As I sat around the kitchen bar this morning surrounded by 6
other family members rapidly speaking Spanish as they ate their gallo pinto and
I ate my piece of bread with still unknown mystery meat on it, it hit me how
much my life has changed in such a short amount of time. No longer do I sit at breakfast getting a
headache from trying to catch a word I know in Spanish here and there or sit
there wondering how much longer I need to keep sitting there before escaping to
my room after being overwhelmed by being surrounded by so many people (I am an
only-child after all). This morning,
however, I relished being surrounded by a family I have come to love and was
even excited that my oldest sister and her husband also temporarily moved back
in with the family (though for unfortunate reasons, she broke both of her
ankles in a fall down the stairs). I no
longer simply sit and observe the conversation, but am a part of it, joking
with them as I mas o menos follow along.
I was so, so happy to be back…so, perhaps I should once again start from
the beginning as to why I was so happy to return to Hereidia last night…
Naty and I with my amazing host Mom after our last community class about cooking
On Monday we all headed to Tres Rios (where we were during
that original orientation week) to meet our counterparts at a project partner
workshop. Our counterparts are the
people we will be primarily working with during our service, so because our
project is TEFL, our counterparts are all Costa Rican English teachers. Most of them had to travel quite a distance
to get to San Jose, but I think it’s a great way for them to learn more about
the Peace Corps and what our role in site is supposed to be. My counterpart’s name is Liz and her English
is actually quite good. She’s extremely
nervous and timid, so it was often like pulling teeth at times to talk to her
and she certainly seemed to have no idea what Peace Corps was that first day,
but after the workshop and a 4 hour bus ride together to my site in Guanacaste,
I think we started bonding… So yes,
after the workshop all us PCTs headed to our sites with our counterparts so
they could show us how to get there. We
arrived in Santa Cruz where I was met by the principal of my escuela in a taxi
who drove me and all my luggage to my new host family.
The new fam consists of only a couple roughly in their early
50s who have never had kids…. they, well, ok let’s start with the positives…
My escuela!! I
arrived on Thursday morning and the principal told me they wanted to have an
assembly with all of the school to introduce me. Sounded great so at 7am we organized in a
classroom and I began counting the students…all 24 of them. Granted it was only the morning cycle so
perhapsssss there are double that amount in reality, but still, it’s muy
pequena and exactly what I wanted. There
are only 2 rooms, so the students sometimes take their desks outside and divide
up the classes that way. Most of the
grades are 5-8 students and they seem much more behaved than other Costa Rican
classes I have observed. There are 2
English teachers who work at the school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and upon my
arrival I noticed one of them wearing a polo that said “Englih’s Teacher”. I certainly have my work cut out for me. BUT, the whole school was so excited to have
me there and were all super friendly. I attended a meeting with parents
afterwards and introduced myself (a warning that I was going to have to do this
in Spanish might have been nice…) and the students made me welcome cards…all in
all I couldn’t have been welcomed with more open arms. Granted if the teachers are only there on
Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be doing the
other 3 days of the week, but that’s a problem for another day…
Mi escuela :)
The whole 1st grade
The new host fam. The
new fam is, interesting. They are super
sweet and are very excited to have me be a part of their family, but perhaps a
bit too sweet. In the grand scheme of
things there could be far worse situations, but, it quickly became
overwhelming. Hmm, some highlights:
- I was on my way out the door to go for a run when the host mom said no. It’s too dangerous. So I said, oh, ok, no problem. It’s dangerous now because I don’t know the area and the people, right? But in the future it’ll be fine, right? Answer: no, you’re not allowed out of the house alone. Ever.
- EVERY night I sat on the couch/bed thing in the living room and they would bring 2 chairs to face me and we would talk. All night. I DON’T SPEAK SPANISH! By hour 3 every night I had a pounding headache. I would also be called out if I responded to a text during this time. So my apologies for all the unresponded to texts while I was away...
- I stayed up late one night texting and since the walls don’t go to the ceiling they can clearly see when my light is on or not so the next morning I was asked exactly what I was doing so late. I said, oh, just reading. Then I got a lecture how I need to get plenty of sleep.
- I was TOLD that I HAD to get up at 6am to do my laundry. Now, I am not one to do well with being TOLD to do something as my real mother will attest to. I simply said I didn’t have much laundry and I would just do it when I returned in 2 weeks. Nope, not allowed. I’m still unsure why it had to be done at 6am, but I did it. I guarantee it’s not happening again.
- Alright, now I fully understand my Spanish isn’t good, but it’s a heck of a lot better than 3 months ago and I can often understand at least the gist of most conversations. These people KEPT saying “entiende?” (understand?) I would say, si, they would then say, well then what did we say? I cannot even begin to explain how annoying that was after the 20th time it happened…
So, I shall be having PC call these lovely folks and
hopefully explain to them that I am an adult who is able to leave the
house… I think it’ll just take some time
for us to get used to each other and I’m hopeful that in the end it’ll all work
out. Either way, it’s only for 6 months
and then I can live on my own!
The new digs
But more than anything, site visit was a reminder about what
Peace Corps service is all about.
Throughout training, we’ve all been concerned about our lives with our
host families, about our Spanish skills, about how we’re all coping with being
away from home…about numerous other things that have all revolved around
us. But after arriving in site and
arriving at the school, I finally met all of the people of my community who
have apparently been anxiously awaiting my arrival. This
may be my service, but it’s about all of these people who I am hopefully able
to help. They all have big hopes for
what I am going to be able to accomplish during my 2 years of service and I am
now more confident than ever in my decision to be here and am excited for this
next part of the adventure.
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