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.