Pura Vida with the Fam-Jam: An Added Element to the Costa Rican Experience


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Published: February 28th 2010
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On Sunday night my program director Rebecca took me to the airport in San Jose to pick up the fam-jam. She and I sang musicals on the way there and then waited for about forty five minutes before we saw Dad's purposeful stride leading the pack through the airport. It turns out he's the same in every country.

I'd been trying to describe my family to Rebecca as we waited for them, but it's hard to do them justice. I told her that Tom had mentioned that he wanted to practice his Spanish and she thought it would be fun to play with him a little and pretend she didn't speak a word of English. "Hola Tom? Como estas? Es una placer para conocerte. Su hermana me ha dicho muchas buenas cosas de ti. Estas emoniconado por su viaje? Costa Rica es un pais muy bonita......" But it was late at night, Tom looked tired, and so instead she said, "Hola Tom, it's nice to meet you." And then suggested he ride with us while Mom and Dad followed in their rental car. As we traveled back through San Jose, Tom commented on the Palm Trees and the KFC restaurants. "You have KFC here?" "Sure," Rebecca said, "KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's, which do you like better, Quiznos or Subway?"

A few weeks before my host mother and I had arranged for my guests to stay with a friend of the family. Sonia and Kiki have been living in the house I am staying in for 18 years, but before that, Sonia lived in an apartment complex not 300 meters down the street. Sonia's friend Jeannette still lives in the same apartment she lived in when they met, so the two of them go way back. Jeannette's apartment has three bedrooms and she is an excellent cook by all accounts. For $20 a night you can get the full Costa Rican experience. I was so happy Mom and Dad decided to go for it because I felt like they truly got what it's been like for me to live here. Everything's on a smaller scale than we're used to, but it's comfortable. And you can't beat a Saturday morning breakfast of fresh bread and homemade black berry jam, gallo pinto, and fresh tomatoes.

On Sunday morning Jeannette offered to be our tour guide. We went to Cartago to see the Basilica that stands where a little indigenous girl found a black stone in the shape of the virgin mother during the colonial period. According to story, the little girl kept bringing the stone back to her house but the stone would disappear. It always ended up in the same spot in the woods. After consulting her parish priest the two of them decided that Mary must have wanted to be with her people. Not just the privileged and the wealthy but with those who could only find her in woods. And so they let her stay where she longed to be and they built a shrine to her in the grotto where she was found. Today los Costarricenses refer to their patron saint fondly as "la negrita" the little black virgin who looks after them all.

After Jeannette collected some holy water for us from the pipes that carry spring fed water to the shrine that stands behind the Basilica she brought us to Volcan Irazú, the first active volcano any of my family had ever seen. After asking directions more than twenty times (mind you this was with our own personal guide) we made it to the serene Orosi Valley and had a lunch that was so good we all agreed it was worth the wait.

And we weren't done with the good food yet. When we got back to San Jose it was almost time for dinner. Sonia suggested we go to a place called "Nuestra Tierra" (our earth). Sonia, Jeannette, and my roommate Laura all joined us for typical dishes in downtown San Jose accompanied by a lot of laughs.

While I've been relatively sheltered living here, staying in a house with wireless internet access, and attending a private school where most of the Costa Rican students own mac books, it's hard to ignore the poverty that I know is right beyond my reach. There were men walking up and down the streets guarding the cars we parked on the sidewalk that night and it was pretty obvious that the few dollars we gave them as a tip comprised most of their daily earnings. Sonia had our left overs wrapped up in tinfoil and she handed them over to one of these men without a second thought. But when she saw him throw the wrapper onto the ground she didn't hesitate to roll down her window and tell him to pick it up. That's just how she is. She's all about doing the right thing. She doesn't put on any airs. She just does it. Most of us recognize the right thing to do when we see it, the problem is that good examples are often in short supply. And that's why we need people like Sonia.

On Monday morning I took the family on a little walking tour of my barrio. I brought them to Veritas and introduced them to the only Costa Rican friends I have: Don Ro the hotdog man, Jimmy the security guard, and Victor the bus driver. Victor drives the shuttle the university has arranged to take us to and from our night classes. Since I am often the only one from my neighborhood to take advantage of the free salsa dance lessons the university has set up for us, he and I have had some pretty decent Spanish conversations. He often drops me off in the plaza fifteen minutes before class starts and while I spent the first few weeks trying to avoid social awkwardness by playing with my cell phone, that got pretty old because I specifically asked my friends from home not to call while I'm here because the international phone rates are through the roof. One can only pretend to read text messages for so long. And so I've started talking to Don Ro. Don Ro doesn't actually sell hot dogs, he sells empanadas, calzones, and burritos, and all of the kids, Tico or Gringo, love him. He's always got a group of Tico kids laughing and joking around his stand. And he patiently waits as us gringos try to order our snacks. It is because of him that I know that the word for sour cream in Costa Rica is "natilla". He likes to spend his days with us because he says we keep him young. He told me it's very important that you find a job that you love. It makes a difference. Jimmy is the young security guard who gave my friends and I a ride to a salsa bar one night after our dance lessons. He is the only guard who's name I know and I always make a point to say hello to him and ask him how he is every morning. I know he recognizes me too and he's always very pleasant but I had to laugh when the day after I introduced him to my family he stopped and asked me, "now, what is your name again?" If that isn't proof of our basic human need to feel connected to those around us, I don't know what is. Here I am wanting so badly to think of someone I can call my friend that I am introducing my family to people who barely qualify as acquaintances. Never doubt the power of a smile or a wave. You never know how much it means to someone. And that's the truth.

While I wrote a two hour midterm the rest of my family headed to Manuel Antonio the most beautiful beach I have seen here in Costa Rica. They enjoyed their own respective adventures while I stayed in San Jose on Monday and Tuesday but they waited for me to arrive on Wednesday before they did the zip-line canopy tour over the rain forest. The guides on the "Titi" zip-line tour were no less fun than the ones I had in Monte Verde. They, like my whitewater rafting guides, had christened each other with nicknames. "Carlos Cricket", his brother "Miguel", and the leader of our tour "Monkey" made sure we enjoyed ourselves. They told us that "Titi" is the name locals use for the tiny monkeys that make the canopy their playground. "Monkey" spoke English very well and kept us laughing as we zipped from platform to platform saying things like "Ready Freddies?" He kept us all in line by promising us cookies at the end of the tour, and when we climbed back onto our tourism buses, he said "Hasta la vista babies."

The hotel we stayed at was called "Si. Como No?" Which means, "Yes, and why not?" Why not? indeed. The hotel had two beautiful pools, a movie theater that hardly anyone used, beautiful views, and as Tom will tell you, the best chocolate milkshakes you're likely to find. I'm pretty sure he averaged two a day. I asked him at one point if he thought that was excessive. "Are you sure you want another one?" "Si, como no?" You'd be surprised how easily he was able to put that phrase into the right context. Tom adjusted to the "Pura Vida" mentality with out hardly any effort.

And then of course there was Dad. He told anyone who would listen that he had "sangre Latino" (Latin blood). Everywhere he went he spoke Spanish and everyone at "Si, Como No?" knew "Jose" and his family by the time we checked out. The wait staff couldn't have been pleasanter. They made the whole experience so enjoyable.

On Thursday we went into Manuel Antonio national park. When we heard the howler monkeys in the trees Mom picked up a rock. A couple from Colorado pointed them out to us, though, and we realized they are much less intimidating then their sound would suggest. As is the case with a lot of people, some monkeys just make a lot of noise.

The trip was rounded off by a lot of good meals, some memorable moments, and quite a few animal sightings. I don't usually like to speak for anyone but myself but I think I can safely say that we all enjoyed ourselves. Of course there's more, there always is, but I tried to leave a few of the best stories for the protagonists to tell. That's the way it should be, don't you think?





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Tired TomTired Tom
Tired Tom

Earlier that day Tom had told me he wanted to move to Costa Rica, live in the barrio, and drive a moped wherever he went. A few hours late he was telling me he was sick of speaking Spanish.
ClassicClassic
Classic

Can we all just take a moment for the way this picture encompasses all that it means to be sixteen-years-old?
Barrio CordobaBarrio Cordoba
Barrio Cordoba

Where I live!


1st March 2010

Justice ;)
Hi Sweet Girl- you certainly did our vacation justice with your beautiful writing. Reading this latest entry brought the adventures we experienced on our wonderful trip to the forefront. I so appreciate this blog. Pura Vida :)
12th March 2010

interesting!!!!!!!!!!
hmmmmmmmmmmm interesting there is nothing in here about missing me.......hmmmmmmmm hmmmmmmm

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