Sickness

Last week I finally felt the cold hand of reality . . .

That´s right, 12 hours of hugging the toilet and throwing up everything I ever ate in my whole life. My host mother is not the warmest of women. The most she usually says to me is ´Food´s ready´ or some dirivitive of it. But she mustered up all the motherly insticts she could and got me Tico remedies for my stomach and tried to find some foods that I could possibly hold down. The next two days consisted of lots and LOTS of sleeping. I would wake up, eat a tiny bit of food, and then collapse back into bed. I went to the doctor here and they said it was just a case of ´gastrointestinitis´ so I´ve been eating lots of boring foods and drinking lots of water. And don´t be alarmed - I am feeling MUCH better now and have resumed my regular schedule.


One little thing about Costa Rica that I´ve noticed so far is this little quirk in their dialect. Usually when i say the spanish word ´ahora´ it means right now. However, in Costa Rica it means ´later´ or ´in a little bit´ this can get really confusing! Here´s a sample dialougue (real life example translated for your benefit).

Tico: Raul would like to see you
American: When? Ahora ("now")?
Tico: No. Ja (which is the Tico word for "now")

Well that´s my language lesson for the day!
-Kari

Volcano

This weekend we went to La Fortuna and saw the Arenal Volcano. We were very lucky because we got a clear day. Apparently it is very rare to see the top of the volcano and we had a wonderful view!!


We did a short hike to a beautiful waterfall and swam around. The water was really cold. It was amazing to feel the power of the waterfall - it´s quite overwhelming.

The hostel we stayed in was so cute! Very rustic and minimilistic but for $7 a night I´m not complaining! The woman who owned it was the sweetest! She made us breakfast and sent a bag of oranges with us for the hike!




We came home in time to watch the Super Bowl and find out that Costa Rica has just elected their first female President. It is a time of change here! Everyone was very excited about the elections.

That´s all for today!

Life in Atenas

Now that I´ve been here for awhile i´m starting to get into the groove of Costa Rican life.

Everything happens really early here since the sun rises around 5:30 and sets by 6pm. it´s definitely an "early to bed, early to rise" kind of society.

During the week I have Spanish lessons with 4 other volunteers from 8am-10am. Daisy, our teacher, speaks mostly Spanish which sometimes makes learning rules and concepts difficult but it forces us all to work things out and she learns from us while we learn from her. it´s a very interactive class and Daisy is hilarious.

Next we usually all go to the Internet Cafe (CafeTico) before lunch time. this is usually the only time that I can get to a computer during the week.

After that it´s lunch at my house (always rice and beans + meat and usually eggs) and then i´m off to Hogar De Vida (the children´s home)

There is only one other volunteer there with me in the afternoons and it´s my friend Kim who is also staying here for 3 months she works in the "girls house" and i´m in the "boys house" The walk there is 20-30 minutes and uphill! And we usually leave around 12:30 so it´s HOT! When we get there it´s naptime so that´s when the tias (the costa rican workers) get to rest and catch up on housework. So i´ll do some laundry or chat with the tias until the kids wake up.

They have a snack and then go outside and play or watch some TV. I´m usually with Cony one of the few girls in my house. she´s 6 months old and i carry her all around. The age range in my house is newborn - 7. There are 10 children: 3 girls and 7 boys. And those boys are very rowdy. They hardly listen to the tias and they definitely don´t listen to me! So i spend a lot of time trying to prevent acts of violence. The work is definitely not easy! The days can be really exhuasting and most of the kids have been taken out of violent or abusive homes so they don´t understand love and affection. I´m hoping that as I get better at Spanish and spend more time with the kids that things will get better.

After play time we change the kids into their pajamas and have supper, that´s when I leave to walk home and get some supper of my own. Depending on the day this might be the end of my night. I don´t usually get into town until 6pm so the sun has set and lots of places are closed. Sometimes I´ll get together with other volunteers in the program and play cards or walk around, but sometimes we are all just so tired from the day!

The organization that we came through is called "Su Espacio." it´s a community center in downtown Atenas. The other day we all went to the Latin Dance class! I don´t think i´ll ever be able to dance as well as our instructor but it was a really fun time! I´ll definitely do it again.

So, that is a day in the life of me in Atenas, Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio

I just returned from Manuel Antonio beach. it was so beautiful!! We spent the whole weekend there and enjoyed the ocean and the National Park.

I could definitely get used to this life!

An interesting little thing about Atenas this week is that they are hosting the national qualifying championships for volleyball!! (or something like that). So last night there was a big induction ceremony which was really cool . . . except it was at night and the power kept going out!! The whole city was dark for almost an hour. They also had a parade . . . at night. I guess you have to do a lot of things in the dark here since the sun sets by 6pm.

It is always SO hott during the days - I can´t imagine playing intense sand volleyball in this sun.

Today will be my first real day at the children´s home. Hopefully it´s a good one!

Well I can´t say much about these because I only have a couple minutes left at the cafe. there is a friendly rooster, my room, and the view from the plane over the ocean!

Estoy Aqui!

I´m here in Atenas! The town is gorgeous and I can see the mountains wherever I go!

Unfortunately my camera isn´t wanting to work with the computer right now so pictures are pending.

Yesterday was a long day! I woke up at 3am to catch my flight and was in Costa Rica by 2pm. The sun sets very early here so by 6 it was dark and I was feeling ready for bed! I stayed up though and talked to my host family for a couple hours.

This morning after a cold shower I met with the 2 other new volunteers and had an orientation to the program. Tomorrow I get to go to the orphanage bright and early - 6:30am!! I´ll probably be up before than anyway - my window faces the street and it is surprisingly busy and noisy in the morning!!

So I´m just chiling at the internet cafe that is literally next door to my host family! How lucky am I??

If you have skype add me! my name is kari.e.johnson and I would love to chat with some familiar faces!

Pura Vida!
Kari

It's gone so fast. . .

I can't believe that I get on the plane to Costa Rica in 9 hours! Right now it's time for some shut eye so I can be alert and ready to go once I land in San Jose!!

Here it is

People have been asking for a blog so . . . I got started early.

I leave in just over 2 weeks!! The countdown starts now.