Peace Corps in Costa Rica: Jess Style

Its a Sapo life

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:47:55 GMT

Good morning Sunshine
I wake up to the birds, there are lots of those around here. My host mom informs me that they are eating a papaya that took a steep fall from the tree last night. The culprit was strong rain that fell for hours, lulling me to sleep... But it is the morning now, time to rise and shine. I hang my feet over the bedside and blindly search for my trusty “house only” flip-flops with my freshly painted toes- violet. Found! I slip them on and start to make my way around the a.p.t.; wash “night” out of my mouth and “pillow” off of my face.

I roll out my squishy yoga mat on my freshly cleaned floor and lay down as my back crunches as it stretches straight; ah, relief. The muscles relax into place, reforming after a night on 12 inches of foam-squish-sink. I would spend my nights sleeping on the floor- what I prefer- except I am in Costa Rica and the creepy crawlies are everywhere. I will take my chances on foam-squish-sink, where chances of creepy crawlies crawling directly on my body are more limited.

Knowing this, I turn my head to the side and see a shadow, some kind of bug for-sure, I think to myself as I finish my stretching. I stand up and open the curtain, shedding some more light on the situation as I take a closer look. It is not a bug, it is, as it appears, a little doo. Yes, indeedy do, it is a poo poo. Now let’s consider this for a moment. It is indoors. We do have a dog, but he is part Rottweiler and lives outside- aka the side of this doo is way too small for Bongo and he does not enter my apartment. Said doo is about 1.5 inches long and about ½ inch wide. Other perpetrators?
1. Cat? Nope, don’t have one, don’t want one.
2. Rat? Nay, don’t think I have one, don’t want one, doo is too large for a rat.

*Now this is the best part of realization of the culprit- I’ll just put that out there so that you are prepared because I do realize that sometimes my stories lack a punch line, so here it goes:

For the last week or so we have been having some unwanted visitors in our corridor. They find their way onto the nice clean tile entranceway and then refuse to leave. Now these must be some strong-willed creatures because I have tried everything in order to advance their departure time to “sooner” rather than “later.” I have tried a “stomp and scare” tactic, nothing. “Fast movement in front of your eyes” nada. The only success that I have has been a simple but undesirable “remove yourself, or I will” tactic.

Now, am mostly unfamiliar with said creature’s comings and goings but, as I learned earlier in the week, they are not wholly loved by the community for one clear reason; their doo. And what is this creature you may ask? Why it is a toad! Yes, you read me correctly, a toad. But not just any old sapo; a large, 6 inch wide, 3 inch tall, black-as-night toad. You’d be surprised to learn just how strong-will they are.

So here I am, sleepies still in my eyes, coming to the realization that there could be a large toad located somewhere in the abyss of crannies and crevasses of my room, possibly ready to leave more gifts for me in unseen places. Great. Well, I guess that is why a clean floor doesn’t stay clean for long. That is Costa Rica for ya.

Hope all is well and that everyone enjoyed (or is still enjoying) Halloween and it´s respective festivities (sweets!).

Chau!

~Jess

Programs lists and more Programs!

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:45:29 GMT

Hi all!

I hope things are going well for everyone. I have been quickly filling my days with errands as I feel the time that remains of my PeaceCorps experience, quickly flying by. As you know, if you have been following the thought flow of the last few entries, I have focused my time here on initiating large programs so that the work that I accomplish will be sustainable (or have more hopes of being sustainable, at least).

I have written about the Evening Elementary School program; their school year will soon come to a close and the 6th grade level will take their “graduation exams”, deciding if they can continue on, to study High School with the program that I am currently working on starting-up. There are a select few that have stuck it through to the end and they will be taking the exams at the end of this month. I will be wishing them luck but I honestly believe that they are well prepared.

So what it comes down to, for me, is that I am juggling 3 different enrollment lists, on which is continuing the Elementary School programs, one that is starting up an adult high school education program (also in the evening) and the third is for the “National Learning Institute” classes.

Costa Rica offers free courses for its natural an naturalized citizens in order to promote job opportunities within the country as a whole. The classes are offered in places where “the need” is expressed. Currently, in my community, there is quite a need but there is a lack of initiative to begin these types of programs.

As a result of all of the complaints and requests for English classes and computer classes, I have decided to find a solution. For me, the best solution is to start up classes, obvio, but I am not willing to do it- for a number of reasons that are irrelevant to the end result. The National Learning Institute offers both of these courses but the problem that citizens of my town faces is that the center is located in the next largest town, a 45 min bus ride away- a question of time and money makes this option unreachable for many residents.

My end plan is 1. find the students because the National Learning Institute has told me that “where there are students, we will come.” Well, ‘show me a students’ is easy enough, so that is what I am doing- tracking down students who want to participate. For many people, it is just TOO easy, just “sign-up” and your-in! I am a hard-AskMeKnowMoreQuestions, a strict person, so I decided to require a “motives essay” for people who want to sign-up for these highly desirable classes that provide a highly saught-out skill set. I am hoping that requiring an essay will deter those who would not have stuck with the class to begin with. He who starts as a slacker, ends as a slacker, so here I go, attempting to weed them out before they de-motivate the others; another way that I am hoping to make the program sustainable.

So that is what I am up to lately. Cracking whips and taking names, in a purely figure-of-speech kind of way because, at the same time, I am promoting education and world peace. :oD

Okie dokie, so that is the low-down and all recent news.

I hope that was informative and I wish the best to all of you there in the colder parts, starting off fall with a bang of color.

Hasta luego!

~Jess

Always save some time to play with kids! (host counsins and their chalk drawing)

Helping out a group of mothers- making empanadas, filled with cheese and sugar, to raise money for their childrens´ school group, yum!

Back to the grind, but the not the coffee, just the work

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:55:28 GMT

Hi all!

It has been a couple of weeks since my time in the states and, dont’t worry, I am forgetting how to properly speak English again- or is that speak properly... ? I also wanted to thank all of the Golub gang for coming out for the quick, but quite delicious, BBQ. It was nice to get to see all your smiling faces, however short the visit was. It was also really nice to see the Sullivan crew at the Cape b-day/reunion so thanks for coming out ya’ll. :o)

As for me, its been back to the grind as Program Coordinator (I have unofficially acquired an official title through the National Ministry of Education). Thanks to many hours of talking up the program, in buses, and filling out forms, the evening Adult Education program (2 different classes) is finally running smoothly and 8 students will be taking the 6th grade exams at the end of October.

For these 8 students (all older than 22- most middle-aged), achieving this certificate of completion will open up unlimited doors of opportunity in terms of jobs, pay caps, and other educational opportunities including high school and certification courses (computer tech, artisan work, bartending ect). Not to mention, the students are gaining priceless knowledge about basic math (multiplication and division), sex-ed, and about social rights and cultural history. Education, in this case, was the best gift that I could possibly give to this group and to the (hopefully) future groups of students. Education has proven, over history, to be the gift that keeps on giving.

In my small rural community where illegal immigration is the norm, illiteracy rates are over 15%, domestic violence is through the roof, alcoholism is killing, and drug trafficking is suffocating the community; education is the best area in that I can invest my time. More information is power. Educating women in the town raises self esteem, awareness of how to prevent pregnancies and self sufficiency in terms income- one of the main reasons that women in the area stay with their abusers. Better job opportunities also help the nuclear family by providing better nutrition, less stress (stress in many cases= violence and chronic illnesses), and more options for children- they can study instead of dropping out of school to work and continue the cycle.

Self esteem is an issue, overall, for a large majority of the population. Self-poisonings are up as the preferred form of suicide. Last week 2 people in my town drank poison and both died; one a distraught girlfriend when the father of her baby (less than a year old) decided to leave her and the other an older husband father of 2. In my opinion, education is the best remedy to touch the largest amount of people that I possibly can. Students have higher self esteem because they consistently receive support from their peers and teachers, can consistently get positive feedback and feel capable.

All of these small factors, that we often take advantage, are essential. This “in class” motivation is nothing compared to being able to say to neighbors/family members/friends when they are asked the typical “What are/were you doing walking in the street? Being a vagabond? (Aka- up to no-good)” and the student can respond “No, I am studying, actually. I am working my butt off to get ahead because I want something “more”.”

So, with that, I have decided to continue to work in the area of education. I am working on starting an evening high school for adults. There is currently a day high school and a high school for adolescents, at night, but nothing for anyone over aged 22. Day high school, the drop-out rates are undeniable. More than half of the students who start in 7th grade do not return the next year. This means that, at age 15, there is an influx of adolescents that start looking for jobs with only a 6th grade education.

En fin, I am currently working on an evening high school for adults so that more people have the opportunity to study and become professionals; bettering their situations and those of their families.

Si dios quiere, as they say here, god willing.

So I hope everyone is doing well in their respective areas of work and living. May your days be filled with calm moments and smiling eyes and that you recognize the great power that you all have as educated citizens of this earth.

Cheers!

-Jess

Business!

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:52:36 GMT

Hey all!

I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July! Unfortunately I spent my 4th of July with a bad stomach virus but I am up and moving now! Life has been uber busy! I can not believe how fast time is flying by. Before I know it, I will be seeing all of your smiling faces, in just about a month now.

In the meantime, I would like you all to know that I have been mostly in good healthy and quite busy with my main education projects. As I wrote before, the adult elementary-ed night classes are going quite well. I have had a couple of hiccups with one of the classes’s teachers and I have ended up filling-in for her for the past couple of weeks, but on it goes!

I am now working on phase 2 of “educate for a better future.” (Well, I made up that title, but I am on phase 2.) So right now I am working towards an evening high school that will start in February of 2011. I am making this my major goal for the rest of my service because it is one heck of a job! I am doing all of the publicity (which is not easy), office work (with the list of students), and a lot of work- that should technically fall on the shoulders of MEP (Ministry of Education) employees-like filling out forms and checking out requirements so that the program will work.

As of life in general, I thought I would share this fun picture with you all. I think I have explained this before but if not, laundry is done in 4 steps here. 1. Put your dirty clothes in the washer with soap and water.
Step 1 is the wash cycle where the machine rotates your clothes back and forth in soapy water for a while.

Step 2 is manual, you must rinse your soapy clothes in clean water. Most people here take out each article and transport it to the pila (long flat sink) then rinse each item separately. I; however, am way too lazy to do that, so I just turn the water on (located over the washing machine) and rinse each item so that the soapy water falls back onto the soapy clothes. It works for me.

Step 3: transport each item to the separate part of the washing machine that people here call the “dryer.” Your clothes do not end up dry, but they do end up “dryer” so I guess that name almost works. This part is top-loading and once you put the top on, the machine spins your clothes like a salad spinner- saving you the “wring it out” cycle.
Step 4 is hang your clothes up to dry. Here in Costa Rica, the best dryer is the sun. When there is a good strong sun that dries the clothes fast ( ½ - 1hr), then they still smell clean and like detergent. If there is minimal sun, they might smell a little damp still. If it is raining, well, good luck- you might as well wait until the next day because you may have to wash them again because of the humid smell.

So step 4: We had (had being key word) a nylon cord that ran from the house to a tree that is out in the backyard; however, irony being as it is, the same sun that dries the clothes so clean-smelling and soft also rots nylon strings. So as of 2 months ago, we are without said nylon string (outside that is, there are still a couple of strings that are inside the covered “pila room” (washroom) with open- but barred- walls). As a result of this said string rotting and falling down, and with nowhere to hang my clothes to dry quickly and smell good, I have resorted to creative measures:

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:57:20 GMT

Hey all!

Can you imagine that I have already completed a year in my site?! It is crazy how the time flies! I am preparing myself this week, tying up loose ends with pending projects and letting people know that I will be MIA because next week I will be in San Jose for my Mid Service Training with all of my fellow volunteers. I have not seen many of them in many months and it will be nice to catch up a bit.

So what have I been doing? Well that is a loaded question and I find myself digging each time to find the answer. Time has been flying by but I have been involved in various projects. My largest logro (acomplishment) so far has been the adult education program where I organized a group of about 30 adults who had not finished elementary school.

The majority, 20, are studying 6th grade and will take the test at the end of their school year to see if they can pass and receive a certificate of completion for elementary school. The other group, of 10 or so, vary in education level with almost half of the group starting from square one- learning letters and beginning to read.

Just recently one of these students finished the 1st book, the equivalent to first grade. She is a older woman, over 50, and when she started, she could not read and now she can! In a matter of less than 4 months she learned to read and is now studying the 2nd book, the equivalent of 2nd grade. I am so proud of her and the Ministry of Education does not recognize students when they finish these lower grades so yesterday I printed up a nice certificate of recognition and we had a little ceremony in the classroom. It was great! :o)

The next project that I am working on right now is the development of a night high school. Currently there is program available for adolescents to finish high school at night but nothing for adults. The high school was only constructed less than 15 years ago there is a large population in the town that never had the opportunity to go to high school- they would have had to travel 2 hours round trip on a bus to study in a high school (which is what both of my host parents did).

So I am currently working as the key organizer, taking names, numbers and other important info, then pulling all of the strings in the high school so the teachers start moving and shaking. The idea is that the program will start in February of 2011, when they start their school year, but it takes a lot of planning to get it done. So here I am, printing up flyers, coloring them in (it is wayy too expensive to print up posters in color), posting the posters, talking to people, making banners, and taking names.

I hope that was helpful update and as I prepare to head to San Jose, I hope that I can re-connect with family and friends that I have not talked to in a while as I will have internet at the hotel for all of next week (I hope).

I hope all is well
Take care all!

~Jess

Trips to Liberia: Heat Central

Sat, 08 May 2010 23:12:30 GMT

The sun has just risen but it is now ... not drip-sweat hot, not yet, but almost. If there was no breeze from the open windows then we would be required to use our carefully stored sweat-rags. For the moment it is just a too-warm-for-7:30am-breeze.

I know it’s not from me when the smell hits my nose- tracing my memories back to school-days. Big-yellow-bus-riding days. It was the “sun on seat on a fall afternoon” smell when I was a child. Now it is similar but the context is hot-shoulder-vs-brown-pleather-seat in the heat of a Guanacaste morning. Hot/Dry season.

Not five minutes later- now much involved in my school-bus memories- happily bouncing over pot-holes left from winter snows, in the last row, the single seater (only for the few lucky ones who were at the end of the bus route)- and a second smell racks my brain and I switch gears.

I register it as “subway hands on metal handrail”. The metal-smell that seeps into the life-lines of your palms and stays with you for hours unless you wash with hot water or good-strong-antibacterial-liquid-soap. I only have access to purel for the next hour and half. Metal-on-hot-hands smell is not an option for me. I will stick with brown pleather seat- that mostly disappears with purel- so I grab hold.

I am glad to be leaning against a seat- today is not completely over packed. There is breathing room for us cattle. We are in cowboy-land after all.

My oversized bag is resting on the seat across from me. It is mostly empty because, after a day of Liberia’s suffocating sun, a heavy bag is like an elephant that you want to drop with one of the street vendors. “Here- I’ll trade you these brickbooks for those hot pink rubber sandals.” I don’t even like pink.

I make sure not to lock my knees for the hour ride because I heard once that the average person lasts 15 minutes standing if they lock their knees- until they faint. I have gotten light-headed before ... I do my best to learn from my mistakes.

The ride is longer in the morning. We stop every few minutes to add more hot hands to the mix. Not to mention I am standing up. This automatically makes it longer. I am glad that my head is clear- my personal space is secured with my popped-out-hip and opposite hand-on-hip action. Relax shoulders and enjoy the silence; although sleep would be nice. I have saved the caffeine consumption until I need extra hydration and something cold during the day. Limited cash flow forces me to take these factors into account.

Gatorade is my helpful working assistant and best friend throughout the morning; under the blanket of Liberia’s oppressive heat. Iced tea comes next in line, supplying the extra sugar-jolt in the afternoon. While the last ¼ of my was-solid-ice nalgene is saved for the 2 ½ hr journey home. I always have the same issue- it is warm, it tastes like nalgene-plastic, but I need it ‘cause its liquid. And it’s free. Avoid dehydration and avoid the usual headache.

Every day is a test. What will it be today? Headache or sufficient hydration? As I stroll into my house after the 12hr day, my now white-stripped black tank top is tired of being stuck to me. I feel like a marathon runner, minus the pasta. It all makes sense- why salt is a spice here. The body craves it, leaves you small hints and clues, from potato-chip-fantasies to the pretty new salt design on your most “lightly dressed” tank.

The day has finally come to an end. A typical PANI working day.
Life in CR- roundtrip my site to Liberia, Guanacaste: 2010.
My Peace Corps experience.

Where has Jess gone and What in the world is she doing?

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:19:45 GMT

Hola Familia, Amigos y Amigas,

I hope everyone is doing well. I can not believe how fast the time is flying by. It seems as though yesterday was February 1st and now we are at the end of March, I can not even believe it! The month of February flew by so fast that, by the time March 6th rolled around, I had not noticed that the month had changed thus forgot to pay my rent! Woops! Apparently that was not the only bill that I forgot to pay, seeing as ICE (phone/electric company) shut my cell phone off last week because I had forgotten to pay my February bill that was due on the 5th- woops!

Well, other than forgetting to pay my bills on time, things are going well. I have now officially accomplished SOMETHING, in my eyes anyway. I did it all myself, the running around, finding info, contacting people, taking names and cracking the whip, just kidding, this is Peace Corps, there was no whip cracking, but there was movement- yay! What did I accomplish you may ask? Well, good question. I will tell you but first I will give you the background as to WHY I chose this specific project.

I live in a quite rural town- the main source of income is the agriculture industry; however, the population of the town is big that there is really no possibility that all of the farmers can be employed at the same time, the ratio of land to person is just not sufficient. Ok, tangent. Well, the point is that most of these farmers left school early on to work the land with their families; therefore, the general formal education level of my down is quite low. Especially considering the fact that the now existing high school has only been functioning for less than 15 years, beforehand the closest high school was 1hr away.

So here is the stat that I was looking at when I started this project, see if you can think of what I wanted to do by analyzing the following chart:

Did you guess it? Yes, I decided to work on broadening the educational opportunities for residents of my town. The Ministery of Education (MEP)- all governing power for all things “school”- offers some adult education programs but none of which were available in my town therefore the older population who, in their time, did not have the opportunity to finish school, still did not have the opportunity to finish. I decided “well that’s quite enough of that” so I did something.

I met with the local MEP office that asked a million questions about how the go about starting this program. They didn’t have most of the answers so I just started anyway. I created and then posted 45 flyers advertizing the sign-up, talking to each business owner about the class I asked permission to post the flyer on their wall.

I held the sign-up meeting, took names, numbers, and other important info and ended up with 20 students. In the days that followed I was overwhelmed with people calling me and stopping me on the street to sign-up – those who were unable to attend the meeting. I ended up with 36 students! That was enough interest for 2 classes!

Next step: find the teachers to teach who want to, and have time in their schedules, to teach this class 3 times a week from 6-9pm (after a 7-5 day). Oye! That was a challenge. Then, fill out all the paperwork. As my mum would say “Man, I hate all these forms!” It certainly helps to know what you are doing when filling out official paperwork- woops! Too bad they were not very explicit when explaining how to do this whole process, I ended up filling out the forms 3 separate times. Mind-you, all forms had to be signed and stamped (officially) by my school director, each of the teachers, then my regional director. Oye! I have never encountered such red-tape in my life, but now I know some of the tricks: Never sign in black, always in blue, and always ask a million questions before doing anything. Aka ser necia (be annoying) :oD

So anywho, after many weeks, trips, forms, and errors, they finally approved one of the proposed classes and the students have started. I ordered then picked up the books and they are all working on improving their level of education and reaching towards a more educated future. The levels range from 1st grade (learning to read) all ways to 6th grade. They are an awesome group and I hope the best for them. And guess what- I help make it happen :oD

Yay!

So that is where I have been for the last month and half or so, buried in forms, taking names and numbers, and using my fast-walking skills to expedite the process- thanks for the long legs dad! I have also been working on helping out high school students with English questions and assisting an English teacher in a couple of lessons. All the meanwhile, I still work at the orphanage in my local “big city” (2 hrs away) twice a month, and support the Development Association groups with meetings and projects. So yes, I am now getting busy, but that’s a good thing!

So I hope everyone is doing well and sorry for the long delay in updating. Hopefully more to come soon!

Take care

Chau!

Jess

Tamales!!!! Finally :o)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:27:29 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySiEFRKoT7o

Check out the long awaited Tamale video!!! :o)

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:41:05 GMT

Hi all!

I hope everyone is doing well. Here in Costa Rica, rainy season is officially over, with a capital O. The sun is out at full force, 8 times stronger than anywhere in the states, and the wind, which comes through for a couple weeks on the tail end of the rainy season, is slowing down. Soon we will be left with no rain, no wind, simply sun- and that means a ton-o-sun!

(picking- and test tasting- coffee in San Jose)

In the season of “sun”, the heat is incredible. I have had trouble realizing exactly how hot “que calor” is but recently, when visiting a friend and fellow volunteer in Nicoya, the weather was a good 95 degrees during the day and, when it finally cooled off at night, it was about 88. No wonder I was lacking in the energy department, the sun was stealing most of it, and the part that was left went to strategically calculating ways to keep my body cooler and use the least amount of energy as possible. So how do I deal with it- constantly dripping with sweat and fighting the sun’s beat-you-down-strong rays? Well, good question. Here are some best practices that keep me a bit more comfortable:

Rule #1: Cotton towels are not nice to use in my site.
During the rainy season they constantly smell moldy (Yes, moldy- worse than musty. Musty is reserved for dry clothes). During dry season, you do not want to automatically wrap yourself up in a nice warm fluffy towel as soon as you get out of the shower; that simple pleasure is reserved for climates under 50 degrees. Just the though of a nice warm fluffy towel encompassing my body at this moment gave me a hot flash.

Here, in the 90 degree heat, after you take a nice cold shower and finally manage to lower your body temperature a bit, you want to keep it that way as long as possible. Answer to all of your prayers: a sarong. A nice thin material that is light and soaks up water as quickly as it releases it. Jackpot.

Rule #2: Go ahead, fan yourself!
After coming out of a nice cold shower, the last thing you want to do is start sweating immediately. I mean, for me, I try to hang onto that “clean” feeling for as long as I can. That is how I came up with step #2 of bathing: fan drying. It goes like this:
1. Take shower
2. Use sarong to dry off
3. Stand in front of fan to dry any remaining moisture
4. Turn fan on high and carefully dry hair.
Using a hair dryer in this heat is like asking for indoor heatstroke.

Now this brings us step number 5 which is also rule number 3 so here it goes:

Rule #3: Baby powder is not only for babies. It is also your friend.
This rule is simple: apply where possible. Baby powder helps in areas where skin touches skin- inside of elbows, back of knees, armpits (after deodorant)- and where your body releases lots of heat- neck, feet. Apply when needed. Apply liberally. If followed correctly, this step will keep you feeling fresh for up to 1hr more than non-baby-powder days. That’s something to smile about :o)

Rule #4: Jeans are NOT your friend in hot weather.
When choosing clothing, choose thin, quick-dry clothes that are loose fitting for maximum air-flow. Self explanatory reason: jeans are not 90 degree weather attire unless you like to walk around feeling like you fell in a lake with jeans on.
Side note: Jeans should come with a dehydration warning when worn in temperatures over 80 degrees. You have been warned!

Rule #5: If you are in Costa Rica, carry your umbrella year-round.
As you already know by reading my previous entries, I have come to appreciate the beauty of umbrellas that I naively wrote off in earlier years of my life. Nowadays I clutch my sombrilla so tight you couldn’t pry it out my hands. If I was ever in the situation where someone wanted to take this comfort from me, I would simply give the “Don’t-mess-with-the-sombrilla-man, it-is-my-health-and-wellness”-glare, and they would back off. Problem solved. “Get your own sombrilla! These stripes are mine!”

Ok guys, that’s all of now. I hope that when you plan your next visit to Costa Rica, you follow these simple but very useful tips and save your sanity. Mum and dad, take note, you guys are first!

Chau!

Jess

Holiday Season- Happy New Year!!!

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:01:53 GMT

Hi All!!!
I hope everything is going well. I know it has been a while since I have updated so I will fill you in on a few things that have happened. Mid-December, on the first day of Chanukah, Tico’s kicked off the Holiday season with a parade through the middle of San Jose, creative floats and all. Lights began to appear on some houses and the municipality of San Jose decked out all of the walkway-overpasses and parks to reflect the holiday spirit. Some other big cities joined in on the fun and decorated a large tree or central park.

My town is small and doesn’t have a municipality, mearly a Development Association, with a role similar to a town council in the states. The main Catholic church was able to organize an impressive “winter concert” (in 75 degree weather) where they transported and housed an entire orchestra and choir. The concert was awesome- not because could be compared to the Wang Center of Boston or because they played famouse pieces, but because they were able to bring something new and culturally different to the people here. For many of the residents here this was their first time experiencing a live orchestra.

In order to experience a live orchestra here in Costa Rica, you have to 1. travel to San Jose (from my site it is 6 hrs and $7 one way) then 2. pay for the presentation or be lucky enough to see a live public performance during some sort of holiday and 3. find lodging- because the trip is so long and buses are scarce, you can not go, see a concert, and get home all in the same day. The two main obstacles in this situation are money and time, because, for many families, job oportunities are rare and are not turned down when they are available. Also, a large percentage of the town has low education levels, directly resulting in the low salaries.

As for X-mas/my B-day? Well, I took my first vacation, aka, more than 2 nights out of my site. I went to San Jose and stayed with my training host family. It was a really nice low-key couple of days. The volunteer from the previous group also came to visit for a couple of days with her parents and sister. We ended up doing a good amount of translating for her parents, haha. On the 23rd we started the process of making tomales: hike up to the top of a mountain to chop down huge banana leaves, smoke them over a fire (to make them more pliable), zip the leaves off of the branch with a machete, fold up the pieces and lug them down the mountain in a large sack. ::Step 1:: haha ;o)

On the 24th I bet you can guess what we did, yes, we did the whole process of making tomales, and yes it is a 2-day process, and yes, I have tons of pictures and videos so I am compiling them in to a video so you all can enjoy the lengthy process of tomale making :o)

After a morning and afternoon of hard work making tomales, the evening of the 24th was fun filled and low-key. With threats of a full-on-egging by my host aunt and cousin, I was a bit on edge, but it worked out all-right. I convinced them that this tradition of theirs could not possibly start before it was my actual birthday and they complied: the egg-bath could wait until it was officially midnight. It was only then that I was fully able to relax, and with 5 minutes to midnight, I hid the basket of over 30 eggs. Muah haha ha. No egg-bath for me! It was not until 12:10 that my host aunt realized that the eggs were missing. Sitting calmly on the sofa, I watched her scour the kitchen for the basket. Don’t worry, I made sure to put on the most inoccent face I could muster. Good thing she didn’t ask ME where they were, I don’t think I could have kept that face for long :oD

The next morning, eggs still safely hidden, I asked my host mother if she was planning on using the eggs for breakfast. Her answer was no- thank goodness for breakfast tomales haha! Well, we did make 350 packets of 2… so there were plenty of tomales to be eaten! So they eggs stayed safely hidden after this exchange with my host mom:
Me: So, are we going to need the eggs at any point today?
Aracelly: Well, no, why?
Me: Because I have the eggs hidden and I am trying to figure out if I should keep them hidden.
Aracelly: Hmm
Me: So basically, I will only take the eggs out of hiding if you can promise me that they will not end up on my head.
Aracelly: Well, I can’t promise you that someone in the house will not use them against you.
Me: Ok, so eggs will stay hidden today :oP haha

The day continued with threats of many yolks covering my body but I somehow managed to avoid the disaster. I made deals: raced a small did in a short sprint, traded “eggs” for “punches” (in the shoulder, in true Dan and Matt form) and made promises of baking delicious cakes. In the end, I was not egged. Phew! Sorry mum and dad, no messy pictures this time.

After spending another day hanging out with my host family and picking some coffee, I parted ways and met up with a fellow volunteer and a couple of her friends that had just flown in from the states. We spent the next couple of days being touristy and american and it was a nice little break from the norm. We spoke english, laughed till our sides hurt and danced up a storm. The next we went white water rafting and rowed till our arms hurt and, again, laughed till our sides hurt. All-in-all it was quite a good time and a nice little vaca.

I headed home the next day on a 5hr bus ride sans seat then another hour ride before I finally made it home, tired and sick- and sick and tired of the distance. It seems as though I picked up a little something while I was in the (now) chilly San Jose. I slept a total of 25 hours in the next 2 days to kick the cold but no regrets here! That was the first time I have been sick since I have been here- not bad I’d say. Thanks for the good immune system mum! All those dirt-pies we made as kids have paid off. Haha, jk

As for New Years eve, I spent that with my family here- at my host mother’s brother’s house. We did a BBQ and just hung out. I provided the sweets with some home-made hot fudge sauce + ice cream + fresh strawberries. Yum! We kicked off the New Year with 12 grapes for each person (one for each month of the year) and made a wish for each grape that we ate.

To everyone reading this, I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Years! I will be kicking off the New Year with a new cell phone!!! Well, not exactly a new phone, but a new line, so now I can be reached 24/7… or as long as I have service. Contact me or my family to get the new number.

I hope all is going well with everyone. Let me know whats going on (but please sign your name if you leave me a message here).

Take care all!!!

-Jess

The Ants go Marching...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:58:58 GMT

Hey all!
I hope everyone is doing well. I am writing to you from the living room in my house, trying to cool down on this sticky evening. So today I decided that I am going to talk to you about ants because around here, the ants don’t go marching 2 by 2, they go marching 200 by 200.
Costa Rica is known for it’s amazing variety of naturaleza (nature) and is home to many different varieties of species. One perfect example is the different types of ants that one can find in daily life. The first, and most popular to find in the house are Ormigas Locas (crazy ants). They are very tiny, about the size of two 12pt font periods, with little legs. They are a light cream/clear color and the reason they are called Loco is because they really look crazy when they get excited/scared. They move very quickly, changing directions faster than a white rabbit and sometimes run in circles, or figure eights. It is quite funny actually, except when they make it into your honey jar because of a falty top, and get stuck- then you are fresh out of honey. (true story)
Oh! And there is another type of ant that is mostly clear but has a darker kind of pencil-grey/semi transparent head. They are also quite small. They are about the size of three periods at 12pt font. They are the kind that make it into your food if you do not seal it well, or find that last crumb of bread and send the army to retrieve it. My host family tells me that they are the same kind: crazy ants, but I don’t know how much I believe that, I just think there are a whole lot of types so I will call them the mini scavengers.
So here is another kind: Fire ants. In spanish they are called Ormigas Bala. Bala means bullet, because it feels like a little bullet when they bite. They come in all sizes and 2 different colors, midnight black and vampire red. And they bite. Hard. Usually they get you on the foot, when you have on sandals because you can step on the ant-mound without knowing it, and when you feel and tickle and go to shake it off, it chomps down and holds on for dear life. And it hurts! I do not lie. I mean, lets just say that this type of ant has been known to cause full-grown men, big tough sports-type men, hop around like mexican jumping beans. I know this because, not only have I witnessed it, I have been told by many a tour-guide that silly gringo guys like to test their strength against these mini monsters and have lost, many time. But at least the stories are funny!
My personal favorites are the Sompoh-pohs. They are a red larger ant, about the size of my pinki nail and they are strong as a house. They work all summer long (dry season) sawing up leaves and hefting them in fun single-file lines down to their layer. The best part is the contrast of the bright green chunks of leaves that they carry directly vertical- in clenched jaws- for, in an ant-world, long distances. The hojas are ginormous in comparison to the bodies of the ants. Mini-muscles!
Ok, that’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed my “trip down ant lane.”
Until next time folks!
Chau!

-Jess

It's a Colorful Life

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:09:37 GMT

Hey all!

I am finding that my time here is flying by. I spend most of my days learning more about the community and connecting myself to workers in the school, high school, and local health clinic. So far I am teaching english classes one day a week, on the weekend. (Actually, if anyone is interested in helping me out, I was to set up an activity through skype and bring my students to the local internet café to practice their speaking and very basic “nice to meet you” conversational skills. If you are interested, just let me know. The classes are every Sunday at 2pm-Costa Rica time- and 4pm your time.)

In other news, I am living my life day to day.Check out my “how to make tortillas” video (link below). (I appoligize if the sound does not work)
www.youtube.com/watch
That is the type of life skill that I am learning in my spare time :o) It is amazing how quickly I am learning things... without even realizing it as well. I think I can say that I have oficially mastered the art of tortilla making over a wood burning fire, how to use an old school mop, and some good techniques to beat the heat.

I hope everyone is going well and enjoying the leaf-changing season!
Check out some fun highlights of my travles below:

Samara Beach reflection + Violet colored Starfish

Agua talk

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:51:48 GMT

(written last week)

Hi all!

I am writing you all an update on just another ordinarily scortching Saturday. Lately it seems that most of the rain is falling in Europe and the US instead of here in Central America. If the rain doesn’t pick up soon then we are going to have some major problems here. So far, it has not had too large of an impact but we are on the route to drought. Here, the farmers rely on the rain for the rice, corn an other types of fuit and veggies. The cows also rely on the wild grass in the fields to grow wild during this rainy season. When the grass grows less, the cows eat less because the farmers usually do not suplement their diet with very much hay. So when the cows don’t eat enough, they do not give out as much milk (cheese) and are not ready to become beef quite as fast. In money terms, everything is more expensive: from beef and milk to veggies and corn.

So nationally, that is what is going on in my area. It has been a challenge for me to maintain interest in listening to the bad news, I mean world news. Recent news around here is an earthquake that struck an area outside of San Jose yesterday. I am nowhere near the city, so we didn’t feel anything here. Aparently it wasn’t uber strong, but everyone in and around the city felt it. When I was in the city last month, I felt a very small earthquake. I think the only reason that I felt it was because I was on the 5^th floor of a building, and the higher up you are, the more you feel it. I hear that experts are predicting a good sized quake for the area of Nicoya; much closer to me but still about 4hrs away. But no need to fear, I may be in the ring of fire, but I think I can handle the heat. Not to mention, to be able to say that I felt an earthquake I think is a pretty cool story :o)

So those of you who are looking for news on my report, well, I am sorry to say that, todavia, I am still working on the spanish version (then I translate it to English). Almost, I am working on it. I have to say, I am a bit sick of looking at it, but meh. I guess that is what happens when you work on the same report for various months.

Ok, the heat has gone to my head, aka I can’t think anymore, so that is all for now.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Chau!

-Jess

(btw- it has since started to rain again but the country... and region at that, as a whole, is in a pretty good drought right now)

No time for an update, but I will leave you with a picture

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:35:20 GMT

Sunsets in Cecilia :o)

Take care all!

~jess

home stretch!!!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:04:35 GMT

Hi all!!!
I just wanted to give you a super quick update. The diagnostic report is in its final stages (in spanish that is). The document has come a long way since i wrote the original version in english so, sorry to break the bad news but you guys will have a to wait a couple more weeks before facing the 25 page, single spaced monster.

Other than the stresses of sending the report to my boss in 5 seperate parts (for its size: pictures and graphs and all, it was too large to email whole), I have been doing just fine. It looks as though a group of jovenes (youth) is in the works and i am hoping to get in on it so that it will keep going when the going gets tough.

Ok, thats all for now folks. Hope everyone is doing well!

chau!
~Jess

Un Dia en el Campo- A day at the farm

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:29:07 GMT

Hola All!

(story written last month but never posted. sorry)

So today I milked a cow. Yes, I did. My host mother, well I don’t know if I can actually call her my host mother, she is not that old. She is definitely younger than 30. Anywho, her dad owns a farm with cows, donkeys, oranges, pineaples, rice, plantanes, sugar cane, tall grass for the cows to eat, and a few more things I am sure. It seems that every time I hear about the farm, I learn about a new thing that is being grown there.

So I woke up at 5:03am this morning to eat breakfast and put on my rubber galloshes, windbreaker pants and an exercize shirt worthy of getting sweaty and dirty: I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. My host mother’s father picked me up in his truck with wooden board slats that enclose the bed of the pick-up. He told that he would pick me up at 5:30 instead of 4:45 to give me a bit more time to sleep in the am, very kind of him. I am sure that you all remember my zombie-like state in the mornings. My host mother keeps telling me that I can get used to an early-morning schedual is I wake up early every day but I highly doubt this theory.

Anywho, we headed down the dirt, pot-holed road for about 8 minutes until we arrived at the farm and the wooden structure with a tall roof and maze-like fencing zig-zagging through the 1foot layer of animal-poo-floor and thick mud. Another 20 minutes on the snaky dirt road lands you on the Nicaraguan border and at the Lago de Nicaragua. It is a beautiful view when it is sunny. I have been there before and it is quite an impressive view with the light blue sky contrasting a darker mountain and puffy white clouds that hang above and below the mountaintops.

Ok, but we are talking about cows here. The cows are actually not as stinky as you would think. It is only the floor that smells. But it is a dull smell, not a real pungent smell that contorts your face. So I am fine with it, phew.

As we arrive, two other men are riding up on horses, hearding the cows towards the open-walled structure. I will call it a barn. They open the smooth wooden gate and sush the cows in. The calfs are already there, in a separate area of the barn, separated by the wooden planks that make up a large swinging door. To start the process, they separate the cows into two groups, a smaller group which they will start in on first. They heard the group into a second section, the one that connects directly to the large swing-door of the calfs' area.

(calfs)

After the sections are closed off and the cows are in place, they call the baby cows by name as they open the swinging gate of the area that separates them. “Medianoche, Medianoche” he calls in a deep voice, Midnight is the name of the cow’s mother and one of the calfs makes his way toward the gate. He rushes past the farmer and finds his mother. After a couple minutes of feeding, the worker ties it to his mother’s leg and begins to milk 3 of the 4 utters, leaving food for the baby to eat later on.

The set-up looks just like the movies but the smooth flow of the process suprises me. I watch in awe as the worker fills the pail in 3 minutes with his hands alternately emptying the utter then releasing. I watch the process a few times then it’s my turn. I squat down, hold loosely and point. I follow the instructions of the man squatting to my left but I am not as smooth. I guess I will have to practice my milking techniques for next time, haha!

It reminds me of using a shared pop-top waterbottle at soccer practice. You have to tip your head back and lift the water bottle high above your head first. Then squeeze some water into your mouth, release, and listen to the air bubbles fill the bottle before you can squeeze again.

It explains perfectly the system that goes on while milking a cow, in a time-effient manner anyway. The only difference is that you don’t just squish the middle, like you would a water bottle, you start a bit high up and squeeze down slowly. This part kind of reminds me of eating honey out of a plastic tube, you have to squish it towards your mouth then let go, start a bit higher up and repeat.

It was a very interesting experience and not as dirty as I thought it would be. As long and you’ve got some good golloshes on and steer clear of the frequently released bowel movements (that splatter on the mosh-like ground), then you are all set :o)

Well I hope you all enjoyed the recount of my experience “a morning on the farm.”

A little taste of Peace Corps Inspiration

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:35:58 GMT

Hey look, I am published!!! :o)

This is the local "La Cadena" newspaper for Peace Corps Volunteers.

In typed form:

*To get exactly what you want in life, sometimes you have to write on napkins.

The character proceeds the form and at this moment texture is fun.*

To each individual, there is the never ending story. The journey for better. True, real, alive. The journey to walk without direction and say without thinking.

Here, we goooooo.

It may take a while to get there and it may be nowhere or somewhere good or just being there.

The options to pick and choose your future and go. The idea that we can, if we so desire, give it a shot.

But what drives us to keep going when the going starts slipping away?

Competition. Yourself. Your past, future, and present mental health.

Compete against what you think you can’t do.

The only way to know is to take that challenge….

Keep up the flow

and when the going go fast,

pick yourself up,

move those legs,

blink those eyes,

focus that brain and

go!

~Jess Sullivan

* Written on a napkin on the plane ride here

Welcome to my room and bathroom :o) - the official tour

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:03:33 GMT

This is where I live

Heading into my room

I have 1 door and 2 windows, nice and bright! :o)

bed with ginormous mosquito net. there are lots of mosquitoes

welcome to my walk-in closet (door closed)

Oh, and it case you were wondering, no that fan does not have the metal piece on the front that protects little kids from sticking their fingers in. Good think I am not a little kid.

And please notice my inovative hanging rack made from my 2 suitcases and a broom handle :o)
walk-in closet (door open)

bathroom and chilly shower

Travel: 2 for the Price of 1 (it´s been a while so check out the one below also)

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:21:11 GMT

The Local Bus:

When I am on my local bus, I feel like I am traveling through a tunnel in time. I am on the bus on my way back to my site. It is so dark the bus driver turns on the lights above head, above the windows but only in the back half of the bus. It is a school bus, an old one, from a district like womewhereville (in the south for sure because I have never heard of it) written on the outside.

The inside is like an oxy moron. There are signs in English warning the bus driver to leave the bus idling for 5 minutes before turning it off and a sign next to a small black box with a round mirror in the middle of it that warns passengers of the video and audio monitoring system. Most don’t speak English, never mind read it. It is irrelevant to them.

As the heat lightning flashes every couple of minutes or so, I wonder if anyone on this bus could ever understand the memories that I have, attached to buses like these.

Track meets in high school. Bouncing over bumps in the last row while the driver speeds through his route, over the hills to finish up quickly and leave the bus of loud kids behind (5^th grade). Or my first time realizing that I needed to speak up for myself when the bus driver passed my stop and just kept going. (She was my neighbor and ended up driving me home at the end of her route. Man did I learn my lesson.)

These buses are the same large yellow clunkers that leave school parking lots in large fleets in the States. Here they look the same on the outside but on the inside most are fitted with a long string that runs along the top of the windows, attached at the front to a buzzer system- to advise the driver of your stop.

It is almost comical; squishing grown adults, sometimes in their more formal work clothes, into these small pleather seats. I never realized how small these bus seats actually were. Now, at almost 5’9”, they are pretty small- just deep enough so that, if I scooch my butt all the way to the back of the seat, my knees just fit into the seat. (And that is with a 1-inch leeway of the soft and hollow seat in front of me. Oh bus experiences plus Sullivan genes.

Hope I took you all back to the days of riding the elementary school bus.

Take care!
Good to hear from all of you.

-Jess

Lets talk Travel

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:18:03 GMT

Hey all!!!

Hope everyone is doing well. Over the past week I have been keeping myself busy, going for a short trip to San Jose then having a local volunteers meeting called VAC this past weekend. To give you an idea of exactly how traveling goes around here, I will explain to you how I traveled to San Jose this past weekend, a typical routine to make it San Jose.

In order to get to San Jose from my site, I have 2 options: a bus that leaves at 4am or one that leaves at 2:30pm. If I take the 4am bus then I arrive in San Jose anywhere from 9:30-10am. If I take the 2:30pm bus then I arrive in San Jose at nearly 8pm. Knowing this, in order to avoid loosing a full day traveling on the bus it’s not only worth it, but necessary, to take the 4am bus. So… the alarm goes off at 3:37am. “Wohoooo!” I think to myself.

Ok, maybe not so much woohoo, but I get up and get ready quick! Put on the clothes that I layed out, fill up my nalgene, find my PB&Js that I made the night before in the fridge and pack them in my bag. Put the scarf around my neck that I will use on the ride; not because it is cold on the bus but because it serves as the perfect eye covering to sleep and doubles as headrest protection (who knows how often they wash those things- yuck). Ok, nearly ready: toothbrush, check, shoes, check, bag, check, keys, check!

Walk out the door, lock it, and rush down the block and around the corner to where the bus is idling. 3:52. Just in time, phew! I greet the driver, who is not all that happy to be there either, and take my seat- the only one that I sit in when I go to San Jose. Why do I have only one seat you may ask. Well, lets just put this into perspective for a minute. I am nearly 5 ft 9 and I will be sitting for 5 hours in a bus in one single seat and the bus will stop one time, maybe for 10 minutes, to use the bathroom and stretch. Good greif.

So what do I do? I find the seat with the most leg room :o)

This is no lugsury liner so the seats are average size, all the same except for 2 seats, side-by-side. These are the seats directly behind the middle door of the bus, so half way down the bus I walk and take my seat next to the window and crack it. This bus always smells musty and dusty, sometimes a lovely hint of sweaty feet makes it into the mix, so the window seat is essential. In this seat, instead of another pair of seats infront of me, there is a low wall- my savior and stretch helper. I can put my legs over it throughout the ride to stretch out without bothering the person next to me or loosing my seat. Good deal! Knowing that by halfway through the ride, the bus will be filled- with some people standing up in the isles, it is a good idea to stay in your seat, if you can get one!

Ok, so I’ve got my seat, what do I do next? Pay the driver and sit back and relax as he pulls into the bus stop for my town where the rest of the passengers get on. Then what? Well, 5 hours, that’s a pretty loooong ride. Well, sleep! It is 4am after all. By 6am it is just too bright to sleep so it’s time to have breakfast. PB&J: the breakfast of champions, haha. Well, another 3 hrs to San Jose means a whole lot of reading and taking in the scenery. Finally at my arrival in San Jose, I can find a place to eat lunch, I mean breakfast #2 :o)

Welcome to the world of travel in my area. I hope you enjoyed the travel monologe.

~Jess

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:55:49 GMT

Hi all!

I hope you had a great 4^th of July celebrations. I had quite a good time as well. I went with a couple of volunteers and used one of my days off to go to a beach called Playa Tamarindo. It was a super fun night of dancing my socks off, wait a minute, I don’t even remember the last time I wore socks around here; its that hot! Playa Tamarindo is located on Nicoya Peninsula, to the southwest of me. It is 4 ½ hrs on a bus to get there which is pretty close for my site.

In case you were wondering, yes, I am very far up north. I don’t recall if I said this before but my house is about 10KM from the border of Nicaragua. There are border checkpoints that all of the buses and cars have to pass through (once you leave my site and reach the town of La Cruz, a bigger town). My town has not only regular police, the Fuerza Publica, but also is staffed with a special group of border patrol police. This special team visits houses and checks to see if all immigrants have the proper paperwork in order to be able to stay in Costa Rica. If they are lacking the paperwork, they can be sent back to Nicaragua.

I have experienced this type of “paperwork check” while on the buses to Liberia, the closest city to me. The bus stops at the checkpoint station and the police board the bus. Depending on the policeman, they will check every paper and passport or they will select only a few throughout the bus to carefully examine. Sometimes they ask to open bags and sometimes they just pass right through. It reminds me of the security checkpoints in the airports in the United States. Some people walk right through while others are “randomly” selected to do an extensive search … if you know what I mean.

Living in a border town allows for some very interesting dynamics amoung the townspeople, authority figures, and the general behavior between people. Very strong views can be experienced while living in a border town, even if you try to avoid the topic. It is always there. Because of the presense of two cultures in one region though, the area is culturally rich with history and strong traditions.

This northern area of Costa Rica, Guanacaste, in the beginning of the creation of the country, originally belonged to the area that is now known as Nigaragua. The residents of Guanacaste decided that, after both Costa Rica and Nigaragua gained independence, they wanted to become their own autonomous state. After declaring this independence, both Costa Rica and Nicaragua objected to the decision. The residents of Guanacaste were then forced to join one of the two already existing countries. In the end they chose Costa Rica and to this day the area remains rich culture but also in controversy; to which country did the area of Guanacaste originally belong to? I am no historian but I do know that, no matter what it says in the books, the word on the street is still different depending on who you talk to.

Changing the subject a bit: Can anyone give me some advice about old-fashioned mop techniques? I know, for me at least, I am quite proficient at swiffering but old-fashioned mopping is a skill that I have yet to conquer. Unfortunately for me, the beatiful world of swiffering has yet to reach the households of my town; therefore, I have had no choice but to accept the challenge and learn how to mop … at age 23. Oye que pecado (roughly translated to how bad/sinful).

Ok, well it was nice writing to you all, talk to you later!

Jess

This is what happens when you don't use a towel! haha

A bit fruity :o)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:44:40 GMT

Hola all!

I am glad that some of you enjoyed my rant about umbrellas haha. I guess I should add a photo of me with my infamous sombrilla. I hope you all are ready for another rant cause here it comes.

Fruit! Yes, sometimes I am a bit fruity.

Ok, who laughed at that one? I know you wanted to! Who shares my corny sense of humor?

Ok, but really, lets talk fruit. It is a tropical environment afterall. I think the most exciting fruit of this tropical environment is the mango tree in my backyard. My host family is also starting to grow some more things in their small garden. So far they have cilantro, cucumbers, green bell peppers, and something else that I can not recall at the moment. Oh wait, but we were talking fruit. Yes.

There are a lot of coconut trees around here. I have had the opporutnity to drink coconut a la pipa (aka coconut through a straw- straight from the coconut!). One day I went with my host family to a friend's house and knocked some coconuts down with a large pole then brought them home, hacked off the top with a machette, and drank the coconut water. It is really tasty when it is hot out. It really takes the thirst away!

Oranges are big in this area. My site is actually a micr-climate. You can actually feel the difference once you get 20 minutes outside of the center of town. It gets about 6 degrees warmer and about 15% more humid. I will that that it was masterly calculated by the amount of sweat in my elbow crease that accumulates as I hold tightly onto the seat, in order to not fly all over the place, because of the bumps in the road due to the loose suspensions of these used-to-be US school buses. Oh right. Oranges.

Because of the micro-climate of my site, it makes it a perfect area to grow both oranges and pineapples! It is just now ending the cosecha (harvest) of oranges but the pineapple cosecha is in full bloom! The mango harvest has also just ended but I did get the chance to enjoy both some lovely mangos straight from the tree and oranges- straight from the tree. Pretty much awesome. Please enjoy the pictures of me picking oranges with my host family at their parent’s farm. :o)

Sorry I can’t really finish a thought right now, I will have to update more later.

Hope all is well with everyone and happy 4^th of July if I do not get a chance to post again my then!!! :o)

Jess

Picking oranges with my host family and host cousins. I am tall and they are impressed. Needless to say I got a lot of oranges that were really high up there :o) I guess sometimes it is good to be tall and lanky haha!

A jumbo coconut that weighs probably close to 4lbs! Aka the size of my head! haha

Coconut juice! Straight up! Bongo likes coconut too!

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:19:06 GMT

Hey all!

So you want to know some characteristics of Costa Rica eh? Well in the last entry I touched on one… see if you can guess. Oh yessssss! Futbol. Where every “goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll” is very firmly stressed.

Ok, so here goes another one:

Umbrellas.

But not just umbrellas, “paraguas” or “sombrilla”. Yes, they both mean umbrella. “Paraguas” are for “men” and are large and are usually the color black. “Sombrillas” are for “women” and are usually more fun and colorful- aka usually flowers- but hold the connotation of being smaller and flimsy. (In case you were wondering, yes I do own a sombrilla and no it does not have flowers, nor is it pink, red, or flimsy in any way-shape-or-form. But it is, indeed, colorful. <<please see photo below>>) This sterotype of umbrella-type however, is not always consistant. I have seen large-black umbrellas carried by women and it will still be called a sombrilla simply because there is a woman who is using it. Hmm, culture.

So, umbrellas. They are very useful here in Costa Rica, I have found. I was never much of an umbrella person myself. I always seemed to prefer raincoats. Good sturdy, breathable raincoats that go past your bum so you can sit down on wet benches and have a fun hood (don’t forget the beak) so in all weather cases, you will stay dry. Well, in Costa Rica, raincoats are few and far inbetween.

Its all about the paraguas/sombrillas.

Why you might ask? Well, good question. I’ll get to that.

First:

In my case anyway, I always tended to steer away from umbrellas because:

1. they do that annoying inside out thing if there is wind.

2. the metal spokes easily become bent out of shape (pssh, what nerve)

3. you need an extra hand to hold the umbrella- sometimes 2 if it is windy and you want to really hold it in place

4. you have to find a creative place to dry it once you arrive at your destination (and hope that it is still there when you return to retrieve it)

… and most importantly:

5. if it is a good rain storm with any kind of wind, you still get wet! (so much for rain protection)

Ok, now to the point, the many reasons to use an umbrella in Costa Rica

Numero Uno: During any kind of rainstorm while in the city, you will hear/see vendors selling “Paraguas, sombrillas, Paraguas!” while walking through the streets, and not using an umbrella. A bit oxymoronic and sometimes comical as they promote a product- which they do not use- with a fun tune and advertise them as different types. They usually only have one type: smallish, black, flimsy-ish, economical umbrellas. But they are selling “Paraguas, sombrillas, Paraguas!” But in any case, if you are in the city and forgot/did not leave you residence prepared for the torrential downpours, you can get yourself an economical quasi-one-use umbrella.

2. With the torrential downpours, there is no saving you. You will get wet if you are outside. Fact. So I think it is safe to say that most people in Costa Rica tend to live their lives is if it does not rain cats-and-dogs almost every day of their “winter” season. This meaning that most Ticos (Costaricans) choose to show off their well-put-together outfits by using an umbrella instead of a large “unfashionable” raincoat- like the one I brought :o) .

3. It is hot here. When it rains, some times it is even hotter. Why? Because it is more humid. The last thing anyone wants to do when it is humid is put on another layer of clothing. Answer: umbrella.

4. It is also very very sunny. The sun here is 8x stronger than that of the sun in states (or so I hear- I would tend to believe it).

Shade is also hard to come by while walking around. Answer: Umbrella!

Your umbrella is your walking sombra (shade). Also a good way to avoid spending money on sunscreen (that is imported and quite expensive here!).

5. Um, a fashion statement, obviously! Your umbrella can be part of your wardrobe, especially if you are a lady. :oD They come in fun colors and designs.

6. I have thought of using my umbrella as self defense. It sure does pop-open with a whoosh! And it is metal. Don’t worry, this usage is just a theory. It has not been put to use.

7. Well of course it shows my integration. Like I said, raincoats are not very popular here. Pretty much only for construction workers. Or motorcyle drivers. But they ride competely geared up- the hooded, long raincoat with rain pants and galloshes (fun!). I am sure it is like a mini-sauna in all that gear.

Ok, well I hope you all enjoyed my cultural lesson umbrellas. Please tune in next time to “Culture Costa Rica- Jess Style.” :o)

Chau!

~Jess

ps- If you are reading my entries I would love to hear from you :o) You do not have to register, simply click on the “comment” button about 3 centimeters below the end of this entry and add a comment to the page. Please leave your name so I know who you are :o)

La sombrilla! (sorry i forgot to upload it before). this was a gift from my host famliy :o)

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:00:46 GMT

Hey all,

So I am now officially shvitzin, I mean, I am now officially moved in to my new house in the Northern part of Costa Rica, casi Nicaragua- almost. :oD I am quite content with the family that I am living with, a young couple and their seven year old son. They eat very well, quite important for me, as you can imagine, so I think everything will work out just fine. And yes, they do keep helado stocked in the refri= essential. Haha

So at this moment, I am enjoying some time in front of the TV, listening to a very energetic announcer narrate the soccer game of the US vs. Costa Rica. I am sure that by the end of this entry, I will be able to tell you who won but for the moment I am getting a kick out of the fans. During the buildup for the game, the camera was shaking and bouncing up and down so much that it was difficult to see the picture. Why was it moving so much you might ask? Well, the fans for Costa Rica were all chanting, clapping, and jumping all at the same time causing the entire stadium to shake. Wow, que emocionado, as they say in Spanish, how excited are those fans?!

Ok, well, I can now tell you, 2 minutes and 3 seconds into the game that Costa Rica will probably win as they have already scored a goal. Haha, que rediculo no? How rediculous. Well, as I just explained to my host family, the favorite sport of the US is most definitely not soccer, resulting in a lack of interest to become a professional soccer player in the US. This may be the reason that they are down 2:0, 15 minutes into the game. Woops :oP This is just my opinion; however, any other ideas?

Entonces, by the time you all read this I will be in an internet café in La Cruz, por eso, estoy escribiendo en mi casa … I mean, because of this, I am writing in my house. Sorry, sometimes I just think in Spanish and it is just easier to write in whatever language comes out first. It is kind of like a word spew for me. My journals, at the moment go back and forth between Spanish and English. I think only I could decipher these type of entries haha.

Well if you are able to connect to facebook and have an extra minute after this long entry, feel free to check out the pictures that I updated at the end of last week and a new video including the dog at my new host family’s house.

I would also like to thank everyone who has been following my blog, or trying too. I apologize for not having more time during training to update more often. Hopefully I will be able to update more often now that I have the power to make my own schedule.

Thank you to mum, dad, Saba, Savta and Grandma for keeping me in the loop with your letters and messages. Also like to shout-out to Pego who has just recently left to start his Peace Corps stint in Ghana, Africa. Suerte!

To anywho would would like to send me some love or some music, feel free to write to me at my new PO box (not the Cuerpo de Paz address) at:

(my fully name)

Apartado Postal 35-5009

La Cruz

Guanacaste

Costa Rica

Ok, and I’m off,

~Jess

ps- yes, Costa Rica won the soccer game

pps- the only reason I know this is because it is the talk of the town :oP

My host family threw me a despedida good-bye part and I danced to Cumbia and Bachata with very short but adorable host cousins :o)

Sat, 30 May 2009 20:09:45 GMT

Sooooooooo I am now offically a volunteer with Peace Corps Costa Rica!!!

The ceremony was held at the ambasador’s residence in San Jose city. Unfortunately the ambasador was not there, yes I realize that it is a bit ironic, but its ok, we already met him during orientation- seems like a nice guy. We were sworn in by the 2^nd in command and everything went well. Everyone was dressed to the nines and all prepared to get to work in their sites! You could sense the anticipation in the air.

I was able to record the ceremony so if anyone wants to practice their spanish- I will try to post it somewhere so that you all can have a listen. If you are worried about not having enough spanish practice, don’t you fret. In a matter of 3 months I will have completed another thesis project called the CAT (community assesment tool) that will be about 20 pages of research done by yours truly… in spanish!

This project is what I will be working on for the first 3 months in my site, bfore starting any projects. I am required to do all kinds of research. Because this is a small, rural town there is little (if any) published material about my site so that leaves it up to me to collect the data to write my CAT. I have to go out into the community and ask EVERYONE that I can about EVERYTHING. Ask teachers: parents, kids, health workers, police, store owners; ask about everyhing: activities, family routines, health issues, jobs, crime rates, school stats, resources, businesses, transportation, climate, yearly calander, daily schedual, ect… Have I got my work cut out for me? I would sayyyy so. :oD

So heeeree we gooo! On Monday I will be in my site: beginning a new chapter of working, living, volunteering and learning in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

best to all
~jess

Officially a volunteer with the Children Youth and Families program in Costa Rica! :o)
All dolled up for the big event!