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:
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 :)
