As I walked down the Pan American Highway today, the sun was setting over the hills and the last light of the day was glistening on the river. It is unfair how beautiful it is here. In 100 meters, I saw 200 shades of green. The vegetation is surreal, and for the most part, undeterred by mankind. With the exception of a few “houses” and the two-lane highway, the grass, trees, flowers and fruits all grow as they please. During the day, you can see the river from the highway; it seems to be rising all of the time. I can’t imagine what’ll happen during the rainy season. Though I am glad that I have the advantage of living in a house 200 meters from the base of the river. If I wanted to paint a picture, there is no way I could find the right colors I would need to paint the perfect river. It’s just beautiful, I keep meaning to take pictures, but I am afraid that trying to document it will cheapen my experience. My advice is that you come and visit. Then you’ll really understand. So what if volunteering doesn’t pay. The view is completely worth it.
I had quite a journey this weekend. I went to visit my friend Laura in La Fortuna, which is about 4 hours north of San Jose. So, on Friday night I took the “direct” bus from my town to San Jose. (It took about five and a half hours.) The man I sat next to on the bus told me about his family in Boston and his experiences living in Chile. We chatted about Economics and science, though for the most part he talked and I tried to translate the words he was saying.
However, even if I had the vocabulary, I doubt that I would have been able to contribute much. I arrived in San Jose at about 9:00 and spent the night at Hostel Bekuo, the place I spent my first night in Costa Rica. Interestingly enough, as I sat checking my email, two other world teachers (Becca and Johanna) and our assistant director Leilani spotted me. It’s quite a small world we live in.
The next morning I got up before dawn to take a bus from San Jose up into La Fortuna. On that bus I made friends with and Argentine Dentist named Fabian. I had assumed that he was a gringo because he was blonde and a giant, but when he started speaking to me with a far too perfect Spanish accent I realized how wrong I had been. I am forever going to be a fan of Fabian because he shared his IPod with me for the last hour of the Journey. As it turned out we were staying in the same Hostel and after my friends greeted me at the bus stop, we all walked over to check in together.
When I got off of the bus, my glorious friends Kevin, Kate and Mikki were waiting for me. I felt like a celebrity. A few minutes later, Laura the birthday girl, met up with us. We checked into the hostel and went for a walk, ending at a 100 foot waterfall. Kevin and Mikki both braved the water, but I took the day off of being a great adventurer. I did however take my first hot shower in a month and IT WAS AMAZING. I really almost couldn’t believe it. I had definitely forgotten how good the hot water felt. It was by far the hottest shower that I have had since I got to Costa Rica and maybe the best, I don’t really know. At this point, I am still just trying to figure out whether or not it was real.
When we went back into La Fortuna, we found Paul and Cara in the center of town and we all went out for the best lunch any of us had had in a while. Really. Ham, avocado and provolone on Ciabatta never tasted so good. The Fig-Espresso-Chocolate shake wasn’t bad either. For dessert we trekked over to Musmani (Costa Rica’s premier bakery chain) for snacks and “gifts” for Laura’s house Mom. My nearest town (Palmar) does not have a Musmani and I had been craving it since we left our orientation site (Orosi). It was everything that I remembered and more.
After visiting La Fortuna I am very glad that I did not choose to go to either of the bilingual sites. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that, the schools are even more challenging and discipline is almost impossible because of the lack of support from Costa Rican Education officials and local Directors. The system isn’t good or bad, its just very different, which can be extremely frustrating, I am sure. The second is that I am not sure I could be around so many Gringo’s all of the time. Living in those sites, you could actually spend an entire year and not use Spanish. The number of Americans is almost disheartening and the “Real Costa Rica” is somehow lost in translation. I know that I complain about my site regularly, but I am very happy here and it feels real, I feel like I am contributing. I don’t feel like just another American passing through. I like that I live here in Costa Rica. I like seeing the kids in their school Uniforms, I love having a relationship with the local fruit vendors and I am delighted to live on the Pan American Highway. It’s like nothing else I have every known. The third reason is that I don’t believe that I could really teach in all English all of the time. I’m technically supposed to now, but I find that when I try, the students stare at me like deer in the headlights, so I cheat, and I use my Spanish. Oops.
Saturday night we had a picnic and sat in hammocks for the better part of four hours and I could not have been happier. We compared stories about the first month at our host sites and vegged out on mangoes, avocados, chips, salsa and American foods like peanut butter and cheddar cheese (though obviously not together).
I didn’t sleep very well that night and so I got up early to take a trip to Musmani and buy breakfast for the group. A couple of ham sandwiches, glasses of orange juice and slices of mango and we were on our way. Mikki, Kevin, Paul, Cara, and I took the 8 am but to get back into San Jose. Mikki, Kevin and I then took a 1:00 from San Jose to our homes in the Zona Sur. Unfortunately, that bus was standing room only for 5 hours, but after a couple of hours someone offered me his seat, so I have no reason to complain. A year before, I had been
running the marathon. Standing is Easy.
Overall it was about 18 hours of travel for 18 hours in La Fortuna, but it was absolutely worth it. I got home at about 8:00. Fell asleep by 8:30 and didn’t wake up the next morning until 6:30. At which point I realized I hadn’t planned any of my lessons for the day. What can I say? I’m a champ.
The only other thing that has happened to me in the last few days that is of interest is that I waited for buses for an hour and a half yesterday to no avail. Granted two went speeding by me at 65 miles an hour, but none of them actually stopped for me. Miss you all and hope that all is well in the good old USA.
The Pura Vida is standard: rice, beans and social deviance.
Besos y Abrazos
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