Smorgasbord of Stuff

I’ve been a Bijagualena for a X now! Well, I don’t think I’ve been completely adopted yet but I am meeting so many people and I have been pounding the pavement (aka dirt road) being seen and seeing the community. And it is BEAUTIFUL! As one of my friends says: there are some perks of living in paradise. Here are some ideas/observations that have come to mind lately:

One idea for the title of this post was: Eternal Shine. That is how my face is perpetually here since it is hot and humid all day. Good part of this: I don’t have to focus too much on makeup because it will be gone before 10 AM

School children don’t have to look forward to snow days here but they do get mud days. Ever since winter started (that is what Ticos call their rainy season that goes from May to November) the dirt roads are always a concern whether they will be passable or not. I was fortunate enough to be able to make it to my community last week because the roads became pretty much impassable for three days and for two days the school bus could not bring the 60 kids that commute from outlaying communities to high school (out of 100 students) It is very interesting to me that because of the rain I might not be able to get out of the community when I want/need to (most of the time, even when the roads are bad, a good four wheel jeep will get by)

I hate complaining, but I do need to mention that the chocolate here is TERRIBLE. The small Hershey I found was the best I’ve tried (and this is truly sad…). That is it of negativity.

I have been discovering how noisy rural night life is. The other night I went to bed and I thought my Tica sister had her music on and I was thinking how weird/interesting her music sounded when I realized it wasn’t her music but it was all the sounds coming from outside my window: frogs (lots of them), bugs, birds…. Crazy!

Not to make any bird lover jealous, but there are SO many cool birds here. It is incredible! I live in a biological corridor, which means that I’m between national parks and there is some natural protection to make this area a place where wildlife can move between these areas. Since being in Costa Rica I’ve been blessed to see many animals I have no clue what they would be in English but some of them are: wild monkeys, sloths, ant eaters, opossums (sadly killed by the dog), gorgeous butterflies and a TON of insects (some cool and others not as cool)….

Also, last night I experienced my 5th earthquake in Costa Rica (two of them I did not feel) Last night it was pretty big (6.2 and fairly near) and it lasted a long time. It is so weird to have the ground moving....



You may be wondering what am I up to now that I have moved to my community. What does a Peace Corp volunteer actually DO? That is a very good question. Right now I’m focused on integrating into the community and getting to know the people and the dynamic of the town. My role is here is to facilitate (key Peace Corp vocab) development, especially economic development. I’m not here to develop or implement MY plans or projects but to come alongside the community, identify and discover what they need and want and together take action in a way that once I leave the change will be continued without me. But to do that I need to know the community and listen, listen, listen. Let me tell you, for a type A personality that likes to DO and feel useful it is not easy. But it is SO good. I have been meeting and talking to a lot of people and getting involved with events in the community. On Sunday I cooked, scrubbed and sold food at a school fundraiser for 7 hours that I happened to come across and decided to pitch in. I hope to start some English and computer classes soon since it is something that I’ve been asked for by many and would be a good way to help capacitate for employment in a very concrete way.

If you made it all the way to the end, I congratulate you (I know that was long) and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you. I could not be here if I didn’t know that I have a support system back home that wants me to do well and loves me for being me (that is just incredible to me)

That’s it from me, now it is YOUR turn to let me know how you are doing (you all have my email)