Workshops, Tamales, & Montezuma

I can't believe another week is over, and I have only one more left!  This week we worked some more with the kids in Rio Azul.  I've really been enjoying serving lunch and getting to know the kids better.  We also went to the National Museum, ate some delicious Costa Rican tamales, and went to the playa de Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula.  This weekend is the celebration of the annexation of the region of Guanacaste of which Montezuma is a part.  The day after I leave is the celebration of the Patron Saint of Costa Rica, so I am planning a trip to Cartago this week to check out the pre-holiday festivities.  I need to enjoy every fleeting minute I have here before my plane flies out next Sunday!

Volcan Arenal

This weekend Amanda and i went to the town of La Fortuna at the base of Volcan Arenal.  Arenal is an active volcano, however it hasn't been spewing glowing red lava in a few months.  Nevertheless, i still found it to be rather majestic and mighty!  Praise God for volcanoes! We also got to spend some time in aqua termales (hot springs) while we were there.  A very relaxing weekend, unfortunately book-ended by some pretty gross bus rides : (  It is remarkable cheap and easy to travel this country in bus, but it is not very comfortable...pero yo todavia pienso que vale la pena!

Los Ninos

Amanda has been leading workshops with some of the kids (ages 9-12) at Casa San Lazaro, and i have been fortunate enough to get to help her.  We've covered the themes of feelings, goals, violence, and hope.  It has been really interesting to learn about these kids and their realities.

Some things that have stuck out to me:
   1) several of them know drug dealers/have been offered drugs
   2) one boy's biggest dream is to own a car
   3) several of them have failed grades in school
   4) most of them dream of traveling the world beyond Rio Azul

Recently

Well last weekend we did, in fact, visit Volcan Irazu which has been inactive for almost 50 years but is still breathtaking!  I'll post pictures when i get a chance.  This week i started volunteering full time with an organization called Casa San Lazaro.  Basically this is a Christian ministry that serves lunch to almost 300 children every weekday in a poor neighborhood near San Jose.  They also provide tutoring, family workshops, and character development.   This is a really cool opportunity to give back to the community, to learn firsthand about some of the social conditions in this country, and to practice my Spanish!  So far it has been challenging, but i've been learning a lot too!

Recent Highlights:  
      1) going to the barrio church on Sunday with my host dad and little brother
      2) getting bitten by hormigas (ants)
      3) playing futbol (soccer) with the kids today!

No Se Preocupe

In case you heard about the earthquakes or the giant shark sightings in Costa Rica, you do NOT need to worry! I am safe in sound in San Jose and will not be heading to the northern part of the country OR to the playa (beach) this weekend.  I think we are going to go check out a long-inactive volcano instead.  I'm pretty excited about it!

Perezosos and more!

This weekend we went to the Caribe (the Atlantic side of the country) to the small town and National Park of Cahuita.  We ate the typical Caribbean foods (jerk Chicken, Pan Bon, and shrimp) yum!  Also a highlight was a trip to the nearby Avirios del Caribe Sloth Sanctuary.  Here we saw many sloths ("perezosos" in espanol), and even got to touch a few of them!  We also had a guided canoe ride on a tropical creek where we saw (and heard) howler monkeys, basilisk lizards, lots of crabs, and some strange birds! 

A couple more observations:
  1) Flushing toilet paper is rarely allowed in public restrooms in Costa Rica...it goes in the garbage can
  2) Spider Man = El Hombre Arana (with a tilde over the n)
  3) A hammock is a really great place to relax and reflect

Caribe!

Last night Amanda and I went to Piratas del Caribe: En Mareas Misteriosas in the theater.  In Costa Rica, movie theaters have a "dos por uno"  deal every Wednesday, so we got in for less than $3 USD.  The coolest part is that tomorrow we are actually going to the Caribbean!  Costa Rica's Caribe region is apparently an entirely different culture from the parts I've seen so far, so I am really looking forward to this weekend's trip!

Also this week I made jewelry at a women's collective, drank holy water at Costa Rica's most important church (La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles en Cartago), and ate raw coffee at an organic farm in the mountains.  Tonight i'll be learning some Latin dances.  Pura Vida.