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!

Tico time

Hi friends! I decided to make the blog I keep private (or more accurately, only share with people I think will want to read it...for now). Photos I take are still public though on my other blog (http://wildviewwest.blogspot.com). Maybe it's too many blogs (gasp!), but I'm going with it.

I just arrived in Costa Rica today after a long overnight flight that stopped Florida. I felt very lucky to have a wonderful send-off at a family friends' house in Brentwood, California. My parents and my aunt and cousin were also there and it felt really touching and wonderful. Leaving Berkeley the week before last was also very difficult, and I miss my old roommate Allyson (who I've known since preschool), every day....along with a lovely network of friends. I had a small goodbye fiesta there too, and I am very grateful for all the kind thoughts and well wishes.

My fear about living out of the country has always been that I may lose contact with friends and family, or that relationships will somehow end, but I think I'm starting to learn that I have some power in avoiding that. It's a nice feeling and makes me feel better about being here. I've already spoken with my dad (who is prostate cancer free- go dad!!), and skyped with a good friend in Nicaragua. I was having terrible anxiety just about the unknown and my life decisions being different than friends/family, but I'm doing better now that I'm here. Even though I've moved 14 times since I graduated from high school 11 years ago, that anxiety never goes away.

Tomorrow is my first day of official work at school and my 29th birthday. I'm feeling a wee bit old to be single sometimes, but I'm also happy with the choices I've made and I really don't feel like finding someone can be forced. It does get kind of awkward sometimes. Two couples came to pick me up from the airport today, and my landlady Vicky already asked me if I have a family/kids/am married. It didn't take long! I got some pity that I didn't- I'm sure she thinks it's somewhat strange. The second question she asked was if I'm Catholic; (note: not "Are you religious?"). Both were pretty amusing and to be expected. I have been thinking that this may be the loneliest birthday of my 29 years, but I'm going to go into it with no expectations, just grateful to be having a new experience.

On a side note, I'm living alone for the first time ever. My coworker Kathia found me a cabana (cabin), in Monteverde, that is part of Vicky's family property. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay here because it's a 2 bedroom and the other woman who was supposed to live here had to turn down the job to work at the school because of a bad accident. I hope wherever she is, she's ok! Right now, it's looking like I'll be here for the next 3 months (paying half rent). If it doesn't work out here, big V (that's what I'm calling her in my head), has other 1 bedroom apartments on this same piece of property right across from the cabin. I do hope I can stay here though. It's super cute! I am on the 2nd floor and it's all hard wood floors and wood everything. There's a corner couch and a small kitchen, my bedroom, and a bathroom. Big V's dog Tonka likes to sit on the porch outside, and I've already spotted a puppy at her house. Her son and his 2 younger kids live here as well, so it's nice to at least be nearby people and be speaking Spanish all the time. The house has quirks like the faucet handle tends to fall off, and I haven't figured out how to use the propane stove (I need a guide for that). The shower sort of has warm water after a while. There's also a problem with the front door- which is a sliding door. The lock isn't really working and big V says no one really locks their houses here, but hopefully she's fixing it tomorrow. I told her I was robbed in Nicaragua and so I would like to have a door that locks and she went: "Oh....Nicaragua!" haha. I do miss friends in Nicaragua, but hopefully I'll be able to visit at some point and start meeting people here.

This wasn't a very exciting blogpost, but I just wanted to quickly send out an update and say thanks for the support! I'll leave you with a photo of mi casita:

It’s not you, it’s my stomach ™

A lot of my days lately have been filled with chasing the sun, craving sugar and taking care of sicklings. Chasing the sun because it’s the rainy season, and it has been especially rainy this year in Nicaragua….most likely related to the hurricane that was just in Mexico. We are washing all our laundry by hand, and there’s so much moisture in the air that things mold incredibly fast. I have 3 bras with me for 3 months, and I’m sorry to say, one has succumbed to the mold. I’ve tried soaking it in bleach, and leaving it in the sun to kill the bacteria, but the mold still be livin’! I’ll probably still wear it and hope against any kind of weird side effect other than gross out. That being said, there is at least some sun every day, though it’s strongest in the morning. There’s always some kind of monsoon, usually in the afternoon. I’ve also been walking up the mountain that aligns with the larger town down in the valley to make the occasional phone call or slowly use the internet.

Because I have gastritis, which is the precursor to an ulcer, my diet has been a lot more limited and I hope cleaner. No coffee (which is sad because it’s so good and organic here), no milk (i can't digest it, though cheese doesn’t seem to bother me), and already no gluten. Most of our meals are vegetarian or vegan, depending on what the community has to offer. The eggs we eat come from the chickens in town, along with the beans, cheese, coffee and corn for the tortillas. This is usually all accompanied by a fruit batido (smoothie). The woman who does most of the cooking in the house told me she prefers to be poor in the country, because you can still live independently and not have to rely on buying everything in the city.

The man in my host family works at a cooperative located in the larger town, where the grow sesame and process their own sesame oil. So we’ve also had tahini, honey, and sesame oil from town. Today, we visited the cooperative, and also bought wine made from hibiscus flowers (though I’ve been avoiding alcohol and drinking lots of water and tea), and sesame sweets that have sugar, milk (cooked) and cinnamon. They are deliciosos! Sesame oil is the 2^nd healthiest oil for you, behind olive oil. The cooperative also sells their sesame to The Body Shop and L’Oreal for a fair trade price, which makes me think a lot more highly of those companies. The coffee in the community is sold to a small company called Dean’s Beans in the US, which has chosen to not take part in Fair Trade USA, because the CEO of FTUSA has significantly lowered the standards to become fair trade certified out of preference for increased company growth. FTUSA has also parted ways with Fair Trade International, and certify companies as “fair trade” that are as little as 2% fair trade based.

In terms of animals, living in such close proximity to cows has made me realize how beautiful they are, and I’m less and less inclined to eat red meat. Most people buy meat from the larger town on Wednesdays when a man comes up to sell it, and inevitably all the dogs eat the scraps and fart all day. That’s how you know for sure it’s meat day. I’m also pretty turned off by pork ever since a student got sick and I saw a pig eat the puke. They literally will eat anything, which I guess is good because there’s so much crap in the world. We had chicken today in the town and I swallowed a bone, and ate a banana to “wrap around” the bone traveling down my gut. There are 2 orphaned chickens in our house also because our cat killed the mama.

I’m probably focusing on food because lately I’ve felt a bit lonely and isolated, but I think that there is always something to be learned from every experience, and it’s been a learning experience for sure living a more rural lifestyle. I miss family and friends, but I love speaking Spanish, having time to read (and an actual legit bilingual community library, which is the best I’ve seen in country). I also feel like I’ve learned a lot from how much people value family relationships. It’s very touching to watch the family I’ve been staying with help their son with his homework each night. This is all the more special since the host father in charge of the cooperative learned to read thanks to volunteers from Cuba who came into rural areas after the Sandinista revolution. Education is really highly valued here, and the US government has a lot to learn...especially now. Amor a todos!