My first complete week in Pochote and I am really feeling that, at this time in my life, I am meant to be here. I have even been having a lot of deja vu.
I made some GREAT friends so far who I love and adore! I just haven't stopped laughing for the past week.
Unfortunately, I haven't been practicing my Spanish as much as I could. I would have the fluidity of a native speaker right now if I would just talk with all the creeps who want to talk to me. I would rather spend my time avoiding them, though. For the first couple of days the 60-year-old Nicaraguan groundskeeper who is missing some teeth professed his love for me. On Friday he told me that he I am making him suffer. I responded "Lo siento." Later that day he said to me "I forgot your name." My adorable Dutch friend, Eric, couldn't have been more correct when he told me "I think he is not so clever."
We only have one CD to listen to while working and it is Bob Marley. If I hear "One Love" one more time I might lose it.
Also, there are four dogs who hang around the volunteer center, I think they are the coordinator's dogs (His name is Hansel. 'He's so hot right now.') I hate those dogs. My morning yoga would be so peaceful with the sun rising over the hills, the waves crashing, the sea breeze blowing, if it weren't for the four dogs who want to either sit on my mat or dig a hole near my mat and flick all the sand at me. I've gotten pretty commanding at telling them '¡Vaya!' so now they sometimes keep their distance...But they are so smelly and gross. Also, they walk on the roof. I don't even know how they could possibly get up there!
Some of the volunteers have gotten a little sick so far, but not me! My Dutch roommate, Mirella, continues to talk to me about her bowels. Memorable quote from yesterday: 'Today is not so good for me and my bowels.' Thank you for sharing.
That's all for now, I am getting dirty looks from the other people waiting to use the computer! Soon we might have Internet in the volunteer center but things in this country don't happen very systematically. Pura Vida!
miércoles, 27 de enero de 2010
jueves, 21 de enero de 2010
Don't wish it away, don't look at it like it's forever.
Right when I got into the taxi on the way to Pochote, "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" came on. I think it's a good omen.
Pochote is incredibly beautiful. I live about 30 yards from the beach at a School of Music. The dorms for volunteers are connected to the extra-curricular music school which is also connected to a run-down restaurant.
The jobs for the volunteers are to clean, organize and do anything else necessary to make this run-down restaurant functional and beautiful by February 14th. We work every morning 8-12 and then have the rest of the day to do anything we want. So there is plenty of time for me to work on a killer tan, practice my Spanish, read, and maybe even play music! I have never wanted to play music so bad! When I saw the marimba they have I felt a wave of complacency come over me because there was something I could spend my time doing and really get in touch with a past self. I also never realized how much of a privilege it is to learn music: to have access to instruments, teachers, sheet music! I have a newfound respect for it now and a true sense of how privileged I have been.
Everything about Pochote couldn't be more perfect. But yesterday I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and wish it all away. It almost felt like a Twilight Zone "There's time now!" I have time to do pursue my interests, to help other people, to suntan on a beautiful beach but yesterday I would've just given it all up to be back in the terrible cold, the snow, the ice, just to be back with my family and friends. I've only been here a week and a half! How did I possibly agree to do this project for 12 weeks! And what possessed me to want to stay in Costa Rica for 6 months?! I slept on it. And I'm feeling much more optimistic today.
I've decided on a routine:
6:00am Yoga on the Beach, every day. (It is one hour after the rooster starts crowing, literally. And it is early enough that it isn't too hot.)
7:00am Breakfast
8:00-12:00 Work HARD! Be the most positive, willing worker!
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Read and tan on the beach
2:30 Do my Spanish workbook. Learn as much as I can!
3:30 Practice marimba.. Maybe. Or just hang out with pals.
6:00 Dinner
After dinner, hang with the crew, play Uno, listen to music, maybe watch movies.
Pretty sweet, right? I know I am soooo LUCKY to be here. Even if I don't always feel it.
There are five other volunteers: 1 German girl, 1 Austrian girl, 1 Belgian guy (Belgish), 1 Belgian girl, and 1 Dutch guy (isn't dat vierd). They are all very nice but they are leaving in about a week and new volunteers are coming! My project lasts 11 weeks but every else's only about 2! So I will have rotating friends and I will be the best host-sister to all the new-comers as ever were one.
Pochote is incredibly beautiful. I live about 30 yards from the beach at a School of Music. The dorms for volunteers are connected to the extra-curricular music school which is also connected to a run-down restaurant.
The jobs for the volunteers are to clean, organize and do anything else necessary to make this run-down restaurant functional and beautiful by February 14th. We work every morning 8-12 and then have the rest of the day to do anything we want. So there is plenty of time for me to work on a killer tan, practice my Spanish, read, and maybe even play music! I have never wanted to play music so bad! When I saw the marimba they have I felt a wave of complacency come over me because there was something I could spend my time doing and really get in touch with a past self. I also never realized how much of a privilege it is to learn music: to have access to instruments, teachers, sheet music! I have a newfound respect for it now and a true sense of how privileged I have been.
Everything about Pochote couldn't be more perfect. But yesterday I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and wish it all away. It almost felt like a Twilight Zone "There's time now!" I have time to do pursue my interests, to help other people, to suntan on a beautiful beach but yesterday I would've just given it all up to be back in the terrible cold, the snow, the ice, just to be back with my family and friends. I've only been here a week and a half! How did I possibly agree to do this project for 12 weeks! And what possessed me to want to stay in Costa Rica for 6 months?! I slept on it. And I'm feeling much more optimistic today.
I've decided on a routine:
6:00am Yoga on the Beach, every day. (It is one hour after the rooster starts crowing, literally. And it is early enough that it isn't too hot.)
7:00am Breakfast
8:00-12:00 Work HARD! Be the most positive, willing worker!
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Read and tan on the beach
2:30 Do my Spanish workbook. Learn as much as I can!
3:30 Practice marimba.. Maybe. Or just hang out with pals.
6:00 Dinner
After dinner, hang with the crew, play Uno, listen to music, maybe watch movies.
Pretty sweet, right? I know I am soooo LUCKY to be here. Even if I don't always feel it.
There are five other volunteers: 1 German girl, 1 Austrian girl, 1 Belgian guy (Belgish), 1 Belgian girl, and 1 Dutch guy (isn't dat vierd). They are all very nice but they are leaving in about a week and new volunteers are coming! My project lasts 11 weeks but every else's only about 2! So I will have rotating friends and I will be the best host-sister to all the new-comers as ever were one.
martes, 19 de enero de 2010
Un Cambio de Planes- Change of Plans
Tanya and I had a fun time chatting on the bus ride back from Puerto Viejo. She slept the first couple hours and I just looked out the open window and felt the fresh air on my face, completely mesmerized by everything I was seeing. The most notable thing I saw was a woman sunbathing on the black sand beach with her three horses, also sunbathing.
We came home and told Cecilia and Carlos all about our crazy weekend and they were very sympathetic and comforting. Upon returning to the house, though, I realized that I only have $10 to my name. No debit card. Nothing. I told Cecilia that I would probably have to stay another day with them so I can get the money situation figured out. She told me that I can stay for the rest of my life if I want! Adorable.
I was hoping to get some money wired to my yesterday so that I could be in Pochote by today, but apparently there is something in the U.S. called Martin Luther King Jr Day.... We don't have that here in CR. Carlos is so worldly, he knew that it was MLK day- that's more that I knew.
So I will spend another day here. Can't complain about that! Delicious breakfast and dinner, free internet and coffee and dance classes at the school! It's vacation!
Also, I don't have access to workout facilities here (and I don't feel comfortable running outside) so I have to improvise. I brought my yoga mat so I can do my own workouts, but my favorite improvised workout so far was last night, dancing like a crazy person with Lady Gaga on my iPod, for about an hour all by myself in my room. I am cultivating a rich interior life.
Tomorrow morning, if all goes according to plan, it will be taxi -> bus -> taxi -> ferry -> bus to Pochote, where it is supposed to be very hot, and where I will be working outside, at least for the first week. More details once I arrive.
We came home and told Cecilia and Carlos all about our crazy weekend and they were very sympathetic and comforting. Upon returning to the house, though, I realized that I only have $10 to my name. No debit card. Nothing. I told Cecilia that I would probably have to stay another day with them so I can get the money situation figured out. She told me that I can stay for the rest of my life if I want! Adorable.
I was hoping to get some money wired to my yesterday so that I could be in Pochote by today, but apparently there is something in the U.S. called Martin Luther King Jr Day.... We don't have that here in CR. Carlos is so worldly, he knew that it was MLK day- that's more that I knew.
So I will spend another day here. Can't complain about that! Delicious breakfast and dinner, free internet and coffee and dance classes at the school! It's vacation!
Also, I don't have access to workout facilities here (and I don't feel comfortable running outside) so I have to improvise. I brought my yoga mat so I can do my own workouts, but my favorite improvised workout so far was last night, dancing like a crazy person with Lady Gaga on my iPod, for about an hour all by myself in my room. I am cultivating a rich interior life.
Tomorrow morning, if all goes according to plan, it will be taxi -> bus -> taxi -> ferry -> bus to Pochote, where it is supposed to be very hot, and where I will be working outside, at least for the first week. More details once I arrive.
Costa Rican Spanish
I have been noticing that people here speak in exaggerations, be them diminutive or hyperbolic.
For example, here are some frequently used phrases:
¡Qué barbaridad! - That´s outrageous! (Literally, what barbarity!/what an atrocity!)
(My host mom, Cecilia, says this a lot, most notably after I told her that I had to take two crazy buses all the way across town last week)
Es muy feo. - It is very ugly.
(This is a very common phrase to use here, even for someone mundane things: for example, my host mom said 'Té sin azucár es muy feo. Por otro lado, té con demasiado azucár es feo también.' (Tea without sugar is ugly. On the other hand, tea with too much sugar is also ugly.))
Es un pecado. - It is a sin.
(Also used to describe seemingly mundane things, that are hardly a sin.)
Diminutive:
Diminutives are used frequently, especially by women.
-cafecito - little coffee (I don't think I have heard my host-mom say café ever. It's always cafecito)
-tecito - (little tea)
-un ratito - (un rato means a little bit, as in descansa un rato (rest for a little bit), un ratito means a really little bit)
Other words you probably won´t learn in the classroom:
-mota/grifa - weed (grifa is a more colloquial Costa Rican way to say it)
-Pura Vida - Can be used in greeting or parting. All Costa Ricans say it to each other. It is literally translated as 'pure life' but can mean 'This is living!'... It's basically the Costa Rican Hakuna Matata.
-rico - (literally rich, but can mean 'incredibly delicious' when describing food. But it can be used to describe almost anything.
-lindo (adj or adv) - lovely, nice, pretty/ beautifully, nicely, very well
-Artista - Cecilia and several of her friends told me I was 'muy artista' when I figured out how to ride those buses all over town. (Her friends said that they wouldn´t ever do that, and they know the city!) I think they were saying that I'm very crafty.
-Tranquila - Calm down. Usually used as a command.
-Comida típica - native-style, traditional food
-Buen Provecho - Bon appétit. Do we have a phrase for this in English? Or do we just have to borrow from other languages? I have heard several people try to translate it for me; one very adorable older guy told me "Have a good... appetite." And he told me that when I was sitting on some stairs, eating a plain slice of bread.
Once I can fluidly incorporate these phrases, I will be one step closer to blending in with the Costa Ricans... I think my blond hair makes me a very obvious extranjera, though.
For example, here are some frequently used phrases:
¡Qué barbaridad! - That´s outrageous! (Literally, what barbarity!/what an atrocity!)
(My host mom, Cecilia, says this a lot, most notably after I told her that I had to take two crazy buses all the way across town last week)
Es muy feo. - It is very ugly.
(This is a very common phrase to use here, even for someone mundane things: for example, my host mom said 'Té sin azucár es muy feo. Por otro lado, té con demasiado azucár es feo también.' (Tea without sugar is ugly. On the other hand, tea with too much sugar is also ugly.))
Es un pecado. - It is a sin.
(Also used to describe seemingly mundane things, that are hardly a sin.)
Diminutive:
Diminutives are used frequently, especially by women.
-cafecito - little coffee (I don't think I have heard my host-mom say café ever. It's always cafecito)
-tecito - (little tea)
-un ratito - (un rato means a little bit, as in descansa un rato (rest for a little bit), un ratito means a really little bit)
Other words you probably won´t learn in the classroom:
-mota/grifa - weed (grifa is a more colloquial Costa Rican way to say it)
-Pura Vida - Can be used in greeting or parting. All Costa Ricans say it to each other. It is literally translated as 'pure life' but can mean 'This is living!'... It's basically the Costa Rican Hakuna Matata.
-rico - (literally rich, but can mean 'incredibly delicious' when describing food. But it can be used to describe almost anything.
-lindo (adj or adv) - lovely, nice, pretty/ beautifully, nicely, very well
-Artista - Cecilia and several of her friends told me I was 'muy artista' when I figured out how to ride those buses all over town. (Her friends said that they wouldn´t ever do that, and they know the city!) I think they were saying that I'm very crafty.
-Tranquila - Calm down. Usually used as a command.
-Comida típica - native-style, traditional food
-Buen Provecho - Bon appétit. Do we have a phrase for this in English? Or do we just have to borrow from other languages? I have heard several people try to translate it for me; one very adorable older guy told me "Have a good... appetite." And he told me that when I was sitting on some stairs, eating a plain slice of bread.
Once I can fluidly incorporate these phrases, I will be one step closer to blending in with the Costa Ricans... I think my blond hair makes me a very obvious extranjera, though.
domingo, 17 de enero de 2010
You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.
Sorry if my last post was not very coherent. I did not have much money to pay for more internet time! Losses suffered from the robbery: about $100, my debit card, my camera, the keys to my host-family's house, a nice little money-protector travel bag, and some other stuff. I am not happy but I am getting over it. And becoming a better person for being outside my comfort zone.
My last post regarding Puerto Viejo was definitely skewed. Actually, Puerto Viejo is a nice beach community where people just ride bikes and surf all day, and listen to reggae bands and dance all night. It is such a small community that you see the same people everywhere. Everyone you saw during the day will show up at the big parties at night. There are beach bonfires, really nice people, and lots of live music (No woman, No cry and Pass the Dutchie are the theme songs of this town).
I almost had to get out my fly swatter to take care of the swarms of guys last night telling me that they are in love with me and that I am the most beautiful person in the world. I wasn't even looking that cute. I mean, I showered. But that's it. I'm very good at telling them to go away but they are very persistent.
-"You are the most beautiful girl in the world"
-"Gracias"
-"Thanks, that's it?? I am in love with you!"
-"I'm sorry."
-"I am in love with you! Just one kiss?"
-"No."
-"Why not."
-"Tengo novio."
-"Well where is he now, probably with another girl." (Hahahahah)
See how persistent they are??? It takes about three times of telling them no to make them go away (Damn, three times!)
I know better than to give guys just one kiss. I learned everything I need to know in kindergarten from "If you give a mouse a cookie..." "If you give a tico un beso..."
(Tico= colloquial name for Costa Ricans)
(Costarricenses= traditional name for Costa Ricans)
On the bus to Puerto Viejo, the radio was playing some classics. Mixed in with the Costa Rican pop music was:
-Hotel California
-Dust in the Wind
-Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn around bright eyes.)
-Eternal Flame
-No Lady Gaga, unfortunately, but it seems as though Costa Rica might be about 30 years behind when it comes to American pop music.
The universe is definitely telling me to watch Old School..
Ay, I just really want to go back to my home-stay home. I am sick of being so out of my element and having to keep my guard up at all times! At least I don't really have any more valuables for people to rob.
My last post regarding Puerto Viejo was definitely skewed. Actually, Puerto Viejo is a nice beach community where people just ride bikes and surf all day, and listen to reggae bands and dance all night. It is such a small community that you see the same people everywhere. Everyone you saw during the day will show up at the big parties at night. There are beach bonfires, really nice people, and lots of live music (No woman, No cry and Pass the Dutchie are the theme songs of this town).
I almost had to get out my fly swatter to take care of the swarms of guys last night telling me that they are in love with me and that I am the most beautiful person in the world. I wasn't even looking that cute. I mean, I showered. But that's it. I'm very good at telling them to go away but they are very persistent.
-"You are the most beautiful girl in the world"
-"Gracias"
-"Thanks, that's it?? I am in love with you!"
-"I'm sorry."
-"I am in love with you! Just one kiss?"
-"No."
-"Why not."
-"Tengo novio."
-"Well where is he now, probably with another girl." (Hahahahah)
See how persistent they are??? It takes about three times of telling them no to make them go away (Damn, three times!)
I know better than to give guys just one kiss. I learned everything I need to know in kindergarten from "If you give a mouse a cookie..." "If you give a tico un beso..."
(Tico= colloquial name for Costa Ricans)
(Costarricenses= traditional name for Costa Ricans)
On the bus to Puerto Viejo, the radio was playing some classics. Mixed in with the Costa Rican pop music was:
-Hotel California
-Dust in the Wind
-Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn around bright eyes.)
-Eternal Flame
-No Lady Gaga, unfortunately, but it seems as though Costa Rica might be about 30 years behind when it comes to American pop music.
The universe is definitely telling me to watch Old School..
Ay, I just really want to go back to my home-stay home. I am sick of being so out of my element and having to keep my guard up at all times! At least I don't really have any more valuables for people to rob.
sábado, 16 de enero de 2010
Leads? They got four more detectives working on the case, they got us working in shifts!
Puerto Viejo: a swashbuckling port city on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica, exclusively for the dirtiest of hippies, the smelliest of backpackers, and the stupid tourists who thought it would be a good idea to come to this god-forsaken place.
Yesterday Tanya and I woke up at 4am to catch the bus to Puerto Viejo for a weekend of sun and snorkeling and getting away from the city! ....I almost wish I had stayed back at the house.
We took a four hour bus ride from San Jose to Puerto Viejo, then a taxi to our "hotel" AKA a room in this German lady's house with her two bratty ninos. (We chose a hotel outside the town center, thinking it would be safer.) Tanya and I unpacked a little and then decided to head to the beach. I was all set with my towel, my water and my book. Tanya said "That's all you're bringing? You should always bring your valuables with you." Against my better judgement, I took her advice because she has been in Costa Rica for a month and half, and I have only been here for a week. Could I have been more stupid?
We had a really nice time on the beach. There were hundreds of cool crabs and some really tiny fish (one that got caught in my anklet and flipped its flipper once I got out of the water! That was the weirdest feeling in the world!) We spent a good amount of time tanning and reading... until someone sneakily came out of the forest behind us and seized Tanya's bag. I didn't know what had happened until I heard Tanya yell "HEY!" and sprint as hard as she could. I ran right after her, adrenaline pumping, faster than I had ever run- in my bikini, without shoes. While the boy tried to get on his bike we saw another man and yelled for him to help us. He tackled the boy off his bike and wrestled with him for the bag! Thank God! We were saved! What a good samaritan!
...But then he started running, too. I looked at his face as he ran towards me and realized that he wasn't helping at all! I planted and set up a pretty good block, sort of juked with him, then he just dove into the deeper forest and we were NOT going to follow him. My head was pounding, I couldn't see straight, I could hardly comprehend what had happened. Some of the workers digging nearby stopped to assess what had happened. One of them even called the police for us.
Tanya and I waited for the police... I was about to cry but realized that that would be a silly thing to do. They are just things; they can be replaced. We are lucky we weren't threatened or hurt. Tanya and I sat by the side of the road waiting for the police. We took it in stride and had a sense of humor about it. Tanya said, "I don't like Puerto Viejo." Understatement of the century.
The police came, looked around in the forest and then told us that we had to go to the police station to make a statement (un anuncio). All the while, the one officer was just laughing at our broken spanish. Ass. The police sent us in a car to the police station. Tanya and I each did our best to make the statement, in as clear of Spanish as we could. Then we waited... Another officer asked us to make another statement, so we did. We got robbed about 11 and it was about 3pm at this time. (The only thing we had eaten was some fruit at about 9am.) Finally, we made our statements, they were going to let us leave! We could have time to go on the internet, cancel our credit cards, eat some good food, and forget this ever happened.
Then the police officer told us to stick around so that we could take part in a reconocimiento, to look at a line-up and pick out which of them was the one who robbed us. WERE THEY SERIOUS? This was petty theft. We didn't get a good look at the guy and they weren't going to recover our things, so just let us leave!
We waited.... Meanwhile, one of the kind officers gave us each a mandarin orange. Tanya dead-panned, "Well, we may have been robbed, but at least we have mandarine!" Around 4:30 they took us in another police car, about 30 minutes away to take part in the reconocimiento. We were further questioned about the incident. It started feeling almost like an interrogation. The officer had no patience for my broken Spanish. But I was still keeping it together, until he asked me if I was nervous... Should I be? Why are you asking me that? You are making me nervous by asking me that. That was truly the last straw, I couldn't hold it together anymore. I was in a strange place after a stressful day, I hadn't eaten anything, I didn't have anything- except my towel, my book and my water from the beach. I was fine getting my stuff stolen, but at this point the police had stolen my sanity and my whole day! They let us leave at 6:00. But were not going to give us a ride home. WELL WHERE THE HECK ARE WE?! I was so shaken up, feeling so lost and vulnerable. Another witness, a lady who lives in Puerto Viejo, offered to help us but between Tanya and I neither of us could understand what she was saying. She walked us towards yet another police station. There were waited... and waited... and waited... A car FINALLY came at 7:00.
We could finally go back to the hotel, get some money, go back into town, get some food, and cancel our credit cards, and go on the internet.
But the key to our "hotel" was also stolen. And the owner of the house did not have a spare key! After about a half hour of trying to open the door and the windows, they called someone to help. Eventually he took a crowbar to the wooden windows and jammed the lock open.
Tanya and I collected our stuff, waited for a taxi, scared half to death because it was so dark and we were feeling so vulnerable. We got to an internet cafe, talked to some nice little Jamaican twin guys. They bought us each a Coke. Tanya and I got some food at the restaurant upstairs and then when the twins had closed up shop, they bought us a beer and took us to a reggae club. A good way to end a horrible day- we had a really nice time and apparently I know how to dance reggae! We had to leave, though, once the boy wanted to dance too close to me.
ADVENTURE!
Yesterday Tanya and I woke up at 4am to catch the bus to Puerto Viejo for a weekend of sun and snorkeling and getting away from the city! ....I almost wish I had stayed back at the house.
We took a four hour bus ride from San Jose to Puerto Viejo, then a taxi to our "hotel" AKA a room in this German lady's house with her two bratty ninos. (We chose a hotel outside the town center, thinking it would be safer.) Tanya and I unpacked a little and then decided to head to the beach. I was all set with my towel, my water and my book. Tanya said "That's all you're bringing? You should always bring your valuables with you." Against my better judgement, I took her advice because she has been in Costa Rica for a month and half, and I have only been here for a week. Could I have been more stupid?
We had a really nice time on the beach. There were hundreds of cool crabs and some really tiny fish (one that got caught in my anklet and flipped its flipper once I got out of the water! That was the weirdest feeling in the world!) We spent a good amount of time tanning and reading... until someone sneakily came out of the forest behind us and seized Tanya's bag. I didn't know what had happened until I heard Tanya yell "HEY!" and sprint as hard as she could. I ran right after her, adrenaline pumping, faster than I had ever run- in my bikini, without shoes. While the boy tried to get on his bike we saw another man and yelled for him to help us. He tackled the boy off his bike and wrestled with him for the bag! Thank God! We were saved! What a good samaritan!
...But then he started running, too. I looked at his face as he ran towards me and realized that he wasn't helping at all! I planted and set up a pretty good block, sort of juked with him, then he just dove into the deeper forest and we were NOT going to follow him. My head was pounding, I couldn't see straight, I could hardly comprehend what had happened. Some of the workers digging nearby stopped to assess what had happened. One of them even called the police for us.
Tanya and I waited for the police... I was about to cry but realized that that would be a silly thing to do. They are just things; they can be replaced. We are lucky we weren't threatened or hurt. Tanya and I sat by the side of the road waiting for the police. We took it in stride and had a sense of humor about it. Tanya said, "I don't like Puerto Viejo." Understatement of the century.
The police came, looked around in the forest and then told us that we had to go to the police station to make a statement (un anuncio). All the while, the one officer was just laughing at our broken spanish. Ass. The police sent us in a car to the police station. Tanya and I each did our best to make the statement, in as clear of Spanish as we could. Then we waited... Another officer asked us to make another statement, so we did. We got robbed about 11 and it was about 3pm at this time. (The only thing we had eaten was some fruit at about 9am.) Finally, we made our statements, they were going to let us leave! We could have time to go on the internet, cancel our credit cards, eat some good food, and forget this ever happened.
Then the police officer told us to stick around so that we could take part in a reconocimiento, to look at a line-up and pick out which of them was the one who robbed us. WERE THEY SERIOUS? This was petty theft. We didn't get a good look at the guy and they weren't going to recover our things, so just let us leave!
We waited.... Meanwhile, one of the kind officers gave us each a mandarin orange. Tanya dead-panned, "Well, we may have been robbed, but at least we have mandarine!" Around 4:30 they took us in another police car, about 30 minutes away to take part in the reconocimiento. We were further questioned about the incident. It started feeling almost like an interrogation. The officer had no patience for my broken Spanish. But I was still keeping it together, until he asked me if I was nervous... Should I be? Why are you asking me that? You are making me nervous by asking me that. That was truly the last straw, I couldn't hold it together anymore. I was in a strange place after a stressful day, I hadn't eaten anything, I didn't have anything- except my towel, my book and my water from the beach. I was fine getting my stuff stolen, but at this point the police had stolen my sanity and my whole day! They let us leave at 6:00. But were not going to give us a ride home. WELL WHERE THE HECK ARE WE?! I was so shaken up, feeling so lost and vulnerable. Another witness, a lady who lives in Puerto Viejo, offered to help us but between Tanya and I neither of us could understand what she was saying. She walked us towards yet another police station. There were waited... and waited... and waited... A car FINALLY came at 7:00.
We could finally go back to the hotel, get some money, go back into town, get some food, and cancel our credit cards, and go on the internet.
But the key to our "hotel" was also stolen. And the owner of the house did not have a spare key! After about a half hour of trying to open the door and the windows, they called someone to help. Eventually he took a crowbar to the wooden windows and jammed the lock open.
Tanya and I collected our stuff, waited for a taxi, scared half to death because it was so dark and we were feeling so vulnerable. We got to an internet cafe, talked to some nice little Jamaican twin guys. They bought us each a Coke. Tanya and I got some food at the restaurant upstairs and then when the twins had closed up shop, they bought us a beer and took us to a reggae club. A good way to end a horrible day- we had a really nice time and apparently I know how to dance reggae! We had to leave, though, once the boy wanted to dance too close to me.
ADVENTURE!
jueves, 14 de enero de 2010
No internet for a while!
I may not be able to update for the next week and a half or so.
Tanya, my Swiss guest sister, and I are venturing to Puerto Viejo this weekend, leaving tomorrow to return Sunday, then I get on a bus at 6am on Monday to start my new community project in Pochote, on the west coast.
Pochote is incredibly remote and we have to work 6 days a week there. We are allowed to go to the nearest town of Montezuma on Sundays and that may be the nearest place that has internet connection.
But I will be thinking of clever things to post all the while! :)
Tanya, my Swiss guest sister, and I are venturing to Puerto Viejo this weekend, leaving tomorrow to return Sunday, then I get on a bus at 6am on Monday to start my new community project in Pochote, on the west coast.
Pochote is incredibly remote and we have to work 6 days a week there. We are allowed to go to the nearest town of Montezuma on Sundays and that may be the nearest place that has internet connection.
But I will be thinking of clever things to post all the while! :)
Spanish Lesson
I´m getting a good review of the commands while working with the kids at the day care! Mostly used with playground vocabulary
Here´s a list! I can´t find the accent key, though.
¡Subeme! = Get me up! (onto a swing or jungle gym)
¡Bajame! = Get me down!
¡Meceme! = Literally "rock me!" but used as "push me" (on the swing)
¡Empujame! = Push me!
¡Venga! = Come!
Idiomatic expression I´ve heard:
¡Que asco! = Gross!
¡Que te vaya bien! = Loosely translated, That all goes well for you!
¡Nos vemos! = See ya! (Literally, we'll see each other!)
¿Como te va? = How´s it going with you?
The vos form is used here and I think it is a step more formal than tu but not as formal as Usted. All three are pretty confusing. It seems as though you could get away with using Usted most of the time- even with people younger than you.
Here´s a list! I can´t find the accent key, though.
¡Subeme! = Get me up! (onto a swing or jungle gym)
¡Bajame! = Get me down!
¡Meceme! = Literally "rock me!" but used as "push me" (on the swing)
¡Empujame! = Push me!
¡Venga! = Come!
Idiomatic expression I´ve heard:
¡Que asco! = Gross!
¡Que te vaya bien! = Loosely translated, That all goes well for you!
¡Nos vemos! = See ya! (Literally, we'll see each other!)
¿Como te va? = How´s it going with you?
The vos form is used here and I think it is a step more formal than tu but not as formal as Usted. All three are pretty confusing. It seems as though you could get away with using Usted most of the time- even with people younger than you.
¡Fotos Numero Dos!
Day One: Edvaard and I starting our adventure!
I don´t know what this building is but Edvaard wanted to take a picture in front of it.
Ed y Gorda con Guitarra
First day: Rainbow! Must be good luck. (They actually happen here all the time because it rains while the sun is shining!)
Los niños de la guarderia jugando con Edvaard
Las niñas de la guarderia jugando con Edvaard
Two four-year-olds chatting on the playground.
Fountain outside Mall San Pedro. It´s blurry, but Susan Boyle is beaming in the top left.
Kitchen!
They don´t call it Capital Rica for a reason.
I am quite sure that the coasts are mucho mas rica than the capital. -Not a city worth visiting, from what I have seen so far.
I am enjoying my time in San Jose but I am finding the city to be pretty frustrating. There is no real city center, from what I can gather, and it is so painful to get around the city. Yesterday I took five buses and spent just as much time waiting for the buses as riding them! I am sort of getting the hang of the unwritten rules of the bus system but I am still very much a foreigner. Yesterday I flagged down buses all day (because they don´t stop at the bus stops unless you do so) and THREE TIMES the bus just blew right past me! Gah! I must look so obviously hopeless/desperate/American because several people offered to help me. Or perhaps Costa Ricans are just incredibly helpful to small people traveling alone. One very nice old lady sent me on a bus and told the driver "Usted necesita ayudar a ella. Ella no habla español." Hey!! Yes I DO!!!
I guess my Spanish isn´t as good as I thought it was. I originally said that I could understand 89% of what I heard.... Let´s knock that down to about 67%. My lack of confidence in my Spanish abilities combined with transportation frustrations and a lack of a decent lunch left me very vulnerable. When Carlos opened the door at home and greeted me with "¿Como te va?" I just about broke down right there. I made it to the privacy of my room before completely losing it. But I napped, ate a hot dinner with the always comforting Cecilia and Carlos, then retired to my room, did yoga and watched Big Daddy.. "Hip. Hip-hop? Hip-hop Anonymous?" I woke up today with a renewed sense of courage.
T.P. Fishing:
When I arrived at Cecilia and Carlos' house, Cecilia gave me the grand tour of the house and informed me of all the relevant protocol. One thing that threw me for a loop was that she told me to throw away all toilet paper and showed me the garbage next to the toilet. I thought about this for about a day.... You mean ALL toilet paper? Like, all USED toilet paper?... I finally figured out that, yes, you throw away ALL toilet paper. However, my habitual reponse is to always throw it in the toilet. Needless to say, as a result of not thinking at first and then a whole-hearted wish to not clog the toilet, I have had to do some toilet paper fishing. ::::This segement of the blog as been inspired by David Sedaris' short story "Big Boy." If you haven´t read it, you are missing out on connecting with a very human experience.::::
And speaking of airing my dirty laundry-
For the past few days, Cecilia has asked me to give her my dirty laundry to wash. I have been very apprehensive, though, to give her my dirty undies (the whites. *bonus points if you get the reference). I mean, she washes these clothes by hand! And then hangs them up to dry! Well I sucked up my pride and gave them to her anyway. Perhaps they will be on the clothesline when I return this evening.
I finished Cat's Cradle, again. I am spending a lot of my free brain space on this passage:
God leaned close as mud as man sat up, looked around, and spoke. Man blinked.
"What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely.
"Everything must have a purpose?" asked God.
"Certainly," said man.
"Then I leave you to think of one for all this," said God, and he went away.
I am enjoying my time in San Jose but I am finding the city to be pretty frustrating. There is no real city center, from what I can gather, and it is so painful to get around the city. Yesterday I took five buses and spent just as much time waiting for the buses as riding them! I am sort of getting the hang of the unwritten rules of the bus system but I am still very much a foreigner. Yesterday I flagged down buses all day (because they don´t stop at the bus stops unless you do so) and THREE TIMES the bus just blew right past me! Gah! I must look so obviously hopeless/desperate/American because several people offered to help me. Or perhaps Costa Ricans are just incredibly helpful to small people traveling alone. One very nice old lady sent me on a bus and told the driver "Usted necesita ayudar a ella. Ella no habla español." Hey!! Yes I DO!!!
I guess my Spanish isn´t as good as I thought it was. I originally said that I could understand 89% of what I heard.... Let´s knock that down to about 67%. My lack of confidence in my Spanish abilities combined with transportation frustrations and a lack of a decent lunch left me very vulnerable. When Carlos opened the door at home and greeted me with "¿Como te va?" I just about broke down right there. I made it to the privacy of my room before completely losing it. But I napped, ate a hot dinner with the always comforting Cecilia and Carlos, then retired to my room, did yoga and watched Big Daddy.. "Hip. Hip-hop? Hip-hop Anonymous?" I woke up today with a renewed sense of courage.
T.P. Fishing:
When I arrived at Cecilia and Carlos' house, Cecilia gave me the grand tour of the house and informed me of all the relevant protocol. One thing that threw me for a loop was that she told me to throw away all toilet paper and showed me the garbage next to the toilet. I thought about this for about a day.... You mean ALL toilet paper? Like, all USED toilet paper?... I finally figured out that, yes, you throw away ALL toilet paper. However, my habitual reponse is to always throw it in the toilet. Needless to say, as a result of not thinking at first and then a whole-hearted wish to not clog the toilet, I have had to do some toilet paper fishing. ::::This segement of the blog as been inspired by David Sedaris' short story "Big Boy." If you haven´t read it, you are missing out on connecting with a very human experience.::::
And speaking of airing my dirty laundry-
For the past few days, Cecilia has asked me to give her my dirty laundry to wash. I have been very apprehensive, though, to give her my dirty undies (the whites. *bonus points if you get the reference). I mean, she washes these clothes by hand! And then hangs them up to dry! Well I sucked up my pride and gave them to her anyway. Perhaps they will be on the clothesline when I return this evening.
I finished Cat's Cradle, again. I am spending a lot of my free brain space on this passage:
God leaned close as mud as man sat up, looked around, and spoke. Man blinked.
"What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely.
"Everything must have a purpose?" asked God.
"Certainly," said man.
"Then I leave you to think of one for all this," said God, and he went away.
martes, 12 de enero de 2010
Fotos!
Bye Chicago! Bye winter! (If you look carefully you can see some skyline in the pink twilight.)
Costa Rica es muy verde!
Edvaard made his first friend on the plane, Maria!
Desayuno! Watermelon, papaya, banana, ham and eggs, toast y cafe con leche!!!
Edvaard and I outside my home-stay home!
On a more optimistic note!...
My host family is ADORABLE. And they are pros, too. They have hosted literally HUNDREDS of students. Cecilia, my host mom, is an incredible cook! It must be an essential quality of anyone with that name :) And for breakfast, she makes me a whole pot of cafe con leche just for me (not from an electric coffee maker, of course!). The coffee culture down here is only cultivating in me a more severe addiction- but I LOVE IT. Carlos, my host dad, is an incredibly kind-spirited man and he has been so helpful to me. He took the bus with me to the school I go to and walked me there after we got off the bus. After my first day of orientation, he came and picked me up! He even bore the brunt of the horrible "hora pico," (rush hour) to make sure I knew how to get home. I have a guest-sister, Tanya. She goes to the Costa Rican Language Academy as well and she is from Switzerland. Tanya and I are going to venture to the Caribbean coast this weekend!
Since arriving in San Jose, I have spoken almost no English- and I am loving it. I can understand probably 89% of everything I hear and can respond accordingly and the people I talk to tell me that my Spanish is VERY good! I am still having difficulties explaining complex ideas but I am here to practice! So I am not taking classes at the CRLA because I don´t really need them. Instead, the school has set up a volunteer opportunity for me in San Jose for the next week, until I start a longer project on the western coast.
BIGGEST SUCCESS SO FAR:
Taking the bus all by myself. Now, this may not be as difficult or frustrating as you may think, but this is no modern bus system. There are very few official bus stops. If you stand at a bus stop, the bus will not just stop there unless you flag it down. And when getting off the bus, you must indicate to the driver that you would like to do so. So this morning I was dropped off at the nursery I am volunteering at and given a handful of instructions, in Spanish, on what to do to get back to the CRLA.
So I embarked on the journey back to school, knowing that, as Vonnegut´s Bokonon says ¨Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." I found the bus stop from the nursery and stood for a while, waiting for, HOPEFULLY, a bus that will get me to a stop where I hop on another bus that will, HOPEFULLY, take me to my stop outside of the CRLA. Bus after bus went by, but not mine. My anxiety grew so I asked a stranger, an older lady thought I was pretty stupid because I didn´t really know where I had to catch up with the other bus. She asked me exactly where I wanted to go. I told her el Mall San Pedro. She was unenthused but she told me ¨Usted vayase conmigo." I had no idea if she was actually going to take me to the right place, but, regardless, I was getting some dancing lessons. We rode the bus together and when she got off I asked if I should follow her. "Si," she said, without emotion. I knew we had to change buses somewhere so I followed her to the next bus stop and waited with her. While waiting, a moustached woman came up and asked my glacial companion something about the buses. She didn´t know, so Moustache deferred to me. I shrugged and the older lady told the younger one "Ella no sabe nada, ella es extranjera." I told you she thought I was dumb. We boarded the next bus, the woman told me to give the driver the wrong amount of money so he was upset and she, again, thought it was due to my lack of brains. But the bus took me to the right place and here I am sitting pretty at CRLA with some free time, free internet, and free delicious Costa Rican coffee!!!
ADVENTURE!
More later. ¡Nos vemos!
Since arriving in San Jose, I have spoken almost no English- and I am loving it. I can understand probably 89% of everything I hear and can respond accordingly and the people I talk to tell me that my Spanish is VERY good! I am still having difficulties explaining complex ideas but I am here to practice! So I am not taking classes at the CRLA because I don´t really need them. Instead, the school has set up a volunteer opportunity for me in San Jose for the next week, until I start a longer project on the western coast.
BIGGEST SUCCESS SO FAR:
Taking the bus all by myself. Now, this may not be as difficult or frustrating as you may think, but this is no modern bus system. There are very few official bus stops. If you stand at a bus stop, the bus will not just stop there unless you flag it down. And when getting off the bus, you must indicate to the driver that you would like to do so. So this morning I was dropped off at the nursery I am volunteering at and given a handful of instructions, in Spanish, on what to do to get back to the CRLA.
So I embarked on the journey back to school, knowing that, as Vonnegut´s Bokonon says ¨Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." I found the bus stop from the nursery and stood for a while, waiting for, HOPEFULLY, a bus that will get me to a stop where I hop on another bus that will, HOPEFULLY, take me to my stop outside of the CRLA. Bus after bus went by, but not mine. My anxiety grew so I asked a stranger, an older lady thought I was pretty stupid because I didn´t really know where I had to catch up with the other bus. She asked me exactly where I wanted to go. I told her el Mall San Pedro. She was unenthused but she told me ¨Usted vayase conmigo." I had no idea if she was actually going to take me to the right place, but, regardless, I was getting some dancing lessons. We rode the bus together and when she got off I asked if I should follow her. "Si," she said, without emotion. I knew we had to change buses somewhere so I followed her to the next bus stop and waited with her. While waiting, a moustached woman came up and asked my glacial companion something about the buses. She didn´t know, so Moustache deferred to me. I shrugged and the older lady told the younger one "Ella no sabe nada, ella es extranjera." I told you she thought I was dumb. We boarded the next bus, the woman told me to give the driver the wrong amount of money so he was upset and she, again, thought it was due to my lack of brains. But the bus took me to the right place and here I am sitting pretty at CRLA with some free time, free internet, and free delicious Costa Rican coffee!!!
ADVENTURE!
More later. ¡Nos vemos!
lunes, 11 de enero de 2010
First seven hours: Trapped in the Charlotte.
Here I am! Starting my six-month-long adventure in Costa Rica, traveling with only one familiar face, Edvaard, my three-eyed sock puppet pal.
My adventure started yesterday, January 10th, two days after my 21st birthday. Sitting at the O´hare airport at 6am I felt FEARLESS- ready to take on ANYTHING the universe threw at me... I suppose I didn´t actually think the universe would throw any curveballs!
But it did. I almost could not leave the country.
I rushed from my first flight from Chicago to Charlotte to my connecting flight to San Jose- about a ten minute hustle. I got in line for check-in behind literally 50 people. When I got up to the line the flight attendant asked me if I had a return ticket. When I replied, no, he replied that I would not be able to leave the country. I told him I would buy a ticket and they pulled me out of line and escorted me to the service desk.
Thinking a return flight would be near equivalent to my current flight ($150), I was prepared to pay for it. I had $500 in my account- it would not be a problem.
¨Flight from San Jose to Chicago- $540.70,¨said the US Airways Highway Robber.
::Commence sobbing::
The flight is almost done boarding. How can I be expected to pay that much for a stupid ticket??? How am I going to get money and make the flight? I don´t even have my cell phone!
¨What about any other tickets back to the U.S.? Maybe one back to Charlotte? How much would that cost??¨I pleaded.
¨$725,¨said the US Airways Highway Robber plainly.
::Commence crying and hyperventilating:: (I am such a baby! But I couldnt help it!)
¨Where is the nearest payphone?¨ I dashed to the payphone, digging in my purse for spare change. I put my last four quarters in the machine to call my dad. (This isn´t the first time I have called him bawling, asking him to fix all my problems!) He told me to just pay it and he gave me his credit card number. (Sorry Dad! I promise I will set you up in the NICEST nursing home someday!)
I get back to the counter and the man told me that I can´t pay with a credit card number. I need the credit card... I just can´t hold back the crying. I just stood at his counter as pathetic as could be, bawling. The plane has already boarded every passenger but me, and he is going to make my life more difficult.
He bent the rules for me. And one of the flight attendants came to escort me to the plane, walky-talky-ing the baggage handlers to put my luggage back on the plane.
Got to the plane and my sorry-ass red-faced self was greeted by a planeful of seething stares, for I was the sole person to hold up the flight.
But I made it.
First 7 hours of my adventure-
Losses: Nalgene bottle, $540, fearlessness, some dignity
Gains: Knowledge for the future, perspective on how freakin lucky I am to be taking this adventure, hatred for US Airways
Good thing Edvaard was there for me after that whole ordeal.
And thank you so much, Dad!!!
My adventure started yesterday, January 10th, two days after my 21st birthday. Sitting at the O´hare airport at 6am I felt FEARLESS- ready to take on ANYTHING the universe threw at me... I suppose I didn´t actually think the universe would throw any curveballs!
But it did. I almost could not leave the country.
I rushed from my first flight from Chicago to Charlotte to my connecting flight to San Jose- about a ten minute hustle. I got in line for check-in behind literally 50 people. When I got up to the line the flight attendant asked me if I had a return ticket. When I replied, no, he replied that I would not be able to leave the country. I told him I would buy a ticket and they pulled me out of line and escorted me to the service desk.
Thinking a return flight would be near equivalent to my current flight ($150), I was prepared to pay for it. I had $500 in my account- it would not be a problem.
¨Flight from San Jose to Chicago- $540.70,¨said the US Airways Highway Robber.
::Commence sobbing::
The flight is almost done boarding. How can I be expected to pay that much for a stupid ticket??? How am I going to get money and make the flight? I don´t even have my cell phone!
¨What about any other tickets back to the U.S.? Maybe one back to Charlotte? How much would that cost??¨I pleaded.
¨$725,¨said the US Airways Highway Robber plainly.
::Commence crying and hyperventilating:: (I am such a baby! But I couldnt help it!)
¨Where is the nearest payphone?¨ I dashed to the payphone, digging in my purse for spare change. I put my last four quarters in the machine to call my dad. (This isn´t the first time I have called him bawling, asking him to fix all my problems!) He told me to just pay it and he gave me his credit card number. (Sorry Dad! I promise I will set you up in the NICEST nursing home someday!)
I get back to the counter and the man told me that I can´t pay with a credit card number. I need the credit card... I just can´t hold back the crying. I just stood at his counter as pathetic as could be, bawling. The plane has already boarded every passenger but me, and he is going to make my life more difficult.
He bent the rules for me. And one of the flight attendants came to escort me to the plane, walky-talky-ing the baggage handlers to put my luggage back on the plane.
Got to the plane and my sorry-ass red-faced self was greeted by a planeful of seething stares, for I was the sole person to hold up the flight.
But I made it.
First 7 hours of my adventure-
Losses: Nalgene bottle, $540, fearlessness, some dignity
Gains: Knowledge for the future, perspective on how freakin lucky I am to be taking this adventure, hatred for US Airways
Good thing Edvaard was there for me after that whole ordeal.
And thank you so much, Dad!!!
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