Newsflash: Beware of Landslides

It's been an almost nonstop downpour since Wednesday night.  I was hanging out with my host family when the electricity went out.  We told stories in the dark while Mile (host mom) went to look for flashlights.  I got a phone call that night that were are in stage one of Peace Corps Emergency Action Plan (EAP).  This means stay alert, watch the news, and continue daily plans as usual.  The next morning we were still without electricity and continued to be without for the majority of the day. Classes were canceled. We heard that there were landslides all around the country.  Many of which were blocking roads and had destroyed houses.  

Behind my house lives my cousin, Paula.  There was a landslide in front of her house that covered her driveway and poured onto the street.  The family spent the day shoveling the land off the road.  Later we found out that many people were without water, the phones weren't working in much of the country, and the flooding was getting so bad in some places that the roads had literally turned into muddy and dangerous rivers that wash away anything and everything in its way.  The Cruz Roja (Red Cross) has found 20 people dead and they are still looking for four more.  The rain continues to pour but we hope the worst is over.  The rain should be stopping after today.

Later that day (yesterday) I got news from another trainee in my community that class was canceled for Friday as there is no way for our Spanish teachers to get from San Jose to our communities.  The roads are still blocked.  We are also now in Stage Two of the EAP.  This means that we can't leave our communities and should pack a bag incase we have two move to Stage 3.  Stage 3 is when we would be evacuated from our sites and move to a "consolidation point" with all the volunteers in our region.  Classes have already been canceled for Monday as well so we have quite a bit of free time on our hands.  

Other than the landslides things here have been good.  We our Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV) visit last weekend which basically is a time to visit a volunteer who is already serving and see what his or her life is life.  At one point on the seven hour bus ride the bus began to get really full with people jammed through out the aisle.  A women with an around six month old baby said something to me which I didn't fully understand.  I assumed she wanted my seat to hold her baby.  But as I went to stand up she motioned for me to sit down and instead just handed me her baby.  So here I am in some unknown part of the country carrying some woman's baby.  Oh how I wish I had a picture of that.

I went to the north western part of the country to a place called Guatuso.  It was incredibly hot and humid.  Due to the change in temperature my feet and hands started to swell.  They were so swollen that an older male friend of the girl I stayed with commented on them which was actually pretty embarrassing.  Also, her apartment didn't have any windows and therefor no natural sunlight or breeze.  By the end of the four days, I was ready to get back to my training site (to say the least).  To add insult to injury, the bus I took from San Jose to my house broke down.  So we had to wait for an hour for another bus to come and pick us up.  It was quite the adventure.

A funny cultural difference here: when you're walking down the street people say "Adios" as they pass someone.  It's funny to say bye to greet someone but I've grown accustomed to it. 

All and all I have no complaints.  I have a great family to live with, good food, internet, and hot water.  It's also been great to have four other volunteers living in my training community.  Dinner's ready so I need to wrap this up for now.  Pura Vida.    

Sooo last night I went to a family bingo game/party. There were only maybe 50 family members there, all yelling at each other, cooking tons of food, the boys were break dancing and the two little girls choreographed a dance that they performed. I have videos of both that I'm going to put up on Facebook. When I won and yelled BINGO the whoooole room erupted into a cheer. I threw my hands up in victory and went to retrieve my prize (a really tacky valentines day mug with stale candy). The cool thing about this gathering is that it was to raise money for the grandparents. Everyone had to pay a couple dollars for the bingo card and for food. I think they make about $65.


A funny thing that happened last night: My host mom, Mile (short for Milena), always talks about her mom and I never heard anything about her dad. Even when we got to the moms house and Mile introduced me to all 500 family members I only met her mom but never saw her dad. So naturally, I assumed he was dead. Later on last night after a round of bingo, I was talking with Paula, you have to say it PAH-OO-LA, about the family. And I'm like soo, how did Mile's dad die? And she like what? And I'm like yeah...how did he die? She's like, Nicole, He's not dead!!!! So we bust out laughing and I explain to them why I thought he was dead. Just then Mile's dad walks into the room, coming home from work. Luckily they didn't tell him my mistake.


One of the biggest problems they face here is teen pregnancy. 50% of the births are from women under the age of 18. Now that's crazy. You see a lot of young women (and men) who drop out of high school. By law, they only have to go to school until they are 14. Maybe of these women are single mothers. They don't teach sexual education in the schools. Why not? There is no separation of Church and State, the country is officially a Catholic country. So the Church (and the parents and supporters) will not allow them to teach about contraceptives, STD, or the risks of pregnancy. It seems like contraceptives are not socially acceptable.


While many of the Costa Rican population is aware of the environmental challenges they face, it has been hard to turn this knowledge into action. This is especially true when it comes to the problem of trash. People litter all the time. And even if they don't litter they have run out of places to put the trash. People either bury it or burn it. The country has not invested in trash management and in some placed the trash only comes once and month, if it comes at all.


Another big problem is deforestation. A lot of the forests have been destroyed and turned into a fields for crops to grow. Deforestation is not only a problem because it ruins that habitat in which many animals and plants live but it also pollutes the water. The wetlands are turned into banana plantations and all the the chemicals that are sprayed on the bananas to make them perfectly yellow with no bruises runs down into the watersheds. We, gringos, won't buy the bananas if they have any discoloration on them. The one thing they have going for them is that 24% of Costa Rica is declared protected land. This number is increasing as owners of private property are declaring their land as a protected area as well.


Recycling does happen in some places but often the lack of infrastructure gets in the way. While they might recycle in some places, the cost of gathering the recycled goods and getting them to the recycling center makes the recycling pointless.


Lastly, maybe your sitting here wondering really, what is the Peace Corps anyways. Well, since you asked...


It's government funded program that offers professional services to countries that ask for it. While many programs offer money or goods to other countries, Peace Corps offers people. The goal is to empower people to make their own lives better. In my work here I'm going to be assisting English teachers in the public school system. Why not teach? We want to make a sustainable change in country. By helping the teachers learn and teach English better they can keep on teaching after the two years of service are over. Furthermore, they can teach other teachers what they have learned. Each program in PC is structured in this way. So that whatever program that is started by a volunteer can continue after the volunteer leaves.


That's all I have for now. I miss my family and friends.

PC Training: Week One

My chair started rocking, tipping from side to side and front to back. On the table, the silverware started chattering. “Do you feel that?” says Derek, a previous PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). With a look of wonder in my eyes, I shake my head yes and say, “What is it”? As he says, “It’s an earthquake,” I grab other volunteers arm in awe and feel the earth shake below me.


Although it only lasted 10 seconds, those few moments were a powerful sign of the adventure that has only just begun.


Orientation at the beautiful retreat center, which felt more like summer camp than PC, has sweetly come to an end. After a week of getting to know the staff and the other volunteers and preparing for training, I am ready to get away from the security of our fellow gringo friends (and hot showers) and enter my community where I will be living for the next 10 weeks.


I’m living with a Melina and Rafael Hernandez Castro AKA Meli and Rafa. They have two kids, Margaret, 13 and Brandon, 8. My new nickname is Niki! They have a nice (bigger than most) house that they have been building for years. My room is upstairs away from everything else so I have a lot of privacy. Although they don’t have hot water, they do have internet which is a huge plus since the community doesn’t have an internet café.


We live in the mountains filled with vegetation, animals of all kinds, and lots of rivers. Today I went exploring with some locals here and not only saw a beautiful waterfall but also tried probably 10 new kinds of fruits, saw a huge lizard, two frogs, a very scary insect and all kinds of birds. The biodiversity is phenomenal.


The biggest transition is my schedule. It gets dark around 5:30 this time of year so I go to bed around 9:00 p.m. We have breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and have to be on the bus at 7:00 a.m. I love it here! Tomorrow we start the first day of training.

Llegamos!

Some interesting tidbits about our trip so far:

1. There are people here from 23 states including an Alaskan couple who are super bad ass

2. Our average age is 26

3. They weren't kidding when they said it was going to be rainy season

4. Costa Rican's are called Tico's and they dress up all the time (guys NEVER where sandals)

5.   Our first flight had to be aborted because a window came open.  The pilot assured us everything was okay but then profusely apologized and told us in 23 years of flying nothing like this had ever happened to him.

6. Before Christmas Costa Ricans have a tradition of slaughtering a pig and I hear it's a pretty big deal.

7.  The girl from Alaska worked at an immersion school before coming here where half of the subjects were taught in Spanish.  It turns out there are A LOT of Latinos is Alaska.  Who would have thought?  They also have German, Chinese, French, etc immersion schools.  Pretty awesome.  Might consider something like that if I like teaching.

8. The wildlife here incredible.

9. I went for a run this morning and 3 dogs (two of which were white adorable puppies) followed me along the way.  

10. I found out there is a program where you can road bike across the US and work for habitat for humanity along the way.  Definitely going to look into that for after PC.

Below you can check out the retreat area where all 43 trainees are staying right now.  We will be here until Saturday when we will split into groups and go into different communities based on our language levels. 

5 Days and STRESSED OUT

Marsha Brown called from Peace Corps Travel Office today letting me know the password agency has SUSPENDED MY APPLICATION because the image of my photos were too small and she didn't have time to review them before the were sent.  When I set the photos I called her to make sure everything was okay with them and I was assured they would be reviewed and if they needed new photos they would call me.


She said that if it doesn't get worked out before I leave on Tuesday that I can use my personal passport to travel with.  THE PROBLEM IS...I can't find my passport.  It's stressing me out.  We will see what happens.


I still have a LOT to do before I leave but tonight I'm having family dinner with friends.  I made TWO loaves of chocolate banana bread and TWO apple pies for dessert.  Mmmm the house smells like Thanksgiving.


Either way..I'm soo excited about leaving.  I can't wait. 

20 days and counting

i leave for costa rica in twenty days. twenty.  that's outrageous.


i'm feeling
excited.happy.nervous.unprepared.
ready.shocked.numb.emotional
crazy.unstable.confident.peace.slightly sad


today i went to d.c. for my last doctors appointment before i leave.  i walk into the huge building filled with 100's of offices.  I find room 202, knock on the door, and walk into a small three room office.  From another room, a young girl, the only person in the office, yells from the other room that she will be right with me and that i should fill out the paperwork on the counter, front and back.  i do so and take a seat.  another man, dressed in a business suit, knocks on the door and walks in.  they have the same encounter as we did.  when i'm called into her office we discover a problem when informs me they only take payment up front and absolutely do not accept insurance.  i spend 30 minutes on the phone arguing with peace corps and her supervisor.  eventually, they got it worked out and i was able go through with the appointment.


It now occurs to me that this seemingly easy task of going to passport health to get my immunization shots quickly became complicated.  im sure this is only a glimpse of the frustrations i will face in costa rica.  complicated miscommunications will probably be a regular occurrence.   

...you can't always get what you want....

i went more than three months without a job.  i applied to 4-5 jobs that i thought i had in the bag, migrant student advocate, bilingual medical assistant, legal assistant, and youth mentor. but what i've learned is you just never know.  you have to lie lie lie and tell them what they want to hear.  you would think this would be easy for a person who is such a people pleaser.  i do it all the time for my friends and family.  it hasn't always worked out so well.  i thought honesty was the best policy.  when it comes finding a job its the worst policy.

after being turned down so many times, my ego was feeling quite small, i started to wonder what i was doing wrong. or if i was only just a pretty face to look at and there was nothing underneath.  i decided to go back to food service and applied at local restaurants. i landed a second inverview at callys downtown and was hired on the spot.  it took them about 2 weeks to get me on the schedule and i thought i was going to get screwed by them too, but i finally started.  hostess with the mostest...here i come.  smiling, greeting, seating, i did this when i was 15.  awesome.  it feels like im moving backwards.  last year i was the beer girl at lakeview golf course.  at least i can give you a big pretty smile...that's about all you need for the jobs i was getting.  or so it felt.

i guess i started applying to the peace corps sometime in may.  really it was on a whim.  i got nominated for a program in june 2010 which basically means you start a grueling medical background check, legal check, etc. that takes months to get through.  although i didn't like the thought of leaving  for two whole years my first real boyfriend that im in love with and who i might or might not ever get back with...i managed to get through all the doctors appointments and tedious paperwork and was medically cleared in late July 2010.  i needed something to keep me going.

I've been told by maaaany people from maaanny places it is impossible to get into the peace corps right now.  too many people are applying and they are nominating double the amount of people that they can accept.  miraculously, on august 19th I found out I was being invited to serve with the peace corps for two years in costa rica!!! there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.  it gets hard to see that light but it is there. 

you can't always get what you want...but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.

its ironic that i was waaay qualified and had serious connections with little competition for many of the jobs i applied for during my unemployment stint but  ended up being accepted into the peace corps.  


this is the blast off into my rebirth.  out of my life in harrisonburg and into my life as i had dreamt it in college...spending extended amounts of time in another country.


-nicole