Palabras: Writing from Costa Rica: November 2013

Today is Thanksgiving, or in Spanish, “Dia de accion de gracias.” Of course, the holiday is not celebrated here in Costa Rica (though Black Friday or “viernes negro” is). But to commemorate today I thought I’d write a list of some of the things I’m thankful for about where I am (and to distract myself from thinking of where I’m not).

1. Spanish

There are many times when I have not been thankful for the Spanish language and the mountain of mistakes I make while speaking it, but today I am. I am thankful for the beauty of the way people speak it, the nuances of the lifts and falls, which I don’t think I’ll ever quite learn even after I’ve mastered grammar and pronunciation.

I’m thankful for the truths of which this language reminds me. In Spanish you can be nervous, lazy, excited, or afraid, but it’s not uncommon grammatically to have or to be given nerves, laziness, excitement, or fear. One is never hungry or thirsty but has hunger or thirst. This is a good reminder that these conditions—nervous, lazy, hungry, sad—are not things that we are. They are things that we receive and let go of, things that we pick up and put down, things that we carry like so many shopping bags on black Friday.

And I’m thankful for the mysteries of Spanish that English doesn’t understand. For example in Spanish, there is one verb, “esperar,” that is used for three of our English verbs—to wait, to expect, and to hope. In Spanish, ‘I didn’t expect that you would come,’ ‘I hope to become a lawyer,’ and ‘I am waiting for the results’ all use the same verb. I don’t know what the significance of this is, but it seems important, doesn’t it?

2. Food

Though I’m dearly missing stuffing, creamed corn, and pumpkin-flavored anything, I have to say that I know I will crave fresh papaya, pineapple, and ‘cas’ when I return to the U.S. I’m hoping to recreate some of the delicious food I’ve had here when I go home, but these tropical fruits in all their goodness can only be had here—airport customs assures that!

I am thankful to be abundantly well-fed and I’m also thankful for food’s meaning. During orientation the first day in Costa Rica, our program directors encouraged us to try everything we were offered, eat everything on our plate (at least the first few nights), and to never speak badly about the food because here, food equals love. In my families, I’ve found this to be true. My last morning in San Jose, my host mom prepared me a breakfast with all of the works—bread, cheese, natilla, two types of fruit, coffee, and orange juice. And that morning, the directors’ words came back to me. Yes—food equals love.

3. Sun

Though the weather today is chilly, cloudy, and rainy—appropriately Thanksgiving-like—I am so thankful for the norm. Even in the rainy season, the day almost always starts out warm and sunny. No matter how much time I spend outside during the day, I always feel like I’m not taking enough advantage of the fresh air and gorgeous views here. Adjusting to winter weather back home will not be easy!

4. Family

I’m thankful for my host family here. I can’t imagine having a stranger live in my home who struggles to speak my language. Though I’m sure it is uncomfortable for them, I know they make extra effort to make me feel at home here and I am so grateful for the consistent grace they extend to me.

I’m also so thankful to know I have family and friends at home who I can look forward to seeing when I return! God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve.

There are many other things that I could list. But that is a start. I am thankful for God’s faithfulness throughout this semester and I continue to pray to lean on His faithfulness for the last few days.

Due to lack of internet in my house in San Jose, I haven’t been able to update this blog for a while. I’ll try to catch you all up!

This week I began the third phase of the semester and take on my third name. In San Jose I was "Maria," in Nicaragua "Hermana Ana," and here I am just "Hannah."

I am living in a small town called San Pedro de Poas and working with an English teacher in a primary school. The school year here is coming to an end, so I do not spend a lot of time at the school. But I am enjoying the time I’m there! The teacher is very good at involving me in the class, having me write sentences or demonstrate English pronunciation (a word which, ironically, I have a very hard time pronouncing in Spanish). She tells me that she is grateful to have someone with whom she can practice her English. And now that I do not see my English-speaking peers, I’m grateful to be able speak English with her too!

My family here is made up of my parents, two sisters (23 and 20), a brother (17), a dog named Pancha, and a beta fish named Toasty. My siblings are out of the house most of the time, but it’s been great to be around some Costa Ricans my age. I spend most of the time with my host mom, who is very caring. I consider the second half of my internship to be helping her with her work—sewing. She’s been letting me cut fabric for napkins and pillowcases.

The town of San Pedro de Poas is beautiful and very different than the city of San Jose. I’ve got a beautiful view from my host home (picture below), and when I take a deep breath, my lungs fill with air with a noticeably lower pollution percentage. I can hear crickets at night and my house doesn’t have a security system. When I ran errands with my host parents, they stopped to talk with a friend in almost every place and yelled out greetings to cousins and neighbors and acquaintances as we drove by. My tico (Costa Rican) professor told us that this place is “the real Costa Rica” and I believe him; everything here seems “tranquila” and “pura vida.”

What have I been doing for the past month and a half? Here are some highlights:

Weekend at the Quetzal Education and Research Center (QERC): I traveled to the valley of San Gerardo de Dota for a night with three other girls from the program. We stayed at QERC, a research center associated with Oklahoma Nazarene University (I think…). We hiked in primary rainforest and got pretty soaked by an amazing waterfall. I felt like I had found my way into a paradise postcard (pictures are on facebook!). It was a restful weekend and a great break from being in the city. Our whole group felt like it was a little ‘retreat.’

Time with my San Jose host family: The day after I wrote my last post, we celebrated my host sister’s birthday with a special meal and cake with the abuelos. The weekend before I left for our Nicaragua trip, we went to an old ‘haunted’ hospital together. My parents lamented (and I rejoiced) that since there was so much light and it was so crowded, it wasn’t too scary. Nonetheless, it was fun to take pictures and be together!

Two weeks ago we went to a birthday celebration for my host uncle with all of my mom’s family. I loved being ‘part of the family,’ though I don’t do much more than listen and smile. We ate heaping plates of delicious Caribbean food, which my abuela is famous for, and ice cream…and corn on the cob and coffee and cupcakes (food equals love, our program directors tell us!). I listened as my family had a rather tense religious discussion about aspects of Catholicism. At times I so badly wanted to jump in, but I don’t have the Spanish skills and I figured it would be better if I stayed as neutral as possible! We also looked at pictures of my uncle’s trip to Washington D.C. (!) for the marine marathon. It was fun to see the fall leaves I'm missing and hear his commentary on 'my' city.

I miss my San Jose family now--I am so grateful to have lived with them!

with my host mom at the haunted hospital

Last day with San Jose family! Eating caramel corn.

NICARAGUA: Our group traveled to the neighboring country of Nicaragua for a two week study trip. We learned a ton about Nicaragua’s volatile political history and the problems it continues to face. We lived in humble communities for a few nights, getting a taste of the realities that most Latin Americans face. And we experienced Nicaragua’s natural beauty, cruising Lake Nicaragua (though we didn’t see any of its famous freshwater sharks). I could write pages about Nicaragua, but for now, I’ll let some pictures speak for me!