Working Works!

So back in April I had another visit from a PC Trainee, but this time I put her to work. As we raced from one meeting to another, Julia had a real dose of being a volunteer. Perhaps even a skewed dose, as I’m normally not that busy! We started with the Kindergarten fundraiser, then off to my Health Center Evaluation Meeting, which resulted (thank goodness!) in the formation of the Health Committee (pictured) that’s been lacking for over a year. The next day I we went to a four hour Asamblea for the Aqueduct Association in Juan de León, a neighboring town. Afterwards we took a break to see the partidos (soccer games) in Las Pampas (another of my towns) and the last day I finally took her to the beaches (Coyote and San Miguel) for some sun fun before dragging her to yet another meeting in the evening for a project proposal to the Concejo Distrito for the Salón Comunal.

Project Updates: As for the Japanese Embassy solicitation, we are at a standstill until we have an engineer create a Plano de Construcción (Construction Plan) for submittal to the Embassy. (Pictured is the new, improved salón, now with roof!) I don’t know how they’ve built the salón so far with no construction plan or design whatsoever, but that’s why it hasn’t been completed I suppose. We have until September to turn in the Plano and I am sure the Committee won’t do anything about it until August at the earliest. Who ever heard the phrase "the early bird catches the worm" anyway?

I am thinking about trying to solicit a PCPP (Peace Corps Partnership Proposal for donations) in order to raise money and fix the Puesto de Salud (Health Center). It’s a bunch of paperwork, but rainwater leaks in so much that the building floods from the inside out and they are threatening to suspend consultations if the Health Committee doesn’t do anything about the problem. I myself formed said Committee, but they are already having issues. Hopefully we’ll be able to put it together in the next month, so keep your wallets open!

Also, there’s a new project I’m starting, called Chicas Poderosas. It’s basically a girls’ empowerment group, a youth group only for girls to promote self-esteem and self-worth. While it’s lessening with time, women here (especially in the campo) still suffer from machismo and this is a great way to address the issue. I am also planning to coordinate a charla (talk) on VIH/SIDA but that would be after the D.A.R.E. program (in early July, next week!)

Back in Puerto Coyote, I supervised a beach clean-up for a high school group working towards the community service project required for graduation.

There are so many things lacking and so many possibilities but when it comes down to coordination, in these smal towns, LOGISTICS ARE SO TOUGH! You work so hard to achieve so little. Baby steps, baby steps... poquito a poco as they say here. I know I haven’t done anything huge, but it's everything to actually to note differences and measure progress.

Arte por la Paz

From January to March, I offered a series of anti-violence art workshops for children ages 6-12. Totaling seven talleres (workshops) in all, each had a different topic and art project or activity. Subjects included: definition of violence, different types, the violence cycle, managing conflict, tolerance and diversity, war and peace, etc. “Estuvo muy bonito y fue un gran encuentro,” (“It was very pretty and a great experience,”) said Kayna, one of the 15 participants in the program. In a country where machismo and domestic violence are still rampant, as well as racial intolerance and discrimination, it’s important to educate and diversity and the prevention of violence, beginning at home. For me, the best part of the program was the field trip we took to Nicoya, where nearly 50 kids from all around the region of Guanacaste congregated for a day of art: theater, music, including drums and rap, crafts, games, and other activities. These kids rarely leave the communities they live in and seldom experience the camaraderie of other children. They grow up with a limited perspective and vision and it means so much to be able to expand that, even just a little bit. The field trip was undoubtedly the most popular part of the program (as much as the kids loved painting with me, a bus trip to Nicoya will win every time!), but the most important was the knowledge they took home with them at the end of the day.

Also worthy of mention is my encounter with el presidente de la República. Yes, that’s right, I met the president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias. Selected as a representative for Peace Corps at the 40th Anniversary of DINADECO (National Directive of Community Development and my official counterpart), I was present throughout day to field questions about the program and thus missed the president’s speech on the governmental changes he hoped to implement. (For example, my program is a part of the Ministry of Security, while it should be under Social Services. DINADECO is severely under-funded and thus quite understaffed, which makes keeping track of over 450 associations nationwide a bit of a challenge.) In any case, the whole affair was an encounter to remember.

Ali Visits the Rich Coast!

Back in March, my friend Ali from high school came to experience the rural life (and a little bit of tourist exposure as well!) We started off in the campo, heading to the Cabalgata de Los Ángeles. (LA is home to fellow volunteer Anna, but Kathryn from Ostional is pictured with me and Ali.) A cabalgata is basically a party that you travel to by horse (or on foot if you don’t have a horse, like us!) Ticos will seize any excuse to fiesta! We next hit the beautiful beaches of my area, including Playa Coyote and Playa San Miguel (pictured last entry). After (a little too much) fun in the sun, we enjoyed the Fiestas Cívicas de Jicaral in the evening, where we saw some good ole traditional Tico rodeo. I’ve never been to an “American” rodeo, so I have little to compare by, but often I can’t believe these guys make it without getting trampled. (Ali visited during a time of year in which many towns host local festivities, so we had lots to experience!) We also spent some time with the host family and Ali got plenty of the local cuisine... but trust me, eating rice and beans for a week is not the same as eating them for a year plus! Ali made a guest appearance as an English speaker at my English class in the Escuela Jabillo. The kids got a such a kick out of it, though almost all of them were too shy to talk to her!

A continuación, we left the campo and headed into the rainforest. With Eileen and Dana, I toured the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve last September, so to explore “new” territory, we took in the majestic beauty of the Monteverde Cloud Forest, a reserve started by a Morman community and protected ferociously, down to its pot-holed trail road! We also visited the Children’s Rainforest, a private reserve funded entirely by those “Save the Rainforest” campaigns. (And you thought your money was going to waste!) There we went on a night hike, on which you see very different wildlife. Pictured is a tarantula, yikes!

Topping off the adventure was an excursion to Volcán Poás, a volcano with a yellow sulfur pool. Go visit if you like to smell rotten eggs! (But really, it’s something else to behold. Volcanoes are simply impressive in every aspect.) We also saw the lake on a nearby hike, a crater of the former exit for the lava of the volcano.

It was a quick and busy week, but we wasted no time, or at least, as little time as possible considering cultural restraints such as “Tico time," rocky roads where 20 miles an hour feels way too fast, and faulty rental cars... but hey, it's the pura vida, right?!

To Ali: Thanks for coming, thanks for sharing, thanks for everything...