Three things I recently discovered I cannot live without (at least for this year):
1.dustless chalk- Seriously Crayola, way to go. I had no idea how much this could improve my quality of life. I no longer have to chose between coffee stains on my light clothes or chalk dust on my dark clothes.
2.Ginger hard candies – a.k.a. Gin Gins a.k.a. the best cure for motion sickness on long and winding bus rides through the mountains. When everything is a blur of green on either side and you're certain the next turn will send you careening to your death suck on a ginger hard candy and your stomach might slide down out of your throat long enough for you to get home.
3.ear plugs – Again, I had no idea how much this would improve my quality of life. I thought for sure nothing could block out the soundtrack of my life including, but not limited to the following:
-wind “rattling” the tin roof, sounding like the rapture
-TV turned on at all hours of the day, whether or not someone is watching, cranked up to about 50
-various shouting that constitutes a conversation over the volume of the TV
-roosters, dogs, assorted birds
-radio (see TV for comments)
-national anthem playing on a regular basis
-misc cars, truck, motos etc. struggling to get up the hill
-second TV competing will all the other noise
Three things that are the norm:
1.Rice and beans – Rest assured not a day goes by that I don't eat rice and/or beans. Usually both but sometimes they spice it up and give me rice and spaghetti. Honestly though I feel pretty lucky because the food has been great. A little too good... I might be a bit bigger than you remember when I get back! I get fresh fruit every morning for breakfast, usually a second breakfast at school and a serving or 2 of vegetables at dinner. Fresh bread is a regular occurrence too which is awesome! That said it was nice to go to San Jose last weekend and have some whole grains and a green smoothie.
2.Cold showers – Unfortunately most of the time its not very tropical or hot in the mountains, especially at 6 in the morning. Which is good thing when you're walking to school or trying to sleep but as a result the cold water is really cold. In turn the shower with said cold water is rather painful. People don't have boilers/water heaters here. Instead there are electric heating elements in the shower that heat the water as it passes through. Very effective. If you have one that works. On more than one occasion I have caught myself waiting outside the shower for it to “warm up.” Maybe I'm thinking global warming will kick in some morning? But I have to laugh about it. It's become a bit of a game to see if I can take a shower without really getting wet and it definitely wakes me!
3.Six year olds with gel in their hair – I'm not kidding. All the boys where their hair with gel in it. It's pretty cute. Ticos really pride themselves on their appearance and shower regularly (though not a night... that's how you get sick). Unlike some countries where taking public transportation in midday heat might require a clothes pin to the nose, everyone here smells good. But as a result, they call you a dirty gringa if you don't at least wet your hair everyday. So cold!
Three things that made me look twice:
1.pick up truck full of eggs – Waiting for the bus and a pick up truck pulls up to the stop sign, slows down and proceeds to take a right. The entire back of the truck was full of eggs. Not individual prepackaged dozens, not cartons or boxes full of eggs but layer upon layer of eggs separated only by cardboard up to the edge. All I could think was “Wow, he must have a lot of chickens!”
2.classroom wall blowing in the wind – Maybe because the climate is a bit different down here building don't seem to have the same sort of “solidity” they do at home. A tin roof is one thing but when I can see through to the outside between the wall and floor in my room I start to wonder. Also when I'm standing in my classroom and the wind starts to blow and the wall visibly moves 6 or 7 inches back and forth I start thinking maybe I need to move my desk to the other side of the room.
3.kids playing soccer with a ball of tape – Every Friday we have P.E. which consists of everyone going down to the plaza (the field) and playing soccer. Where this soccer ball is the rest of the week is beyond me but that doesn't slow the kids down. During their recess they make due with whatever they can find whether it be a ball of paper wrapped in tape or an empty plastic jug.
4.DVD in a cab – During a recent trip to San Jose I got in a cab to go back to my hostel and the driver had a portable DVD player installed where the rearview mirror should be. I figured he'd probably turn it off once we got going but no, he left it on. Better yet it was playing a DVD of various 80s rock bands live in concert. That's right, we listened to/watched KISS on our way through San Jose.
I could keep going with all these funny little things that have been happening but I need to get back to planning my lessons. Things have been going well at school and I'm getting to know more people. My family thinks it's crazy that I stick around on the weekends because last year's volunteer traveled all over. I do plan on doing some traveling but frankly that's not really why I'm here. I'm here to live and work in this community, to get to know them and maybe find a way to help develop some aspect of the community. Right now I'm thinking about starting an after school art club. And I've yet to paint my blackboard but the reasons behind that are another blog post all together.
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