Saturday, December 12, 2009
Solidarity
Solidarity.
To be honest before Cuba I really did not even know what this term meant. Yet, one thing I learned in Cuba was what it looks like to live in Solidarity with each other. Now I not only know the definition of the word but I the importance of solidarity.
Solidarity is all about living together and looking out for one another. It’s all about knowing when your neighbor is stuggling and helping them out without expecting anything in return! Alberto, our translator, used the example, "If your neighbor needs coffee and you have some, you give your coffee to your neighbor because you know what it feels like to live without it." This concept is so forgein to me. In the US we only share with people when we have an excess of something. I am so selfish and pray that witnessing this will help me reach out to others and place others before myself to give back to the community.
The people in Cuba don’t have much. They are very resourceful and have what they need from day to day. But in addition, the things they do have, they are amazing at sharing it with their neighbors. They live, looking out for each other and understanding the needs of everyone else, not just looking out for their own interests.
I loved that about CUBA and I am going to miss it.
Another example is when Ariel's Mother, our tour guide for the week, invited us to her house and she made us all this really delishious dinner! How nice and hospitable she was to invite all all to her house and open up her place for a huge group of students she did not even know, let alone understand their language.
Solidarity. It's a beautiful thing.
This is one thing that I wish I can take back to the states.
CUBA...."sooooo goooood!!!"
CUBA WAS AWESOME!!!!! It was definitely a highlight of my time abroad.
I went to Cuba with little knowledge of the realities of Cuba. The only knowledge that I did have however, was interestingly all negative. I had the ideas that Cuba was a dangerous, communist country where Fidel Castro led and was basically like the devil. I went in with a skewed picture of Cuba and left with such an opposite. I learned so many positive aspects of Cuba it was amazing!
Cuba is a colorful country. Art and creativity is flourishing. Music and beautiful paintings were all around. The actual city of Havana, where I stayed for a while, was so impressive! It was like I was living in a movie set. The buildings were so intricate, with cobblestone streets and old buildings from the 50's. The cars on the streets were all 1950's cars as well. After the revolution they stopped importing cars from the United States because of the US-Cuban blockade, which is still in affect today. But it is so impressive how they keep the cars from the 50's functioning and beautiful with just the parts that they do have. Talk about being resourceful!
The blockage between the US and Cuba is caused partly because Cuba is afraid of the US invading. The United States is trying to invade and take over. We are like a huge empire in need of control and the US is scared of Cuba because we can't control it. Really we should just leave it alone. Along with the embargo between the countries, the states has also stopped the allowance of tourists to travel there. Americans weren't allowed to even travel here, so that fact that I was granted a special visa to travel there made the time in Cuba even more exciting. Not everyone gets the chance to travel there. The United States does not want Cuba to benefit from the money from our tourists so they restrict us from traveling there. I felt the safest in Cuba than in the other cities San Jose, and Managua. How ironic how I expected to be scared and really felt the safest ever!
Cuba is a socialist country where Fidel Castro's brother Raul is in power now. Socialism in the opposite of capitalism. One thing that I learned on this trip was the what socialism looked like and how it played out in society. It was neat for me to compare and contrast our way of government with socialism in Cuba. Socialism aims to create an equal ground for everyone in doing so they strive to eliminate poverty and reduce the rate of consumerism. With the rate that the United States is growing right now, there are not enough resources for future generations. After experiencing such poverty and harsh living conditions in Managua, Limon and San Jose and writing a report on poverty I began to think of some ways we can eliminate the poverty. The distribution of wealth right now in the world is so skewed. A small percent of the worlds population hold millions of dollars, while the rest of the world lives off less than 2 dollars a day. 2 dollars! So with being faced with these harsh facts I began to brainstorm some solutions to help the poor. Some of these include, a better distribution of wealth, food, eduction, health care, housing and jobs for all.
Imagine life without food? Or housing and education? Where would we be? We wouldn't have any opportunities to succeed. We would be stuck. We would be poor. Now doesn't food, education, housing and having a job and health care all sound like basic human rights? Imagine if you could live in a place where all your human rights are met?
Cuba strives for this. I was so impressed with such a type of government that reached out to all these needs. All the governments I have lived in prior to Cuba the government tend to turn their backs to the poor and ignore the poor. We can't turn our backs to the poor when the majority of the population of the world barely make enough money to make ends meet.
The government of Cuba provided free education for everyone. And yes this included free college education. Imagine not having to pay for college tuition? And graduating dept free? May I also add, Cubans are brilliant and very highly educated. While visiting the schools, in one of my interviews with one of the elemenatry school Principals, I could tell not only the teachers but the students as well take a lot of pride in their school systems.
Along with free education, Cuba provides free health care to everyone! Absolutely free! And did you know that the Doctors in Cuba are some of the best doctors in the world? The United States actually sends some of the best medical school students from the U.S. to Cuba to spend time working along side them and participating in internships with them. The best thing to see when I was listening to the doctors in Cuba at a cartiataric hospital is, Cubans are not motivated by money. The doctors are genuinely motivated by actually helping the patient and helping them receive a healthier life. How odd this is for me. Doctors not motivated by money? In addition, the doctors in Cuba receive about 75 cents a day! Incredible.
So in addition to free education, free health care the Cuban government also provides food for everyone in the country. No one starves. I actually got to visit the place where Cubans go to get their food. Its is called a Bodega. Everyone in the country, no matter your status, is given a booklet, it looks somewhat like a passport, in which all your family members are listed and your monthly rations are kept track of. Basically what you do is go up to the counter at the Bodega and hand them your booklet so they can see how much you need. And then you receive your rations for 30 days. This only includes the essentials. Flour, sugar, rice, beans, oil, eggs, beef, cigarettes (tobacco is huge in Cuba). Granted the rations do not last the whole 30 days, but it is a meant to start the people off. Everyone gets something. Nobody is left hungry on the streets. There aren't supermarkets or stores where you can just pick up your groceries. It was interesting for me to learn, when my Cuban tour guide, named Ariel, went to visit the slums and poor families in Nicaragua and when he explained the Bodega system to the people there, they were so impressed by their system that they wanted to start that same system in Nicaragua.
So Cuba has education, medical care and food all taken care of. What else do the people of a socialist country need? A place to live? Yes the government even attempts to provide housing for everyone. Which is amazing. Did you know that less than 50% of Americans own their house? And in Cuba more than 80% of the citizens own their house! Impressive. There is a shortage of housing right now in Cuba because they are going through economic hard time, yet it is amazing to see the lack of homeless people in the streets. The government really looks out for the basic needs of the people.
In addition, the government provides jobs for everyone in Cuba! Finding a job was one solution that I thought about when I did my research paper on poverty. Yet many of the responses of the Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans is that there was a shortage of jobs available. In Cuba the government provides a job for everyone.
Now I am in by no means suggesting that socialism is the best and it is the answer to all the worlds problems. No way. I am just saying it was so interesting for me to observe and learn about this way of life in a positive light. Instead of focusing on all the negative I was shown a new side of Cuba that schools in the States do not teach us. My experience to Cuba put life and capitalism in the States into perspective as well. Right now I don't feel that socialism or capitalism is any more right than the other. But what I am saying is that they both have positive and negative aspects to both. I am glad that I got to witness Cuba first hand and learn the realities of life there first hand. It was nothing like the information I was taught in the States or went into in expecting.
On of the restrictions that the Cubans do have is freedom of speech. They only have 3 newspapers filtered by the government, 4 TV channels filtered by the government, the Internet sites are filtered, there are no commericals, and any billboard you will see on the side of the road is a billboard for supporting the government. With this I began to think. Are these people brainwashed? The government controls everything? But then I thought, even though they are limited so much in the media and freedom of speech what if the government in the United States doesn't restrict enough in our media. Maybe the United States government tolerates and allows too much to be displayed in the media, which could be harmful. This was just one way that my time in Cuba made me critiqually evaluate my country with theirs.
I went to Cuba with little knowledge of the realities of Cuba. The only knowledge that I did have however, was interestingly all negative. I had the ideas that Cuba was a dangerous, communist country where Fidel Castro led and was basically like the devil. I went in with a skewed picture of Cuba and left with such an opposite. I learned so many positive aspects of Cuba it was amazing!
Cuba is a colorful country. Art and creativity is flourishing. Music and beautiful paintings were all around. The actual city of Havana, where I stayed for a while, was so impressive! It was like I was living in a movie set. The buildings were so intricate, with cobblestone streets and old buildings from the 50's. The cars on the streets were all 1950's cars as well. After the revolution they stopped importing cars from the United States because of the US-Cuban blockade, which is still in affect today. But it is so impressive how they keep the cars from the 50's functioning and beautiful with just the parts that they do have. Talk about being resourceful!
The blockage between the US and Cuba is caused partly because Cuba is afraid of the US invading. The United States is trying to invade and take over. We are like a huge empire in need of control and the US is scared of Cuba because we can't control it. Really we should just leave it alone. Along with the embargo between the countries, the states has also stopped the allowance of tourists to travel there. Americans weren't allowed to even travel here, so that fact that I was granted a special visa to travel there made the time in Cuba even more exciting. Not everyone gets the chance to travel there. The United States does not want Cuba to benefit from the money from our tourists so they restrict us from traveling there. I felt the safest in Cuba than in the other cities San Jose, and Managua. How ironic how I expected to be scared and really felt the safest ever!
Cuba is a socialist country where Fidel Castro's brother Raul is in power now. Socialism in the opposite of capitalism. One thing that I learned on this trip was the what socialism looked like and how it played out in society. It was neat for me to compare and contrast our way of government with socialism in Cuba. Socialism aims to create an equal ground for everyone in doing so they strive to eliminate poverty and reduce the rate of consumerism. With the rate that the United States is growing right now, there are not enough resources for future generations. After experiencing such poverty and harsh living conditions in Managua, Limon and San Jose and writing a report on poverty I began to think of some ways we can eliminate the poverty. The distribution of wealth right now in the world is so skewed. A small percent of the worlds population hold millions of dollars, while the rest of the world lives off less than 2 dollars a day. 2 dollars! So with being faced with these harsh facts I began to brainstorm some solutions to help the poor. Some of these include, a better distribution of wealth, food, eduction, health care, housing and jobs for all.
Imagine life without food? Or housing and education? Where would we be? We wouldn't have any opportunities to succeed. We would be stuck. We would be poor. Now doesn't food, education, housing and having a job and health care all sound like basic human rights? Imagine if you could live in a place where all your human rights are met?
Cuba strives for this. I was so impressed with such a type of government that reached out to all these needs. All the governments I have lived in prior to Cuba the government tend to turn their backs to the poor and ignore the poor. We can't turn our backs to the poor when the majority of the population of the world barely make enough money to make ends meet.
The government of Cuba provided free education for everyone. And yes this included free college education. Imagine not having to pay for college tuition? And graduating dept free? May I also add, Cubans are brilliant and very highly educated. While visiting the schools, in one of my interviews with one of the elemenatry school Principals, I could tell not only the teachers but the students as well take a lot of pride in their school systems.
Along with free education, Cuba provides free health care to everyone! Absolutely free! And did you know that the Doctors in Cuba are some of the best doctors in the world? The United States actually sends some of the best medical school students from the U.S. to Cuba to spend time working along side them and participating in internships with them. The best thing to see when I was listening to the doctors in Cuba at a cartiataric hospital is, Cubans are not motivated by money. The doctors are genuinely motivated by actually helping the patient and helping them receive a healthier life. How odd this is for me. Doctors not motivated by money? In addition, the doctors in Cuba receive about 75 cents a day! Incredible.
So in addition to free education, free health care the Cuban government also provides food for everyone in the country. No one starves. I actually got to visit the place where Cubans go to get their food. Its is called a Bodega. Everyone in the country, no matter your status, is given a booklet, it looks somewhat like a passport, in which all your family members are listed and your monthly rations are kept track of. Basically what you do is go up to the counter at the Bodega and hand them your booklet so they can see how much you need. And then you receive your rations for 30 days. This only includes the essentials. Flour, sugar, rice, beans, oil, eggs, beef, cigarettes (tobacco is huge in Cuba). Granted the rations do not last the whole 30 days, but it is a meant to start the people off. Everyone gets something. Nobody is left hungry on the streets. There aren't supermarkets or stores where you can just pick up your groceries. It was interesting for me to learn, when my Cuban tour guide, named Ariel, went to visit the slums and poor families in Nicaragua and when he explained the Bodega system to the people there, they were so impressed by their system that they wanted to start that same system in Nicaragua.
So Cuba has education, medical care and food all taken care of. What else do the people of a socialist country need? A place to live? Yes the government even attempts to provide housing for everyone. Which is amazing. Did you know that less than 50% of Americans own their house? And in Cuba more than 80% of the citizens own their house! Impressive. There is a shortage of housing right now in Cuba because they are going through economic hard time, yet it is amazing to see the lack of homeless people in the streets. The government really looks out for the basic needs of the people.
In addition, the government provides jobs for everyone in Cuba! Finding a job was one solution that I thought about when I did my research paper on poverty. Yet many of the responses of the Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans is that there was a shortage of jobs available. In Cuba the government provides a job for everyone.
Now I am in by no means suggesting that socialism is the best and it is the answer to all the worlds problems. No way. I am just saying it was so interesting for me to observe and learn about this way of life in a positive light. Instead of focusing on all the negative I was shown a new side of Cuba that schools in the States do not teach us. My experience to Cuba put life and capitalism in the States into perspective as well. Right now I don't feel that socialism or capitalism is any more right than the other. But what I am saying is that they both have positive and negative aspects to both. I am glad that I got to witness Cuba first hand and learn the realities of life there first hand. It was nothing like the information I was taught in the States or went into in expecting.
On of the restrictions that the Cubans do have is freedom of speech. They only have 3 newspapers filtered by the government, 4 TV channels filtered by the government, the Internet sites are filtered, there are no commericals, and any billboard you will see on the side of the road is a billboard for supporting the government. With this I began to think. Are these people brainwashed? The government controls everything? But then I thought, even though they are limited so much in the media and freedom of speech what if the government in the United States doesn't restrict enough in our media. Maybe the United States government tolerates and allows too much to be displayed in the media, which could be harmful. This was just one way that my time in Cuba made me critiqually evaluate my country with theirs.
Friday, November 27, 2009
A Bitter Sweet Goodbye
Where has the time gone?
Today is my last day in San Jose with my tican family! I cannot believe it. I leave tomorrow for Cuba for a week! My tican family has been amazing and I am really going to miss them. They have loved me like no other. I was not just a North American student living with them, but I was taken in as their own daughter and sister, caring for me, providing for me and loving me. It has been amazing for me to see how my family here doesn't have much at all but what they do have is so special. Living with them for 3 months has taught me to appreciate the small things in life. They may not have lots of money or material things but they have love and lots of it!!!!
Dad from the states wrote me, "Your tican parents remind me of a large pitcher that have poured out God’s blessings on you. You have been richly blessed by your tican family and parents being available to bless you. May their example teach us to also pour out God’s love on those around us." This is so true. And I pray that when I return home I can pour out God's love to others just as he has shown His love to me.
My mom last night was giving me a little gift I can bring back to the States to remember them. It was something so small and she apologized that she did not have more money to buy me something bigger. But I did not want anything bigger. I could not have asked for anything else. It was a little picture frame that I could a picture of them in. She knew it wasn't anything extravagant but it was chosen with a lot of love. That has been a big lesson for me. It does not matter the cost value of a gift it matters where your heart is when you give it. I could definitely tell that her heart was in that gift no matter how little it cost. It meant a lot to me and I love it!
So I pulled out my suitcase from my closet and started packing up my room. My closet is just about empty now. Last night I was giving away some cloths to my little sister. My tican mom was so thankful and she couldn't believe I was giving them away. I do not need them. I have way too many cloths and even more at home. They need them more than I do. My mom started to tear up and thanked me many times "wow, serious, gracias" The look on her face was amazing and I won't trade it for anything. She said that it helped so much because she wouldn't have to buy Pamela cloths for a while now. I was glad I could help and explained to her that in the States I have lots of friends, sisters, family to share cloths with so I was just passing on the tradition of hand me downs : )
Saying bye tomorrow will be hard. But I will remember what my Dad wrote me, its perfect advice. "We know that leaving your tican parents and brother and sister will be very difficult but it is not the end – it is the beginning of your relationship. Remember to give thanks to our Lord for all aspects of your trip. This verse may help you get through this difficult transition I Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Today is my last day in San Jose with my tican family! I cannot believe it. I leave tomorrow for Cuba for a week! My tican family has been amazing and I am really going to miss them. They have loved me like no other. I was not just a North American student living with them, but I was taken in as their own daughter and sister, caring for me, providing for me and loving me. It has been amazing for me to see how my family here doesn't have much at all but what they do have is so special. Living with them for 3 months has taught me to appreciate the small things in life. They may not have lots of money or material things but they have love and lots of it!!!!
Dad from the states wrote me, "Your tican parents remind me of a large pitcher that have poured out God’s blessings on you. You have been richly blessed by your tican family and parents being available to bless you. May their example teach us to also pour out God’s love on those around us." This is so true. And I pray that when I return home I can pour out God's love to others just as he has shown His love to me.
My mom last night was giving me a little gift I can bring back to the States to remember them. It was something so small and she apologized that she did not have more money to buy me something bigger. But I did not want anything bigger. I could not have asked for anything else. It was a little picture frame that I could a picture of them in. She knew it wasn't anything extravagant but it was chosen with a lot of love. That has been a big lesson for me. It does not matter the cost value of a gift it matters where your heart is when you give it. I could definitely tell that her heart was in that gift no matter how little it cost. It meant a lot to me and I love it!
So I pulled out my suitcase from my closet and started packing up my room. My closet is just about empty now. Last night I was giving away some cloths to my little sister. My tican mom was so thankful and she couldn't believe I was giving them away. I do not need them. I have way too many cloths and even more at home. They need them more than I do. My mom started to tear up and thanked me many times "wow, serious, gracias" The look on her face was amazing and I won't trade it for anything. She said that it helped so much because she wouldn't have to buy Pamela cloths for a while now. I was glad I could help and explained to her that in the States I have lots of friends, sisters, family to share cloths with so I was just passing on the tradition of hand me downs : )
Saying bye tomorrow will be hard. But I will remember what my Dad wrote me, its perfect advice. "We know that leaving your tican parents and brother and sister will be very difficult but it is not the end – it is the beginning of your relationship. Remember to give thanks to our Lord for all aspects of your trip. This verse may help you get through this difficult transition I Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Best Thanksgiving Ever!
So I was totally bummed when I found out that I would be missing Thanksgiving in the States and that Costa Ricans don't do anything to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a great holiday. What could be better than food, family, food and more food? Nothing right? But yesterday proved me wrong, it was the best "Dia de Gracias" ever.
It started off by going to class and having a great reunion with all the other students from the program that I haven't seen in a month. It was great to see everyone and share with one another about all our different experiences. Some people went back to Nicaragua to work on a business project for their concentration project, others worked on farms shoveling cow dung all day, some worked in flower farms, one worked with the Turtles Conservation Project on the beach and another learned the whole process of how to make coffee and prepare cappuccinos. Everyone did something different so it was fun to share and learn about how everyone's times were.
My favorite part of the day was getting my "Thanksgiving Feast" (as one of my friends called it) in the mail from my brother and sister in law. Not only was it a ton of goodies, junk food and stuff I LOVE but it was also a huge symbol for me of how much my family supports me back home. I am so thankful for my family and receiving that package Thanksgiving morning was just icing on the cake.
Living in a community by myself for a month with everyone being family has taught me a lot about family dynamics. I love my family from the States so much and being away from them this long has been hard and I am guilty of being homesick from them while I was in the mountains. I thought about them a ton! And I am so thankful for them. I also feel that my relationship with my family has also grown. As funny as it may seem, with me being so far from home, I have really appreciated them more now than ever. I have really been blessed by them with their love, support and encouragement from the States. Those little things are the things that keep me going and I couldn't have made it without them. So on this thanksgiving I am extremely blessed and so incredibly thankful for all of my family.
It was also awesome to call my grandfathers on Thanksgiving and not only be passed around to talk to different family members but listen in on the family prayer and toast. It was like I was there with them.
I LOVE MY FAMILY IN THE STATES
AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THEM!!!
It started off by going to class and having a great reunion with all the other students from the program that I haven't seen in a month. It was great to see everyone and share with one another about all our different experiences. Some people went back to Nicaragua to work on a business project for their concentration project, others worked on farms shoveling cow dung all day, some worked in flower farms, one worked with the Turtles Conservation Project on the beach and another learned the whole process of how to make coffee and prepare cappuccinos. Everyone did something different so it was fun to share and learn about how everyone's times were.
My favorite part of the day was getting my "Thanksgiving Feast" (as one of my friends called it) in the mail from my brother and sister in law. Not only was it a ton of goodies, junk food and stuff I LOVE but it was also a huge symbol for me of how much my family supports me back home. I am so thankful for my family and receiving that package Thanksgiving morning was just icing on the cake.
Living in a community by myself for a month with everyone being family has taught me a lot about family dynamics. I love my family from the States so much and being away from them this long has been hard and I am guilty of being homesick from them while I was in the mountains. I thought about them a ton! And I am so thankful for them. I also feel that my relationship with my family has also grown. As funny as it may seem, with me being so far from home, I have really appreciated them more now than ever. I have really been blessed by them with their love, support and encouragement from the States. Those little things are the things that keep me going and I couldn't have made it without them. So on this thanksgiving I am extremely blessed and so incredibly thankful for all of my family.
It was also awesome to call my grandfathers on Thanksgiving and not only be passed around to talk to different family members but listen in on the family prayer and toast. It was like I was there with them.
I LOVE MY FAMILY IN THE STATES
AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THEM!!!
"Es Como Una Pelicula"
"It's like a movie."
As I was describing my time from the community in the mountains to my tican mother here in San Jose, she was so happy for me and one of her responces was, "Wow, es como una pelicula!" which translates as, "Wow it's like a movie!" And as I have had time to reflect on my time and regroup from the expereince I had in the mountains, I have really realized how much I have been blessed and how awesome of an expereince it really was. Like a movie.
Living in Pacayitas, Turialba, de Cartago for 3 and 1/2 weeks, has been hands down my favorite thing so far about my time here in Costa Rica. The people there were so sincere and so loving. I can't even describe it. I am a people person and the relationships I built their were so special. As I was leaving, I got a glimpse of how I have impacted their lives and how much they have impacted mine.
Living in a tiny community of 800 where everyone is family and everyone knows everyone has been such a blessing. Let alone living in the mountains was beautiful and was such a great breath of fresh air from the city. It was weird for me to transition from living in what is like a prison in San Jose, with lots of bars and locks to get into my house, to living in a community where everyone's doors are left open and they only "security" we had in our house was when we left for Catholic Mass on Sundays, was a rock that was placed behind the door. I am not sure the purpose of this rock because if anyone wanted to come in they very well could have. The closest store was an hour away through the bumpiest roads you could imagine. And people traveled by foot, horse or by motorcycle if you were lucky. This way of life was very different than city life and I loved it!
I am very fortunate for the opportunity that I had, not only living in the community with such a great family, but working in the high school as well with about 80 students. The students were soo great! At first I was worried because the older grades were so close to my age at first I didn't know how to approach them. But the relationships that I formed with these people are ones I will never forget. They were not only my students for 3 1/2 weeks but they were also my friends. When we weren't in class learning English, we were hanging outside of school as well.
Some of the things that I have enjoyed with my students outside of class has been visiting their houses and famlies, going dancing, (they loved it when I would dance, they taught me the salsa, tango and marengee and I taught them some line dances, after dancing in Costa Rica and watching them dance I realize how bad of a dancer I am...) We also enjoyed painting our nails together, talking about our lives together and confiding in one another, taking a hike into the mountains to see the waterfall with a big group of friends, going to one of their parties, one of my cousins taking me horse backriding and having sleepovers together. Not to mention the wonderful surprise going away party they threw for me. That meant so much to me!
I loved interacting with these teenagers. I respected them so much and they in turn respected me. They helped me out when I needed it and I knew I could count on them. Whenever a student would see me outside of class they would love coming up to me to say hi and ask me how I was, just as I would love joking around and talking with them as well.
The last day was extra special. At school the students took their final English exam. After, the principal and other teachers prepared a little fiesta for me with lots of yummy meat, tortillas, nachos, beans and a pinata. Saying goodbye was hard. All the students did not want me to leave. I invited everyone to come to the states and visit me. Some of the girls would just hug me and not let go. The girls also loved my hair. They would play with my curls and ask if they could cut a curl off to remember me. One student as she was showing me the pictures of her family from her wallet was so cute, she let me keep the only picture she had of herself so I can remember her and she told me that next time I come to visit I should stay at her house!
Walking to and from school each day for 15 minutes was nice. I loved it because as the days went on I began to say hello to more and more people that I built relationships with in the community. Actually instead of saying Hola to somebody when you see them, you said Adios, which at first really confused me, but quickly caught on. My favorite was my last day, when I was walking to class in the morning and I was thinking how sad it was my last day there and how the time flew by, when the cutest little boy came running out of his house in his pjs and at the top of his lungs in the cutest voice screamed "BUENAS DIAS JAMIEEE!" (he couldnt pronouce Amy to well) He was so excited to see me and had the biggest smile on his face! So cute. It made my day. I yelled back "BUENAS DIAS SENOR" and smiled all the way to school. : )
I am sure this is against teaching rules but I definitely had a favorite studenet and saying bye to her was tough. There were tears and lots of hugs. Joseth was so fun! We always laughed togther and she made me feel right at home. When we were saying bye as soon as I looked at her with a little bit of watery eyes, I felt the tears coming. Also when I was saying goodbye to my family, my tican mom didn't want me to leave. She made me panckaes to take along the way because she knew how much I loved them. They were the best pancakes ever and ever since I told her how much I loved them, she always made them for me. YUMMMY But when I was saying bye to her, I gave her a little card and gift and before she even opened it or knew what it was, she took it, looked at it and just started bawling. Which in turn made me cry. She left the room and went to drink a glass of water in the kitchen. When she came back she gave me a big hug. They did not want me to leave.
One of my cousins Annya and I got really close while I was there. She wrote me the sweetest letter and gave it to me when I left. She told me to read it later. It was so sweet and it made me feel so loved. She wrote how much I meant to her. She called me her sister and how much she loved me and that she wants me to be her guest of honor for her quincenara (party for when she turns 15). She also said how here dream is to come and to visit me in the states and that she is saving up money to come visit me. This meant a lot to me.
I love the relationships that I built in this community and even though at times I was not easy being away from everything that is comfortable and being the only English speaking person in the community for 3 and 1/2 weeks, I learned a lot and I am very grateful for the time I have spent in the mountains.
As I was describing my time from the community in the mountains to my tican mother here in San Jose, she was so happy for me and one of her responces was, "Wow, es como una pelicula!" which translates as, "Wow it's like a movie!" And as I have had time to reflect on my time and regroup from the expereince I had in the mountains, I have really realized how much I have been blessed and how awesome of an expereince it really was. Like a movie.
Living in Pacayitas, Turialba, de Cartago for 3 and 1/2 weeks, has been hands down my favorite thing so far about my time here in Costa Rica. The people there were so sincere and so loving. I can't even describe it. I am a people person and the relationships I built their were so special. As I was leaving, I got a glimpse of how I have impacted their lives and how much they have impacted mine.
Living in a tiny community of 800 where everyone is family and everyone knows everyone has been such a blessing. Let alone living in the mountains was beautiful and was such a great breath of fresh air from the city. It was weird for me to transition from living in what is like a prison in San Jose, with lots of bars and locks to get into my house, to living in a community where everyone's doors are left open and they only "security" we had in our house was when we left for Catholic Mass on Sundays, was a rock that was placed behind the door. I am not sure the purpose of this rock because if anyone wanted to come in they very well could have. The closest store was an hour away through the bumpiest roads you could imagine. And people traveled by foot, horse or by motorcycle if you were lucky. This way of life was very different than city life and I loved it!
I am very fortunate for the opportunity that I had, not only living in the community with such a great family, but working in the high school as well with about 80 students. The students were soo great! At first I was worried because the older grades were so close to my age at first I didn't know how to approach them. But the relationships that I formed with these people are ones I will never forget. They were not only my students for 3 1/2 weeks but they were also my friends. When we weren't in class learning English, we were hanging outside of school as well.
Some of the things that I have enjoyed with my students outside of class has been visiting their houses and famlies, going dancing, (they loved it when I would dance, they taught me the salsa, tango and marengee and I taught them some line dances, after dancing in Costa Rica and watching them dance I realize how bad of a dancer I am...) We also enjoyed painting our nails together, talking about our lives together and confiding in one another, taking a hike into the mountains to see the waterfall with a big group of friends, going to one of their parties, one of my cousins taking me horse backriding and having sleepovers together. Not to mention the wonderful surprise going away party they threw for me. That meant so much to me!
I loved interacting with these teenagers. I respected them so much and they in turn respected me. They helped me out when I needed it and I knew I could count on them. Whenever a student would see me outside of class they would love coming up to me to say hi and ask me how I was, just as I would love joking around and talking with them as well.
The last day was extra special. At school the students took their final English exam. After, the principal and other teachers prepared a little fiesta for me with lots of yummy meat, tortillas, nachos, beans and a pinata. Saying goodbye was hard. All the students did not want me to leave. I invited everyone to come to the states and visit me. Some of the girls would just hug me and not let go. The girls also loved my hair. They would play with my curls and ask if they could cut a curl off to remember me. One student as she was showing me the pictures of her family from her wallet was so cute, she let me keep the only picture she had of herself so I can remember her and she told me that next time I come to visit I should stay at her house!
Walking to and from school each day for 15 minutes was nice. I loved it because as the days went on I began to say hello to more and more people that I built relationships with in the community. Actually instead of saying Hola to somebody when you see them, you said Adios, which at first really confused me, but quickly caught on. My favorite was my last day, when I was walking to class in the morning and I was thinking how sad it was my last day there and how the time flew by, when the cutest little boy came running out of his house in his pjs and at the top of his lungs in the cutest voice screamed "BUENAS DIAS JAMIEEE!" (he couldnt pronouce Amy to well) He was so excited to see me and had the biggest smile on his face! So cute. It made my day. I yelled back "BUENAS DIAS SENOR" and smiled all the way to school. : )
I am sure this is against teaching rules but I definitely had a favorite studenet and saying bye to her was tough. There were tears and lots of hugs. Joseth was so fun! We always laughed togther and she made me feel right at home. When we were saying bye as soon as I looked at her with a little bit of watery eyes, I felt the tears coming. Also when I was saying goodbye to my family, my tican mom didn't want me to leave. She made me panckaes to take along the way because she knew how much I loved them. They were the best pancakes ever and ever since I told her how much I loved them, she always made them for me. YUMMMY But when I was saying bye to her, I gave her a little card and gift and before she even opened it or knew what it was, she took it, looked at it and just started bawling. Which in turn made me cry. She left the room and went to drink a glass of water in the kitchen. When she came back she gave me a big hug. They did not want me to leave.
One of my cousins Annya and I got really close while I was there. She wrote me the sweetest letter and gave it to me when I left. She told me to read it later. It was so sweet and it made me feel so loved. She wrote how much I meant to her. She called me her sister and how much she loved me and that she wants me to be her guest of honor for her quincenara (party for when she turns 15). She also said how here dream is to come and to visit me in the states and that she is saving up money to come visit me. This meant a lot to me.
I love the relationships that I built in this community and even though at times I was not easy being away from everything that is comfortable and being the only English speaking person in the community for 3 and 1/2 weeks, I learned a lot and I am very grateful for the time I have spent in the mountains.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Surprise!
Right now I am sitting in the classroom while the whole high school is taking their final English Exam for the year. I really hope they do well!!!! considering I was the one who taught them this past month and I wrote all the exams for 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders. Writing the exams took longer than I thought. Teaching here has been a really great experience. I got a great taste of what it is like to be a teacher. Including all the awesome parts and some hard parts as well. One of my favorite parts has been getting to know the people here, the students and the teachers. This past weekend another teacher invited me over her house for the weekend. And I love hanging out with the students in and out of the classroom. They are so fun!!!! Yesterday we just spent a 1/2 and hour throwing lemons around and today I was chasing students around with water....some of the hard parts have been trying to plan what I was going to teach in the classroom and what materials I would go over and what would be the best way to present the new material so the students wouldn't be bored. I love laughing with the students. They are all so sincere.
Today is my last day at the school and living in the mountains. I am sad to say goodbye to them. Everyone keeps asking me when I will come back. My response has been, "after you come to the states and visit me I would love to come back and visit you." They smile and say they would love to come visit!!!!
Yesterday was such a great day. Woke up at the crack of dawn like always, went to school in the morning and in the afternoon I went horse back-riding! My tican dad here has three horses, lots of cows and bulls. I loved it riding the horse. My favorite part was that all the little kids in the neighborhood were following my horse around and laughing the whole time. It was so cute. Then at night my family and friends here surprised me with a going away party. I was totally not expecting it. It was so sweet! Lots of yummy food, dancing, music, volleyball, presents and games! All the love that the people has showered me with here has made me not want to leave these people. I love the hearts of the people here. I am bad at goodbyes.
From here I am heading back to my family in San Jose, I am so pumped to see them again, it has been a month!!! But I really don't want to say goodbye to them! I will be with them from Wednesday to Sunday. Then on Sunday we are heading to CUBA!
I have no idea what to expect in Cuba but I am excited to see what God has in store for me there.
I can't believe that this is my last week in Costa Rica. Time flies!
Embrace every second you have!!!
Today is my last day at the school and living in the mountains. I am sad to say goodbye to them. Everyone keeps asking me when I will come back. My response has been, "after you come to the states and visit me I would love to come back and visit you." They smile and say they would love to come visit!!!!
Yesterday was such a great day. Woke up at the crack of dawn like always, went to school in the morning and in the afternoon I went horse back-riding! My tican dad here has three horses, lots of cows and bulls. I loved it riding the horse. My favorite part was that all the little kids in the neighborhood were following my horse around and laughing the whole time. It was so cute. Then at night my family and friends here surprised me with a going away party. I was totally not expecting it. It was so sweet! Lots of yummy food, dancing, music, volleyball, presents and games! All the love that the people has showered me with here has made me not want to leave these people. I love the hearts of the people here. I am bad at goodbyes.
From here I am heading back to my family in San Jose, I am so pumped to see them again, it has been a month!!! But I really don't want to say goodbye to them! I will be with them from Wednesday to Sunday. Then on Sunday we are heading to CUBA!
I have no idea what to expect in Cuba but I am excited to see what God has in store for me there.
I can't believe that this is my last week in Costa Rica. Time flies!
Embrace every second you have!!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
My First BULL FIGHT!!
Lassoing the Bull...It's harder than you think it is.
In the center of the bullring
A bull, right before they released him....poor guy
Ever since the moment my Tican dad told me he was going to take me to a bull fight I was so excited! I couldn't wait to go.
Yesterday I went to see a bull fight with my Tican dad and two of my tican sisters. Wow those people who run with the bulls are crazy. How scary! There are two really famous bulls here in Costa Rica. One of them has killed 2 people. It's pretty intense. First they let the bull loose and chased it around in the ring with red banners. Then people rode the bulls. It was a cool experience. My tica family even dressed me for the event. Boots and all! I was a cowgirl for the night.
: )
Here are some pictures and a video of the first guy to ride a bull...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A Blessing in Disguse
Who would ever have thought that a trip to a waterfall could be such a blessing?!
After a 2 hour walk by myself in the mountains of praying and reflecting on my life and time here in this town I began to think how this was going to be a long 3 and a 1/2 weeks without much contact to other Americans or much to do. Yet the very next morning while I was getting ready for another walk my tican cousin came over and gladly invited me to go see a waterfall. Without knowing what a great time was to come I gladly said yes, quickly accepting any invitation I could got to do something different, get out of the house and spend time with other people other than my family.
Wow and I am so glad that I did! We had a blast! My cousin is great and I love how she has reached out to me here. We ending up going with a group of 8 other kids. While I was crawling through the river in the mountain I was thinking to myself, "this is the kind of activity that I enjoy and I am so glad that God gave me this opportunity to hang out with these people." The whole time we spent walking to the waterfall we were laughing, jumping in the mud and having a good time together.
When we got to the waterfall it was so beautiful....we took some pictures. However it is hard for pictures to do a justice of the beauty and true experience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)