first visit to Yorkin

i made my first visit to Yorkin under my new title as assistant to Benson and Project Manager.  it was a short trip, just an overnight, but yet a long one all the same...  long because it meant 6 hours of driving with 4 people in a small pick-up with a mini cab - not exactly the most comfortable.  ha.   and long because driving on Costa Rican highways means lots of semi trucks, one lane in each direction the majority of the way, up and down mountains, random vehicle break-downs in the middle of the road, and lots of passing over double lines and on blind corners.  (i hope i haven't discouraged anyone who was thinking of coming down here!)  really, amidst all the crazyness, the drivers somehow have a method to their madness and it usually all works out. 

anyway, back to Yorkin.....arriving to the village is a different adventure now than it was even in january.  there was a lot more heavy rain and flooding in february and the lower points of the river (where we transfer from bus to boat) were really affected.  now instead of getting out of the van and going down the slight embankment to the river, you have to go down the embankment and then walk across something that looks like a desert.  or maybe what i imagine the Rea Sea would have looked like when the waters were parted for the Israelites.  it's about a 300m walk across to where the river now is and you get into the boat.  

the main purpose of our visit was to see the conditions first hand, ensure that the materials had arrived and were in the middle of the transportation process, and to talk with the Women's Organization in the village to confirm the plans for the work projects and lodging arrangements for our group.   and all in all it was a success - our objectives were achieved, and we made it in and out with only a few bug bites to show for it! :)   now it's just wrapping up the last details before our first team of 12 people from Colorado arrives on Sunday.

2 amusing sights...

i must report about two events i witnessed during a saturday afternoon trip into San Jose.  the first happened not far from the house, on the main road through town.  in the opposite lane of traffic there was a man riding a powered wheelchair.  he wasn't taking up the whole lane, by any means, but considering there was no shoulder on the side of the road (pretty much a standard around here) and the "sidewalk" was a choppy mess of driveway, pavement, gravel, dirt, grass, nothing, etc.  there wasn't the option of cruising along in his powered wheelchair.  i had often wondered what people with wheelchairs do to get around (it's challenging enough for those with strollers - probably why most people don't use them).  now i had my answer.  this guy was just puttering along as his maximum pace of maybe 5 mph, and with a huge string of cars following him.  i'm just glad we were going in the opposite direction!

occurence #2 - in the middle of downtown San Jose, on a Saturday afternoon with tons of cars, people, and pedestrians all around, we were stuck at a stoplight for quite awhile.  even when it turned green, our lane didn't move.  then back to red, then green again, and still we sat there.  soon we learned the reason why - the guy in the front of the line was doing some shopping.  yup, from right there in his car he was looking at soccer jerseys that a street vendor had.  the guy would show the driver the shirts, he would look at them, then the vendor would grab a different one.  and all this time we were just sitting in the line of cars behind him.  and even with people behind him starting to honk, the driver just took his time as if picking out an engagement ring or something.... looking at one jersey, then another.  and wouldn't you know it?  in the end he didn't even end up buying one!

weekends.....

for a lot of people in the States (myself included, at time) it seems like Saturday and Sunday can look at lot like Monday through Friday.  people are scheduled to work or end up having to go into the office even if they are not, or spend the day running around from place to place - shopping, doing errands, going to appointments, etc.  and although Costa Rica isn't completely untouched by this American work-aholic, always on-the-go manner of living, it does seem to at least go at a much slower pace.  a good portion of businesses (especially local, family-run operations) are closed on Sunday and have shorter hours on Saturday.  you can still go to the mall, or the major grocery store, but when you drive around the neighborhoods you see a lot of closed doors.  a lot of people use the weekends to spend time with family - visiting parents, grandparents, cousins, in-laws, friends, etc.  maybe for a meal, or just for coffee and a chat.  to me it's a really different mindset than i am used to at home - where everything is on a time schedule, you have to be purposeful and productive, and you always have the next "To Do" item on your mind.   and another thing i find intruiging is that fact that such leisurely activities involve the whole family, including kids of all ages.  at home it seems like kids are involved in so many things - sports, clubs, schools, social activities, etc... especially teenagers.   and kids here are active and involved, but on a much more manageable schedule, i would say.  so they still have time for the sunday afternoon visit to grandpa, or stopping in to see a new nephew.    i don't mean to say that as Americans we are all selfish and wrapped up in our own schedules and lives, just that the mindset seems to be a little different.  i won't make any judgements as to right or wrong, i just appreciate the opportunity to see things from a different point of view....

The Costa Rican commute...

Since I am Since I am now officially “working” here and have an office to go to, I also get to the join the ranks of the local commuters.  Yes, a lot of people do have cars and they drive to work just like we are used to back home, but even more people rely on public transportation – i.e. the bus.  There are certainly no shortage of buses in this part of the world, and of all kinds.  From old school bus style to the latest Mercedes Benz, you can expect to see at least one on every street.  There is a bus the passes right in front of the house, and I can take that to the center of Heredia – the closest large city, only about 10-15 minutes away.  Thus far, however, I’ve had the luxury of having Luisa drop me off at my next bus stop in Heredia after she takes the girls to school.   There is a bus that goes from Heredia to the Universidad de Costa Rica, which happens to be pretty close to the ANAI office where I am working.  

So I wait in line with a bunch of university students for about 10 minutes or so.  If you don’t get there early, you won’t make the bus.  Good thing Luisa knew this so she drops me off about 20 minutes early.  There were already about 30 people in line when I got there, and within the next 2 minutes, about 30 more people.  Popular route, I guess…  So we all pile into this 3 seats per row bus until it’s packed full – all off us riding for the convenient price of 345 colones, equivalent to about 60 cents.  The ride is about 40 minutes, depending on how many traffic “situations” we encounter – i.e. cars that pull out in the middle of the road to try and turn against traffic, or other cars that decide to park themselves temporarily in the middle of a lane of traffic, just your normal everyday occurrences….Ha.  From the Universidad the plan was that Benson would pick me up there and take me back to the office.  Well, when I arrived and called his cell phone it just went straight to voicemail.  No help there.  But since I had been a fairly observant passenger when I took a taxi to the office the first morning, I figured I could find my way on foot.  And turns out, I was right.  

There are two great things about finding your way around in Costa Rica – 1) there are no street signs so giving directions or following directions becomes a challenge and one is left to rely on “landmarks” such as a church or certain mini-mart, etc; 2) a lot of the streets, neighborhoods, mini-marts, shops, etc all look the same (making #1 all the more fun).  But I found my way… up the street about 600 meters, left at the Soda San Bosco and then another left at the Si-Mart.  Easy as pie.     By the time Benson realized his phone was turned off and finally called me, I was walking up to the front door of the office.  I guess I at least proved myself as somewhat of a capable assistant, at least in the department of finding my way around! 

So on my three trips back from the office I have taken 3 different buses from 3 different places.  The first two days I got a ride to a town along the way and found the bus stop for the bus to Heredia.  Today, however, was a different kind of adventure.  I left the office on foot, planning on just heading back the way I had come and taking the bus from the Universidad back to Heredia.  I’m not sure if it was the fact that I was trying to walk quickly to catch the bus on the hour, or if I was day dreaming or what, but suddenly I realized I was in a new place – one that I had not passed in the morning on my way in.  Oops.  Not that I was lost on a dead end street or anything, I was actually in front of a University, just a different one than I had intended.  So when I realized my mistake I decided to just ask for a bus to Heredia since I figured there had to be one nearby.  A security guard told me to turn around and walk a few hundred meters in the other direction and I would find the bus stop in front of the church.  And indeed I did find it; but I also found a sign that said the next bus to Heredia wasn’t for another 2 hours.  No thank you…  So I started walking in a direction that I thought would lead me back to where I had taken a wrong path.  Ask again – this time to a woman who told me that the University I was looking for was 200 meters this way, then follow the train line another 200 meters in another direction.  I followed her directions and soon found myself in familiar territory.  I am still a little confused how I got myself on the wrong path to begin with, but I guess that is beyond the point right now.  I made it to the University, found a lot of people standing in line, and asked what bus they were waiting for – Heredia, indeed.  Success, after all.  I actually ended up talking to a man from Panama who was there at the University while he and his wife were studying for their masters degrees in music and dance – both are professors at the University of Panama.  He turned out to be quite the Chatty Cathy, telling me all about the great places in Panama and people he knew in the states, although I think he was a little saddened that I had no musical skills to report.  

Anyway, in addition to my new Panamanian friend, the ride home was an interesting one.  I’m pretty sure the driver had a bet going with the other bus that left at the same time (there were so many people in line we filled 2 buses) about who would arrive in Heredia first.  He definitely was trying to avoid the heavy traffic areas by taking the side street route – a bit interesting considering the narrow windy streets, chaotic parking practices, etc.  All in all, we made it safe and sound, and I’m pretty sure we beat the other bus by about 1 minute.   From where I get off the bus in Heredia, I just have to walk around the corner and take another bus that takes me to the language school where I meet up with Luisa and the girls.  

Phew, all in a days work....

first day on the job

Today was my first day of work as Project Manager.  I'm going to be working with Benson Venegas, who is the Executive Director of a Costa Rican environmental organization called ANAI (www.discoveringcostarica.com/anai_association.htm) and trying to help him with the administrative end of the reconstruction/rebuilding projects in Yorkin.   The mission teams from Colorado Community Church have been involved with Yorkin, Benson, and ANAI for the past several years, so I've been on the stateside end of things before, but this will also expose me to a whole new side of things.  I'll still be involved with planning and coordinating the logistics for the CCC teams (2 are coming in March and 2 more in July), but also attempting to keep things organized within the actual projects and work that is going on in the jungle.  This will probably include tracking materials that need to be purchased, ordering them, making sure they get delivered, keeping a record of donors and supports, keeping those folks informed as to what is going on, and whatever else I can do to help things run smoothly and for progress to be made in the next few months.

The ANAI office is located in San Jose, about an hour away from where I am staying with Luisa and her family.  Thanks to the magic of technology (when it is working!) the plan is for me to work from the ANAI office about 2 days a week or so, then work here at the language school the other 3 days or so.  That way I'll be able to have direct interaction with Benson and the folks at ANAI, but also take advantage of the convenience of not having to commute and still get a lot of stuff done from here.   Besides the times when the teams from CCC are here, I'll probably make some regular trips to Yorkin to deliver materials, see how things are coming along, take photos and give updates, etc.  

When I met Benson at the office this morning, he showed me my desk and work space (i'll add photos!) and gave me a tour of the place.  The office is really an old house and has all wood floors and cool coved ceilings on the upper floor, which is where we work.  There are about 6 people who work there full time and some other volunteers who come in and out.  They have "dorms" with bunk beds so people can sleep there, and showers, kitchen, etc.... so it's sort of an office with a slight fraternity/sorority house feel. :) 

Today was mostly consumed with trying to get the All-in-one Copier, Scanner, Printer, Fax that I brought down in a suitcase to work (technology again....) and just getting a sense of what's going on and how things operate.   It's kind of like starting any new job - you always feel a bit overwhelmed by all there is to learn and understand and then hopefully be able to do.  But I'm sure I'll get the hang of it and with any luck will prove to be helpful for everyone! 

I must also add that Benson made lunch.  He wanted it to be lentil stew but a slight overestimation of the amount of water to add turned it into a lentil soup, but it was great!  Made with fresh vegetables and spices all in the pressure cooker pot.  Another recipe to add to my list and hope that one day i can come close to reproducing! 

the adventure begins...

here i am, sitting at a table in same the language school in costa rica, writing about my experiences.  it's almost 3 years when i was here for the very first time (i arrived the beginning of april 2006) and so much has happened, so many things have changed, but yet some of it is still the same.   one big difference - i speak a lot more spanish this time!  and i knew way more what to expect in coming.  i've been down here 3 times in the past 2 years since i moved back to denver, so needless to say it wasn't the same "where am i going?" feeling as on my first flight here.  plus, as many of you know, i have been taking so many flights, so many trips lately, that the whole airport, airplane, suitcase, passport, packing thing is a far too familiar habit.

i got here on thursday morning (mar 5) at 6am and was greeting by my dear "familia Tica" - Luisa, Gaby, Faby, and Benson.  Luisa is Hugo's sister, who i lived with before, Gaby and Faby are her daughters, and Benson is Luisa & Hugo's brother.  since the moment i got here it has been just like old times - running around with Luisa and the girls, living at the house with them, eating all my favorite foods (not all of them yet, but i'm working on it!) and just trying to get settled in.

i haven't been able to email much because the internet was out at the language school and was just restored this afternoon after more than a week.  and i don't have a cell phone yet because apparently there are no phone lines available.  plus the phone at luisa's house hasn't been working for over 3 weeks now, probably because a tree feel somewhere or something....  and all of this has to do with the public utility company that handles everything - phone, internet, cell phones, etc...  and you either have to call and number, listen to a message,  wait and never actually talk to a person, or go to the office and wait in line with everyone else who needs to pay their bill, ask a question, or has any of the same problems or any number of other problems.    no such thing as walking into the mall and choosing from one of 4 kiosks the cell phone provider you want and making your first phone call within minutes.

so of course things have changed - the girls are now 15 and almost 17, about to finish high school, not like the 12 and 13 yr olds i first met, Luisa has a new car, there is a new rice maker and pressure cooker at the house, but many haven't changed a bit.  i still love the food, the roads still have a lot of potholes (although i will say that they have re-done a lot of roads...) the drivers and pedestrians and buses still make driving a bit crazy.  and best of all, i still feel at home here.