Wednesday 11/12/08

Today was a somewhat unplanned journey. Earlier during my time here in La Virgen I realized I forgot a book I need to read in order to write my 3rd and upcoming paper. On Wednesdays the English teachers attend training and therefore we do not teach English. I decided today would then be the best time for me to make the journey back to San Jose (although I really did not want to do so). I also thought today would be a good day to make the journey because it was Pamela’s (my host sister in San Jose) 11th birthday. Junior, my co-teacher, advised me to take a different route than the 4 hour route I took to get here. He also told me that although his route required some bus transfers it would get me to San Jose in less than 2 hours cutting my travel time in half. I left the house around 5:30 and headed towards Puerto Viejo. The bus from Puerto Viejo went directly to San Jose and I even managed to get the bus to stop before San Jose and drop me off in Tibas. I arrived “back home” in Tibas (so many different home, host parents, etc) around 8:30 and Mami was surprised and excited to see me. I went to the store to pick up cake ingredients and a small gift of candies and trinkets. I spent the morning baking a cake for Pamela and catching Mami up on my new life in Sarapiqui. When Pamela arrived home from school we threw her an impromptu surprise party. I’ve never seen anyone so happy to see me. She immediately jumped into my arms and gave me the biggest hug ever. It was great because although the cake was a tasty treat, she was happier to see me than the cake. We ate a nice lunch, followed by cake and presents. Mami was extremely thankful because she had told Pamela they would have to wait to celebrate over the weekend when Papi earned a little more money, so although cake and a small present of little candies and trinkets don’t seem like much, today they was extra special as Pamela was expecting nothing. Pamela and David had to head back to school for end of the year exams (as summer break here is less than a month away) around 2 and so we said our goodbyes and I once again turned around and began the journey back to La Virgen. This is one of those situations where I feel extremely torn. I love my new life in La Virgen. At time I miss my family in San Jose. Some days I want to go back and live with Maria in the small shack I called home in Nicaragua. Other days I’m ready to pack up and see everyone I miss so much in the States. Other times I want to head north in Latin America and make my 14th journey to Mexico (have I beat Jamie yet?). Some days I want to be like Che Guevara and ride a motorcycle farther into South America. Everywhere I go and travel only makes me feel more and more torn. Anyways, I arrived “back home” in La Virgen just in time for dinner and was just and anxiously greeted as I was by Mami in San Jose (again, the torn feel sets in). We had a nice dinner together and had a night of amazing conversations. We had a conversation about currency and I showed some American coins and bills and Maria showed me really old colones (currency here) that she had saved when she was a little girl. Somehow we got onto the subject of cars and the boys brought out a few books they had and I of course explained all I knew about cars (which is little, but daily increasing due to certain grease monkey). I also showed the few pictures I have on my computer of cars (Wendy’s bug and Wes’ favorite car in Mexico). Since the computer was out, I began showing pictures from all parts of my life and the family enjoyed the wide variety of pictures I have to show (Oregon, Washington, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and other parts of Costa Rica they have yet to explore). The majority of the family went to bed around 9:30, but Miguel (the oldest) wanted to show me all his pictures. The two of us stayed up late looking at all his pictures and then watching funny videos he had downloaded at the internet café. We stayed up until midnight (way later than my usual 8 or 9 o’clock bedtime), but I knew that investing time in the relationships I am making here is much more important to me than getting a few extra hours of sleep.