So far I have been in my site for almost 2 weeks right now, and things have been going well for the most part. I have been settling into my room, organizing my clothes, reading alot, reading some more, eating rice and beans, using the latrine, and then read for a little bit more.
New developments this week include the beginning of my english classes at the primary school. This week I taught english from 9-10 AM on Tuesday and Wedsnesday. I will continue this schedule for who knows how long, maybe two years if time allows. Since there is only one classroom with grades 1-5 in it I am teaching them all at once. It is slightly difficult to plan for a class with such varying grade levels but it really is the only way to get it down. The students are very responsive and are learning things relatively quickly. This week we went over introductions, greetings, basic questions, and salutations. Some students are willing to participate more than others but that is just natural. They seem to be enjoying the class, and when I come home I hear my host sisters speaking the new phrases I taught them in class earlier that day. So it seems like it is is sticking. Also next week I begin to teach english to the Kindergarten class of 9 students. This will be interesting to teach 9 4-5 years olds a brand new language, but I am up for the challenge. Recently I have been getting rides into the nearby town with the Kindergarten teacher who ends at 11, so I dont have to do the 90 minute walk to town. I asked her what the school needs improved the most and one of many things she said is a new classroom for the kindergarten because they recently and in the past have had problems with poisonous snakes, scorpions, and huge spiders making homes in the classroom. Hopefully I will be able to help them with this problem.
This Friday I have arranged for another community meeeting in my town. With this meeting I would like to make it a little more interactive and find more about the town, existing commitees, problems, areas of growth, and wishes for the community. Then next week I will start my door to door interviews with members of the community to see what kind of projects they want to start working on. I feel that very soon I will also need to begin an english class for the adults, because that is something as well I have heard from community members which they strongly want.
I look forward to mid June where I will be able to see some other volunteers at the beach for our VAC meeting. VAC is sort of like Peace Corps student council where we get together and talk about issues relating to our job and such. It should be a fun time and then a week later I will be meeting up with my Tico group, Tico 16 to most likely party it up in San Jose.
Overall things have been going well here. The loneliness is still an issue here as well as the boredom, but as projects start picking up it should fill up my time better.
I miss everyone so much and I think about you all (my friends and family) all the time.
Much love and respect,
Rudy
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
First Couple Days In Site
Last Friday night as a blast with all of Tico 16. After the swearing in ceremony we wento our usual hotel in San Jose, to relax and get ready for the night ahead. Bill and I got a room togther on the third floor which actually turned out not to be the best idea since it was so close to the street, but it didnt really matter to much. Anwyays that night we went out in the San Pedro area to this really good Italian Restaurant called Il Pomodoro. I got an amazing dish of Fettucine Carbonara and split a pizza with a couple people. Bill and I took the classy road and split a bottle of Chilean White Wine. I know what you might be thinking, hey I thought Rudy was in the Peace Corps, eating rice and beans all day in the middle of nowhere, but hey when I get the chance to live it up I do. Anyways after dinner and a coiple rounds of drinks we obviously brought the party back to the hotel and lived it up there till late at night. Overall great times with everyone, it was an excellent night to celebrate all of our beginning the next 2 years.
The next morning Bill and I took the 1:00 bus to our sites from San Jose. We were lucky in taking the 1:00 bus as other people had much earlier buses to catch. It was an uneventful 5 hour ride to my bus stop in the South but when I made it there my host brother picked me up in his 1970 Toyota Landcruiser and drove me to the house. As of right now the house is under major constructions, although when it will be finished it will actually be really nice. As of right now there are 11 people living in 3 room in the house. One of the rooms is for me, alone.
The first couple days I have been using just go get myself settled in my room. Wash the walls, clean the floor, put up the mosquito net, install an electrical outlet and light in my room, organize my clothes. I havent really been changing the world yet.
Yesterday I went to this meeting for all the parents at the town school (1 classroom for 40 students) and I introduced myself again to all the parents that attended. During the meeting they discusses the possibillity of me teaching english classes once or twice a week at the school and I willing and excitingly excepted the offer. I just need to do some research as the best way to begin these classes for young children who have never had any formal english education whatsoever. As well some of the adults asked me as well to begin some classes for them as well, which I definately want to do.
I have not given any english classes yet, except for the one during training which was for us to get a taste of what it is like, but all of the other volunteers from prior years say that it is one of the best ways to integrate into the community. I feel that I will get to meet alot of people through these classes and as well gain respect in the community to work on other projects with them. In my meeting with Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, he expressed great interest in our teaching english and felt it to be one of the most important things we can do for the people of Costa Rica.
After I returned from the meeting I walked back in the rain with a couple of my host brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews (when I am in my town we are always in a large group, because i live with such a big family) and arrived to my house and entered my room to find this huge brand new beautiful faux-oak dresser that fits all of my clothes and other random things perfectly. It was a great suprise and a beautiful gesture as this piece of furniture is ,by far in my opinion, the most beautiful and most expensive piece of furniture in the whole house. I was really touched and really grateful for it. Now my room is organized really well and I feel more settled in.
Today I woke up at around 10 oclock, ate breakfast and then setoff on a 90 minute hike in the rain to get to my nearest town and use the internet. I ended up using the internet for 3 hours an was able to speak to all of my friends (Shoutouts to : Tamar, Jon, Russ, Dave, and Cownie) through Gmail chat.
Anwyays life here in Costa Rica is good for the most part. Just tackling things one day at a time. I hope things are great back at home and abroad. My brother just left to Germany 3 days ago, he should be having a rediculous time there. My adventures still continue here.
Pura Vida,
Rudy
The next morning Bill and I took the 1:00 bus to our sites from San Jose. We were lucky in taking the 1:00 bus as other people had much earlier buses to catch. It was an uneventful 5 hour ride to my bus stop in the South but when I made it there my host brother picked me up in his 1970 Toyota Landcruiser and drove me to the house. As of right now the house is under major constructions, although when it will be finished it will actually be really nice. As of right now there are 11 people living in 3 room in the house. One of the rooms is for me, alone.
The first couple days I have been using just go get myself settled in my room. Wash the walls, clean the floor, put up the mosquito net, install an electrical outlet and light in my room, organize my clothes. I havent really been changing the world yet.
Yesterday I went to this meeting for all the parents at the town school (1 classroom for 40 students) and I introduced myself again to all the parents that attended. During the meeting they discusses the possibillity of me teaching english classes once or twice a week at the school and I willing and excitingly excepted the offer. I just need to do some research as the best way to begin these classes for young children who have never had any formal english education whatsoever. As well some of the adults asked me as well to begin some classes for them as well, which I definately want to do.
I have not given any english classes yet, except for the one during training which was for us to get a taste of what it is like, but all of the other volunteers from prior years say that it is one of the best ways to integrate into the community. I feel that I will get to meet alot of people through these classes and as well gain respect in the community to work on other projects with them. In my meeting with Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, he expressed great interest in our teaching english and felt it to be one of the most important things we can do for the people of Costa Rica.
After I returned from the meeting I walked back in the rain with a couple of my host brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews (when I am in my town we are always in a large group, because i live with such a big family) and arrived to my house and entered my room to find this huge brand new beautiful faux-oak dresser that fits all of my clothes and other random things perfectly. It was a great suprise and a beautiful gesture as this piece of furniture is ,by far in my opinion, the most beautiful and most expensive piece of furniture in the whole house. I was really touched and really grateful for it. Now my room is organized really well and I feel more settled in.
Today I woke up at around 10 oclock, ate breakfast and then setoff on a 90 minute hike in the rain to get to my nearest town and use the internet. I ended up using the internet for 3 hours an was able to speak to all of my friends (Shoutouts to : Tamar, Jon, Russ, Dave, and Cownie) through Gmail chat.
Anwyays life here in Costa Rica is good for the most part. Just tackling things one day at a time. I hope things are great back at home and abroad. My brother just left to Germany 3 days ago, he should be having a rediculous time there. My adventures still continue here.
Pura Vida,
Rudy
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Beginning
The past 11 days or so after my initial site visit have been very hectic and very busy in preparation for what just happened today, swearing in. This morning all of us went to the Embassador of the United States to Costa Rica´s house in the more luxurious part of San Jose. After passing tight security we entered his huge mansion, with pool, tennis courts, and amazing art work all throughout the house. During the ceremony there were speeches from Our Peace Corps Country Director, Peace Corps Training Director, PC Rural Community Development Director, Director of DINADECO (Costa Rican National Development Agency), and our very own Marcela of Tico 16 who gave a great speech in behalf of all of us. After the ceremony the embassador each presented us certificates showing completion of training. As of right now I am offically a Peace Corps Volunteer ! For the past three months everyone has been calling us trainees, but now I am a PCV !!! It was overall a really nice ceremony and several news stations and radio stations came to interview us and report on our swearing in. So if you are in Costa Rica tune into Noticias Repretel and you should be able to see us.
This past Wednesday we had are meeting with Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica. We all met up with him in the afternoon and he invited us to he equivalent of the US Oval office of Costa Rica with a huge U shaped table and all of these leather seats surrounding the table. It was a very professional meeting and we had the opportunity to ask questions at the end. I asked him : What are you most proud of about Costa Rica? and What do you like to do in your freetime? Regarding his pride to Costa Rica he said he was very proud of the people and the sustained peace Costa Rica has had throughout the past years. Also in terms of his freetime he likes to listen to music and read poetry. (*Unofficial Quotes) Overall it was a very good meeting and this was the first time he has ever met with Peace Corps volunteers so I felt especially priveleged.
Back at home in my training community, I have been wrapping things up and saying goodbye to everyone. My host dad has gone to New Jersey to visit a relative he hasnt seen in a long time. The past couple days we have been able to squeeze in some ¨Scrabble¨ nights as well as a couple trips to the local bar. The past couple days have been really fun as these are the last days we will be together as a group for a long time, since we are all leaving to our sites tommorow.
The whole training experience has been quite a wild ride. Most of the days are filled with training activities and spanish classes with little time for rest. But those days and times we do get off we definately have a great time together and live it up to the fullest. I have learned more in the past three months then I probably have had in my entire life. In terms of spanish, Peace Corps, and Costa Rican culture. I definately have become fully immersed into Costa Rica and it has become almost normal to me just living here in Costa Rica hanging out. Alot of the time when I am partying with my friends on the beach or just walking down the street with gorgeous mountains in the background I say: ¨Hey, we are in Costa Rica ! How crazy is that ?¨ Its a pretty wild adventure that as of right now seems like it is ending, as a result of the end of training, but in reality the next two years is going to be a wild wild adventure. I am grateful for all the friends I have made and I feel bad having to leave them, but I am glad that I feel this way as opposed to not, because I have an excellent support network of friends here in country to help me get through the next two years. I am confident in my ability to succesfully complete my experience here, but it certainly will not be easy. I have a community waiting for me that I am very excited to help, and hopefully will be willing to work with me to complete their goals.
Tomorrow I head off to the ¨Zona Sur¨5 hours away from San Jose to begin my two year adventure. As I will be in an extremely remote location it may take more time to update my blog but be patient and hopefully I will have some fun stories to tell as well as stories of success´ in my site.
Thank you all who have sent me letters, I am extremely grateful and it brings a HUGE smile to my face to actually recieve a handwritten letter from someone. Those who have written to me should expect something in the mail soon.
Anyways that is all for now and if anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to email me and I would love to respond. As this blog is a public forum I can necessarily express 100% of my concerns, feelings, and actions but would love to talk more in the privacy of email or letters.
I am excited for the future. I am excited to party tonight with Tico 16. And I am excited for the future of my community.
Much love everyone,
Rudy
Respect.
This past Wednesday we had are meeting with Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica. We all met up with him in the afternoon and he invited us to he equivalent of the US Oval office of Costa Rica with a huge U shaped table and all of these leather seats surrounding the table. It was a very professional meeting and we had the opportunity to ask questions at the end. I asked him : What are you most proud of about Costa Rica? and What do you like to do in your freetime? Regarding his pride to Costa Rica he said he was very proud of the people and the sustained peace Costa Rica has had throughout the past years. Also in terms of his freetime he likes to listen to music and read poetry. (*Unofficial Quotes) Overall it was a very good meeting and this was the first time he has ever met with Peace Corps volunteers so I felt especially priveleged.
Back at home in my training community, I have been wrapping things up and saying goodbye to everyone. My host dad has gone to New Jersey to visit a relative he hasnt seen in a long time. The past couple days we have been able to squeeze in some ¨Scrabble¨ nights as well as a couple trips to the local bar. The past couple days have been really fun as these are the last days we will be together as a group for a long time, since we are all leaving to our sites tommorow.
The whole training experience has been quite a wild ride. Most of the days are filled with training activities and spanish classes with little time for rest. But those days and times we do get off we definately have a great time together and live it up to the fullest. I have learned more in the past three months then I probably have had in my entire life. In terms of spanish, Peace Corps, and Costa Rican culture. I definately have become fully immersed into Costa Rica and it has become almost normal to me just living here in Costa Rica hanging out. Alot of the time when I am partying with my friends on the beach or just walking down the street with gorgeous mountains in the background I say: ¨Hey, we are in Costa Rica ! How crazy is that ?¨ Its a pretty wild adventure that as of right now seems like it is ending, as a result of the end of training, but in reality the next two years is going to be a wild wild adventure. I am grateful for all the friends I have made and I feel bad having to leave them, but I am glad that I feel this way as opposed to not, because I have an excellent support network of friends here in country to help me get through the next two years. I am confident in my ability to succesfully complete my experience here, but it certainly will not be easy. I have a community waiting for me that I am very excited to help, and hopefully will be willing to work with me to complete their goals.
Tomorrow I head off to the ¨Zona Sur¨5 hours away from San Jose to begin my two year adventure. As I will be in an extremely remote location it may take more time to update my blog but be patient and hopefully I will have some fun stories to tell as well as stories of success´ in my site.
Thank you all who have sent me letters, I am extremely grateful and it brings a HUGE smile to my face to actually recieve a handwritten letter from someone. Those who have written to me should expect something in the mail soon.
Anyways that is all for now and if anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to email me and I would love to respond. As this blog is a public forum I can necessarily express 100% of my concerns, feelings, and actions but would love to talk more in the privacy of email or letters.
I am excited for the future. I am excited to party tonight with Tico 16. And I am excited for the future of my community.
Much love everyone,
Rudy
Respect.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
My Site
Last Thursday I headed back the mountain retreat location, where I first went after I got off the plane when I arrived in Costa Rica, for Counterpart Day. Counterapart Day is when we get the opportunity to meet our community counterparts for the first time. In this case it was the first time I got to meet someone from my community which was great. My counterpart is a middle aged woman with 9 children. She is the president of the development association at my site, and as well is the president of several different commitees in my site. She is a very kind and caring woman and seemed to be excited to meet for the first time. With my level of spanish I was generally able to understand and replying back to her regarding everything she was saying. During Counterpart Day we participated in several ice breakers and get to know each other activities. That night there was barbecue in the garden area and Byron and Jordan played and sing on the guitar as well as Bill for a couple of songs. Then we moved the excitement over to the game room where their were foosball tables, ping pong tables, and my ipod and bill´s ipod with his speakers playing music. That night I ended up staying awake till 2 am talking to a couple other volunteers.
The next morning I went with my counterpart to our bus station in San Jose and began the 5 hour bus ride to the south where my site is located. After a pretty uneventful bus ride we made it to our stop in the pouring rain. At the stop I was greeted by my host mother´s son ( my host mom is actually is also my counterpart) in his light blue 1970 toyota landcruiser which is actually a very popular car here in costa rica. We then rode to my site passing huge field of pineapples along a very rocky road. Most of the people in my area are employed by PINEDECO which is a pineapple company, which also goes by the brand name Del Monte. So chances are if you buy a Del Monte pineapple from costa rica it was probably grown within several square miles of my site. Anyways, when I entered my site that night it was very dark and I couldnt see much. There was a fork in the road leading to the church, soccer field, small store, and school and then the other road leading to my house. I arrived in the house to find my large host family awaiting my arrival. There are 3 young girls, 1 young boy, 1 teenage girl, 2 teenage boys, another older daughter, her ¨boyfriend¨and my host mom all living in an extremely small house which is undergoing massive renovations. In the future I will put up pictures but because of the internet connection it is hard to load them all up. Anyways I was immediately served dinner and then after watching some ¨La Escrava Isaura¨, extremely popular soap opera in costa rica, went to sleep.
The next morning I slept extremely late till 8 AM. Read for 3 hours ( Im reading ¨Shantaram¨ right now it is awesome) then walked over to the school and waited for the teachers to dismiss the students, so that I could introduce myself to them. The school consists of one class room and one lunch room. There are 2 teachers for 40 children all in one room, for grade 1 to 5. They just recently built a small hut for the kindergarten which use to be run out of a small cafeteria storage room. Both of the teachers were extremely kind, and are both very intelligent and capable teachers. Before hand I looked at one of my host sisters math books and the work they are doing there is very impressive. Anyways it was great to meet the two teachers and they are excited to work with me, just as I am excited to start work with them. After meeting with the teachers I returned back to my house with the entourage of children who live at my house who just got finished with school. At 4 oclock that afternoon my counterpart/host mom/president of the association told me that there was going to be a community meeting for me to speak to the association members. I walked with my counterpart and 2 daughters ,one who had another son , to the church were the meeting was held. I was expecting to see maybe 5 to 6 people at the meeting of the association but low and behold I walked into the church and 40 community members were waiting to meet me. It was slightly overwelming but extremely flattering and comforting that people are first of all interested in meeting me, and seemingly willing to work together with me on projects and goals for their community. My counterpart did a small introduction which then segwayed me unexpectantly talking for 30 minutes entirely in spanish, about myself, peace corps, what i am doing here, my background, my favorite food, my favorite sport, everything. Overall it was a very succesfull meeting and it gave me an excellent opportunity to meet alot of community members all at once. One teenager went up to me and asked me when we can start english classes, then four to five other people chimed in in agreement. As well I recieved several invites for cafecito in the future. The community members where all extremely interested in me and I look forward to working with them to better their already beautiful community.
The next day I went with my host sisters ¨boyfriend¨, i say ¨boyfriend¨because i dont really know their relation and i believe they have had two children together but when i asked him he said they just ¨live together¨, out to my local city and as well to a private farm. Where I may or may not have seen roosters engaging in combat for 5 hours. After a few imperials and possibly witnesssing the death of a couple roosters we left to head back to my site. At my house I played hide and seek and cops and robbers with the young kids in the house. Then attempted to teach (4) six to eight year old children how to play chess in spanish. Which didnt turn out succesfull. That night I went to sleep with the sound of rain against the roof and the feeling of 100 tiny little ants biting my legs for 3 hours.
The next morning I slept late until 7:30. I say I slept late because at 5:30 everyday everyone in my house wakes up and blasts the radio and as well the sun light and heat is beating through my windowless window with wooden shutter at around 6:00. Anyways I commenced and read for 2 hours then went on this insanely long hike all around my site for 5 hours with my host mom and her daughter. We walked for what seemed like 7 miles up and down mountains and rocky roads, stopping to see the view and meeting random people of the town. I ate 4 mangos and drank water at 3 different houses. Most of the housed in my town are very seperated and it took 45 minutes to reach the farthest house out from my house. We also walked all the way to the river near my site where the electric company of costa rica, ICE, is thinking about buiilding a hydro electric dam. During our walk back it started downpouring, which was very much welcomed after walking in much of the mid day heat. When we got back to the house I had lunch and then later that night attempted to teach the kids to play chess again. Which again proved to be unsuccesfull, although one of them is catching on. The hardes piece to explain was the ¨Knight¨ which makes an ¨L¨shaped maneuver on the board. Haha. Anways.
The next morning, or today I woke up and caught the 9:30 bus to San Jose and made it in just about 5 hours which is great. Right now I am in an Internet Cafe typing this blog and will soon go to another restaurant with some other volunteers to exchange stories about our site visits.
Overall I am very satisfied with my site visit. My hose family and the whole community was very excited to have me and I look forward to doing work with them. Being at my site heightened the reality that I will be living there for 2 years in conditions very different from my prior life in New York. Being away from friends, family, and all the other important relationships I have in my life is hard. I realize I am going to be living with a very large family and technically won´t be alone, but in terms of having another person to speak English to and someone who can relate to me will be impossible to find. Several volunteers are near me as well as a couple of good friends of mine are in the Zona Sur so it shouldnt be too bad. The loneliness factor was really the only thing which was difficult to deal with during that 5 day trip but I know things will get better.
I have 11 more days here in the San Jose are before I move back to my site officially for the 2 years. Within these 11 days we will have a party for our host families here in our training communities, have more spanish and peace corps class, and also we will be meeting the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias. I am really looking forward to that meeting. We are going to his house which should be crazyyyy.
Anwyays that is all for now. I am excited to be back in San Jose with all the other volunteers and aswell my host family in my training community.
Thank you all for reading my blog. I love and miss you all.
Respect.
The next morning I went with my counterpart to our bus station in San Jose and began the 5 hour bus ride to the south where my site is located. After a pretty uneventful bus ride we made it to our stop in the pouring rain. At the stop I was greeted by my host mother´s son ( my host mom is actually is also my counterpart) in his light blue 1970 toyota landcruiser which is actually a very popular car here in costa rica. We then rode to my site passing huge field of pineapples along a very rocky road. Most of the people in my area are employed by PINEDECO which is a pineapple company, which also goes by the brand name Del Monte. So chances are if you buy a Del Monte pineapple from costa rica it was probably grown within several square miles of my site. Anyways, when I entered my site that night it was very dark and I couldnt see much. There was a fork in the road leading to the church, soccer field, small store, and school and then the other road leading to my house. I arrived in the house to find my large host family awaiting my arrival. There are 3 young girls, 1 young boy, 1 teenage girl, 2 teenage boys, another older daughter, her ¨boyfriend¨and my host mom all living in an extremely small house which is undergoing massive renovations. In the future I will put up pictures but because of the internet connection it is hard to load them all up. Anyways I was immediately served dinner and then after watching some ¨La Escrava Isaura¨, extremely popular soap opera in costa rica, went to sleep.
The next morning I slept extremely late till 8 AM. Read for 3 hours ( Im reading ¨Shantaram¨ right now it is awesome) then walked over to the school and waited for the teachers to dismiss the students, so that I could introduce myself to them. The school consists of one class room and one lunch room. There are 2 teachers for 40 children all in one room, for grade 1 to 5. They just recently built a small hut for the kindergarten which use to be run out of a small cafeteria storage room. Both of the teachers were extremely kind, and are both very intelligent and capable teachers. Before hand I looked at one of my host sisters math books and the work they are doing there is very impressive. Anyways it was great to meet the two teachers and they are excited to work with me, just as I am excited to start work with them. After meeting with the teachers I returned back to my house with the entourage of children who live at my house who just got finished with school. At 4 oclock that afternoon my counterpart/host mom/president of the association told me that there was going to be a community meeting for me to speak to the association members. I walked with my counterpart and 2 daughters ,one who had another son , to the church were the meeting was held. I was expecting to see maybe 5 to 6 people at the meeting of the association but low and behold I walked into the church and 40 community members were waiting to meet me. It was slightly overwelming but extremely flattering and comforting that people are first of all interested in meeting me, and seemingly willing to work together with me on projects and goals for their community. My counterpart did a small introduction which then segwayed me unexpectantly talking for 30 minutes entirely in spanish, about myself, peace corps, what i am doing here, my background, my favorite food, my favorite sport, everything. Overall it was a very succesfull meeting and it gave me an excellent opportunity to meet alot of community members all at once. One teenager went up to me and asked me when we can start english classes, then four to five other people chimed in in agreement. As well I recieved several invites for cafecito in the future. The community members where all extremely interested in me and I look forward to working with them to better their already beautiful community.
The next day I went with my host sisters ¨boyfriend¨, i say ¨boyfriend¨because i dont really know their relation and i believe they have had two children together but when i asked him he said they just ¨live together¨, out to my local city and as well to a private farm. Where I may or may not have seen roosters engaging in combat for 5 hours. After a few imperials and possibly witnesssing the death of a couple roosters we left to head back to my site. At my house I played hide and seek and cops and robbers with the young kids in the house. Then attempted to teach (4) six to eight year old children how to play chess in spanish. Which didnt turn out succesfull. That night I went to sleep with the sound of rain against the roof and the feeling of 100 tiny little ants biting my legs for 3 hours.
The next morning I slept late until 7:30. I say I slept late because at 5:30 everyday everyone in my house wakes up and blasts the radio and as well the sun light and heat is beating through my windowless window with wooden shutter at around 6:00. Anyways I commenced and read for 2 hours then went on this insanely long hike all around my site for 5 hours with my host mom and her daughter. We walked for what seemed like 7 miles up and down mountains and rocky roads, stopping to see the view and meeting random people of the town. I ate 4 mangos and drank water at 3 different houses. Most of the housed in my town are very seperated and it took 45 minutes to reach the farthest house out from my house. We also walked all the way to the river near my site where the electric company of costa rica, ICE, is thinking about buiilding a hydro electric dam. During our walk back it started downpouring, which was very much welcomed after walking in much of the mid day heat. When we got back to the house I had lunch and then later that night attempted to teach the kids to play chess again. Which again proved to be unsuccesfull, although one of them is catching on. The hardes piece to explain was the ¨Knight¨ which makes an ¨L¨shaped maneuver on the board. Haha. Anways.
The next morning, or today I woke up and caught the 9:30 bus to San Jose and made it in just about 5 hours which is great. Right now I am in an Internet Cafe typing this blog and will soon go to another restaurant with some other volunteers to exchange stories about our site visits.
Overall I am very satisfied with my site visit. My hose family and the whole community was very excited to have me and I look forward to doing work with them. Being at my site heightened the reality that I will be living there for 2 years in conditions very different from my prior life in New York. Being away from friends, family, and all the other important relationships I have in my life is hard. I realize I am going to be living with a very large family and technically won´t be alone, but in terms of having another person to speak English to and someone who can relate to me will be impossible to find. Several volunteers are near me as well as a couple of good friends of mine are in the Zona Sur so it shouldnt be too bad. The loneliness factor was really the only thing which was difficult to deal with during that 5 day trip but I know things will get better.
I have 11 more days here in the San Jose are before I move back to my site officially for the 2 years. Within these 11 days we will have a party for our host families here in our training communities, have more spanish and peace corps class, and also we will be meeting the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias. I am really looking forward to that meeting. We are going to his house which should be crazyyyy.
Anwyays that is all for now. I am excited to be back in San Jose with all the other volunteers and aswell my host family in my training community.
Thank you all for reading my blog. I love and miss you all.
Respect.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
PCV visit, Site Assignment, Chillin in Costa Rica
The last time I put up a blog I was beginning my PCV site visit near Canas. I ended up having an amazing time visiting Ben. I met up with Ben in Canas and we ended up having a great dinner of burritos, hamburgers, and Imperials at a local restaurant. After dinner we partied it up a little bit in Canas at this second story bar with a projector playing non stop 80’s,90’s, and every other music video Eminem has ever made. Later that night we headed to his site to get some much needed rest after all my travels and our partying. The next morning we went to his Development Association meeting, and later that afternoon I went around with him to various different kids houses where he was helping them all learn how to read. The kids had various levels of reading abilities but clearly they were benefiting greatly from the half hour sessions he was giving them. One student was on the verge of failing first grade and through his help, the student made it into second grade. The next morning we went into the local cities municipality building to fill out forms with the president of the development association, in order to assist them to receive funds for a new aqueduct project for the town. That afternoon we met up with his counterpart in DINEDECO, the development committee for all of Costa Rica. Later that evening we headed to the River near his site and jumped off of 30 foot cliffs into the water and swam down some rapids. It was really fun and really relaxing, considering it was over 95 degrees Fahrenheit almost the whole time while I was there. Overall the PCV visit was really eye opening, and I had the opportunity to ask many different questions to someone who has gone through all of this already.
Last Friday was Site Assignment day. That day we headed to this country club type place with pools, hot tubs, saunas, basketball courts, soccer fields, and pool tables. It was a pretty cool place, but most off us spent time in the pools and hot tub. That morning the Director of our program, Rural Community Development, present us with the sites where we will be working in for the next two years. The site where I will be working in is located in the southern part of Costa Rica. For safety reasons, and as per peace corps regulations, I cannot give my exact sit e location, but I am very excited about my placement. My location is considered to be very Rural and surrounded by pineapple fields. There are approximately 200 people in my site and it is located approximately 4 km away from the inter American highway running through costa rica. There is no public phone and my town just recently received electricity in September 2006. There is a school with one classroom to 42 students. Most student do not go to high school due to the fact that it is so far away from the town, it is very difficult and expensive to get to. There are many different project opportunities in the town and I am very excited to get started with my work. The house which I will probably be living in has 10 other people, and outdoor latrine (no indoor bathroom), 3 dogs, chickens, cows, and pigs. All of this information which I am reporting was given to me in my site assignment packet and could very well have changed once I get to my site or I may not end up living with this particular family. Also I will be able to give more details once I actually visit the site this weekend.
Socially the past two nights in my training community house have been really fun. Two nights ago I held a Scrabble/Margarita/Macaroni and Cheese night at my house. We partied pretty hard and managed to finish a large bottle of tequila and 2 bottles of margarita mix. And then yesterday we ate pesto pasta, strawberry milkshakes, and brownies. Pretty crazy combo, I definitely wont be eating any of this once I get to my site, so I might as well indulge now with my friends.
Also the last out of site night we had, all 16 of us rented a sick house on this private beach near the city of Jaco. It had 5 bedrooms, a deck overlooking the ocean, and a cool pool right on the beach. We partied really hard and had an amazing and relaxing time. Only in Peace Corps Costa Rica can you rent a house by the beach and party with 16 of your friends on a regular weekend night. We definately live the motto, work hard play hard.
Tomorrow I am going to be meeting my counterpart, person who I will work with closely in my future community, for the first time at this mountain top retreat place where we first stayed when we arrived in Costa Rica. Then on Friday I will leave with my counterpart to visit my future site where I will be working for the next 2 years. I will stay there for 5 days and then return back next Thursday for more training activities.
I am really excited to have finally found out the site where I will be working in. It has been a long time coming considering I started the whole application process in December 2005 and now finally in May 2007 I know where I will be working and what my peace corps experience will be all about. I am happy to get this all started but after having become such good friends with everyone in my Tico 16 group for the past 3 months it is definitely going to be difficult leaving them and going out and doing everything in my community alone. But this is what I came here to do, and once I become comfortable in my community I definitely won’t be feeling as lonely. I am very grateful for the opportunity to come here to Costa Rica and work with the people of the country. I have had such an amazing experience so far and I have met so many cool people, other volunteers and ticos. I am having a ridiculous time here, as I have said before, every day is different and everyday is a new adventure. I look forward to the future and the crazy things it will bring.
Thank you all for you emails and messages. I miss you all and whenever anyone wants to come visit give me a holla. I gotta run.
Respect.
Last Friday was Site Assignment day. That day we headed to this country club type place with pools, hot tubs, saunas, basketball courts, soccer fields, and pool tables. It was a pretty cool place, but most off us spent time in the pools and hot tub. That morning the Director of our program, Rural Community Development, present us with the sites where we will be working in for the next two years. The site where I will be working in is located in the southern part of Costa Rica. For safety reasons, and as per peace corps regulations, I cannot give my exact sit e location, but I am very excited about my placement. My location is considered to be very Rural and surrounded by pineapple fields. There are approximately 200 people in my site and it is located approximately 4 km away from the inter American highway running through costa rica. There is no public phone and my town just recently received electricity in September 2006. There is a school with one classroom to 42 students. Most student do not go to high school due to the fact that it is so far away from the town, it is very difficult and expensive to get to. There are many different project opportunities in the town and I am very excited to get started with my work. The house which I will probably be living in has 10 other people, and outdoor latrine (no indoor bathroom), 3 dogs, chickens, cows, and pigs. All of this information which I am reporting was given to me in my site assignment packet and could very well have changed once I get to my site or I may not end up living with this particular family. Also I will be able to give more details once I actually visit the site this weekend.
Socially the past two nights in my training community house have been really fun. Two nights ago I held a Scrabble/Margarita/Macaroni and Cheese night at my house. We partied pretty hard and managed to finish a large bottle of tequila and 2 bottles of margarita mix. And then yesterday we ate pesto pasta, strawberry milkshakes, and brownies. Pretty crazy combo, I definitely wont be eating any of this once I get to my site, so I might as well indulge now with my friends.
Also the last out of site night we had, all 16 of us rented a sick house on this private beach near the city of Jaco. It had 5 bedrooms, a deck overlooking the ocean, and a cool pool right on the beach. We partied really hard and had an amazing and relaxing time. Only in Peace Corps Costa Rica can you rent a house by the beach and party with 16 of your friends on a regular weekend night. We definately live the motto, work hard play hard.
Tomorrow I am going to be meeting my counterpart, person who I will work with closely in my future community, for the first time at this mountain top retreat place where we first stayed when we arrived in Costa Rica. Then on Friday I will leave with my counterpart to visit my future site where I will be working for the next 2 years. I will stay there for 5 days and then return back next Thursday for more training activities.
I am really excited to have finally found out the site where I will be working in. It has been a long time coming considering I started the whole application process in December 2005 and now finally in May 2007 I know where I will be working and what my peace corps experience will be all about. I am happy to get this all started but after having become such good friends with everyone in my Tico 16 group for the past 3 months it is definitely going to be difficult leaving them and going out and doing everything in my community alone. But this is what I came here to do, and once I become comfortable in my community I definitely won’t be feeling as lonely. I am very grateful for the opportunity to come here to Costa Rica and work with the people of the country. I have had such an amazing experience so far and I have met so many cool people, other volunteers and ticos. I am having a ridiculous time here, as I have said before, every day is different and everyday is a new adventure. I look forward to the future and the crazy things it will bring.
Thank you all for you emails and messages. I miss you all and whenever anyone wants to come visit give me a holla. I gotta run.
Respect.
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