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!
Tag Archives: Friends
Staff Retreat Tales
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.
I’ve been working with GVI Quepos for one month! Here is our current group foto.
Costa Rica Beats Greece!
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Costa Rica is still in the game and advancing to the quarter finals! The game against Greece was truly historic because this is the furthest Costa Rica has even come in the World Cup! For this game, every bar in Manuel Antonio and Quepos was packed. People showed their pride by wearing Costa Rica jerseys and painting flags on their cheeks. All around me were locals, expats, and tourists alike cheering for the Costa Rica team. As the players did well we cheered them on. And when they missed a pass and lost a player, we felt their pain. In fact, I believe the entire bar was in shocked silence when Greece made a goal less than 1 minute left of the game, which started overtime and eventually penalty kicks. During the penalty kicks, the stress and anxiety in the room was palpable. With the winning kick, the bar exploded in cheers, hugs for everyone, tears of joy, and even one man giving everyone a hug and saying, “Costa Rica, I love you forever.” I feel so lucky to be in Costa Rica during this memorable World Cup. Be sure to tune in to the World Cup on Saturday for Costa Rica vs. Netherlands! ¡Vamos Ticos!
Memorable Moments
Cheering on Costa Rica with my fellow staff members, cartoon style.
View from the bar, Barba Roja of Manuel Antonio.
Watching the Game from Barba Roja. I was a little bit hidden by a pole, but I had a great view of the screen!
EFR Training
Part of becoming full-time GVI Staff members was completing an Emergency First Responders course. I have to say that I really enjoyed learning the material and I’m very glad that I now have some skills I can put into action should an emergency arise. To complete this course we read a book of material including important definitions, understanding the cycle of care, AB-CABS, and learning secondary care techniques such as Injury and Illness Assessment and First Aid. In case you didn’t know, AB-CABS stands for Assess Scene, Airway Open?, Barriers, Breathing Normally?, Chest Compressions, Airway Open, Breathing for Patient, Serious Bleeding, Spinal Injury and Shock. We also watched a detailed film that included hands on practice. To more fully engage with the material we named our CPR practice mannequin Arthur. By the end of our training, we could successfully increase Arthur’s chances of recovery by administering CPR until help arrived.
This course also taught me the importance of being an informed citizen who can help others with a little training. In a medical emergency, every second counts. If you feel ready for the important challenge of being a Good Samaritan who can make the difference in a patient’s life, consider becoming a certified Emergency First Responder.
Meet the New Field Staff!
I’m joined in my new adventure as Field Staff for GVI Manuel Antonio/Quepos by Maria and Elena. Maria is a GVI alumna from Mexico City. Today, she was so excited for each of Mexico’s goals in the World Cup that she stood on a bench in the house screaming in celebration. ¡Viva México! Elena is a communications audiovisual expert from Spain, but she has been living in Costa Rica for 3 years, so now she is media Tica. As for me, I’m the excited California native who is eager to share my sorority communal living experience as an example of cleanliness. 🙂 Together we make an awesome team! We can’t wait to finish our training this week and join the volunteers in the communities we will be working in this year. ¡Pura Vida!
Manuel Antonio: Good life for Expats and Tourists
When walking around Manuel Antonio, I’m never sure what kind of country I’m in. What I mean is, in predominantly English-speaking countries I expect to see and hear a lot of English, and in predominantly Spanish speaking countries, I expect to see and hear a lot of Spanish. Also, from my previous travels I’ve learned to associate Costa Rica with rich biodiversity, small towns, cheaper prices in restaurants and shops, and very friendly people who mostly speak Spanish. However, Manuel Antonio has a large expat community. This means most of the signs along the road are in English, and many people you meet who own businesses are not Costa Rican at all.
At Emilio’s, I was taken aback that the menu was all in English, and the food offerings were Mediterranean. The waiter did speak in Spanish, and I’ve found that wait staff, bus, and taxi drivers do speak in Spanish. However, from what I’ve seen, there are no local Costa Rican style restaurants in Manuel Antonio, but there are a few in nearby Quepos.Another shock was the price. For a fruit juice and a falafel sandwich, I paid $12, that’s about the same I would pay in Monterey, California for the same meal. At least the fruit juices are authentic!
Last night, a group of us went to a Karaoke night at a local bar nearby our home. The owners were Canadian, most of the people there were Internationals, the songs were largely in English, and there was a giant Janga set up on the patio. Still, the environment was great! Karaoke became a melting pot of cultures and favorite songs and soon the entire room was singing to everything from top Pop Hits, Classic Rock, Country, and songs by Mexican artists (courtesy of of awesome program director and staff member!)
So far, I’ve had less of a Costa Rican experience, and more of a “how expats and tourists live in Costa Rica” experience. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Everybody I’d met brings a little of their culture and their personality to the table, and what’s created is something new. We’ll see how it develops!
Karaoke!
Giant Janga!
When grad students need to relax, we play soccer on the beach…and it’s very serious! The primary spectators of this game were sea lions and sea otters at Point Lobos. A few dolphins even stopped by to check out the action.
Most of our IEM 2014 class, professors and practicum students were able to attend the Region XII NAFSA Conference in San Diego, CA. We attended lectures, met fascinating people and had fun.
We took some time off to take silly pictures at the photo booth.
In 2012, I hosted an International Thanksgiving dinner in Madrid complete with 4 Americans, 2 Scotts, 1 Italian and 8 Spaniards. We feasted on traditional, local and mixed favorites. For example, chorizo stuffing.