Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Poco a Poco

So another month gone...hard to believe I have been in Costa Rica for 7 months....it feels like a long time but at the same time I still have so much to learn and get used to that it's new every day.
Im settling in though, getting into a groove here…I have some regular projects going on now. My official counterpart, PANI, is sponsoring an art class in the elementary school and dance class at the high school so I am helping with both of those projects. I also have my English group at the elementary school….and its, well, I at least show up twice a week lets just say that. I have a group of about 6 students who are my “regulars” but they don’t really show up every time haha…it’s a work in progress. I also started a similar group in the high school with one of the English teachers…we’ve only had one meeting so far but there was a good turn-out…we'll see how it goes though.
Another project that is finally taking shape is a mural project with the six grade class from the elementary school. The teacher came to me with the idea of doing a mural on one of the walls of the school…the kids are pretty into it…though the main group pretty much just wants to paint a tribute to themselves haha…since sixth grade is the highest you go in elementary school here and next year they will be in high school, they want to leave their legacy as the best class in school history haha….I’m trying to gently help them understand that painting all 50 of their portraits on the school walls is not the idea. I went with a group of 7 of them yesterday to ask donations from local businesses so we can start painting next month (though we still don’t have a clear idea of what we’re going to paint). I was really unsure of how it was going to go, especially since the original idea was to go and ask for material donations – paint, brushes, etc. We ended up going to the majority of stores in the center (there are a lot) and asking for any contribution (material or money). And even though at first they were all shy and no one wanted to talk to any of the employees (which was really funny, me and a group of 7 six-graders standing around in a store…each one of them trying to get someone else to talk), as we went they got more confidence and wanted to go to every single store…they really got into it and I thankfully didn’t have to do all that much. In the end we collected in just 2hrs hopefully all the money we’ll need to buy all the materials, plus one of the hardware stores gave up a quart of paint and two brushes and another supermarket gave us two brushes. The best part is when we got back to the school, one of the teachers gave the kids money to buy paint thinner! All in all, it was really successful…I was happily surprised how well it went. Now all we have to do is figure out what we’re going to paint and where hahah. But at least we CAN now…we weren’t even sure if anyone was going to give us anything.

I also finally went back to the beach this month! A couple companeros and I went to a small beach town on the Caribbean coast called Cahuita. It was gorgeous…you almost felt like you were on a Caribbean island sometimes. The town was super-laid back and had a Rasta/hippie/backpacker vibe…we stayed in cabinas that looked out right to the ocean. We didn't do too much besides go to the beach...which was just what I needed. We did rent surf boards and TRIED to surf haha...well, lets just say that I definitely know surfing is not my niche. But it was fun, and I will probably try again at some point during my service.

I am NOT really looking forward to another Peace Corps conference the first week of November...its going to be at a campground, during rainy season, where it gets down to the 50s at night.....nough said. But at least it will be good seeing all the other volunteers for a few days.

I am learning to be patient, to live in the moment and that forcing myself to do things that make me uncomfortable (talking to people in Spanish for example) will help me alot in the long run. I am also taking a dance class...because, well, if you don't dance here it's a little strange so I need to learn me some steps haha....this week was my first class so I will keep everyone posted at to how Im progressing...

The only thing you need to know about Costa Rican weather: if its not raining, it's f*ing hot; if it's not f*ing hot, its raining. punto.

1 comment:

  1. Could you explain the Peace Corps conference to me? What reservations do you have?

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