in the spirit of three cups of tea.

On my first day of class here in Costa Rica, my wise intern Annie used this quote to introduce us to one of the challenges of living in Latin America:

"That day Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I've ever learned in my life. We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills...Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them."
-Greg Mortenson

Life is slower here in Latin America, which is both awesome and awful depending on my mood.  Slowing down was easy in Nicaragua because I didn't have anything to do but play with adorable kids and hang out by the river.  However, here in Chahuites, a beautiful little town in the mountains of Costa Rica, where I have a "job," I'm still learning how to slow down and take three cups of tea.  I am here to work in a school and spend time with my host family and there have been both good and bad parts to my experience so far.  Last week in school, I helped teach the English class once. I wish it was more, but the teacher didn't do much teaching herself, so there wasn't much need for help.  This week I am helping teach a bunch of precious first graders.  It seems like the teachers in this school don't care much about teaching.  They leave the class for long periods of time, leaving the kids to just color and talk and goof around.  Today the teacher prepared the day's lesson in class as the kids were sitting there, waiting to be taught.  It's frustrating for me to be there and see so much potential in these kids.  But, I am here to learn not to teach.  So, I walked around the class and talked to the kids and helped out when the teacher gave me something to do.

Likewise, at home, slowing down takes patience.  I live with my mami and my 78 year old abuelita (and my host brother Fabian, but he's always at work).  My family is wonderful, but they're a little older and spend most of their free time relaxing on the patio in rocking chairs or watching t.v.  My adventurous, young self longs to play soccer with anyone who can kick a ball or talk with people my own age or even play with rocks with little kids.  Anything active that involves moving.  Alas, there are no little kids in my family or 20 year olds, so I'm learning to put aside my restlessness and enjoy just sitting.  Tonight after watching a bit of tele, my mami, abuela and I ate an apple and sat on the front porch watching the birds and the random dogs go by.  My mom commented on the trees and we simply sat and enjoyed the beautiful evening.  I must say, it was really enjoyable.

I don't think I have to give up being adventurous and active, but I do think it is valuable to take time to slow down, relax, reflect and enjoy life.  When I'm not in school or eating delicious meals with my family, I spend my time reading, journaling, running at the local soccer field, watching the afternoon novella with my mami and abuelita and simply relaxing on the porch, talking and learning more about my host family.

I can't lie, the first week was a little rough.  As in, I felt homesick and lonely each afternoon.  But an afternoon nap helped with that and so did my splendid weekend.  It's hard to be here on my own with no American friends to talk and laugh with, but the internet is a miracle and I am learning to rely on my host family when I feel lonely.  Even though I can't express to them all my deepest thoughts, nor am I able to say all the little things I want to say, they are people who listen if I have something to say and talk to me and greet me each morning with "buenas dias mi linda!"  My family here is great and I have a lot to learn from them.  Each day I feel more comfortable and everything gets a little easier. Before coming on my internship, I really wanted to be fully present here and just be completely engaged in my family and community here.  But, I realize that I can't be fully present here because some of the most important people in my life are not here.  Joshua, my family and my friends are often on my mind and I don't think I should ignore them just because I'm in a different country.  So, I am trying to be fully engaged when I am with my family and stretch myself to constantly think in Spanish in their presence.  But if I get the chance to skype  with my family or Josh or read a wonderful letter from Niquita, I will thoroughly enjoy that as well. 

Although my life here is slower, I can't deny that it is an adventure in it's self.

something different.

This is just a little post to say that I am off to Heredia, Costa Rica to work in a school for three weeks.  I think I will be working with an English teacher and I will be living with a wonderful little family in the mountains.  I don't know much about what I will be doing, so I can't say much.  However, I am not guaranteed to have any internet access, so if I don't blog much (or at all) in the next three weeks, that is why.

Also, this coming Wednesday marks two years of my togetherness-boyfriend-girlfriendness with Joshua.  I have to tell the world that he is the love of my life and I am so thankful for the past two years we have spent together.  Josh, thank you for being so kind, generous, funny, goofy, humble and everything else that is good in the world.  You are the best and I miss you so, so much.

Nicaragua

I have been bad at blogging.  I realize this, but I sort of have an excuse. Not really, but here it is.  Recently, I spent 10 days in Nicaragua without internet.  I was in Managua for two days, then I went to el campo, the countryside, to live with a Nicaraguan family for 6 days and my trip ended with two days in Granada.  The point of the trip was to form relationships with Nicaraguans.  So after a couple days of field trips and lectures in Managua, we hopped on buses and ended up in rural communities.  We all stayed with host communities affiliated with the Mennonite Church.  I lived in the community of Boqueron with a pastor, his wife, two daughters, three sons and one grandson.  My time in Nicaragua was challenging, fun, rewarding and eye-opening.  It was so many things and I cannot possibly convey all my thoughts about this incredibly unique experience.  But, I will give it a try.

My days were filled with lots of children, LOTS of food, the river, church, soccer, lots of Spanish.  Everyday I usually woke up to see at least one neighborhood kid in my living room, playing with the beach ball I brought or just waiting for me to wake up.  I spent the majority of each day playing with these kids, swimming in the river, lettting them guide me around their community.  

One of my favorite days in the community was they day I spent 5 hours playing in the river with the kids in my community.  We had a mud fight, played in the sand, kicked the soccer ball around and talked together.  There were so many beautiful little kids in my community who I enjoyed getting to know.  Another amazing experience I had was going with my host mom to the market in Managua to sell her produce.  We woke up at four a.m. to get ready and catch the bus.  After arriving in Managua, I did a lot of sitting while my mama passed out her produce to different venders.  Then we got breakfast and I got to spend time talking with my mama and getting to know her a lot better.  I was amazed at the little information she knew about Nicaragua's history.  It is really astonishing how little everyone in my community knew about their country, politics, geography and the United States.  Pretty much everyone there makes a living through farming, so they don't have a pressing need to be educated.  My family seemed happy and they ate well, but I have a feeling that was mostly because I was there.  I gave them money to eat, so maybe they have days when they only eat one meal.  Maybe my 21 year old sister is discontent with her life.  Maybe my favorite little five year old, Cristhal, has dreams of being a doctor or an astronaut or an artist.  It devastates me that I can do pretty much anything I want with my life and it will be almost impossible for Christhal to ever leave her community.  If she were to leave her community, she would have to leave behind her culture, her family and her community, where as if I wanted to live in Australia I could see my family multiple times a year because I have the money to buy plane tickets.  So after ten days in Nicaragua and six of those living with wonderful, genuine Nicaragüenses, I am full of questions about life and poverty and my purpose in life.  I think I will be asking some of these questions all my life.  I learned so much from these people and will never forget them.  One of the hardest parts about saying goodbye were the many questions about when I was going to return.  I don't think my family there knows how hard it would be for me to come back.  However, through LASP I will be able to send them packages and letters.  

Life is not always perfect, but sometimes it is.

I had a few frustrating moments this week, but just when I was feeling down, I was reminded of how good my life is.  I was frustrated with my Spanish class because I didn’t do so great on a quiz.  I was especially missing Josh a few times this week and was feeling sorry for myself because I don’t get to see him for the next four months.  And on top of that I was feeling sick Thursday and Friday.  However, in general, my life is the opposite of frustrating.  This week I celebrated Chinese New Year with my family and their Chinese friends.  That was an amazing and delightful cross-cultural experience.  I got to skype with Josh for two nice, but not long enough hours.  I am truly thankful for the internet.  It makes being away from my loved ones so much easier.  Also, the evening after I was feeling especially bad at Spanish a had a longer than usual conversation at dinner with my Tico parents.  That was a blessing.  My Papi is really hilarious and just the way he talks makes me laugh.  Out of everyone in my family here, I am closest to my Mama and I always feel so welcomed and loved when she opens the door for me each evening as I get home from school.  Another thing that made me feel a little better about my Spanish abilities was presentation day at ICADS (my Spanish school).  Everyone from LASP studies Spanish at ICADS and this friday we all had to give a group presentation on an indigenous tribe in front of the entire group and professors.  There are ten classes and I am towards the bottom in terms of Spanish fluency.  Most people at LASP are Spanish majors, so that makes sense.  Despite being not the best speaker, I felt good about my presentation and afterwards we all created dolls (muñecas) out of clay and things from the earth.  It was a blast!  I always enjoy doing artsy things.
This Saturday I went to the beach with my American friend Allison and her family and some other friends from LASP.   We woke up at 5:30 am to catch the three hour bus ride to Manuel Antonio.  I was frustrated at first that her family chose to go to a really far away beach, but it was totally worth it.  Plus, Allison’s Tica family was incredibly hospitable and they chose to go to the nicest beach for our sake.  Needless to say, I was humbled.  We spent about 5 hours at the beach, swimming, watching monkeys, exploring the rocky parts of the shore, eating delicious sandwiches and fruit and talking both English and Spanish.  Standing in the ocean, feeling the waves crash between two big rocks right in front of my face I felt like life couldn’t get better.  It was definitely a cross cultural experience to travel with a Costa Rican family different than my own.  Allison’s family has much different dynamics than my family, which was interesting to experience.  Her family is talkative, loud, touchy, a little more messy than my family and her family is a lot bigger than mine.  I think Allison has five siblings compared to my one sister.  When I got home today, my Papi told me that our family is boring  : )   Still, I would not trade my host family.  I have really grown to love them.
Today, I got to play soccer for the first time in weeks!  Allison’s family plays every Sunday in a pick up game and today I joined.  I was completely exhausted within fifteen minutes, but I enjoyed every second.  My friend Caleb and I were talking on the bus ride back from the beach about how awesome it is that we have been here only a month and have already done so many awesome things, gone so many places and have experienced so much of the Costa Rican culture.  I am truly thankful for my host family and how wonderful they are to me.  I know my experience here would not be as good if I were not living with such an awesome family. 

Los Fines de Semana.

Twice in a row now, I have had new and exciting experiences during the weekend.  Hopefully I can pass on the excitement through writing and pictures.

Last weekend:

El Sabado:  I went with a small group of friends to Volcan Poas.  Not only was it fun to get out of the city and breath the fresh, mountain air, but the volcano was seriously amazing.  Volcan Poas is considered an active volcano, but we didn’t see any lava.  After hiking a short way, we could look into the crater of the volcano, which had a small lake full of sulfur water (I think) and the lake was steaming the entire time.  We also hiked over to a lake near the crater, which was also quite beautiful.  

El Domingo:  I was not exactly looking forward to Sunday because I knew it would be a homework day and I didn’t think I would get to spend much time outside.  However, I ended up doing homework outside in my yard with my hermana, Maria Fernanda.  The sun felt wonderful and the sky was so bright.  Plus, since I was home all day I spent sometime talking with my family.  

This weekend:

I spent this weekend in Limon with my entire LASP group.  We spent the weekend studying and experiencing the cultural diversity in Limon.  On the way there, we stopped at three different plantations: coffee, pineapple, and banana.  All were very interesting!  I sucked on the middle of a coffee bean, learned that pineapples grow in the ground (not in a tree!) and watched workers at a banana plantation/ packaging factory.  After arriving in Limon, we were sent downtown in small groups to interview the locals about poverty and inequality in Costa Rica.  Until recently, English was the primary language of Limonenses.  One man we interviewed spoke English better than he spoke Spanish.  

Saturday felt like three days put into one.  In the morning we got to meet and talk with an indigenous BriBri leader.  She explained to us their culture, religion and how their tribe has experienced discrimination and inequality.  This woman and her family breed iguanas in order to keep the species alive.  Iguanas are very important to the BriBri because they use their skin for drums and their SOMETHINGS ELSE.  It is kind of like the buffalo to North American Indians.  I was surprised that iguanas, of all creatures, are such an essential part of life to the BriBris.  After walking around the iguana area, we headed over to the beach!  Although talking with the indigenous leader was quite amazing and eye-opening, spending time at the beach was my favorite part of the day.  The sky was blue and the water was perfect.    My friends and I swam, ate fruit and empanadas and walked along the beach.  The third part of the day was dinner and dancing at the Black Star Line community building.  We had a delicious dinner while a live band played.  After dinner the whole group got up and danced for a couple hours.  

On Sunday we went to the English service at a Methodist Church in Limon, which was a really cool experience.  Afterwards we drove back to San Jose and I will spend the rest of the day doing homework and writing a reflection paper on my trip to Limon.  It’s strange how coming back to San Jose today felt like coming home. 

p.s. I have a lot more photos uploaded to facebook.  Check them out there.  it's just too hard to upload photos to blogger.

be stubborn in your hope.

    I have been in Costa Rica for a little less than two weeks, however, it feels like I’ve been here forever!  Last week was focused on orientation and spending lost of time with my Costa Rican family.  Speaking of which, my family is awesome.  I think it would be pretty difficult to get a bad family here, though.  I have a mom, dad and sister.  My sister, Maria Fernanda is 19 and is studying to be a doctor.  My family seems to be a little quieter and less affectionate than most Latin American families, but they are still loving, helpful and funny.  My Spanish is lacking.  I am totally aware of that, but my family talks slowly to me and helps me with words I don’t know.  Mainly, they are just patient with my slow Spanish and that is a blessing.  Each day I get a little better at Spanish and each my family and I grow a little closer.
    This week is my first week of classes.  I will be here in San Jose taking classes for five weeks.  (Core Seminar over Latin American Studies two mornings a week and Spanish every afternoon.)  Then I’m off to Nicaragua for about ten days.  Classes were pretty overwhelming at first, but I am starting to get into a pattern and I’m learning how to manage all the homework.  LASP keeps us busy.  I get home at about 6:30 every night and have time to eat dinner, talk with my family for a little bit, take a shower and do homework and sometimes check my email.  We have so much homework!  At the end of the five weeks, we have a big “position paper” due.  My topic is sustainable food and I am reading Stolen Harvest by Vandana Shiva for my preliminary research.  So far, it’s very interesting.
    One of my favorite parts of the day is walking to and from Spanish class.  Since we have Core Seminar at the LASP office in the morning and Spanish class at ICADS is across town, a group of us walk there everyday.  It is always blazing hot, but a nice time to reflect about the morning and talk in English!  Plus, I’ve made some really good friends already.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my friends and I have decided to get Pops helado after Spanish class.  Pops is more than a highlight in the day, it is starting to become a necessity.  We begin anticipating Pops the night before because it is so delicious!  Another favorite part of my day is finally getting home and being greeted by my Mama.  I usually get home around 6:00 or 6:30pm. She always has dinner ready for me and we have a nice time talking together. 
    As I wrote this, I realized how nice and easy it is to be competent in speaking/writing/understanding a language.  I am also amazed at how much Spanish I have been speaking in the last week.  It feels like more than in my whole life.  At home, I only speak in Spanish.  It’s quite amazing and I’m excited to become a better Spanish speaking.

p.s. The title of this post is a quote that one of my professors, Javier, used in class one day.    I thought it would be an interesting title to this blog post because as I learn and struggle to speak Spanish better, I have hope (and faith) that I will improve and that despite the struggles, this experience will be awesome.  I hope that eventually I will feel more comfortable speaking Spanish with my Costa Rican family and that my family and I will form a close and deep relationship.

Hola de San Jose, Costa Rica!

I am safe and sound and in Costa Rica.
My host family is so great and loving and funny and helpful.
I am having a seriously amazing time and I think it will only get better.
Just letting everyone know.
More later.
Buenas Tardes.