Nicalove

Well, I’m writing to you from bed because incredibly I have a head cold again! It’s been spreading around school and came back to me even though I had it 3 weeks ago. It’s a lot better this time around but I still feel weak and keep losing my voice. I guess it’s just the climate here that makes it really easy to be sick, but it could be worse.

2 weeks ago now I went to Nicaragua for a friend’s wedding. I was really excited to be going on vacation and be going back to Nicaragua, where everything feels much more familiar than here. I do like it here for the most part, but Nicaragua is just an entirely different feeling. I feel like I went through a lot of shit in Nica (and a lot of great things), and survived, and still love the country even more. Costa Rican culture is a lot quieter. Nicaraguans are always out on the street selling things from 6am onward (avocado, the newspaper, shoes, fruit and even rat poison), and I kind of miss that atmosphere that’s similar to Mexico. It’s nice to be in a small, quieter town but it’s also really nice to escape it. 

I didn’t really realize how much I miss Nicaragua until I crossed the border, and everything came rushing back. I traveled there with Ticabus which was about $33 one way. It’s a comfy bus that also plays movies, which gave me a flashback to living in Tanzania and taking the bus to Dar Es Salaam while a guy handed out cold Cokes and we watched the Gods Must be Crazy. I miss that country too, and one of my old students who had asked me to adopt him keeps asking me on Facebook when I’m coming back. I’ve told him that the flight is really difficult for me to afford and that I live in Costa Rica now, and he’s just confused by it all. That’s another topic that I could talk about a while, but I’m going to choose not too because it’s too sad… Anyways, because I live on a mountain, I had to take a 2 hours bus to a stop on the side of the road where I would pick up the bus. A german woman and a spanish man were also going to Nicaragua, so we waited together. It took me 4 tries to buy my Ticabus ticket because the guy in the office was never there or just leaving when I would get off work, so it was an accomplishment even buying the ticket. From that stop on the road it’s about 3 or so hours to the border, crossing at a place called Penas Blancas. There’s a lot of money changers on both sides of the border and you have to pay exit and entry fees for both countries. The border is small and I read in some guide book that it’s similar to the Mexico/US relationship. Not at all true and complete BS if I do say so myself. There are a lot of Nicans who come over to CR and work in the coffee and banana plantations, and basically do jobs that CRs don’t— so in that way it’s similar, but the border is small and much calmer. From Tijuana, in a car you sometimes have to wait 8 hours or more to cross into the US, and people swarm you selling things. At the CR/Nica border, after you pay the fees and show your passport you basically just walk to the other side. The bus gets sprayed with some insecticide type stuff and you wait for the bus drivers to bring your passports back. All in all it took about 2 hours which wasn’t bad. It is very hot, so there are people selling drinks and food. I bought some gallo pinto and was a little worried I would be sick, but it was great and I felt fine.

From there, it was about 4 hours or so to Managua (the capital of Nicaragua), and the Ticabus drops people off along the way- but only a few stops. As we headed toward the capital we passed the beautiful Lake Nicaragua and the volcano jutting out of it. It’s sort of unbelievable that they are building a canal there (backed by the World Bank and Chinese funders), in a place that feels sacred. I think there’s a general consensus that it will be devastating for the environment, but in many places business trumps environment. I still wish it wasn’t happening.

Once I got to Managua, I took a 2 hour bus to Matagalpa. By this time it was dusk and the traffic in Managua was packed. I just made it to the bus with another couple (Nican) who had also been on Ticabus, even though the taxi driver was trying to pressure us to pay him $80 to go straight to Mata. I’m sure this sounds like a very exhausting day, but it really wasn’t that bad and it was incredibly worth it. Once I got to Matagalpa, my favorite person in Nicaragua (Javier, my co-worker from last year), was waiting for me with his brother-in-law. It was about 8:30 by then and Javier and his whole family had waited for me to go out to dinner together. I definitely did not expect that and it was the sweetest thing. 

I have never encountered so much generosity in so few days, and I’m still so touched to think about it. Javier’s mom was constantly trying to feed me, whether it was coffee or potatoes and rice. The next morning, she made me breakfast, Javier went to work, and I walked around town. It was really exciting to be in a (small) city, where there’s a lot going on. Costa Rica is stupidly expensive, so I went second-hand clothes shopping in Matagalpa and bought a bunch of movies to bring back. Javier picked me up for lunch on his moto and we went to a soup restaurant with his sister that had just run out of soup (ha!) so we had tacos and a few other things. For dinner, I went out with him and his parents to another restaurant that had snack type things and was really good. I definitely expected to pay for food, and I didn’t pay for a single meal the whole time I was visiting him. I was really surprised by this, but more so than that, he and his family are just the kindest people ever. He’s really close to his parents and his sisters, and they spend a lot of time just chatting over coffee at the house. His dad is a pastor, and while I’m not that religious, they were just so welcoming. Before I left for Estelí the next morning, his mom said a prayer for me, and that also felt really touching. She told me that I always have a family in Matagalpa when I come back, and these are all things people just don’t have to do, but by doing them I just felt like my heart was full with so much love. I bought them a big cake because I wanted to do something (other than bringing coffee from CR) and they ate it for breakfast the morning I left, which was kind of funny. The night before, Javier and I talked for a while sitting outside the cathedral, and he showed me a small plot of land he bought that he wants to build a house on some day. I love spending time with him and it all just reinforced that he’s a very special person in my life, and I really miss him.  It was really hard for me to say goodbye and it’s still something I’m struggling with, because I just don’t have a relationship like that here and I know that that’s rare. We struggled working together at first and I wasn’t the nicest person to him which wasn’t fair to him, but then we just had a really great time together. When your job is all day (16+ hours) every day intensively for 3 months, it just forces you to get to know someone really well and trust that things will work out.

Estelí has changed a lot in 1 year. The farmer’s market is still there which was one of my favorite things, but there’s a new mall with a movie theatre, a few new restaurants and a fancy hotel. I stay at the hostel where Javier and I hosted students last year, and again, incredibly generosity. They gave me my stay for free and told me that whenever I’m Estelí I have a family and won’t pay. I was really surprised by that because most people are living on tight finances in Nica, and it again is something that they didn’t have to do but chose to. 

The wedding itself was the most romantic I’ve ever been to. That day, all the ladies including me got our hair done and pedicures starting at 7:30 am. It was fun and festive. At around 2pm it started to downpour and didn’t stop until 7pm. My friend Lauryn, who was getting married to her boyfriend Pedro, actually got stuck in her hotel for more than an hour because it flooded outside. The wedding was supposed to be all outside on Pedro’s family’s ranch, so we had to make a makeshift wedding in the house. I found some lights in the guest bedroom and we put those up above the window, then put a few flowers around. There was a local guy playing acoustic guitar as she walked down the candle-lit aisle (which was beautiful), and everyone was kind of crammed into one room. Some guests didn’t show for the wedding, but it was actually kind of nice that it was so small and intimate and the people that really wanted to be there, were there. I’m not really that into weddings, but I cried at this one. Lauryn is 9 months pregnant with a baby boy they’ve named Noah. It was really special to witness the whole thing and hear their vows. Lauryn’s dad cannot speak Spanish (he tries!), but he had his speech translated and went for it anyways. After the rain stopped, the bugs came out in force and her dad (funny guy) was trying to smoke them away with cigars. This did not work, but was very amusing to watch. A few of us went outside and danced under the lights that had been set up in their trees when the rain died down.

I left a 3am the next morning, and the whole trip made me the happiest I’ve been in a long time.  Costa Ricans can say all the crap they want about Nicaraguans, but if I had to choose my favorite place, it would be Nicaragua all the way.

A belated blogging: Cabin Fever

Hello there! I have a lot to update everyone on (including a wonderful trip to Nicaragua- one of the best whirlwind trips/vacations I've had in a long time- and a beautiful horseback ride to warm springs here in Monteverde). I wrote the below blog entry 3 weeks ago, and didn’t get a chance to post it due to wonky internet (literally stops working at least 10 times a day daily at work) & a crazy schedule (I am basically the Manager AND the Program Coordinator of my dept). Anyways, thinking of you all always! I wrote this when I was feeling pretty homesick (July & August were pretty hard months adjusting here not just from the US but from the very different culture that is found in Nica that I was expecting here, along with feeling like I didn't really have much of a social support system). Things are definitely getting better now, but as always in life it's multi-layered. Here's the delayed blog from weeks ago:

Well, this past Friday was Mother’s Day in Costa Rica. Here, Mother’s Day is a national holiday which equals a long weekend. I had plans to go to the beach (on the Caribbean side), but sadly I went to the clinic instead (hence the title of this post)! I was sure I had an ear infection because my ears were throbbing, but it turns out that I had/have a respiratory infection instead that came on super quickly. I’m on strong antibiotics....but they are helping a lot! I slept/watched a bunch of movies all weekend and drank tons of tea. Even though I was coughing/weak and felt feverish, there are worse ways to spend the weekend. The doctor I saw said that sinus/respiratory problems are really common here because of the colder, rainy mountain climate, whereas in Nicaragua most of the illness is all stomach related because of food/water. 

Last weekend, I went to the Quaker meeting they have at the Friend’s School in Monteverde every Sunday. Even though Quakers are Christian, they are also very secular-friendly. Basically the meeting is singing songs about love/friendship (very Quaker-y), then sitting in silence for an hour. At the end of the silence, someone reads their “manifesto” for lack of a better word, which basically talks about thinking of other people and not being trapped in our own egotism and being kind, then every one says good morning to each other. I thought it would be hard to do this, but it actually was really enjoyable and way easier than the meditation weekend I did with my mom in Santa Cruz (fun but very challenging with hours and hours of meditation). I’m usually filled with stress at the beginning of a week here but I felt so relaxed the next day, and it was definitely the most unique form of worship I’ve seen. 

That Sunday I also walked to the radio towers on the hill above my house with a friend. It was about 45 minutes uphill, but worth the beautiful view. It was pretty cloudy in most parts, but I’ve been told that on a clear day you can see all the way to Arenal (the volcano that is about 4 hours away driving).

Yesterday, a random Japanese man studying tourism (name: Yosushi....yum!) interviewed me about our volunteer programs at the school. It was the first time I’ve ever been interviewed so I felt pretty fancy. He didn’t speak English so we both spoke in Spanish, which I thought must have looked pretty funny. He was surprised I was younger than he thought on the phone, and I couldn’t tell if that bothered him or just shocked him. At the end he presented me with a fancy pen and paid for my tea. See? Fancy!

I still get lonely here, but I think it’s been really good to have my own space. It’s kind of forced me to be comfortable with my own company and confront what I don’t like about myself or what I would like to change, and made me appreciate the company of other people more. I also like the down time, being so busy at work. Seeing other people here with their families has really made me realize that I would like to have kids and a partner some day, and I’m starting to feel a little more nervous about whether or not this will happen. I’ve never really thought at length about it because that’s never been a huge focus for me (and to be honest when I have thought about it, I’ve thought mainly about all the challenges and tragedies that can happen), but it’s been really refreshing and inspiring to see people move down here with their kids and live so bravely. One of my favorite coworkers here moved here from Chicago with her husband and 3 kids, and I love spending time with them (even though I know they have conflict in their family like everyone does). I always appreciated traveling with my parents when I was younger, and it’s nice to be reminded of the benefits of that close company, especially after being somewhat disturbed about how common adultery is here. Depending on who you talk to, machismo is either alive and well here or doesn’t exist. Usually it’s the men that take the second stance, but I happen to agree most with the first (although it’s not common in everyone). 

We’re pretty isolated up here from everything else going on in the world, which is a gift and also a challenge. Growing up here could be amazingly liberating (with all the space and room to explore) and also really stifling (i.e. wanting to be around more diversity racially, or exposed to more opportunities). I guess with everything there are pros and cons, but I think it takes a very specific type of person to live here long-term, and I’m not really sure I’m that person. I don’t think that’s necessarily a good or bad thing, but it’s just interesting to think about.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer wherever it may be! I’m including some photos of where I’m living. It’s simple and rustic with no phone/internet/tv and I’m pretty sure there is a creature living on my roof dangerously close to the electrical wire, BUT.... I like it. Lots of love to you all!

Single and super!

Hi everyone!

Hope y’all are doing well. I’m way behind on personal emails and the internet has been a struggle so I’m writing this in the cabin again. When I’m at work, there’s so much to do that I can’t really do anything personal on the internet sadly. When I think about the amount of cat videos I’m missing, I’m truly devastated! Lately, when I’ve gone to a cafe/hotel to connect or Skype after work, it’s been a real bust. The connection will go in and out, or a conversation will start and the freeze and head to the pooper. Blargh. At least it’s enough to check email, and thanks to everyone who’s kept in touch! It means a lot. It really scares me to be out of touch with people, because I don’t want my physical distance to equate lost relationships. Luckily, my parents have been able to keep in touch via phone calls. I would love to regularly keep in touch with more people too. That is definitely one of my longer term goals. My super cheap school cell phone does not have the best sound quality, so sometimes it’s tough to understand even English- but at least it functions if I drop it!

Lately, things have been a little challenging because of the feeling of isolation from home and all my stupid gut issues. Today my stomach inflated and I had awful cramps. I hate being on a limited diet and really pity myself sometimes (i.e. why do I have to feel so sick every time I have dairy/gluten/too much sugar; why do I have terrible eczema if I eat too much fruit, eggs or peanut butter). That being said, I just reread something I wrote back in November about being sick with C Diff and how I was recovering. It’s not the best writing, but I’m glad I wrote something to personally remind myself of how sick I was (migraines, not being able to keep any food/liquid in my system for more than 2 hours at most/terrible pain/depression from the strong drugs, etc). It helps to remember how sick I could be, and I’m thankful that there is a solution to avoid that misery even if it makes eating a little boring (it’s worth it!).

I’ve also been a little down because I feel like I keep getting feedback that I’m everybody’s w-e-i-r-d-o. While at one point I would’ve taken pride in this, it’s really getting on my nerves. From the locals, there’s been so much fixation on the fact that I’m single and childless. Even though I’ve had this experience before, I think because I’m in a small town it’s more extreme. To be fair, this attention is not coming from everyone, but I still want to know what is the big fascination!? It’s made me a little lonely because eventually I don’t want to be single forever and I would love to have kids some day. Who doesn’t want to be in a loving relationship? And P.S. it’s not like I forget that I’m unmarried. I’m very much aware of the fact that I’m alone. Being in a foreign country does that.  

From the international visitors (again not everyone), I meet a lot of people traveling who are perplexed about why I’m here and why I wouldn’t want to leave immediately and go to the US. When someone this week asked how long I’d be here and I replied that I verbally committed to a few years, her response was “but WHY?!?”. I met another woman at a hotel and her 3rd question to me was if I’ll ever go back to the US and where I’ll spend the rest of my life. What-in-the-world?! It’s been weird and it’s incredible how quickly people will ask personal questions within minutes of meeting. This happens all the time. I really wish I could tell people to hush up, but I understand that there’s some kind of fascination. At the same time, It’s really nobody’s damn business how long I’ll be here or my future plans.  Yes, that’s something for me to think about and I want to be in close proximity to people I love or at least visiting often, but you know what? Life is not meant to be planned out all perfectly. What fun is it to know where you’re headed at every turn? My friend here and I were talking about how even when we do plan things, other things end up happening. My uncle Chris always liked to say: “Plans? You make plans?!?”, and then would promptly ask me where I see myself in 5 years. Ha! Nobody really has control over their future, and if we did, the world probably wouldn’t be a better place. It seems mostly possible that it could be worse. Isn’t it really the great gift of life that we don’t know what’s ahead? Yes, sometimes what’s ahead includes terrible tragedy and loss that no one wants, but who wants to know that’s coming? And with every challenge, it just makes the good moments sweeter. But that’s my two cents.

Since what we all can control is how we choose to respond to people, I’m going to focus on the positive and being grateful for what I have instead of wanting what I don’t necessarily need or can’t create. So here’s what I’m grateful for from the past few weeks:

---Talking to my parents

---Skyping with friends!

---Sending postcards

---Following my friend’s artist residency in Mendocino because I’m so proud of her

---Moments where I’ve laughed so hard with new friends that I’ve almost peed

---Creating a post-it face on a forgotten meditation cushion of a former staff member, and then sending the photo shoot of the mediation cushion in the play gym, at meetings, on the swingset to the staff member :).

---My lemon tree

---Tea with honey

---Hot showers and my hot water bottle (so cozy at night!)

---A free hair dryer I got and a bunch of gluten free things

---People who’ve said “thank you” to me (I get asked for stuff all the time at work and it’s so nice when people remember to say thank you)

---Morning walks to work with my neighbor/friend/coworker

---Surprise notes of encouragement/earrings from this neighbor/friend/coworker (she’s the best!)

---A free dinner Tuesday night with visitors (and I could eat EVERYTHING even the dessert!)

---Free rides up the monster hill to school

---Drawing a portrait of a friend and another friend’s boyfriend making a beautiful wooden frame

---Sunny days

---The many dogs who walk up to campus and spend the day at school running around and just plain l-i-v-i-n’. We should all be so lucky to live life with that enthusiasm.

I hope everyone has a day with many reminders to be grateful. 

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust

Un abrazo,

W

On large spiders and library books

Hola! My big news is that the other day I killed what I’m positive was a baby tarantula in my bedroom. Or at least it’s distant cousin. Very creepy and way too large for my liking. I know tarantulas can’t kill you, but me no likey. That’s probably one of the downfalls about living in the cabin. I feel like I’m constantly cleaning up beginnings of spider webs. Creepy!

On the plus side, I have a lime tree, banana trees and a big avocado tree right outside my porch. Because of eczema etc. I’m really only utilizing the lime tree, but man is it great! One of the world’s larger rodents (what I think is a capybara) is also a fan, and stores all his weird little berries etc underneath it. He’s a shy fellow so he keeps his distance, but we have a mutual appreciation for our tree.

The cabin!

This weekend I did laundry for the first time in a non-western machine. In Nicaragua, I just used something called the pila, which is basically a big cement sink that every house has where you wash clothes. They have those here too (and at my house!), but washing machines are more common. The one I have at the cabin is 2 compartments: wash and spin. You plug it in and then add the water with a house (took me a little bit to figure that out). It soaps up and does its thing and then you transfer it to the spin compartment. This compartment in my machine is most definitely broken, so I just skipped it and did a rinse cycle. Turns out the spin cycle is pretty important and my clothes still had soap in them and were soaking. I did the best I could to remedy this in the pila and put everything out on the line. Once you’re done with the machine, you press a drain button, and the water disappears (into a drainage area right next to it in the ground). Since it’s constantly misting, then sunny, then raining, then sunny, then misting; drying clothes is a challenge. The wind here helps dry things even when they are not directly in the sun, so that’s nice. The cabin is pretty tree covered so bed sheet drying will be more challenging, but I’ll just cross that bridge when I come to it next weekend. I always kind of wanted to be a pioneer, so I like all these cleaning rituals that make you really slow down and get involved. Everything becomes a commitment!

Since I don’t have internet, I’ve been doing a few a little projects. One was making my own face/body scrub. I’ve found that most of Central America loves Ponds products, and Ponds always tests on animals :(. Scrub kind of stuff isn’t common here and what they do have is marked up price-wise and full of chemicals. It’s also just more fun this way! So far I have a little witchy jar with coffee grounds, extra virgin olive oil, honey and cinnamon. Besides being a good exfoliant, coffee has collagen in it which is good for your face; the olive oil is good for hydrating and has vitamin e in it for scars etc; honey is an anti-bacterial and cinnamon I guess helps waken everything up (?). I’ve also noticed recently that all the water in the house drains at some point into certain areas of my yard (also took me a little bit to figure this out), so that makes me feel better about using a few more natural products.

I’ve also been doing yoga a little more at my house and nearby. I live about a 5-minute walk (uphill) from a really nice hotel called the Belmar. It has really nice views, and a smoothie/tea bar and yoga classes. I’m sure I sound like a yuppie, but it’s grand. Mostly it’s tourists that do yoga (for $10) but they have a discount for locals that  drops it down to $6. I ate at their restaurant once (it’s really expensive) for a goodbye dinner for a few teachers in May. They have a local discount there too of 20-25%, which also makes a big difference. I just have to remember when people visit that all these discounts exist and pay (thus get the discount) so they don’t have to.

I’ve also been reading a lot more. When I do have the internet I feel like I spend hours checking facebook/instagram or watching TV, so it’s been nice to not have that (not that everyone does that, I think I just have trouble regulating my time in a healthy way). I did check the news once last week and saw mostly things about Israel and war etc, which reminded me that I do not miss the news and the doom and gloom, no sir. I do have an internet stick that works on my work computer if I want to bring it home, but it’s so slow that I can’t really dilly-dally. Sometimes it’s really nice to have TV....but I did bring some movies with me so that’s been nice as a back up too. Lately I’ve been really interested in Chinese medicine and acupressure, so I’m reading a lot and teaching myself all the pressure points in the body that alleviate different organs. It’s pretty cool and nice to give myself a little massage. Even our faces have tons of pressure points that correspond with different channels in the body. The ones that affect my stomach/intestine/gallbladder are always the most painful. 

I’ve also been reading a book called “Paradise Imperfect” by Margot Page, who moved to Monteverde for a year from Seattle with her family and attended our school. It’s been interesting to read while living here, and a pretty accurate description I would say. It’s also interesting to read someone’s perspective of bringing their family, rather than being single and moving myself around. More complicated, but also less lonely. 

My kindle has been nice to have in case there’s something obscure or specific I want to read, but there’s also the Friend’s School library. The Friend’s school is a Quaker school in the village of Monteverde (where there are no paved roads). I live right at the border before the paved road ends (where there’s a gas station). They’ve been building a sidewalk right in this area (before Monteverde), and there’s a beautiful viewpoint where you can see down to the ocean. There’s always some cow or horse chowing down on grass. The Friend’s School library is pretty much like going back in time. It’s open 24 hours (never locked and all the “staff” are volunteers that come in periodically but usually aren’t there). The library mostly has English books but there are books in Spanish too. Nothing at all is digital, so the library system is all paper cards and pencils and drawers. I always feel a little like I’m in a museum, and it’s awesome. There are great posters like dinosaurs reading or Indian Jones (circa the 80s) telling you to return your books. It’s an honor system, so you right down your name and the date, and leave the card. When it’s time to return it, there’s a trunk to put the books in. I would also like to add that in their "technology" section, titles include "The Complete Book of Cheese," "Dairy Farming" and "Beekeeping Basics." So good.

Another weekend activity I like to do is visit “La cuchara de la abuela” (The grandmother’s spoon), a little restaurant in Monteverde. I’ve tried their arroz con pollo, but my favorite is this roast chicken they make on a giant tortilla. So good! I’m still looking for someone I can buy chicken from directly--- added to my after work to-do list! Mostly I only meat here once or twice a week here and I’m pretty much on a vegan diet because of my stomach issues. I get most of my groceries from the “feria” farmers’ market on Saturdays, which is very simple with none of the hoopla we have in the U.S.. I kind of miss this hoopla, but I appreciate the utilitarian-ness of it all. There’s a little cocina in the back where I always get a chicken empanada from a very happy lanky man (who is a folkloric dancer on the side), and also older than God.

I’m not really sure if all this stuff is interesting just to me (ha!) but thanks for reading :). Saturday was my ex-boyfriend’s birthday in Nicaragua so I gave him a call. It was really nice to talk to him and even though we aren’t together, I still care about him. The phone I’m using right now is SO bad, and even English I have a hard time understanding. My Spanish is pretty kick-ASS right now most days (since I’m speaking it the majority of the time), but being in the woods just makes phone calls more difficult and the phone I have is very cheap. Every time it rings there’s this disco music interspersed with frog noises, so that’s professional.

The only other recent happening is that I traveled to San Jose (the capital) last week to pick up some new teachers and their kids. In private transport it should only take 3 hours (6 round trip). It turned out that the weather in Monteverde that day was just perfect, but down the mountain there was a massive storm, so trees got struck by lightning and blocked the highway. It was a very long day and in total we were gone for 12 hours. We also stopped at Walmart (there’s one near the airport), to take advantage of lower prices and products that aren’t in Monteverde (like shower caddies and nature valley bars and fancier shampoos!). This made me way more excited than should be normal. Normally I’m against Walmart, but they pretty much have a monopoly over all of Central America, so their prices are lowest and the variety of products are the largest. Sad and really pretty depressing given their politics, but not really fightable on an individual level other than limiting shopping.

Anyhow....I hope everyone is having a good summer! Miss you all and sorry for my limited contact--- I hope my blogging explains why a little bit more!

xoxo

W

Dispatch from a cabin in the woods

There ain’t no internet in this here cabin, so I’ll have to be updating this in the office. I moved into said cabin yesterday (Friday). I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss the internet. There are 2 guys at school who don’t have email addresses, and in my head I just think “bad ass”. I’ve been house-sitting for the past few weeks, and my neighbor was one of these bad-ass dudes. After work he usually plays soccer with his son, or works in his garden, or (until recently) watched the world cup. I guess that makes me sound like a creeper, but it’s hard not to notice what your neighbors are up to when you live on your own.

My job really depends on internet and email communication, and I’m very thankful to be able to communicate with people in the U.S. and around the world, but sometime the idea of not having the need for internet is pretty great. Every time I meet someone who’s not on facebook I think.....what a rebel!

Lately, I’ve mainly been working, hosting my first visitor from home and house sitting. House sitting turned into kind of a mess. The family forgot to pay the electric bill so I was basically indoor camping for a little while there and all the food went bad. The electric company (also the phone company here) messed up, so the house was without power for 5 days. The hot water here runs on electricity (I’m sure it’s the same in the U.S. but I’ve never had to think about it since our power never goes out), so that meant really chilly showers. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “Costa Rica is hot” so cold showers aren’t a big deal. Up in Monteverde, we are in the mountains, and it actually gets quite chilly. I wore a fleece and fuzzy leggings today about town. The weather can change rapidly in a day, so at some point it’ll be sunny and I’ll have my lunch outside, and then 30 minutes later it’s downpouring. I always have my emergency umbrella on me!

Luckily during this no power situation, my friend Elise was here visiting. We met up in Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast, and spent a few days there. I was glad to see it. It’s very different from Monteverde. Still green and beautiful but super hot, and way more touristy. There’s a good amount of tourists here regularly (mostly from Europe or the U.S. or Canada), but nothing like the coast. Where there be more tourists, there be higher prices, so that was also different. Fruits and veggies are really affordable here, but anything processed is on-par with with the U.S. or more expensive because it’s being imported from a U.S. or foreign owned corporation. This isn’t a huge issue for me since I’m basically allergic or unable to digest all processed food. I’ll just take that as a blessing.

In Manuel Antonio, Elise and I shared a private room at a hostel, which we shared a kitchen/living room with 2 german girls. Ze germanz! They were interesting. Every morning they would have this massive feast of fruit on the balcony and then toot about town in their rented car. Oh the life of the Euro! One of the girls was here all the way from her motherland to adopt a cat she met last year on the beach. That’s right. A stinkin' cat! If it was a dog, I’d understand (dogs are the superior creature), but chances are that cat could care less about relocating to Europe. 

Elise and I saw some monkeys and a few sloths in M.A. There were so many tourists that we didn’t need a guide because we would just follow the pointed fingers. Sometimes overly excited tourists would tell us themselves (or grab us in Elise’s case). Pretty different than Nicaragua which has a lot less white people. The beaches and all the greenery were very pretty. The animals are so used to all the people that they can be very aggressive with snacks. A giant fat raccoon stole my platanos in my bag when I walked down to the water. I would also like to add that he only ate half the bag and walked away- very wasteful! I guess he can afford to be choosey. 

One of the best parts of our beach trip was the smoothie shack at the hostel. I had a smoothie every morning of banana, avocado, kale, mint and orange juice. It was delightful! Sadly, I can’t really have this anymore (which I’ll explain later). The fresh coconut water was also great which you can’t find (in any form) in Monteverde.

One of the worst parts of our beach trip was that I swam in a river contaminated with fecal water. YEP. You read that right. The main beach in M.A. has a small river running into it. There were lots of locals in the water, and it was cooler/more refreshing than the ocean temperature, which is surprising because of all the actual crap in it. The beaches there are also pretty rocky and have a strong undercurrent/rip-tide. So, naturally the river was a lovely choice. I never put my head fully under because it was really shallow in the moving part, but the policia came over and let everyone know that the water “is.....not so clean” in Spanish, because the hotels dump literal shit in there. Right next to a national park! There are no words. I kept thinking about Pamela Anderson in Baywatch having to be hosed down with a chemical rinse every time she swam in the Santa Monica Pier. Gross and a half.

Elise came up to Monteverde for a few days. There was a beautiful rainbow to greet us but no power, so we ended up staying at my friend Molly’s for a few nights. I’ve been moving around so much that it’s really nice to be in one place and feel settled. I also finally get to really unpack, which is a relief. We did yoga together at the Hotel Belmar (they also make really good smoothies and teas). While I was at work, she went canyoning down a waterfall and zip-lining. We also climbed this really amazing hollow tree that’s about 5 minutes from school. It was nice to see a familiar face and sad to see her go.

Besides Elise’s visit, I’ve been spending a lot of time on my own, learning that I have to be my own best friend and content with my own company. It’s something I’m still learning since I’ve never spent this much time alone ever. It’s especially quiet right now because school isn’t in session and a lot of the foreign teachers are in the U.S. Most of the Ticos (Costa Ricans) all have families and spend time with them. I’m also one of the only people not in a relationship, so that’s been interesting! I miss the guy I was with last year, but sometimes things just don’t work out and life goes on despite the sadness. Some of my favorite things to do here are cook a good meal, go on a long walk, and shop at the farmer’s markets. I’ve also been spending a substantial amount of time killing spiders. Exciting, no?!? My iphone broke so I’ve been taking less photos, but I’m trying to make more of an effort to bring my camera around. It’s also been really exciting watching the World Cup, so it was pretty sad when Costa Rica “La Sele” lost.

The only other thing that’s been going on is health-wise, I’m in kind of a weird place. I had a really painful ear infection last month that luckily passed with treatment (and everything was free on Costa Rican insurance). The main thing is that ever since I got here in May I’ve had a lot of skin issues, eczema on my face among other things....and it’s been real bad! I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so unattractive ever. I’ve tried lots of different things, but the only thing that’s worked is adjusting my diet (cutting out peanut butter, bananas, avocado, coconut milk, sugar, eggs and coffee). It’s weird and annoying, but it’s working and I’m desperate! I’m mainly eating only savory foods that are cooked (nothing raw). The idea came from my acupuncturist in Berkeley who told me to give him a list of everything I’ve been eating. Apparently in Chinese medicine, my entire diet was “damp” meaning really hard on the digestion and very imbalanced. When the stomach is upset, it will show on the areas of the face where I’m affected. I know a lot of people don’t believe in Chinese medicine (hi dad!), but it’s always helped me when nothing else works.

Anyways, if you made it this far, congrats to you for reading! 

Lots of love to you all from this cabin in the woods, where I’ve successfully connected my propane tank to my 2-burner stove. Indoor camping for the win!

Until next time/Hasta la próxima,

W

Settling In

Hola! Not sure who's reading this but time for an update anyways! As always, I hope everyone is doing well and I think of y'all often.

Things are pretty bueno here! I still feel like I'm in the adjustment period getting used to everything now that I've been here a couple weeks. It's definitely chillier here temperature wise than I expected. Weather.com is just wrong in every way. But I'm likin' it!

Yesterday we had a big 7 hour rainstorm that started around noon. Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of leaving out my clothes (they use washing machines but no dryers since they make the electric bill sky-high). Needless to say, everything is still drying out on my porch hillbilly style.

It's always scary moving somewhere alone no matter how many times I do it, and I do feel a little jealous of people who make that move with a significant other, but (so far at least) it feels like a really good fit. The town here is small enough to walk around although it's still a work-out going up and down the hills. People are very friendly, and in general it feels very safe. My stomach has been a little upset, which I'm stilly trying to figure out, but it's nothing compared to the battle my body was fighting in Nicaragua.

This week, one of the US staff members (Molly) had a big june-bug fly in her ear and get stuck in the canal. She made to make an emergency visit (at night) to the private clinic in town. Apparently it was really painful and she's much better now- and I'm also so glad this is not a regular thing!

I had a nice week visiting the butterfly garden in town and walking through part of the cloud reserve with a visiting high school group from San Diego. Normally, I won't be going on all these excursions with visiting groups, but because I'm just starting, I'm tagging along to know the area better. I also get to go with them this Thursday to La Fortuna (about 3 hours away), where the Volcano Arenal is and the area is famous for hot springs. It'll be lovely to go on a free trip (just for an overnight) and see the area! This is actually one of only a few places I've been to in Costa Rica about 11 years ago in high school and I remember it being beautiful, so I'm excited to go back.

Graduation for the school was this week. There was a ceremony for the prepa (kindergarten), 6th, 9th and 11th grades. High school here ends in 11th grade and wow are they a fan of graduations. I guess there are so many for different years because the government issues an official diploma, and some kids do not pass on to the next level (in the country).

The place I'm living now has about 6 dogs, and while I love dogs, when they all bark at once it's a bit much. I'm enjoying my little urban cabin and living and cooking on my own, but I've also been looking at what else is out there just for perspective and in case I can't find a roommate or decide to change locations.

Friday night, there was a mini-concert at a cute rustic lodge called La Collina. Michelle Rodriguez was the singer and you can listen to her music here: https://soundcloud.com/micha_rodriguez
My favorite song is Muy Sinceramente; (the only Spanish language song on there).

Yesterday, a 4th grade student Olivia put on a fundraiser for the bellbirds; (a bird here that lives in the cloud forest), which was very adorable. At one point, there were so many kiddos on the trampoline that I was worried it would burst and we'd have a mass tragedy on our hands. Olivia's mom is also the only other gluten-free person here. GFers UNITE. She has been working with a local bakery to make a few items- one is an oatmeal cookie and the other is corn bread.

A lot of teachers are leaving for the summer because they only have 10 month contracts and are not working for the summer program, so it should be pretty quiet around here in a few weeks. We are currently hiring for a (bilingual) high school math teacher, 3rd/4th grade teacher and ESL teacher. Applicants can be from anywhere (not just the US or CR). If anyone knows interested parties- please give them my email! Hiring is a big part of my job, so I hope to fill these positions soon- yay!

Lots of amor to you all!

First week!

Right now it is raining and I’m sitting on my cozy L-shaped couch in the cabin. I’ve been here in Monteverde for less than a week, but I’m really enjoying it so far. I feel way more relaxed than I have in a long time, and it’s a nice change from being so stressed that I can’t sleep at night. The first few days were a little lonely and overwhelming, especially since my first full day was my birthday. I spent the day at work and the evening walking around town and eating at home. I had planned to Skype with my parents but the internet went out (although I still had power, but it was out through most of town).

The area is made up of different zones/neighborhoods. Where I am is called Cerro Plano (flat hill) and it is very central. I like it for that reason, and it’s really nice to live on my own, although I had a wonderful roommate in Berkley. I lived with people in Nicaragua as well, and throughout my 20s I’ve always had multiple roommates and shared housing situations, but there’s something very gratifying about being on my own and I feel ready to enter a different life stage in that respect. The first few days I felt like I definitely would want roommates, but now I don’t think I do. I most likely can’t stay in this cabin because there is a 2nd bedroom that needs to be filled. The landlady said I can pay half rent until August ($200) and then move if I don’t find someone. I love that I have a porch and a little kitchen and area to relax. The only issues are that it is right on the highway so I start hearing cars around 5:30 or 6, and the front door is a sliding glass door- good in terms of space and feeling but the issue is that the lock doesn’t work. For now, I’ve been keeping my valuables locked at work or in a locked dresser in the bedroom here. The cabin is on a family’s property and they are usually here, but it is just dumb to not have a lock. I keep being told it will be fixed, but I’m starting to lose faith. I am also still very traumatized from the robbery that happened in Nicaragua, and I think it’s a good thing that I’ve finally realized that I’ve been carrying that fear and paranoia with me.

I am about 10 minutes from the school walking uphill. I can also take the school bus which stops 5 minutes away around 7:40 if I want to skip the steep walk. The school’s campus is set on top of a hill and their property extends back in the jungle/forest. There are about 200 students and it goes from pre-school to high school. The teachers are mostly international from the U.S., but half the staff is Costa Rican, so I speak in a mix of Spanish and English. Graduation is happening next week so this past Thursday was something called “Project Share” where each grade level shares something from the semester. I saw the pre-school perform different songs in English and Spanish and it was all very adorable. The school functions on a bilingual 50-50 model.

In general, people have been really friendly, and other staff has made an effort to invite me places or show me around, which I really appreciate. It took a few days for that to happen, but I’m very grateful it did. There are quite a few international couples/families here who are moving on in June (some back to the U.S., and others to Colombia and China). It’s been nice to meet people who are so adventurous in how they view their lives and embrace transitions.

Monteverde is the neighborhood north of Cerro Plano and a little more isolated. There are fancy hotels (one is over $300 a night!) and it is a popular place for foreigners to live because it is near the nature reserves, but I think for now, I’d rather be more central. The area started as a Quaker central 50 some odd years ago, and there is a Quaker school close to the reserve. The housing there is more spacious and larger, with big houses set back in the woods. Eventually, it seems like it would be a nice place to live. There are also a few cafes, a couple art galleries and a store called Whole Foods haha. Most things in Monteverde are in English and the Whole Foods even sells things like almond butter and kombucha home-made by what I presume are gringo farmers. This, along with a whole bunch of other things, makes it clear that CR is definitely not Nicaragua! So far, I like both countries but CR seems a bit more stable politically, and it’s kind of a relief to be able to drink the water, which comes directly from mountain springs here. It’s been quite the contrast to being in the public hospital for eating a salad in León my first night last year. I love Nica despite the challenges I faced, but this place is pretty lovely. 

Below Cerro Plano, there is the Tico town of Santa Elena, which has supermarkets, hostels, the farmer’s market on saturdays, banks, restaurants, etc. I like being close by since it is so convenient. Everything here seems to be built on hills so I’m always walking up or down...like a mini-San Francisco. Below all that is another neighborhood called Cementario, but I don’t think I want to live there since it’s kind of far to one end and at the bottom of the hills- everything would be an uphill struggle!

Thursday night I was invited to 2 teachers’ shared house in Monteverde where a group of teachers had dinner and we played cornhole and Cranium. There was a thunderstorm going on at the same time and it was nice to see the lightning. Overall, it’s been really nice to kind of get back to a more simple life and not depend so much on technology for entertainment. It’s still nice to have internet access, but I’ve forgotten what it feels like to just hang out without technological distractions. A small percentage of people have smart phones (though I have noticed quite a few Ticos with IPhones) and if they do, their internet is not usually turned on because it eats away at $$, so there is no reason to constantly be checking your phone. 

Friday there was an end of the year party for school staff at a nice hotel in town called Poco a Poco. We had a big buffet lunch and used the pool and jacuzzi.  

Saturday there were a few flea markets going on hosted by teachers at my school and the Quaker school which they call Cachivache in Spanish. This was great timing for me since I needed some household items.  

Although I miss friends and family, I feel really relaxed and happy to be this unique, friendly community. Hope everyone is doing well!