hasta ahora

it's impossible to know where to start when one feels so consumed by an experience. as i was looking back on photos i've taken over the past two months, i was overwhelmed by the task of explaining this whole training experience. that task, perhaps, is a bit too daunting. and so, as is my habit, i have chosen a few pictures to help me illustrate moments. enjoy.

our first few days in the country we stayed at a retreat center in the mountains of cartago province. it was an amazing venue for our first week, awing us with costa rica's natural beauty, and awarding us the opportunity to get to know our fellow peace corps trainees and staff members. and surprising to many, it was quite chilly up there, especially in the early mornings.

during our weeklong retreat, and as part of our initiation and training, we were sent in groups to the city of cartago to complete a series of tasks. in addition to procuring a calling card and successfully using a public phone, our group also had to locate the public library and market. we quickly finished our tasks and ran off to visit the basilica of los angeles (please forgive me if i have misrepresented the actual name). every year, thousands of costa ricans from every corner of the country make their way to this church to give thanks and ask for the mercy of the virgin of los angeles, the patron saint of costa rica. the history of the church goes that many many years ago, a young girl found a rock in the image of the virgin mother, and although she tried many times to take it from the spot where it was found, the rock somehow kept returning to that same spot. eventually, it was decided that this was a sign, and the church was erected on that spot.

at the end of our tour, we all gathered round the ruins of the church of santiago apostle. the first patron saint of costa rica, santiago apostle was to have a church dedicated to his honor in cartago, but earthquakes destroyed multiple attempts to complete the structure. the last attempt at construction was abandoned in 1910, but the ruins remain in the center of cartago and now house a beautiful garden, which is, unfortunately, rarely if ever open to the public.

we've spent most of our time in training communities in san josé province, learning spanish, gaining skills necessary to carry out our projects, and generally staying insanely busy. we do, however, get to have a bit of fun sometimes. we've had two cooking classes (which double as spanish classes) so far, and in the photo above, melinda and maitreya are chopping away making a delicious mango salsa. i have spanish class three days a week with a group of three other trainees. my classes take place at melinda's host family's home, while coy travels to a nearby training community for his spanish class. our spanish is definitely improving, but more practice and studying is definitely in store!

our training community is just outside of san josé, about a 30 minute bus ride from downtown. while it's not the most bustling metropolis, it's still quite the culture shock after our peaceful village life in belize.

we are truly blessed with an amazing host family. in the photo above, doña aida is preparing tamales for the much anticipated semana santa (the entire week preceding easter is widely celebrated in latin america and involves religious ceremonies, elaborate feasts, and many days off work!) she takes excellent care of us, and scarcely allows us to carry our dishes to the sink some days. her two adult sons also live in the house, and her daughters and their families live just around the corner. the house is usually rather calm, with her sons off at work and doña aida cleaning or preparing food, with the exception of the evening visits from the grandkids, when things gets pretty hectic for about an hour. this is a great opportunity to observe family interaction, learn some new spanish, and just have fun.

tamales all lined up and ready to cook! the style of tamale is different here than it is in belize, although it's unclear whether this is the typical costa rican tamale or just doña aida's personal take on it. she uses rice, meat, vegetables, and some random leftovers from the fridge, like garbanzo beans...the end product was excellent.

a few weekends ago, we had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with doña aida's oldest sister, who happens to own quite a bit of land in a nearby community. her home is literally at the top of a mountain, and offers an amazing view. she arranged an incredible study space for us, with a tremendous view of the mountains, fed us lunch, and took us out for a hike. in spite of her age (she is 70!) we had a hard time keeping up. she took us up hills, over rocks, and around boulders. it was nice to get out of the city for a while and begin to appreciate the phenomenal natural beauty that is all around us.

her property is saturated with rock samples like the one above. it's quite difficult to imagine that the mountains we were climbing around were once the bottom of the ocean.

in the midst of the madness that is pre service training, we have managed to get out of the classroom and into the field on a number of occasions so far. just recently, we spent nearly a week in the southern part of puntarenas province, visiting some hardworking volunteers. during the week, our training group was split in half, with eight of us visiting one volunteer, and seven visiting another. it was an amazing week full of learning, laughter, and beauty. here, trainees let loose on a newly erected playground in a rural village (approx. population 1,ooo).

fields of pineapples surrounded the town where we stayed. the international company has provided a solid source of income for community members, but the ecological compromise is definitely something costa ricans struggle with.

we took an amazing hike which began in a pineapple field and ended on the top of this mountain. if only my pictures could do this view justice. we literally felt like we were on top of the world.

we had the opportunity to facilitate a session on children's rights at a local school during our visit. claire and i taught a class of first graders the benefits of using words to confront peer violence, rather than fists. here you can see the strategy we demonstrated-the "pasos pacificos" and the children's artwork. (the basic message we stressed was to tell the person to stop, explain that you don't like what they are doing, and ask an adult for help, if necessary. the children's artwork is an outline of their hands with their promise to only use their hands for peace.)

i was once again spoiled rotten all week, staying with an amazing family in the most ridiculous living situation. here we are in front of their pool (this is NOT normal). i stayed in an elevated thatched roof cabaña of sorts. did i mention that the father was a professional chef? i must have left it out in order to postpone your tears of rage and jealousy. let's just say i had an amazing week and can't wait to get back and visit this truly awesome family.

at times i think there must be something to the phrase "third time's a charm," because this peace corps thing just keeps getting better. yesterday our extended host family took us out for an adventure, which included a brief trip to cartago (and lunch at burger king!) and an excursion to another planet...or the volcano commonly referred to as irazu. the vegetation was something out of a sci-fi film, and the ground was covered in black sand. because my spanish is still not quite perfect, i am unsure as to whether the last eruption took place 40 years ago, or in the 1940s. you can do the research. anyway, it was amazing. the mist kept rolling in, making it all the more eery.

on our way back down the mountain, we stopped at "la finca sanatorio duran," which was once a state run hospital for patients with incurable communicable diseases (once again, the spanish is still an obstacle so forgive me if i have tweaked some details). locals believe the building and land to be haunted, due to its disturbing nature as a place where people came to die. the story goes that families dropped off their ailing loved ones and never saw them again. apparently a short while ago, a group of gringos showed up and spent some nights here, observing the place and determining whether or not it was haunted. i didn't catch the end result of that "study". our host family members were slightly freaked out as we toured the expansive buildings. in spite of the graffiti on the walls and the peeling paint, the building is actually still in pretty decent condition. it lent itself to some interesting photos, and gave us some insight into costa rican culture.

a view from inside

tile floors still so beautiful

rooftop view

well, friends and family, that's our story so far. tomorrow we learn our future sites (where we will live and work for the next two years) and training will soon be over. i apologize for the absence of updates, they really are keeping us busy in training. i hope that the frequency of posts will increase once things slow down and we get to our sites.

some general comments about costa rica thus far:

we are loving it here. all the people we've met are incredibly friendly and warm. the climate is glorious. just knowing there are places in the country where it gets cold makes me feel happy. there is so much beauty in such a small space. we are looking forwarding to seeing more of this awesome country and having more time to build relationships and begin working.

p.s. our "swearing-in ceremony" (when we officially graduate from training and become volunteers) takes place on may 13th.