Last Day Blues

The weather is grey and reflects the mood. But it's not raining so some are surfing, others just hanging out. I'm at La Vela Latina having my last beers using up colones. 

The students graduated today. Most of them went to the little ceremony that happens every Friday. Charley sang a song in Spanish which they seemed to enjoy. 

I took a nap in the hammock. We have dinner at seven. I mostly packed. I will try to lie down after dinner. It's now a waiting game. 

Non event

The last day of the volunteer work was a non event. Sure we served ice cream with m&ms. Sure the kids seemed happy. But that bond we had in Guatemala isn't there. The schedule has something to do with it. Only Alex showed up for the morning session.  That meant the rest were there in the afternoon. I guess there was also the fact Andrea and Johanna were still continuing with the program after we are gone. Maybe they're used to the volunteers coming and going. Oh well. I was the constant. And I plan on returning next year.  

A Night with Max Goldenberg

We had a special experience last night. After classes we took a bus to Nicoya to see Max Goldenberg, a well known Costa Rican folk singer and political activist. First we went to his house which was a beautiful hacienda set back from the road. He and his wife had a stunning wrap around porch made mostly of post and mean natural wood (teak?). They had made some amazing drinks, one called Toad's Water which was the color of dirt water toads love. It was made from Ginger and lime and other herbs. It was really tasty. They also had pineapple juice.
He first spoke about how Costa Rica markets itself as the happiest place on earth and the Blue Zone and all that, but they have some very real problems that seem to get lost in the marketing blitz. Problems like extreme poverty, inadequate services, privatization of essential government services. He and his friend Louis also are organic farmers and they talked a bit about genetically modified corn and its impact on Costa Rica.
After, we walked to his families restaurant run by his daughters and their husbands. It had a huge brick oven and they are known for their pizzas. They brought us a variety of tasty, crispy fresh pizzas. While we ate, Max, his Brother Paco and a third played music for us. Although his lyrics were lost on me, I enjoyed the melodies and the atmosphere. The Spanish speakers in our group really benefited from the night. Max's daughter was our waitress and also got up and sang.
I was impressed because he seemed to be living an authentic life. He had his art, his farm, his family. He often smiled and laughed. I hope my students realized what a special night it was.

Last Day with the Kids

A sad day as it is the last day with the kids. Although our group hasn't bonded like the group in Guatemala did, the kids and my group had a lot of fun together. There are some striking contrasts between the two sites where we volunteer. In Samara, it is mostly the older kids (because of the time we offer the program). They are probably the more serious students and therefore we had a lot of fun with them because they were motivated to be there. The El Torito crew is much poorer, younger, crazier, and much more of them. It was often like herding cats. Yesterday both groups drew pictures about what they liked best about our past three weeks. In Samara, the dominant theme was the obstacle course game we often played- girls versus guys. In El Torito it was the "market" game where we gave them money and they got to buy things at various types of stores. All in all I think we succeeded in what we came to do. To teach a little English, to make friends,
Today we are having our goodbye party, a little ice cream social.

Whale Watching

What started as a fishing trip ultimately ended as a whale watching expedition. It was a great day weather wise: blue sky, big white clouds in the distance. We were on the water by 8:30. As soon as we passed the island / reef the captain Joquin saw a whale to the south so we took chase. It took about a half hour before we got close enough to get some photos. A mother humpback and a calf. We also saw quite a few turtles, many of them mating.

But after four hours of no fish it was getting old. We had one bite which tore the lure off, but after that, nothing. It was good to be out on the water and see how beautiful CR is from a different point of view.

The Final Stretch

The students are tired (and so am I); I can see it in their eyes. The shine has worn off a bit and things that were once exotic are now annoying. Although there is still one third of the trip still left, some are already thinking of home. I try to remind them of that. We will have four days of volunteer work. We have an exciting night planned in Nicoya on Wednesday where we get to meet Max Goldenberg, a local musician and restaurant owner. We are visiting him at his organic farm which he uses to supply his restaurant and then he will talk about some local issues, and then play a little music for us. Finally we will go to his restaurant for dinner. On Thursday, our last day with the children, we plan to have an ice cream social. Finally on Friday night is our farewell dinner. We have to leave Friday night around midnight to make our 7 am plane. In addition, I have still to surf and I hope to fish.

A good weekend

Last night the students let down their hair a bit. Some went to the Sunset bar. The clouds had mostly cleared and there were great views of the Pacific coast and you could see into Nicaragua. Bernie our guide spoke with the bartender who told him of a rodeo in the nearest s town 30 minutes drive. They wanted a group to go. However after much negotiations it seemed like the workers here wanted the Americans to fund it, charging us $10 a person for a ride down there. Thankfully that fell apart much to the chagrin of the workers who came back twice with  cheaper offers. I always say travel is a chess match of mutual exploitation. So the crew stayed in the hotel bar and drank shots. I peeled off at 9. 

At breakfast the few in attendance looked ok. Jim said some were up all night talking. Today is blue skies. We head out around eleven stop in Liberia for lunch and then back to Samara. 

Canopy Tour

After a great afternoon read and nap to the patter of rain in the roof, we met to go on a canopy tour which is a polite way of saying zip line. They strap you in with 

Hot springs

This morning we had a great breakfast buffet: fruit, cereal, pancakes, omelets made to order. After we mounted horses with little instruction of equinstry. Some freaked out a bit. The trail was wide but rocky and each horse had its own personality. We saw some Tucans along the way. We rode along the base of the volcano. We stopped around 40 minutes in and dismounted.  We hike down some stone steps to a canyon with a strong rushing stream. We changed into bathing suits and went into a rocky steam room heated naturally from a volcanic vent. Behind it were two four foot tall mirror andpistils

Filled with volcanic ash still warm. It was the color of cafe con  leche. After it dried we showered and entered swimming pool sized hot springs. There were six or seven pools with beautiful stone work with water of varying degrees. The hottest about 103•. After an hour it began to pour. We piled onto a John Deere pulled covered wagon. It dropped us off at the infamous 1200 foot water slide. A concrete trough with three foot high sides and rushing mountain water. We donNed helmets and inner tubes and walked up along the slide. A man at the top controls a dam tha diverts the water. Long enough to sit down put your hands inside the tube. He releases the water from behind you and you are literally whooshed down the mountain with little to no control of your speed. Some curves you are certain you will be flung over the edge and against one of the many trees of the rainforest. Luckily you can't see a damn thing. At the fastest point you notice a flash. A photo I suspect and then the speed decreases. You then are ultimately dumped into a pool at the bottom. Quite the thrill.  

Buena vista

We're up in the north west corner of CR near a national park called rincon de la Viaja "corner of the old lady". The myth is the son and daughter of warring families fell in love. So one family kidnapped the son of the other and threw him in the volcano. So the girl moved near the volcano to be with him. She also threw their child in the volcano so he could be with his father. 

We're all waiting for dinner. It's to be served at 6:30. 45 minutes from now.  

The bar opened @6. Hour late. Tico time. I'm watching the weather move through. Facing west a swatch of pink where the is setting. Thunder peals behind me an an occasional flash but the storm is past. In front of me rolling hills green and dark green. To the right a mountain. Low fog like dust balls settles into some of the valleys. To my left in the distance is civilization. Twinkling lights. The light is fading. My favorite time of day. My favorite word. The gloaming. Every minute the scenery changes. 

Who needs tv when you have this. 

Simplify, simplify, simplify

After speaking with the participants, I get the sense they are starting to understand the appeal of "Pura Vida" pure life. They see their Tico families lifestyle. The Tico families don't have much in terms of material possessions, but the students see their happiness, the lack of stress. It is a lesson I have to continually remind myself (said the person who brought an IPhone, IPad, and laptop). They talk about it among themselves and in their Spanish classes. They see the kids we work with who don't have the playstations or the xboxes, but are happy.
However, after speaking with many of the locals, they know this is probably going to change. I was speaking with Eric, the local sushi chef who I have known since I first came here in 2009. He would like to open a Thai restaurant. We joked about how it is only a matter of time before a Burger King opens or a Taco Bell. One day I will return and there will a traffic light, the next, a gas station (the closest is about 4km away up the hill).
These changes are all related to the US economy. When our economy booms, here booms too. And, as the saying goes, if our economy gets the sniffles, the economy of countries like Costa Rica gets the flu. So things progress until the money stops. Then there is a backslide, then things pick up again.
It is like the tides, I guess, adding to the beach and then taking away.
I hope change takes its time and leaves this place simple as long as it can.

Playa Carillo

The beach south of here is one of my favorites. Like Samara it's half moon shaped. At both ends are rocky headlands. In the middle are two miles of smooth sand that give way to picture perfect palm trees spaced far enough apart to hang hundreds of hammocks. But there are rarely more than a half dozen. The road runs along the beach and east of it there is cow pasture and a small overgrown airstrip. Occasionally the road bridges small rivers and at its south end a larger one with a twelve foot crocodile we saw today. When the sun is out and the clouds are parked like airships at the horizon and the wAter is blue green, it is the beach one dreams of in the doldrums of winter.

Jim and I went first at nine. The sun was out but not overbearing. After a swim we went to the woman selling coconuts. With her machete she deftly skinned the just picked orbs and poked a hole for a straw to drink from. After we handed it back to her and she split it in two so to eat the white subtle flesh. 

In the afternoon another group wanted to see it, so I returned with seven of them under threatening skies. A few were slow so I lagged behind to make sure they were ok. The rain held off long enough for a swim, a look around the tidal pools and a gander at the south end bridge. The coconut woman told us earlier to throw something in the water to excite the croc. So we did and sure enough a big bastard  surfaced just below us. Michelle was the first to see him.  He had a blue nylon line trailing from his mouth. 

At the first sound of thunder we rode home. We arrived in shifts at the school and I joined the group at Cocos while they ate lunch and I had a couple of beers. The skies opened up while we waited for our food and stopped when we finished. It was a good day.

Gusto

Why is it we humans want to eat by water? The ocean, a bay, estuary, river, or lake. People are willing to pay more for food served next to h2o. Is this a universal truth? I am not sure. But the western world is pretty consistent at least according to my limited travels. 

Samara excels in this regard. The restaurants that dot this beach capture the seaside alfresco dining and libation experience perfectly. For example tonight I am eating a ten dollar pizza under light roped palm trees twenty yards from high tide. I can barely make out the white foam swells but its sound is as soothing and ambient as any. The bar is palm thatched. The tables areas matched chic with nautical lights on some and tea candles. Mine is also adorned with a tropical flowers in water jars. The tables are washed up, white washed roots topped with slabs of live edged wood. The seating a hodge podge of plastic arm chairs, stools or benches. This is your quintessential Central American beachside joint. 

Cr v DR

Watching the game at Mama Africa. It's got the feeling of a drug bar. The production of the game is like a high school match. Left at half time. Walked around trying to find a place to eat. Did a lap around town only to choose the place across from Mama Africa. It's a local soda. Ordered the rice and chicken. Arroz con pollo. Fried rice basically. A leftover dish. Many families are here playing cards. Some groups of guys watching the second half of the game. 

Feliz Día de las madres!

It's no coincidence the Costa Rican Mother's Day falls on the same day as the Assumption, the Catholic holiday which celebrates Mary's ascension into heaven. Although there is seperation of church and state on paper, this is still a Catholic country. Laura told me at the school that the government is very strict about the holiday and she needed everyone who works there permission to take the Friday off instead of today.

I, however, have the day off as there is no volunteer work. So I am traveling with students by bikes to another beach, Playa Carillo, three miles south of here.

On my beach walk this morning, there weren't the usually crowds of workers along the road. The beach too was quieter. After, I rode my bike to Cangrejal to the "german" bakery for an apple strudel. It was nice to see the small village come to life. From the table out front of the store, I could see the pasture where horses and cattle grazed and beyond that the sea, framed by palm trees. The sun was shining, and there were some large, white  fluffy clouds at the horizon.

Cast of Characters II

I'll try to describe some of the "locals".
Laura is the founder and owner of Intercultura. I'm really impressed with her vision and her commitment to helping the community. She and a partner started the original school in Heredia which is just outside San Jose, the sprawling capital city and branched out here. She now runs the Samara school, and the partner runs the Heredia campus.
Lindsay is from Tennessee but grew up in NYC.She is in charge of groups. She is also a really good singer and plays weddings and bars on the weekends. She worked at CREAR when I was here last.
Andrea also worked with Lindsay and still works at CREAR. Orignally from Texas she's been here for six years. I enjoy working with her.
Johanna is Andrea's new partner. Originally from Wisconsin. She filled in for me on last weekend's excursion. Good sense of humor.
Estefania- was the receptionist at Intercultura when I was here last, now she has her own office. She is studying law. When I told her that the next time I come here I won't be surprised if she is running the entire school, she blushed. She's been helpful with dealing with the police. She's a true Samarian (2nd generation or more?) and her family owns a well respected restaurant in town.
Augustine- handyman. Also rents out horses.
Ulysis-another handyman. He also participates in the dance classes. I am not sure if this is part of his job or not.
Choco- is the local surf instructor. He's a hard working guy. Married to an American. I see him as the town's unofficial mayor as he knows everyone. When the students were robbed, I wanted him to know.

Washout

The rain started Monday night and didn't let up until Tuesday around noon. The thunder and lightening storm Monday night/Tuesday morning was the worst by far. It was hard to sleep. By the time I got to school Tuesday morning, I was walking in shin high water through the roads. We were all surprised to see three students at the community center at 10:30. It just shows how much these kids look forward to what we are doing. Andrea came by soon after and we decided to call off the afternoon session. Of course, by noon the rain had stopped and the sun was out. Today is bright sun and blue skies. It's hot again; I am already sweating buckets.
My students were happy for the break. I wasn't sad either. I've been fighting a cold since my food poisoning, so I settled into the hammock for a much needed nap. Today I feel much better.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day (it's also the Catholic Assumption- so surprise), so we are going make bilingual cards in our groups today. Because of the holiday, Thursday we won't have the volunteer work and Friday the school is closed. Friday we drive to Rincon de la Vieja for the weekend for zip lining, horseback riding, and R&R.
I'll leave you with a self portrait of Roy. He's about 4. His father died last year. His mom was pregnant with their fourth when it happened.

The Plot Thickens..

So, apparently there are two different types of police in Costa Rica. I assume it can be compared to our police departments versus our sheriffs versus our highway patrol. Regardless, it turns out Alex and Briseida went to the wrong station. I guess the girls in the office at the school called someone when they heard the disappointing results  from yesterdays adventure for the two students, and found out the mishap. The police do in fact have two suspects in custody, but not at the police station where Alex and Briseida went to. Of course, no one there considered to call the other station! Unfortunately, the two might have to go back to Nicoya to identify the suspects. I'll keep the updates coming.

8am. Main road into Samara. Rush hour traffic

Bummer

Complete let down. The police told Briseida they had someone in custody but when they got to Nicoya, there was no lineup. Just paperwork. Spanish is both their primary language so I'm not sure what happened. 

Sad. 

A good day?

Legal Disclaimer: Global Service Learners does not condone the use of vigilantism.  
When I arrived on campus I heard some good news- the police caught the people they thought were the ones who mugged my students. They even caught them with some of the loot. The students had to take a bus to Nicoya, an hour ride each way, to identify the suspects- behind a two way mirror I was assured. Briseida also thought she could get her stuff back. I hope she is able.
I spoke with Laura, the owner of the school. She told me the locals were upset that this happened and were talking about taking justice into their own hands. Apparently since this group has been in town, there has been trouble. She and I both agreed this probably wasn't right, but it sure felt good that others were upset as we were. Briseida and Alex have great attitudes. I hope all went well. They are getting an interesting education in third world police work.

Cast of Characters I

As I've written earlier, I don't know the group all that well as I haven't spent a lot of time with them. When I do it is during the volunteer work which is a pretty chaotic time.
Michael- one of the late arrivals. He traveled to Jordan this summer prior to joining us so I wasn't worried about him. If he can navigate Jordan during these times, Costa Rica should be a piece of cake.
Chelsea- transferring to Dominguez Hill in the fall. Not sure of her major. Aunt is a police woman at ECC.
Stephanie- English major. Sweet kid. Second year at ECC.
Jim- one of our mature students. Won a full scholarship. Colmbian. Spanish major, transferring to Dominguez Hills next spring.
Katie- the second of the late arrivals. Very bubbly. Not sure of her major. Second year at ECC.
Matt H- just graduated from high school and turned 18 this summer. Entering the FYE program in the fall.
Charlie- our jokester. Sometimes takes it a little too far. A piano player/junkie.
Jessica- one of the sisters. Just graduated high school as well. Has a lot of tattoos and some piercings.
Michelle- the older sister of Jessica. Sweet kid. Child development major (I think). 2+ years at ECC. Did a study abroad in high school to Australia and New Zealand.
Briseida- one of the two who got mugged. Great attitude. Worked hard to come on this trip. Had to fill out a lot of paperwork.
Matt M.- Our last participant to sign up. Anthropology major/Spanish minor. Softspoken, but with a lot of tattoos.
Brandy- another sweet kid. Not sure of her major- I don't think she knows either. Sister of a former participant.
Alex- the second of the two who got jumped. Zoology major. Nice kid. Taking some ribbing for night fighting the robbers, but I think he did the right thing.
Jean- the second of the mature students. Real go-getter. Translator. Also takes French classes here. Part of a group who helps with disaster preparedness (Red Cross?).
Dan- Marine vet, but didn't see time in gulf. Perpetually late. Not really into the Spanish classes or the volunteer work.
Nancy- a little older than the traditional student. Child development major. Fluent in Spanish and a huge help with the volunteer program.

Coffee plant by the side of the road

HGTVs House Hunters International

These two condos were featured on two different episodes of House Hunters International

Sweet ride

I got this sweet ride for $25 a week. Took it for a twenty kilometer ride this morning into the farmlands toward Nosara. Once I got to a deep river without a bridge I recalled they warned me last time that crocodiles were know to inhabit that stretch. Needless to say I didn't cross. 

Peter, my Austrian neighbor, told me that recently a foreign family was hanging out with small children near a river. Soon after they left a couple with a golden retriever , tried to cross the river. Crocodiles went after and got the dog. Right near where the young family was playing. 

Nature is real out here. 

Mass and lunch.

I always like to go to mass when I travel. There's comfort in the common ritual no matter what language or culture. 

After I stopped for lunch at a soda/bakery. This was comco six. Grilled chicken on great French roll with fries and fresh fruit juice tamerindo. All for about $7 us. 

Technology

My first trip overseas was in 1982 to Paris with my mom and dad who lead a group of girls from mom's high school during a spring break. I don't remember my parents using a phone, but post cards were definitely the social technology of the day.
In 1991, I studied for a semester in Wollongong, Australia. I was dating a girl who was still in New Hampshire. Although we did exchange a few letters, the phone calls were what I looked forward to until she told me she was dumping me for someone else. Both forms of technology were expensive, especially compared with today's technology.
In 2003, I took students to Spain for three months. The internet was in full swing, but wireless wasn't. Email was relatively fast, cheap, and readily accessible. It was the heyday of internet cafes. I was also given a cell phone which linked me 24 hours a day to my students, their families, and my family. There is a downside this. It takes away some of the romanticism of being "out of touch". The upside was I learned quickly of niece Sohpia's birth. I also used my laptop for entertainment. I could rent DVDs and watch them on my laptop.
In 2006, I was back in Spain with another group, this time for only a month. Skype was the rage as it o allowed one to easily and cheaply stay in touch while on the road. However, one still must be tethered in order to say in touch.
In 2007 I went to Yucatan, Mexico. I saw more and more signs for wireless but I didn't travel with my laptop so i still relied on Internet cafes which were still plentiful.
In 2008, in Vietnam and Cambodia. I was amazed at the poorest of the poor villages in Cambodia where there wasn't running water, there was a space with one lightbulb and two computers which was this villages Internet cafe. It was packed with 10-12 kids.
In 2008 I bought my first Iphone and in 2009, I came to Costa Rica. Wireless was here. Access codes were king. Speeds were slow, but now I could check email in the privacy of my hotel room. In 2010, I was downloading books on my Kindle. Now it wasn't just for social communication, but for entertainment.
In 2010 during my first service learning trip to Costa Rica, with my laptop, I kept my first blog.
In 2012, on my first trip to Guatemala I now used my Iphone to not only stay in touch but for photos and my blog. The cost of international roaming is prohibitive, so the airplane mode stays on while I roam for wifi.
In 2013, as I am leaving La Vela Latina I get a Facetime call from Sophia and I was able to show her a little bit of Costa Rica. I downloaded Newsroom season 1 before I left and watched it while I was sick. Yesterday, I downloaded On the Road from Itunes- it took all day to download- and watched it last night.

Compared to others, I am not that tech savvy or that experienced a traveler. I consider myself quite average. But a lot has changed since I started my journeys. Although there are times I am nostalgic for the days of old, I know technology is a useful thing. Take for instance my recent bout of food poisoning. When I got back from the pharmacy, I was able to research the medications she provided me to make sure I knew what I was taking and if I understood her directions correctly. I also have the option to go "dark", shut off the laptop, the iphone, the ipad and just experience Costa Rica, it's nature, its muddy roads, its insects and flora, fauna and get to know its people.

Food

As you might imagine, the fruit here is amazing and cheap. You can get fresh squeezed OJ on the side of the road for a buck. The mangoes are the size of cantaloupes and are very sweet. I also bought these:

I forgot what it is called in Spanish, but it's translated into "Suck Chinese". It's a type of lychee. You rip off the furry skin and inside is a giant grape-like fruit with a big pit inside. You suck the flesh until you only have the seed. My landlords provided me a pineapple, grown locally, and it was very sweet and great in smoothies.
I'm lucky in that I have a small kitchen. So I make breakfast and lunch at home. Cereal and bananas. Ham or turkey sandwiches for lunch.
Samara is unique in that it is quite cosmopolitan in its food choices, which are quite numerous. First are sodas, the Costa Rican take on the diner. Usually attached to someone's home, it's an open air spot usually serving "casados" which are some type of grilled meat, gallo pinto (a combination of rice and beans and spices, usually a salsa called Lazanos), plantains, and coleslaw. This usually comes with a drink and is the cheapest way to fill up. Gallo pinto, by the way, is served at pretty much every meal, including breakfast. The sodas will also have hamburgers and chicken and rice and some other choices.Most places serve fresh fruit smoothies. You can usually tell the chicken is fresh as there are often a few running around your feet as you eat their cousins.
Along the beach your choices to eat are international. The Italians have a great place called Gusto with the various courses. They also have funky lounge chairs and umbrellas, rope lights wrapped around the palm trees making it feel very resortish. Many places serve "Mexican" fare- tacos, burritos, quesadillas. There's a German bakery just outside of town, a couple organic vegan places. Finally, since most of the home stays do not include lunch, some of the industrious women sit outside the school at lunch with pot of stewed chicken, rice, beans with a drink for a few bucks. I haven't tried it yet, but my students seem to like it. Obviously, there is a lot of fresh fish around. However, it is lost on me. Well, at least until I go fishing...

Pura Vida

It's a quiet day. I'm still not full force. I rode my bike to Playa Buena Vista, a nearly deserted primal beach. There are logs roots and other natural debris strewn about. One must ford an estuary to get to it, but its well worth the trouble. The ride through the countryside is soothing even with the humidity. The sun has been in and out all day. Now I'm at lo que hay for lunch. My first real meal. A steak quesadilla.  The waitress has a terrible grimace. After a nap in the hammock? A swim? I am downloading On the Road for tonight. 

Friday was not a good day

So I was up all night with diarrhea. It's kind of expected when I travel to these places. I felt pretty lousy and wasn't looking forward to a five hour bus ride to Fortuna, near volcano Arenal. I brought some Immodium with me for such instances. But as I walked to school to meet the group, I started throwing up and progressively felt shittier and shittier. When I got to the school, bad news awaited me. Alex and Briseida, on their way home from the bars last night, got mugged. Three guys in a car/truck stopped them. They forced Alex to the ground. Briseida ran, but one of the guys grabbed her purse. Physically, they were both fine. Briseida is pretty tough. Sadly, they lost some money and Briseida lost her cell phone and some of her id cards, etc. They filed a report with the police and the people at the school were very concerned. They had a sense of who it might be, but there is little to be done. Some of the other girls were freaked out and one said she was thinking of going home.
Meanwhile, my health is going downhill. I go to the pharmacy and get some antibiotics and some electrolytes. I can't keep anything in my system. I talked with Lindsay our fix it girl at the school and tell her I can't sit on a bus for five hours in this condition. She tries to get someone else to go in my place. We have a guide and a driver, so even if they can't the group will be fine.
I make it back to my apartment and crawl into bed where I stay for the next 20 or so hours. I force myself to hydrate but there is always and opposite reaction when I do.
I woke up this morning, Saturday, feeling much better. I ate some toast and a little mango. So far so good. I took a walk on the beach and a swim. I'm not sure what I'll do today.

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play? Well, this is a pretty easy group. We haven't had drama before the mugging. The students are settling in nicely. The weather has been great Sunshine most mornings and rain at night. Some of the rainstorms are pretty intense. A lot of thunder and lightening last night.

Food

My favorite restaurant. On the beach, palapas. Great grill. 

Dia tipico

II've got a good schedule. I'm usually up at sunrise around 6. There are curtains on my windows but there aren't neighbors and its jungle outside my bedroom window so why keep them closed? I've been going to the beach first thing. It's been low tide and good for walking. I come back for breakfast. Fruit. Cereal. Tea or juice. 

I try to write for a while. Study some Spanish- I brought a book. I head to the school around ten. The morning classes have break and I can check in to make sure everyone is ok. Our first volunteer session begins at 1030. The morning session is in town at the community center near the football field. It's a great space, a 40' x 50' hall with much needed fans. The count of children who show up changes daily, usually increasingly as the word gets out about what we're doing. We finish at eleven thirty when the children start school because they do not have enough teachers or classrooms to go the whole day. 

After I go for a swim and then home for a sandwich, some rest in the hammock. Our next volunteer session is at two but we have to drive there so it takes ten minutes. But with Tico time (the nickname for Costa Ricans and their inability to keep a appointments on time) who knows how long? 

After its time for an other swim. Sometimes I might take class: cooking for instance. After its happy hour, either La Vela Latina or back at the house. 

I usually have dinner out. Home by eight or nine. Ready to start it again. It's a good life. I'm relaxed even though I'm with 15 eighteen to twenty five year olds. They're a good group so far. 

Photos

Here's where I am uploading photos:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.227324244087233.1073741825.146210875531904&type=1&l=d49eecc78c

Playa Samara

Playa Samara is a former, small fishing village on the Pacific central coast. It's a four and a half hour drive from San Jose. The school and my apartment is  in the main part of the village and my participants are staying in the outskirts in a "suburb" called Canajagral. They have between a half mile to mile walk each way every morning.

The beach is horseshoe shaped with an island and a reef that protects it. At low tide you can see the reef and the waves breaking over it. The island is deserted and can be easily reached from the southern end of the bay during low tide. There is a sandbar and some good snorkeling.

In the north end of the bay, there is a small village with a scattering of house and rocky outcropping. Next to it a large field where horses and cattle graze which is ringed by coconut palm trees. On weekends you often see the locals picnicking under these trees. Rumor has it, the field was once wetland/marsh and  a developer (gringo?) came in and filled it in without permission. Apparently they shut him down and now it is an expensive pasture.

To the south of the field is a fresh water river that depending on the tides is crossable by foot. After that there are some restaurants and bars and then the school. South of the school are more restaurants and bars and then the police station which is at the western end of the main road. If you walk along the main road after the police station and post office there are stores and the football (soccer) field ringed by restaurants, hotels, hostels, the bank, and other stores. continuing on the main road is more of the same. Fishing has been replaced by tourism so there is a hodgepodge of business designed to cater to the demands of Europeans, Americans and others cash-fisted tourists.

South of the main road, along the beach are higher end restaurants and hotels. My favorite is La Vela Latina, owned by an ECC grad.
(A family of monkeys is traveling by as I write this. About a half dozen with a few babies. It's hard to get good photos but it's cool to see the little ones).

To the south is another smaller village called El Torito where many of the fisherman live. In the morning when I walk the beach I see them rolling their pangas out on round foam(?) rollers. It costs two hundred dollars for four hours to go fishing with them. They can fit up to three others comfortably. I hope to get do that again. Last time we caught quite a few fish. El Torito is also where we teach the children in the afternoons.

Creepy crawlies.

Day 3- comfort level reached

This is about the time the group has fallen into a routine. They know how to get around, where to eat, drink, shop. They are sunburnt, tired, but still excited.  They are mosquito bitten, waterlogged, and confident. They now know each other and alliances are forming. Their personalities are becoming apparent to me. I don't spend much time with them. I see them a couple hours a day at most. 

The volunteer project went well. In the morning session we are on our own. The two girls, Andrea and Johanna, who run the after school non profit have other jobs in the morning. So today we played ABC obstacle course. The  10 or 12 kids had to weave between chairs, jump over benches, hop ten feet and then choose a card with a letter and come up with an English word that begins with that letter. Girls versus boys. Girls dominated! 

They were hot and sweating when we finished and they started school right after at 11:30 am. 

The afternoon session is much larger. Close to 20 kids. Today most were the youngsters, 3-7. They worked on the alphabet. The five older kids used flash cards and played the obstacle game. The young 'ens joined in toward the end. Good fun. 

I showed the young girl Paola her photo from three years ago. She was proud and fascinated. She took my phone and flipped through the photos. The others had to do that as well. When I asked if she remembered she was non committed. Like the youngster she is. 

After I went to the cooking class offered by the school every week. Xinia is also a house Mom whom I visited last trip. At dinner time. To check on my student staying with her. Tonight she made respalader. A rice, milk, pineapple, sugar,cinnamon  and nutmeg drink. Tasty but definitely not fat free. 

Day 2- Let the fun begin.

Students had to show up at 7ish in the morning to take a placement test at the language school. The school is quite busy- around 70 students total with a couple of other teen groups thrown into the mix. It's a well organized, chaotic scene. I am impressed with the school as they really do have a great system.
Students will take class MW mornings and TTH afternoons or MW afternoons and TTH mornings. When they aren't in class, they have to volunteer teaching English with me. In the mornings we work with local Samara kids.It is a small group, about 6-8 students. In the afternoon we take a minivan to the town south called El Torito, a much poorer village. There there are 15-20 students of all ages. But they are excited to have us here and my students all seem to like working with the Torito kids better.
 I recognized some of the kids from our 2010 trip. Paola especially stood out to me. The top photo is from 2010. The bottom is her taken Monday!

Anticipation

Sometimes before trips time is precious and harried. Too much to do and never enough time. This trip isn't one of those times. I drove the dog to Ontario this morning. Cleaned the house, mowed the lawn, laundry. I have time for a bike ride and a sit near the beach. Mass at five. Finishing packing a little dinner and then to the airport at eight. 

Arrival.

Well I could never be a Marine. I've left too many behind. Two students didn't show up at the airport.As I was doing a roll call after I had cleared security and was at the gate-the first name was Michael who obviously wasn't there. I called him. He was completely dumbfounded. He thought the flight was on Sunday. It was around 9:45 and our flight was at 11. He was going to try to make it. In the excitement, I never went back to my roll call. It wasn't until we were on the plane taxiing on the runway that Charlie asked me what happened to Katie. Shit. I never noticed and it was far too late to do anything.

The flight was normally annoying. A cattle call with the only empty seats where my two students should have been. We arrived around 6 am and made it out of customs and baggage claim relatively quickly. We were on the road a little after 7. The participants were exhausted and many slept on the bus.
The hard part came when we arrived in town around 11 and had to disperse the students to their home stays. The bus driver, from the next village over didn't know many of the families. the directions were like : 50 meters west of Sol Y Mar, the third green house on the left. There are no street names or numbers. I am not sure how mail is handled. It took a good hour to get everyone where they needed to be. I could see the stress on the student's faces. It was awkward for them to suddenly get dropped off at a stranger's house. Also the differences in the appearances of the houses were striking. Two girls got dropped off at the nicest houses in the block and the rest of the group didn't hide their jealousy.
Finally I was dropped off. However, Wolfgang and Maria Fernanda, whom I have stayed with for three times weren't at the house. Sadly, Maria Fernanda suffered complications after surgery and she is in the hospital in San Jose. The other tenant, a German or Swiss named Peter met me with the key. He seems nice enough. I see him occasionally when he puts food in the hummingbird feeders. It looks like he has a local girlfriend.
After I dropped my things off, I went to La Vela Latina for lunch.I was also able to email Michael, one of the two who had missed the flight. He had focused on the dates August 4- 24th. He had never looked/read my emails or attended the meetings because he was in Jordan most of the summer. Knowing he had just traveled in the middle East, I was confident he could make it to Samara. However, Katie had me a little more nervous. She did have some international travel experience. I emailed the both of them with each other's phone numbers so they could at least travel together. I heard from Mike, got him in touch with Lindsay, our fix it girl and expected them the next day.
That night we met at the school, had a brief orientation and tour of Samara. We had a nice dinner, on the beach at El Ancla. It was a good way to start the trip. 

Let the packing commence!