There is only one word to describe today: wet.
This morning I woke up to rain drumming on the roof of the cabina, and darkness outside. It must have been 6am, and it was already pouring! Since rain typically comes in the afternoon, this did not bode well for the start of a relaxing Saturday. I finally woke up around 9am, which is significant because I have been getting up at 5:30am all week long. Grettel (my house-mate) showed me how to make tortillas, ad we ate a nice breakfast of fruit salad and cheese tortillitas. Yum! I have not yet had my daily cup of coffee, since we have three different kinds of juice right now.
Our little fridge is pretty full too, we made rice the other day and we also have a container of beans, a whole box of veggies (I love the veggies here, they are super fresh and super cheap!! amazing combination!)and a bottle of yogurt. The last few days we have been making all our meals together and eating together, which I am really enjoying. We talk a lot and are getting to know each other much better...Grettel is fairly reserved, I think, so I am still finding ways to open up more.
After breakfast we cleaned...I should say Grettel cleaned. She has really stepped up to the plate in terms of being organized and taking the lead in cleaning and cooking. I try to fill in and anticipate what needs to be done or how best I can help, but sometimes I end up feeling a little silly. With more time I am sure we will fall into a better rhythm, I want to do chores too!
It has been raining most of the afternoon and morning, Grettel and I left the house to get connected to the internet. Luckily we have several options very close to us, places where you can go to buy a cup of coffee and use the wifi. We are both interested in somehow getting wifi at the house.
Today I feel very much like one of those over-prepared tourists. You know, the ones outfitted with the quick-drying pants, all terrain shoes, rain jacket and backpack stuffed with guidebook/flashlight/waterbottle/map, with a bandana around their forhead. I am wearing my raincoat and red rainboots, with my backpack, and a flashlight stuffed in my dry bag. In addition my computer is wrapped snuggly in a plastic bag...yes, its one of those rainy days, and I look like a tourist.
The rain has made the day a cold one too, so I am wearing a hoodie and a scarf around my neck, along with socks. I have actually been sleeping with socks, which if you know me is something I generally dislike doing since I get hot. But with the chilly mountain nights, I am very glad I brought a lot of my winter socks with me.
Something I have been looking at getting is a new backpack...my LLBean one has lasted me for quite some time, but the lining in the bottom pocket is starting to wear away and I am finding that I wish I had some other features in a backpack...one of them being, very appropriately, a rain cover! And compression straps, and a large capacity (thinking 1,000+ cubic inch interior). On the whole i have to say that there are some investments I am very glad I made before coming down here: my 5,000+ cu. in. backpack, and two raincoats. (Grettel is actually using one today, haha!)
It might be time to invest in a new backpack...
In four days i will hopefully be heading back to the USA for the first time in over 3 months. This summer has gone so fast...with the start of September begins the approach of fall, my favorite season. I will miss it very much this year. One thing I won't miss...going back to school! But best of luck to everyone who is starting classes out there.
TUANIS
mountain love
A week ago I arrived here in Monteverde, after saying goodbye to my group at the airport at 4:30 in the morning. I slept a few more hours and then left to go up the mountain in the huge CPI bus, empty except for me and the chofer. We encountered some traffic on the road, along with several landslides in the process of being cleaned up. We arrived almost two hours later than anticpated.
On Sunday I met up with my future room-mate and we cleaned our little cabina out, going through all the rooms and getting rid of junk being stored there, sweeping the floors, checking the sinks and windows. On Monday afternoon we moved in! This weekend we are celebrating our first full week there.
On Monday I also began my new job here at CPI Monteverde: Student Coordiinator. My job includes a lot of the following:
-orientation for new and transfer students
-organizing activities and tours
-arranging and confirming transportation for students
-inputting student info into online databases
-taking pictures of activities
-writing vouchers and charging students for activities and transportation
-turning in financial reports on Fridays
-memorization
-marketing
Today is Friday and the end of my first week in this position; there are still things I am learning on the fly, and somethings I can do without thinking already. As I continue on and gain experience we will see how it goes. I might stay in this job if I do well, and not return to groups!! That will be determined in December.
A typical overcast day here, there has already been a drizzle and I snagged a snack during break while talking to my four students here this week. Tonight my room-mate (house-mate?) and I plan to relax and do some more organizing of the house.
After finishing my last group I had to turn in my cell phone, and am currently without and kind of communication other than internet on this work computer. You also may not see me as much on Skype, as I am now using a different name and account connected to all CPI personnel at all three campuses. Butu keep an eye out for me after 5pm (my time). Hopefully I can get a cell phone in the next two weeks.
Also next week I will be making my first trip back to the States since May, for Katie and Ben's wedding. After my bout of homesickness I am ready to see all my best friends again for a few days. I plan to leave Tuesday afternoon and head down the moountain via bus to Heredia, stay overnight and leave the following day on my afternoon flight. No way am I risking coming down the same day, when things like traffic or weather could ruin my trip. All I want to worry about is getting to the airport in time day-of!
I do have another big concern: coming back to Costa Rica. I still do not have my ticket to go home in December, and I am hoping that I will be allowed to re-enter the country without any document detailing my plans to leave. I know folks who have done it, but I am nervous taking chances when I have invested so much here now with renting a house and a steady job. Hopefully I have no problems! I look fairly innocent, right?
Overall very much enjoying my time here in the mountains, Monteverde is definately where I feel most at home in this country, and I love it.
Pura Vida
ps. house pictures to come soon!
On Sunday I met up with my future room-mate and we cleaned our little cabina out, going through all the rooms and getting rid of junk being stored there, sweeping the floors, checking the sinks and windows. On Monday afternoon we moved in! This weekend we are celebrating our first full week there.
On Monday I also began my new job here at CPI Monteverde: Student Coordiinator. My job includes a lot of the following:
-orientation for new and transfer students
-organizing activities and tours
-arranging and confirming transportation for students
-inputting student info into online databases
-taking pictures of activities
-writing vouchers and charging students for activities and transportation
-turning in financial reports on Fridays
-memorization
-marketing
Today is Friday and the end of my first week in this position; there are still things I am learning on the fly, and somethings I can do without thinking already. As I continue on and gain experience we will see how it goes. I might stay in this job if I do well, and not return to groups!! That will be determined in December.
A typical overcast day here, there has already been a drizzle and I snagged a snack during break while talking to my four students here this week. Tonight my room-mate (house-mate?) and I plan to relax and do some more organizing of the house.
After finishing my last group I had to turn in my cell phone, and am currently without and kind of communication other than internet on this work computer. You also may not see me as much on Skype, as I am now using a different name and account connected to all CPI personnel at all three campuses. Butu keep an eye out for me after 5pm (my time). Hopefully I can get a cell phone in the next two weeks.
Also next week I will be making my first trip back to the States since May, for Katie and Ben's wedding. After my bout of homesickness I am ready to see all my best friends again for a few days. I plan to leave Tuesday afternoon and head down the moountain via bus to Heredia, stay overnight and leave the following day on my afternoon flight. No way am I risking coming down the same day, when things like traffic or weather could ruin my trip. All I want to worry about is getting to the airport in time day-of!
I do have another big concern: coming back to Costa Rica. I still do not have my ticket to go home in December, and I am hoping that I will be allowed to re-enter the country without any document detailing my plans to leave. I know folks who have done it, but I am nervous taking chances when I have invested so much here now with renting a house and a steady job. Hopefully I have no problems! I look fairly innocent, right?
Overall very much enjoying my time here in the mountains, Monteverde is definately where I feel most at home in this country, and I love it.
Pura Vida
ps. house pictures to come soon!
hanging around
- Yeah I look pretty (dorky) in my harness for doing the Superman cable.
So today my group did a canopy tour...we beat the afternoon rain thank goodness, and MOST of them made it to class on time!
For the first time I did the superman cable, followed by rappel. And it was an experience...!!! I am not fond of the sensation of falling, to say the least. Doing the superman and being flung out into space was a little bit of a shock for me. Being unhooked I was a little unsteady...and being faced with doing the rappel and being dropped completely freaked me out!! Thankfully the guides were really understanding, and helped me through it. Overall I am glad I embraced the experience, and DID it! Leave no opportunity behind.
Right now it is POURING here in Heredia, and I am glad to be snug inside the office. I am putting the finishing touches on the dvd for my group's graduation ceremony later, and its almost break time. Hopefully this weather lightens up a little, I had hoped to visit Esparza and downtown Heredia this weekend to shop and hang out.
Craving ice cream...wow this diet is going to be harder than I thought with things like Mmio bars being so plentiful (makes me think of Sonia!).
This is Costa Rica...PURA VIDA.
La Carpio
-Nela, who works with the Humanitarian Foundation. She was originally a street kid addicted to drugs who was rescued by Gail, and now works with volunteers and does walk-abouts with students groups (like us!)
-Pictures of La Carpio: you see the construction of the houses, conditions of the streets, and how much trash is left and not picked up. Litter is a huge problem and contributes to the poor health conditions and unpleasant smell of the city (San Jose) dump, which is nearby.
blessed
Today was a day of service in La Carpio with my group. They worked at the clinic, delivered bunk beds, and distributed vitamins and toys in one of the poorest neighborhoods next to the river. It is always very humbling to go and visit these places, to see people's homes and to see their need. It is a reminder of how much I am blessed in my life, and how I really do not want for anything. My needs are not nearly as profound as the needs of others.
Tomorrow the group is going on a canopy tour, and I am going. Hopefully we have good weather: we are going fairly early in the morning so I think we will be ok. This week has been a total blur...of course the last moments are always the fastest.
On Sunday I make my way back up the mountain and hopefully do some house cleaning before moving in with my room-mate sometime next week. I also start my new job in the Monteverde office...better put my game face on.
Hopefully Saturday I will find what I need for the house shopping in Heredia...it just occurred to me I might need several blankets because I am always cold. One more thing to add to the list!
I think I am officially going on a diet here. The rice is catching up with my girlish figure, oh dear. There has been no lack of food this summer, that much is for sure.
Pura Vida
Tomorrow the group is going on a canopy tour, and I am going. Hopefully we have good weather: we are going fairly early in the morning so I think we will be ok. This week has been a total blur...of course the last moments are always the fastest.
On Sunday I make my way back up the mountain and hopefully do some house cleaning before moving in with my room-mate sometime next week. I also start my new job in the Monteverde office...better put my game face on.
Hopefully Saturday I will find what I need for the house shopping in Heredia...it just occurred to me I might need several blankets because I am always cold. One more thing to add to the list!
I think I am officially going on a diet here. The rice is catching up with my girlish figure, oh dear. There has been no lack of food this summer, that much is for sure.
Pura Vida
get a glimpse
-picture of Mother's Day Celebration, CPI Heredia (Mother's Day is actually August 15th here!)
-view from rest stop on the way to Heredia from Esparza...love it!!
finish strong!
Its a chilly Monday here in the Central Valley...This is my last week in Heredia, and I have very much fallen in love with the people at this campus. I can understand why it was so hard for Diana to leave.
Yesterday was a long day...I made three different trips to the airport, dropping off my group from last week and later (MUCH later...11:20pm) picking up my group for this week. They are all medical students from a school in California, and so far my first impressions are good (and for me, first impressions are the most important). I went to bed around 1:30am. Woot!
This morning has been go-go-GO! We got the group through orientation and testing, and I documented their cooking class before seeing them off at 1pm as they began their Spanish classes. Now to begin making student IDs...In the next week this group will be doing a combination of service work and activities. Tomorrow we will be going to La Carpio, a shanty town with a majority population of Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans of Nicaraguan heritage. The group will be working at clinics throughout the neighborhood, directed and established by Gail Nystrom- at truly inspiring woman.
It has been more than a year since I've been to La Carpio, and it is a powerful experience. The poverty and the spirit of the people and community are amazing and inspiring. I always leave with a piece of my heart being changed, and a desire to do service burning in me...Hopefully visiting this week will leave this group feeling the same way.
This is my last week, and my last group...thus the title of this post, finish strong!
Pura Vida
Yesterday was a long day...I made three different trips to the airport, dropping off my group from last week and later (MUCH later...11:20pm) picking up my group for this week. They are all medical students from a school in California, and so far my first impressions are good (and for me, first impressions are the most important). I went to bed around 1:30am. Woot!
This morning has been go-go-GO! We got the group through orientation and testing, and I documented their cooking class before seeing them off at 1pm as they began their Spanish classes. Now to begin making student IDs...In the next week this group will be doing a combination of service work and activities. Tomorrow we will be going to La Carpio, a shanty town with a majority population of Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans of Nicaraguan heritage. The group will be working at clinics throughout the neighborhood, directed and established by Gail Nystrom- at truly inspiring woman.
It has been more than a year since I've been to La Carpio, and it is a powerful experience. The poverty and the spirit of the people and community are amazing and inspiring. I always leave with a piece of my heart being changed, and a desire to do service burning in me...Hopefully visiting this week will leave this group feeling the same way.
This is my last week, and my last group...thus the title of this post, finish strong!
Pura Vida
keep it simple
Regular rainy afternoon here. Today is my 90th day away from the USA. WOW! Time flies.
Earlier I made a trip to the bank and left feeling successful. Tomorrow I return to pick up my credit/debit card.
Today my group is on a tour down the Sarapiqui river, and I hope they see animals with rainy weather today. Last time I went I saw a LOT of crocodiles, I hope they see birds and monkeys and such. They have a guide who will be bale to point the wildlife out to them better than me, haha. Tomorrow they go to Cafe Britt, and I am organizing a graduation ceremony although not all of them will attend. Awesome...
Looking forward to moving into my new house soon. Next week is my last week in Heredia for a while! Already figuring out what I need for the house.
Pura Vida.
Earlier I made a trip to the bank and left feeling successful. Tomorrow I return to pick up my credit/debit card.
Today my group is on a tour down the Sarapiqui river, and I hope they see animals with rainy weather today. Last time I went I saw a LOT of crocodiles, I hope they see birds and monkeys and such. They have a guide who will be bale to point the wildlife out to them better than me, haha. Tomorrow they go to Cafe Britt, and I am organizing a graduation ceremony although not all of them will attend. Awesome...
Looking forward to moving into my new house soon. Next week is my last week in Heredia for a while! Already figuring out what I need for the house.
Pura Vida.
adios Spain....
*Diana and Nidia with the tortilla*
This morning my good friend from Spain left to go home at 5am...now I feel very alone here, being one of the only chaperonas. Muni is still with another group!
Last night the final airport pick-up went well...right away we found the last three people to arrive, and we dropped off at apartments and homestays with no problems. I was home by 9:30, and stayed up til almost 11pm talking with Diana and my host family, all about food to culture to vocabulary. Its been great getting to know Diana in these last few weeks...we have been room-mates for almost two weeks. This morning she left to go back to Spain, and I already miss her humor and comments: she always made the day interesting and fun. She went out with a bang though! Last night she and Nidia (my Mama Tica) spent time together in the kitchen to make a tortilla Espanola, Spanish tortilla (which is like an omelette, with potatoes and onion). It was a huge production, and very fun to watch...I documented the whole thing, haha! We sat and ate with the family later, and when I got home from the airport everyone was still seated and chatting. Once again the pace of life stands out here, a huge contrast to life on the go in the USA...
I also found out yesterday that the house I was hoping to rent in Monteverde IS available! This house was ideal, with furniture and fridge included. Looking to move in during the last week of August, with my room-mate. Incredibly grateful that this house worked out!! I jumped up and down when I found out, haha.
Pura Vida!
airport blues
In the last 48 hours I have spent wayyyyyyy too much time at the airport.
I go back in an hour and a half to do yet ANOTHER pick-up...what a pain that everyone is arriving at different times. I hope the rest of this week goes well, this group is professors from a college in Texas...all older. Older groups can be fun or can be a pain: sometimes it is too much to be taken out of your comfort zone. Today I am doing orientation at CPI and testing...hopefully all runs smoothly.
Staying with my favorite Familia Tica here in San Joaquin, Nidia y Miguel. They are most like my cousins in Steubenville, I am very close to them. This is the house where I feel most at home in all of Costa Rica. Love being here, totally and absolutely.
Pura Vida
I go back in an hour and a half to do yet ANOTHER pick-up...what a pain that everyone is arriving at different times. I hope the rest of this week goes well, this group is professors from a college in Texas...all older. Older groups can be fun or can be a pain: sometimes it is too much to be taken out of your comfort zone. Today I am doing orientation at CPI and testing...hopefully all runs smoothly.
Staying with my favorite Familia Tica here in San Joaquin, Nidia y Miguel. They are most like my cousins in Steubenville, I am very close to them. This is the house where I feel most at home in all of Costa Rica. Love being here, totally and absolutely.
Pura Vida
back down to the central valley
What a beautiful Friday here in Monteverde...the sun is bright and I have Coldplay playing quietly in the background here in the groups office. This afternoon I am leaving to go back to heredia in the Central Valley (CV) to pick up my second to last group from the airport. They are arriving today, tomorrow and Sunday on different flights, so I can be found at the airport this weekend, if anyone is trying to find me.
This week has been really nice; sharing #8 with Diana, another chaperona from Spain. We have gotten to know each other over the summer and her time here is almost up. Monday she leaves to go back to Spain. We will stay with the same host family this weekend, so it will be her "despedida" or goodbye. We have been watching movies and walking to the bakery together, and talking about plans for the next year and next summer. She hopes to return to work with Grupos.
My job situation has changed too: I will be working as the student coordinator here in Monteverde when I finish with groups. I will be getting the same pay, but i will be working in another office and dealing with the individual students who study at the school. This includes letting them know about activities available, arranging transportation and making reservations in addition to being friendly and helpful. The only preocupation I have is jumping into the job: I will have next to no training when I start, but most of the things I have to learn will be hands-on. Also I have NO office appropriate clothes, since I cam prepared to work in Grupos. All I need is some black pants I think... This would be my cross-training at CPI. Once January rolls around I will be back in Grupos, prepping for the high season.
House-hunting has been promising...I went with my future room-mate to look around and see what is available, make some phone calls and ask friends. We found a very nice cabina that is VERY affordable and VERY close to CPI...we are waiting to hear back on availability. I am hoping to be moved in by the end of the month! We have several other numbers to call and a couple other leads on houses. We will see what turns up!
Yesterday I gave in and opened a bank account here in Costa Rica at the Banco Nacional, the bank that CPI uses for all their business transactions. Opening the account was a little tricky...I went to the bank in person in Monteverde, and was asked for my visa...oops! Two of my co-workers have opened accounts here without a visa, so I was a little taken aback. I ended up opening the account via e-mail, through the accountant/financial advisor in Heredia. Now I am just waiting for my debit card to be ready. Lovely.
Looking forward to being in familiar Heredia...not looking forward to the empty Grupos office. I miss all the chaps!! But its been a beautiful summer.
Pura Vida
(fotos: me in the office, sunset in Monteverde, Diana y yo with raincoats!)
back home...
This morning dawned bright and cool here in the montes...but it was raining by 11am, and it has been overcast all day. Its a quarter to 4 now, and the torres (radio towers) are totally obscured by gray cloudcover, while out the wind is a scrap of blue sky teasing me...I am just glad the rain has held off for most of the day! I have already left twice today, once to walk down to get lunch at a new bakery in Cerro Plano (Jimenez: nice, but not many options. Plus I eat a lot) and again for an ice cream run. How can I resist a chocobanano from Sabores? only 400 colones, which is less than a dollar!
Right now I am staying in little #8 in Casas del Toro, with another chaperona. I love having company! Last night we watched a movie together and tomorrow we are for sure going out to eat, since she will be leaving fro home at the end of the week and I will be leaving sometime Wednesday or Thursday for Heredia.
House hunting in the next 48 hours is going to be challenging...many available places are farther from CPI than I would like, and another complication is that we need furniture included. My room-mate and I cannot afford to buy everything we need for a house!! Just the basics, like pots and pans and glasses. Yes, challenging...I have been putting feelers out so hopefully my search will yield something. Fingers crossed!
Pura Vida
Right now I am staying in little #8 in Casas del Toro, with another chaperona. I love having company! Last night we watched a movie together and tomorrow we are for sure going out to eat, since she will be leaving fro home at the end of the week and I will be leaving sometime Wednesday or Thursday for Heredia.
House hunting in the next 48 hours is going to be challenging...many available places are farther from CPI than I would like, and another complication is that we need furniture included. My room-mate and I cannot afford to buy everything we need for a house!! Just the basics, like pots and pans and glasses. Yes, challenging...I have been putting feelers out so hopefully my search will yield something. Fingers crossed!
Pura Vida