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
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