Wow. Almost 2 months!

In my last post I talked about life in Nicaragua, but I realized I have not really talked about life here in Costa Rica. In fact it was last night, as a fellow student and I were preparing dinner for everyone else at QERC and we needed fresh herbs for our herb bread we were making, that I began to think about some of the differences in lifestyle here in the valley and back in the U.S. This actually began because Shannon, the other QERC student, and I had to go to our neighbor to ask for these fresh herbs because we didn't have any. We were told by the station manager that it is perfectly normal and he does it all the time haha. So we went over there and I had to communicate what we were doing and what we needed in Spanish haha. As I walked back with the herbs, I started to realize how dependent people here in the valley are upon one another. They are very community oriented, but it is also kind of a necessity.

This valley is about a 30 minute drive to the top of the mountain where the main highway is, and then it is another 2 hour drive to the closest "large" shopping area because it is so far up the mountain. You don't just drive into town to go to Walmart or something out here. You have to strategically plan your purchases for your possibly once a week trip out of the valley into "town," and if you need something you normally have to seek the help of one of your neighbors. Some of the people in the valley don't even have vehicles, so they sometimes depend on the assistance of a neighbor just to make their shopping trip into town. It is interesting how much people depend on community interaction here. Not to say that some of this doesn't go on back in the states, but normally if my family needs something we just drive into Walmart. We don't trek around to our neighbors and ask for herbs or whatnot, though this may be more common in a close knit neighborhood.

This has all been part of my transition into life in an isolated albeit beautiful area. Your relationships in an area like this become very important. I have never lived somewhere so isolated, yet at the same time very busy because there are countless tourists here all the time. It is not always the easiest thing being a foreigner in another country. It has definitely given me a newfound respect for immigrants to the U.S. You have the language barrier, which is a huge thing. You have the feeling of isolation, like you don't belong. You go through a period of feeling like you are alone, even if you are with a group of people. You are a "gringo" surrounded by "ticos" and you know nothing of their culture or way of life. It can be a struggle to get through even the most basic things sometimes. Luckily I do have a support group of fellow Americans here with me. And then, for me at least, you have the difference in lifestyles. You have the reputation of your country, which isn't always good, especially in some places of Central America. You also have the reputation of the fellow "gringos," which is what the native Costa Ricans, or "ticos" call us.

While in Nicaragua, I encountered a number of American tourists that I was ashamed to have any connection with. The way that America is portrayed by some people traveling abroad is not always a good one. I have experienced this first hand. Although I know you can't overgeneralize. I also know that most places I go, whether it is for good or for bad, I am judged because I am an American. To many people trying to earn a buck I am a cash cow, and they want nothing more than to rip me off. To other people I am this American who leads a privileged life and knows nothing of the hardships of life in Central America. And to others I am an American who is genuinely interested in life in Central America and someone who is a friend. There are all of these stereotypes and "things" that I encounter while abroad. I don't want to be seen as this rich American who has the money to "travel the world." I just want to be seen as a normal person. Not better or worse than anyone else. Just the same. It is an interesting experience living in another country....

But I also want to make sure it is clear that I love it here. I am having an awesome experience. An eye-opening experience to the world beyond the U.S. It is really good for me. I am just thankful to have this opportunity. I am learning more things everyday....about myself, my country, the people of the great country of Costa Rica. It is great, and I am forever thankful for the support of my family in this endeavor and for my parents' role in making this experience possible for me. It means so much to me and I am more thankful than you will probably ever really know haha. Anyway I am done rambling for the night. Goodnight everyone.

¡Pura Vida!

Life in Nicaragua

Ok. I am sorry that it has been so long since my last post. A lot has happened, so I have a lot to catch up on haha. I will start with my trip to Nicaragua. My trip was an amazing. I can’t say that it was all very pleasant, but it was a good and necessary experience. The trip started in Managua, which is the capital of Nicaragua. Managua was an interesting place. I was able to learn a decent amount about the history and political situation of Nicaragua. It was actually quite interesting. We also had to read about the history and politics of Nicaragua before going. It was great to know some of the political and historical context of the country before visiting its capital. Having that information also helped to explain some of the things I saw while in Managua. After Managua we went to an organic farm that we worked on for about 6 days. While there we worked from 6 in the morning to about 5 in the evening most every day we were there. This began as one of the most difficult experiences of my life haha. No one spoke English. Everything, including my instructions, was in Spanish. Plus they didn’t really understand the concept of having to slow down for me to understand them. I felt so incapable and incompetent. Even the most simple of tasks I wasn’t able to understand because of the language barrier. Plus I hardly knew any “farm” Spanish. Although my jobs were easy, they had to show us how to do most things because of the barrier. My jobs included cleaning out the goat pens, feeding the goats, trimming their hooves, tossing pales of pig manure and water on compost, picking and shelling peas, and shoveling goat manure into a bucket, adding water, and mixing it and churning the mixture with my bare hands to also throw on the compost. It was interesting to say the least haha. 

Also while working on the farm we were staying with a host family. These host families did not speak any English. It was at this point that I hit wall number 2. It turns out that Nicaraguan Spanish and pronunciation is very different from Costa Rican Spanish and pronunciation. It was terribly difficult for me to understand my family. On top of that, the first night with my family was just plain awkward. For supper the first night they took me to an isolated room and served me supper alone. They also left me in the room alone for most of the night. I wasn’t really sure what to do. I also didn’t know anything about Nicaraguan culture and I was trying not to be rude or offend anyone. Once again I just felt so incapable and incompetent. Luckily things improved on both the farm and with my host family. They introduced me to their teenage female cousins, who ended up being the ones to keep me company half the time haha. I was able to really practice speaking and comprehending Spanish with the cousins, and we talked about a whole host of topics including: politics in Nicaragua, ourselves, what it is like in the United States because they were curious, and many other things. One interesting thing that I noticed was that I was still technically eating my suppers alone. I mean the cousins would be there keeping my company while I ate, but I noticed they would each disappear one by one for about 20 or 25 minutes and come back. I assumed they were eating while they were gone. Well on the last day I decided to go ahead and take my dishes back to the kitchen area that was separate from the rest of the house and came upon them in the kitchen eating these small bowls of this porridge type substance. Now I will go ahead and tell you that they cooked these large elaborate meals, by Nicaraguan standards, for me each night that I was there while they ate their small bowls of porridge in the back. I am fairly certain this was probably the reason I ate separate every night because they didn’t want me to feel awkward eating my nice meal while they ate theirs. Needless to say I felt terrible about it. I didn’t want to be treated any differently. I wanted to be treated like any other normal Nicaraguan. But instead people gave up their room so that I could have my own private room, with my own light in it, and also my own oscillating fan. I was really sure how to feel about my whole experience there, but it invoked some pretty powerful feelings. It has also changed what I think about poverty, politics, foreign policy, and a number of other aspects.  It was an intense changing experience. I wish I could discuss in detail every aspect, but I am sure that would get boring to you and my hands would probably fall off haha.

 
Anyway, after we left the farm we went to Granada. This is a very tourist oriented place. I was actually surprised to see so many tourists in Nicaragua. It was a beautiful place, and it was nice to be able to just relax and not have anything to really worry about anything. Anyway, that was my trip in a nutshell. If there is anything specific you would like to know about the trip feel free to ask. It was quite an experience. I know I have said this to a number of people, but if you ever have the chance to go abroad, especially for an extended period of time you should really take it. It is a wonderful experience. 

Have We Forgotten How to Love?

Wow. I don't know if I will ever fully understand the "intricacies" of the human being....To have such disregard for other human beings, other children of God, is an atrocity of astronomical proportions. We need leaders in our world, in our homes, that show how to love instead of how to hate. We need leaders that build up instead of tear down. We wonder why our many of our youth seem to lack a complete, uncorrupted idea of what love truly is, but let us take a look at many of the role models of our youth. What characteristics of love does mainstream media portray? What characteristics of love do our leaders today portray? This is not to say that every role model and every leader represents a corrupted idea of love. There are some great role models and leaders, but the problem arises from where many people look for their role models. The problem comes from what the majority finds attractive and desirable. These negative influence on many people chokes out the good message. It creates a worldly barrier that is sometimes difficult for the positive influences that exist to penetrate. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle. We are in a battle to ensure the continued survival of love, but the great news is that us followers of Christ have the Savior of the world by our side. We are not in battle alone, and Christ is sure to prevail. Love, being the very nature of Christ, is sure to prevail in the end. This means we can stand with a certain amount of encouragement!


I understand and accept that no one is perfect, but we as a society have got to move toward an attitude of love. It truly benefits those who are loved and those who love though I recognize it isn't always easy. In times of weakness it is love that gives us strength. In times of sorrow it is love that brings us joy. In times of hurt it is love that brings us healing. The necessity to love is not for any one person. It is for EVERYONE, myself included. It is during these times that we love, even when it almost seems impossible, that we progress as a society. It is during those times that we, as followers of Christ, make great progress on our journey to be more like Him...Let us be ambassadors of love. 


This does not mean that you become a doormat for people to walk upon. That is not the essence of love. There will be times when you must partake in confrontations with various people, but the important thing is that you approach the situation with love. To continually allow yourself to be beaten down is not love. The Bible says we must love ourselves. This is an important thing that many people with loving hearts will sometimes forget though many people often have the opposite problem. The Bible says we must love our neighbors as ourselves. It does not say we must love ourselves as our neighbors. This tells me that to appropriately love our neighbors, we must have an appropriate love ourselves. I know this sounds a little weird me saying "we need to love ourselves." That very thing, in the worldly sense, is what I am writing against. But I say love in a Christ-like, non-worldly context, as I am sure most everyone probably knows. We are part of His creation, and we are to love His creation in its entirety. I will admit it is sometimes difficult to find this balance because we must not become strictly self-loving in the worldly sense. It is terrible that the concept of love has become so corrupted in many circumstances that I must continually make the distinction between Christ-like love and worldly love. But the important thing to remember is to handle the situations we encounter and the confrontations we may have in our lives with love. We need to handle these with other people in the same way we would want them to be handled with us. We need to give the same love and respect we would want to receive. If we do this we can maintain the that balance.


I understand that this is not directly related to my schoolwork here, but my reflection upon this concept of love has been a part of my experience here in Costa Rica. I am writing not only about my academic experiences while here, but also about my thoughts, ideas, and reflections throughout the semester. 


With that being said, I love you all and I pray that each of us will be an example of love to the world. God Bless.