A change in temperature

Yesterday was hot!! But thankfully Tico's love their ice cream so finding a cone of your favorite flavor is never a challenge. San Jose has been an average of 75 degrees each day, peaking midday when everyone's out for lunch. 12:30/1 usually lands me right in the heart of the city to switch busses and seeing 60% of population holding ice creams cones is a beautiful site, in an alternate universe type of way.

I've only really felt the heat on the weekends when visiting the coasts. My first weekend a group of us visited Puerto Viejo, a small Rasta town on the south east coast. Best time I've had in a long time. After riding the bus for 5 hours we walked a dirt road for 20 minutes along the beach to our hostel. Rocking J's: pot-smoking, hammock-sleeping hostel and 5-Star resort for hippies worldwide. Mosaics on the ground, walls and pillars, paintings covering the tin bathrooms, and lost&found belongings of travelers past glued into the tables: photos, lighters, necklaces, ID's...I shared a spacious 3-person tent with my friends Kayla, and Lindsay. The sand was black and the water was salty, the people a blend from the Caribbean, North and South American areas. Saw some great live music both nights and relaxed near the water in the sweltering sun during the day. Saturday we hiked Cahuita National park and I found a great piece of Bamboo I can only hope makes it through customs. The animal sightings were a tad sparse compared to what we'd been told to expect but, at one point, when I noticed tiny monkey less than a foot away from me I was satisfied.

Saturday night we found ourselves at Johnnie's Place, a club on the beach with indoor dancing, outdoor tables and street food vendors everywhere. I bought a meatstick and some pot from an old skinny Rasta who kissed Lindsay and I goodbye after making our purchase. Even though she bartered with him we probably could have gotten it for cheaper but enjoying it on the shoreline with water at my feet after a few beers was more than good enough. We shared it with two guys from the band we saw earlier. An old Italian keyboardist with amazing stories that made for an enlightening yet frustrating one-way conversation. And a guest vocalist originally from New York who's been living in CR for 8 years. I found myself on the beach with him late that night and he told about the 3 acres of land he owned which he was currently building his house on. A tree fell on the first one because even though all his friends told him to cut them down to begin with he "didn't move here to cut down trees". He also described the garden on this land where he's planted 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables...I strongly considered staying at the end of the weekend.

Sunday afternoon I bought ice cream, cookies, an apple, and some bread and boarded our bus with my new walking stick. I slept like a baby although my body was aching. I should have packed thinner socks, and applied more sunscreen but I really can't complain. When your first meal at a new place is a giant basket lined with cheesey french fries, topped with a fried egg, avocado slices, thick bacon, and fried plantains with a side of fresh squeezed Mango juice for 3 bucks you know you've arrived.

Senorita Escarlata en la Cocina con la Ropa

One of my biggest concerns before arriving in country was my host family. Knowing that they would be providing food and shelter for me and not knowing a damn thing about them, I was hestitant. Am I physically able to consume rice and beans three times a day? Will the language barrior land me in some sitcom-esque sitatuation ending in humiliation and failure beyond rapair? Who's washing my underwear?

My luck in this situation is beyond words. My familia Tica is large, welcoming and up for a good time. The youngest son taught me a phrase that sums them up perfectly: "Tuanis", which is actually Spanglish stemming from "Too Nice" and is used in slang to indicate a general well being or coolness. The house my roommates and I stay belongs Anajance and Marco Rodriguez a newly married couple in their mid-late fifties. They also own a home in Guanacaste and a hostel in Playa de Hermosa where they spend most of their time, so they are only at the house once or twice a week. Anajance has three sons who are in and out of house on a day to day basis as they bounce from the various houses their mother, father and step-father own. Alejandro is 31 and lives in San Josa with us all the time. He prepares all our meals and acts as our older brother. His English level is just enough to communicate on a regular basis without too much confusion. He's straight forward, takes care of us well, and loves to joke. His eight year old son, Felipe, is at the house twice a week and is learning English in school. His birthday was earlier this month and they threw a party for him yesterday at the local Roller Rink! We were unable to go but enjoyed the leftover cake, which was decorated with a huge Autobots symbol! The other two brothers, Esteban, 25, and Sergio, 23, come and go as they please traveling from beach to city to surf, work or go to school. Good vibes all around.

Although Alejandro generally kept out of our ways the first week my roommate Lindsay (so amazing, 26, from Philly) and I broke through last week and had a great night out with him and Esteban. I picked up some Guaro, a popular Costa Rican liquor made from sugar cane, and shared a nice family toast with my "brothers" and "sister". From there we headed to a local bar and practiced our Spanish and English well into the night. Last night we (Lindsay, my other roommate Emily, Jersey, 24, and I) hung at home with Alejandro and Sergio playing cards and having beers. When we ran out of traditional card games Sergio broke out Clue and it was fantastic! They're so laid back, and willing to help us with our Spanish, I really couldn't have imaged a better host family.

So to answer my above questions, Yes I can eat rice and beans with every meal and actually find myself missing it when it's not included. The language barrior has been an interesting obstacle but everyone is so cool that their have been no real problems or embarassments. And Alejandro hires a cleaning lady to come and do our laundry (although we still have to gather our garments and undergarments from the clothes line in the yard afterward)

Counting Holes with Costa Rican Children

Each weekday after my Spanish class I eat a home-cooked and packed lunch (generally rice, beans, and ____) then travel on two busses for an hour to an hour and a half to my project. The location, a daycare called Rayito de Luz (Ray of Light) is nestled in Quebrada, a small mountain town. The children range from toddlers to 10 and 11 years old. They are amazing. Excitable and energetic as most kids are, they scream GRINGA every day as I walk up to the fence enclosing their building. (Although "Emeelee" is heard more often now that they remember my name).

I'm tempted to kidnap an adorable set of sisters whose inquisitiveness and attitude remind me of my childhood. Genesis is 6 and loves learing English and Emily is 4 with the personality of someone 5 times her age. Last week Emily and I counted the tiny ant holes in their yard all the way up to 38. Although she went over some more than once it was great exercise for us both in Spanish counting. Then yesterday I twisted her around and back on a swing for 20 minutes only hearing "Otro vez" and "por favor" between the giggles.

Not being able to have full conversations with them is great motivation for me to work on my Spanish but in the meantime I feel like we have a good understanding of each other: What qualifies as kind behavior & what's mean, which games to play inside & which outside, and the 2 letter difference in the word used to tell them "I'm tired" as opposed to "I'm married". There's no doubt I will miss them.

Mostly we play outside...swings, slides, y avionceta. Sometimes they need to be engaged a little more though. My second day I bought flowers and taught them to garden, having them repeat the colors of each in English as we went along. I ask them to repeat "green" several times as their "aweeeen" pronunciation is adorable. We also sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (in English), and play Pato, Pato, Gonso (Duck, duck goose!)

Today the women who run the center made me a bread and jelly sandwich with warm horchata to eat with the kids during snack time. It was pouring rain so we stayed inside, which was difficult to keep under control, but it still managed to be one of my favorite days so far. They don't have many toys since they're prone to bring them home or throw them over the fence but my improvisation skills rose to the challenge and reminded of what little is actually needed to have a simple, fun time.

Tune In and Unplug - My first accounts of Costa Rica

I've been in Costa Rica for 72 hours and could already fill 100 pages with observations. Any nerves I had prior to this trip evaporated with the ascendancy of my plane out of JFK airport. Aside from the excitement, and security I felt in the program I'm volunteering with I knew I had a number of comforts packed neatly in my suitcase and carry-on to help me stay positive if anything should go awry in transit and/or during my stay. Among them were carefully chosen artists and albums (most being fairly new to me) to lay foundation for the development of sensory memories specific to this experience:

Surfer Blood - Astrocoast

Ok Go - Of the Blue Colour of the Sky

Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

What I secretly hoped for, though, was that my fastidiousness would be blown to bits by the unplanned days ahead of me like an inadvertent chemical explosion. Days that would, instead, introduce me new sounds, smells, touches, tastes...

They have! I've learned Salsa y Merengue dancing (muy basico), am living in a beautiful home outside San Jose, working with preciosos chicita's in a rural mountain area, and taking Spanish lessons. I'm super busy but am able to take it all in. My bus ride to work is about an hour and a half so my musical selections have come in handy but I'm happy to say no cell phone, little computer, and little iPod are working wonders on spirit :)