Months ago when Megon and I were just trainees our program training staff had us draw waves, big waves with tall crests and deep troughs. We labeled those ups and downs with emotional moments that lead up to our departure for Costa Rica. They told us those waves would continue and soon represent our lives for the next 24 months. As corny as it seemed at the time, they were right.
He also loved animals, which is a rare quality in this culture (left behind three dogs and a cat), loved to plant trees, and loved to see community spirit. That’s why he was the biggest supporter of our community English class. That night we had a no-show, Adolfo encouraged us to have patience and never to give up on our students.
Being a Peace Corps Volunteer is totally like riding a wave; some days are great, some are just average and others we would just rather put in the books and forget. Lately though, our waves are moving at full strength as our 9-month mark rapidly draws closer. And keeping ourselves upright and upbeat has been the name of the game.
Community Class
One of our lowest moments came two weeks ago when zero students showed up to our community English class for teenagers. Attendance has been dropping ever so slowly since Holy Week, but we knew that would happen – time eventually weeds out the non-committed folks. But knowing this didn’t make it feel any better.
Teaching English is one of our main jobs here, so when we put lots of effort into creating fun, interactive lessons, and the result is a no-show, our immediate reaction is to blame ourselves, like “Did we do something wrong?” Then we wonder, “Why have they lost interest?” Finally, we become proactive: “We’re going to cancel this class, combine it with the adult class, and start a new one.” (We have plans to start a prep course for the high school English exit exam.)
Instead of pouting, we turned our lowest moment into a reflective moment, celebrating the fact that for 19 straight weeks we had enough students to hold class four days a week. That’s 38 free one-hour lessons of English! Later that week word spread about us canceling the teenager class and combining it with the adults because 10 kids showed up to the following class. It was full of good vibes and students begged us to keep the class going, so we’ll see.
Tragedy in Otoya
A community class no-show is nothing compared to what happened this week. Tragedy struck our tiny community of Otoya when Aldolfo, a 74-year-old community leader, a close friend, and owner of the one and only pulpería, was shot and killed on Monday night. Three men held up his little old general store and he made the mistake of trying to defend himself. One of the men shot him before fleeing in their car.
A neighbor, who drove Aldolfo to the nearest clinic, said he was alert and aware of the situation. Once they arrived at the clinic, they said the injury he sustained needed to be cared for at the bigger hospital 45 minutes away in Guápiles. They loaded Aldolfo into an ambulance and he hung on as long as he could, but on the way there he died of blood loss, according to his neighbor. The men got away likely with nothing more than a few thousand colones. Given the judicial system here, they will probably never be found or prosecuted.
Our community, meanwhile, will be grieving the loss of a man who people admired and loved for quite some time. He wasn’t just a pulpería owner – he was like the mayor of Otoya. His place was town central, a place for people to spread the news, cool off on those scorching-hot days with a bottle of Coke for only 400 colones, or watch a soccer match on TV. He also did business on trust. If community members had to buy dry goods, they could put everything on a tab knowing Adolfo trusted they would pay it back when the money came. That just doesn’t happen anymore.
He also loved animals, which is a rare quality in this culture (left behind three dogs and a cat), loved to plant trees, and loved to see community spirit. That’s why he was the biggest supporter of our community English class. That night we had a no-show, Adolfo encouraged us to have patience and never to give up on our students. What happened Monday night will forever change the community. Does it mean it’s a dangerous place to live? We don’t think so. People say it was a random act of violence. But folks in the Peace Corps know about it and are giving us all the support we need. Adolfo, you will truly be missed.
Fourth of July Celebration
We are in San Jose for today’s Fourth of July celebration with the U.S. Embassy. Why they’re celebrating the fourth on the first, we don’t know. All we know is more than 600 delegates and Costa Rican partners are expected to be there to hear Megon and Kelsey, a fellow TEFL Volunteer, sing the Star-Spangled Banner. The best part is that you can watch it online. The U.S. Embassy is streaming the celebration live. Here is the link:
The event allegedly starts at 1:45 p.m., but you never know around here. So that’s 11:45 a.m. for you folks in Alaska, and 3:45 p.m. for people in Michigan.
Animals Abundant
Weeks ago Megon and I thought we were moving into our own apartment. Oh how sorely we were mistaken. In this apartment we are never alone. Here’s a top 12 list of all the creepy crawly creatures we’ve found inside:
1. Two boa constrictors; one in the kitchen and another in the shower
2. Chickens on our bed and on the kitchen counter
3. Bats in the kitchen
4. Dragonflies
5. Geckos who take care of the mosquitoes
6. Ants, ants and more ants
7. Cockroaches – our least favorite
8. Beetles the size of golf balls
9. Tiny scorpions, which we’ve heard are more dangerous
10. Rats in the rafters
11. Toads in the kitchen
12. Birds in the rafters
Future Travels
Quince Dias, the two-week, mid-year break in the Costa Rican school year officially begins this afternoon, which means Megon and I are on vacation. Whoopie! How are we going to celebrate? We leave for Nicaragua tomorrow with our old host family –Mario, Esterlina and their two boys.
Our main excuse to go is because Esterlina’s parents will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. But other reasons include visiting another Central American country, learning about Nicaraguan culture and spending time with people we love.
Six days after we return from Nicaragua, we’ll be headed for New York City to attend Jacob Urban’s wedding in Connecticut. It’s hard to believe we’re going back to the States. I’m sure we’ll experience some reverse culture shock.
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