2/27/12
(I'm writing posts and saving them on my laptop until I have wi-fi to post them...so that's why this is late).
That is just one of MANY exciting and wonderful things to
happen to me in the last week. Since I last wrote, we wrapped up orientation
week, and I am now living with a wonderful host family. I could not be happier.
To recap:
We had a lot of different orientation sessions all week,
ranging from safety and security to technology here in CR to an overview of the
TEFL program I’m working with. We all gave personal presentations about our
lives, which means I talked about all of you lovely readers a lot.
My favorite part of the week was Saturday morning, when we
finally escaped from the hotel (they wouldn’t let us leave the premises all
week) to the city of Heredia, the provincial capital of the province also named
Heredia. The city was beautiful, especially in the Parque central (Central
Park) where they dropped us off. It was warm and sunny and busy, all of my
favorite things. We had some tasks to complete as a group (my group consisted
of five people). For example, we had to find the train station and figure out
the hours. We also had to explore el Mercado viejo (Old Market). The market was
awesome. There were so many vendors, all peddling their specialties—fruit,
meat, fish, vegetables, baked goods, etc. There were also some lovely cafes
throughout the market offering casados,
a typical dish in Costa Rica that consists of rice, beans, and some type of
meat, as well as plátanos (imagine a
banana in vegetable form). We ate at one of those restaurants after wandering
the town for a while and completing all of our tasks. I also managed to set up
my cell phone. It was an awesome morning, full of fresh air and cultural
immersion (I’m a dork, so sue me).
Later that day, we had a bunch more informational sessions,
including orientations for how we should talk with our host families, words
that only exist in Costa Rican Spanish, and so on. That night, we had a
barbeque with AMAZING food, and afterward, Xinia, part of the Peace Corps Costa
Rica staff, gave us dance lessons. She taught us salsa and merengue. Needless
to say, I am awful at both, but we all had SO MUCH FUN.
Now, on to the MOST exciting stuff: MY NEW HOST FAMILY! I
found out on Saturday evening that I would be spending the next eleven weeks
with a 56-year-old woman named Hilda and her 35-year-old daughter Katia. That
was not the whole story! Hilda’s two sons and their wives and children all live
right next door and share a backyard with Hilda and Katia. Between the two
sons, there are five kids, all under the age of ten! I am in HEAVEN. They are
adorable; they love to play with me; and the youngest boy is constantly
snuggling me. What more could I ask for?
Peace Corps dropped me and my fellow trainees (there are a
few others besides me who live in this town) in the center of the town, which
is called Concepción de San Isidro. My host mom greeted me with a never ending
bear hug and was just so kind and welcoming. So was Katia, my new sister. We
then climbed a HUGE hill (of course, I live at the top) with all of my suitcases—I
almost died. Okay, not really, but it was hard. They were very gracious and
helped me with my bags. Once we got to the house, it was time for lunch. We ate
with Hilda’s son, John Carlos, and his wife Silvia, and their two children—Jean
Carlo (6) and Kendal (2). They boys are both adorable, but I’ve spent the most
time with Jean Carlo so far. He talks my ear off about everything from
dinosaurs to my favorite animal to the movie Cars. Everyone was so welcoming
and we had a lovely lunch with a lot of conversation and laughter. Shortly
after that, Silvia showed me their house (which, of course, is right next
door), and then I want to the supermarket, called MegaSuper, with the whole
family. Jean Carlo kept me busy, every five minutes stopping to say, “¡Venga, Raquel!”
(“Come here, Rachel!”) to show me or tell me something new. Later on, we had
some ice cream outside on the porch. That’s when I met the other three
grandchildren – Cristal, Jordan, and David. Jordan is the youngest and is
constantly snuggling me and sitting on my lap. He is adorable and helps me ease
the homesickness I feel for my favorite kiddos back in Gettysburg. Cristal is
about 8 and she is obsessed with learning English. David is very sweet as well,
and has endless energy.
Today, I had my first day of Spanish classes, right down the
street from my house, down the big hill. We did typical Spanish class stuff and
also took a walk to get to know the town. I came home for lunch and then went
back to class. After class, I spent the afternoon playing with my host nieces
and nephews! I taught them how to play war and we practiced some English. I was
also very cordially invited to play Monopoly tomorrow.
So, a little more about the town: Conce (as the Costa Ricans
have nicknamed it) is a town of about 2,000 residents (to give you an idea,
about 2x the size of my high school in Lancaster). It basically consists of a
lot of beautiful, brightly-colored houses, a small convenience store, the
school, the church, and a small medical clinic. There is no post office or
library. It is nestled in the mountains and you can see the bright lights of
San Jose from my front porch. I love walking to school because I can take in
all the beautiful scenery.
Tomorrow, 2 friends and I are planning to walk to
our class in San Isidro (about half an hour away, and the biggest town nearby).
I’ve been taking photos like crazy, and I’ll post them as soon as I can.
I love my house here. It’s a beautiful aquamarine color, as
are the walls in my bedroom. Life here is a weird mix of things we have at home
and things that are different. For example, I do have hot water, but I don’t
normally have banana trees in my backyard. My host mom cooks over an open fire.
The back half of the house is made of tin panels and make a lot of noise when
it’s windy (which it has been since I got here!). A lot of the time, the three
houses here feel like one big house because everyone leaves the doors open,
eats together, and moves back and forth between the houses. I’m loving this new
experience.
Interesting note: there are two words for “you” in Spanish,
a formal version (usted) and a less formal version (tú). Here, the Costa Ricans
always always use usted no matter who they are talking to. Even though I know
this, it always makes me feel more important.
Thanks for reading, chic@s!
Love,
Rachel
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