Ciao! Okay, so from the title of this post, you can probably tell I love theatre. So, yes my title may be cheesy, but I like it (Oh yeah, this is Rachel by the way). So, the Aerial Tram. Today we drove for about one hour from our over-priced, over-fancy hotel to a Costa Rican National Park. It was a beautiful park. We boarded a little platform with benches and sat down. Now, the little platform was covered with a water proof roof and attached to a large cable. As soon as we were seated, the guide boarded and the cable began moving us up. We went through the forest slowly. It was kind of like zip lining, but a slow, non-dangling form. I have to say, the sights from the car were amazing, but I prefer whizzing through the air at high speeds on a thin cable. After the ride, which was about one hour long, we had a complimentary Costa Rican meal. They served us chicken in tomato sauce, rice, beans, fruits, salad, and fried plantains. I loved the chicken, rice, and pineapple. Everybody loved the fried plantains, except for me. I did not like them at all.
After lunch, we had three choices before driving back, 1) go on a walk through the forest, 2) go to the butterfly and frog gardens, or 3) go to the Serpenterium (snakes exhibit). I, of course, chose the snakes. I’m deathly afraid of them, I thought it would be cool to see the things I was scared of. On the way, we saw a viper just sitting in a tree digesting its meal. But even freakier than the viper, were the bullet ants. On our walk to the snakes, our guide stopped us to show us some freakily large ants. They were about one inch long, and extremely fat. He told us that these ants were called bullet ants because if you were bit by one, it felt like being shot by a bullet. They terrify me more than snakes. I was plagued by seeing them all through the snake tour. We saw snakes of all kinds. The poisonous ones were the best. My favorite was the extremely common, extremely deadly, Costa Rican Fer De Lance. If this snake bites you, you’ll die within 2 hours, unless you receive immediate medical care. On the snake tour were my dad, brother, and grandma. My mom went on the forest hike. She’ll blog about that soon. Ciao! (Oh, by the way. I know Ciao is Italian, but a Costa Rican said Ciao for goodbye, so that’s why it’s Ciao.)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Hotel Intercontinental San Jose
Rafa - our CCS driver brought us to the San Jose Intercontinental on Saturday morning. What a stark contrast to Ciudad Quesada and our work as volunteers. One of the doormen asked where we were coming from. I told him San Carlos, and he asked if we lived there. I told him no, we were working there for a week, and once again a native Tico said "thank you, for my country". That breaks me up every time. We should be thanking him. Because even if our volunteer placements seemed too short, and even though we may have felt unneeded at times, it's okay. I really think that we volunteers are the ones who benefit the most, from being able to see another culture for just a little bit of time. And hopefully from changing just a little bit - to be more understanding, more patient, more kind. To lose the "it's all about me syndrome".
I have a hard time staying at fancy hotels. What a juxtaposition - paying more for 1 night than monthly apartment rental in San Carlos. What a total waste of money.
I have a hard time staying at fancy hotels. What a juxtaposition - paying more for 1 night than monthly apartment rental in San Carlos. What a total waste of money.
CCS Friday 11/26/2010
Today was crazy. We all woke early for what was to be our last day of work. We were all mostly packed to be able to leave for Arenal after lunch. We were excited and happy, and suddenly tragedy struck. Mom was coming out of the bathroom when she slipped on some water and fell. We all heard a thud and a yell and rushed into the hall to see what happened. I was concerned about her knee, and was making sure that everything could bend and nothing was broken, when I noticed she was bleeding from the head. One of the kids grabbed a towel so we could put pressure on the bleeding. Then Alex ran down to use his Spanish to tell whoever was in the house what happened and that we needed medical help. Rosa (one of our CCS cooks - who speaks only Spanish) came up, took a look and called Margeth. Margeth said to call the ambulance, but unfortunately there is only one ambulance in all of San Carlos and it was 25 minutes away. Margeth lives very close and she came right over to accompany us to the private hospital by taxi. While waiting for Margeth, everyone was pretty freaked out. I kept thinking mom was going to pass out. I could tell the injury was not huge, but whenever the head bleeds it looks worse then it really is. And it was a little scary. Rachel sat in the hall next to the security guard - both of them were very freaked out!
The strong CCS volunteer guys came up to help get mom down the stairs and into the taxi. The hospital was just around the corner thankfully. It looked a little scary from the outside, but was very clean inside. And NO waiting! Margeth was there to translate since the doctor did not speak English. Three stitches and only about 1/2 hour later we were back at CCS with instructions for mom to spray an antiseptic on the area twice a day and take Tylenol for pain. I was a little worried about concussion, but everything really turned out okay - well as okay as it could be when getting hurt in a poverty stricken area of a foreign country. Mom's knee and ankle hurt a bit, and she feels terrible and probably a little scared. I said I wish it had happened to me instead. And I really wish that. I don't want her to be afraid to travel.
Afterwards, we thought about the whole accident. The sink in the tiny bathrom had a small leak, and so the floor was almost always wet. We had all noticed wet footprints that morning, and are kicking ourselves for not wiping them up. When mom slipped, she reached out to grab (ironically) the medical board that was hanging on the wall - you know, the one that they strap injured people onto to get them into an ambulance.... It fell off the wall and hit her on the head, causing a bump and small cut. What a bummer. But, you can't second guess what happens, and it doesn't matter anyway. The key to travel is flexibility. Instead of driving for hours on narrow, 2-lane roads around the mountainous coutryside of Costa Rica, we elected to return to San Jose on Saturday morning. We were able to get some much needed sleep (at least I needed sleep!), and can now do some day trips from here. And Alex was able to see Harry Potter in English at the Escazu MultiPlaza theater on Saturday night - something he wanted to do the first day we landed in Costa Rica. Pura Vida.
The strong CCS volunteer guys came up to help get mom down the stairs and into the taxi. The hospital was just around the corner thankfully. It looked a little scary from the outside, but was very clean inside. And NO waiting! Margeth was there to translate since the doctor did not speak English. Three stitches and only about 1/2 hour later we were back at CCS with instructions for mom to spray an antiseptic on the area twice a day and take Tylenol for pain. I was a little worried about concussion, but everything really turned out okay - well as okay as it could be when getting hurt in a poverty stricken area of a foreign country. Mom's knee and ankle hurt a bit, and she feels terrible and probably a little scared. I said I wish it had happened to me instead. And I really wish that. I don't want her to be afraid to travel.
Afterwards, we thought about the whole accident. The sink in the tiny bathrom had a small leak, and so the floor was almost always wet. We had all noticed wet footprints that morning, and are kicking ourselves for not wiping them up. When mom slipped, she reached out to grab (ironically) the medical board that was hanging on the wall - you know, the one that they strap injured people onto to get them into an ambulance.... It fell off the wall and hit her on the head, causing a bump and small cut. What a bummer. But, you can't second guess what happens, and it doesn't matter anyway. The key to travel is flexibility. Instead of driving for hours on narrow, 2-lane roads around the mountainous coutryside of Costa Rica, we elected to return to San Jose on Saturday morning. We were able to get some much needed sleep (at least I needed sleep!), and can now do some day trips from here. And Alex was able to see Harry Potter in English at the Escazu MultiPlaza theater on Saturday night - something he wanted to do the first day we landed in Costa Rica. Pura Vida.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Cacao Plantation
Today after work, CCS took the whole group on a tour of a cacao plantation. Rachel as thrilled to death. We drove back up toward Arenal - where we zip-lined - into an ecological research park. We needed to hike about 1 mile out to the cacao demonstration. It was a fabulous hike - over the longest hanging bridge in all of Costa Rica. The demonstration was really cool. We were able to see the stages of chocolate production from pod to a hot chocolate drink. It was also interesting to hear that Costa Rica no longer is a large producer of cacao due to a disease that came in and decimated the plantations.
For a more exciting narrative, maybe we should hear from Rachel...
For a more exciting narrative, maybe we should hear from Rachel...
The Monkey from Seattle
Hola amigos! This is Rachel, once again, posting about one of my absolute favorite activities…
THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!!! Yes, that’s right. We went to a chocolate factory on Thursday as the CCS fieldtrip of the week. It was absolutely amazing. Everything was great, except for the fact that there was no Willy Wonka and no Charlie Bucket (Well, unless you count me, because I was just Charlie in a production of Willy Wonka). We started out walking across a beautiful, but extremely long, extension bridge. The bridge took us across a huge stretch of forest, a river, and a creek. Surprisingly, it was the longest extension bridge in all of Costa Rica! A few of the other volunteers were extremely nervous, but everyone else loved it. After we reached the end of the bridge, which came all too soon in my opinion, we took a fifteen minute hike through the forest to get to the Cacao plantation itself. As a group, we emerged from the path surrounded by dense undergrowth and reached a large awning with wooden benches. After taking our seats, the orientation began. The guide talked about the history of Cacao, which I already knew because of a Fair Trade speech I had given, and then asked for two volunteers. I was immediately chosen by the rest of our group, and Curtis, who was a 6-foot tall volunteer, went up too. To my amazement, the guide handed me a Cacao pod. She said, “How do monkey eat the fruit of the cacao tree? They don’t use knives to cut it open. Open the pod like a monkey.” I took the pod and smashed it against a wooden stump. The pod opened perfectly. I was then dubbed the “Monkey” from Seattle, hence the name of the post. The guide then passed the pods around and had everyone take a fruit covered cacao bean. She told us to suck on the bean, but not to swallow it or throw it away. Then she collected the now spit covered beans, while Grevein, the CCS director, passed out more beans. I think I had about twenty altogether. The next step was kind of gross. For the fermenting process, bacteria are needed to help with fermenting. So, she poured our nasty sucked on cacao beans into the tray. Next was the drying rack. Cacao beans are left in the sun so they dry and don’t mold. She took us to the rack and fed us a bean. Most people thought it tasted disgusting, but I enjoyed it. The beans were then roasted and we ate a roasted bean too. These beans tasted more like chocolate, but I preferred the unroasted ones. Next we ground the beans in a mortar and pestle-ish thing. It was authentic to what the ancient people used to grind cacao. Everyone who wanted one got a turn. It was fun. Next, the guide made the “drink of the gods”. Andrew, the so-called strongest of the volunteer group, was called up to finish the grinding with a turn machine. He found it extremely difficult, and had to turn with two hands. It was funny, because the man who makes most of the chocolate then came and was able to turn it easily in one hand. It was hilarious. The tour guide then mixed the powdered beans with water and served it to our group. It was bitter, but good. Next, the spices were added. To my drink, I added everything which included vanilla, nutmeg, black pepper, and chili pepper. It was so spicy my throat felt like it was on fire. But the drink was delicious. Next, the real fun began. The guide mixed up melted dark chocolate and gave everyone a spoonful. Then another spoon full. Grevein kept having them give me more, and I even walked up to the guide a few times. When all the melted stuff was gone, they showed us how they molded it. After pouring the leftover chocolate in molds, they passed out preformed samples. Again, I had tons and Grevein even told them they forgot to give me any a few times. It was awesome. After looking at a cacao tree, we hiked back to the tourist center and bought lots of chocolate. Well, most people did. I only got two bars because other volunteers bought pretty much all of it. Oh well. I do wish I could have had more though. All in all, the tour was absolutely wonderful. I ate so much chocolate that day. It was great. Well, that’s the factory tour. Adios amigos!
THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!!! Yes, that’s right. We went to a chocolate factory on Thursday as the CCS fieldtrip of the week. It was absolutely amazing. Everything was great, except for the fact that there was no Willy Wonka and no Charlie Bucket (Well, unless you count me, because I was just Charlie in a production of Willy Wonka). We started out walking across a beautiful, but extremely long, extension bridge. The bridge took us across a huge stretch of forest, a river, and a creek. Surprisingly, it was the longest extension bridge in all of Costa Rica! A few of the other volunteers were extremely nervous, but everyone else loved it. After we reached the end of the bridge, which came all too soon in my opinion, we took a fifteen minute hike through the forest to get to the Cacao plantation itself. As a group, we emerged from the path surrounded by dense undergrowth and reached a large awning with wooden benches. After taking our seats, the orientation began. The guide talked about the history of Cacao, which I already knew because of a Fair Trade speech I had given, and then asked for two volunteers. I was immediately chosen by the rest of our group, and Curtis, who was a 6-foot tall volunteer, went up too. To my amazement, the guide handed me a Cacao pod. She said, “How do monkey eat the fruit of the cacao tree? They don’t use knives to cut it open. Open the pod like a monkey.” I took the pod and smashed it against a wooden stump. The pod opened perfectly. I was then dubbed the “Monkey” from Seattle, hence the name of the post. The guide then passed the pods around and had everyone take a fruit covered cacao bean. She told us to suck on the bean, but not to swallow it or throw it away. Then she collected the now spit covered beans, while Grevein, the CCS director, passed out more beans. I think I had about twenty altogether. The next step was kind of gross. For the fermenting process, bacteria are needed to help with fermenting. So, she poured our nasty sucked on cacao beans into the tray. Next was the drying rack. Cacao beans are left in the sun so they dry and don’t mold. She took us to the rack and fed us a bean. Most people thought it tasted disgusting, but I enjoyed it. The beans were then roasted and we ate a roasted bean too. These beans tasted more like chocolate, but I preferred the unroasted ones. Next we ground the beans in a mortar and pestle-ish thing. It was authentic to what the ancient people used to grind cacao. Everyone who wanted one got a turn. It was fun. Next, the guide made the “drink of the gods”. Andrew, the so-called strongest of the volunteer group, was called up to finish the grinding with a turn machine. He found it extremely difficult, and had to turn with two hands. It was funny, because the man who makes most of the chocolate then came and was able to turn it easily in one hand. It was hilarious. The tour guide then mixed the powdered beans with water and served it to our group. It was bitter, but good. Next, the spices were added. To my drink, I added everything which included vanilla, nutmeg, black pepper, and chili pepper. It was so spicy my throat felt like it was on fire. But the drink was delicious. Next, the real fun began. The guide mixed up melted dark chocolate and gave everyone a spoonful. Then another spoon full. Grevein kept having them give me more, and I even walked up to the guide a few times. When all the melted stuff was gone, they showed us how they molded it. After pouring the leftover chocolate in molds, they passed out preformed samples. Again, I had tons and Grevein even told them they forgot to give me any a few times. It was awesome. After looking at a cacao tree, we hiked back to the tourist center and bought lots of chocolate. Well, most people did. I only got two bars because other volunteers bought pretty much all of it. Oh well. I do wish I could have had more though. All in all, the tour was absolutely wonderful. I ate so much chocolate that day. It was great. Well, that’s the factory tour. Adios amigos!
CCS Thursday 11/25/2010
Hermanos Siad y Mikael
Hermanos Elian y Noelia
Hermanos Cherry y JhuanToday was a great day. Rachel woke up completely fine, thank goodness. We went to our placement without fellow volunteer Susan - who was sick. We were nervous because Susan is so amazing with the kids. She has been there over a month and she knows exactly what they need. It ended up okay, although we definitely had a hard time controlling them.
When we got there only 3 children were present - Said, Mikael and David. It was really nice- no fighting. Elian and Noalia arrived a bit later. Elian can be a bully and he and Said compete ruthlessly, for toys, attention and even the toliet! Last to arrive were Jhuan and Cherry. All peace and quiet was over. At one point Jhuan bit Said. And by the end of the day, when I had Jhuan in one chair and Elian in another for not sharing blocks, I think they were as happy as we were that this was our last day! Today was our last day because Friday is a school holiday, and the kids won't be at Marlene's.
Early in the day, while we only had three kids there, Marlene said she was going to the store. Marlene brought Chizpica out and left her in the grass. A few minutes later, Rachel went outside to stop Mikael from running his car on the window when she saw a huge cat stalking the bunny. How scary! We brought Chizpica inside and scared away the cat, who ended up coming back. When she returned, Marlene invited Rachel and I into her house and gave us going away gifts. It was so sweet. We both received puzzle boxes and earrings. Marlene cried saying good-bye and of course that made me cry too. She gave me her address. I really wish there was some way we could send her lots of toys for the kids.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Pura Vida
Literally, pure life. Ticos (Costa Ricans) use it for everything. Kind of like no problem. It’s all good. Peace. Happiness. Pura Vida.
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