Special Visitor and More, 8/13

It has been a month since I’ve written, so I thought I’d give an update on how things are going. I am now passing the 3 month mark in site, which is the time when things are supposed to get going (volunteers say anytime between 3-9 months but since I have the benefit of having a high level of Spanish, I would hope I will be able to get started on projects earlier!). I have been somewhat hesitant to make finite commitments, because I really have wanted to get to know the members and groups of the community and have them get to know me before I got started. Although I go back and forth from feeling really good about the fact that I feel like an accepted member of the community from feeling like I haven’t particularly done anything, overall it’s the former and that in and of itself is an accomplishment. Of a town of 319, my host aunt who now lives in San Jose jokes that I know more people than she does and people are continually surprised when they’re talking about someone and I make the connection of who so-and-so’s parents/siblings/children are. I am definitely getting the hang of who’s who which is nice!

I finally got started doing the family interviews and it’s been a really great way to solidify relationships that I have been fostering with different families. With one family, the mom was talking about how much she likes to go for walks but has no one to go with and as I am known throughout my town for walking and running all the time, I told her that whenever she wanted to go, “vamos!” So as I was about to leave and she said, “how about tomorrow?” I said “sure!” Little did I know that we were going to explore pretty much every trail in my town and into the next town, stopping at a family friend in the neighboring town for lunch. When I arrived back at my host family’s house 4 hours later they couldn’t believe how far we’d gone and since then I have had numerous conversations with people about our “epic” walk (news about the gringa going for a walk sure does travel fast!). It is definitely an example of how with every person I meet, I continue to make more and more connections with people in my town, and in this case the town next door. In addition, it is an example of the kindness and generosity of Ticos, which is something that never ceases to amaze me and make me grateful to be here. I had never met the people we visited on our walk, yet we ended up staying for over an hour and they served us lunch and were just so gracious. This is so typical in my town, but every time it happens I think, this would never happen in Avon. If a neighbor stopped by on a walk (which would barely happen as it is), I would maybe offer a glass of water, but never a meal! But here I have rarely left a household without being fed a meal or at least cafecito (coffee with bread or pastry) and I must say it’s a lovely "costumbre."

On another note, this past week I had a very special visitor in my site… my Mom! It was wonderful seeing her and an amazing opportunity for her to get to see what my life here is like. She got up at 6am with us (the 2 hour time difference helped, because 6am here is 8am EST) to go milk the cows and feed the chickens and rabbits and in the process realized just how difficult milking a cow is… as will any lucky visitor who follows in her foot-steps! She got to walk up the crazy hill that is my road to the school/church/bus stop; it was a nice validation that my Mom, dedicated walker that she is, could not get over how long and steep it was. She got to meet lots of community members at a church event (lots of singing, dancing included), a meeting with a women’s group in the aforementioned neighboring town, a soccer game with the men’s team, as well as a more informal soccer game (in CR they are called “mejengas,” who knows where that word comes from!) including yours truly. When we first got to the soccer field, I was a bit intimidated to see only guys playing (ranging in age from 12-50), so I quickly recruited a girlfriend who lives across from the street to play and it was lots of fun.

It was great just spending time talking with my Mom (in English!) and I was quite impressed with her ability to speak in Spanish with everyone, especially during some conversations on a wide variety of topics (from family values to issues facing my town) with my host family. Being with her (and especially saying good-bye) made me really miss my family and friends. I think I had the realization that I am just beginning my service and still have 21 months to go (ah!) and that being away from everyone will be a lot harder than I had thought. But then I go back to the fact that Peace Corps is something I have always wanted to do and I’m really glad to be here, fulfilling my dream. There are so many opportunities for me to get involved and now is the time where I will begin to really get started. Now that this post has come full circle from the first paragraph (getting involved, etc etc), I will wrap it up.

Hope everyone’s well and enjoying the last few weeks of summer!
XXOO
Tesa