Un poquito de Guácimo (A little bit of Guácimo)

                                       

 These are what license plates look like!                                  Bus Terminal near Mami and Papi's

                                      

Beautiful stone work everywhere!                                                    "Stop" signs

                                      



Cool looking plants!                                         

Estoy Contenta.

I cannot even believe what just happened in the last few hours. The end.

Just kidding, as much as I do love a good suspense I will tell you all about it. Mami took Kayla and I on an adventure this morning to the center of Guácimo, where we visited lots of stores and chatted with new acquaintances. We went grocery shopping, went into an all natural foods store (I might be making a lot of visits there), and a pet store, which there are tons of here! It was a wonderful experience and Mami had so much to share with us. We went into a Panderia and checked out the fresh breads and pastries pulling on our taste buds. Very generously, one of the store-owners took two delightful looking treats out for us to have, along with some water. It was very nice of her. Boy, was that one of the greatest things I have ever tasted. I would post of picture…but it would be of my content stomach and that would be strange. It tasted similar to layers of graham cracker crust with some sweet filling in between. Anyways…

After eating a delicious lunch of Tilapia, Salsa, Yampi (a type of root vegetable, like a nice potato…also I’m not sure if Yampi is the actual spelling…), rice, and aquacate (avocado), Papi said he was going to take a siesta (nap) and that we should be ready at 3 to leave. SURPRISE!!!

Mami and Papi took us to a Tilapia farm in Jiménez, which is very close to Guácimo. We were astounded by this adventure. We actually got to fish for Tilapia!! Kayla and I caught 10 all together with little Gatorade bottles, fishing wire, and a little bait. My heart was soaring. 

* side note: Mami and Papi know how much Kayla and I like Tilapia because they cooked up some fresh fillets just last night for us and we practically devoured them. *

This little farm was AMAZING. The workers there will clean up the fish for you so you can take it home to cook, or cook it right there for you to eat in their restaurant. You can also feed the Tilapia vitamin-rich food pellets; it was cool to see them jumping out of the water.

Not that the Tilapia farm was the coolest thing ever, but Mami and Papi then took us to one of the Chiquita farms/factories nearby. It was a smaller one and was incredible to visit. We got to see the whole production. Every worker plays a very essential role to the banana production system. First, there are the workers who haul in huge clusters of bananas in the hot sun, connect them to a cord that runs through a tunnel to the processing area. The banana pickers strap themselves to the cord and pull large amounts of bananas by themselves and it is exhausting work. Once they arrive they are cut from the tree stem, sorted by where they are going, cleaned, sorted again in clusters, labeled, get sent through a secadora (dryer), are boxed up, then sent to the loading dock to be packaged and stored in the delivery truck. Once the truck is full, it takes off immediately for Limón. This kind of work is really long, hard, and the salary is unfortunately not too high for the workers. They arrive around 4am (about) in the morning everyday and work until they have met their limit or goal.

Seeing this process put the delicious fruit I enjoy so easily into perspective. There is so much work behind bananas. Next time you eat a Chiquita banana, think of all the workers in Costa Rica!! To be completely honest, I felt bad taking pictures even though Papi told us it was okay, because this is honest, hard work, and from the outside it might seem like quite the spectacle.

After this, we drove by a butterfly garden, which was really interesting. When the butterflies are in their pupa, they are put in a special case and sent to the United States! What!? When we got home Papi took us into the backyard and said it was time for us to finally try “Agua de Pipa.” He took this long bamboo pole and used it to knock down large green fruit that he then cut into to get to the core, which looks like a ragged white sphere. Magically in the top of one side there was a soft spot where you just press your thumb into and water starts coming out. You can drink right from the fruit and it is such pure water! WHOOO.  I can’t even describe its flavor. When you drink all the sweet water, you can break it open and eat the flesh, which tastes a little like slippery coconut. The other pipas that Papi cut down we put in the refrigerator to have cool later.

Before our dinner Kayla and I decided it was time to dance because we are in one of the coolest countries in the world and have happiness up to our earlobes. We whipped out some Zumba songs and had a little exercise time. It felt so good to move and stretch out our bodies a little bit. However, we were sweaty beyond belief.  This will happen again soon.

To top off our night we had our fresh caught Tilapia, and I have never tasted fish richer. Kayla and I looked at each other and said, “I can’t believe we caught this today!” Everyone was silent through dinner because we were being cautious of the small bones and we were taste heaven. Speaking of heaven, one thing I have grown to love so very much over these past few days is praying in Spanish. It makes me so giddy every time we sit down to eat and we join hands to give thanks. I think it also makes me so happy because at home my family all gathers hands the same way and for a moment I am so emotional because I have two families, miles away from each other, but I feel close to both.

I miss you all at home and am sending you as much sunshine as I can. I didn’t think that blogging was going to be so hard, but it’s difficult to demonstrate through words the emotions and experiences that I am living here with some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. That doesn’t mean I won’t try though ;)

Much love and prayers! Till next time Amigos!

P.S.- Shakira had her baby. I hope it dances a lot.

Picturas! (the few that I can upload at a time!)

 
Here we go!                                                                                     

                                                          Entrance to Mami and Papi's House
 

My Bedroom

Day 1

Kayla and I have arrived! It’s crazy to believe we are really here. After getting into Juan Santamaria International Airport we waited for our bags to show up and headed through customs. Before we stopped to exchange some currency. In Costa Rica the currency is in colones; 500 colones is similar to the U.S. dollar. They have a slew of coins and bills. Much to my surprise and delight the 10 mil colones features a picture of a sloth. That bill’s a keeper. I was surprised at how easy it was going through customs, much different than in the United States where you have to basically take apart everything to make it through. Here however, we simply had to toss all our belongings onto a conveyor belt and walk on by, all the customs workers were just sitting around chatting with each other. When we followed the exit signs out of the airport we were graced by the warm sun and a crowd of people waiting for someone, as well as the boatload of taxi drivers jumping around asking, “Necesitas Taxi?”

Kayla and I weren’t quite sure who it was that was going to be picking us up, either Papi or one of the sons, but there were so many people we didn’t recognize anyone. All in a matter of minutes a man came up out of nowhere with a phone number, asked us if we were volunteers and called Papi to come meet us. Before we knew it Papi was embracing us both and saying, “Welcome to Costa Rica!” This calming feeling came over me and I could not stop smiling the whole drive to Guácimo.

We drove through 3 out of the 7 provinces in Costa Rica to make it home; Aleguara, San Jose, y Limón. While we drove, Papi told us facts about Costa Rica and pointed out beautiful sites. It is breathtaking here. You can go through three different climates in just a short while. My favorite part on our way home was driving through the rolling green hills of rainforest. I felt so small amongst the giant walls of foliage! There was one point where we where climbing higher through a hill and the air got immediately crisp and it started raining, but within a few minutes we were back to sunshine.

When we were nearing Guácimo, Papi called Mami so we could talk with her and tell her we were close! She was so excited. After about a 2 hour drive, we made it to Guácimo, a cute little town. When we pulled up to the house Mami was waiting outside to greet us. We got a little tour of the house, which is gorgeous and has stone pathways and driveway, made by Papi. It is beautiful. He is honestly famous here.

A few things I have noticed that are very different from the United States are:

1. Drivers are a lot more daring on the roads here. A lot more. We saw a huge semi-truck that has just completely toppled over on the side of the road. From what I have experienced driving places so far in Costa Rica, there have been endless opportunities for accidents. People also pass each other a lot more, no matter what the traffic is like from the other way. But, that being said, drivers appear to be very generous in letting one another pass. There is a mother load of autobuses here, which seems to be what people prefer to travel in; otherwise there are lots of motorcycles, small vans and trucks.

* Small story time: once when we were caught in traffic the car ahead of us parked his car got out, and walked up to the car in front of him, leaned on the window and just had a casual conversation until traffic was moving again. It was awesome, I might try this in America…just kidding, but it was just another sign of how friendly this place is.

2. There are fruit stands everywhere! “Fruterias” they are called. There are various sizes of shacks with tasty treats to offer. One very popular fruit here is called “Pipa,” which is very much like coconut and you see there are trees full of them everywhere. One common treat is “Agua de Pipa,” which looks like a sandwich bag full of milky water and a slice of the fruit. I have yet to try it, but I can’t wait! Another tasty fruit here is a lemon with a sweet instead of a sour taste.

3. Bathrooms. I had heard before arriving in Costa Rica that the bathrooms are very different, but you can’t really know until you experience it. To use a public “baño” you have to pay money, about one American dollar. Also, toilet paper doesn’t get flushed so you just have to dispose of your toilet paper in the trash.

4. Animals. I am not quit sure what type of bird it is, but there’s a blackbird that makes really high-pitched sounds, almost like a siren, that I hear a lot. *Guess what!? I actually found out that the “bird” sounds were coming from small lizards in the house. There are a lot of dogs and I am amazed they really do look different from any dogs I have seen. Also there are many pet stores. To top all of this Mami told me that last week there was a sloth climbing on their fence. Let’s hope this happens again.

5. Lemons are sweet and oranges are sour. The “sugar” that comes with the oranges is actually salt.

6. Stop signs are more like suggestions.

7. You will be greeted by security people ready to search you before entering a glass case, which will then get you inside a bank.

8. There are hardly any clocks. I love it.

9. Radio cars? These exist. Cars with large speakers on their roof blasting music through all of Costa Rica. You can have the person driving play a special request or give a little message to someone you are with.

10. Plants. I have never been in a greener place.

11. All water is cold, showers, sink, everything. Cold showers feel great after a long day in the sun.
12. Dish soap is hard, kind of like a dish of butter.
13. Everyone greets you with a hug and kiss, no matter what. It really connects everyone and I think it is so awesome. I am probably going to give you all a kiss on the cheek when I'm home again, so get ready.

14. Oh, everything is in Spanish.

Kayla and I are excited to get into school and to start teaching!

There is much more I have prepared to write-everything is so new and exciting, but also challenging. I love it. I will not drag this post on, but I pray that you all are well.

Pura Vida

One week.

As I am wide awake and can't muster to fall asleep, thoughts are pooling in about what it will be like one week from today, living in a new home; a new country...
I feel as though I am on the brink of one of the biggest occasions in my whole life and everything inside me is racing around like the Daytona 500 (First and last Nascar analogy I will ever make so I hope you enjoyed it ;-) )

Tonight I had the awesome opportunity to talk with my host mother, Gloria (but I will call her Mami), on the phone and it pretty much made my heart soar connecting with her. The first thing she said after stating who I was, was, "Ah, una de mis hijas!" (One of my daughters!) In response to asking her if she wanted anything special from the States, she said "Un novio" (A boyfriend). To this I replied, "Sorry, we are fresh out of those currently.." (just kidding). After a little while of giggly Spanish and feeling like my cheeks were going to explode from smiling Mami wished me safe travels and said, "Kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses!" I am in love already and can't wait to meet the whole family.

17 days and counting...

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope that your holidays were full of much merriment and all the people you hold dear.

I can hardly believe it is 2013. I have been looking forward to this month for a very long time, for it holds a handful of changes and I guess I am leaving the country for a bit... :) I still have this surreal feeling every time I remind people that I will be student teaching in Costa Rica. "Am I really doing this?" Yep. For the next 17 days I have anticipation as a companion and a lot of questions that will not be able to be answered until I set foot in Costa Rica.

I am very grateful that Kayla and I got the opportunity to meet with Gerald and Sarah, son and daughter-in-law, of our host family prior to ending the semester. Both are such beautiful souls and only got Kayla and I even more uncontrollably excited to go! I honestly could not stop smiling when we were talking with both Sarah and Gerald. They are taking a trip to visit in March, so I look forward to seeing them again, and meeting their family I will be living with :)

There are many things I feel thankful for already in this year 2013...

Bring on the Pura Vida!