We have a big, wonderful mango tree in our backyard, and I
have watching the mangos grow and noting how long they have until ready to eat.
This is both a sad and exciting activity.
Exciting because eating mangos makes
my heart sing, and being able to walk barefoot into my backyard (while
carefully avoiding the dog poop) and pick my own mango sounds like heaven. On
the other hand, the riper those mangos become, the fewer days I have until
departure. This is sad.
I am super lucky that I have so many wonderful things
awaiting me in the US that I am not dreading leaving Costa Rica, but I am not wishing
the days to go by faster by any means. I have been reading a lot of Thich Nhat
Hanh’s the Miracle of Mindfulness (sent by my wonderful grandparents), and have
been doing well at living one day at a time. That being said, time to cram in
as many adventures as possible into my month and a half left!!!!!
Last week my parents came to Costa Rica for a week and we
hiked through Corcovado National Park (most biodiversity place in the world)
for three days. It was one of the best trips that I have ever been on, both for
the nature and for the wonderful company. Costa Rica showed itself off
shamelessly with the amazing and helpful people we met during the week and with
the amount of once in a lifetime plants and animals that we saw. I am going to
rely on my dad emailing out the official list of what we saw, and I will post
it when I have it as well.
Louis, our guide in Corcovado was just about the happiest
person I have ever met in my life, and he could also see the most impossibly
small and obscure things hidden in a jungle of leaves. After Corcovado we went
to Drake Bay, and did a night insect walk with a brilliant entomologist
couple. We saw a Red eye tree frog,
which is something I have wanted to see since I saw it’s red eyes and smiling face
on the front of Ranger Rick magazine.
Anteater at Corcovado
After Drake we bused to San Ramon and my America family met
my Costa Rica family. Of course they loved each other, and what I thought would
be a short visit for coffee turned into hours and hours of talking, laughing
and storytelling. This was quite exhausting actually because my real mother
Cindy would turn to me and tell me some super long explaining of chemical soil
composition, and then I would turn to my host family and try my best to explain
using fly ash to fertilize farmer’s fields. It was great, and I was so happy to
be able to practice that much Spanish.
We stayed at a hostel on a farm outside of San Ramon, and got
to be really good friends with the owners Viron and Eilyn. Eilyn cooked us
traditional Costa Rican dinner and breakfast, and my dad is dead set on cooking
like a Costa Rican now by eating mainly rice and beans for breakfast, lunch,
and dinner. Once tasted, no one can resist Gallo Pinto.
On Monday I stuck them on a bus, told the bus driver that
the two gringos had to get off at the airport but they didn’t know where it
was, waved goodbye, and then headed to class. Thanks mom and dad for such a
great time!
Last week I went the Costa Rica national soccer game against
Paraguay. I really haven’t felt so part of Costa Rica before as when we were screaming
for what looked like a possible goal, or doing the wave with the whole stadium.
This upcoming week we have another week-long break, and I am
going to Nicaragua with my friend Josie. We really have no plans, reservations,
or ideas, but there is big volcano that needs climbing, and we have a tent.
Sounds like a good week.
Here is a small list of lessons that I have been filing
away, but wanted to write down before I forget.
1. 1) When choosing a place to live make sure you know
if it is illegal for large trucks to use Jake brakes. If they aren’t allowed
to, that’s good, but make sure you research how affective is your local police
force. If Jake breaks are allowed, never buy a house that is on a downward
slope or anywhere near a stop sign. If you do, you will never sleep.
2. 2) If you ever need a conversation starter in a
Latin American country, bring up medicinal medicine. You will through away all
your pills and start eating oregano and ginger, and you will experience some
fierce cultural pride.
3. 3) It is best to just close your eyes and not watch
how the bus driver or taxi driver is navigating traffic.
Also, I shaved my head two weeks ago, sort of on a whim, but also something that I have wanting to do for a long time. Pura Vida!
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