Menos que six degrees of separation

Where to begin- first, I am safe and sound. I made it through my goodbyes, staging in D.C., and the retreat in Tres Ríos. During the week long retreat I made some great friends from Colorado, Oregon, Missouri, and New York and discovered that Tico 19 is made up of incredibly strong individuals. Also, I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow Mainer, the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, who is from South Portland and, of course, knows my Aunt. He was unassuming and warm with a good sense of humor- I could picture him coming into Bradbury Brothers’ Market in Cape Porpoise, Maine on Sunday morning to pick up his New York Times and cup of Green Mountain Coffee.

Tonight I am writing from Río Conejo, where I will live with mi mamá tica y mi papá tico for the next three months during pre-service training. They have six children and fifteen grandchildren, the majority of whom live closeby and visit throughout the day. My mamá is muy amable and told me when I first arrived that she would be my mother, since I left so much behind in the States. Me gusta mucha la comida costaricense! In particular, I love gallo pinto (rice and beans) and plátanos por supuesto. There is also a refresco that tastes to me like drinkable vanilla pudding. Before dinner, I worked with mi mamá, her husband, and her granddaughter to complete their family tree. After, I watched a telenovela with mis padres ticos that is called “El Último Matrimonio Feliz” (the last happy marriage).

My town is semi-rural and mi mamá knows the majority of the community members. It has a church, school, fútbol field, bar, café, and gas station, to name a few amenities. I live atop a steep hill close to a bazar (similar to a 5 & dime store), which my host mother operates, and have a seven minute walk to language class, which we have three days a week. The temperature is comfortable in the morning. I passed only a few people waiting for the bus before I arrived at 8am to wait for our teacher. There are five of us in the class, as we were divided into four groups per project based on our language abilities. We get together with our project members on Wednesday and with all of Tico 19 in San José on Friday. My project is Rural Community Development, which means that we will work with a government organization that oversees and supports the work of local associations that concentrate on activities that contribute to the development of the country, i.e. education, water projects.

Anyway, to set the scene a bit, as I lay in bed I close my eyes and imagine that I am camping in a tent under the stars. I hear a constant hum that sounds like crickets chirping. The nights are cool, the sun is strong, the roads are narrow, coffee plants abound, and todo es pura vida como dicen los ticos. Sitting in front of the house this afternoon writing to my grandmother and sister, I felt content. My host mother welcomed my friends from class for a cafecito this afternoon and it felt comfortab le. My friend was afraid that his host mother would wonder where he was and worry. This is how we think, I think, in the States- always anticipating. But then, my host mother showed us a short cut to travel between our houses and walked with us, introducing us to her siblings and grandchildren along the way. He was in good hands of course, those of his tía- of course we are primos. Everyone seems to be related in some way. It is almost as if life in Río Conejo is a secret they share. I share it now too.