I am in my new site, just got here a few days ago. I am happy to say that I have a cell phone now, so, the new and best way to reach me is at 8627 6269. To call from the US you have to dial 011 506 8627 6269 to reach me. I am working on setting up a PO Box, more info on that to come.
My site is really different than my training community. It is hot and mostly flat, some minor hills, but it is really really flat and nice and warm (hot) and humid. There is a little sloth who hangs out in the backyard sometimes. There is a tree that hangs over the river that he likes a lot.
So in my back yard we have two rivers. As my Uncle explained to me, one is the crocodile river and the other is the swimming river. The crocodile river is more like a swamp and the water is really slow moving, and as we were walking by we heard a crocodile plop into the water. The swimming river is about 100 feet from the crocodile river. Apparantly the crocs dont swim in that river because the water goes pretty fast. I asked my Uncle, ¨really, the crocodiles never swim in the other river¨ He said ¨no, only sometimes, but they are really timid and are afraid of people, they only bite if you step on them. this river is safe to swim in.¨ uh huh, well see. So far I have not gone swimming in the swimming river. Maybe much later.
Other fun animals we have:
monkeys! I saw a litle black monkey hanging by his tail when I went on a run the other day. He was eating some fruit I can´t yet identify. There are lots of new fruits here
Lizzards! we have the kind that run accoss the water, I saw one on a different run.
Birds! in excess! my host family has a bird feeder and lots of beuatiful birds I can´t yet identify come to our house all day long. Ive been trying to take pictures of them, but they are camera shy.
I got to go to a pineapple farm and see how pinapples grow. they look really funny. i will go back and take a picture of the little baby pineapple plants.
Merry Christmas? It doesn´t really feel like Christmas because its so hot and foreign. But I guess it is anyway. I am going to make snickerdoodles for my family tonight, share some culture.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
you can always depend on things change
I've been so busy in training lately, it's hard to even have time to breathe. Exciting things have been happening though:
1) saw my second scorpion. This time it was in my room, right over my bed. It was strange because, according to my family, "scorpions don't live here." please. this sucker was HUGE, and I made my host sister kill it because I was too afraid. I am starting to realize that Ill have to get over my scorpion phobia. baby steps?
2) I am known in my community as the girl who always buys chocolate. guilty. I probably buy chocolate at least once a day. but the good news, the store owners are starting to capitalize on this and now the little corner store chocolate selection has doubled! supply and demand works in my favor. minus the fact that my clothes are getting a little too tight....eh, what can I do?
3) We are almost almost almost done with training, and then, god willing, I will be able to swear in as a volunteer! I swear in on December 17.
4) I found out my site assignment. This news is huge, because I know where I am going to be living for the next 2 years of my life. I am being sent to a small town (read: 300 people) right outside of a larger town, Upala. It is really close to the Nicaraguan border, and is hot and flat and humid. There are a lot of rivers in the region, and its close to some active volcanoes. I will be working with three elementary schools in three different communities. I am going to visit my community this week. Im leaving on Saturday morning, and will be there for five days. Ill take pictures that I will put on facebook sometime in the next few months. I am going to get to meet my host family, and I am super nervous. All I know about them so far is that there is a mom and a dad. I dont think there are any kids at home, and Im not sure how old my host parents are. I anticipate it being very different from my current host family situation. Even though it's just me and my grandma and sister who live in the house, at any given moment 6am-8pm there are at least 5+ people hanging out in the kitchen, watching TV, sitting on the porch. My house is the social gathering place for all of my extended family, and there is always someone to talk to, some gossip being spread, and some coffee brewing. Its going to be hard to leave el Rosario.
5) I made "rice krispy treats" for my family. I wanted to make them a little treat, and I thought it would be nice. It didn't turn out horrible, but it was far from the rice krispy treats of my childhood....and lets admit it, my adulthood, too. In Costa Rica they sell these colored, flavored marshmallows, that are like jet-puff marshmallows...sort of....but also not. They are lime/lemon/orange/strawberry flavored. and they are delicious, don't worry, but its not the same. Also, I couldn't find any rice-krispy like cereal, but I did find a fruit-loop like cereal. So, I figured hey: fruit loops would go great with tropical marshmallows! right! right? well. my family didn't know the difference, and they pretended to like it. that was sweet of them.
6) for thanksgiving, the PCTs in my training community made a thanksgiving dinner at one of our host families houses. We made greenbean caserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, apple pie, and cookies (guess who thought up the ingenious idea to make cookies!). The dinner was such a success. Mostly because the food was delicious...but also because my training community is starting to feel like my family, and at dinner I realized how much they mean to me and how close we have become in just two months.
1) saw my second scorpion. This time it was in my room, right over my bed. It was strange because, according to my family, "scorpions don't live here." please. this sucker was HUGE, and I made my host sister kill it because I was too afraid. I am starting to realize that Ill have to get over my scorpion phobia. baby steps?
2) I am known in my community as the girl who always buys chocolate. guilty. I probably buy chocolate at least once a day. but the good news, the store owners are starting to capitalize on this and now the little corner store chocolate selection has doubled! supply and demand works in my favor. minus the fact that my clothes are getting a little too tight....eh, what can I do?
3) We are almost almost almost done with training, and then, god willing, I will be able to swear in as a volunteer! I swear in on December 17.
4) I found out my site assignment. This news is huge, because I know where I am going to be living for the next 2 years of my life. I am being sent to a small town (read: 300 people) right outside of a larger town, Upala. It is really close to the Nicaraguan border, and is hot and flat and humid. There are a lot of rivers in the region, and its close to some active volcanoes. I will be working with three elementary schools in three different communities. I am going to visit my community this week. Im leaving on Saturday morning, and will be there for five days. Ill take pictures that I will put on facebook sometime in the next few months. I am going to get to meet my host family, and I am super nervous. All I know about them so far is that there is a mom and a dad. I dont think there are any kids at home, and Im not sure how old my host parents are. I anticipate it being very different from my current host family situation. Even though it's just me and my grandma and sister who live in the house, at any given moment 6am-8pm there are at least 5+ people hanging out in the kitchen, watching TV, sitting on the porch. My house is the social gathering place for all of my extended family, and there is always someone to talk to, some gossip being spread, and some coffee brewing. Its going to be hard to leave el Rosario.
5) I made "rice krispy treats" for my family. I wanted to make them a little treat, and I thought it would be nice. It didn't turn out horrible, but it was far from the rice krispy treats of my childhood....and lets admit it, my adulthood, too. In Costa Rica they sell these colored, flavored marshmallows, that are like jet-puff marshmallows...sort of....but also not. They are lime/lemon/orange/strawberry flavored. and they are delicious, don't worry, but its not the same. Also, I couldn't find any rice-krispy like cereal, but I did find a fruit-loop like cereal. So, I figured hey: fruit loops would go great with tropical marshmallows! right! right? well. my family didn't know the difference, and they pretended to like it. that was sweet of them.
6) for thanksgiving, the PCTs in my training community made a thanksgiving dinner at one of our host families houses. We made greenbean caserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, apple pie, and cookies (guess who thought up the ingenious idea to make cookies!). The dinner was such a success. Mostly because the food was delicious...but also because my training community is starting to feel like my family, and at dinner I realized how much they mean to me and how close we have become in just two months.
last days of training
I've been so busy in training lately, it's hard to even have time to breathe. Exciting things have been happening though:
1) saw my second scorpion. This time it was in my room, right over my bed. It was strange because, according to my family, "scorpions don't live here." please. this sucker was HUGE, and I made my host sister kill it because I was too afraid. I am starting to realize that Ill have to get over my scorpion phobia. baby steps?
2) I am known in my community as the girl who always buys chocolate. guilty. I probably buy chocolate at least once a day. but the good news, the store owners are starting to capitalize on this and now the little corner store chocolate selection has doubled! supply and demand works in my favor. minus the fact that my clothes are getting a little too tight....eh, what can I do?
3) We are almost almost almost done with training, and then, god willing, I will be able to swear in as a volunteer! I swear in on December 17.
4) I found out my site assignment. This news is huge, because I know where I am going to be living for the next 2 years of my life. I am being sent to a small town (read: 300 people) right outside of a larger town, Upala. It is really close to the Nicaraguan border, and is hot and flat and humid. There are a lot of rivers in the region, and its close to some active volcanoes. I will be working with three elementary schools in three different communities. I am going to visit my community this week. Im leaving on Saturday morning, and will be there for five days. Ill take pictures that I will put on facebook sometime in the next few months. I am going to get to meet my host family, and I am super nervous. All I know about them so far is that there is a mom and a dad. I dont think there are any kids at home, and Im not sure how old my host parents are. I anticipate it being very different from my current host family situation. Even though it's just me and my grandma and sister who live in the house, at any given moment 6am-8pm there are at least 5+ people hanging out in the kitchen, watching TV, sitting on the porch. My house is the social gathering place for all of my extended family, and there is always someone to talk to, some gossip being spread, and some coffee brewing. Its going to be hard to leave el Rosario.
5) I made "rice krispy treats" for my family. I wanted to make them a little treat, and I thought it would be nice. It didn't turn out horrible, but it was far from the rice krispy treats of my childhood....and lets admit it, my adulthood, too. In Costa Rica they sell these colored, flavored marshmallows, that are like jet-puff marshmallows...sort of....but also not. They are lime/lemon/orange/strawberry flavored. and they are delicious, don't worry, but its not the same. Also, I couldn't find any rice-krispy like cereal, but I did find a fruit-loop like cereal. So, I figured hey: fruit loops would go great with tropical marshmallows! right! right? well. my family didn't know the difference, and they pretended to like it. that was sweet of them.
6) for thanksgiving, the PCTs in my training community made a thanksgiving dinner at one of our host families houses. We made greenbean caserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, apple pie, and cookies (guess who thought up the ingenious idea to make cookies!). The dinner was such a success. Mostly because the food was delicious...but also because my training community is starting to feel like my family, and it was
1) saw my second scorpion. This time it was in my room, right over my bed. It was strange because, according to my family, "scorpions don't live here." please. this sucker was HUGE, and I made my host sister kill it because I was too afraid. I am starting to realize that Ill have to get over my scorpion phobia. baby steps?
2) I am known in my community as the girl who always buys chocolate. guilty. I probably buy chocolate at least once a day. but the good news, the store owners are starting to capitalize on this and now the little corner store chocolate selection has doubled! supply and demand works in my favor. minus the fact that my clothes are getting a little too tight....eh, what can I do?
3) We are almost almost almost done with training, and then, god willing, I will be able to swear in as a volunteer! I swear in on December 17.
4) I found out my site assignment. This news is huge, because I know where I am going to be living for the next 2 years of my life. I am being sent to a small town (read: 300 people) right outside of a larger town, Upala. It is really close to the Nicaraguan border, and is hot and flat and humid. There are a lot of rivers in the region, and its close to some active volcanoes. I will be working with three elementary schools in three different communities. I am going to visit my community this week. Im leaving on Saturday morning, and will be there for five days. Ill take pictures that I will put on facebook sometime in the next few months. I am going to get to meet my host family, and I am super nervous. All I know about them so far is that there is a mom and a dad. I dont think there are any kids at home, and Im not sure how old my host parents are. I anticipate it being very different from my current host family situation. Even though it's just me and my grandma and sister who live in the house, at any given moment 6am-8pm there are at least 5+ people hanging out in the kitchen, watching TV, sitting on the porch. My house is the social gathering place for all of my extended family, and there is always someone to talk to, some gossip being spread, and some coffee brewing. Its going to be hard to leave el Rosario.
5) I made "rice krispy treats" for my family. I wanted to make them a little treat, and I thought it would be nice. It didn't turn out horrible, but it was far from the rice krispy treats of my childhood....and lets admit it, my adulthood, too. In Costa Rica they sell these colored, flavored marshmallows, that are like jet-puff marshmallows...sort of....but also not. They are lime/lemon/orange/strawberry flavored. and they are delicious, don't worry, but its not the same. Also, I couldn't find any rice-krispy like cereal, but I did find a fruit-loop like cereal. So, I figured hey: fruit loops would go great with tropical marshmallows! right! right? well. my family didn't know the difference, and they pretended to like it. that was sweet of them.
6) for thanksgiving, the PCTs in my training community made a thanksgiving dinner at one of our host families houses. We made greenbean caserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, apple pie, and cookies (guess who thought up the ingenious idea to make cookies!). The dinner was such a success. Mostly because the food was delicious...but also because my training community is starting to feel like my family, and it was
Sunday, November 7, 2010
tropical stormy
a tropical storm stopped by for a few days, and did some pretty serious damage in costa rica. im fine, but there were some mudslides that caused some trouble. the road to san jose has been blocked for a few days, and class has been canceled because of it. there were some mudslides in my community and a few houses are seriously damaged, but there were bigger mudslides and floods in other parts of the country. im not sure if this is news in the states or not, but its shaken up a lot of people here. my house came out of the storm basically unscathed. the water and electiricty went out for the good part of a day, but that was it.
we had about 4 days of constant rain, there wasnt much to do besides read and eat. i finished a novel that i had started a few weeks ago. i also wrote some letters. thats about it.
we had about 4 days of constant rain, there wasnt much to do besides read and eat. i finished a novel that i had started a few weeks ago. i also wrote some letters. thats about it.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
a list of firsts
Things that I have never done/seen/experienced/etc until I joined the Peace Corps
1) felt an earthquake
We had a bbq the last day of orientation week. It was the night before we moved into our host families houses and we were celebratating being PCTs. There was good food and good dancing (you can guess who started the party...) In the middle of dinner the ground started shaking. It wasnt a very strong movement, but we could tell something was strange. For the first 5 seconds or so, I had no idea what it was. It took a bit, but I slowly realized that it was the earth that was moving. It wasnt a strong earthquake, but it shook us around. we all cheered when it was over. not only had we finished our first week in the peace corps, but we had also experienced our first costa rican earthquake.
2) seen a scorpion
I went to visit a current volunteer in Guanacaste, CR. This is part of our training so that we can get a better idea of what volunteer life is like. Kristen, my volunteer, had told me about an experience she had had with a scorpion under her pillow. it only happened to her once, but she reccommened that i shake out my sheets before i went to bed.
later that night we decided to watch a movie. the lights were out and we could only see by the light of the tv, but, sure enough, in comes a scorpion. it was about the size of my hand and was headed straight towards my room. its dead now. rip scorpi!
3) seen a bot fly
similar story. kristen and I were watching a movie, and Kristens tico boyfriend spots the insect that gives you bot-flies. its dead now, too. rip botie!
4) ive eaten so many new kinds of fruits i cant even remember all their names. a few are
jacote
guanabana
guava
chinese guava
and i really forgot at least 5 others
5) eaten an avacado straight off the tree
avacados will never be the same for me. theres no turning back now.
Friday, October 29, 2010
contact info
so, i finally figured out what my address is!
Julia Lockamy
PCT Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1266-1000
San Jose
Costa Rica
You can send me letters and small packages to this address. Any kind of large package goes through customs, and in order to pick it up i have to pay a serious fee and go through this redic process. so should you care to send me something, send only small items.
also, used clothes and any type of shoe are forbidden to enter the country. so, no used clothes please!
but, it would make me exceedingly happy to recieve snail mail, so letters are encouraged. as are packages with candy corn, all candy, or music cds. just saying. i also want to write to you, so let me know what your address is. i already have floras (gracias!)
i miss you all!
julia
Julia Lockamy
PCT Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1266-1000
San Jose
Costa Rica
You can send me letters and small packages to this address. Any kind of large package goes through customs, and in order to pick it up i have to pay a serious fee and go through this redic process. so should you care to send me something, send only small items.
also, used clothes and any type of shoe are forbidden to enter the country. so, no used clothes please!
but, it would make me exceedingly happy to recieve snail mail, so letters are encouraged. as are packages with candy corn, all candy, or music cds. just saying. i also want to write to you, so let me know what your address is. i already have floras (gracias!)
i miss you all!
julia
Friday, October 22, 2010
life as a trainee
So yall can have an idea of what my life is like, here is my general schedule:
I wake up around 6, earlier Tu/Tr and later MWF. If my alarm clock doesnt go off first, the roosters usually wake me. My abuela (grandma) gets up about the same time and puts on a pot of coffee. I have some bread and butter or some cake with my coffee, and my abuela and I sit and eat together. She feeds the chickens (we have about 10 or so that just run around---super cage-free and i love it!) and i watch them eat. after breakfast i take a shower, the water is ice cold, but im getting used to it. then i get dressed and go to class. MWF I go to spanish class in the community center in my town. There are 5 of us living in the same community, we are all at the same level of spanish. One of the young women in my group is from harrisonburg VA, fun fact. 2 are from iowa and one is from connecticut (her parents met in PC Costa Rica in the 70s). I get an hour break for lunch and I go home and eat with my abuela and all the various relatives that are in my house. I get out of class around 4. We have coffee around 5, and dinner around 7. By 9 most everyone is alseep. I go to bed early, too. Im usually exhausted by the end of the day and fall asleep immediately.
T-Tr I take a bus into another town, and have class with all the PC trainees in my class. I dont get back home till around 5 or 6.
We always have home work to do, and Im always doing something. The only time I really get to myself is when Im sleeping. Ive been too busy to be too homesick. Ive definitely been missing halloween, though. If you are reading my blog you should let me know what your halloween costume is, so I can feel like Im back at home for a minute. I already told everyone here about my jellyfish costume from last year, Im not sure that they are as impressed with myself as I am.
WAIT
I have to tell you. I had the pleasure of being in the audience of A Toda Machina. Its a Costa Rican variety show....the most variety of variety shows. Elena got tickets, and we went with my aunt and cousin, another PCT (PC trainee) in my town and his mom. The show was 4 hours long, im not kidding. and even though i didnt participate, the camera man kept showing my section of the audience, and the next day tons of people came up to me to tell me they saw me on tv.
anyway, it was such a cultural experience. i cant even put in words what it was like. imagine the price is right plus jeopardy plus the spellling bee plus clowns plus double dare, all in spanish, for 4 hours.
I have taken some pictures, I hope to put them up soon.
peace & love
julia
I wake up around 6, earlier Tu/Tr and later MWF. If my alarm clock doesnt go off first, the roosters usually wake me. My abuela (grandma) gets up about the same time and puts on a pot of coffee. I have some bread and butter or some cake with my coffee, and my abuela and I sit and eat together. She feeds the chickens (we have about 10 or so that just run around---super cage-free and i love it!) and i watch them eat. after breakfast i take a shower, the water is ice cold, but im getting used to it. then i get dressed and go to class. MWF I go to spanish class in the community center in my town. There are 5 of us living in the same community, we are all at the same level of spanish. One of the young women in my group is from harrisonburg VA, fun fact. 2 are from iowa and one is from connecticut (her parents met in PC Costa Rica in the 70s). I get an hour break for lunch and I go home and eat with my abuela and all the various relatives that are in my house. I get out of class around 4. We have coffee around 5, and dinner around 7. By 9 most everyone is alseep. I go to bed early, too. Im usually exhausted by the end of the day and fall asleep immediately.
T-Tr I take a bus into another town, and have class with all the PC trainees in my class. I dont get back home till around 5 or 6.
We always have home work to do, and Im always doing something. The only time I really get to myself is when Im sleeping. Ive been too busy to be too homesick. Ive definitely been missing halloween, though. If you are reading my blog you should let me know what your halloween costume is, so I can feel like Im back at home for a minute. I already told everyone here about my jellyfish costume from last year, Im not sure that they are as impressed with myself as I am.
WAIT
I have to tell you. I had the pleasure of being in the audience of A Toda Machina. Its a Costa Rican variety show....the most variety of variety shows. Elena got tickets, and we went with my aunt and cousin, another PCT (PC trainee) in my town and his mom. The show was 4 hours long, im not kidding. and even though i didnt participate, the camera man kept showing my section of the audience, and the next day tons of people came up to me to tell me they saw me on tv.
anyway, it was such a cultural experience. i cant even put in words what it was like. imagine the price is right plus jeopardy plus the spellling bee plus clowns plus double dare, all in spanish, for 4 hours.
I have taken some pictures, I hope to put them up soon.
peace & love
julia
Monday, October 11, 2010
The first days
Hey all!
Right now Im sitting in an internet cafe in a little town called la Fila. I´m living in a town/village/community called el Rosario (which means rosary...I think). There isnt an internet cafe in Rosario, so I cant promise fequent updates
side note: I LOVE love LOVE my community and my host family and all the Peace Corps volunteers.
I spent the first 5 days in Costa Rica at a training center with the rest of the PCV´s (peace corps volunteers). We were basically getting to know the basics of PC costa rica, and getting to know each other, and learning about our assignments. I am so excited about the program that I am assigned to.
I am doing TEFL ( teaching english as a foreign language). We are a pilot program, the first PC TEFL program in Costa Rica. Costa Ricas last president Oscar Arias (who won a nobel peace prize) had a goal to have all of Costa Rica bilingual in Spanish and English by 2017. Its an incedible goal, but Costa Ricans are working hard on acheiving it.
What Im doing here is primarily assisting English teachers in the Public School system. We are helping them improve their English skills and also doing workshops so that they can establish a network and learn new teaching methods. In some cases we will be teaching classes ourselves, but mostly we are there as aids to the teachers. We are also going to go into the community and create opportunities for people to speak English, and we are also working with the students in the schools. But I wont be able to work on that project until Ive finished the 10 week training program here in el Rosario.
My training consists of Spanish classes all day MWF and then technical classes on T-Tr. MWF I go to the community center in El Rosario and take classes with the 4 other PCVs in my community. T-Tr I take a bus to Tarbaca and meet up with all the PCVs in my class (there are 43 of us).
There is so much to say, I cant even think of where to begin.
I arrived here Saturday, and immediately met at least 20 different family members. My host sister, Elena, then took me on a tour around the community and we went to a few of her friends and families houses. I have met so many people. It was fun walking around with my new sister. We just walked up to the houses and knocked and they let us in. Everyone here always has their house open to visiters, and apparantly visters come by all the time. It is a much more intimate community than Im used to. And everyone is incredibly nice and patient with me.
Today my host grandma taught me how to make tortillas from hand, and then we made empanadas. The stove in my house is like a raised bowl with a little fire in it.
Well, Im running out of time!!
adios!
also, if you want to call me. here is my CR number: 011 506 2540 1398
be sure to ask for hooolia
Right now Im sitting in an internet cafe in a little town called la Fila. I´m living in a town/village/community called el Rosario (which means rosary...I think). There isnt an internet cafe in Rosario, so I cant promise fequent updates
side note: I LOVE love LOVE my community and my host family and all the Peace Corps volunteers.
I spent the first 5 days in Costa Rica at a training center with the rest of the PCV´s (peace corps volunteers). We were basically getting to know the basics of PC costa rica, and getting to know each other, and learning about our assignments. I am so excited about the program that I am assigned to.
I am doing TEFL ( teaching english as a foreign language). We are a pilot program, the first PC TEFL program in Costa Rica. Costa Ricas last president Oscar Arias (who won a nobel peace prize) had a goal to have all of Costa Rica bilingual in Spanish and English by 2017. Its an incedible goal, but Costa Ricans are working hard on acheiving it.
What Im doing here is primarily assisting English teachers in the Public School system. We are helping them improve their English skills and also doing workshops so that they can establish a network and learn new teaching methods. In some cases we will be teaching classes ourselves, but mostly we are there as aids to the teachers. We are also going to go into the community and create opportunities for people to speak English, and we are also working with the students in the schools. But I wont be able to work on that project until Ive finished the 10 week training program here in el Rosario.
My training consists of Spanish classes all day MWF and then technical classes on T-Tr. MWF I go to the community center in El Rosario and take classes with the 4 other PCVs in my community. T-Tr I take a bus to Tarbaca and meet up with all the PCVs in my class (there are 43 of us).
There is so much to say, I cant even think of where to begin.
I arrived here Saturday, and immediately met at least 20 different family members. My host sister, Elena, then took me on a tour around the community and we went to a few of her friends and families houses. I have met so many people. It was fun walking around with my new sister. We just walked up to the houses and knocked and they let us in. Everyone here always has their house open to visiters, and apparantly visters come by all the time. It is a much more intimate community than Im used to. And everyone is incredibly nice and patient with me.
Today my host grandma taught me how to make tortillas from hand, and then we made empanadas. The stove in my house is like a raised bowl with a little fire in it.
Well, Im running out of time!!
adios!
also, if you want to call me. here is my CR number: 011 506 2540 1398
be sure to ask for hooolia
Friday, October 1, 2010
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