Friday, June 26, 2009

Welcome to the Jungle

So I kinda forgot about my blog the last month or so….my apologies to everyone (if anyone) who has checked it more than once in vain. I don´t know if its worth it at this point to go through the last month and ½ in detail…but I will at least give a brief update to bring everyone up to speed on my misadventures in the southern hemisphere.

May started with a trip to the beach!! ALL 50 Tico 19ers (my group of PC volunteers) went to Jaco beach to celebrate finally knowing our where our homes for the next two years would be. It was a nice, relaxing weekend, with nothing more to do or worry about than spending time at the beach with new friends (we all kinda avoided talking about the fact that we would soon be separated from each other once we moved to our new homes, spread all across the country). The rest of May flew by….rushing to get our homework and projects for training completed in time. Then, suddenly, it was counterpart day….the day we met our counterparts (haha, literal enough?) – the local person from our communities with whom we would be working most with…basically our official link to the community. So, I packed up ½ of my crap (how I actually accumulated things without really ever buying anything I still don’t know..), including the ton of books and papers issued by Peace Corps (oh, right, that’s how I ended up with twice the load I arrived in country with…) and made my way to San Jose to meet this mystery person along with my fellow Tico 19ers. My local counterpart is actually a member of the local police force…which I think is awesome…don´t have to worry about anyone messing with me! lol. So, we all got introduced to our counterparts and then headed together (along with the pile of stuff everyone brought, well, the trainees anyway) to the same retreat center we had stayed at when we first arrived in country. We spent the rest of the day in awkward workshops with our counterparts, to get to know each other and prepare for our site visits (which would be the next day) where we would meet our new homes for the first time (cue dramatic music).

So, without further ado, I will introduce you all (as best I can without any pictures – long story short, I still don’t have my camera battery charger) to San Rafael de Guatuso, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. My introduction packet that I received at Site Assignment Day said Guatuso (as San Rafael is referred to by locals because it’s the capital of the canton of Guatuso – canton is like a county in the states fyi) is HOT…and that was pretty much an accurate statement. A really hot, humid summer day in PA is pretty much everyday here. Except that right now it’s the beginning of rainy season – and they don’t call it rainy season for nothing – it pretty much rains everyday (though thankfully not all day, yet anyway). You can pretty much predict the general times its going to rains so that helps – mornings between 7 and 9am and late afternoons around 4pm. Guatuso is a largish town surrounded by miles of farmland (referred to as finca from now on, the Spanish word for farm). Theres a lot of livestock raising, along with pineapple, rice and other crops. You can see two volcanoes from Guatuso - Arenal and Tenorino - at least you can when its not raining lol. The town has pretty much everyone one could need - several grocery stores, a market to buy fresh fruit, a bank, internet cafe and a bunch of stores. There are also a surprising number of hardware stores in Guatuso...I guess its not that surprising when you consider that the main employment in the region is farming and other type of manual labor. Related to my work for Peace Corps, there are luckily for me a good number of active organizations and groups in the community as well. Im already finding it very helpful...although a little frustrating at the same time because everyone wants to me to spend time with their organization and its already filling up my schedule.

So my site visit went well...I was on the local radio show...my counterpart has a weekly show and invited me, at first I thought just to see the station, etc, but no, I was definitely interviewed during his show. He was very excited to tell everyone about me and Peace Corps. Thankfully it was brief. There is also an indigenous reservation very close to Guatuso (thats actually where the name comes from) so I will hopefully be able to work with those communities as well. A short 10 days after my return to San Jose (sans pile of crap that I thankfully was able to leave at my new home) was Swearing In!!! The day I finally became a real Peace Corps volunteer. It was a beautiful, but surreal day for me. I had be thinking, dreaming, planning and anticipating this day ever since I learned what Peace Corps was. I almost felt detached from myself as we said the oath to defend the constitution of the United States of America at the Ambassador´s residence in San Jose. It really didnt feel real...and although I didn´t feel any different afterwards (or any more prepared haha) I knew that my real journey, my real adventure was just beginning.
Myself and the majority of my fellow CYFers spent the night out in San Jose before reality sunk in the next day and we started the tearful goodbyes. We told ourselves that it was only "see you later" and that we would only be a few hours by bus or a quick phone call away from each other. But it was still hard to say goodbye to the people I had become so close to. Sunday May 30th, 2009 I arrived in San Rafael de Guatuso to begin "working" as an offical Peace Corps Volunteer and representative of the USA (more or less). Almost a month later, I still cannot tell you definitively what I do or what my job is....thats part of what PC is, this undefined "thing" that works in mysterious ways without you even realizing it. Everyday that kids from the school say "adios!" (Costa Rican greeting) to me in the street, I know PC is doing its thing, and even I have no idea whats going to come from it.

Im still getting used to a lot of things: I think my Spanish has improved but people can still talk about me right in front of my face and usually I am none the wiser. The most frustrating thing is, though, when people are talking about me and I KNOW they are talking about me I just know exactly what they are saying so I can´t really respond in any clever way.....or sometimes in any way at all. But, poco a poco, Im learning. I haven´t needed to adjust to the heat, as most of you know haha though I am still unsure how I feel about Rainy Season - I am withholding judgment until we are smack in the middle of it (september ish) or my clothes grow mold (which current volunteers say WILL happen), whichever happens first.

About my days here...everyday is different, something I´ve always liked. Im trying to split the majority of my time between the elementary school and the high school. I also have meetings with PANI, my official counterpart, the clinic, Ministry of Health, and other organizations to get information regarding this looming thing called the CAT. I´ve also been trying to get to know the town more, be seen and talk to people...so sometimes just walking around or going to the grocery store is work for me. Like I said before: poco a poco...though Ive definitely been frustrated and have missed being at home, for the most part life is good here.

PURA VIDA as they would say here in CR