This past weekend I went to the Carnavales en Puntarenas at the beach with my host dad Juan, host siblings Johana and Diego, Diego's girlfriend Chrissia, and a neighbor, Silvia. It was full of music, dancing, and a ton of Imperial- the national beer. When we dragged ourselves back, me a little burned and everyone worse from the wear, Juan told my host mom Sandra that I am a "mae muy tuanis", which in Costa Rican slang is basically a "super cool dude". Diego, Chrissia, and I stayed up late Saturday night as we camped on the beach since some guy got randomly stabbed in the back with a knife and drunken Diego was very adamant about not sleeping. Instead, he bought some very cheap, very questionable sticks of meat that tasted great but made Chrissia throw up. We decided after a long conversation that it was probably dog or rat, but for 2 for 100 colones- about 10 cents a piece- it was terrific.
The little kids at Casa Luz are all about at the age where their angry faces are so concentrated and determined and cute that you laugh while telling them to stop fighting and share. One of the little girls, probably not even 2 yrs yet- likes to growl a lot but out of delight, not anger.
I have also taken on a new role at Casa Luz. Now that the girls are in school, it's too much to have an extra English class on top of homework, the kids, and regular chores. Instead, English class will happen "once a week"- I suspect never again or very occasionally upon request- and on Tuesday and Thursday mornings I help out in the kitchen preparing the morning snack-merienda- and lunch. The other day, the cook, Fanny, taught me to make fried fish, with a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and fresh squeezed orange juice, black beans, and rice with chile and celery.
My host dad is a construction overseer, and has been in construction for over 35 years. Over the past three days, he has taken a break from other projects to build a little house right next to the main house that they plan to rent out. They started Monday, but have already completed the foundation, inner and outer walls, and are putting up the roof beams and covering right now.
On Friday, we will go to the ferretaria of fruits and vegetables again. The best food in Costa Rica so far has just been the amount of fresh fruits. However, last week on of the girls at Casa Luz called me over and asked me if I was pregnant because she thought I was about a month along, so I have definitely been laying off the rice and bread intake.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
''Puta'' y Natilla
School has started after the summer break here, and the girls at Casa Luz are in an accelerated program so that they will complete 7th grade in four months and 8th grade in another four. Given their ages 16-18, they are a bit behind in the colegio, but it works out.
Yesterday the oldest little girl turned 5 years old, and Isaac called her ''puta'' because she tried to help him put his socks back on. She would have been more offended and I would have reprimanded him more if it hadn't been so funny and misplaced.
At the Rancho Espanol, the spanish school, they held a cooking class. A large group of teenage girls came in to town, and they made tortillas while the older people and I made picadillo de papas y vegetales. I've enjoyed participating in the different classes and activities with the older people, who are usually retirees vacationing and learning basic Spanish. The other day one of the women said very sweetly, ''We learned about pregnancy today'', and I couldn't help laughing.
The past two days I have gotten up at 4:40am to go walking with Johana, the eldest daughter in the house, and Lady, her cousin who lives with her husband in the aparment above the car park out back. We walk for about a full hour while it's still dark and there are less cars, but buses picking up morning commuters still whistle by and there are no sidewalks, so you have to jump to the side of the road.
Something I have noticed as strange here is the great consumption of Natilla, which is a condiment like thing that comes in a little bag and looks like mayonaisse but isn't. My host family puts it on EVERYthing. Rice, beans, meat, bread, plantains, eggs, hot dogs, tortillas...the youngest daughter offered me ice cream the other day and the two flavors were either Coconut, or Natilla. I can best equate it to sour cream though it's a little different, and am not a huge fan.
Tonight is another meeting of the all-women religious group, Tierra Fertil. I better think of something to thank Senor Jesus for...
Yesterday the oldest little girl turned 5 years old, and Isaac called her ''puta'' because she tried to help him put his socks back on. She would have been more offended and I would have reprimanded him more if it hadn't been so funny and misplaced.
At the Rancho Espanol, the spanish school, they held a cooking class. A large group of teenage girls came in to town, and they made tortillas while the older people and I made picadillo de papas y vegetales. I've enjoyed participating in the different classes and activities with the older people, who are usually retirees vacationing and learning basic Spanish. The other day one of the women said very sweetly, ''We learned about pregnancy today'', and I couldn't help laughing.
The past two days I have gotten up at 4:40am to go walking with Johana, the eldest daughter in the house, and Lady, her cousin who lives with her husband in the aparment above the car park out back. We walk for about a full hour while it's still dark and there are less cars, but buses picking up morning commuters still whistle by and there are no sidewalks, so you have to jump to the side of the road.
Something I have noticed as strange here is the great consumption of Natilla, which is a condiment like thing that comes in a little bag and looks like mayonaisse but isn't. My host family puts it on EVERYthing. Rice, beans, meat, bread, plantains, eggs, hot dogs, tortillas...the youngest daughter offered me ice cream the other day and the two flavors were either Coconut, or Natilla. I can best equate it to sour cream though it's a little different, and am not a huge fan.
Tonight is another meeting of the all-women religious group, Tierra Fertil. I better think of something to thank Senor Jesus for...
Friday, February 13, 2009
First Really Successful Class
Today I taught my fourth English class. Only 4 of the girls were there, as school starts on Monday- it is summer here and summer break is ending- and the other girls were buying their uniforms and supplies. We reviewed the verb To Be, explaining along the way how ''estar'' and ''ser'' are one verb in English. I tried to move on to physical and emotional characteristics to make sentences describing each person in class, but we went off on the tangent of body parts- some relevant to everyday use and some not. It is hard to keep the attention of teenage girls who have babies crying two rooms over on a tropical afternoon, but we played hangman with body parts vocabulary and it was a really good class.
We celebrated Valentine's Day at Casa Luz today instead of tomorrow, and the mom of my favorite little boy wrote me a little card saying Thank you for being nice to her and her son. He is kind of the bully of the bunch, but only because he's a little bigger than the others, most of which are little girls so aren't as rambunctious as he is. Yesterday we had to have a conversation about no biting, but he's very smart for his age and very sweet.
Last night one of the workers from the local Spanish school drove me around to show me neighboring areas of La Guacima. I know that Costa Rica has many North American companies and businesses, but didn't expect to pass a Wendy's, and Office Depot, and Outback Steakhouse. dear god...In any case, I learned that hookah is apparently pretty popular here, as is ''technik'' music.
We celebrated Valentine's Day at Casa Luz today instead of tomorrow, and the mom of my favorite little boy wrote me a little card saying Thank you for being nice to her and her son. He is kind of the bully of the bunch, but only because he's a little bigger than the others, most of which are little girls so aren't as rambunctious as he is. Yesterday we had to have a conversation about no biting, but he's very smart for his age and very sweet.
Last night one of the workers from the local Spanish school drove me around to show me neighboring areas of La Guacima. I know that Costa Rica has many North American companies and businesses, but didn't expect to pass a Wendy's, and Office Depot, and Outback Steakhouse. dear god...In any case, I learned that hookah is apparently pretty popular here, as is ''technik'' music.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Religious Tolerance
Just as most all of Latin America, the people here in La Guacima, Costa Rica are pretty Catholic. Last Monday I went to some sort of service with my host mother and her daughter where there was lots of singing and clapping about Senor Jesus, and then the man leading everything came by and put a red cape on me and he and this women spoke over me for a while while a lot of people were praying to music.
On Tuesday, my host mother invited me to attend a meeting of Tierra Fertil, a group that she and many women she knows including her eldest daughter attend. There was a lot of praying and singing about Senor Jesus again, and my host sister had us sing a song called Paz en la Tormenta. It's a group only for women, and they were all very hospitable and hugged me as a new comer. At the end, we all stood in small circles and everyone in each circle took a turn praying. I was a little anxious about what to thank Senor Jesus for, so just said ''Senor Jesus, thank you for this night, and the hospitality these women have shown me. Thank you for my health, that of my family back home, and...all the miracles in the world''. I hope it wasn't too Unitarian for them.
Work at Casa Luz is great. Every morning I play with the little kids, and in the afternoon either teach English to the women or continue playing. So far we've had 2 English classes, but the most recent desintigrated into just a conversation- in Spanish of course- but was still fun because I think they like me well enough. I don't know the exact stories of any of them, but know that they have had it pretty bad so some days they are open and amiable while others they are pretty solemn. In any case, they invited me to go to church with them tomorrow and then eat lunch, so that's a good sign.
One of my favorite little kids is a 3 year old boy named Isaac. He has a husky little voice and is so cute. He's bigger than most of the other kids, though, so often gets reprimanded for playing too hard or hitting or not listening or climbing on the cabinets or painting on his face or whatever.
Last night, the family and I went to this huge farmer's market that comes every Friday and Saturday. Families come to shop for the week more or less, and it was packed with people. Rows and rows of vendors have papayas, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapples, watermelon, beans, and many fruits and vegetables I hadn't had before. One, zapote, has a very strong flavor. It's a deep orange and creamy texture. Another that I'm not sure how to spell- peripayo- is crumbly and kind of tasted like cat food or something, but it wasn't too bad.
One thing I really like here is the community. Lots of the women just yell over to each other and come over to one another's houses. My host family's house seems to be a center for this. Yesterday the neighbor came over to give me a pedicure, dye my host mom's hair, and wax the armpits of her, her niece, and another friend that was there.
On Tuesday, my host mother invited me to attend a meeting of Tierra Fertil, a group that she and many women she knows including her eldest daughter attend. There was a lot of praying and singing about Senor Jesus again, and my host sister had us sing a song called Paz en la Tormenta. It's a group only for women, and they were all very hospitable and hugged me as a new comer. At the end, we all stood in small circles and everyone in each circle took a turn praying. I was a little anxious about what to thank Senor Jesus for, so just said ''Senor Jesus, thank you for this night, and the hospitality these women have shown me. Thank you for my health, that of my family back home, and...all the miracles in the world''. I hope it wasn't too Unitarian for them.
Work at Casa Luz is great. Every morning I play with the little kids, and in the afternoon either teach English to the women or continue playing. So far we've had 2 English classes, but the most recent desintigrated into just a conversation- in Spanish of course- but was still fun because I think they like me well enough. I don't know the exact stories of any of them, but know that they have had it pretty bad so some days they are open and amiable while others they are pretty solemn. In any case, they invited me to go to church with them tomorrow and then eat lunch, so that's a good sign.
One of my favorite little kids is a 3 year old boy named Isaac. He has a husky little voice and is so cute. He's bigger than most of the other kids, though, so often gets reprimanded for playing too hard or hitting or not listening or climbing on the cabinets or painting on his face or whatever.
Last night, the family and I went to this huge farmer's market that comes every Friday and Saturday. Families come to shop for the week more or less, and it was packed with people. Rows and rows of vendors have papayas, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapples, watermelon, beans, and many fruits and vegetables I hadn't had before. One, zapote, has a very strong flavor. It's a deep orange and creamy texture. Another that I'm not sure how to spell- peripayo- is crumbly and kind of tasted like cat food or something, but it wasn't too bad.
One thing I really like here is the community. Lots of the women just yell over to each other and come over to one another's houses. My host family's house seems to be a center for this. Yesterday the neighbor came over to give me a pedicure, dye my host mom's hair, and wax the armpits of her, her niece, and another friend that was there.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
First few days
Hello!
I am here in La Guacima, Costa Rica. My host family gave me my own room in the house where the younger daughter and the parents sleep. Out back above the garage area are a few apartment rooms I think (I haven"t seen them) where the older daughter and son live, as well as the family of the niece of my host mother.
My plan in coming was to volunteer at a young women"s home, Casa Luz. It is literally right down the street from my house. Eight young women, all 16 to 18 years old, live and study there, along with 9 children (one has 2 little girls, all the rest have one child each). The eldest child is only 4, so they are very little kids. The schedule they"ve decided on for me is to play with the children from 9 until lunch, when i eat there along with everyone else, including the faculty of la directora and the psychologists who hold sessions with the women during the day. Then in the afternoon until 3pm, I teach English to the muchachas. This will vary, for example today they had a meeting so I just played with the kids all day. But yesterday we had our first class, and we went over the alphabet, the verb "to be", the numbers up to one hundred, and colors. I plan on starting on small phrases, like "My name is..." and greetings in our next class, which should be tomorrow.
The program I coordinated with in the US set me up with a local program called Rancho Espanol. It is like a spanish school for English speaking tourists who want to take classes but also just visit Costa Rica. Even though I am not a student with them, I guess I am working for them as a volunteer and so can use their pool and internet.
The best news I have heard while being here is that the water is potable! Brushing your teeth with bottled water isnt all that bad, but I wasnt too excited to do it for another 3 months after Bolivia.
We"ll see how well I keep up with this, but for now, hasta luego!
chloe
I am here in La Guacima, Costa Rica. My host family gave me my own room in the house where the younger daughter and the parents sleep. Out back above the garage area are a few apartment rooms I think (I haven"t seen them) where the older daughter and son live, as well as the family of the niece of my host mother.
My plan in coming was to volunteer at a young women"s home, Casa Luz. It is literally right down the street from my house. Eight young women, all 16 to 18 years old, live and study there, along with 9 children (one has 2 little girls, all the rest have one child each). The eldest child is only 4, so they are very little kids. The schedule they"ve decided on for me is to play with the children from 9 until lunch, when i eat there along with everyone else, including the faculty of la directora and the psychologists who hold sessions with the women during the day. Then in the afternoon until 3pm, I teach English to the muchachas. This will vary, for example today they had a meeting so I just played with the kids all day. But yesterday we had our first class, and we went over the alphabet, the verb "to be", the numbers up to one hundred, and colors. I plan on starting on small phrases, like "My name is..." and greetings in our next class, which should be tomorrow.
The program I coordinated with in the US set me up with a local program called Rancho Espanol. It is like a spanish school for English speaking tourists who want to take classes but also just visit Costa Rica. Even though I am not a student with them, I guess I am working for them as a volunteer and so can use their pool and internet.
The best news I have heard while being here is that the water is potable! Brushing your teeth with bottled water isnt all that bad, but I wasnt too excited to do it for another 3 months after Bolivia.
We"ll see how well I keep up with this, but for now, hasta luego!
chloe
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