Dear readers, I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. My world moves at the speed of light and changes constantly. I’ve seen great dances and musical acts, danced with teachers and students, observed robots come to life, played around with kids, watched works of arts be created, enjoyed the beauty of Costa Rica, and much more. Here are some stories to catch your attention, make you ponder culture and warm your hearts.
Today I explored a hidden waterfall and natural hot springs with a tour group. There were ten of us total including the guide and even though we were strangers at first, we became a little group throughout the morning and exchanged emails to share pictures once we returned to the hostel.
At the waterfall, there were several pools to swim in and a rope to jump off from. I didn’t work up to jumping off the rope, but I did swim under the waterfall, which was very exciting.
Next up was relaxing in the natural hot springs. My favorite one was next to the river so you could feel warm and toasty in the hot bath and then jump into the cool, refreshing river. To get to these gems, there were two short 15 minute hikes. It was the perfect way to spend my last full day in Boquete.
Tuesday marked the beginning of my first ever visa run. On a recommendation from a colleague, I decided to journey to the mountain town of Boquete, Panama for some cool air, quiet, and time to write. My journey was much easier than I anticipated. I met the direct bus from San José at the bus stop across from the hospital in Quepos. The bus driver was very kind and helped me place my big backpack under the bus while I boarded. Soon after, the bus stopped for a 30 minute break in Uvita. Then, it was direct until the border at Paso Canoas. Several people left the bus on the way. By the time we reached the boarder at 6pm, it was only myself and a Panamanian boy continuing on to David. Or, as our bus driver explained to the customs control, “Solo tengo una gringa y un panameno.” I have to give much of the credit to the smoothness of my trip to the bus driver and Jorge, the Panamanian.
On the Costa Rica side of the boarder, I paid an exit tax to a redhead girl from Costa Rica whose name was also Lily (what are the chances!) She walked me through dropping off my customs form and showed me where to go to enter into Panama. I should mention that it was dark and raining. When Lily showed up with an umbrella I thought maybe she would walk the 300 meters with me. Alas, she pointed to the building with the red lights, made sure I saw it, and then said, “Corre” (run).
A little wet, I arrived to the Panamanian boarder where my bus driver, Alejandro, was waiting. He stood near me in line and made sure all my documents were in order. At this point, I met Jorge and learned he lives in Boquete and helps his family run a bed and breakfast. Then, Alejandro and Jorge listened closely as the women at the counter and another male official who stood behind her reviewed my documents. First, they looked at my passport. The women remarked that I was much thinner than in my picture and the man gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up. Then, she asked to see my return ticket leaving Panama, a return ticket to the United States, and a U.S. credit card. Next, she questioned me where I was traveling to and for how long. Satisfied that I’m a tourist, she stamped my passport and I was on my way. Alejandro helped me back to the bus and brought over an official who would review my and Jorge’s luggage. Because there were only two of us, it was raining, and dark, the official told us to just take our bags back onto the bus and off we went.
On the way to David, Jorge talked about how he left his tica girlfriend in San Jose and missed her terribly. They have been together for 4 years, but separation is never easy. He and the bus driver joked that either Jorge would convince her to move to Panama, or Jorge would give in and move to Costa Rica. Jorge and I commiserated about long distance relationships and agreed that when it’s the right person, it’s completely worth it. Once we arrived in David, Jorge helped me board to the bus to Boquete. It was packed full and blaring Latin American music videos, which were very entertaining. We finally arrived in Boquete at 9:30pm.
The hostel I’m staying at, Mamallena is hip, friendly and clean. The dorm is spacious and there are several places to hang out. My only complaint is that the only breakfast offering is pancakes. But, such is the life of a celiac. However, I am always prepared with my own gluten-free breakfast snacks. I spent the morning wandering around this small and relaxed town and began writing while enjoying a tea latte in a local café. Life is good 🙂
September 15th is Independence Day for Mexico and Costa Rica. Maria, a Field Staffer at GVI Quepos, had her family visiting and they were gracious enough to cook us a traditional meal! We ate the special chile rellenos that are only served in September with a nut sauce and delicious sopes. The food was amazing and Maria’s family were very kind to spend their evening with us. We played the game Spoons, talked about exploring Costa Rica and laughed a lot. Thank you so much to Maria and her entire family for making our evening so special!
Children’s Day in Costa Rica meant a day filled with assemblies and games in the local schools. I was working in El Cocal this past Children’s Day on September 9th. The day started with teachers presenting the rights all children have. While I agree all the rights are important, I found it interesting how the right to a family was presented. In this community, there are single moms and absent parents. The teachers began by saying every child has a right to a mother and a father, but then adjusted it to say that other people could fill the role of mother or father and the most important right was having that role filled.
Then, everyone sang the Costa Rican National Anthem and Salute to the Flag. Lastly, there was a reading of the quote for the day as Children’s day fell within the Independence Week Celebrations. Finally, it was time to party! The youngest kids played pin the tail on the donkey, the middle ages had relay races with spoons and water balloons and the eldest had a dance competition.
Throughout all this, music was playing. I was surprised that the music was very cute and appropriate for the younger children while they were playing pin the tail on the rabbit/donkey (which also drifted into pin the tail on the volunteer), but as soon as it was time for the dance competition, the regaton was put on. It made me wonder to what extent society is pushing children into adulthood with the music and culture it imposes on them.
September 15th marked Independence Day for Costa Rica. All month people showed their spirit by wearing red, white and blue and preparing for the day’s events. The week before Independence Day is known as Semana Cívica. This week the teachers in our schools and the volunteers worked tirelessly to decorate the schools, make posters with the important messages for each day, and help the boys and girls make lanterns (feroles) that they parade with the night before Independence Day.
Every day, a new quote by an important Costa Rican hero was read by rotating teachers to discuss themes related to independence. One quote spoke of the importance for Costa Rica to guard and protect what is theirs and not lose it to outsiders who do not share their values. Some teachers made a special point to demonstrate that Manuel Antonio has been lost because the countryside and beach are filled with tourists and expats who are mostly gaining the money from the region, not Costa Ricans. I have to say, they have a point.
I’ve often wondered if something that is so different from a traditional culture can be accepted as part of the contemporary culture. In the case of Manuel Antonio, I think the locals have lost their control over the land. However, many of the hotels employ locals and try to capture the pura vida lifestyle that brought them to Costa Rica in the first place. So, maybe a balance can we reached through natural social evolution.
On September 14th, I went to Damas to watch the kids march with their lighthouses around their community. I even ran into Mr. Eager who you may know from my previous posts. He was happy, smiling and clearly enjoying every moment with his Mom, Dad, baby sister and school friends. He has made so much improvement with his learning cards that he looks like a different child-a happy and eager child who loves to learn and be with people.
Last Weekend the GVI Quepos staff came together for a three-day staff retreat in Uvita. First, we worked through definitions that we use every day such as social change, community development, volunteerism and participation. Then, we presented our own visions for the program, worked through empathy maps for each of the groups we work closely with, made a plan for where we want the program to go in the future, played around with potential schedule ideas, and wrote short, intermediate and long term objectives.
Overall, we became closer as a team and were able to see a unified vision for where we want to go and how we will get there. I look forward to the changes and new phase of our program as we move forward.
Workshops at Damas and Cocal have really taken off! The kids created sheriff badges and took pictures like outlaws, painted beautiful butterflies for the Special Education room, had an awesome pirate themes scavenger hunt, and much more! These workshops really let the kids express themselves and discover new talents.
Some kids are great painters, others builders, some love to practice English, some are excited to try out science experiments. Through this afterschool programming we are trying to provide a space for kids to express themselves and encourage personal growth. So far, so good. I can’t wait to see what our talented volunteers will come up with for next week!
Paquita School had a very exciting workshop. In order to celebrate the opening of their new computer lab, they had two professors from the University of Costa Rica teach a class in robotics and programing for around 20 eager children.
It was fascinating to watch the kids put together their robots, use the computer to make them move, and see a different future with technology. I spoke to one of the professors and asked if he often did workshops like this one.
For him, youth and technology are the future. Therefore, youth must be excited by and taught how to use technology. He makes it his goal to lead workshops like this in any underserved school with a computer. After witnessing the workshop it is very clear that the children were excited by the possibility of returning to the computer lab to learn more about technology.
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wo weeks after Mother’s Day, Damas invited the parents to a special party just for them. There, they were reminded to discipline their children, contribute to the school community, played games, were entertained by dances and karaoke, and served a delicious meal. Because it was a cowboy themed party, Maria taught the teachers and some of the girls a traditional cowboy dance from Mexico. 
The night of the party, Maria and I lead the teachers and children in the dance for the parents. They even jumped into the dancing later on! The parents loved watching the teachers, volunteers, and children take part in the dancing for them to show our appreciation for their hard work of parenting and continually sending their children to school.
Overall, it was a special community event that brought everyone closer and reinforced the importance of a school in creating and sustaining community involvement.