First Blog for SCLC Seeds

This is the first blog I created for the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center site, SCLC Seeds: http://sclcseeds.blogspot.com/

50 Days In…

When I arrived in Costa Rica about a month and a half ago, I have to say that my first thought was “What have I done?” I was overwhelmed by the noise and the crowds and the traffic of San Jose, such a change from the tiny farm town I had last been in, and completely exhausted from my trip – and it was only halfway done. I grabbed a taxi from the airport to the bus terminal and wearily tried to force my brain to convert to Spanish as I attempted to convince the bus driver that no, I did not want to pay $100+ to go directly to Sarapiqui. When we got to the terminal I dragged all of my luggage inside and tried desperately to figure out which ticket window was the one I needed. I managed to obtain a ticket for a bus that I desperately hoped was the right one, double- and triple-checking the directions that Kaity, the Volunteer Coordinator, had sent me. I went outside and there was a whole line of buses – and I had no idea which was mine. I knew that my bus wasn’t going to leave for an hour, so I plopped on one of the benches and tried to surreptitiously figure out which one I should get on. As I was sitting there, a woman came up to me and started talking to me in Spanish. At that point my brain wasn’t working in any language and the only thing I could make out was something about how a woman such as myself shouldn’t be traveling alone her. Great. The clock ticked closer to when my bus had to leave and I finally worked up the courage to ask one of the drivers which bus I needed. He pointed me on to his own bus and threw my luggage in the compartment at the bottom. I climbed up and grabbed a window seat and about a half hour later, we headed out. Once we got out of San Jose, something wonderful happened. I started to see the true beauty of Costa Rica as forests, waterfalls, and animal life flickered by my window. Some of the views were absolutely breathtaking, especially the ones off the edges of cliffs that we passed. Those were also breathtaking in a different way, as I tried to focus on the scenery in the distance and not the mere inches between the tires of the bus and the terrifying absence of land.

When I got to Puerto Viejo, Kaity and her friend met me at the stop and informed me that I still had one more leg of public transportation on my trip. They very kindly helped carry my bags onto another bus. Since this one had no compartment underneath, my first contact with the people that I was perhaps going to be teaching was comprised mostly of excuses as I knocked into them with what by then definitely felt like the biggest piece of luggage that anyone has ever traveled with. As I completed the last step of the beginning of my journey I started out the window once again, this time at the community that would be my home for the next six months. It was nothing like how I had pictured the rainforest to be but enchanting in an entirely different way. After one last muddy walk, for it had been drizzling all day, we reached my host family’s house and after quick introductions Kaity and Daniela left and I sank onto my bed, staring around me while processing the events of the day.

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful and I headed out with Joanna, another volunteer who also was living with the same host family, for my first walk to the Center. As we walked we skirted around pipas, a type of coconut, that littered the ground and tried to talk over the blare of trucks and tractor trailers barreling down what we now affectionately call the “Death Highway”. After about 15 minutes, the Center came into sight and I fell in love immediately. It is located back from the road in the cool and shady jungle with a breathtaking view of the river, an outdoor kitchen, gorgeous balcony, and howler monkeys and lizards galore. Everyone I met was super-friendly and welcoming and the stresses and frustrations of my previous day traveling started to melt away.

The first few weeks here I organized all of the ESL supplies and information both in the office and on the network and began creating the syllabus and curriculum for each level of English that we offer here at the Center. I also was here to greet the other ESL teacher and the Scholarship Coordinator when she arrived a few days after me. I had been a little nervous about meeting Leah since I was going to working so closely with her for so long but once we started talking we clicked almost right away. We have now been teaching classes for about three weeks and it’s been a great, if challenging, experience. The levels of the students weren’t quite what we expected and we had to scrap all the lesson plans that we had spent the previous weeks creating, learning a valuable lesson ourselves in the process; there is only so far ahead you can plan if you want to be a truly good and flexible teacher. The Center also experienced a huge increase in students after the first couple days of classes which was a great feeling, knowing that word was really getting out about the Center, but also another challenge to undertake. The students themselves are great and really want to learn. For a lot of them, their livelihood depends on it. Most work full-time jobs and care for their families in addition to making time to attend our night classes here. I can’t even begin to say the respect and admiration I have for them and I use their example to inspire me as a teacher and make sure I provide them with the best education that I can.

The end of the day so far usually finds at least Leah and I fairly exhausted from a day of planning lessons and a night of teaching, as we have not yet been able to get too far ahead in our planning what with enrollment only just recently ending, but we get to nurse our exhaustion in some fairly fantastic ways. Some nights we take off to Selva Verde Lodge next door for a drink or two on their beautiful ledge overlooking the river as we talk about our day and our classes while listening to the sounds of the jungle that surround us and the rushing of the river. Other nights we might meet friends at Portones or Chilamate Jungle to hang out, or stay in and have a Movie Night with whatever movies or shows that someone was able to get their hands on. With working at the Center, classes, talking to my host family, and hanging out with my friends at night my Spanish has started to improve a lot. There always seems to be a mix of native Spanish and native English speakers so everyone is constantly switching languages, asking vocabulary questions, and generally having a good time.

The weekends since I have been here have pretty much all been amazing. Whitewater rafting literally in my own backyard, ziplining, hiking, swimming at some gorgeous local waterfalls, visiting the old cocoa plantations and the unbelievable biological reserve, and to top it off, celebrating my 24th birthday with jumping off a bridge into the Sarapiqui River, a delicious meal and drinks at a restaurant over in La Virgen, and a bonfire, fire twirling, and delicious homemade cake at Chilamate Jungle. At times I have to stop and remind myself to sit back, look around, and appreciate where I am.

However, there have also been miscommunications, language barriers, cultural differences, homesickness, and immeasurable adjustments to be dealt with on a daily basis. Coming from the United States to a third world country that has a different language, culture, and norms has not been easy by any means. Not to mention how intimately I have come to know the insect world – we have even shared the same clothes! Sometimes even simple tasks, such as going to the bank, getting mail, or even taking a shower in the morning can become huge ordeals. Yet I try to look at a lot of these events from the viewpoints of students I have had, or will have, who are immigrants to the United States. I know that having the experience of trying to adjust to a completely alien world far from my loved ones will help me identify with my students, even though my experience is still next to nothing compared to theirs. However, even these daily frustrations pale in comparison next to what I dream to take out of this – a second language, amazing friends, wonderful adventures, and perhaps most importantly another step on my way to becoming a great teacher and having a better understanding of the world and the people in it. Hopefully, I will be able to give something even half as valuable back while I am here.

The Quirks of Living in the Costa Rican Rainforest

Almost a month into my stay here at Costa Rica and I have realized that as someone who lives in the rainforest, there are a lot of quirks that take getting used to. So I began composing a list in my head, after all, what better way to deal with life’s little annoyances or laugh a little harder at the amazing things that happen than to write about it and share them with everyone. So here they are, listed in no particular order, big and small.

1) Bugs (but mostly ANTS)
You can’t escape them. They slowly beat you down until you cannot imagine what it was like to not have to shake your clothes out in the morning before you put them on or to be able to leave any kind of food or drink alone for more than 30 seconds. In the beginning, you shake out your sheets every night and every morning to ensure that there are none in there, but soon you become resigned to mindlessly slapping the more adventurous ones that climb on throughout the night, rolling over afterwards and pulling your sheet up a bit more tightly. You also learn to carefully guard what you eat and that these ants are some kind of super-ants, capable of detecting any hint there might ever have been food at some location. Once, and only once, I brought a drink into my room. I didn’t finish all of it and poured the juice down the drain, carefully rinsing out the sink afterwards and bringing my glass back to the kitchen. Upon my return, I found the sink swarming with ants, despite there being absolutely no evidence discernible to me that there had ever been anything but water in that sink. The mosquitoes are the sneakier version of the armies of ants, their special-ops force or ninja counterparts if you will. You never really see a lot of them around but somehow every day you find about twenty new mosquito bites in various places. As you absentmindedly scratch them, vague thoughts of what your body used to look like when it wasn’t covered in large red dots flit through your mind. One might suggest bug spray, but trust me, the special-ops mosquitoes here just consider it a challenge.



2) Toilet Paper
It’s not that the toilet paper itself here is different, but it’s what is done with it. Here they cannot throw waste in their toilet because the septic systems are so small. All the toilets have covered wastebaskets next to them, so it really isn’t as weird as one might think, but the biggest problem about number two on this list is remembering not to throw the paper in the toilet. It’s kind of a habit that has been ingrained since, well, you were potty-trained, and it is very hard to break.

3) Unpredictable Rain
Alright, yes, I am actually aware of where I am living and I was expecting it, to be sure, but the violence and suddenness of the rain here can be incredible. One minute it can be beautiful clear skies and then the next you are almost deafened by the torrential downpour that just floods out of the sky. You really can’t even call it rain because it really doesn’t fall in distinct droplets – it is more of a watery curtain extending from sky to ground. Yet five minutes later, the sun is out and the birds are chirping once again.



4) What Is This “dry” You Are Speaking About?
Because of the aforementioned rain, nothing ever seems to be totally dry here. Mud is much more common than dirt and clothes can stay on the line inside your sweltering hot room all day and still be slightly damp the next morning. The humidity destroys shoes, frizzes hair, rusts everything, even the tweezers on your shelf, and gives your skin a lovely sheen throughout the day. All of the gringos look like they are on a continuous camping trip while all of the Ticos, in jeans and suits and high heels, run a hand through their perfect hair and point and laugh.

5) Spaghetti…and Rice
Rice is eaten with everything here, and I love it. I have yet to have had a meal that wasn’t delicious, even though you think that the underlying theme of rice and beans might get repetitive. However, spaghetti and rice was where I was forced to draw the line. A few nights ago my host mom made spaghetti for dinner. I grabbed a bowl and heaped some in it then went to sit down. She gave me the strangest look and pointed out that the rice cooker was full. I made a polite, interested noise and nodded, not sure where she was going with this. She asked me why I hadn’t grabbed any, because she knows how much I love it, and when I replied that I, in fact, did not like rice with my spaghetti she gave me a look I have come very well to know here – the “oh, you crazy gringa” look. Then, as the awesome hostess she is, she grabbed a bunch of crackers and a loaf of bread out of the fridge and insisted that I at least it something else with it.

6) The Death Highway
I know that I have talked about this in a previous entry, but there was no way that I was going to make a list of the quirks of life here and not include the two lane road that runs through the middle of the rainforest and the giant tractor trailers that roar through it daily as if they are just another jungle beast here.

7) Noises
There is so much animal life here that I still cannot identify 90% of the noises I hear throughout the day and night. Some of the loudest however, are the howler monkeys. I remember looking at a video online years ago and marveling at the sound they make. There are a bunch that live just outside the office and their howls penetrate to every corner of the building. No matter how many times I hear them, a tiny shiver still runs up my spine and I try to prevent myself from nervously looking around for this huge monster that sounds like he is directly behind me.

Also, for the longest time at night, I kept hearing this weird noise. It sounded like something I thought could perhaps be some sort of extremely odd bird but ruled it out because a) it was definitely coming from inside my room even though I could not find the source for the life of me and b) when I listened closely it was more like a clicking sound…that kept moving. I found out that it was actually the geckos that were living in my room. They are elusive little creatures that live behind the molding on the top of my walls. Who knew that geckos could make noises? The answer to that, of course, is me.



8) Oh, for Chocolate…
Now, I realize that this may not seem too odd, the fact that you can’t get any kind of decent chocolate in the middle of the rainforest. However, we are located not 10 minutes by bus from a giant chocolate factory that not only farms cacao but makes chocolate there as well. Yet not one drop of it is to be found in any stores around here – it is all exported. So I hope you are enjoying it there in the States!

9) No Hot Showers
Yep, no hot water. As it is sweltering hot here you might think that you would never want to take a hot shower anyway. But believe me, the water here is simply not just hot, but freezing cold. The refreshing aspects of a shower here after a long hot day tend to get lost when you are gasping for breath and scrambling to get clean as quickly as you possibly can. But hey, it is certainly keeping with the green aspect of Costa Rica – what better way to conserve water?

10) Pop Culture References
To add the constant surreal feeling of simply being here in the rainforest, you can be standing in an outdoor kitchen with a Tica who is trying to open a bag of coffee to make in the strainer/kettle device that is used here in front of a sink (that only has one knob by the faucet; see quirk #9) and then hear her say “By the power of Grayskull!” as she finally tears it open.



11) The Land Where Karaoke Never Died
There is not necessarily a lot to do out here, but on a Friday night you never have to worry about not being able to satisfy that itch to sing songs from the 80’s offkey in front of a bar full of people to bad music videos. Karaoke is proudly advertised on the signs in front of all the bars here and seems to rival the national pastime. If you happen to be one of the lucky volunteers who lives next to the local bar, you can fall asleep every night to the sounds of romantic Costa Rican ballads, MC Hammer, Celine Dion, and much, much more.

12) Addresses
Remember the death highway I keep talking about? Well, as far as roads go, that’s it. So whenever anyone needs to let someone know where they live, for instance, when filling out forms, they write down something like “100 meters east of the Super Malibu and 250 meters north” or “Diagonal from the Guaria cemetery”. I have even seen “at Minerva’s” or just “in the jungle”. This could perhaps explain why most companies refuse to deliver to Costa Rica at all and the cost of insuring a package to Costa Rica runs about $200. I think it just adds some sport to the process of obtaining mail!

Well, that is my top, er, 12 list of the quirks of life here. At least so far…