Tico 25 Swears- In!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

     A LOT has happened since the last post.  I returned to Heredia and went through the final weeks of training, swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer, and am now officially in site where I will be for the next 2 years.  The biggest of those events was obviously swearing in, so I’ll mainly focus on that during this lovely update to all of your back home.

     If you’ve ever met me for more than about 10 minutes, you probably know I’m not a big feelings person.  Don’t ask me to talk about my feelings and if you’re talking about yours, I’ll certainly be wishing I were anywhere else.  This has often led my mother to tell me I have no soul if I don’t cry at movies when a normal person would or when I refuse to have heart-to-heart conversations.  It just isn’t me.  And while we’ve constantly been told PC would be an emotional rollercoaster, I didn’t really know if that would apply to me.  But I do have to admit, I uncharacteristically broke down in tears twice on swearing-in day and was overcome with so much emotion from the outpouring of support I received that I guess even I am not immune to the PC emotional rollercoaster.

     PC volunteers are told to bring one nice outfit with them to country and swearing-in day is the one and only day you will most likely ever need that outfit during your 27 months.  On Wednesday morning, I woke up insanely early, put on my referenced one nice outfit, made sure the faux-hawk was perfectly gelled, frantically finished packing, and tried to eat one last breakfast with the fam but was far too nervous to actually eat.  Luckily, I do actually speak a bit of Spanish these days so I was able to explain to them why I couldn’t eat so they didn’t freak out and think I was sick or something like they would have 3 months ago when I didn’t eat.  I lined up all my luggage at the door as my fam was going to have to bring it all to the ceremony with them and I said goodbye to my 2 sisters and brother at the house.  I ran out the door as Naty’s Mom pulled up to take us to our bus (I totally busted my ass on our apparently wet tiles) but we made it to San Isidro in plenty of time to catch the bus.  Once all of Tico 25 arrived, it was off to the Ambassador’s residence.

     Now the best and worst part of this day was the fact that I was giving the speech on behalf of our training group… in Spanish.  I was sick to my stomach and it wasn’t made any better by our arrival and finding out that a name needed to be changed in my speech, so I spent the next 10 minutes memorizing how to say a new Latino name and the respective title.  Thankfully though, the ceremony went extremely well and I think the speech was a success.  There were certainly a few tears in the audience and from Tico 25, so I’ll take that as a win.  The Ambassador praised my Spanish and I couldn’t have felt luckier to have been given such an opportunity. 

     What made the day so incredibly special was the fact that the ceremony was livestreamed.  I am truly blessed to have so may people who wanted to watch and for having the greatest office who totally took over the chat.  It was beyond overwhelming to check my phone after the ceremony and have received a screen full of texts from PCVs in country, more WhatsApp messages than I could count from friends back in the states, and a list of emails from family, friends, and coworkers saying congratulations.  Every text, email, and Facebook message made me realize how lucky I am to have so, so much support and I was simply overwhelmed with gratitude for having such amazing people in my life.  Being able to share swearing-in day with all of you back in the states made it so much more special and definitely reminded me how much I miss you all!!  I was able to get 2 phone calls in after the ceremony…one to Mom at school and one to Team Lance in DC.  I did break down in tears on the phone with Team Lance (I guess I just miss you guys too much!) but it was fantastic to be able to talk to many of them in the office.  I spent much of the day having quick chats with so many people back home and again, for any of you reading this, thank you, so so much for all of the kind words last Wednesday and for simply taking the time to be apart of it with me. It meant the world to me.

     I had to say goodbye to my training host parents after the ceremony which was definitely no easy task when my dad started getting chocked up.  But we said our goodbyes and it was off to San Jose with all of Tico 25.  We all spent the night in San Jose together at a hostel (where they had a buffalo chicken sandwich, so I was clearly in heaven) and the next morning was filled with even more goodbyes as we all departed for our sites…  Talk about an emotional 24 hours.

Tico 25, Official Peace Corps Volunteers!

Site Visit

       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 20^th 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.

Site Assignment

Well it’s official, I know where I will be living for the next TWO YEARS…well I can't say exactly where it is online for security reasons, but it is in GUANACASTE! So, why am I super pumped with my site assignment?  What I know thus far…

It is a very small community of about 1,000 people.  Located in the outskirts of Santa Cruz, it offers multiple opportunities to work in development.  There are only 2 roads, a gravel one and a paved one.  The gravel road takes you straight to the only school in the community.  It is fairly small of only about 100 students.  There are not many resources and I should not expect to find books or materials.  It is a poor community with small humble households.  Most people commute to Santa Cruz to work and return in the evenings.  There are 2 part time English teachers who also work in neighboring school and therefore there is potential to also collaborate with other schools in neighboring towns.  It is a good place for hiking, long walks, bike riding, and horseback riding.

During a Mother’s Day skype date I was trying to calm my mother’s nerves about my new host family so I read off some of the housing checklist factors that were checked off for my new digs such as: the house is not located next to bars, a known prostitution area or a drug distribution center, check. The house has a distance of more than 50 meters away from a river bank, potential landslide area, or high-risk flood plane, check.  The roof does not show visible sings or rot and/or missing pieces, check.  The PCV’s bedroom has a bed, check.  The space between the outside walls and the roof in the PCV’s bedroom should not be wide enough for a person to enter or see in from outside, check.  I mean, sounds good to me…I think it actually just freaked mom out more that some of these things were factors…

So that’s what they’ve told us thus far.  I believe I will be the first PCV in this site so that shall certainly add an interesting dynamic/challenge to my service.  We go for a site visit next week and I am certainly eager to check it out (though not eager to need to bust out a heck of a lot spanish by myself...).  I am in a cluster of volunteers thankfully so Richard, Tara, Lauren H and I are certainly going to be keeping each other sane. There is another cluster of 4 more volunteers about an hour or 2 away so, 9 in total are headed to Guanacaste! I’m very thankful to have other volunteers just a bus ride away and yes, I am quite close to beaches so get ready to start buying those plane tickets to come visit!

The Guanacaste Crew!

Tara, Lauren W, Me, Alicia, Abby, Taylor (VAC Rep), Lauren H, Richard...and the 2 Toms

As always, I'm missing everyone back home so much and I can't say thank you enough to all of you who text / email / facebook.  I love knowing what you all are up to and the constant communication is certainly keeping me sane when my head literally starts to hurt from all the Spanish!  But in response to my mother's constant question, are you still happy?  Yes, I am still happy down here surrounded by fantastic new friends and excited about the next step in this adventure!

Tech Week and President Obama in CR

I'll preface that I wrote the first half of this a few days ago but got distracted by a random family outing and just finished today...

Well I have returned from tech week on Sunday and am finally up and out of bed… hmm, perhaps I should start from the beginning…

Last Sunday 8 of us PCTs made our way to San Jose at 6am to catch our bus to the Osa peninsula.  This was easier said than done of course once I slept through my 5am alarm and was instead woken up by a fellow PCT texting me to let us know they were on their way to get Naty and I.  Their drive would be about 10 minutes I needed to get to Naty’s house which is about a 20 minute walk. I wasn’t liking my odds.  As I BOLTED around my house throwing on clothes and throwing last minute things into my bag, my host Mom was frantatic as well realizing I overslept.  As I was running out the door trying to say quickly in Spanish that it was fine and I would run she basically said no way, went upstairs and woke up my host father who came down the stairs clearly half asleep, hoped in the car, and together we sped away to Naty’s house.  And I mean sped.  But I did beat the cab there and after giving my host dad a huge hug…I was certainly filled with adrenaline to start off tech week.

So what is tech week?  Tech week is when us 20 PCTs are once again shipped off all across the country, this time in pairs, to actually put into practice our “technical training” aka all of our classes on how to teach English, lesson planning, classroom management, etc.  Brian and I were sent to Barton’s site, which is about roughly in the middle of the Osa peninsula in the southern part of the country near Panama.  It was about an 8 hour bus ride from San Jose and while we were happy to get off the hot bus, the hot, humid air in Osa offered no relief.  We trekked down a dirt road and about 2 minutes later arrived at Barton’s house.  He decided to live with a host family during his whole 2 years of service and I was staying in that house with them and Brian was staying 2 houses down with I believe the host mother’s sister, but honestly I’m not sure who she was.  They were related somehow.

This host family was certainly not prepared for my lack of Spanish fluency and the host dad sat down to clearly have a conversation with me and after I stumbled over my pathetic responses to his questions he quickly gave up and asked Barton to translate.  He just wanted to tell me to make myself at home and ask for anything I needed.  After saying muchas gracias many times to Don Juan (yup, Don Juan, and yes, he looks just like what I would picture a Don Juan to look like…thick black hair with a thick mustache and super tan skin), Brian, Barton, and I headed to the beach.  It was probably one of the worst beach experiences I’ve ever had.  It was about a 40 minute walk and upon arrival realized it was low tide but we walked out and hoped in anyway for about 10 minutes before the sand fleas started biting.  I’ve never heard of sand fleas but I trust Barton that they exist.  So we picked up our stuff to head back.  By now it’s dark and I just know that I’m going to twist my ankle on this rock covered gravel road we’re walking on so I bust out my first-world solution, my iphone, to use as a flashlight.  So we now have light, but also the bugs that come along with that.  Barton swears there aren’t normally so many bugs but I was skeptical.  We made it back, showered, ate dinner, and was ready for a night of lesson planning ahead of us.

The Beach

Then came Monday.  Monday was quite the day.  We got a ride to the escuela from Brian’s host dad and were ready to begin observing when classes started at 7am.  We observed for 4 hours…ate lunch….and then jumped into teaching for 6 hours the rest of the day.  Our first class was a well behaved 3^rd grade class and our lesson went over quite well.  Jose (part of our project team) was there to observe us and gave us a rave review so we were confident to tackle the 1^st and 2^nd graders we had on deck.  Little did we know what we were in for…  our lesson plan bombed since we had no idea first graders don’t write.  So instead of them being able to copy the family tree I had written on the board I all of a sudden had to draw a grandmother, mom, son, etc.  My drawing skills certainly left something to be desired and it was an AWFULLY long 80 minutes.  We felt pretty defeated but stuck it out and taught the next class which went equally as terribly in my mind as they were almost impossible to control and keep on task.  My lack of being able to answer their questions in Spanish also proved a fun extra challenge and I felt bad needing to rely on Brian’s Spanish for most of the class.  Both classes also collectively inquired as to my gender, which I have certainly never been asked since I was 5 when my mother cut all my hair off then as well.  I pretended I didn’t understand their question in Spanish, let Brian handle it, and then buzzed my hair that night to spite them.  Not every girl needs to have long hair and I guess that shall have to be added to my list of things to teach the little rugrats. 

Buzz Time

The rest of the week included more observations of classes, more teaching, and a few trips to the nearby beaches.  We headed to Barton’s other school one day, which was about a 20 minute bus ride away to only find out that they had half a day and due to the schedule changes there would only be one class in which they had to give a test.  So we watched the kids take a test and then sat around for about 3 hours waiting for the next bus to come.  We played some soccer, chatted, and literally fell asleep on top of the tables as we waited.  It was certainly a good experience after we’ve been told of those situations happening often and a reminder that we will just need to remain flexible and always carry a book throughout our service.

Nap Time

Beach Time w/ 2 other PCTs who were nearby: Nicole, Brian, Me, America

On Friday we packed up our things and headed further south down the Osa peninsula to another PCV’s site, CJ, where we met up with 4 other PCTs who were with him for tech week.  We toured his HS, fed some crocs, and headed to the beach.  Upon our arrival it started to pour but we simply stripped down to our bathing suits, frantically tried to cover up our phones, and then just walked to the water and embraced it.  We made it back to CJs and hopped in his pool in the rain as well, played some pool games like we were a bunch of 10 year olds, and proved that Yessina and I are a perfect chicken team.  We ate delicious pizza for dinner and were passed out by 10.  An 8 hour bus ride awaited us the next morning, but it was a fantastic day filled with great friends and a lot of English.

Upon my arrival back in Heredia, I couldn’t have been happier to see my host family, eat my mom’s delicious cooking, take a hot shower, and sleep in my room without sweating to death and needing a mosquito net.  I will surely embrace this lifestyle for the next month!  I got pretty ill while I was away and my family wasted no time nursing me back to health.  I had to be better by Friday to see the President!

Speaking of…we saw President Obama on Friday!  Granted I was ragged on plenty for this being my 10^th time seeing him (it was only the 5^th), but it was by far the closest I’ve ever been and it was certainly a different experience to have him come greet us and the US embassy staff as his first stop in the country.  Definitely a thrilling experience and hey, it got us out of half a day of Spanish class.

Obama Applauding After the Ambassador Introduced Us PCVs

The President

Missing everyone back home, so so much!  The countdown is now T-minus FIVE days until we find out our sites for the next 2 years…aka where you’re all coming to visit me!

My Amazing Tico 25 Family!