Candy, not Turtles

Early in October, the GTE crew reunited once again in the glorious province of Guanacaste, this time in a fellow volunteers´ site. The beach at Ostional is world-famous for the annual return of the tortuga lora (Oliver-Ridley turtle); thousands of these sea turtles come to lay there eggs on its´ dark sands. It is one a only about 8 beaches to which these turtles travel in large droves. Unfortunately our plan to help with the vigilancia of the turtles fell through when the arribata (the arrival of a large group of turtles) failed to arrive. Instead, we assisted with the community beach clean-up, though we received odd looks in the beginning as we didn't know it was a debris clean-up (where they remove large sticks and logs to clear the beach for the turtles to lay eggs) and we started picking up trash. We caught on quickly...

So here in Costa Rica, many people have vaguely heard of this Día de las Brujas (the Day of the Witches), some know that this strange holiday somehow involves kids and "confites" (candy), but not one person has ever actually celebrated Halloween.

Until now.

Armed with arts & crafts materials, plenty of candy, and a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, I had the first Halloween party in Jabillo. The kids and I made masks in preparation for their first trick-or-treating adventure. I had previously arranged with several families near the school to distribute the candy that I was providing for the affair. (This was not an easy task, as there are still a number of people who haven't a clue what Halloween is or what exactly I was asking them to do! Confusion only escalated when the kids arrived at the houses shouting something resembling "TRICK-OR-TREAT!") In the end though, all the kids were happy with their sugar high and the families experienced a small part of an American tradition.

The next day, Halloween continued in La Y Griega, the other town where I teach English in the school. The second party included a little more variety in costumes, including devils, cats, princesses, fairies, a batman, and one tacky tourist (yeah, that was me, though I don't think they quite saw the irony!)

Halloween was a long event for me this year, as the date coincided with our All Volunteer Conference, where all 90-some volunteers in the country meet for workshops, group activities, and other learning benefits. Like a Halloween party. Here's Tico 14 (my training group) showing off their best!

Aren't we adorable... those of us in traditional dress are dressed in the typical Guanacastecan costumes. The girls outfits were all made by a local costurera (seamstress) in another volunteer's community!

Eileen & Dana´s Adventure

They had no idea what they were getting into, but they were about to find out! [For those of you who don’t know who they are, I worked with Eileen at The Emory Wheel, back in the good ole days when she was the GM. Dana is her daughter, who also worked in the Business Office. It was a jolly newspaper reunion!] Eileen was disappointed that I didn’t want to spend any time in San José, but after landing in the country she soon learned why. So we piled in the car and headed to Arenal, Costa Rica’s most (and one of the world’s few) active volcano. It was a sight when we arrived but spectacular when we reached the lava side, it was something else. We had incredible luck and were not stuck in the rain, which meant great viewing for the natural night show, when spurts of lava burst from the volcano mouth. Heated pool, guaro sour, volcano, light show. Amazing…
Next day, it was time for the canopy tour, which meant flying around on a zip line over a hundred meters above the jungle floor! Dana had a nice little encounter with the guide on that adventure… he was smitten!
Back on the (steadily declining) road, we headed around Lake Arenal to the Monteverde Cloud Forrest, where we stayed in a tree house hotel. Hiked around in the jungle in the morning with a guide to tell us how many different ferns grow in this type of forest and where the congos are (I’m still not convinced the one he showed us wasn’t pasted on the telescope lens!) The afternoon took us back to the road, across the Gulf of Nicoya in the Puntarenas ferry, from Paquera through Jicaral to Jabillo. (If that made no sense to you, don’t worry about it; it made no sense to Eileen and Dana at the time either. They only understood that it was far and the roads were worse than earlier and it was raining… but eventually we reached my house.
Still not sure exactly what the girls thought of my house or the family, but we did look at a hotel at a nearby beach the next day. Playa San Miguel is isolated and beautiful, hidden on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste, only on the path for those willing to search.
One more night in Jabillo meant relaxing without driving, but then it was on to Carrillo, and I don’t even want to talk about the detours on that trip! Suffice it to say that we arrived and enjoyed more beautiful Guanacastecan beaches and quality car bonding time on the way there!Altogether too short, but the next day brought lunch in Sámara and then it was back to San José, where we parted ways – I was off to a capacitación for the recently-established Comité Tutelar de Jabillo and Eileen and Dana were headed back home to Georgia.
Thanks for a wonderful adventure! I am so happy to have shared it with you!

IST, VAC, ADI, & PRETOMA... huh?

So IST (In-Service Training) started in late August and the Tico 14 crew came together for the first time since training for three jam-packed days of charlas, meetings, and presentations on programs like D.A.R.E. (you remember that anti-drug program from elementary school, no?), Habitats for Humanity, DINADECO (our local in-country counterpart), among others. Great to see the crew, but I was exhausted the whole week from traveling, San José is cold and rainy, and I got sick to top it all off! At the end of the week, I went to visit my training family in Bustamante and had a great time chatting it up with Dilsia and Dunia, my host mom and sister.

The next night was VAC dinner (a twice a year occurence where all PC volunteers from all over the country get together to discuss new or old policy issues and afterwards just enjoy the party).

Mari, Rob, and Angela at the party...

Angela, Rob, and Billy dancing at Bulevar.

Mari & André at the club.

Peace.

Steph & Mari reliving the 10.5k. Steph is the one who convinced me to run and together we rocked the Powerade Race!

Pictures speak a thousand words, so I won´t elaborate on the dinner. Suffice it to say it was pura vida...

Next on the list was the ADI (for those who still don´t know, that´s the Association of Development Integral), which had it´s yearly Assembly on September 3rd. I´d helped the president with the written informe and with general planning, as well as invitations. Despite the efforts (or perhaps because of them), we just barely acquired the necessary percentage of people to make the meeting legitimate. My crowning moment was my speech on the Comité Tutelar and the importance of founding one, which we did, to my immense relief! Now I will make sure that the Committee knows why it exists and help with its organization and structure.

Finally, PRETOMA is a turtle preservation and conservation group, dedicated to saving the lora and baula turtles that come to the local beaches where I live. On September 8th, I took advantage of the opportunity to participate in an activity with one of the local schools at Playa Costa de Oro, pictured above.

I met all the kids down at the beach with Cedar (World Teach, Coyote is her school) for a field trip join PRETOMA and help them with the release of four sea turtles who had not made the journey from the previous night´s hatching. One of the cute little turtle is pictureed above, in its journey to the sea. They were about the size of your palm and waddlers on the sand, but slipped into the water and felt right at home. (There were 118 eggs, 104 of which hatched and made it to the ocean the previous night.)

Coming soon: Eileen and Dana´s visit to Costa Rica!

Locked in Jabillo!

For the rest of August, I focused on finishing my community diagnostic in preparation for In-Service Training (IST). The community analysis tool (referred to in loving terms as the CAT) is a long process, one I won't really finish until December. I'm off to a good start but have a long way to go! Interviews are a never-ending process!

I was right in step with the rural community life, riding my not-so-fabulous bike all over the place from Juan de Leon to Coyote (sometimes in the rain in my rubber boots!), playing mejenga (pick-up soccer) with the guys, another trip to the beach with my World Teach friend Cedar, meetings with the kindergarten board planning a Toy Party (sort of like a baby shower for the kindergarten), planning the yearly Asamblea General with the board of the Association of Development, a meeting to try to restart the Health Committee, finishing interviews for the CAT, enduring the heat and waiting for the rain, teaching English, etc, etc... I have to admit, I love mejenga. It's up there in favorite parts of the week. There is definitely a strong presence of machismo in my town. While I thought this might present an issue with me playing men's soccer, instead they ask me if I'm coming the next week or if I missed it, they notice that I wasn't around. Now all I have to do is convince some other women to join in...!

I mentioned the Asamblea General, so I should explain that it's the yearly meeting the Association holds for all the communities to convene and discuss the next year's work plan. Since the Assoc. only reformed three years ago, they still have a lot of work to do as far as organizing the system for announcing and planning the assembly. That's where I come in, trying to establish a sustainable manner, a template they can use every year that includes community lists of affiliates, invitation letters, an example of the Labor and Economic informes, etc... Now it so happened that the week before I left for IST, that meant deliving many of those invitations to the 188 affiliates on my bike! While collaboration is definitely an important part of the picture, there's some things you just have to do on your own!

Having not left my community in so long, it was so strange coming into San Jose for IST and living in a city and being cold all the time! I myself find it hard to believe that I stayed in my site for over a month and a half without taking a personal night. There are a lot of reasons for my reclusiveness but I can't say I'm regretful... it was an enjoyable month and a half. Anyway, I came in early for IST to meet up with my friend Stephanie, a fellow volunteer. Though we had not spoken for nearly two weeks and had not finalized or confirmed arrangements, I registered us both for the Reto Gatorade 10km run in San Antonio de Belen... not really even knowing if Steph would show! We ended up in the right place together and made it to the race on Sunday morning. It was exhilarating, being in such an energetic, enthusiastic atmosphere! I ran the 10.5 kilometers in a bit over an hour and finished strong, so I was satisfied with the performance! Then it was time to rest up, finish some computer work on the CAT and prepare for a week of intense training with the Tico 14 crew!

El Día de Los Ángeles and MORE!

So August 2nd marks the day of the patron saint of Costa Rica, La Virgen de Los Ángeles, and thousands of people celebrate with a pilgrimage to the city of Cartago to visit the basilica.

For my sister Angélica and I, Cartago is quite a distance, so we opted instead to hike up the mountain to Los Ángeles de Nandayure. (In case anyone is noticing a pattern here, that´s becoming a frequent party destination!) I was still worried about the bike accident injuries, but I was able to aguantar better than my host sister and helped her trek up the mountain in a little over 3 hours. We met up with my compañera Anna and enjoyed the festivities, religious and otherwise! Anna´s town sure knows how to party... or maybe it´s just me and Anna. And we both like to dance! Regardless, fun times all around.

Back in Jabillo, I had a Sesión Informática for my adult English class. About 30 people showed up from several different communities to see what the deal was and how I was going to structure everything. They have until the end of the month to officially enter the course, so we shall see... If more than 20 register, I´ll have to separate them into two classes, so that will delay the process a bit, but assuming all goes well, I will have the books and be ready to go in mid-September.

On August 5th (Saturday afternoon), a volunteer from Tico 15 (the next volunteer group following mine) came out to visit me. For those who keep tabs, this is equivalent to the first time I visited Anna in Los Ángeles (who knew I´d end up her neighbor and travel there for fiestas!) To make things confusing, my visitor´s name is Ann and she is a part of the CYF program (Children, Youth, & Families). I work more with an organization called DINADECO (explained somewhere in some blog or another), while she works on behalf of PANI, which is an organization for children.

She´s pictured with my family on the mountain behind our house. I thought we´d do something fun before heading to work with the Asociation of Development on Monday, so Sunday we started out for the beach. Luckily this time we didn´t have to walk! We enjoyed the playa tranquila, taking advantage of the sun, sand, and surf. When we returned, some of my townsfolk commented on the fact that I was bien bronceada and paying me the compliment that I´m developing Tica skin. But poor Ann had a bit too much fun in the sun. She told me she loved our beach excursion, but I was just relieved that I didn´t kill her! She´ll be feeling the burn for a few days I´m sure, but my town can´t wait to have another gringo to visit! Hint, hint... ;) Anyway, I still managed give examples of some real work situations and participated in the Association meeting, where we set the date for the Asamblea General, which takes place once a year (and hence, needs to planning and preparation). It´s the chance for all the afiliados of all the communities of the Asociation to discuss the past year and create a Plan de Trabajo, or work plan, for the coming year. So I was able to expose her to more than those harmful, but beautiful rays!

So Far Behind!

So as I have more activities in my site and less opportunities to leave it, I am way behind on updating you with my life! Here´s the lowdown on what I´ve been doing and how...

Back in June, I went to my very first Costa Rican baile, a Maribel event in San Francisco de Coyote (about 10 km from Jabillo). There´s a World Teach volunteer named Cedar who lives there and another named Sara who lives in Jabilla (don´t confuse that with my town, La Jabilla is actually on the beach - it´s a common mistake even down here!), so we were a little troop of gringas on the town for the some dancing! Let´s just say that if one gringa attracts a substancial amount of trouble, a trio is three times the attention!

For some good old-fashioned American Independence Day celebrations, I headed back to the capital city (San José) for the 4th of July party hosted by the American Colony Committee. Basically it´s a chance for gringos in the country to celebrate with hot dogs, beer, popcorn, frozen yogurt, and live music, among other luxuries... best part is it´s all free. The flip side is that events start at 7am... so I didn´t really take advantage of the beer. But I assure you, the coffee and bagels were delicious!

I spent the rest of that week in Los Ángeles de Nandayure (if the name sounds familiar, it´s because I travelled there back in April for my "volunteer visit" with Anna, a fellow volunteer. Her site has an event called Semana Cultural or Culture Week, in which there are all kind of sports and cultural events, organized into a community-wide competition. Anna requested some outside help with the daily events, so four of us rose to the call and headed into the Guanacastecan mountains. It was a whirlwind of food and alcohol sales, sports events, exercises with the elderly, bailes, and more... it was great to see such community organization and smooth functioning of events. It gave me a picture of the possibilities and new ideas for little Jabillo!

I came back to my town rejuvenated from all the festivities, but wasn´t quite done travelling, even though I wanted to be! After one day of rest, I headed to Liberia for the first time for a meeting with all the volunteers in Rural Community Development in Guanacaste and our counterpart, DINADECO (for those who can´t keep all the acronyms straight, and it´s understandable, this is the organization that governs all the Development Associations throughout the country.) The meeting itself was decent; it was a training session on project proposals. Necessary administrative stuff, but a bit on the boring side. As Liberia´s quite difficult for me to travel to (about the same as going to San José or 6-7ish hrs), I had to stay overnight, along with several others. (I may say that like it was a chore, but I´m loving every minute with my fellow Guanacastecan volunteer friends!!)

Continuing the meeting theme, the day after arriving in Jabillo again I went to Pueblo Nuevo (and thus saw all the beach towns) with my counterpart Omar Mora, the pulpería owner for a different meeting with DINADECO. The following day we headed to Nandayure for yet another meeting for the Regional Directiva in the cantón... whew!

In the Escuela Jabillo, I´ve started my first real project: English class for students. I divided the school into two classes: 1st and 2nd grade (10 kids) and 3rd through 6th (9 kids). We´ve had two classes so far and the older kids are fabulous! Although they are a bit shy about speaking, they are motivated and really want to learn English! The younger kids are more difficult to focus, but it´s a matter of restructuring my class format to better suit their learning level... I have a lot to learn too!


For the Day of the Guanacastecan Anexation, the schoolkids dress in traditional clothing and sing and celebrate el orgullo de Guanacaste, the pride that we have has a region to be both Guanacastecan and Costa Rican. (This holiday celebrates the province ´s break away from Nicaragua and joining to Costa Rica.) The kids were adorable!

For those who remember my FODA meeting in La Y Griega, I facilitated the same diagnostic exercise in another nearby community that´s also part of my Association, Juán de León. I spent about 4 days announcing the meeting and conducting interviews. I visited every single house in the community, all 34 of them. And in the end 21 of the 87 adults came to hear me speak and express their opinions on community improvement. I was impressed with the turnout and we actually covered significant ground in the discussions! The down side was my bike crash on the way home! I scraped up an elbow and a knee, some bruises... but nothing too serious and I was up and running pronto. Note to future visitors: it´s not a good idea to fall off your bike on a gravel road!

So there´s always more to tell, but I think that´s long enough for now... Stay tuned for the next saga... pura vida!

(Pictures updated on the 31st of September. And don't worry, the bike wounds healed! A bit of scarring, but it will fade!)

Beach Bum Once Again...

So living only 15 km from the beach, it makes perfect sense that the first beach I go to after arriving in site takes about 7 hours of travel to reach! Playa Sámara in Guanacaste is a lovely cove beach, famous for consistent waves and known as a good spot for beginning surfers. Now contrary to popular opinion in my town, I actually went to the beach in the name of work! We had a VAC (Volunteer Action Council) meeting, which is basically a method of communication between the volunteers and the staff in San José. Like our own little government council, where we can voice suggestions and/or complaints, as well an opportunity to share our experiences as volunteers in our sites. (Yeah, we still got some beach time in...)
I was even convinced to take my one night out of site for June and live up to my potential as a beach bum! So glad I did, there´s nothing like a group of volunteers living it up! Here´s some of the girls in front of our hotel on the beach.


Only one week later, I finally took it upon myself to visit the (supposedly) beautiful beaches in my area. Everyone from my area had been telling me that I "just had to go." And beautiful they certainly were! Playa Coyote is a hidden treasure and I was able to enjoy it all on my own after a healthy 17 km walk from my town! A little over 3 hours of walking and I arrived at a small cliff overlooking the ocean. The cliff sits at the mouth of the River Coyote, which feeds into the Pacific Ocean. I experienced a few minutes of worry because I was so close and quite there before I realized I could walk down a river runoff and cross the river to the other side of the beach. (The tide came in while I was enjoying the sun and I returned a different way than I had arrived. Let´s just say I was using my good judgment not to cross that river at high tide!) The beach has an enchanting isolation factor, it´s simply charming! And there´s droves of tiny red crabs that color the not quite white and not quite dark colored sand. The picture shows the river and the beach beyond it. It does not do justice to the real life image however... you will just have to come and visit for yourself!

En la lengua nativa...

Bueno, ya que unos me han pedido que escriba algo en español y porque estoy aquí en un país de esa misma lengua, ahora tenemos una entrada para vosotros que no habéis entendido...! Para los que todavía no saben, llegué a Costa Rica en marzo y vivía cerca de San José por los primeros tres meses en el entrenamiento del programa. Al finales de mayo me mandaron para la comunidad de Jabillo (población: 140) en la región de Guanacaste por la parte al noroeste del país. Vivo con una familia genial y me cae todo bien. Vivimos entre gallinas, ganado, loros, patos y congos... todos hacen un ruido que no podríais creer! Hace tanto calor que a veces creo que me voy a derretir. Pero todo es lindísimo y toda la gente está pura vida. Tiene mucho orgullo de la tranquilidad.
Para explicar un poco de que hago, debo empezar con decir que el trabajo que tengo no es nada establecido. Soy voluntaria trabajando en Desarrollo Comunitario Rural. Entonces vivo en un sitio muy pequeño pero sirvo a varias otras comunidades alrededores (son 12 comunidades, aproximadamente 1500 personas).
El trabajo incluye varias metas: (1) desarrollo organizacional, (2) oportunidad económica y (3) educación. Porque el objetivo es desarrollo sostenible, es muy importante que yo conozca a la gente y aprenda de los recursos y organizaciones que la comunidad tiene disponible antes de empezar. Después de cumplir un diagnóstico de las comunidades, cual incluye un censo, información del sistema de educación, la salud, la seguridad, los recursos, las faltas y las recomendaciones, puedo comenzar con proyectos para lograr esas metas. No es solamente un proyecto sino una serie de trabajos. Mi contraparte aquí es la Asociación de Desarrollo Integral, que tiene el objetivo de promover el desarrollo económico, social y cultural. Yo ayudaré con la formación de nuevos grupos o comités en la comunidad, por ejemplo un grupo de mujeres que quiere empezar una panadería o un comité de emergencia. Podré dar clases de inglés y facilitar la organización de cursos de talleres o nuevos fuentes de recreación y recreación. Lo que ahora ahora mismo es hacer entrevistas con las familias para enterrarme de las necesidades más graves y como solucionarlas. Es un proceso muy lento, pero sé que al fin, voy a poder ayudar más por haberlo hecho. Poquito a poco, logramos las metas para ser mejores...

Note to all the people who do not speak Spanish: Don´t worry, I will continue to write in English! And mad props to my most consistent blog commenter, Melissa Smelly!

What I Do (Actually)

So now that you´ve read the theoretical explanation of my daily life, I´ll give you a dose of how it really is down here. When I first arrived at night, I didn´t even recognize my stop in the dark, so my mom boarded the bus to look for me! In the morning, I saw that the whole landscape had changed in two weeks. For those who don´t know about Costa Rican weather patterns, there are two seasons: summer and winter. Dry in summer, rains all winter. The rainy season had started so now it rains every day and will do so until December or so.With the onset of the rain, came the green wildlife Costa Rica is famous for, converting my site into a beautiful paradise.

I started out with a bang, attending 3 meetings in 3 days and interviewing the school teacher. I thought I was set, but then the activities drizzled down. My host family doesn´t leave the house all that often, at least not on a daily basis. That´s one of the biggest issues in the community. There´s nothing to do - no recreation, few community activities, etc. Since I didn´t have anywhere to go, it was difficult to leave the house. So I read like a fiend and tried to get organized. The first two weeks were hardest and the third week I just flat out decided that I would learn how to leave my house without having a destination. Thus started my family interviews. I ask people about the health, education, security, resources, etc, in the community and give them a chance to ask me some questions as well. I have spent several days simply going from house to house, introducing myself, and conducting an informal interview. Depending on how well I know the family and how much they like to talk, each visit takes between 30 minutes and 3 hours. It was on such an expedition to the furthest house in Jabillo that I got lost in the jungle.

I ended up in a mango grove with a troop of howler monkeys and let me tell you, they can make some noise! I had about 20 of the little dudes swarming around above my head and howling their little lungs out. When I continued, they only got louder, so I turned back to the last house. There I met a Tica who does not leave the house. She´s a old-timer and an animal lover, so much that she feeds the chickens, the dogs and even some of the pigs inside her home! After I explained why I came and she rambled on for about 2 hours straight, she offered something to drink... and she spiked it! I was wondering why fresco de piña tasted so bad until a neighbor came and called her out on it!

Anyway, every day is different as I have no set schedule yet. I go to soccer matches, visit other towns, tour the high school, attend catequesis class at the church, and meet as many people as possible. I go into the nearest town about once a week for 2 hours of Internet time. I have also made friends with another gringa, a World Teach volunteer in a town about 10 km away. I go for long runs walk around in my protective but surprisingly not-so-uncomfortable rubber black rubber boots. I´m the only woman to wear them in my town! At least that I´ve seen so far... I spend time getting to know my family and play Memory with my little host sister. When I met with the Association of Development, they wanted me to have a meeting in another community. (One of the other towns with which my town works.) So we set up a date for La Y Griega and I put some of my training exercises into effect. I didn´t expect to have help with the meeting, which was good because I certainly didn´t get any! I was worried no one would show up so I lobbied for a few days with house visits and interviews. In a community of about 150 people, 30 came out to hear me talk. We did a diagnostic exercise to recognize strengths and weaknesses in the community and brainstormed for possibly community improvement projects. I was really nervous about the meeting, but it went well and I was satisfied with the result. Luckily, that day the mailman on his motorcycle stopped me on the street (he didn´t have a problem recognizing the only gringa in town!) because he had real mail for me! Many thanks to the brave souls - my friend Megan, a fellow au pair in Spain and Eileen Smith, my former boss at The Emory Wheel - who sent mail to the sketchy address! Now (thanks to Eileen) if you send me mail, I can write you back on the stationary she included in her care package! That mailman was like my new best friend!

What do you do? (Theoretically...)

To reiterate, my program is Rural Community Development. A lot of people have asked what that means and what I will do. It's hard to give a clear answer because it is different for each person. All the sites are (as the title says) rural. Which means they are small and may not have a lot of resources. At this point, I don't know enough about my community to know specifically what I will be working on, but here are some examples of possibilities:

• Working with the Asociación de Desarrollo (Association of Development)
  The organization is responsible for nearly all general community improvement (fixing roads, forming new committees for projects, health and water issues, etc)
• Working with existing Women's Groups or forming new ones
• Forming Youth Groups and other recreation for children
• Organizing continuing education for children and adults (workshops/ sessions on health, nutrition, AIDS, micro-enterprise, baking bread, accounting... whatever seems necessary)
• Fundraising for projects like building (or rather finishing) the salon comunal
• Teaching English, to children or adults

I may help with some of these things or all at one point or another. There is plenty to do, it's just a matter of finding the resources and providing the motivation and organization to follow through. So it's not a single project and there's no single objective. Strong emphasis lies in sustainable development. Which means that I am here to help the people help themselves. The whole point is that I work with my community to form projects that will continue after my departure, thus generating the need for my community to trust me and form a bond.

For a little clarification, the overall experience goes like this:

Staging: 2 days in Washington DC before arrival in country

Training: 3 months living with a family about an hour outside of San Jose which includes:

• Spanish classes
• Various excursions to rural sites around Costa Rica - visiting volunteers, etc
• Trips to San Jose office for technical training, safety & health issues, and cross-cultural understanding
• Swear-In and Juramentación!

Service: 2 years (this is the long one!)

• First 3 months: Community Entry (Basically means I will learn the ropes in my community - get to know the people, the organizations, the benefits, the problems, etc. The idea is that we don't go in and impose our own agendas, but rather work with the ideas and needs of the people.)
• Afterwards: Incorporate all the things I learned in training with the needs of the community, adapting knowledge, resources, and organization to create sustainable projects and other good stuff...

Juramentación... It´s Official!

I am officially a volunteer! Friday marked our graduation and swear-in to the two year service. Our program directors shared some heartfelt stories about the group and some compelling words of inspiration. Then the US Ambassador to Costa Rica distributed our certificates and finalized our training. He joined us for some group photos after the ceremony (by some I mean the paparazzi of pictures that followed the event!) Our host families were present to share the special day and it was a chance to further extend our thanks to them for all the support they have provided. (The good and the bad: I learned yesterday that two pairs of pants, my favorite skirt, and most comfy shirt - a sizeable part of my wardrobe! - were destroyed in the wash due to a bleach incident!) It´s a bittersweet goodbye. I am sorry to leave my training family, but am ready to embark on my mission and adventure in Guanacaste. I know that I always have a home in Bustamante and should I need suppport, I can find it there. Pictured: me with my host sister Andrea and host mother Dilsia.

Today I travel to Jabillo to stay. It will be so different from having to come into San José every few days for training. I mean, once we´re out there, that´s it. No more gringos, no more English, no more modern-world luxuries. Not that we've had such luxuries for the last 3 months. But now the real fun begins. I´m looking forward to it, though I know life will be quite slow. One great advantage about my site: when I feel like I need a break, the beach is within biking distance. Major stress relief. So if nothing else - if I can´t get anything going, I don´t know how to start, I can´t do anything sustainable, I don't have enough community support, etc. - I can take a break and sit in the sun and the surf. I can´t complain! I mean, I will have a toilet in my house, a shower and a telephone. Not to mention a TV and most exciting, a actual mattress! (Most mattresses here are these foam pads, but in my house in Jabillo, I will have an real one!) Everything is tranquilo out there and the people demonstrate the typical generous Tico hospitality. Cafecíto galore!
AghhHHH! Ready or not, Jabillo, here I come! Keep in touch, send fun trinkets, visit! Pura vida...

Fiesta!

Craziness... we are living up the last week all together as Tico 14. Graduation is tomorrow, May 19th, and Sunday we will ship off to our sites for good. No more returning to San Jose every few days! A relief on one hand, but somewhat nerve-wracking at the same time...

Party 1. After a party held by our lovely volunteer coordinator, Angela (thanks for your hospitality and your floor...), we went out on the town, or city rather, for a night of dancing in San Jose. My love of dancing is rejuvenate, demonstrated by the bruises on my shins from the table that was always seemed to be in the way!

Party 2. Feliz Cumpleaños! Here´s fellow trainee Nate at his birthday party, fighting for confites. Piñatas are a really popular party activity here and people go nuts diving for the prizes!

Party 3. Closing out the weekend (on Sunday, which happened to be Mother´s Day in the States - Happy Mother´s Day, Mom!) was our big Thank You bar-b-que for all the families that have hosted my group here during training. I'm in the picture with my host sister Dunia and our parents. It´s been a great three months and we were glad to share some good old American hamburgers and hot dogs with our Tico friends. We had some piñatas for the kids and some more for the adults - more of the crazy! Festivities for the families wound down after the presentation of certificates, but Tico 14 kept the party rolling. We just took it to a different location for dancing and reggaeton!

Not a Party... We number one less. Tico 14 went from seventeen trainees to sixteen a little while back. Steven Campas has left the country to join the ranks of those enjoying constant air-conditioning and finding whatever kind of food you want exactly when you want it. I'll miss you and wish you all the best.

How It´s Gonna Be...

On the first full day in my home of the next two years, I believe I passed a majority of the time sitting. Now before you start thinking I was bored, let´s process a bit. Costa Rican culture calls for the following situation: a group of people sit around, whether inside at cafecito, outside in the most random grouping of chairs, on benches at the pulpería, or what have you. After all necessary salutations and inquiries about family, everyone simply sits for some indefinite length of time. Then someone makes a comment, "¡Qué calor!" (And he means, it´s HOT!) Another person responds, "Sí, ¿verdad?!" (Meaning, it´s SUPER HOT!) A long pause follows. Later, I discover that the heat was extreme enough that my soap melted!
So my town boasts a plaza (soccer field),

half a salón comunal (funds are slow to come and slower to produce anything),

a pulpería, a health center (which the doctor visits twice a month),

a school with 20 kids (there is also a kinder with 6 kids),

a church (of course, it would not be a true community without the Catholic church),

and the PanAmerican Wood Company (which exports teca, a type of wood). Everything but the factory lies not more than 100 meters apart, in what my family jokingly refers to as “Downtown Jabillo.”
Inhabitants of my new house include: the parents Don Luis and Doña Luz (Luz is really tall compared to most women down here and Luis is chiquitito – it’s funny to see them together because she towers over him!), Juan, who’s 20 and works at the factory, Cristina, 17, who just quit high school, and Kayna, 8, who is utterly adorable (she finds everything I do fascinating, it’s sort of like having a shadow). Other residents are the two parakeets and two parrots, two turtles, numerous chickens and roosters, and congos, or howler monkeys that hang out in the trees outside. Though none of these animals technically live IN the house, you would never know for all the sound they make! (A picture of the loud parrots is displayed for your viewing pleasure.)
Other observations on my trip:

• Ticos eat rice & beans. (It's the staple diet and you cannot claim to have eaten a meal unless it contained the comida típica.) So do dogs, cats, chickens, parrots, etc...
• Insects are only cause for alarm if they flap & flutter in your face - while you're trying to sleep. All other territory is considered neutral. Bugs are expected, but spiders are even welcome as they eat the bugs. These insects likely thrive on rice and beans as well... consider it a local evolutionary adaptation.
• If you don't say "¡Qué calor!" at least 10 times an hour, it can't possibly be hot outside.
• If you haven't 1) picked it off a tree, 2) smothered it with sugar, or 3) drowned it in manteca (like butter, but worse for you), then it's probably not edible.

SITE ASSIGNMENTS!

Jabillo de Nandayure, Guanacaste. This will be my home for the next two years. A small community of about 150 people, they work with several neighboring towns. There was once a PC Volunteer there 30 years ago, but the person left after a mere 3 months. (Let's hope this means nothing in present day circumstances!) The cluster of 6 towns - Coyote, Moravia, Y Griega, La Pampa, and Juan de Leon - sum to a whopping 400 inhabitants. "As many rural communities in Costa Rica, the towns are struggling with developing and increasing their organization and education," according to my site information guide.
I´m terribly excited! Perhaps too excited... As I have never been to the community and don´t know what to expect, I am trying not to form any preconceived ideas and false expectations. But I can still get pumped!
Some info: as far as transportation, there is a direct bus to San José. This is huge as sometimes volunteers need something like 2 buses and a boat to find their sites. The down side: it leaves Jabillo at 3:30am. Other nearby towns include Jicaral (25 km, almost on the Gulf of Nicoya coast), Carmona (60 km, main source for Internet, bank, post office, etc), and the beach is only 20 km away!
The local ADI (Association of Development) is excited about having a PC Volunteer and there seem to be a lot of prospective projects including: forming new groups (womens, youth, etc), creating youth recreation opportunities, fundraising for a salon comunal and a bridge (there is a river that floods in winter and makes transportation difficult), beginning a computer program, teaching English, etc...
Resources in Jabillo include la cancha (soccer field), one pulpería (small general store), a primary school (24 kids), and a health center that visits every 15 days. On the map, I will live more or less where the red dot is on the west coast peninsula. Although it's 20 km from the beach, apparently you can see the ocean from the community and the view is supposed to be spectacular!

Semana Santa

...la playa! Finally had the chance to go to the beach. After a big lunch at home with all the family in the area, my host sister Dunia, her boyfriend Damian, and I took a trip out to San Rafael de Tamarindo. Another sister and her husband, Anna and Joaquin, had purchased a lot there and just finished building a house. I use the word loosely, more appropriate for description is cabina, as it was basically a large one-room, open-air establishment with an indoor bathroom (as opposed to the outhouse the neighbors had) and mattresses in every corner (and in the middle of the room as well!) Arriving late on Holy Thursday, we left early the next for Playa Tamarindo, which they wanted to show me, but didn´t want to stick around all day because it is a bit touristy for Tico taste. At midday we packed up and headed to Playa Avellana, with darker sands and fewer people. By this time, I was nicely toasted as I had forgotten to pack sunscreen and so had everyone else. (Instead they slapped tanning oil on me... ugh!) I spent the afternoon in the shade to minimalize my tomate effect!
The following morning we drove down to Playa Ostional, which must have been at least 130 kilometers round trip. Now that might not seem that far, but keep in mind that Costa Rican "roads" are very different from roads we are all used to, especially in more rural areas! We´re talking Guanacaste summer-dusty roads (it´s the driest region in the country), so we´re choking on the dust clouds. If the road actually happened to be paved, cars would often drive on either side of the road in order to avoid the potholes (the word does not do justice to the missing sections of the road)! Finally arriving to an isolated paradise with dark sands and rough currents (no one else would swim with me!), we de-dusted and relaxed from all the road turbulence. Ostional is a turtle reserve and I was encouraged to eat the eggs, an offer which I furtively refused. (I had to... for those from Florida, think about what would happen if mentioned eating baby sea turtles - it´s a crime!) I later learned that a Peace Corps Volunteer lives in the community, and there is truly such an over-abundance of turtles nesting that they are legally allowed to sell the eggs - the only place from which such sales are legal. I caught some great pictures of the beaches and the howler monkeys (they really make some loud noise!) we saw from the dusty road-that-never-ended, as well as the cabina - all of which my little nephew promptly deleted upon arrival at home due to my carelessness! Oh well, we´ll just have to have another beach excursion!

Los Ángeles de Nandayure - Volunteer Visit

The bus ride out to Guanacaste was somewhat long, about 5 hours but not stressful in the least. Other trainees had to travel for nearly 9 hours, while my total trip time was about 6.5 hrs. I had my "bag of fun" packed with a book, magazine, iPod, journal, water, and fruit, for whatever I might be in need of. On our second official site visit, all the trainees go alone to see a current volunteer. I saw Anna Myers of Tico 12 [I belong to Tico 14], who lives in a community where you can see both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Nicoya - it´s gorgeous! I was travelling during Semana Santa, which is a huge local holiday, and Anna´s community likes to party hard. The beers started coming in the afternoon at the soccer game, and then they just wouldn´t stop! I felt a bit like the gringa showcase, but it was an interesting affair.
The next day (while experiencing the first hangover of my life) we hiked down the mountain to a posa (swimming hole) in the river, right above a waterfall. Even if I wasn´t feeling top notch, the hike was beautiful and the river was relaxing. Anna´s family shared their special Tico trick for a queasy stomach - drink down some guaro ! (Guaro is the local licor, made from sugarcane, and I decided against heeding the advice!)
Although the visit was short, I learned about the region, Anna´s site, and various projects she´s been working on, including English classes, Junior Achievement programs, writing grants for an aqueduct project, and prospective projects like Chicas Poderosas as well. This is what training is all about!

Una boda a la Tica!

So Andrea Vargas Bustamante, my younger sister by a mere 5 days, officially became Vargas Martínez on April 8th. After a bit of stress due the priest´s late arrival, the wedding procession hit the church and mass began. The basic format of a Costa Rican wedding is the same as in the States. The Catholic services consist of a normal mass and sermon, with the bride and groom sitting or kneeling for the most part. This wedding was an intimate affair, with lots of family and a few close friends. Pictured are Andrea and Randall, the bride and groom, with their parents immediately after the ceremony. (You can´t tell, but they´re all dying of heat! Imagine a 1pm wedding in this tropical sun!)
Afterwards, we all trooped over in several rented buses to the reception hall (where, yes, there were horses parked out front). Here, after waiting for a while for who knows what, we opened celebration with the brindis, or toast to the new couple. (The MC definitely made up names in the introductory procession, but I didn´t even know til much later...) Another long wait and some merengue and salsa dancing later, dinner was served. You guessed it... RICE & BEANS. Granted they were classy, with some vegetables, chicken, and meat thrown in, but you can´t have a Costa Rican meal without your staple food! The most interesting tradition was the "baile de billetes," where the newlyweds open and dance and all guests are invited to cut in, provided they pin money to the bride or groom! Here´s Andrea with her newfound wealth. I had to skip out early for a PC volunteer visit, but I was lucky to be able to go and celebrate with the happy couple. (And not that you can notice, but the bride is 4 months pregnant! Who would ever guess...)

La escuela de Bustamante

Last week the Bustamante group (there are four of us - Dan, Jacob, Steven, and myself) headed over to the Escuela Bustamante to learn about the Costa Rica education system. As we ended up actually giving an English class instead of observing one, we got more than we bargained for! We arrived on time at 8am, but typical to Tico culture we were invited to take cafecito before entering the class. When we were finally ready at 9:15, the school director starts off by showing us where they are in the English book! (The idea was to see the everyday classroom life.) Well, we took it in stride and made a presentation of the family tree thrown in with a repaso of food vocab. It was a learning experience because instead of being just a few children, we had the whole school! (Granted it wasn´t huge - about 40 kids, but it´s the principle of the matter.) Kids in general can be shy at first, but Costa Rican children are the most timid I´ve met! We had the "stand up & say you name" ice-breaker, but some would barely lift their heads to whisper! They were adorable nonetheless and a few brave ones did muster the courage to ask when we would be coming back!
Afterwards we had an interview with the director and got the low-down on education organizations, books, and funds. Then it was time to go, but the Tico hospitality hit us again and we all stayed for lunch at noon (though we´d all brought our own because the whole appointment was supposed to end at 10am)!

There & back again...

So I was in Atlanta for a weekend, due to a family emergency, but back in Costa Rica before I could even adjust to taking a hot shower! It was wonderful to see my family and a few good friends, so thanks for your comfort and love.

I´m so sorry I couldn´t make it home earlier, but happy for the time I was able to spend with you. Teresa, Debbie, and everyone, you better keep in touch! Special thanks to Tony and Melissa, you know why...
And thanks to everyone who gave me great food... Talk about reverse culture shock - I haven´t been sick to my stomach once here in CR, even after all the rice and beans I´ve eaten and local water I´ve had to drink. But my first meal out in Atlanta and I almost vomit at the table! Too bad, it was a good Oriental salad...

Now I am back in the land of rice, beans, & Imperial...
mountains of green, barbed wire fences, questionable roads, a place where the earth itself seems alive.

Social Butterfly...

Just in case you're worried, we're all having fun down here!
Here's a picture of all the girls...


...and then the guys in the group. (I don't seem to have the picture of everyone, even though we took at least 50!)

Then we have our day out in Puriscal, love those limes!

The messy group at Damian's birthday party (my sister Dunia's boyfriend), where dancing and cake were the themes for the night!
And last weekend was the VAC dinner (Volunteer Council of some sort)... volunteers from all over the country came in for the big party in San Jose.

La gira

Training is hectic and quite disorienting. As soon as I actually get to a computer, I have so many things to tell and so much to share that I never know where to start and simply end up speechless. I think that's the biggest frustration at the moment, that I'm unable to adequately express everything that's happening here! So here's my attempt for redemption...

Our training group split in two for our first field trip, visiting various volunteers in their sites to see what the real deal is. My half was in the Zona Norte (North Central Zone) and the other group went to Guanacaste (North Carribean Zone). Monday morning we left for Caño Negro de Los Chiles, which used to be a Rural site (my program is Rural Community Development, just a reminder), but has recently been taken over by the Micro-Enterprise program because of it's significant increase in tourism.
It was beautiful (it's on a river and next to a protected forest), but surprisingly bigger than I expected! We met with a group of women (organized by a former PC volunteer for self-esteem classes) who make and sell jewelry to tourists. In the morning we visited San Gabriel de Upala, which was much more rural and decentralized. We only stopped by to talk with the current volunteer before moving on to Pejibaye de Gautuso, which is a future site for my group (as in one of us will live there). There we were part of a nutrition class and exercise program with the local school; it was great to play some futbol!

The next morning it was of to Sante Fe de Guatuso, which was a tough site. The volunteer, Thomas, will be there for another year, but 5 kilometers away lies a future site, Gallo Pinto, which is even more rural since that person will have to walk to Sante Fe to catch the bus at 5:15am! On the way there and back, we stopped in a city called Zarcero, which has this really cool garden.

Bustamante

So the town I live in is technically Los Angeles de Mora, but since the majority of its residents pertain to the same family, that of Bustamante, it has become the popular name. It's a tiny little place, consisting of a school, church, pulperia (general store), and of course, the soccer field. In practice, I actually live closer to a much bigger town called Tabarcia, which actually has like a restaurant, a Civil Guard, and a bus station, etc.
I live with Dilsia and Justo (last name Bustamante, of course), and I have nine brothers and sisters, the majority of which live on my street. They all have their own families, so all my nieces and nephews come in and out of our house all the time, as the grandparents are the central hot spot. The second youngest of my sisters (5 days younger than me) is engaged to be married on April 8th and due to have a baby in September. So plans for the wedding and the baby are well underway in our household. Here I am with my youngest sister Dunia.

Typically, I'll wake up between 5 and 6am, depending on the day's activities, and either go for a run before classes in Tabarcia or head in to San Jose on the bus (we're about an hour or so outside the city) with my host sister and the rest of the "aspirantes" (Peace Corp Trainees). We have a lot of technical training and classes about Health, Safety, and the like. Coming to San Jose is a bit of a hassle, but it's not so bad. I'm typically tired at the end of the day and read a little before bed at about 8:30 or 9:30pm.
I spend a lot of time with my host family, basically talking about other family members and how they fit in to the community. Over the weekend, I had an hour long discussion with my host mother to be able to walk 10 minutes to the restaurant and have some pizza and a beer on Saturday night! I negociated my 9:30 curfew to 10pm, but it was still embarrassing because there were a lot of little kids at the bar (Saprissa, a local soccer team, was playing an important game, so it was packed).