a pleasant day at the McCafé...

Caution: It is with much surprise that I write this, and you may find yourself in a state of shock should to choose to proceed...

Yesterday, I went to McDonald`s. May not seem like a big deal, but stick with me here. Personally, I do not have a close relationship with ¨best friend of the world¨ Ronald. It has probably been a good 12+ years since I have contributed more than about 79 cents to the wealth of this man. I am not a big fan of McDonalds...the hamburgers, the french fries, the ¨chicken¨ nuggets, or the like. I am, however, a huge fan of frozen yogurt, and will make an acception to my ban of the golden arches for one of those tasty treats (hence the previous 79 cent comment).

Okay, so yesterday I was in San José because I am spending a few days in Heredia with Faby and Gaby and Ibo, while Luisa is in Colorado. I am making a short-term attempt at the ¨mommy¨ role - at least the part that involves driving the girls to school, and Tae Kwan Do, etc. (I still lack significant practice in the kitchen to produce pinto for breakfast and the like.)

So I was in San José to drop the girls off at their English classes, then had a few hours to kill while waiting for them to finish. Given my lack of experience driving the roads in downtown San José and the fact that it was raining, I figured my best bet was to find somewhere nearby to sit and read and pass the time. Some place like...well, Starbucks. That would be perfect. Too bad they don´t have that here. Nor Tully´s, nor Seattle`s Best, nor any of those happy little big market cafés that you see on every block in the States (and x3 on every corner in Seattle). But guess what - they have super McDonalds! It´s not really called super McD`s, but might as well be - breakfast, drive-thru, delivery, playground, dining area, AND the adjoining McCafé. So I decided to check it out. The McCafé portion offered a hint of the Starbucks-like atmosphere. Complete with latte, cappuccino, flavored syrups (only about 3 choices though), and fancy, over-priced pastry treats. The employees of the McCafe even have a different, more spruced-up uniform. I ordered a vanilla latte (it´s been some time since I have had one of those...) and after responding that, yes, I would be enjoying my beverage here, the nice young man informed me that he would bring my drink to my table in just a moment. So I rounded the corner to check out the seating area in this ¨café¨ and was pleasantly suprised to find a nice little leather couch waiting for me. And just as promised, in a moment a latte in a mug, served on a saucer, complete with spoon, napkin, little shortbread cookie, and sugar and Splenda packets. How great!

Plus, after I had enjoyed the latte (not bad at all) I went back up to the counter to ask for a glass of water. I was expecting to be sent to the main fast-food counter, or possibly be handled a paper cup and sent to the soda fountain, but no. Once again I was politely informed that the young man would kindly deliver water to the table. And sure enough, there he came with a real glass, full of ice water, and placed on a cocktail napkin. I was really starting to wonder if I was at McDonald´s or the Hilton.

So alas, I must admit that I have now experienced two good things about McDonalds = the ice cream, and the McCafe, where I experienced the best service I have yet to receive in all of Costa Rican food service (not including home-cooking, of course!)

English and Snacks

el 22 de agosto –

Greetings. Just a brief shout-out from the land of tasty treats – Limón, Costa Rica. Things are still going really well – English class has been quite a success thus far, I would say. We have had 6 classes now, with somewhere around 20 students or so each time. And quite eager students who are making progress and seem to be enthusiastic about learning (or just practicing) English, so that makes things more fun. So far we have hit a lot of great basic topics: Greetings, Items in the Classroom, Parts of the Body, Contractions, Basic Verbs, How to talk in the Present Tense, Colors, Numbers, Calendar (Dates, Months, Years, Days of the Week, etc) and Weather. It has been fun to see their progress and watch and listen as they try to apply and use what they are learning. It also has been an interesting look at my own language from a different perspective. The questions they have about how things are pronounced, or words that sounds alike, or rules with verbs and conjugations and stuff like that have made me have to think about English in a different sense. I have had to try and explain the “why” of things that I just know because that’s the way it is, or that is just the way you say it, etc… I feel like I can definitely relate to them though, because I have had similar questions about Spanish as I have been learning it more and more. Anyway, so English class has been a definite highlight so far.
Another highlight of being here in Limón refers back to my original greeting… the “land of tasty treats.” Ah, and what a true statement indeed. Being a “snacker” by nature, I am daily forced to smile as I think about all the delicious options that are in abundance everywhere I turn. The only sad part is that I am always thinking of something else I want to try, or something I want to have again because it was so good, or sometimes I am already thinking of how much I am going to miss all of these things when I am not living here anymore. All of this makes me want to get one of everything – right now, today! Ha. Okay, so maybe it is not that bad, but really, this place is like a dream come true for me. A couple of reasons why: 1) Everything is available in single-serving packages (and unlike our “super jumbo Mini” bags and portions in the US, these ones actually are feasible as a SNACK for one person in one sitting. 2) The fruit. I know I have talked a lot before about all the new and delicious fruits they have here, but the other part that is great is how readily available they are. In walking around “downtown” Limón there are people on every block it seems selling little bags of mango or other fruits – all washed, sliced and ready to go, with salt, lime, and vinegar on hand so you can season to your liking. So I am walking…thinking, hmm, some mango sounds good, so I turn the corner and there is a woman sitting with a little bag of slices of mango, just waiting for me to douse them in lime juice and sprinkle with salt….lovely. 3) I think I told you before about all the tasty tortilla and corn chips, and the plantain chips, not to mention all the cookies and cracker things – all of which are once again available in nice little single serving packages. And the great part is that they have little “corner stores” everywhere here – downtown, in the neighborhoods, literally everywhere. So no matter where you are, there is a “pulperia” nearby where you can pop in, pick up a snack and be on your merry little way. (As a side note, the other great thing about the “pulperias” is that along with the snacks they have a little bit of just about everything – first aid stuff, beauty items, paper products, cleaning supplied, plus all the essential food items. It’s really like a supermarket shrunk into one teeny tiny storefront. So whatever you need…baking emergency, dinner supplies, something to satisfy the chocolate craving…all you have to do is walk around the corner to the local pulperia. When I am running in the morning I often pass kids and adults, still in their pj’s, headed to the pulperia to pick up fresh bread or milk or whatever it is they may need. No getting in your car, or taking a bus or taxi to the grocery store is required. You could feed your whole family and never once leave your neighborhood!) 4) Okay, so the last comment about the tasty treats here is that they are all so cheap! A little bag of chips or plantain chips or package of cookies ranges from about 10 – 40 cents. Seriously, how great is that?!

thoughts from a ´sociologist´...

When I was in college I didn’t know what I wanted to “be when I grew up,” and to be honest, I still don’t know, but somewhere mid-sophomore year it became necessary that I at least needed to choose a major. So what did I do? I picked up the good old course catalog and started reading through some class descriptions. I figured that if I was going to be dedicating myself to one area for a couple of years, it should at least be interesting. After determining that its classes sounded the most intriguing, I declared myself a Sociology major. Since that point I have said that, unlike a nurse or teacher, I don’t know if I will ever specifically use my studies to do any sort of “sociological work”, but since it is a pretty general, multi-use subject I should be alright. Anyway, the point of this little bit of history is that now, for what may be the first time, I am realizing that I do have a bit of a sociological mind and I am interested in such areas of thought. I have always loved to travel; to see different parts of my own country as well as the world. But a huge reason why I am here, living in Costa Rica, is because I had a desire to be among a Spanish-speaking population, not just as a temporary tourist, but as a “resident” of sorts. I wanted to be able to see what day-to-day life is like outside of the American mold. As I have been here and experienced the Costa Rican way of life, I have come to realize that the things I notice about the country, the culture, the people, the society…these are sociological things. In an effort to conclude this rambling and get to the evidence let me just say that this is kind of exciting for me. I feel, in some small part, that I am using my area of study not just as a means of describing how I got my degree, but actually applying the principles and ideas I learned.
So now I just want to make a few comments about two major institutions in society and how I have seen them in a new and different light since being here. In Costa Rica it has been blatantly obvious to me that the family is the most important institution for social, financial, and material support. The majority of families are large – including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. – and they live in close proximity to each other, if not in the same home. It is not uncommon to find siblings and their families living in neighboring houses on the same property as their parents, for example. In sharp contrast to the US, children don’t usually move out until they get married – from sharing a roof with mom and dad to sharing with their new spouse. Many people make comments to me about how much I must miss my parents, and them me, and they find it quite surprising to realize that I have been living away from my parents home since I graduated college, and now even live states away from them. And it’s not because we don’t love each other or miss each other, but me being here in Costa Rica just means a longer plane ride and more expensive phone calls. The families here tend to live near each other, it makes for easy and frequent gatherings. Birthdays, holidays, and even just Sunday dinner or afternoon coffee are regular occasions to bring the troops together. It is cool to see how tight-knit the families are, and how much they support and take care of each other. Coming from a very small family myself, I love that they all have so many cousins and aunts and uncles nearby that they can hang out with, or just “run into” when out and about. In most of my experience in the US, I would definitely say that we don’t have nearly the same tradition and practice when it comes to our families and where we live in relation to each other and how often we see each other. However, I know that it is part of our society and culture to make up for the lack of proximity of blood relatives with close friends. So although we may not have all our family members at our birthday dinner or Thanksgiving dinner, the friends and family friends who are there can easily be attributed the same level of closeness. I don’t think that it can be said that one way is right or wrong or better or worse, they are just different.
Another major difference that I have noticed since being here in Costa Rica is the role of the church in society. Now there may definitely be parts of the US where the attitude toward church is more similar to what I have experienced here, but in my own life I haven’t witnessed first-hand anything quite like this. In the San José area there is a strong dominance of Catholicism. The center of every community and neighborhood is its Catholic church. Since they don’t have many street names or house numbers in this country, many directions are given by stating the destination’s location in relation to the church. The large part of the population attends mass at least one time a week, and most of the kids have been through either the Catholic baptism, communion, and/or confirmation classes and ceremonies. Plus, there seems to be an overall recognition of the presence and will of God. Many people end their thoughts about plans or future events with “Si Dios quiere,” which means “if God wants.” In the same way, in responding to a question about how they are doing or how something went, the answer is often completed with “Gracias a Dios” or “thanks to God.” Here in Limón, with the large Caribbean and Negro population, I have only seen the one central Catholic church, while there are at least 4 Baptist Churches, plus Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Assembly of God, Mormon, among others. Regardless of which church you attend, it is obvious to me that church is a very important part of life. Most of my experience has been with the Baptist churches and I have seen that strong tradition of the family also continues on into the church. A lot of the people have been born, raised, and are still attending the same church. And doing so along side their parents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces & nephews, etc. They not only attend on Sundays, but there are also many activities thoughout the week – prayer meetings, Bible studies, etc. Even the youth are very committed – dedicating their Saturday nights to the youth group meetings. In my experience with youth group activities at churches in the US, there are on weeknights and often conflict with other school or sports activities, and asking kids to attend a church activity on a Saturday night is fairly uncommon. Here, however, it seems like it is a priority. Now, I must add that it could also be in large part due to the fact that there are not a lot of other options – no mall, no movie theatres, etc. But I think that the priority of church it is just a mindset that they are raised with
The last of my thoughts in this matter relates to education. First of all, every school that I have seen or heard of here requires their students to wear a uniform. Pre-school, kindergarten, elementary, high school, they all have uniforms – private and public alike. Personally, I am a fan of the school uniform thing for several reasons: parents save a ton of money on school clothes, it puts all the kids on an equal playing field, it spares the “popularity by dress” issue, helps encourage a professional attitude and environment, and serves as an easy way to identify unwanted “visitors”. Second, the schedule of attendance varies on a daily basis. Some days they may attend from 7am until 12pm, some days from 1pm until 5pm, sometimes from 10am until 2pm or 7am until 4pm, and many have short or half days every Friday. I still haven’t quite figured it out how the whole scheduling thing works, but I do know that it seems like kids are coming and going at all hours of the day from the high school by my house. Thirdly, most students are taught English from a very young age. There are several schools that offer bilingual education – teaching half of the day in Spanish and half in English, but many have at least have one class of English a day, starting in elementary school. I think this is such a better way of teaching foreign languages than our American habit of starting when kids are in high school. When they are young they are still excited to learn and pick up on things so quickly that it seems to be such an advantage. Plus, when kids are in high school they can start learning a 3rd language. Here the high schools are 5 years and consist of 7th – 11th grade. They graduate after 11th grade and have to pass a test before they can receive their diploma. For many kids the next step is the university, but it is not the same kind of big “leap” in life that it is for a lot of students in the U.S. As I said before, most kids live at home until they get married, so going to university means that they choose one of the local options to attend, while still living at home. Very few kids live in on-campus apartments or other housing, usually only those who are from more remote areas where they don’t have a local university. So the whole social and life transition that many American students face as they leave their homes and comfortable high school lives to make their way on their own in college, is really not a step in the process here.
In all of my time to observe the differences among our two societies, it has given me a chance to see the benefits and downsides of each practice. As I look back on my own experience with all of the above-mentioned topics, I am happy with everything that I have been able to do and how my life has been shaped, and although it may be very different than the experience of a peer here in Costa Rica, I am sure that they look at their own life with the same appreciation and satisfaction. I am just enjoying the privilege I have to see that there is a different way, that not everyone has the same pattern and steps of life that we do. I think it helps me to aware and appreciative of the life and opportunities that I have had.

on the job...

3 – agosto – 2006

I have been back in Limón for about 5 days now, so I wanted to give you the update on what I am doing and what the next couple months have in store for me (as much as I can predict from this point anyway). First of all, I have been welcomed back to this fine city with some of what feels like the hottest weather that I have experienced here yet. Monday and Tuesday were scorchers indeed! Although, not like the 112 degrees in St. Louis that I saw on the news the other day. Yikes. Since I have been back in town here, life and “work” have definitely picked up a lot. On Monday night I met with Mario Mitchell, who is the “youth pastor” from First Baptist. (I say it like that because he is a full time engineer who volunteers his “free time” to organize, run, plan, and direct the youth ministry.) Mario had not been at camp, but apparently had heard from those who were that I had lots of tlaents that he could take advantage of and put me to work. I was thrilled to be able to oblige and offer my services. The first project is inputting into Excel the responses from a fairly detailed questionnaire the students filled out with their thoughts and comments about camp so that we can analyze the results. Along with that, he gave me several folders full of materials, ideas, message topics, games, etc that are all scratched out on paper and in no order whatsoever. They have a lot of great ideas and materials, but lack the time to organize it all and put in into digital form, so since I have my laptop here and time on my hands – I am well-equipped! I am excited about being able to do some things to physically help their ministry, and organizing and computer work are just my cup of tea too!
Another main focus of mine I think will be working on the camp for next year. I have already gotten started with that, as I spent the time in Heredia researching and visiting potential sites with Luisa. Plus, since the first day of camp this year I have been keeping a list of ideas for ways to improve for next year. Yesterday I had a meeting with the pastors and a couple of leaders who were at the camp to discuss some comments, thoughts, reflections and to share with them the information about the camps I had visited. We are going to have all the kids from each church fill out the questionnaire so that we will have the best overall analysis of what kids liked and didn’t like and what we can do next year. And once again, God is given me things to do that are right up my alley…I have always wanted to be in event-planning, so maybe this is my chance!
The other part of my new “working” life is teaching English. I started informally with 2 girls that are from Getsemani Baptist Church and that I met at the camp. Raquel really doesn’t know any English at all, but Katherin has studied English and taken classes and is pretty good with reading and writing but needs to practice speaking. So we just hung out the other afternoon, walked around, went to the park, ate a little picnic snack and talked in English a lot. Katherin and I can converse while Raquel picks up the main idea or a few words here and there. Plus, they are helping me with some of my questions and problem areas in Spanish, so we are all learning and teaching. In addition to that, both Pastor Denis expressed interest in me having an English class that he and some of their church members could attend. So we are starting with that tomorrow (Friday) night. Pastor Denis and Pastor Armando are going to share with their church that it is available for anyone who is interested, and I will spread the word with the First Baptist folks. I don’t really know how many will come or what their levels will be, but I’ll do my best! Plus, I am hoping that this can be just one more small way that we can bring together people from the different churches, to help break down those barriers a little bit more.
So yeah, I guess that is about it. I am thankful to God for answering my prayers and showing me how I can get involved and help in a more physical, “doing something” sense. I think this is a good start!

the grocery store..

el 25 de julio

One thing that I find quite amusing is to browse the aisles of the supermarkets. Strange, I know, considering that they look pretty similar to what we are used to, but I love to see what kind of different things they have here. Sometimes what I discover is completely new, other times it may be something that I have heard of or tried here, and many times the most interesting items are things that we have in the States, but with a little twist. One prime example of this is tuna. Like me, you may be a bit surprised to find that canned tuna is a bit market item here, but it is. Really big; so much that the tuna section takes up about half of an aisle. There are so many different varieties of tuna that I think you could eat a different one every day for at least a month. You can choose from: tuna in water, tuna in oil, tuna in vinegar, big chunks, flaky small ones, tuna with vegetables, tuna with corn, tuna with jalapeño, tuna with lime, smoked tuna, tuna with bell peppers, tuna in tomato sauce, tuna with oregano, tuna with garlic, the list goes on. I feel like the comment “I don’t like tuna” is no longer valid. The issue is that those who claim they don’t like tuna just haven’t found their flavor yet. Next example: mayonnaise. You can buy it by the jar, as we do, but really the more common packaging here is a thick plastic bag of sorts that is somewhat flat on the bottom and sits nicely on the shelf. Add to that a handy twist-off and squeeze-out top and you are set. Only thing now is to pick your style: mayo, mayo light, mayo with lime, light mayo with lime, mayo mixed with ketchup (a typical salad dressing). Once again, the options are numerous. An additional comment about the whole stand-up plastic bag thing – it’s also a common carrier of salsa, puréed beans (sounds bad but it is really good – kind of like refried beans but a little smoother, without the little chunks of whole bean), and even sour cream. I must admit, the little magic bag can provide quite a clean and easy method of serving. Another thing I love is the cookie/cracker/ aisle. Ah, so many delicious options to choose from. They have many of our local American favorites – soda crackers, vanilla wafers, even the real Oreo and Chips Ahoy – but the best part is the incredible assortment of local Costa Rican-made treats, as well as other Latin American products. I love that they package them in individual serving packs and that they really feel like a light snack – in contrast with a package of Twinkies or Ho-Ho’s. :) Plus they have some amazing tortilla chip options; ones that actually taste like they were made from corn or flour tortillas. And if you pick the ones with lime and salt flavoring it’s even better. Then there are the yucca chips, which are make from the yucca root and are a tasty, healthier version of a traditional potato chip. But I think that my favorite snack of all has to be platanitos – baked plantain (like big bananas) chips – with lime and salt flavoring. Mmm, mmm, mmm. I just can’t seem to get enough of those. I am eating them like they are going out of style (which is comparable to saying the same thing about apples in Washington). Oh well, when you find something you like… As if that has been a problem for me here. Ha!