La Pura Vida

Guácimo, week 4

In Millenium Internet Cafe with my favorite always smiling girl staffing...accompanied by gente chatting online, listening to music, holding babies, maybe blogging themselves. Played a little music for the first time: used Pandora and when Guster´s Careful came on, though I could barely hear it, I could have cried. Oh music. I´ve been doing research on Argentina and the communities I´ll be in as part of a progress report for SEE the World, a study abroad/service-learning group at Duke. CIA Worldfactbook is amazing. Interesting to read these facts, though at this point hard to make the connection in my head between the stat before me (population:40 million) and the people that it refers to...the people that daily walk to the pulperias, probably eat the renowned steak, and have their own intricate lives. Also sending e-mails to try to pull together a trip to the beaches of Guanacaste this weekend (with 8 other ICADS people and then a random guy from Jamaica). I´ll do the 2 hour bus ride to San Jose tomorrow and then leave with others for Playa To Be Determined (probably Hermosa), which will be another 5 hours. We´ll come back Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to the laughs, ocean, culinary change...

I have enjoyed this week. Community organizing and motivating/educating about piñeras problems in Milano on Sunday afternoon. Stop at a karaoke bar in Pocora Sunday night...attempted to serenade with Don´t Worry Be Happy (though I realized once microphone was in hand that I only really know the chorus, ha oops), My Heart Will Go On, and No Woman No Cry. Final workshop in Limón on Monday-sentimental wrap up. That was an eclectic group-some unceasing talkers, many entrepreneurs with their handmade jewelry, soaps, and painted decorations. Leader´s parting words were along the lines of how problems in this world come from not respecting each other as human beings, and that the work we did learning about negotiation and communication traps etc will help in small ways to combat this. Booked flight to Philadelphia for August-excited to visit Adam! Domestic violence taskforce meeting Tuesday morning, explained below. Afternoon filled with typical campo delights: chickens slaughtered and defeathered, tomatoes in the fridge that are actually eggs from the killed in its prime chickens, bugs that turn into smears on my sheets when I try to flick them off, big bugs that fly into me with a whack (or more accurately--with a ¡Juacatas! or a ¡Chupulun! learned those yesterday when I asked Lisneth if people had ever fallen off the treacherous looking bridge/train tracks that pass over a raging river and that we walk on to enter into Guacimo. Apparently yes, before they put up the fence-drunk bike riders rode off the edge and made those sounds.). Started reading I Know This Much Is True, a captivating 800 plus page novel I found (in English) in Erlinda´s library. I was drawn to it for its printed praise - not only NY Times bestseller and Oprahs pick, but also lots of things about how this book makes you reevaluate everything, etc. So far I´ve found them to be true. This summer I´ve really enjoyed rediscovering novels. Yesterday learned to crochet at Lisneth´s house and at her afternoon class. Working on a butterfly. So awkward at first, and ooh what patience is needed, stretches me. I liked the clarification learning the craft brought: when I first looked at the butterfly Lisneth made, I saw a beautiful but unrecognizable and therefore meshed together in my mind combination of loops and wool. Once I started learning, I looked at her butterfly with new eyes, able to pick out loops I knew. New details became visible.

Whew. This week, like others before, also included:
happy song and sun filled walks to Guacimo
a couple runs to the basura (always stop once I see the trash can. 2 kms. stretch in the soccer field there, take a few minutes to look at the river on the other side of the field, pray, and then head back...)
much rice and beans. new food too: flan, picadillo de papaya

This morning I organized thousands of papers from Erlinda´s shelves. Anti-piñera expansion campaign materials, church and women´s group reflections, prayers, government meeting minutes, phone numbers, photos, collages, also random things like Asian sci fi war fiction... made piles: Foro Emaus, reflections, anti-piñera, publications, no sé. Very revealing to go through someone´s disorganized collection like that. ¡Su vida, en la mesa! I exclaimed upon seeing it all spread out. Made me wonder what my future piles will look like and what I want them to say.

Ok, back to a little research and then maybe some fruit buying and reading in the park before heading back. Until next week! -when I´ll have stories from the new to me province of Guanacaste. :)

posted by Colleen @ 3:47 PM