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