality her entire family is one of my favorites in town because the kids are all really great— they are natural athletes, do well in school, and are just all-around good kids. Her family owns the pulperia (little convenience store) across from the soccer field, so I end up spending a fair amount of time there. She is shy, not at all the typical baby-of-the-family stereotype, and kind of reminds me of myself at that age, a little on the tentative side, at least at first. But she is totally adorable and I love seeing her open up during our Chicas Poderosas activities. We also have lots of fun doing anything from me teaching her yoga to doing gymnastic moves and trust falls on the soccer field with other neighborhood kids.
To finish I will briefly touch upon my host family, which I haven’t written about too much, I think because it seems kind of intrusive to write about them on my blog, perhaps because our relationships are personal (not that the ones above aren’t, but on a different level) and I do not know exactly who is reading this. But I cannot say enough (at least in person, if not here) about how lucky I am to have been placed in the family where I am. I cannot imagine living with another family in my town. My relationship with each member of my host family has it’s own unique dynamic and is reminiscent of that of a daughter/sister. My host Dad and I have deep conversations about everything from town politics and how to improve the town in general to random questions about how things work in the states vs. CR (tonight he was asking what the difference is between police and the military because CR doesn’t have a military. He also asked at what altitude airplanes fly, the answer to which I have no idea, if someone can help me with that one!). My host Mom is amazingly strong in a very under-stated way and incredibly sweet. Upon arriving, she told me that when they said they’d host a PC volunteer in their house they didn’t know if it would be a guy or girl, but had told my boss that if it was a girl, she was excited to have a new “compañera” or friend. I am happy to report that we truly are “compañeras” and I think the friendship has been equally meaningful to both of us. My host brother and I have a pretty typical brother/sister relationship and my host parents joke that we even fight like brother and sister (I maintain that because of him I will be deaf after 2 years of listening to him blasting horrible reggaeton music), but in reality he is a great kid and I can count on him to accompany me on an errand around town and play a heated game of Scrabble (in English or Spanish!).
So hopefully this gives an idea of the wide-ranging friendships that have arisen in these past months. I feel like I have a balanced idea of what life is like in my town because it is based on a variety of people from all “walks of life” relative to the spectrum of people living here and I look forward to an ever-increasing number of friendships as I meet and collaborate with people on projects, or just have a conversation with someone on the walk down the hill.
¡Ciao!
Tes
Friday, January 2, 2009
Holiday Season in CR
Happy New Year to everyone! I cannot get over the fact that it is 2009 and that I will be spending the entirety of the coming year in Costa Rica—a simultaneously scary and exciting prospect. Although I certainly know where I will be spending 2009, I don’t necessarily know what I will be doing (of course there are many ideas and projects under way, but this coming year will hopefully bring to fruition many of these projects, if not at least a solid design and plan of implementation). So how did I spend my New Year’s? My host family had a big party in the rancho, complete with karaoke. Have I mentioned that people in CR love karaoke? Not to make generalizations, specifically in light of my previous post, but I think it’s safe to say that a favorite Tico past-time is singing karaoke. In the cities, there are lots of karaoke bars and most people have a microphone that attaches to their stereo at home to do karaoke during parties or when le da la gana a uno (whenever!). I have been asked countless times (and when I say countless, I mean it) to sing “The Titanic Song” which thus far I have only sung once in the privacy of a friend’s house, after feeling badly that she was singing and singing for about an hour with me refusing to sing at all. There was absolutely no way I was going to sing in front of a group of 30 people on New Year’s, but it cracks me up every time someone attempts to convince me to do so.
Back to the party: my 2 older host brothers (my age) are on vacation for the week so they were here, along with other visiting relatives and a bunch of neighbors, too. We all had lots of fun chatting, singing, and of course, eating. The specialty of this time of year are tamales, cornmeal dough with pieces of meat and vegetables wrapped in banana leaves. We also made chicharrones (fried pig, another specialty, specific to the county I live in) and I made a pumpkin roll. Since the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie was such a hit, I bought more canned pumpkin the last time I was in San Jose and to switch things up made the pumpkin roll—also a big hit. All in all, a wonderful way to ring in the new year.
And now let’s back track to Christmas. Being a predominantly Catholic country, Christmas is a big deal here. However, I was surprised to learn that the days leading up to Christmas are more celebratory than the actual December 25th. During the 10 days leading up to Christmas, various families in the town host what are called posadas. Literally meaning “inn,” it is a kind of open house where everyone in the community is invited to someone’s house to sing Christmas carols and prayers and also have a meal together. I really enjoyed the tradition of posadas, as it was a great opportunity to allow community members to spend time together, outside of the “hustle and bustle” of daily life. While I have commented on the fact that what I love about life here is the more laid back atmosphere, there are’t too many opportunity for people, particularly outside of one’s immediate family, to get together, besides community events like dances and BINGO’s (another very popular Tico past-time). The fact that a posada is a religious event, meant that it was more reflective and meaningful in nature, which I also appreciated.
Christmas eve is the culmination of the celebration. There is the final posada which is “hosted” by the church. The posada was combined with the tradition Christmas eve mass, followed by a big dinner. Then a bunch of host family relatives came to the house and we had a get-together pretty similar to our new year’s eve party, the only difference is that we didn’t have to stay up until midnight (while supposedly it is the tradition here in Costa Rica on Dec. 24, it isn’t very compatible with the campo lifestyle which involves one getting up really early to milk the cows and feed the animals).
Christmas day we embarked on an adventure to a river about 1.5 hours away. Surprisingly, there were a bunch of families from my town there and I had a blast swimming and playing around with all the kids. From the river, I made my way down to the coast to see some very special visitors: the Fisher/Cohen family! While it has been lovely experiencing the holiday season with my host family, it was truly special to spend time with members of my actual family during this time. Little did I know how difficult it would be to reach them: I had heard that the road to the little beach town was not in great shape, but little did I know that to travel the 40 km (25 miles) from Quepos, the beach town closest to me, to Dominical, where the Fisher’s were, apparently takes 3 hours. I kept thinking, 25 miles in 3 hours? A marathon runner could do better than this bus! Luckily, due to very few people traveling on Christmas evening, we made it in 2.5 and as soon as I saw Janice, Byron, Nathan, Eli, and Nora, I forgot all about the bus ride and enjoyed talking about everything under the sun with them and relaxing at the beach for the next 4 days. I also did my first “touristy” thing besides just going to the beach in CR-- snorkeling on an island off the coast of the Osa Peninsula. It was really cool—we saw sharks and all sorts of tropical fish, as well as a huge mangrove forest.
On the way back to San Jose to catch their flight home, the Fisher’s stopped in my town, where we packed in a delicious lunch, hiking to some nearby waterfalls, making caldo with the trapiche (see previous post with pictures), and playing a pick-up soccer game with a bunch of neighborhood kids— all in 4 hours! It was a total blast and wonderful for them to get an idea of what life is like here (hint, hint to anyone else thinking about coming…). It meant a lot for me that they were able to come and I believe they enjoyed the experience as much as I did (as well as the kids in my town who got a big kick out of the gringo vs tico soccer game). As I knew would happen, the time went by way too quickly, but we took advantage of every minute which made for a fantastic visit.
On that note, best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2009!
¡Próspero Año!
Besos, Tesa
Back to the party: my 2 older host brothers (my age) are on vacation for the week so they were here, along with other visiting relatives and a bunch of neighbors, too. We all had lots of fun chatting, singing, and of course, eating. The specialty of this time of year are tamales, cornmeal dough with pieces of meat and vegetables wrapped in banana leaves. We also made chicharrones (fried pig, another specialty, specific to the county I live in) and I made a pumpkin roll. Since the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie was such a hit, I bought more canned pumpkin the last time I was in San Jose and to switch things up made the pumpkin roll—also a big hit. All in all, a wonderful way to ring in the new year.
And now let’s back track to Christmas. Being a predominantly Catholic country, Christmas is a big deal here. However, I was surprised to learn that the days leading up to Christmas are more celebratory than the actual December 25th. During the 10 days leading up to Christmas, various families in the town host what are called posadas. Literally meaning “inn,” it is a kind of open house where everyone in the community is invited to someone’s house to sing Christmas carols and prayers and also have a meal together. I really enjoyed the tradition of posadas, as it was a great opportunity to allow community members to spend time together, outside of the “hustle and bustle” of daily life. While I have commented on the fact that what I love about life here is the more laid back atmosphere, there are’t too many opportunity for people, particularly outside of one’s immediate family, to get together, besides community events like dances and BINGO’s (another very popular Tico past-time). The fact that a posada is a religious event, meant that it was more reflective and meaningful in nature, which I also appreciated.
Christmas eve is the culmination of the celebration. There is the final posada which is “hosted” by the church. The posada was combined with the tradition Christmas eve mass, followed by a big dinner. Then a bunch of host family relatives came to the house and we had a get-together pretty similar to our new year’s eve party, the only difference is that we didn’t have to stay up until midnight (while supposedly it is the tradition here in Costa Rica on Dec. 24, it isn’t very compatible with the campo lifestyle which involves one getting up really early to milk the cows and feed the animals).
Christmas day we embarked on an adventure to a river about 1.5 hours away. Surprisingly, there were a bunch of families from my town there and I had a blast swimming and playing around with all the kids. From the river, I made my way down to the coast to see some very special visitors: the Fisher/Cohen family! While it has been lovely experiencing the holiday season with my host family, it was truly special to spend time with members of my actual family during this time. Little did I know how difficult it would be to reach them: I had heard that the road to the little beach town was not in great shape, but little did I know that to travel the 40 km (25 miles) from Quepos, the beach town closest to me, to Dominical, where the Fisher’s were, apparently takes 3 hours. I kept thinking, 25 miles in 3 hours? A marathon runner could do better than this bus! Luckily, due to very few people traveling on Christmas evening, we made it in 2.5 and as soon as I saw Janice, Byron, Nathan, Eli, and Nora, I forgot all about the bus ride and enjoyed talking about everything under the sun with them and relaxing at the beach for the next 4 days. I also did my first “touristy” thing besides just going to the beach in CR-- snorkeling on an island off the coast of the Osa Peninsula. It was really cool—we saw sharks and all sorts of tropical fish, as well as a huge mangrove forest.
On the way back to San Jose to catch their flight home, the Fisher’s stopped in my town, where we packed in a delicious lunch, hiking to some nearby waterfalls, making caldo with the trapiche (see previous post with pictures), and playing a pick-up soccer game with a bunch of neighborhood kids— all in 4 hours! It was a total blast and wonderful for them to get an idea of what life is like here (hint, hint to anyone else thinking about coming…). It meant a lot for me that they were able to come and I believe they enjoyed the experience as much as I did (as well as the kids in my town who got a big kick out of the gringo vs tico soccer game). As I knew would happen, the time went by way too quickly, but we took advantage of every minute which made for a fantastic visit.
On that note, best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2009!
¡Próspero Año!
Besos, Tesa
Monday, December 22, 2008
PC in a Nutshell
I just had an extremely honest conversation with my host family, in light of the fact that apparently people in my community don’t have a clear understanding of what my role here is as a Peace Corps Volunteer for these 2 years. Many volunteers say that they feel that people in their town see them as being there exclusively to find funding for projects. Luckily, I haven’t felt that pressure, I think as a result of my way of integrating into the community— from the beginning, I’ve explained that I am here to help in community development, but haven’t necessarily mentioned the idea of fundraising, though it is certainly coming into play as things progress. This is, in theory, the natural sequence of events. It is for this reason (among many others!) that it is so necessary to be here for the 2 years: to make at least a dent in the organizational development of the existing organizations to then work on fundraising of projects deemed necessary as a result of the very same organizational development— something one would not be able to do in a few weeks, or even a few months.
The point is that I really need to make a more concerted effort to explain to people the 3 goals of the rural community development program (organizational development, economic opportunities, and education). However, there is another aspect of Peace Corps as an institution which led to the most interesting part of the conversation. A lot of times with Peace Corps, I think that volunteers loose sight of the 3 founding principles of the organization. While one of the goals is to “help people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women” (ie the concepts listed above), the other 2 goals have nothing to do with community development:
-help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served (aka my community)
-help promote a better understanding of other peoples (aka Ticos) on the part of Americans (aka my family and friends).
(fyi: these goals come directly from the Peace Corps handbook)
So, really Peace Corps is about this exchange and mutual understanding of cultures. Doing Peace Corps in Costa Rica, a country that sees a disproportionate number of Americans as compared to other Peace Corps countries due to the tourism industry, creates an interesting dynamic when it comes to these other goals. Ticos have a lot of interaction with “gringos” (I’ll call Americans gringos from here on out because that’s how they refer to us here. I personally don’t take offense to the term—something people are constantly asking me—because I know they aren’t using it in an offensive manner at least when referring to me, although I imagine that in other situations, that may not be the case). These interactions lead to generalizations and stereotyped that all gringos are extremely wealthy and spend their money on anything (the other day my host brother was joking around trying to convince me to buy “authentic” Costa Rican products of random things lying around the house, because supposedly all gringos will by anything if it’s “made in Costa Rica”). Gringos also exclusively eat hamburgers and junk food all the time. Also, from all the backpackers there’s the idea that gringos don’t bathe very often and live in sandals.
So my host mom, host dad and I are having this conversation and I said that this idea of breaking stereotypes is a part of the Peace Corps experience and that now people in my town at least know that all gringos aren’t blonde hair and blue eyes and my host mom says, “Yea but Tes, I wouldn’t call you gringa!” And I said, “Why not? I was born in the US, my parents were born in the US, my grandparents were born in the US.” And she says, “Yes, but you have different habits then most gringos—you don’t eat hamburgers and junk food, you have good morals and values”--- basically alluding to the fact that I am somehow an exception to the rule and that, in reality, most gringos are like those in the movies and those that they see here in CR (who, I may add, are on vacation and therefore perhaps the fact that they are wearing sandals and not bathing as often as usual, doesn’t mean that they are like that in the US!). I could not believe that my own host mom who obviously knows me extremely well still believes that I am not “gringa” because I do not adhere to the stereotypes. However it was simultaneously fascinating to realize that these stereotypes are truly ingrained into the culture here.
To say the least, it was an extremely telling conversation that revealed the need to have these conversations more often, in addition to the importance of this aspect of the Peace Corps experience, perhaps even more so in Costa Rica than in other parts of the world. If there is something that this experience has taught me (among so many other things, of course) it is the harm in making generalizations about groups of people. It always cracks me up when people make generalizations about people in the US because I then explain to that person: how can you say that all Americans are alike in any given way when we are however many million people living in a country that is varied in every possible way, minus language (and even that is disputable!). And while these stereotypes are more or less harmless, the concept of generalizing and making stereotypes about any group, whether it be the people of a country, religion, etc. can become dangerous and is the root of many of the problems facing us on a global level.
Another aspect of the conversation was me telling my host family how lucky I feel to get to experience a part of Costa Rica that most tourists never get to experience, being a part of an “authentic” rural town for 2 years. I told them that was a huge part of my motivation in joining Peace Corps, to be able to really become a part of a community outside of the US and I feel that I have been able to do that here. In turn, I am then able to impart what I’m learning about life here to people in the states. It is satisfying to know that my blog has been a wonderful way to fulfill this goal--- I am able to tell you (my readers) about my experiences so that you can learn more about Tico culture, or at least my perception of it. I appreciate you all for reading about my experiences and for helping, in turn, to expand the conceptions of Costa Rica that you may have, which are hopefully changing for the better as a result!
Ok, on that note, I’m off to bed as it’s 9:30pm right now, ya tarde!
Buenas noches!
Tesa
The point is that I really need to make a more concerted effort to explain to people the 3 goals of the rural community development program (organizational development, economic opportunities, and education). However, there is another aspect of Peace Corps as an institution which led to the most interesting part of the conversation. A lot of times with Peace Corps, I think that volunteers loose sight of the 3 founding principles of the organization. While one of the goals is to “help people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women” (ie the concepts listed above), the other 2 goals have nothing to do with community development:
-help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served (aka my community)
-help promote a better understanding of other peoples (aka Ticos) on the part of Americans (aka my family and friends).
(fyi: these goals come directly from the Peace Corps handbook)
So, really Peace Corps is about this exchange and mutual understanding of cultures. Doing Peace Corps in Costa Rica, a country that sees a disproportionate number of Americans as compared to other Peace Corps countries due to the tourism industry, creates an interesting dynamic when it comes to these other goals. Ticos have a lot of interaction with “gringos” (I’ll call Americans gringos from here on out because that’s how they refer to us here. I personally don’t take offense to the term—something people are constantly asking me—because I know they aren’t using it in an offensive manner at least when referring to me, although I imagine that in other situations, that may not be the case). These interactions lead to generalizations and stereotyped that all gringos are extremely wealthy and spend their money on anything (the other day my host brother was joking around trying to convince me to buy “authentic” Costa Rican products of random things lying around the house, because supposedly all gringos will by anything if it’s “made in Costa Rica”). Gringos also exclusively eat hamburgers and junk food all the time. Also, from all the backpackers there’s the idea that gringos don’t bathe very often and live in sandals.
So my host mom, host dad and I are having this conversation and I said that this idea of breaking stereotypes is a part of the Peace Corps experience and that now people in my town at least know that all gringos aren’t blonde hair and blue eyes and my host mom says, “Yea but Tes, I wouldn’t call you gringa!” And I said, “Why not? I was born in the US, my parents were born in the US, my grandparents were born in the US.” And she says, “Yes, but you have different habits then most gringos—you don’t eat hamburgers and junk food, you have good morals and values”--- basically alluding to the fact that I am somehow an exception to the rule and that, in reality, most gringos are like those in the movies and those that they see here in CR (who, I may add, are on vacation and therefore perhaps the fact that they are wearing sandals and not bathing as often as usual, doesn’t mean that they are like that in the US!). I could not believe that my own host mom who obviously knows me extremely well still believes that I am not “gringa” because I do not adhere to the stereotypes. However it was simultaneously fascinating to realize that these stereotypes are truly ingrained into the culture here.
To say the least, it was an extremely telling conversation that revealed the need to have these conversations more often, in addition to the importance of this aspect of the Peace Corps experience, perhaps even more so in Costa Rica than in other parts of the world. If there is something that this experience has taught me (among so many other things, of course) it is the harm in making generalizations about groups of people. It always cracks me up when people make generalizations about people in the US because I then explain to that person: how can you say that all Americans are alike in any given way when we are however many million people living in a country that is varied in every possible way, minus language (and even that is disputable!). And while these stereotypes are more or less harmless, the concept of generalizing and making stereotypes about any group, whether it be the people of a country, religion, etc. can become dangerous and is the root of many of the problems facing us on a global level.
Another aspect of the conversation was me telling my host family how lucky I feel to get to experience a part of Costa Rica that most tourists never get to experience, being a part of an “authentic” rural town for 2 years. I told them that was a huge part of my motivation in joining Peace Corps, to be able to really become a part of a community outside of the US and I feel that I have been able to do that here. In turn, I am then able to impart what I’m learning about life here to people in the states. It is satisfying to know that my blog has been a wonderful way to fulfill this goal--- I am able to tell you (my readers) about my experiences so that you can learn more about Tico culture, or at least my perception of it. I appreciate you all for reading about my experiences and for helping, in turn, to expand the conceptions of Costa Rica that you may have, which are hopefully changing for the better as a result!
Ok, on that note, I’m off to bed as it’s 9:30pm right now, ya tarde!
Buenas noches!
Tesa
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Getting Back into the Swing of Things
I realized today that I haven’t written since I’ve gotten back from my trip to the states, which I think is somewhat indicative of how I’ve been feeling since then. I had an absolutely wonderful, if somewhat whirlwind, trip home last month, primarily for the very special occasion of my cousin Nora’s Bat Mitzvah. The bat mitzvah was lovely and it was the perfect opportunity to see lots of family members I had not seen in quite a long time. It was nice to have over a week, because I was able to really catch up with my aunts/uncles, cousins, and grandparents (and my Mom and Austin, too!) and at the end of the week I headed to Boston to see friends from college and CT. Needless to say, it was great seeing so many people I care about and had not seen in person for a very long time (besides my Mom and Ali, I hadn’t seen a family member or friend from home in over 9 months!). Let me say that all of the joyous time spent with all those people has made it a somewhat difficult transition back to Costa Rica. Of course it’s been nice seeing everyone and everyone has been more than welcoming after my absence. But it has been somewhat difficult coming to terms with the fact that I truly have two lives: in the US and here in Costa Rica and, though somewhat unfair for the CR life, my US life has a 23 year head start in terms of the relationships that I have there. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m not happy here, because that sincerely isn’t the case. This is more to explain that when choosing to do Peace Corps, it is difficult to conceptualize the idea of leaving one’s life behind for 2 whole years and I think that going back home to visit has certainly illuminated the weight of that decision.
However in typical “Tesandra, PC Volunteer” fashion, I am slowly assimilating back to my life here. Last week, I invited all the members of my English class to my house for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. It was a major success, with the Ticos adventurously trying some new food I had brought back (stuffing, cranberry sauce, and, if I do say myself, some delicious pumpkin pie). Part of the PC experience is this cultural exchange and I was really happy to be able to share that part of our culture with them, specifically the concept of giving thanks for what we have. I had us go around in a circle and share with the group what each person was thankful for. I was really touched, and also surprised, that many people were so thankful for the English class and not so much as a chance to learn English (that too, but that’s more implicit), but also as an opportunity to get to know more members of the community. I think I take for granted the fact that it is such a small town and everyone knows each other, but while people know each other on more of a surface level basis, there aren’t that many opportunities for people to get to know each other on a deeper level and so the English class has been an outlet to foster those friendships.
the full spread-- yum!
my host mom serving the food
some of the boys in the class enjoying their food
my host mom and I!
On a related cultural note, now that I have shared Thanksgiving, I am really excited to experience a Tico Christmas. It seems that there are lots of traditions (and lots of eating!) involved and I can’t wait to experience it all. This past weekend we got the Christmas tree in our house (my very first Christmas tree!) and have been decorating all over the house. I’m sure I will be repeating the fact that I’ve never celebrated Christmas and why not countless times over the next few weeks, because even my host family, who definitely knows that I´m Jewish, ask if I’ve ever had a tree, even though I’ve told them many times that Jewish people don’t celebrate Christmas (not even the tree part!). I brought down a little menora and it’ll be interesting to see what they think of lighting the candles and reciting the prayers in Hebrew—I told them that after 8 nights, they’ll be singing along with me! We’ll see what happens!
Other pictures:
Long-awaited proof of me milking cows!
The corral where it all goes down
Across from the corral is this crazy looking contraption called a trapiche which turns sugar cane into a liquid, which can then be made into something called tapa de dulce which is basically a hardened block of brown sugar (really yummy!) used for cooking and making various drinks. Back in the day people used oxen to power the trapiche, but the trapiche at my host family’s house is really now more used for decoration, except for every once in the while when we decide we want some fresh caldo de caña (the liquid), but instead of using oxen, we use man-power!
Here I am turning the to squeeze the liquid out of the sugar cane— that smile is deceiving, it’s tougher than it looks, but also lots of fun!
the final product-- caldo de caña
However in typical “Tesandra, PC Volunteer” fashion, I am slowly assimilating back to my life here. Last week, I invited all the members of my English class to my house for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. It was a major success, with the Ticos adventurously trying some new food I had brought back (stuffing, cranberry sauce, and, if I do say myself, some delicious pumpkin pie). Part of the PC experience is this cultural exchange and I was really happy to be able to share that part of our culture with them, specifically the concept of giving thanks for what we have. I had us go around in a circle and share with the group what each person was thankful for. I was really touched, and also surprised, that many people were so thankful for the English class and not so much as a chance to learn English (that too, but that’s more implicit), but also as an opportunity to get to know more members of the community. I think I take for granted the fact that it is such a small town and everyone knows each other, but while people know each other on more of a surface level basis, there aren’t that many opportunities for people to get to know each other on a deeper level and so the English class has been an outlet to foster those friendships.
the full spread-- yum!
my host mom serving the food
some of the boys in the class enjoying their food
my host mom and I!
On a related cultural note, now that I have shared Thanksgiving, I am really excited to experience a Tico Christmas. It seems that there are lots of traditions (and lots of eating!) involved and I can’t wait to experience it all. This past weekend we got the Christmas tree in our house (my very first Christmas tree!) and have been decorating all over the house. I’m sure I will be repeating the fact that I’ve never celebrated Christmas and why not countless times over the next few weeks, because even my host family, who definitely knows that I´m Jewish, ask if I’ve ever had a tree, even though I’ve told them many times that Jewish people don’t celebrate Christmas (not even the tree part!). I brought down a little menora and it’ll be interesting to see what they think of lighting the candles and reciting the prayers in Hebrew—I told them that after 8 nights, they’ll be singing along with me! We’ll see what happens!
Other pictures:
Long-awaited proof of me milking cows!
The corral where it all goes down
Across from the corral is this crazy looking contraption called a trapiche which turns sugar cane into a liquid, which can then be made into something called tapa de dulce which is basically a hardened block of brown sugar (really yummy!) used for cooking and making various drinks. Back in the day people used oxen to power the trapiche, but the trapiche at my host family’s house is really now more used for decoration, except for every once in the while when we decide we want some fresh caldo de caña (the liquid), but instead of using oxen, we use man-power!
Here I am turning the to squeeze the liquid out of the sugar cane— that smile is deceiving, it’s tougher than it looks, but also lots of fun!
the final product-- caldo de caña
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
What am I up to?
This Thursday I am heading back to the US for the first time since I left in February, almost 9 months ago! I can hardly believe that my PC service is at the ¼ mark. It simultaneously feels like a milestone and also as though I have a long way to go. The good news is that I feel about 10,000 times more comfortable in my community than ever before. I truly feel like an integrated part of my town. Today the committee of children and adolescents had a day full of charlas (talks) at the high school, elementary school, and with parents. At the parents’ meeting, there was one mom I didn’t recognize and low and behold, I came to find out that she´s from the town next door and I know her son from the high school. Needless to say, it’s a small world in rural Costa Rica!
Anyway, as I’m coming to this little break in the action in my service I though I would explain a bit about the different projects I’m involved in. As I just mentioned, the committee of children and adolescents had just formed when I got here but hadn’t really done anything, so I kind of jump-started them a bit and we just had our “inaugural” activity today focusing on the rights and responsibilities of children. We also have plans to start a little library in the elementary school, plan a Christmas party for the kids of the town, and also look into the possibility of creating a play-ground. As of right now, in terms of recreational options for the kids of my town, there is just one thing: soccer, soccer, and more soccer. And while the Ticos do love their soccer, it would be wonderful for the kids to have another opportunity to play and a play-ground would be the perfect solution. With Peace Corps there are a few fundraising opportunities and I think this might be the project for which I will try to solicit funding because it really is a necessity that has been expressed time and time again and would be a positive change in the town.
Speaking of kids, before I even got here, I had heard of something that many PC/CR volunteers do called “Chicas Poderosas” which is a group meant to engage elementary- age girls in activities that promote positive communication skills, self-esteem, and working as a team, among other things. I started the group about a month ago with 2nd and 3rd graders and it has been incredibly rewarding. The girls are adorable and enthusiastic about anything that we do from the human knot to art projects to chanting our little cheer that I came up with using different phrases that they identified as what typifies a chica poderosa:
Somos chicas poderosas:
Amamos a nuestras familias, amigos, y nosotras mismas
Rescatamos a la gente que nos necesita
Somos buenas, inteligentes, y positivas
Somos chicas poderosas!
Translation:
We are powerful girls:
We love our families, friends, and ourselves
We help the people that need us
We are good, smart, and positive,
We are powerful girls!
Needless to say, it looses a bit of it’s meaning with the translation, but you get the main idea (¡y major para los que sepan español!).
Chicas with a picture they painted, each girl using just one color of finger paint (yay for working as a team!)
the chicas and I!
I also have my English class that began about a month and a ½ ago. We just had the mid-term exam which was a bit of a wake-up call for some that one does not learn a language solely by going to class 2 times a week—you have to study! But things are going really well and I think they really like it (and I’m enjoying teaching it!). The other day we celebrated Halloween by learning the lyrics to “The Adams Family” which they got a kick out of because it was on TV here, too, back in the day (although here it was called La Familia Loca—The Crazy Family—perhaps a bit more fitting!). We also did a little mock trick or treating where everyone had to knock on the door to the English classroom and say, “trick or treat, give me something good to eat.” For anyone who comes to visit, you will certainly have the pleasure of making what I can guarantee will be a much-anticipated guest appearance in my English class, so get ready!
the whole class
giving out Halloween candy
Another group that I’m working with is a women’s group in the town next door to where I live. I found out about the group from the Ministery of Agriculture that put us in contact and they have been really wonderful to work with. They’re super open to me coming in and doing any kind of activity and the other week I brought a woman who had come to my town to give a charla that was kind of a personal reflection. I cannot tell you how touching it was to see these women talking about issues such as feeling under-appreciated for all they do for their family (a lot!) and missed opportunities for education because they were pulled out of school (something that doesn´t really happen now but was the norm in the not too distant past, particularly with girls). Women living in rural Costa Rica (at least based on my experiences) have so few opportunities to get out of the house, much less talk about their feelings and views and so it was really special to be able to give them that opportunity and I look forward to continuing my work with them.
women´s group and I
As I mentioned in the previous post, the development association and myself are continuing our work on the a project to improve the roads (see pictures in previous post). I spent last week at a workshop on Project Design and Management and learned a very thorough methodology of thoroughly planning and implementing projects that I hope will be helpful not only for this project (which is what I used as the model during the workshop) but projects with other groups, too.
When I get back, I want to get started on the following:
-exercise classes (aerobics and maybe yoga)
-recycling project with the high school (right now almost everyone here burns their garbage, for lack of other options, and I’ve been talking with the high school principal about starting up something to create a consciousness about the environmental damage this causes as well as some kind of recycling program)
-English class for kids
-community security watch (my town is super safe, but this has been a constant topic of conversation and a way to secure that much-treasured security on a community level)
But first, USA, here I come!!!! I cannot express how excited I am to celebrate my cousin Nora´s Bat Mitzvah with my family— I am long overdue to see everyone and it is the perfect occasion!
Hasta super pronto a todos!
Tes
More nature pictures from around my town:
Anyway, as I’m coming to this little break in the action in my service I though I would explain a bit about the different projects I’m involved in. As I just mentioned, the committee of children and adolescents had just formed when I got here but hadn’t really done anything, so I kind of jump-started them a bit and we just had our “inaugural” activity today focusing on the rights and responsibilities of children. We also have plans to start a little library in the elementary school, plan a Christmas party for the kids of the town, and also look into the possibility of creating a play-ground. As of right now, in terms of recreational options for the kids of my town, there is just one thing: soccer, soccer, and more soccer. And while the Ticos do love their soccer, it would be wonderful for the kids to have another opportunity to play and a play-ground would be the perfect solution. With Peace Corps there are a few fundraising opportunities and I think this might be the project for which I will try to solicit funding because it really is a necessity that has been expressed time and time again and would be a positive change in the town.
Speaking of kids, before I even got here, I had heard of something that many PC/CR volunteers do called “Chicas Poderosas” which is a group meant to engage elementary- age girls in activities that promote positive communication skills, self-esteem, and working as a team, among other things. I started the group about a month ago with 2nd and 3rd graders and it has been incredibly rewarding. The girls are adorable and enthusiastic about anything that we do from the human knot to art projects to chanting our little cheer that I came up with using different phrases that they identified as what typifies a chica poderosa:
Somos chicas poderosas:
Amamos a nuestras familias, amigos, y nosotras mismas
Rescatamos a la gente que nos necesita
Somos buenas, inteligentes, y positivas
Somos chicas poderosas!
Translation:
We are powerful girls:
We love our families, friends, and ourselves
We help the people that need us
We are good, smart, and positive,
We are powerful girls!
Needless to say, it looses a bit of it’s meaning with the translation, but you get the main idea (¡y major para los que sepan español!).
Chicas with a picture they painted, each girl using just one color of finger paint (yay for working as a team!)
the chicas and I!
I also have my English class that began about a month and a ½ ago. We just had the mid-term exam which was a bit of a wake-up call for some that one does not learn a language solely by going to class 2 times a week—you have to study! But things are going really well and I think they really like it (and I’m enjoying teaching it!). The other day we celebrated Halloween by learning the lyrics to “The Adams Family” which they got a kick out of because it was on TV here, too, back in the day (although here it was called La Familia Loca—The Crazy Family—perhaps a bit more fitting!). We also did a little mock trick or treating where everyone had to knock on the door to the English classroom and say, “trick or treat, give me something good to eat.” For anyone who comes to visit, you will certainly have the pleasure of making what I can guarantee will be a much-anticipated guest appearance in my English class, so get ready!
the whole class
giving out Halloween candy
Another group that I’m working with is a women’s group in the town next door to where I live. I found out about the group from the Ministery of Agriculture that put us in contact and they have been really wonderful to work with. They’re super open to me coming in and doing any kind of activity and the other week I brought a woman who had come to my town to give a charla that was kind of a personal reflection. I cannot tell you how touching it was to see these women talking about issues such as feeling under-appreciated for all they do for their family (a lot!) and missed opportunities for education because they were pulled out of school (something that doesn´t really happen now but was the norm in the not too distant past, particularly with girls). Women living in rural Costa Rica (at least based on my experiences) have so few opportunities to get out of the house, much less talk about their feelings and views and so it was really special to be able to give them that opportunity and I look forward to continuing my work with them.
women´s group and I
As I mentioned in the previous post, the development association and myself are continuing our work on the a project to improve the roads (see pictures in previous post). I spent last week at a workshop on Project Design and Management and learned a very thorough methodology of thoroughly planning and implementing projects that I hope will be helpful not only for this project (which is what I used as the model during the workshop) but projects with other groups, too.
When I get back, I want to get started on the following:
-exercise classes (aerobics and maybe yoga)
-recycling project with the high school (right now almost everyone here burns their garbage, for lack of other options, and I’ve been talking with the high school principal about starting up something to create a consciousness about the environmental damage this causes as well as some kind of recycling program)
-English class for kids
-community security watch (my town is super safe, but this has been a constant topic of conversation and a way to secure that much-treasured security on a community level)
But first, USA, here I come!!!! I cannot express how excited I am to celebrate my cousin Nora´s Bat Mitzvah with my family— I am long overdue to see everyone and it is the perfect occasion!
Hasta super pronto a todos!
Tes
More nature pictures from around my town:
Monday, October 20, 2008
This is what the rainy season does...
The other day the mayor of the county where I live came to have a meeting with the development association (my in-site counterpart) about the possibility of a project to improve the roads in my town (this is a big deal because fixing the roads is the #1 necessity in my town, according to my interviews). The meeting went really well and we’re now starting the process of planning the project (ie getting an engineer to make a blueprint of the roads, using the blueprint to draft a budget for the materials, writing the project proposal to get funding, etc.). At the end of the meeting, we spoke to the mayor about a more urgent need for the road way at the bottom of my community. In normal conditions, this part is passable by car, but due to what people are saying is the most tremendous of rainy seasons in a long time, it is now (well, as of a few days ago, to be exact) barely passable on foot. The mayor told us to take some pictures and he was going to contact the National Emergency Commission (not quite sure what the U.S. equivalent would be, but in CR they help out in cases of emergencies like flooding, earthquakes, etc.) to get some larger sewers that can adequately handle the incredible amount of water that pass through them.
Come Monday, I head down with my host Dad, camera in hand and we are shocked to find that the part that we were there to take pictures of was now the least of our troubles… a part of the road was literally no longer there. The rains are so ridiculously strong (apparently October is the absolute worst of the rainy season here—it has been pouring for 3 days straight as I write) that the water carried away a substantial part of the road, making it completely impassable. As a picture shows a thousand words, here are some to give you an idea. These are the pictures I’m sending to the Commission, so let’s hope that we come to a resolution as soon as possible so that the 40 people who live beyond where this happened can have a functioning road.
This is what we had come to take pictures of:
This is where the road just washed away:
Come Monday, I head down with my host Dad, camera in hand and we are shocked to find that the part that we were there to take pictures of was now the least of our troubles… a part of the road was literally no longer there. The rains are so ridiculously strong (apparently October is the absolute worst of the rainy season here—it has been pouring for 3 days straight as I write) that the water carried away a substantial part of the road, making it completely impassable. As a picture shows a thousand words, here are some to give you an idea. These are the pictures I’m sending to the Commission, so let’s hope that we come to a resolution as soon as possible so that the 40 people who live beyond where this happened can have a functioning road.
This is what we had come to take pictures of:
This is where the road just washed away:
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