well.
saturday: bussed to heredia with Halle and Ariel from NM, then to a museum/park outside the capital and spent 4 hours walking through it. . it's a nature exhibit, with simulations of all the biosystems of costa drica, and even some of the animals that live there. saw another sloth, some snakes and deer, large spiders and lots and lots of plants. walked through a labrynth and made it out alive, then visited the heredia mall to see a movie. we saw 'the day the earth stood still' - the new keanu reeves movie. . not something i would watch again but definitely entertaining.
that was my last night with my host family: we went out to dinner at a funny dinner in a neighboring town, then settled in at home to watch the bull runs on tv. i had never seent hem before, and it was not at all what i expected:
in a large rodeo corral wait roughly 150 people, mostly men. they crown around the opening of the bull-gate, and before the animal is even visible, they all scatter. . then the large large and usually hyper bull chases them around and occasionally makes contat. mostly the runners just flirt with his perepheral(sp?) vision and run away. a lot. sometimes they taunt him with flags or kneel down dangerously close to get a cheer fromthe crowd, then hurdle over the edges of the corral when he starts to run at them, but mostly it's just running away at a safe(ish) distance.
well, i went ot bed early, but not before considering making a trip to the capital to see this nonsense and all the other new-year's-week festivities that are going on.
sunday morning i moved to a b&b not far from the town, and met a woman who had been on the arenal trip. i had resigned myself to a lazy day of reading and writing, as i had no desire to go to san jose without a companion, but she plops down and goes ' up for an adventure?'
i believe
'shit yeah!'
was my exact response. (wonderful.)
she wanted to go to SJ, and i suggestedthe bulls. .
after that ppint, we essentially spent the entire day waiting.
for the bus
to get off the bus
for the other bus
to get to zapote, where the rodeo stadium is
in line.
in line.
for hours.
there are 2 shows a day, one at three and the other at nine. we naiively beleived we were waiting for the 3pm show while in line at 2:30. but oh, no. they were long sold out and the lines were fo the 9pm show. the ticket gates were'nt even open, and we eventually learned that they would remain closed until 5, which of course on tico time means 5:30ish.
however, we made friends with a fellow praticioner of patience, and familiarized ourselves with the 3 for $4 beer stand which we took turns attending. apparently it's legal to just crack open a cold one in public if you're in the rodeo area of life. . ? meh. we took bathroom and food runs and finally got our tickets sometime around 6. our new buddy cristian and his friend juan diego had the short straws of their family and were getting ticket for the whole crew. there was a 5 ticekt limit to prevent that kind of business and to discourage the scaplers (one tried to sell us $9 ticekts for almost $30. . whaa?) so we helpped them out with their family entrances in exchange for an excellent place in the OTHER line. . oh yes, even before the tickets went on sale there were people lining up for the entrance. so we got in with the diego family mish mosh (i think it was crisitan's brother/sister in law wairnt in the other area?) , made another food run and waited some more. i took a few minutes and $1 to go check out the snake exhibit. . that and 'espejos locos' (crazy mirros) were just about hte only booths that weren't selling chow mein, fried chicken, fried rice, churros and cotton candy. honestly every food booth was the same, although some sold exclusively sweets. then there were carnival rides, but manyof you will be happy to hear that i did not go on any of them, althogh they did have 'the zipper' in my opinion the all time best ever carnival ride possible. at least in my memory. . it was tempting, but we refrained.
another temptation averted:
the toreros -bull runners- are not professionals. they are just the first 150 people to get in line and sign a waver. i found this out by askng around about participatiing. got a lot of incredulous looks and no luck - would have had to go get in line on the other side of the stadium. . so i setttled for observations (told my ma that my costa rican gift to her is my non-participation) and now have some decent videos of silly people and large bulls.
well that was that - thankfully didn't see anyone get gored, just took a taxi home and slept asap.
yesterday i didn't do much to speak of - relaxed and went to town, got some groceries (i get to cook at the b&b!) and read a trashy magazine (glamour. bleugh.)
got to borrow a friend's skype account and call home without spending 30 cents a minute, which was refreshing to say the least. .
and so. here we are. at now. here i am, 25 hours from leaving for the farm.
for thos eof you who don't know the scoop, it is this:
Earth Rose farm is int he WWOOF network, and i will be doing a worktrade there from the 1st of january until the 18th ish of february. they grow all kinds of fruits and veggies, but also have a reforestation project. i hope to spend time working with the medicinal garden as well as with the whole shebang. i will not have internet, unless i make a weekend trip to the city - the nearest town, 'las esperansas' is not on any map i've seen thus far. .
tommorrow i will be meeting Rosie, the lady ofthe farm, and traveling to Angostura with her to stay the night with some friends before traveling to the farm in the AM of the 1st. 4 hours+ on the public bus then a taxi, then my new year's eve is rather undetermined - her friend's house could involve a tipical tico fiesta (music food dancing and generall rowdiness into the wee hours) or dinner and a quiet night. really don't know but am up for whatever.
as some of you may know, the lopez high school spanish club is making their biannual trip to nicaragua in february; waht you probably don't know is that my pa is going to spend some time with the CDCA (center for development in central america - wher the school stays) aroudn the same time. well even better is that he's going to visit the farm and work for a little while just before it'stime for me to head north to my returning flight. so, we get to work then travel together, then split up for seperate coutnries - me to home, and him to nicaragua. sounds like an excellent plan if you ask me, the only fault being that i am not going to nicaragua as well.
however, i suspect that i will be ready ish to gohome; i am looking forward to runiting with so many people and places, and keeping my fingers crossed that we will get a little snow at the end of february. .
in related news : i will be/am looking for place to live in bellingham come march, so if you've got any leads please pass them along, and thank you.
will be posting a farewell blog either later today or tomorrow am.
until then, enjoy the snow for me if you've got it,
- - -
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
feliz . . .
yeah, you know the rest.
but seriously i hope everyone's enjoying their winter, their families, etc. .
christmas here was.. a hoot?
remarkably similar (in organization, or rather, dis- ) to my mom's side of the family:
the tica family all gathered at my house ( my 'parents' here have 4 children, 3 of whom have at least 2 kids) for a potluck lunch around 2pm. they had drawn names among the children and adults, for a secret-friend gift exchange. (the campbells do this, but through the mail as we are relatively scattered)
the children, before presenting their gift or giving their present had to describe their secret buddy, and the adults went a bit further by acting out/mimicking theirs. after the exchange (i received some mango/mandarin lotion and gave some fancy chocolates [plus a disabetic-friendly version for my papa tico] ) we played various embarassing games and all ate too much dessert.
yes, there were tamales, and all of them made of pork. there were tamales in flamingo at the school, tamales in my home here, tamales at the school as well.. and all of them. every one. pork.
excellent.
my mama tica here is a great sport and the dad is constantly offering me food so i was in no danger of going hungry - they're slightly amused by my semi-vegetarianism but are both equally picky in other ways so we are getting along famously.
their youngest daughter is still at home - she's 22 and attending university in cartago, a 2hour ish commute from san joaquin.
i believe i sweated more yesterday than all other christmases combined.
p.s. no one i've met here pays any attention to solstice/equinox - their light change is almost nonexistent and their holidays thoroughly catholicized.
a favorite moment of the day:
after all 15plus had returned to their respective homes, we noticed that the mirror on the stairs (taller than i am and about 5 feet wide) had been decorated at the 2 foot mark with chocolate smears. the two youngest had been given treats ealier, and while we had all admired their chocolatey faces, we were unaware that they had been practicing their makeout skills with their reflections.
Also:
i learned to make that pineapple postre, but i am 99% sure my newfound knowledge will go unexercised, as the three (total) ingredients are:
1 whole pñna
1 lata (can) condensed milk
2 packets of gelatin sheets
gelatin sheets? translucent squares of animal product? seeeeeehhhhriously, i think not. it was an interesting cooking lesson, however, and i will not soon forget it.
fast forward to the future and you will find that today, the 26th of december 2008 , fue mi ultimo dia de clases. que triste, verdad?
that's right, i have completed 7 weeks of spanish study and graduated from book 1 of three.
i most recently studied the differences between 4 kinds of preterite, and can express things along the lines of 'i have been' vs 'i had been' , 'i have yet to' 'i had never __ before now' as well as ' if __ i would__', 'there will be' on top of the basic ' going to---'
the had/have/would've/haven't/will have (<--- both future and past) differences are fascinating to learn when their uses are explained only in spanish. and of course by 'fascinating' i mean 'frustrating', but i think i've got it down?
meh. what's important is that i can get around, and even discuss interesting things, and that's enough for now. i am considering minoring in spanish because i know i need to continue some kind of formal study, and that clear goal would be helpful in more ways than one. i am also fairly certain that i will be returning to fairhaven in the spring, so it looks like some things are coming together. i had hoped to gain some directional perspective during my 'time away', and while i am of course learning about what it is i want to learn, i still feel rather foggy as to what degree path i will be following. leaning towards a basic 'human ecology' title with dashes of food localiztion, alternative medicine, international trade (??) creative writing and biology. [this is why i attend fairhaven.]
and, something i don't feel i have sufficient time to explore at the moment, but has been on my mind quite often lately:
discrimination/racism. here - much more common than i had expected. i had some idea of the tico-nica spat involving guanacaste and the economic differences, but i have expereienced many more surprisingly blatant comments than i was prepared for. not only between nicaragua and costa rica, but vicioulsy racist conversations about asian residents, and generally anyone foreign. more on this later - i feel i can better explain the experiences that have prompted this at some other time.
in other news:
toady i am wearing my hair a certain way for the first time. and i mean ever, which is exciting - side ponytail and exaggerated bangs is the best way i can describe it, but what's important is my hair is making longitudinal progress, and i get to experiment with long hair once again.
i ironed a skirt yesterday, which was strange fun, as i haven't needed to use an iron in quite some time . (my mother and some of you may disagreee, but the ultimate truth is that it hasn't happened, necesary or no). anyhow i enjoyed it and looked as respectable as i can here with two facial rings and sandals.
i picked up my camera from the shippnig place on the 24th, so i have resumed taking photos and am getting to know my new electronic.
there's more, i know, but i'm expected at home and need to meet some new mexican chicas later to plan our weekend outings. more dancing practice, perhaps.
love to home,
until the weekend---
but seriously i hope everyone's enjoying their winter, their families, etc. .
christmas here was.. a hoot?
remarkably similar (in organization, or rather, dis- ) to my mom's side of the family:
the tica family all gathered at my house ( my 'parents' here have 4 children, 3 of whom have at least 2 kids) for a potluck lunch around 2pm. they had drawn names among the children and adults, for a secret-friend gift exchange. (the campbells do this, but through the mail as we are relatively scattered)
the children, before presenting their gift or giving their present had to describe their secret buddy, and the adults went a bit further by acting out/mimicking theirs. after the exchange (i received some mango/mandarin lotion and gave some fancy chocolates [plus a disabetic-friendly version for my papa tico] ) we played various embarassing games and all ate too much dessert.
yes, there were tamales, and all of them made of pork. there were tamales in flamingo at the school, tamales in my home here, tamales at the school as well.. and all of them. every one. pork.
excellent.
my mama tica here is a great sport and the dad is constantly offering me food so i was in no danger of going hungry - they're slightly amused by my semi-vegetarianism but are both equally picky in other ways so we are getting along famously.
their youngest daughter is still at home - she's 22 and attending university in cartago, a 2hour ish commute from san joaquin.
i believe i sweated more yesterday than all other christmases combined.
p.s. no one i've met here pays any attention to solstice/equinox - their light change is almost nonexistent and their holidays thoroughly catholicized.
a favorite moment of the day:
after all 15plus had returned to their respective homes, we noticed that the mirror on the stairs (taller than i am and about 5 feet wide) had been decorated at the 2 foot mark with chocolate smears. the two youngest had been given treats ealier, and while we had all admired their chocolatey faces, we were unaware that they had been practicing their makeout skills with their reflections.
Also:
i learned to make that pineapple postre, but i am 99% sure my newfound knowledge will go unexercised, as the three (total) ingredients are:
1 whole pñna
1 lata (can) condensed milk
2 packets of gelatin sheets
gelatin sheets? translucent squares of animal product? seeeeeehhhhriously, i think not. it was an interesting cooking lesson, however, and i will not soon forget it.
fast forward to the future and you will find that today, the 26th of december 2008 , fue mi ultimo dia de clases. que triste, verdad?
that's right, i have completed 7 weeks of spanish study and graduated from book 1 of three.
i most recently studied the differences between 4 kinds of preterite, and can express things along the lines of 'i have been' vs 'i had been' , 'i have yet to' 'i had never __ before now' as well as ' if __ i would__', 'there will be' on top of the basic ' going to---'
the had/have/would've/haven't/will have (<--- both future and past) differences are fascinating to learn when their uses are explained only in spanish. and of course by 'fascinating' i mean 'frustrating', but i think i've got it down?
meh. what's important is that i can get around, and even discuss interesting things, and that's enough for now. i am considering minoring in spanish because i know i need to continue some kind of formal study, and that clear goal would be helpful in more ways than one. i am also fairly certain that i will be returning to fairhaven in the spring, so it looks like some things are coming together. i had hoped to gain some directional perspective during my 'time away', and while i am of course learning about what it is i want to learn, i still feel rather foggy as to what degree path i will be following. leaning towards a basic 'human ecology' title with dashes of food localiztion, alternative medicine, international trade (??) creative writing and biology. [this is why i attend fairhaven.]
and, something i don't feel i have sufficient time to explore at the moment, but has been on my mind quite often lately:
discrimination/racism. here - much more common than i had expected. i had some idea of the tico-nica spat involving guanacaste and the economic differences, but i have expereienced many more surprisingly blatant comments than i was prepared for. not only between nicaragua and costa rica, but vicioulsy racist conversations about asian residents, and generally anyone foreign. more on this later - i feel i can better explain the experiences that have prompted this at some other time.
in other news:
toady i am wearing my hair a certain way for the first time. and i mean ever, which is exciting - side ponytail and exaggerated bangs is the best way i can describe it, but what's important is my hair is making longitudinal progress, and i get to experiment with long hair once again.
i ironed a skirt yesterday, which was strange fun, as i haven't needed to use an iron in quite some time . (my mother and some of you may disagreee, but the ultimate truth is that it hasn't happened, necesary or no). anyhow i enjoyed it and looked as respectable as i can here with two facial rings and sandals.
i picked up my camera from the shippnig place on the 24th, so i have resumed taking photos and am getting to know my new electronic.
there's more, i know, but i'm expected at home and need to meet some new mexican chicas later to plan our weekend outings. more dancing practice, perhaps.
love to home,
until the weekend---
Monday, December 22, 2008
solstice adventures - lava, hotsprings and hikes
location: internet cafe upstairs from some electronic shop i think, downtown San Joaquin De Flores. .
temperature: roughly 29 C, maybe 88 F? poor conversions aside, it's hot.
available tools: one compaq desktop, one sticky keyboard, and one dysfuncional fan
listening to: young men in the next room playing video games; large trucks passing and honking (always) outside; other keyboards and mouseclicks; the futbol game re-cap on the news; more honking. . .
feeling: slightly overheated and mildly guilty, for skipping out on an (entirely optional) event at the school. . was thiking about it, but after seeing the plaza FULL of little kids, gave in to my flight response and took off to explore the town. thre's a christmas party today for neighborhood kids, but today, i am just straight up not down with trying to herd 40plus whippersnappers. in spanish.
wandered through the industrial-ish area betweeen the school and downtown, and remained comfortably oriented throughout the entire walk, for which i am thankful because getting lost here in the heat, in a place without road signs is not my ideal afternoon. however, the lack of street labels has yet to be an issue for someone who grew up using landmarks - old barns, sharp corners, dysfunctional cars, large trees, etc - for directions. .
well, friday i lunched at a latin tapaps place in monteverde - had one of the best and probably the most beautful (almost the most expensive) meal yet: a roasted eggplant/smoked mozz napolean with sundried tomato sauce, a heart-of-palm and tangerine salad topped with toasted almonds and a hoisin-balsamic vinigarette (sp?), and steamed gren beans with a light garlic cream. delicious.. .
that night was spent back in moon shiva, listening to a costa rican rock star whose name i need to look up. he was rather skilled with the guitar, had undeniably admirable vocal strenth and range; the cake's icing: wavy mullet. furthermore, i could understand much of the content of his songs, including a classicly bluesy one - Mi Dulce Concepcion: ' yo tengo una nena, se llama Concepcion. .' and so on and so forth. . .
saturday morning i napped for a few hours in an oversized charter bus from monteverde's ridiculously damaged roads (the govt offered to fix them but eh town declined, in favor of retaining the only thing preventing monteverde from blossoming into some terriblely touristy flower. enough is enough) to volcan arenal. that afternoon we took a simple 2 1/2 hour hike through the rainforest. we saw giant plants, three toed sloths and howler monkeys. our guide, walter, can howl exactly like those critters; it's impressive. along parts of the trail are rubber trees, and we got to play a bit with the sap - it was truly fascinating for me, converting the smooth white treeblood to thick, unsnappable rubber by simply mixing it between fingers. amazing. felt something like discovering fire - an unexpected marvel. walter's father used to make ponchos out of it bu spreading it on large sheets of cloth to dry. and this stuff is biodegradable! amazing.
after our hike we went to baldi hotsprings and spent the evening lounging in hot hot water. there were wet bars, which seem like a fantastic idea until a $1 beer is 6.50 and all blended drinks are $10. whhaaat? it's almost insulting. so we contented ourselves with taking too many pictures, and going down a ridiculously steep waterslide. (may i mention that the was a time not too long ago that you would not have been able to bribe me to sample that green tube? but i did it, and almost had fun.)
we had a buffet dinner at the springs (creamy mushroom sauce with veggies and coconut flan for dessert) and bussed out to the other side of the volcano to wait for rocks to roll.
serously.
arenal is the most active volcanbo in costa rica, and at night you can see the red hot insides spilling down the hill. except the percent of c____ (a chemical component i will remember later) is too low/high for the lava to melt, so when arenal burps he spews glowing bolders.
i have wanted to see lava for many years, and while i won't be completely satisfied until i see the molten stuff, that night was actually breathtaking. we were so far away that the red trails and sparks had to be HUGE, and to hear their crashes from 2plus miles? sheesh. at one point a tour bus pulled up behind us, and the waiting process punctuated by ooh and aaahs and clapping was like watching fireworks, with some key differences : my ears were comfortable the entire time. it was free, for everyone involved. there is no 'bombs bursting in air' uncomfortable patriotic element - it's as natural and necessary as burping a baby, no? (albeit slightly scarier..)
watching the volcano spit orange, walking through winds that threaten to steal your clothes or knock you over, seeing waves reach on determined tiptoes to touch cliffsides and swallow docks, rain filling gutters in a blink, lightning striking just close enough. . these are the thrills i seek. i can do witout rainforest canopies, bungee jumps and parachutes, give me storms and growing things. it's a beautiful combination of feeling miniscule but empowered, awed and reassured, recharged, that i imagine -i hope- keeps churchgoers in attendance - these experiences keep me humble, hopeful, and happy.
after fawning over the volcano, i got some deep deep sleep (waking up confused as to where, exactly, am i? is always a sign of this) and hit the buffet breakfast around 7. we grabbed towls, suits and bright yellow $5 ponchos and set off in the rain to hike (bah - 15 minutes) to a waterfall. i must say i did my fellow puget sound swimmers proud by forging ahead into the waters. . no one took me up on the invitation to join me in those chaotic waters but we moved downstream and had a group swim. felt like a kid playing on a slide, floating down the river and walking back up to get carried down again. the rain stopped during out treck, so it wasn't too cold. spent some time in the nearby town browsing souvenirs (didn't buy a thing of course but a friend treated me to cheesecake ice cream. sigh.) i spent almost 5 minutes admiring a dead moth in a gladd frame - you know those ones that look like the face of an owl? amazing. right down to the light-glintswe lunched at the hotel and reentered out large chariot (this bus could fit 20 some people and we were 4) for the 3 hours to san joaquin.
and now, here i am, staying with another family for the week of christmas.
(just had a small power-outage and thought i might have lost this entire post. refused to freak out, and thank goodness it's all saved and fine. phew.)
my familia tica this town around has 4 kids, but only one left in the house - 22 year old karen who i haven't gotten to know yet as she was busy yesterday with a party for her cheerleading team. she seems nice enough, except she though i was 15?? didn't think i looked that young. . no matter. the parents are great- definitely jokesters, and i think we're all going to get along just fine. no one drinks coffe but the mom, adelaida, so i was an immediate hit when she found out i would be her cafe buddy. this afternoon she's going to teach me to make some pineapple dessert. .
they are definitely catholic, seemingly more of a practicing bunch thatn my other two families, so i am interested to see what christmas is going to be like. already have seem some photos fo the extended family so i may have some hope of remembering names when(if?) we're all together.
hope everyone's well - been hearing lots about snow snow snow, which is hard to imagine here; enjoy it if you've got it and make a snow creature for me. .
love,
mak
temperature: roughly 29 C, maybe 88 F? poor conversions aside, it's hot.
available tools: one compaq desktop, one sticky keyboard, and one dysfuncional fan
listening to: young men in the next room playing video games; large trucks passing and honking (always) outside; other keyboards and mouseclicks; the futbol game re-cap on the news; more honking. . .
feeling: slightly overheated and mildly guilty, for skipping out on an (entirely optional) event at the school. . was thiking about it, but after seeing the plaza FULL of little kids, gave in to my flight response and took off to explore the town. thre's a christmas party today for neighborhood kids, but today, i am just straight up not down with trying to herd 40plus whippersnappers. in spanish.
wandered through the industrial-ish area betweeen the school and downtown, and remained comfortably oriented throughout the entire walk, for which i am thankful because getting lost here in the heat, in a place without road signs is not my ideal afternoon. however, the lack of street labels has yet to be an issue for someone who grew up using landmarks - old barns, sharp corners, dysfunctional cars, large trees, etc - for directions. .
well, friday i lunched at a latin tapaps place in monteverde - had one of the best and probably the most beautful (almost the most expensive) meal yet: a roasted eggplant/smoked mozz napolean with sundried tomato sauce, a heart-of-palm and tangerine salad topped with toasted almonds and a hoisin-balsamic vinigarette (sp?), and steamed gren beans with a light garlic cream. delicious.. .
that night was spent back in moon shiva, listening to a costa rican rock star whose name i need to look up. he was rather skilled with the guitar, had undeniably admirable vocal strenth and range; the cake's icing: wavy mullet. furthermore, i could understand much of the content of his songs, including a classicly bluesy one - Mi Dulce Concepcion: ' yo tengo una nena, se llama Concepcion. .' and so on and so forth. . .
saturday morning i napped for a few hours in an oversized charter bus from monteverde's ridiculously damaged roads (the govt offered to fix them but eh town declined, in favor of retaining the only thing preventing monteverde from blossoming into some terriblely touristy flower. enough is enough) to volcan arenal. that afternoon we took a simple 2 1/2 hour hike through the rainforest. we saw giant plants, three toed sloths and howler monkeys. our guide, walter, can howl exactly like those critters; it's impressive. along parts of the trail are rubber trees, and we got to play a bit with the sap - it was truly fascinating for me, converting the smooth white treeblood to thick, unsnappable rubber by simply mixing it between fingers. amazing. felt something like discovering fire - an unexpected marvel. walter's father used to make ponchos out of it bu spreading it on large sheets of cloth to dry. and this stuff is biodegradable! amazing.
after our hike we went to baldi hotsprings and spent the evening lounging in hot hot water. there were wet bars, which seem like a fantastic idea until a $1 beer is 6.50 and all blended drinks are $10. whhaaat? it's almost insulting. so we contented ourselves with taking too many pictures, and going down a ridiculously steep waterslide. (may i mention that the was a time not too long ago that you would not have been able to bribe me to sample that green tube? but i did it, and almost had fun.)
we had a buffet dinner at the springs (creamy mushroom sauce with veggies and coconut flan for dessert) and bussed out to the other side of the volcano to wait for rocks to roll.
serously.
arenal is the most active volcanbo in costa rica, and at night you can see the red hot insides spilling down the hill. except the percent of c____ (a chemical component i will remember later) is too low/high for the lava to melt, so when arenal burps he spews glowing bolders.
i have wanted to see lava for many years, and while i won't be completely satisfied until i see the molten stuff, that night was actually breathtaking. we were so far away that the red trails and sparks had to be HUGE, and to hear their crashes from 2plus miles? sheesh. at one point a tour bus pulled up behind us, and the waiting process punctuated by ooh and aaahs and clapping was like watching fireworks, with some key differences : my ears were comfortable the entire time. it was free, for everyone involved. there is no 'bombs bursting in air' uncomfortable patriotic element - it's as natural and necessary as burping a baby, no? (albeit slightly scarier..)
watching the volcano spit orange, walking through winds that threaten to steal your clothes or knock you over, seeing waves reach on determined tiptoes to touch cliffsides and swallow docks, rain filling gutters in a blink, lightning striking just close enough. . these are the thrills i seek. i can do witout rainforest canopies, bungee jumps and parachutes, give me storms and growing things. it's a beautiful combination of feeling miniscule but empowered, awed and reassured, recharged, that i imagine -i hope- keeps churchgoers in attendance - these experiences keep me humble, hopeful, and happy.
after fawning over the volcano, i got some deep deep sleep (waking up confused as to where, exactly, am i? is always a sign of this) and hit the buffet breakfast around 7. we grabbed towls, suits and bright yellow $5 ponchos and set off in the rain to hike (bah - 15 minutes) to a waterfall. i must say i did my fellow puget sound swimmers proud by forging ahead into the waters. . no one took me up on the invitation to join me in those chaotic waters but we moved downstream and had a group swim. felt like a kid playing on a slide, floating down the river and walking back up to get carried down again. the rain stopped during out treck, so it wasn't too cold. spent some time in the nearby town browsing souvenirs (didn't buy a thing of course but a friend treated me to cheesecake ice cream. sigh.) i spent almost 5 minutes admiring a dead moth in a gladd frame - you know those ones that look like the face of an owl? amazing. right down to the light-glintswe lunched at the hotel and reentered out large chariot (this bus could fit 20 some people and we were 4) for the 3 hours to san joaquin.
and now, here i am, staying with another family for the week of christmas.
(just had a small power-outage and thought i might have lost this entire post. refused to freak out, and thank goodness it's all saved and fine. phew.)
my familia tica this town around has 4 kids, but only one left in the house - 22 year old karen who i haven't gotten to know yet as she was busy yesterday with a party for her cheerleading team. she seems nice enough, except she though i was 15?? didn't think i looked that young. . no matter. the parents are great- definitely jokesters, and i think we're all going to get along just fine. no one drinks coffe but the mom, adelaida, so i was an immediate hit when she found out i would be her cafe buddy. this afternoon she's going to teach me to make some pineapple dessert. .
they are definitely catholic, seemingly more of a practicing bunch thatn my other two families, so i am interested to see what christmas is going to be like. already have seem some photos fo the extended family so i may have some hope of remembering names when(if?) we're all together.
hope everyone's well - been hearing lots about snow snow snow, which is hard to imagine here; enjoy it if you've got it and make a snow creature for me. .
love,
mak
Friday, December 19, 2008
queso, arte, murcielagos y baile
_ tomorrow i will be leaving for arenal. 7:45 am, from the ice cream shop.
_the other night, i opened the door to the bathroom area of the house, and in the large (traditional?) sinks sat POUNDS of meat. red, raw, relatively unprocessed meat. good god, i gasped and practically had to physically shake my head to revover from the start. nothing i haven't seen before, but oh my, what an interesting surprise. the pile was probably half a pig.
_wednesday, i had a cooking class at the school - learned to make chalupas.
_that night, i went to Moon Shiva (restaurant) around 8:30 to listen to some live reggae. a couple local-ish guys, playing mostly covers, but i enjoyed it and spent an hour or so writing there. when they were done, there was a blues band playing downstairs, so i ended up finding two shows in one evening. not too shabby for a tiny mountain town on a wednesday night.
_yesterday:
after class, some girl from new mexico and i visited the cheese factory. . sadly, we missed the tour and just sampled some ice cream and watched them cleaning the machines through the observation window. had fig ice cream and it was delicious, if a little oversweetened.
following the cheese adventure, we stopped by a women's art cooperative - while many of the items were your basic costa rica touristy souvenirs, the clothing, paintings and jewelry were rather interesting. the upstair is a gallery (there seems to be an art gallery ever 100m here) and two workshops, so i chatted up a woman who was making a pair of blue cotton pants.
across the street is 'stella's bakery' so we sampled those wares as well, of course. here, croissants are called 'cangrejos' which i love because a) i can pronounce it correctly and b) as i may have mentioned before, cangrejo means crab. and i'm rather fond of those critters.
the girls opted for home when i decided to check out the roadside bat museum. (there was a chocolate shop nearby as wel, so in one day: cheese, chocolate, art, and bats. just about perfect, if you ask me)
i took the simple, do-it-yourself-tour and then spent some time in their viewing room with the fruit bats that live there. stinkin cute- definitely more than a few kinds i'd never seen before. apparently, if i were a bat, i would need to eat (daily) roughly 450 bananas, 200Lt of nectar, or (i think?) 40lbs of bug mass.
after din din with the familia tica, i hopped back over to the school for a salsa lession. not ar hard as i expected, but i stil have a long way to go. we went to moon shiva for their latin dance night and had a good time of it. (not much dancing on my part but tonight may be a different story)
i met one of the musicians from the night before, and a kid from massachusets who is laughably similar to coutntless bellinghammers. . in a good way.
this little town is rather adorable, and the forests, the wind, the atmosphere is attractive; i can understand why tehre are so many foreigners setting up camp int he area. on the one hand, i am tempted to find a way to come back and live here for a while, but on the other, i am ready to get back to a more 'typical' tico area of the courntry. this town is a gem, no doubt, but i suspect it would be possible to live here successfully without speaking spanish. .
stayed up too late and am now ravenously hungry. . will report more on the sights sounds and smells of arenal and heredia, next week. wish me luck on my dancing mission tonight . .
happy (almost) solstice
_the other night, i opened the door to the bathroom area of the house, and in the large (traditional?) sinks sat POUNDS of meat. red, raw, relatively unprocessed meat. good god, i gasped and practically had to physically shake my head to revover from the start. nothing i haven't seen before, but oh my, what an interesting surprise. the pile was probably half a pig.
_wednesday, i had a cooking class at the school - learned to make chalupas.
_that night, i went to Moon Shiva (restaurant) around 8:30 to listen to some live reggae. a couple local-ish guys, playing mostly covers, but i enjoyed it and spent an hour or so writing there. when they were done, there was a blues band playing downstairs, so i ended up finding two shows in one evening. not too shabby for a tiny mountain town on a wednesday night.
_yesterday:
after class, some girl from new mexico and i visited the cheese factory. . sadly, we missed the tour and just sampled some ice cream and watched them cleaning the machines through the observation window. had fig ice cream and it was delicious, if a little oversweetened.
following the cheese adventure, we stopped by a women's art cooperative - while many of the items were your basic costa rica touristy souvenirs, the clothing, paintings and jewelry were rather interesting. the upstair is a gallery (there seems to be an art gallery ever 100m here) and two workshops, so i chatted up a woman who was making a pair of blue cotton pants.
across the street is 'stella's bakery' so we sampled those wares as well, of course. here, croissants are called 'cangrejos' which i love because a) i can pronounce it correctly and b) as i may have mentioned before, cangrejo means crab. and i'm rather fond of those critters.
the girls opted for home when i decided to check out the roadside bat museum. (there was a chocolate shop nearby as wel, so in one day: cheese, chocolate, art, and bats. just about perfect, if you ask me)
i took the simple, do-it-yourself-tour and then spent some time in their viewing room with the fruit bats that live there. stinkin cute- definitely more than a few kinds i'd never seen before. apparently, if i were a bat, i would need to eat (daily) roughly 450 bananas, 200Lt of nectar, or (i think?) 40lbs of bug mass.
after din din with the familia tica, i hopped back over to the school for a salsa lession. not ar hard as i expected, but i stil have a long way to go. we went to moon shiva for their latin dance night and had a good time of it. (not much dancing on my part but tonight may be a different story)
i met one of the musicians from the night before, and a kid from massachusets who is laughably similar to coutntless bellinghammers. . in a good way.
this little town is rather adorable, and the forests, the wind, the atmosphere is attractive; i can understand why tehre are so many foreigners setting up camp int he area. on the one hand, i am tempted to find a way to come back and live here for a while, but on the other, i am ready to get back to a more 'typical' tico area of the courntry. this town is a gem, no doubt, but i suspect it would be possible to live here successfully without speaking spanish. .
stayed up too late and am now ravenously hungry. . will report more on the sights sounds and smells of arenal and heredia, next week. wish me luck on my dancing mission tonight . .
happy (almost) solstice
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
green, green mountains. .
well here i am at three fiftyfah in the afternoon, stomach full of delicious roasted veggie quesadilla, excellent (organic shade grown and LOCAL. . wow) coffe with a splash of homemade kaluah. . .
i am exploring Santa Elena, the town down the (breathtakingly steap) hill from Monteverde, a quiet, adorable and almost 50 50 tico-foreigner inhabited town in, yes - green mountains. there is a large quaker population, and bunches of otehr north americans to boot. leaving flamingo was rather tough, but already after two days i've got another place i'll be needing to revisit.
my family is, likely in the fashion of all of cpi's homestays, polite, kind, and totally accostumed to strangers living in their house. i am the 78th guest in this house. the father is a carpenter, and i have yet to find out for sure, but i beleiv he vuilt their home - the woodwork is simple but beautiful. they have a 9(ish?) year old girl and a 3 year old boy; things are a little crazyloud at times but all in all the house is great. the mother, yorleny, is a seamstress and even has a surger (drool) and has made much of the kids clothing and it seems all the curtains/bedspreads/pillows. and they're quite nice.
it's been raining on and off (seriously like kids playing with lightswitches, one-minute-to-the-next) and the clouds whizz by like they're late to a party. the wind, oh my goodness the wind. . imagine those winter nights on the island when sleep is nearly impossible because you think the house if going to just say 'uncle' and collapse, but you wouldn't really mind because, what with all the energy whirring around, you'd be able to put it back together before morning - - that wind, that ferociously playful and more-than-slightly-intimidating wind is rather constant here. needless to say, i am enjoying it immensely.
i have found two favorite lunch spots - one, a bakery/cafe that has a book exchange (!). . i raded daniel's Adventure Divas (will be happy to replace it or trade you like we discussed. .) for an adventure novel called aborat, which i began yesterday and will likely return tomorrow for a new read - possibly ana karenina(sp?). the otehr is called flor de vida, and man oh man it was hard to giggle quietly while eating there yesterday; the similarites to vita's are remarkable. (but the differences are all in vita's favor, as flor could benefit from a teeny bit of loosening up) it features vegetarian food (let me tell you, a rare thing on my journey thus far) and just straight up good food at that. i had a blended juice - piña, ginger, coconut milk, cinnamon and a dash of brown sugar. brilliant, just enough ginger. . plus their special - veggie tamales that were less than $4. hottdamn. the music that was playing was a latin jazzy somethingorother that i swear i've heard at work, and as i ate, i just kept on thinking of home. . the color scheme was what really got me, only the soft blue was replaced by dashes of deeper shade, and the coralish hue of vita's countertop was on the majority of the walls,and a bit darker. but the yellow - the same, the mixmatch of walls - similar. an oversized wooden bowl on the countertop that in vita's would have tomatoes, pears, or apples, was brimming with piña, bananas and watermelon. there is an art gallery of local work and clothing attached, and they have live music in the evenings. it seems like the majority of the restaurants around here have bands playing mosts nights of the week. i am considering taking a salsa class at the bakery on thursday, then going dancing at 'moon shiva' next door.
i am going to take a variety of excursions in the next few days - a hike through the nature preserve, of course, then a tour of -get this- a cheese factory. felt a little confused when inquiring about it: 'also, i'd like to take a tour of the cheese factory'... uhhh...
but it's just about the only business here run my ticos (so i hear) and in my line of study, fodd systems and localization (??) i figure it will be pretty interesting. the only catch is that they have a required minimum of 2 people for each tour so i ahve to find someone willing to come along. might have to pay their $8 entrance fee.... ah, well. (almost)whatever it takes in the name of knowledge.
this weekend, i will be (sadly) leaving a day early - i've elected to drive extra hours out of my way to the next shcool to visit volcan arenal. there are 2 hikes in two days, one near the volcano and the next to some waterfalls (deja vu, anyone? sheesh) but i'm confident there will be considerable less rock climbing (and hours) involved.
i have my first male teacher, and am again the only student, but as usual classes are close to excellent and i am learning more each day. definitely feeling more comfortable speaking to whomever i meet. being friends with jeffrey helped considerably, because practice was less formal than the classroom but, like in the school, i had no worry of embarrassment. it will be getting dark soon and i am going to had back to the school for the movie night - they're showing the mototcycle diaries so i figure it's worth the trip.
i am exploring Santa Elena, the town down the (breathtakingly steap) hill from Monteverde, a quiet, adorable and almost 50 50 tico-foreigner inhabited town in, yes - green mountains. there is a large quaker population, and bunches of otehr north americans to boot. leaving flamingo was rather tough, but already after two days i've got another place i'll be needing to revisit.
my family is, likely in the fashion of all of cpi's homestays, polite, kind, and totally accostumed to strangers living in their house. i am the 78th guest in this house. the father is a carpenter, and i have yet to find out for sure, but i beleiv he vuilt their home - the woodwork is simple but beautiful. they have a 9(ish?) year old girl and a 3 year old boy; things are a little crazyloud at times but all in all the house is great. the mother, yorleny, is a seamstress and even has a surger (drool) and has made much of the kids clothing and it seems all the curtains/bedspreads/pillows. and they're quite nice.
it's been raining on and off (seriously like kids playing with lightswitches, one-minute-to-the-next) and the clouds whizz by like they're late to a party. the wind, oh my goodness the wind. . imagine those winter nights on the island when sleep is nearly impossible because you think the house if going to just say 'uncle' and collapse, but you wouldn't really mind because, what with all the energy whirring around, you'd be able to put it back together before morning - - that wind, that ferociously playful and more-than-slightly-intimidating wind is rather constant here. needless to say, i am enjoying it immensely.
i have found two favorite lunch spots - one, a bakery/cafe that has a book exchange (!). . i raded daniel's Adventure Divas (will be happy to replace it or trade you like we discussed. .) for an adventure novel called aborat, which i began yesterday and will likely return tomorrow for a new read - possibly ana karenina(sp?). the otehr is called flor de vida, and man oh man it was hard to giggle quietly while eating there yesterday; the similarites to vita's are remarkable. (but the differences are all in vita's favor, as flor could benefit from a teeny bit of loosening up) it features vegetarian food (let me tell you, a rare thing on my journey thus far) and just straight up good food at that. i had a blended juice - piña, ginger, coconut milk, cinnamon and a dash of brown sugar. brilliant, just enough ginger. . plus their special - veggie tamales that were less than $4. hottdamn. the music that was playing was a latin jazzy somethingorother that i swear i've heard at work, and as i ate, i just kept on thinking of home. . the color scheme was what really got me, only the soft blue was replaced by dashes of deeper shade, and the coralish hue of vita's countertop was on the majority of the walls,and a bit darker. but the yellow - the same, the mixmatch of walls - similar. an oversized wooden bowl on the countertop that in vita's would have tomatoes, pears, or apples, was brimming with piña, bananas and watermelon. there is an art gallery of local work and clothing attached, and they have live music in the evenings. it seems like the majority of the restaurants around here have bands playing mosts nights of the week. i am considering taking a salsa class at the bakery on thursday, then going dancing at 'moon shiva' next door.
i am going to take a variety of excursions in the next few days - a hike through the nature preserve, of course, then a tour of -get this- a cheese factory. felt a little confused when inquiring about it: 'also, i'd like to take a tour of the cheese factory'... uhhh...
but it's just about the only business here run my ticos (so i hear) and in my line of study, fodd systems and localization (??) i figure it will be pretty interesting. the only catch is that they have a required minimum of 2 people for each tour so i ahve to find someone willing to come along. might have to pay their $8 entrance fee.... ah, well. (almost)whatever it takes in the name of knowledge.
this weekend, i will be (sadly) leaving a day early - i've elected to drive extra hours out of my way to the next shcool to visit volcan arenal. there are 2 hikes in two days, one near the volcano and the next to some waterfalls (deja vu, anyone? sheesh) but i'm confident there will be considerable less rock climbing (and hours) involved.
i have my first male teacher, and am again the only student, but as usual classes are close to excellent and i am learning more each day. definitely feeling more comfortable speaking to whomever i meet. being friends with jeffrey helped considerably, because practice was less formal than the classroom but, like in the school, i had no worry of embarrassment. it will be getting dark soon and i am going to had back to the school for the movie night - they're showing the mototcycle diaries so i figure it's worth the trip.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Nicaragua
on sunday morning around 7:30 am, i left my tico house and walked the dusty roads past cows and construction sites, 2 bridges and 4 bars, to a nearby town to meet heather. we stopped by castillo, an expensive restaurant that has an espresso machine, and i got my first soy latte of the trip. been drinking weakish black coffee since my arrival, probably too often.
we drove to the border in the family's car - functional in the sense that it would not have been out of place on lopez - and made it to the border in less than three hours. her line of work has involved water quality, and her husband is a professor *(soil sciences, if i remember correctly?) and with our discussions the time passed quickly.
we parked the car within the 200 yeards of no-man's-land between the countries, and walked back to costa rica to get stamped out, then to nicaragua to get stamped in. the border was slightly chaotic, as there was contruction/tree removal taking place about 10 yards from the buildings, but in slightly less than an hour we were in a taxi on the way to san jorge, a town on the western shore of lake nicaragua.
there, we met her family - her husband mark and their kids ben(13) and tara (9). after lunch at a little restaurant we pais $3 each for the 1 hour ferry ride to omatepe. we climbed to the sparsley populated top deck, and while i was unaware of it at the time, using that vertical metal ladder was the first of many events to further my anti-fear-of-heights crusade.
they had already arranged for a hotel, and a car met us at the dock. i rode in the back of the truck with the kids along surprisingly smooth roads to the 'hotel finca valencia'.. i had a room to myself, my own bathroom, a shared sink and no scorpions. the farm/hotel is on the lakeshore, and there were plenty of hammocks and chairs, as well as a restaurant. we stayed there all three nights- it as inexpensive and comfortable, both physically and environmentally - a far cry from the ridiclous hilton adventure of the other week.
they had mentioned that they had hired a guide for the next two days, and were planning to hike the smaller of omatepe's two volcanoes to see the lake that abides in it's crater. of course i wanted to go along. .
we set out before 8 th3e next morning and began our hike around 8:30. i had no idea at the time that 'long hike' meant:
4 hours ish to the top. we returned the car around 5pm after a whole day of walking. a whole day of going only 12k.
by 'hike', is really meant 'hike then climb' - up and over muddy rocks using a stick and sometimes both hands.
when you get to the top, it's another 15 minutes straight down to get to the lake, which is covered by fog.
we hiked first through rocky, dusty pasture, then through fields of frijoles, then brush, then full on rain/cloud forest. there should be a sign at the bottom that says something to the effect of 'if you hope to enjoy this, it would be good if you didn't hate rock climbing.'
but in all honesty, despite the difficulty, slipperiness, mud-caking (oh and the three ticks i got to pull off of my legs upon our return) i actually did enjoy it. or rather, i enjoyed it enough that i don't regret it. there were points when i was on the fence, and a couple moments when i was inthe other feild.
the next day we, believe it or not, went on another hike. all our legs were protesting, but the promise of amazing waterfalls got us out of bed and on the road only slightly later than the first day. this time around it was only 6k, and considerably less difficult. however, the path wound along some cliffish areas, and i do believe i had the most rigorous anti-fear excercises of late. much scarier than skateboarding (and damn, sometimes that's hard)..
the waterfalls basically made up for the previous day's lack of lake. it rained onthe way back, which was terrifying for the cliff section (never got too muddy though) and greatly appreciated the rest of the way. we spent the evening resting in hammocks and adventured along a 'path' near the lakeshorre (at times in the lake itself) to a nearby restaurant. wednesday morning we spent a bit of time in moyagalpa before catching the ferry arond noon. i tried to make phone calls (costa rica has formidable restrictions on telephone communications) before we left, but with no luck.
our trip back was uneventful - the border was a relative peice of cake and we stopped for an excellent pizza dinner in liberia, a city between the border and our towns.
this little excursion confirmed a few suspicions:
while i am enjoying costa rica, i feel more connected to and interested in nicaragua. there are many roots of this preference- my experiences there in high school undoubtedly play a large role, but there's definitely more. in place of condominiums and promises of paradise being shoved down your throat through billboards/flyers/newspapers/windows there are women selling pastries and children with tortillas. i by no means intend to romanticize nicaragua, but i do feel like it is much easier to reach the unfiltered, honest heart of that country than it is to find such connections in costa rica. i have yet to meet anyone unkind or unwelcoming in costa rica, but even after living here for 5 weeks, i do not feel the same chest/stomach-tug connection and curiousity that i have for nicaragua. it has been fascinating to learn (especially from people living here) of the differences and similiarities between these neighbors. the long and short of all this is that i am excited for my remaining months here, and am already formulating plans for a return to both guanacaste and nicaragua.
while at the top of the volcano, we met a few other hikers and their guide, one of whom is preparing to compete in a race that will be held tomorrow on the island. there are two levels- 50k and 100k, and the course includes both volcanoes. this is absolutely incredible to non-running me, and i suggest checking out a map of the island to get a picture of what this means. just to 50k takes about 12 hours, while (i'm told) regular 50k s take round 4. the man we met, donald, has finished 6th and 4th, and plans to win this year. again, BOTH volanoes. hearing this while resting at the top with mud covered, aching legs, i almost could not comprehend what they were saying. i hope the runners coming from around the world take the advice to bing an extra pair of shoes for after that climb, because i can guarantee you that most of them don't really know what's in store for them. absolutely an extreme adventure run. best of luck to all of them.
anyhow, on wednesday night we made it back in time for me to shower and head out to my last ladie's night. same old night, except i played foosball/table hockey with some local guys and surprised everyone by doing rather well. looks like hours of time-killing during years of drama club at the grange have come in handy. excellent.
today was my final day of classes at cpi flamingo- on sunday i head out to monteverde's cloud forest. it will be difficult to leave the friends i've made here, but the rainforest is sure to be an adventure. i'm told it is rainy and cold, and i will welcome an excuse to don my neglected zip-up.
more tales and musings to come, i promise. will do my best not to get behind again as i feel like i have omitted many important tidbits.
we drove to the border in the family's car - functional in the sense that it would not have been out of place on lopez - and made it to the border in less than three hours. her line of work has involved water quality, and her husband is a professor *(soil sciences, if i remember correctly?) and with our discussions the time passed quickly.
we parked the car within the 200 yeards of no-man's-land between the countries, and walked back to costa rica to get stamped out, then to nicaragua to get stamped in. the border was slightly chaotic, as there was contruction/tree removal taking place about 10 yards from the buildings, but in slightly less than an hour we were in a taxi on the way to san jorge, a town on the western shore of lake nicaragua.
there, we met her family - her husband mark and their kids ben(13) and tara (9). after lunch at a little restaurant we pais $3 each for the 1 hour ferry ride to omatepe. we climbed to the sparsley populated top deck, and while i was unaware of it at the time, using that vertical metal ladder was the first of many events to further my anti-fear-of-heights crusade.
they had already arranged for a hotel, and a car met us at the dock. i rode in the back of the truck with the kids along surprisingly smooth roads to the 'hotel finca valencia'.. i had a room to myself, my own bathroom, a shared sink and no scorpions. the farm/hotel is on the lakeshore, and there were plenty of hammocks and chairs, as well as a restaurant. we stayed there all three nights- it as inexpensive and comfortable, both physically and environmentally - a far cry from the ridiclous hilton adventure of the other week.
they had mentioned that they had hired a guide for the next two days, and were planning to hike the smaller of omatepe's two volcanoes to see the lake that abides in it's crater. of course i wanted to go along. .
we set out before 8 th3e next morning and began our hike around 8:30. i had no idea at the time that 'long hike' meant:
4 hours ish to the top. we returned the car around 5pm after a whole day of walking. a whole day of going only 12k.
by 'hike', is really meant 'hike then climb' - up and over muddy rocks using a stick and sometimes both hands.
when you get to the top, it's another 15 minutes straight down to get to the lake, which is covered by fog.
we hiked first through rocky, dusty pasture, then through fields of frijoles, then brush, then full on rain/cloud forest. there should be a sign at the bottom that says something to the effect of 'if you hope to enjoy this, it would be good if you didn't hate rock climbing.'
but in all honesty, despite the difficulty, slipperiness, mud-caking (oh and the three ticks i got to pull off of my legs upon our return) i actually did enjoy it. or rather, i enjoyed it enough that i don't regret it. there were points when i was on the fence, and a couple moments when i was inthe other feild.
the next day we, believe it or not, went on another hike. all our legs were protesting, but the promise of amazing waterfalls got us out of bed and on the road only slightly later than the first day. this time around it was only 6k, and considerably less difficult. however, the path wound along some cliffish areas, and i do believe i had the most rigorous anti-fear excercises of late. much scarier than skateboarding (and damn, sometimes that's hard)..
the waterfalls basically made up for the previous day's lack of lake. it rained onthe way back, which was terrifying for the cliff section (never got too muddy though) and greatly appreciated the rest of the way. we spent the evening resting in hammocks and adventured along a 'path' near the lakeshorre (at times in the lake itself) to a nearby restaurant. wednesday morning we spent a bit of time in moyagalpa before catching the ferry arond noon. i tried to make phone calls (costa rica has formidable restrictions on telephone communications) before we left, but with no luck.
our trip back was uneventful - the border was a relative peice of cake and we stopped for an excellent pizza dinner in liberia, a city between the border and our towns.
this little excursion confirmed a few suspicions:
while i am enjoying costa rica, i feel more connected to and interested in nicaragua. there are many roots of this preference- my experiences there in high school undoubtedly play a large role, but there's definitely more. in place of condominiums and promises of paradise being shoved down your throat through billboards/flyers/newspapers/windows there are women selling pastries and children with tortillas. i by no means intend to romanticize nicaragua, but i do feel like it is much easier to reach the unfiltered, honest heart of that country than it is to find such connections in costa rica. i have yet to meet anyone unkind or unwelcoming in costa rica, but even after living here for 5 weeks, i do not feel the same chest/stomach-tug connection and curiousity that i have for nicaragua. it has been fascinating to learn (especially from people living here) of the differences and similiarities between these neighbors. the long and short of all this is that i am excited for my remaining months here, and am already formulating plans for a return to both guanacaste and nicaragua.
while at the top of the volcano, we met a few other hikers and their guide, one of whom is preparing to compete in a race that will be held tomorrow on the island. there are two levels- 50k and 100k, and the course includes both volcanoes. this is absolutely incredible to non-running me, and i suggest checking out a map of the island to get a picture of what this means. just to 50k takes about 12 hours, while (i'm told) regular 50k s take round 4. the man we met, donald, has finished 6th and 4th, and plans to win this year. again, BOTH volanoes. hearing this while resting at the top with mud covered, aching legs, i almost could not comprehend what they were saying. i hope the runners coming from around the world take the advice to bing an extra pair of shoes for after that climb, because i can guarantee you that most of them don't really know what's in store for them. absolutely an extreme adventure run. best of luck to all of them.
anyhow, on wednesday night we made it back in time for me to shower and head out to my last ladie's night. same old night, except i played foosball/table hockey with some local guys and surprised everyone by doing rather well. looks like hours of time-killing during years of drama club at the grange have come in handy. excellent.
today was my final day of classes at cpi flamingo- on sunday i head out to monteverde's cloud forest. it will be difficult to leave the friends i've made here, but the rainforest is sure to be an adventure. i'm told it is rainy and cold, and i will welcome an excuse to don my neglected zip-up.
more tales and musings to come, i promise. will do my best not to get behind again as i feel like i have omitted many important tidbits.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
last week - catching up
here we go again - i'm almost 2 weeks behind on blogginess and more than a few hours behind on sleep. i've just returned to my potrero home from nicaragua, but those stories will have to wait, lest i forget last week. (please forgive the typos, as i have no plans to read through any of this.)
it's all kind of running together, but i spent most of last week hanging out with my captain friend, exchanging english and spanish lessons. on thursday, i got to go on a free sailboat tour out to a little beach then around the point for the sunset. it was grand. phweee-ooh, it's difficult to go about this chronologically so here goes a bullet-brianstorm of events:
- made two batches of cookie dough for my host family - one for that day and one to freeze for after i leave.
- i took the public bus home for the first time. . much less sketchy than they appear from the outside.
- i got a mosquito bite on my wrist tattoo... think patterned balloons.
- have decided to spend my next week of classes in monteverde. it's a rainforesty, mountainous region that sounds excellent, however i won't know until tomorrow if i get to make the switch. fingers crossed. .
- friday night, almost every CPI student went to tamarindo - 8 of us got a minibus and headed out around 10. we went to 'the monkey bar', which featured a live (and rather skilled) band in the upper section (the whole place wwas open, with a pool, two bars, and two dancefloors). unfortunately, the band often had to compete with mediocre reggae remixes and pop-rap from the lower floor. i would rather spend an entire day bouncing along dusty roads, weaving among cattle and bicycles and fearing for everyone's lives than spend half an hour caught within some battle of the genres throb-athon at the monkey bar.
however, i danced a bit and paid too much for drinks and left with the bus around 2
- i spent the entire next day on the beach in the shade reading and napping. had an early dinner at a local restaurant, and stumbled upon my ticket to nicaragua (aka project visa-renew). quite the perfect saturday.
- that ticket was heather and family, a foursome from california who own the place where my captain friend lives. mark and the kids -ben and tara- were already in nicaragua, and heather was heading up sunday morning to meet them for a trip to omatepe(an island in lake nicaragua). Effran (or Jeffrey - the captain) mentioned that i might be able to tag along. as it turns out, he was absolutely right, but i must save that adventure for another time. likely tomorrow when my internet access is free and i have had more sleep. . .
it's all kind of running together, but i spent most of last week hanging out with my captain friend, exchanging english and spanish lessons. on thursday, i got to go on a free sailboat tour out to a little beach then around the point for the sunset. it was grand. phweee-ooh, it's difficult to go about this chronologically so here goes a bullet-brianstorm of events:
- made two batches of cookie dough for my host family - one for that day and one to freeze for after i leave.
- i took the public bus home for the first time. . much less sketchy than they appear from the outside.
- i got a mosquito bite on my wrist tattoo... think patterned balloons.
- have decided to spend my next week of classes in monteverde. it's a rainforesty, mountainous region that sounds excellent, however i won't know until tomorrow if i get to make the switch. fingers crossed. .
- friday night, almost every CPI student went to tamarindo - 8 of us got a minibus and headed out around 10. we went to 'the monkey bar', which featured a live (and rather skilled) band in the upper section (the whole place wwas open, with a pool, two bars, and two dancefloors). unfortunately, the band often had to compete with mediocre reggae remixes and pop-rap from the lower floor. i would rather spend an entire day bouncing along dusty roads, weaving among cattle and bicycles and fearing for everyone's lives than spend half an hour caught within some battle of the genres throb-athon at the monkey bar.
however, i danced a bit and paid too much for drinks and left with the bus around 2
- i spent the entire next day on the beach in the shade reading and napping. had an early dinner at a local restaurant, and stumbled upon my ticket to nicaragua (aka project visa-renew). quite the perfect saturday.
- that ticket was heather and family, a foursome from california who own the place where my captain friend lives. mark and the kids -ben and tara- were already in nicaragua, and heather was heading up sunday morning to meet them for a trip to omatepe(an island in lake nicaragua). Effran (or Jeffrey - the captain) mentioned that i might be able to tag along. as it turns out, he was absolutely right, but i must save that adventure for another time. likely tomorrow when my internet access is free and i have had more sleep. . .
Friday, December 5, 2008
poco a poco. . last weekend
ooohhhh k.
it's been a while, no?
so secure your tray tables, position your buttocks comfortably and keep your seatbelts fastened, cause oh me oh my we've got a week and then some to cover.
first, last wednesday: ladie's night, round two. i met a charming young man from a nearby town (more about him later) and had my first dancing lessons. not too shabby - i never thought i'd be able to follow (this partner-dance business has always been a little ridiculous for me) but i surprised myself.
thursday, the school offered a $2 bus to tamarindo, a near-ish, larger touristy town, so i went for the day. i rented a surfboard for 10 bucks and tried my damndest... amazingly, the danceing was more of a success. however, this is not for lack of effort - the waves were not especially good that day, and the beach was crowded. it was fun, though, and i hope to try again. got some pointers from a friend, so i saved some cash on an unecesary lesson. i think.
that night, was (as i was reminded on the bus ride back) thanksgiving... me : oh? oh. huhm. ok... didn't do much in the way of fancy dinner, but had some interesting conversations (in spanish of course) about the holiday. hope everyone had wonderful food and family times.
friday, i had my final dives . . they were easy, fun, and safe. being on the boat was great all on it's own . . i have been wanting to rent a little boat but the only tings available are 900dollar sport fishing excursions. i've put that on my list of things to consider if i ever completely lose my mind. no, thank you.
we didn't see any 'big' animals - we went all the places the sharks (nice ones, ma - don't worry) play, but no luck. lots of fish, however and there were a pair of purple and white urchins doing some kind of matey dance, we think.
my camera usually functions underwater, but aparently this time around the seal was on vacation and it no longer funcions at all. that has been the only bad news of my trip, and i am not discouraged anymore as i have purchased a 27 exposure disposable for the present. i also borrowed a camera from a fellow student, as my memory card is compatable with hers. . went on a picture spree and now feel much less worried.
finding a replacement for the remaining three months (it's almost been 1 month already!) is proving a little difficult but i will manage. i am kind og enjoying the little plastic thing in this age of hand-held-phone-cam-computer-gameboy-madness.
ahhm. and so, on saturay morning, 6 other students and i rented cars and drove north to playa hermosa. excluding me, the ages ranged from late 40s to late 20s, but that was of little importance and we had a good time. howver, it rained almost the entire time. i was not bothered much (surprise..) but some of our party had their hearts set on sunbathing.. some of us ladies adventured farther north to find the 'amazing vistas' in the area and were sucessful. onthe way, we encountered a driveway to a hotel that had been shut down by the ministry of health three months ago. i guessed correctly - something went wrong with their water treatment; it was the only thing i could think of that would affect the sprawling apartments and common spaces plastered down the hill. we got to drive in and cehck it out, which was a top notch excursion. i am reading a book (thanks, aunt karen) called the world without us, which describes a hypothetical future after an immediate disappearance of humans. a verbal time-lapse of cities, geography, etc- changes in flora, fauna, and the things we¿ve left behind. anyhow, it was like walking through the first stages of what the author describes for most buildings - after only 3 months the plants were taking back much of the the grounds and parts of the buldings, and despite their hopes of reopending, it looked like the buildlings wer starting to go (cracks in floors, roofs.. ) the pools were gnarly with a capital g - they didn't drain the water, and they looked rather like spinach/kale soup.
one woman is in the travel industry, and tried to pull some stings to get us a deal at the hilton. . we could have stayed there for 99 dollars a person, for one niht, 3 meals and drinks included. i realize that this would have been a 'great deal' but i voted no becuase. . well. seriously? good deal or no, i don't need to spend 99 dollars get drunk and bathe in a swanky tourist den. the 'no swimming' sign at eh beach affirmed my veto. it was fun to check out, though - we got entry bracelets and wandered around a bit.
we spent the night at an extremely inexpenise but adorable bed and breakfast (in reality, just bed) and explored the little town. we split up for dinner, and a few of us took a taxi to nearby coco beach and hit up some clubs. the club scene here is a little ridiculous (ah, wait. . clubs. right. always so.) but it was fun nonetheless. much flashier than ladie's night in potrero, but no cleaner.
we returned on sunday and made guacamole in one oe the student apartments, and settled in for a movie through more of the relentless rain. there really is not much to do here besides go to the beach, which is not a problem when it's clear out. when there's rain, it's either your house (usually too small to have many people over) or a bar. thank goodness i don't tire of reading.
i can't stand another minute in the computer lab so i will write more later. much, much more. . .
it's been a while, no?
so secure your tray tables, position your buttocks comfortably and keep your seatbelts fastened, cause oh me oh my we've got a week and then some to cover.
first, last wednesday: ladie's night, round two. i met a charming young man from a nearby town (more about him later) and had my first dancing lessons. not too shabby - i never thought i'd be able to follow (this partner-dance business has always been a little ridiculous for me) but i surprised myself.
thursday, the school offered a $2 bus to tamarindo, a near-ish, larger touristy town, so i went for the day. i rented a surfboard for 10 bucks and tried my damndest... amazingly, the danceing was more of a success. however, this is not for lack of effort - the waves were not especially good that day, and the beach was crowded. it was fun, though, and i hope to try again. got some pointers from a friend, so i saved some cash on an unecesary lesson. i think.
that night, was (as i was reminded on the bus ride back) thanksgiving... me : oh? oh. huhm. ok... didn't do much in the way of fancy dinner, but had some interesting conversations (in spanish of course) about the holiday. hope everyone had wonderful food and family times.
friday, i had my final dives . . they were easy, fun, and safe. being on the boat was great all on it's own . . i have been wanting to rent a little boat but the only tings available are 900dollar sport fishing excursions. i've put that on my list of things to consider if i ever completely lose my mind. no, thank you.
we didn't see any 'big' animals - we went all the places the sharks (nice ones, ma - don't worry) play, but no luck. lots of fish, however and there were a pair of purple and white urchins doing some kind of matey dance, we think.
my camera usually functions underwater, but aparently this time around the seal was on vacation and it no longer funcions at all. that has been the only bad news of my trip, and i am not discouraged anymore as i have purchased a 27 exposure disposable for the present. i also borrowed a camera from a fellow student, as my memory card is compatable with hers. . went on a picture spree and now feel much less worried.
finding a replacement for the remaining three months (it's almost been 1 month already!) is proving a little difficult but i will manage. i am kind og enjoying the little plastic thing in this age of hand-held-phone-cam-computer-gameboy-madness.
ahhm. and so, on saturay morning, 6 other students and i rented cars and drove north to playa hermosa. excluding me, the ages ranged from late 40s to late 20s, but that was of little importance and we had a good time. howver, it rained almost the entire time. i was not bothered much (surprise..) but some of our party had their hearts set on sunbathing.. some of us ladies adventured farther north to find the 'amazing vistas' in the area and were sucessful. onthe way, we encountered a driveway to a hotel that had been shut down by the ministry of health three months ago. i guessed correctly - something went wrong with their water treatment; it was the only thing i could think of that would affect the sprawling apartments and common spaces plastered down the hill. we got to drive in and cehck it out, which was a top notch excursion. i am reading a book (thanks, aunt karen) called the world without us, which describes a hypothetical future after an immediate disappearance of humans. a verbal time-lapse of cities, geography, etc- changes in flora, fauna, and the things we¿ve left behind. anyhow, it was like walking through the first stages of what the author describes for most buildings - after only 3 months the plants were taking back much of the the grounds and parts of the buldings, and despite their hopes of reopending, it looked like the buildlings wer starting to go (cracks in floors, roofs.. ) the pools were gnarly with a capital g - they didn't drain the water, and they looked rather like spinach/kale soup.
one woman is in the travel industry, and tried to pull some stings to get us a deal at the hilton. . we could have stayed there for 99 dollars a person, for one niht, 3 meals and drinks included. i realize that this would have been a 'great deal' but i voted no becuase. . well. seriously? good deal or no, i don't need to spend 99 dollars get drunk and bathe in a swanky tourist den. the 'no swimming' sign at eh beach affirmed my veto. it was fun to check out, though - we got entry bracelets and wandered around a bit.
we spent the night at an extremely inexpenise but adorable bed and breakfast (in reality, just bed) and explored the little town. we split up for dinner, and a few of us took a taxi to nearby coco beach and hit up some clubs. the club scene here is a little ridiculous (ah, wait. . clubs. right. always so.) but it was fun nonetheless. much flashier than ladie's night in potrero, but no cleaner.
we returned on sunday and made guacamole in one oe the student apartments, and settled in for a movie through more of the relentless rain. there really is not much to do here besides go to the beach, which is not a problem when it's clear out. when there's rain, it's either your house (usually too small to have many people over) or a bar. thank goodness i don't tire of reading.
i can't stand another minute in the computer lab so i will write more later. much, much more. . .
Sunday, November 23, 2008
...
hello, hello. .
am using a computer at a local bar - air conditioned and relatively inexpensive.
let's see.. lately?
-- well, wednesday nights at Las Brisas (a different bar - 'breezes') is Ladies' Night.
this means free vodka or rum drinks for females between 10 and 11pm, loud loud loud music and salsa dancing. i may or may not return next week, as i prefer beer and cannot salsa to save my soul. however, it was interesting, and i believe picture-worthy, so if i get the nerve to try out the free dance lessons at the language school, i just may try again and pass on some photos.
this teeny town is rather quiet, but on wednesdays, people flood out of the woodowrk (and surrounding pueblos) and shit gets crackin. really, i was absolutely blown away by the sheer number of people- i have yet to see more in one place.
-- i had my first two open water dives yesterday; they went well, though the visibility was not especially good. i passed all the required skills and had a good time. minor medusa (jellyfish) sting, but it didn't last nearly as long as a brush with nettles, so i wasn't phased. my next two will be this friday - longer dives with more exploration than exercises. upon completing those, i will be a certified open water diver.
i am excited and a little proud - the hardest part is stepping off of the boat with the heavy pack, but once i'm under the water everything's peachy. it's nice to know i can do multiple types of emercency ascents, and remove/replace equipment, etc. now begins the fun stuff. .
-- i cooked dinner for my host family last night, and it went well. a broccoli/carrot/onion quiche witha perfect crust. i was nervous as it was in a largeish square pan but it cooked completely and didn't burn.
today i am going to teach my host mother and sister to bake chocolate chip cookies - we had a conversation about what we like to cook, and they were rather excited to hear about my experience with 'galletas'; i guess their favorite variety is chocolate chip. . works well for me, as it feels strange to have gone 2 weeks without cooking anything.
the quiche crust inspired a pie discussion, and i will be making an apple pie sometime soon. manzanas are expensive here, but it will be worth it. . it's possible that they came all the way from the home state, but i haven't checked yet.
-- i took an afternoon trip to playa conchal- a nearby beach with, you guessed it, quite a few seashells. it was a windy but sunny day, which apparently means 'christmas is on the way' to people here. .
decorations are cropping up more and more, and my host siblings seem to be getting excited. .
-- might have mentioned this previously, but i decided to put my lip ring back in; after a dinner discussion about my host sister's desire for facial piercings and a tattoo, i've learned that they're much more common here than i thought - three of her 14 year old school friends already have lip jewelry and apparently it's no bigger a deal here than at home. something was mentioned about her father wanting a nose ring? not sure. .
to home:
i hope the shakespeare play was excellent (i'm sure it was)..
mary w - a beard? and blood? awesome. i'm missing the theater; it's been years. .
also missing vita's, the smell of quiche baking last night was comforting. i hope the fall-to-winter transition is going well for the restaurant and the island.
i am excited to hear about the glow-worm that's planned for the light festival, it sounds like an excellent idea and i would like to see photos.
feeling forgetful - will update more later. .
am using a computer at a local bar - air conditioned and relatively inexpensive.
let's see.. lately?
-- well, wednesday nights at Las Brisas (a different bar - 'breezes') is Ladies' Night.
this means free vodka or rum drinks for females between 10 and 11pm, loud loud loud music and salsa dancing. i may or may not return next week, as i prefer beer and cannot salsa to save my soul. however, it was interesting, and i believe picture-worthy, so if i get the nerve to try out the free dance lessons at the language school, i just may try again and pass on some photos.
this teeny town is rather quiet, but on wednesdays, people flood out of the woodowrk (and surrounding pueblos) and shit gets crackin. really, i was absolutely blown away by the sheer number of people- i have yet to see more in one place.
-- i had my first two open water dives yesterday; they went well, though the visibility was not especially good. i passed all the required skills and had a good time. minor medusa (jellyfish) sting, but it didn't last nearly as long as a brush with nettles, so i wasn't phased. my next two will be this friday - longer dives with more exploration than exercises. upon completing those, i will be a certified open water diver.
i am excited and a little proud - the hardest part is stepping off of the boat with the heavy pack, but once i'm under the water everything's peachy. it's nice to know i can do multiple types of emercency ascents, and remove/replace equipment, etc. now begins the fun stuff. .
-- i cooked dinner for my host family last night, and it went well. a broccoli/carrot/onion quiche witha perfect crust. i was nervous as it was in a largeish square pan but it cooked completely and didn't burn.
today i am going to teach my host mother and sister to bake chocolate chip cookies - we had a conversation about what we like to cook, and they were rather excited to hear about my experience with 'galletas'; i guess their favorite variety is chocolate chip. . works well for me, as it feels strange to have gone 2 weeks without cooking anything.
the quiche crust inspired a pie discussion, and i will be making an apple pie sometime soon. manzanas are expensive here, but it will be worth it. . it's possible that they came all the way from the home state, but i haven't checked yet.
-- i took an afternoon trip to playa conchal- a nearby beach with, you guessed it, quite a few seashells. it was a windy but sunny day, which apparently means 'christmas is on the way' to people here. .
decorations are cropping up more and more, and my host siblings seem to be getting excited. .
-- might have mentioned this previously, but i decided to put my lip ring back in; after a dinner discussion about my host sister's desire for facial piercings and a tattoo, i've learned that they're much more common here than i thought - three of her 14 year old school friends already have lip jewelry and apparently it's no bigger a deal here than at home. something was mentioned about her father wanting a nose ring? not sure. .
to home:
i hope the shakespeare play was excellent (i'm sure it was)..
mary w - a beard? and blood? awesome. i'm missing the theater; it's been years. .
also missing vita's, the smell of quiche baking last night was comforting. i hope the fall-to-winter transition is going well for the restaurant and the island.
i am excited to hear about the glow-worm that's planned for the light festival, it sounds like an excellent idea and i would like to see photos.
feeling forgetful - will update more later. .
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
sunday evening
under a shy sun, i stand
where two waves cross returning paths
i toss and -lip-between-teeth- watch
a hollowed coconut evade the resulting whirlpool
my bauble returns untouched
but for a lick of foam
and i think
of the frothy chaos that follows a human equivalent
i have yet
to be swept
off of figurative feet
but will happily settle for the pull of the surf -
is-to-sand as
magician-
is-to-tablecloth,
my toes steady glassware, patient
as pelicans resting beyond the breakers
where two waves cross returning paths
i toss and -lip-between-teeth- watch
a hollowed coconut evade the resulting whirlpool
my bauble returns untouched
but for a lick of foam
and i think
of the frothy chaos that follows a human equivalent
i have yet
to be swept
off of figurative feet
but will happily settle for the pull of the surf -
is-to-sand as
magician-
is-to-tablecloth,
my toes steady glassware, patient
as pelicans resting beyond the breakers
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
a smattering of tidbits
Yesterday, it rained with the force and fury of a coed's involuntary purge on the walk home from the first party of the quarter.
but it was gorgeous.
over the weekend, we had a breif shower, and while most people ducked under doorways, i hopped outside to check it out. that was nothing compared to yesterday, however - like clockwork, as classes ended it started pouring. My final contained water dive involved intermittent showers, and the final heave-ho of the clouds began during the 10 minute water-treading test. i loved it, though, since it was still ridiculously warm, and rare are the chances to be rained on comforable in minimal clothing.
Less than an hour ago, i had my last classroom diving session, and aced the 50 question exam. a relief, but now i'll be waiting until saturday to get to the ocean.
and now, on to the past; my weekend/recent thoughts, in bullets:
* best and worst meals:
egg/bean/veggie soup (fantastic!), a whole plate of boxed macaroni (first thing i couldn't finish)
* cangrejo is a much better word than crab. those spunky little critters deserve it.
* my suspicions have been confirmed: the bite on my ankles are likely equal parts mosquito and ant. eugh.
* i was able to help out a bit at the house, as a gringa - with cristian's english homework, mostly pronunciation, and a friend of erika's wanted to know the name of the actor in pretty woman. lo and behold, richard gere is one of the few names i can remember (why?..)
* i finished a book - adventure divas by holly something. won't bother with a synopsis as you have the internet at your fingertips (hah!) but i will say i enjoyed it. i now am back to the tao of physics by fritjof kapra, and freedom from the known, by ____ (will get back to you with proper spelling)
* i am trying to teach myself to write in italics
* if the early radar guns used by police cause multiple cases of prostate cancer before they were modified to be 'safe', what oh what will be the turning point for cellular phones? if they're all over this town (way more common than on lopez), then there can't be many places left without them. . . goodness that's a lot of vibration..
* my new teacher is wonderful - it{s only me in the class, but in just 2 days we've managed to discuss (stricktly in spanish) poetic licence in relation to conjugation (why can't i say 'i rain', or 'they snowed?'), my ideas of 'what it is that i'm doing' (localizaton of food/farm-to-cafeteria/health/nutrition/marine biology/creative writing..?), same-sex marriage and sexism, institutionalized racism, the american electoral system, what does the word 'punk' mean, anyway?, and more. phew. complicated enough in english. she's great, and i come away from each class feeling much more comfortable with the language. (this wears off a bit as i navigate through town and other conversations, but things are still going well)
*my only issue with my room here is my dependence on bedside tables . . . luckily, the bed is large enough to devote a side to my books, jounal, pens, waterbottle, etc, so i have avoided making a mess of the floor. (also i am getting used to folding my clothes --what?? why? ugh.. hangers are much easier-- and actualy keeping them tidy. hah.)
* i got to try some fruit last week that have the texture of grapes, with a large bitter semilla (pit/seed), and skin/rind that look like large red space-dust-mites. excellent.
* my skin has started to changed color, and no burns so far! the rain provided a break from sunscreen, finally..
more soon, with love..
but it was gorgeous.
over the weekend, we had a breif shower, and while most people ducked under doorways, i hopped outside to check it out. that was nothing compared to yesterday, however - like clockwork, as classes ended it started pouring. My final contained water dive involved intermittent showers, and the final heave-ho of the clouds began during the 10 minute water-treading test. i loved it, though, since it was still ridiculously warm, and rare are the chances to be rained on comforable in minimal clothing.
Less than an hour ago, i had my last classroom diving session, and aced the 50 question exam. a relief, but now i'll be waiting until saturday to get to the ocean.
and now, on to the past; my weekend/recent thoughts, in bullets:
* best and worst meals:
egg/bean/veggie soup (fantastic!), a whole plate of boxed macaroni (first thing i couldn't finish)
* cangrejo is a much better word than crab. those spunky little critters deserve it.
* my suspicions have been confirmed: the bite on my ankles are likely equal parts mosquito and ant. eugh.
* i was able to help out a bit at the house, as a gringa - with cristian's english homework, mostly pronunciation, and a friend of erika's wanted to know the name of the actor in pretty woman. lo and behold, richard gere is one of the few names i can remember (why?..)
* i finished a book - adventure divas by holly something. won't bother with a synopsis as you have the internet at your fingertips (hah!) but i will say i enjoyed it. i now am back to the tao of physics by fritjof kapra, and freedom from the known, by ____ (will get back to you with proper spelling)
* i am trying to teach myself to write in italics
* if the early radar guns used by police cause multiple cases of prostate cancer before they were modified to be 'safe', what oh what will be the turning point for cellular phones? if they're all over this town (way more common than on lopez), then there can't be many places left without them. . . goodness that's a lot of vibration..
* my new teacher is wonderful - it{s only me in the class, but in just 2 days we've managed to discuss (stricktly in spanish) poetic licence in relation to conjugation (why can't i say 'i rain', or 'they snowed?'), my ideas of 'what it is that i'm doing' (localizaton of food/farm-to-cafeteria/health/nutrition/marine biology/creative writing..?), same-sex marriage and sexism, institutionalized racism, the american electoral system, what does the word 'punk' mean, anyway?, and more. phew. complicated enough in english. she's great, and i come away from each class feeling much more comfortable with the language. (this wears off a bit as i navigate through town and other conversations, but things are still going well)
*my only issue with my room here is my dependence on bedside tables . . . luckily, the bed is large enough to devote a side to my books, jounal, pens, waterbottle, etc, so i have avoided making a mess of the floor. (also i am getting used to folding my clothes --what?? why? ugh.. hangers are much easier-- and actualy keeping them tidy. hah.)
* i got to try some fruit last week that have the texture of grapes, with a large bitter semilla (pit/seed), and skin/rind that look like large red space-dust-mites. excellent.
* my skin has started to changed color, and no burns so far! the rain provided a break from sunscreen, finally..
more soon, with love..
Friday, November 14, 2008
will be breif this time around, as the library is closing soon and i am sick of this computer business..
.) favorite recent creature sighting: vampire bats! yessiree, in the stairwell of the school. (did i already mention this.. it's very important to me, so i woulnd't be surprised.) oh, they are painfully adorable and rather tiny. wrinkly face and borderling gangly limbs. i will take photos, sometime.
.) most difficult moment: eating chicken last night. (i promise not to go on and on about the veggie transition thing, but this was absolutely the hardest thing i have tried to do so far, and that's including emergency ascents in scuba class and speaking exclusively in spanish for 4 hours every day.) my 'mama tica' barbequed some pollo, and i just forked the peice on the top of the plate... turned out it was the chest. breast, maybe. whatever it's technically called, all the ribs were present and i had to get the meat out from around them. like i know how to do that easily..right. i don't know how meaty people do it, i almost had a panic attack.. ribs. bones. i mean honestly, they're so similar to our own skeletons, feels like canibalism or something. bluugh, still can't shake the feeling... but i managed to employ some high school theater skills and hide all that until after the meal. phew.
.) finished the last video in my SCUBA course, and will be taking the last tests/contained dive on monday. all's going well in that area of study, too..
.) read aloud in front of all the other students today. this is a cultural celebration week, so we took turn reciting poems, or singing, etc. . not too bad, although i'm greatful to have had a week of pronunciation practice prior to that poem. the worst part was the microphone.. i don't think i'll be getting used to those any year soon.
.) it is now the weekend and i have no plans. this is a) exciting, since it's been i don't know how many months since i could say that. b) slightly irritating because i'm accustomed to grand adventures and the like. c) neither here nor there, because excepting the early mornings, there's nothing about the weekdays here that makes them feel like workdays.
i won't have internet access until monday, but i welcome the break and hope to have interesting updates by then. i will admit to being slightly dissapointed in a few of you, as i have absolutely no ida what is going on in bham or the island and i would settle for a couple sentences. especially minor(but essential for life/poetry [same thing..]) details, like who's adversiting what in red square today, or how many leaves are left on the tree in front of the house..
best wishes for the weekend...
.) favorite recent creature sighting: vampire bats! yessiree, in the stairwell of the school. (did i already mention this.. it's very important to me, so i woulnd't be surprised.) oh, they are painfully adorable and rather tiny. wrinkly face and borderling gangly limbs. i will take photos, sometime.
.) most difficult moment: eating chicken last night. (i promise not to go on and on about the veggie transition thing, but this was absolutely the hardest thing i have tried to do so far, and that's including emergency ascents in scuba class and speaking exclusively in spanish for 4 hours every day.) my 'mama tica' barbequed some pollo, and i just forked the peice on the top of the plate... turned out it was the chest. breast, maybe. whatever it's technically called, all the ribs were present and i had to get the meat out from around them. like i know how to do that easily..right. i don't know how meaty people do it, i almost had a panic attack.. ribs. bones. i mean honestly, they're so similar to our own skeletons, feels like canibalism or something. bluugh, still can't shake the feeling... but i managed to employ some high school theater skills and hide all that until after the meal. phew.
.) finished the last video in my SCUBA course, and will be taking the last tests/contained dive on monday. all's going well in that area of study, too..
.) read aloud in front of all the other students today. this is a cultural celebration week, so we took turn reciting poems, or singing, etc. . not too bad, although i'm greatful to have had a week of pronunciation practice prior to that poem. the worst part was the microphone.. i don't think i'll be getting used to those any year soon.
.) it is now the weekend and i have no plans. this is a) exciting, since it's been i don't know how many months since i could say that. b) slightly irritating because i'm accustomed to grand adventures and the like. c) neither here nor there, because excepting the early mornings, there's nothing about the weekdays here that makes them feel like workdays.
i won't have internet access until monday, but i welcome the break and hope to have interesting updates by then. i will admit to being slightly dissapointed in a few of you, as i have absolutely no ida what is going on in bham or the island and i would settle for a couple sentences. especially minor(but essential for life/poetry [same thing..]) details, like who's adversiting what in red square today, or how many leaves are left on the tree in front of the house..
best wishes for the weekend...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
the nature entry, part 1
to mix things up a bit:
i was recently inspired to include some interactive features in this electronic journal of mine...
in the footsteps of those medocre games only chuildrenplay on family road trips, or (even less enticing) a specfied version of questions you might have answered on standardized tests, here{s a little game for you all to play. simple, i promise.
animals i{ve encountered thus far:
1. macaw
2. dogs
3. gecko
4. iguana
5. horses
6. cows
7. howler monkeys
8. salmon
sites of said encounters:
a. in the yard at the language shcool
b. on the side of the road
c. in every yard
d. on the livingroom wall
e. in feilds along the way to school
f. on my plate :(
g. in trees - had to be more than 8; babies, too!
h. the parking lot of the highway cafeteria
as you may have guessed (unless you thought they eat iguana here, which they may as well since they,re all over the place), i have ventured into the world of the omnivore. slowly, cautiously, and (surprisingly) without much disgust or trauma, i have been eating fish and chicken.
i think the general overload of new (an understatement) surroundings has shocked the sorrow right out of me. . . the only alternative would be to live on fruit and rice, and to offend/perplex my host mother. i would, however, have to draw the line at red meat; the likelihood that i would either upchuck, start sobbing -or both- just about equals the likelihood that spending time in the 7am sun would burn the bejesus out of my skin.
enough about that. thank you, dear fishies and birds- here,s hoping my head doesn,t catch up with my stomache anytime soon.
p.s. i will resume my vegetarianism upon reaching the farm. phew.
my favorite part of today{s lessons:
translating a poem by ruben dario.
a favorite line:
...and underneath the window of my beautiful sleep
continues the sobing of the fountain,
and the neck of the great white swan....
or something similar. will have the correct and complete translation tomorrow.
off to catch the bus 'home' and get ready to hit the beach (finally).
p.s. thank the stars i found that damn apostrophe. . . expect and improvement in the punctuation of future entries.
p.p.s. in studying spanish names for animals, i figured out that the name of village where i'm living means 'a place where there are young horses' ..mas o menos..
i was recently inspired to include some interactive features in this electronic journal of mine...
in the footsteps of those medocre games only chuildrenplay on family road trips, or (even less enticing) a specfied version of questions you might have answered on standardized tests, here{s a little game for you all to play. simple, i promise.
animals i{ve encountered thus far:
1. macaw
2. dogs
3. gecko
4. iguana
5. horses
6. cows
7. howler monkeys
8. salmon
sites of said encounters:
a. in the yard at the language shcool
b. on the side of the road
c. in every yard
d. on the livingroom wall
e. in feilds along the way to school
f. on my plate :(
g. in trees - had to be more than 8; babies, too!
h. the parking lot of the highway cafeteria
as you may have guessed (unless you thought they eat iguana here, which they may as well since they,re all over the place), i have ventured into the world of the omnivore. slowly, cautiously, and (surprisingly) without much disgust or trauma, i have been eating fish and chicken.
i think the general overload of new (an understatement) surroundings has shocked the sorrow right out of me. . . the only alternative would be to live on fruit and rice, and to offend/perplex my host mother. i would, however, have to draw the line at red meat; the likelihood that i would either upchuck, start sobbing -or both- just about equals the likelihood that spending time in the 7am sun would burn the bejesus out of my skin.
enough about that. thank you, dear fishies and birds- here,s hoping my head doesn,t catch up with my stomache anytime soon.
p.s. i will resume my vegetarianism upon reaching the farm. phew.
my favorite part of today{s lessons:
translating a poem by ruben dario.
a favorite line:
...and underneath the window of my beautiful sleep
continues the sobing of the fountain,
and the neck of the great white swan....
or something similar. will have the correct and complete translation tomorrow.
off to catch the bus 'home' and get ready to hit the beach (finally).
p.s. thank the stars i found that damn apostrophe. . . expect and improvement in the punctuation of future entries.
p.p.s. in studying spanish names for animals, i figured out that the name of village where i'm living means 'a place where there are young horses' ..mas o menos..
Monday, November 10, 2008
days 1 & 2
ok, here we go{
so much to report on; i will try to keep things relatively chronological, but first, i need to get this out of the way..
had my first SCUBA lesson today, w/ a video and equipment run-through, and after only a few minutes of pool diving, let me just say, dios mio get me to the ocean! i feel so comfortable under the water, even with the whole apparatus, and i can barely wait to move on to oceanic exploration. however, that part of the course does not start until next week.
backtrack, rewind - - - -
the flight/entire journey was rather uneventful. i suppose my favorite part was listening to the couple in front of me on the first plane, as the woman explained her newfound attraction to fractal geometry to her less enthusiastic and likely confused neighbor.
after arriving in San Jose, i spent the night in a little bed and breakfast. while falling asleap, i was serenaded by who knows how many dogs, and definitely a few cats. something cat sized was running about all across the roof. however, i slept like the dead and awoke before my 6:30 alarm, convinced that i had overslept - it was so bright out and warm warm warm even then.
there is a scent to the air here that i have tried to remember in the states, but never really could - the element of smoldering trash is not as consistent here as in nicaragua, but that is relatively inconsequential as the odor i,m getting at has more to do with life. some combination of moisture and plant matter, warmth and decay - that deep foresty smell of all peices of the life cycle occuring at once, except hot. perhaps i,ll get back to you on that.
my first morning, i had a typical tica (costa rican) breakfast = gallo pinto and eggs. delicious. (this morning my host mother made pancakes. which here they call "pancakes" go figure. real maple syrup, too... ) there was another woman staying there - kathy, a hairdresser from florida who will be joining me at this school after a week at CPI,s campus in Monteverde.
i shuttled from the bnb to another private bus, in which, with two other students and a smattering of hotel guests, we bumped and bounced and screeching-halted our way to Flamingo.
our one stop along the way was at a roadside cafeteria, where in addition to pastries and sandwiched, there were large macaws lounging in the trees. one arbol had a sign posted: Mangoe, -Something Latin indica- no fruit, but exciting nonetheless.
it{s nearly imposible to believe this was only yesterday. . .
i taxied to my host family, and met Erika, her daughter Priscila, and son Cristian. the house was filled with friends from school, studying and playing. one girl (whose mother is from the states) surprised me by asking in perfect english if i wanted to go get ice cream with them. there is a heladeria downthe street, with gelato and espresso.
Erika and i have done our best to share what we can. i brought photos from home and asked her a little bit about Potrero (the village where i,m living, close to flamingo). her husband was raised there, but she has only lived in the town for 17 years.
they have a dog, a yellow lab named Mo. he and my family,s pup Buddy, look almost identical excepting the massive size difference. buddy is easily 4 mo. i am told that the reason the mo.s neck is as thick as his waist, and his legs no longer than his adorable head, is that "sus padres son hermanos" - his parents are siblings, and the vet said they shouldn.t expect him to grow any larger.
this morning, i tookthe bus to school at 7: 30, for orientation and classes. the oral exam went much better than i expected, but the written exam surely cued them in to my level. which is low.
however, the class i was placed in (with oine other woman from the states) is ecellent so far. my teacher is fun and very good at communicating while sticking to the general rule of Spanish Only.
i am forgetting details now, and since i have already raved about the dive class i just returned from, i will soon rest my typed-out fingers and do some homework. this was my first go at the keyboards here, and i have yet to find the correct apostrophe. speaking of punctuation, i was asked earlier to explain a tatto - the one in my jugular notch - in spanish. aye. i didn.t know the words for punctuation, infinity-eternity, leaf, or drop, so i started with pregunta, porvenir, and agua... eventually, it was a success...
library,s closing -
hasta luego
so much to report on; i will try to keep things relatively chronological, but first, i need to get this out of the way..
had my first SCUBA lesson today, w/ a video and equipment run-through, and after only a few minutes of pool diving, let me just say, dios mio get me to the ocean! i feel so comfortable under the water, even with the whole apparatus, and i can barely wait to move on to oceanic exploration. however, that part of the course does not start until next week.
backtrack, rewind - - - -
the flight/entire journey was rather uneventful. i suppose my favorite part was listening to the couple in front of me on the first plane, as the woman explained her newfound attraction to fractal geometry to her less enthusiastic and likely confused neighbor.
after arriving in San Jose, i spent the night in a little bed and breakfast. while falling asleap, i was serenaded by who knows how many dogs, and definitely a few cats. something cat sized was running about all across the roof. however, i slept like the dead and awoke before my 6:30 alarm, convinced that i had overslept - it was so bright out and warm warm warm even then.
there is a scent to the air here that i have tried to remember in the states, but never really could - the element of smoldering trash is not as consistent here as in nicaragua, but that is relatively inconsequential as the odor i,m getting at has more to do with life. some combination of moisture and plant matter, warmth and decay - that deep foresty smell of all peices of the life cycle occuring at once, except hot. perhaps i,ll get back to you on that.
my first morning, i had a typical tica (costa rican) breakfast = gallo pinto and eggs. delicious. (this morning my host mother made pancakes. which here they call "pancakes" go figure. real maple syrup, too... ) there was another woman staying there - kathy, a hairdresser from florida who will be joining me at this school after a week at CPI,s campus in Monteverde.
i shuttled from the bnb to another private bus, in which, with two other students and a smattering of hotel guests, we bumped and bounced and screeching-halted our way to Flamingo.
our one stop along the way was at a roadside cafeteria, where in addition to pastries and sandwiched, there were large macaws lounging in the trees. one arbol had a sign posted: Mangoe, -Something Latin indica- no fruit, but exciting nonetheless.
it{s nearly imposible to believe this was only yesterday. . .
i taxied to my host family, and met Erika, her daughter Priscila, and son Cristian. the house was filled with friends from school, studying and playing. one girl (whose mother is from the states) surprised me by asking in perfect english if i wanted to go get ice cream with them. there is a heladeria downthe street, with gelato and espresso.
Erika and i have done our best to share what we can. i brought photos from home and asked her a little bit about Potrero (the village where i,m living, close to flamingo). her husband was raised there, but she has only lived in the town for 17 years.
they have a dog, a yellow lab named Mo. he and my family,s pup Buddy, look almost identical excepting the massive size difference. buddy is easily 4 mo. i am told that the reason the mo.s neck is as thick as his waist, and his legs no longer than his adorable head, is that "sus padres son hermanos" - his parents are siblings, and the vet said they shouldn.t expect him to grow any larger.
this morning, i tookthe bus to school at 7: 30, for orientation and classes. the oral exam went much better than i expected, but the written exam surely cued them in to my level. which is low.
however, the class i was placed in (with oine other woman from the states) is ecellent so far. my teacher is fun and very good at communicating while sticking to the general rule of Spanish Only.
i am forgetting details now, and since i have already raved about the dive class i just returned from, i will soon rest my typed-out fingers and do some homework. this was my first go at the keyboards here, and i have yet to find the correct apostrophe. speaking of punctuation, i was asked earlier to explain a tatto - the one in my jugular notch - in spanish. aye. i didn.t know the words for punctuation, infinity-eternity, leaf, or drop, so i started with pregunta, porvenir, and agua... eventually, it was a success...
library,s closing -
hasta luego
Friday, November 7, 2008
testing, testing - 1, 2 . .
hey, friends
welcome to post # 1 of this interwebby journal.
i am rather unaccustomed to this blog business, so bear with me as i get a feel for it all.
here's the low-down, the FAQs of the whole shebang:
i fly to San Jose, Costa Rica, on saturday the 8th of november. the next morning, i'm bussing out to Guanacaste (Potrerto, specifically) and will be spending the next 2 months near Playa Flamingo. the first two weeks of said months will be filled with spanish lessons, as well as SCUBA training classes. my language study will continue until the new year, when i will be heading a bit further south to Las Esperansas, to Finca Tierra (Earth Rose) farm. we'll save info on that for then.
i'm going to head home at the end of february.
'the plan', or one of them, is to keep some sort of record, but be advised:
there will be your classic 'dear diary, today..." entries, your 'goodness, i miss everything about home' entries, your whines and wishes, your 'this is what i had for lunch today' s, your general musings, your rants and observations. . . much rambling, and likely more than a dash of dramatic flair - by no means guaranteed to directly relate to my time in costa rica. or this dimension, necessarily.
however, if you want an update, a something to satiate that "what the heck has she been up to, anyway?" curiosity, this is the place to find it.
also: i will edit/censor minimally, while doing my best to write to everyone and no one.
welcome to post # 1 of this interwebby journal.
i am rather unaccustomed to this blog business, so bear with me as i get a feel for it all.
here's the low-down, the FAQs of the whole shebang:
i fly to San Jose, Costa Rica, on saturday the 8th of november. the next morning, i'm bussing out to Guanacaste (Potrerto, specifically) and will be spending the next 2 months near Playa Flamingo. the first two weeks of said months will be filled with spanish lessons, as well as SCUBA training classes. my language study will continue until the new year, when i will be heading a bit further south to Las Esperansas, to Finca Tierra (Earth Rose) farm. we'll save info on that for then.
i'm going to head home at the end of february.
'the plan', or one of them, is to keep some sort of record, but be advised:
there will be your classic 'dear diary, today..." entries, your 'goodness, i miss everything about home' entries, your whines and wishes, your 'this is what i had for lunch today' s, your general musings, your rants and observations. . . much rambling, and likely more than a dash of dramatic flair - by no means guaranteed to directly relate to my time in costa rica. or this dimension, necessarily.
however, if you want an update, a something to satiate that "what the heck has she been up to, anyway?" curiosity, this is the place to find it.
also: i will edit/censor minimally, while doing my best to write to everyone and no one.
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