If you don't like to read...don't read this...it's long

May 2, 2009

Brace yourselves, this is going to be long. I’m just sayin’….

I just got back from a week of technical training (i.e., training specific to the Children, Youth and Families Project) in the southern part of Puntarenas (relatively close to the Panama border). The 16 of us were divided into 2 separate trips. My group visited one volunteer in Térraba, a rural town with a relatively large indigenous population, and a second volunteer in Santa Cruz, an urban town that sits just blocks away from the center of Buenos Aires. Jammed packed with placed to go and people to see, the volunteerism-on-speed excursion was by far among the most enjoyable of my training experiences thus far.

The 5-hour bus ride from San Jose to Buenos Aires was gorgeous. We drove through crisp, autumn-like mountainous regions before arriving in the steamy, sweltering, inferno that would be our home for the next 6 days. Ashley, the first volunteer we visited, met us in Buenos Aires and wasted no time demonstrating her tricks-of-the-volunteer trade when the rickety, noisy, antique school bus arrived to take us to her site. Before any of us could even get to the line of people waiting to board the front of the bus, Ashley marched straight to the back, opened the emergency exit hatch, and instructed us to get in as though it was completely normal. She calmly explained, “This way you have space for your backpacks, and it would have been REALLY full by the time we got on the other way.” After screaming over the loud, struggling bus engine for 30 minutes, we finally arrived in Térraba and met our host families. I was the last person to meet my family, so I watched the soccer game that was going on at the cancha (field), and made friends with a woman who I wish had been my host mom there. She was hiding behind a tree so that her son couldn’t see her watching him play. In typical Tico fashion, after knowing her for less than 10 minutes, I was invited to stop by her house anytime for cafecito. I was also asked to tell her brother in New York hello for her is I happen to run into him. I hope I remember….

My host family experience in Térraba was the complete opposite of my experience in Fatima. First of all, the woman who was cooking for me hardly spoke at all, and when she did it was often hard for me to understand her. She is an older woman who lives with and takes care of her older sister. Both were very nice to me, but they would really only talk if I asked them something and even then all I got was a very brief reply. I also wasn’t even staying in the same house as them, so I would literally walk over there to eat, miserably fail at trying to strike up conversation, painfully eat while they watched me in a silence so thick that I could hear myself swallow every bite, and then leave because they would just stare at me instead of invite me to stay longer. I would then return to the barn-like house where I stayed, which was full of bats who liked to fly around my head all night while eating mosquitoes. While I appreciated their insect-repelling habits, the room was huge with lots of holes in the walls, so the mosquitoes had plenty of opportunities to attack me anyway. Also, it was one million degrees up there, and all I had was a heavy blanket, so my options were to either be able to breathe (a little) and get eaten my mosquitoes and punched in the face by bats, or to die of heat exhaustion under the blanket, which would at least protect my body from my winged roommates.

Although I got very little sleep in Térraba, I thoroughly enjoyed every day we spent there. Our first day we played against the town’s women’s soccer team, which eventually turned into a completely co-ed game as more people joined. I played in the field until my hip felt like it was going to break off, and then played goalie, which left me with some sweet battle wounds. I’m a firm believer that if you’re not bleeding when you come off the soccer pitch, you probably didn’t play hard enough. The next day we had an entire morning of activities with kids from the elementary school. Each one of us had a team of about 8 kids, and we were all racing to complete a series of 15 different tasks that involved critical thinking, working as a group, physical exercise, etc. Although my group finished in last place, I would argue that the quality of their work was the best, and that they were much more philosophical and thoughtful than the other groups, which made everything take longer. Yeah, so boo-yah.

That afternoon we went to the posa, or creek, which had 3 different pools and all kinds of rocks and cliffs and rocks to jump from. We decided to go to the farthest pool because it was the biggest, and in order to get there we basically had to climb and scale some rock walls, which was way fun. The water was freezing, which felt amazing because it was soooooo incredibly hot outside. That evening we spent 4 more hours on the cancha, playing soccer and frisbee with local kids and teenagers who just happened to stop by.

The next day we did a trash clean-up with the kids at the elementary school. We picked up trash for about an hour, and then they did presentations about the importance of protecting the environment. We spend the rest of the morning just hanging out and spending time with the kids, who did not appear to actually be going to classes at any point. In the afternoon our program manager and language teachers arrived. We visited the high school for a while and then tried to stay awake for Spanish classes after a long couple of days.

After saying goodbye to our host families in Térraba the following morning, Ashley escorted us back to Buenos Aires, where Jenna, the volunteer in Santa Cruz, awaited our arrival. I immediately fell in love with the town and with my host family. Sandra, her husband José, and their 3 kids, Crystal (8), Eduardo “Edu” (6), and Esteban (4) made me feel like part of the family from the moment I walked in the door. Sandra not only had a large-as-life personality, but she also cooked the best food I have had since arriving, which was priceless. I think I ate more nutrients in those 3 days than I have the rest of the 2 months I have been here. What’s more is that she is a fabulous mother, and her kids are completely adorable. I was thrilled to have kids in the house, especially because I don’t have host brothers or sisters in Fatima. My friend Jon and I were staying in houses next door to each other, and our host mothers were sisters-in-law. Both of them are in Jenna’s English class, and on our first night there we went to class with them. They were hilarious together, and we had a great time meeting the other people in the class and participating in their activities during class. At the end of the class they all decided to plan a party at the house of one of the students for our last night in town.

The next morning we helped kids at the elementary school paint huge recycling bins, which had been part of a larger recycling project initiated by Jenna. These particular kids had won a drawing contest, and as a prize they were given the opportunity to paint their designs on the bins. They were so focused and energized about the project, and the pride they took in having their own designs on display was just about the sweetest site on Earth. I LOVE that my job for the next 2 years is going to consist of developing programs that make kids feel that way …I am SOOOO lucky to be here!!!!

Later on that day, Jon and I co-facilitated our non-formal education activity, which was quite the prototypical Peace Corps experience. We had spent hours planning an entire workshop on the importance of exercise for a group of 11-14-year-olds, including very thought provoking questions, beautifully illustrated materials, and perfectly planned activities. When we arrived at the school to meet with our group, however, none of the students were there. After running around the neighborhood recruiting whatever young people we could find, we ended up with a group of people ranging in age from about 8- to 30-years-old, and they were pretty much only there to play basketball, not to hear a talk or discuss the importance of exercise. Given that our bosses and Spanish teachers were there to observe and evaluate us, we still had execute a lesson, but with this new group we had to throw everything we planned out the window. We ended up winging an informal discussion and them successfully teaching them how to play knock-out, which they loved. The PC staff observing gave us really positive feedback, and afterwards my adrenaline was running so high I felt like I could do just about anything. Here we would say, “Diay, mae! Vieras que toa me sentí después!” That evening we went to Jenna’s exercise class, and then chilled at her apartment tranquilo-style for the first time the whole trip.

Our last day was exhausting, but completely enjoyable. Ashley came back to spend the whole day and night with us, which was really nice. After meeting the staff at the local PANI office, talking to the director about the most significant issues facing youth and families in Buenos Aires, we had Spanish classes and then our staff returned to San José. Jenna and Ashley then took us on a 2 hour hike to an abandoned rancho that sat on top of a nearby mountain. The scenery was beautiful, and included the greenest landscapes that I had seen up until that point. We are just now getting ready to start the rainy season, so everything it has been pretty brown and dry where we live in the central valley. We played Frisbee at the peak of the mountain for a while, and then took a longer hike on the return in order to see more of the landscape. Right after we got back to our houses it was time to go to the party organized by Jenna’s Spanish class. The hostess happened to have a mini soccer firld in her back yard, so the party started off with a pick-up game.

For me, the best part of the party was watching my host mom, Sandra, who is basically muy pura vida and super tuanis (i.e. she rules). As soon as we arrived, she immediately asked to borrow a tshirt and shorts, and was slamming people to the ground, covered in sweat and dirt, in a matter of minutes. Immediately after the game she was back to looking perfect in her party clothes, and wasted no time grabbing the karaoke mic, blowing everyone away with her singing and star-like ability to perform. Where does this woman come from??? We sang Spanish songs and Celine Dion, danced meringue and salsa, ate arroz con pollo and arroz con leche, and laughed a lot, making it the perfect end to a long, tiring, and absolutely fabulous trip.

This week we have our final interviews with our site directors, who will then make their final decisions on our site assignments!!! Next time I write I will know where I am going to live for the next two years!!!!