It´s the Final Count-Down!

For 2 reasons: a) I officially swear-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer on Friday at the Ambassador´s house in San Jose which means training ends! and b) because that is the song that my neighbor´s have chosen to repeat on Guitar Hero almost every single night.

Here is an assortment of pictures from my new site which I visited last week. I will be moving there permanently starting this Sunday for the next 2 years! (ahhh and wooo!) If, over the last few months, you have had an inkling like you wanted to send me something in the mail...NOW would be the time! I would love anything to decorate my bare walls and remind me of home (or of anyone I´ve ever met before).

My neighborhood is rural, quiet, rainy, mountainous, has lots of coffee plantations (I can see one out of my front door), friendly people, and lots of opportunities in which I hope to be of at least some use. A lot of these center around after-school recreation programs, collaboration with the local PANI office to prevent teen pregnancy and drug consumption, a micro-enterprise for single mothers, and groups for the local indigenous population.

It´s hard to believe this intense 3 months of training has almost come to an end. Barring I make it through a series of final interviews, one last Spanish class, and don´t wear flip-flops to the Ambassador´s house...I made it!

Thank you for your support up until now and don´t be a stranger! Starting Sunday, I will have a loooooot of (alone) time on my hands. The only goal set forth by the Peace Corps for the first 3 months of service is to integrate myself into my community. And write a 30 page Community Assessment Tool in Spanish.

Can´t wait to hear from you!

New Home

Location Location Location

After much anticipation, the mystery has been solved and I finally know my site assignment. On May 30th I am moving to a small town of 1,200 people just south of San Vito, Puntarenas. As any map will show you, this is very close to the border of Panama in the southern coastal mountain range. Woo hoo, a cooler climate!

This Thursday I am going to a retreat center about 45 minutes outside of San Jose to meet my future counterpart (A Costa Rican from the local PANI office near my site). We will spend two days there doing a series of uncomfortable ice breakers and "get-to-know-you" games, and then hop a bus for an even more awkward 7 hour bus ride toward the southern border.

After we arrive arm-in-arm as new best friends, she will take me to my future host home to meet my new family. All I know now is that I will have a host mom and dad, host sister who teaches Special-Ed at the school (yay Jess!), a 12 year old sister, and a 4 year old brother. Needless to say, quite different than my current set-up. But, I´m really looking forward to the change and excited to see my new home.

Of course it goes without saying that I´m also incredibly excited to (attempt) get through the series of meet-n-greets with every family, teacher, neighbor, pet, farmer, and child in this rural town as well. Here´s hoping something stuck from Spanish class... (and that there isnt an innate fear of white girls)

So, yay! Mystery solved. After returning from this next visit, we have a teeny, tiny bit of training left, a family party, and the swearing-in ceremony at the Ambassador´s house. Amazing how time flies when every second of your life is planned out. :) Start buying your tickets if you´d like to visit!!

Flip flops + humidity = rash

Our tech visit was in two very different sites 4 ½ hours from San Jose; as a result, I had two very different experiences with two very different host families.

The first site was called Terraba, an indigenous, rural community in the “zona sur” (south zone) of Costa Rica. Although somewhat lacking in physical resources, it was rich in panoramic mountain views, hospitable people, and unfortunately, racial conflict. My host mom was a 25 year old widow with two rambunctious kids, ages 3 and 6. Their house was simple and clean without doors. Living with two young kids and no doors really reinforces the concept of strategic clothing changes.

The first night the town gathered to watch “The Gringos” (me and the 7 other trainees) take on “The Ticos” in a good old fashioned game of Costa Rican futbol. What started out as a friendly game soon turned accidentally harsh when some of the 6’+ guys on our team started to trip over the kids on the opposing team. But, it was all in good fun and fortunately that little guy only copped an elbow to the face and a few sporty bruises.

Sunday morning, the volunteer we were visiting had planned a scavenger hunt of sorts for all 120 kids in town. But, given that it was the weekend, only about 40 participated. With 2 trainees and about 8 kids/group, we leap-frogged, sack-raced, hop-scotched, and crawled through obstacle courses set up all around the school. The kids loved it and my team took 3rd place- suckers all around.

That afternoon we hiked to a stream/natural pool (Quebrada Honda) to beat the stifling heat and take a break from the printed itinerary. Because of the heat, we were all showering/changing clothes at least twice a day- this was a very welcome change. The pools were gorgeous and remote and I was once again very happy to have invested in my water proof camera. That thing has paid for itself!

Monday morning the kids were back to school and so were we to complete a joint “service learning project” - garbage pick-up and recycling! Groups of kids kindergarten-6th grade presented skits and presentations on the importance of caring for the environment and how we can all take part. Afterwards, we each took a grade, spread out all over Terraba and cleaned up! My 3rd graders didn’t place this time, but worked hard and liked playing with the rubber gloves we gave them to wear. Fair enough.

After my 5th straight round of burnt rice n beans, my friend Becca and I presented our required “Non-Formal Education” activity on the value of peace with the 5th graders at school. Sooo, how did it go?! While cleaning up and re-grouping after the activity, the 5th grade teacher walked by us on her way out of the room. Having seen this, our Program Director decided to take advantage of this opportunity and asked, “Do you have any comments regarding their Spanish? We’re completing their evaluation now.” She paused for a moment and then responded, “Well, it seems like they are really trying to do well.”

We burst out laughing and thought “mission accomplished.” I mean it’s not exactly easy to teach about values, in another language, to kids you don’t know, while you’re slipping on the clay floor because of the heat, when they don’t know what an art collage is (the main activity of our presentation) because they don’t have art class, and don’t like numbering off to get into groups because that isn’t done here, with your Program Director, 2 Spanish teachers, a Volunteer, and 5th grade teacher watching your every move. But mission accomplished because we had a great, awkward time, the kids made adorable collages and god willing will now work toward leading more peaceful lives each and every day. Maybe we should have given out suckers…

Add a few more dishes of burnt, oily gallo pinto (rice n beans), close calls with the kids and changing, Spanish classes, tech classes, Frisbee throwing, and indigenous art tours and we’ve now wrapped up the first 3 days of my tech visit. Phew. Maybe I should review the Spanish word for “concise.”

Half an hour bus ride with 15 degrees more of heat and we’re in Santa Cruz! The second site for our visit. Santa Cruz is a semi-urban community with landlines, (some) paved roads, several schools and even more pineapple fields. In fact, the Del Monte fields are there and so is the giant exporting business to Europe and the states. It was surreal to stroll through the fields and think that I could have been eating one of those very fruits. (Keep buying the golden pineapple, Mom!)

My host family this time around had curtains on the doors, a large open air house with walls that didn’t reach the tin roof. My host mom was 19 and my host dad was 23. He worked in the pineapple fields up to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and she stayed home to take care of their adorable 8 month old baby girl. It was fun to be around a baby again except when she cried strategically at 4:30a every morning. Turns out balsa wood isn’t a good noise reducer.

Our service learning project with the kids in Santa Cruz also centered on the theme of caring for the environment. Students grades 3-6 drew pictures and created messages in class about “mother earth” and protecting our world. We then helped them transpose their drawings with paint on large trash and recycling bins for the school. It was great to see the kids doing more art projects, even through soaked clothing and dripping faces.

In Santa Cruz, we continued with our training classes, “Non-Formal Education” activities, and then took a 3 hour hike through the pineapple fields up to an incredible view of the area. That was definitely a (sweaty) highlight of the trip- it’s amazing how much more fun playing Frisbee is when you’re in the midst of a 360 degree view of Costa Rican mountains. (I can rub that in a little more if you’d like)

So- it was 2 very different sites, 2 very different experiences, and 2 very different families. But I now have a much clearer idea of what life might be like and what my respective preferences are for my future site AND that my airwalk flip flops give me a rash when I wear them in hot weather. Its sort of like the teva tan you got every summer as a kid except the strap marks arent white...they´re red and blistery.

MAY 8TH IS SITE ASSIGNMENT DAY!! Aka the biggest day of my life this year.

Now to look up “concise…” Thanks for sticking it out.

MIA

Ok, I´m not actually missing in action (yet)...

But I wanted to quickly post in the few minutes I have at a slow internet cafe that I will be gone starting tomorrow through Friday on my ¨technical visit¨in Buenos Aires. It is sure to be packed with more faux paus, sun, attempts at Spanish presentations with 5th graders, fun, food, and beach. I hope to update this soon again after this week!

Road Trips and Relaxation

Last week was “Semana Santa” aka the Holy week of Easter. This is an incredibly important week in Costa Rica as CR is a Catholic country. This meant two important things for me personally: 1. Almost everything is closed and 2. No classes Thursday and Friday! Woohoo- the first real “break” in PC training. So what can one do when everything is closed (with patchy/no bus service) and you don’t have a car, cell phone, and arguably any money??

Take walks, for starters. But once you’ve covered your (small) town and all the connecting neighborhoods and it’s still only 8:00a.m., what next? You could buy a newspaper from the stand across town, attempt to do the crossword puzzle (turns out it’s even harder in Spanish, Mom…who knew?), drink a pot of coffee, eat breakfast, and then check the time again. Now it’s 10:30a.m. Time to hitch a ride with your host Mom’s friends to their finca (farm) and bring a picnic lunch! It’s amazing how quickly 4 hours go by with good food, Spanish music, and a beautiful view of the mountains surrounding San Jose.

Ok, so community tours, cultural experiences, and Spanish movies aside- I still had 2 days left of the glorious Semana Santa weekend. What better way to pass the time than to embrace my American-ness and hop on the tourist train? Or, in this case, tourist bus. Saturday morning me and a couple of friends hopped on a bus to see the Irazu Volcano. It was beautiful, un-crowded, and fortunately for us, dormant. It was a really different experience to be in Costa Rica as a tourist- if even for only a day.

Sunday morning I went to church with my host mom, her daughter, and her friend. While it was nice to take part in the festivities of the weekend, a song book or projected lyrics would have helped during the first straight hour of songs. Likewise, I would have appreciated a translator (or a head’s up) that the Pastor was going to preach for the 2nd FULL hour. In case you didn’t know, Jesu Cristo se resusito!

But, like all good things Semana Santa came to an end and it was back to the grind bright and early Monday morning. After Spanish class, my training group and I met with a local church group to start our “Service Learning Project,” more specifically to draw a Community Map of San Antonio. Once again, it was another valuable practice session with the language barrier and cultural differences of CR. But, the map has been drawn and everyone left (alive) and smiling. Side note: drawing the map wasn’t the actual project, just the beginning of a series of required tasks by the PC.

Tuesday morning I went to the local school to interview the Director and observe a 6th grade Social Studies class. Students in 1st-6th grade attend school for half a day, wear adorable white and navy uniforms, and flirt and poke each other just like the awkward 6th graders in the U.S. In addition to the inner-workings of Costa Rican schools, their physical structure, funding, and enrollment, I also learned a tidbit about the Conquistadors who “discovered” CR. I felt right at home with the language level of my fellow 12 year old classmates, although I somehow resisted the urge to raise my hand and join the q & a session about the cartoon the teacher passed out. Not surprisingly, they were less enthusiastic about the exercise.

This weekend we have a “Project Fair” to learn about all the projects the current volunteers are working on. Following this, there is a country-wide volunteer dinner where we say “adios” to the Tico 16 group and “hola y bienvenidos” to Tico 19 (my group). Should be interesting to see if, in fact, all the women have doubled their weight and all the men have lost all of their muscle mass like they say happens by the end of one’s service… If nothing else, it’s a night out in San Jose with some good food and good company.

I hope you had a relaxing safe holiday weekend!

April 2009

My Sandals Lost Me

At the risk of missing the bus and having to pay for the trip myself, I woke up at 4:30 last Saturday and started the long series of car rides, buses, and ferries to “Los Mangos.” I made it, so it turns out that was in fact a good idea. For the first time, I was on my own in Costa Rica and thrilled to get out of the city.

The purpose of this “site visit,” was to gain exposure to the “real life” of a Peace Corps Volunteer. That way, s/he can decide if being the only white person in a town that doesn’t speak English while trying to help people in a different culture and not get sick or die from heat exhaustion or parasites is really for him/her.

And as it would turn out… I think it just might be!! All joking aside, I visited an amazing volunteer who has done and continues to do some incredible projects with the people in her community. And, true to the purpose of the visit, I participated in several of them… even tried out my Spanish in front of a group for the first time! (Note: if you’re looking for an icebreaker involving animal noises and blindfolds in Spanish, let me know)

Not surprisingly, the culture in Costa Rica is very different than that in the U.S. Which is exactly why when asked why I was looking for my sandals on Sunday morning, I told my host mom in Los Mangos that “my sandals lost me.” Saying my sandals “were gone” implies (she) or someone had taken them. Not a way to make friends in a new town. It took about 5 minutes before it was decided that a dog had taken them and that was that. Both the right and the left, of the same pair, from the middle of a pile of several other shoes. Smart dog.

Overall, it was an intense 4 days of relaxation/learning/sweat/fun/anxiety/sun/awkwardness/meet-n-greets/elation/and cultural integration. But, it was the best experience I have had since being here- mission accomplished.

March 2009

Cultural Immersion=Inevitable Mistakes

It´s week 3 of training and what has Lindsay been doing?!!

Well, mainly Spanish classes, techincal training, and core PC training classes. Aka working with my Costa Rican counterpart agency "PANI" (similar to child protection agency), Spanish, learning/tasting/buying CR fruits and veggies, Spanish, learning how to teach English, learning about human/child rights in CR and how to teach them, Spanish, and lots of public transport. phew.

And speaking of public transport- let me offer a tidbit of unsolicited advice (everyone´s favorite). If you´re riding a bus, in a city, that is crowded, and you get shoved to the back, near the rear door, it is not a good idea to hold on to the pole for safety by wrapping your arm around it... It will get stuck. And you might panic. Because when the rear door opens, it skims the rear pole. And then you risk missing your stop because your arm is stuck in the public bus door even though you are pulling and yelling with a terrified look on your face. Just a possibility.

But none-the-less, this morning I did get off the bus and I did make it to the capital for training. So, gracias a Dios, I didn´t miss getting my finger prints inked (again) and touring the city with a large pack of gringos with maps outstretched and English at the top of our voices. Ahh tourists.

So I briefly mentioned my training town of San Antonio before. It´s like San Jose only smaller. So, does that mean dirt roads, public latrines, and sparse electricity?! No. It is an urban community with almost all your basic services... asphalt roads, lights, churches, restaurants, cars, traffic lights, bars, houses, and people. Is there an occasional yak that walks down the street with his farmer? Yes. Is there a bank, post office, or library? No. But they did manage to find a sparsely cleaned classroom for Spanish class/Tech training 5 days a week. What a coincidence.

Ok, that description may have been a little harsh. I actually really enjoy living here. The really sad part is, I even know how to describe it in better terms because, well... I had to. One of our assignments in class was to develop a brochure for tourists about San Antonio. (and by brochure I mean tri-folded piece of comp paper, filled with drawings done in crayon) For example: instead of "city without basic services" we stated "quaint village with friendly people and animals." Likewise, instead of "deadly scorching heat" we simply said "temperate climate." (assuming the temperature at midnight is factored in to the average)

Cue: mistake numero dos. As it would turn out, the phrase that I thought meant "temperate climate" in Spanish, ACTUALLY refers to a male state in an intimate setting. Needless to say, the presentation was somewhat awkward and I´m pretty confident that brochure will not make it to publication.

Last Sunday I went to church with my host family (another crazy cultural experience), then packed a picnic and went to Tapanti National Park with my mama tica, her mom, and her daughter. I saw my first brillant bird of CR and a lot of other quintesscential, lush landscape as well. Costa Rica IS as beautiful as they say.

This Saturday I am going to the Nicoya Peninsula for 4 days to visit a current Volunteer and see what life is "actually like" after training. I am probably one of the luckiest people in terms of site locations, I hear it´s incredible. It´s on the west side of CR, a town called Cobano (9ish hours from here). My first real experience on my own traveling down here. I can´t wait! (watch out for the rear of the busses)

Minus going to step aerobics class and being publically critqued for my wrong moves, having friends over for group haircuts at Dino´s salon, and almost getting hit by more than 3 fireworks at a town fiesta, I think we´re all caught up. My name is still Lenci, Lanci, or Benci and I´m healthy and having the time of my life.

Until next time... pura vida!