Dear family and friends,
As you know, I have been studying in Costa Rica as Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar for the last year. This coming Christmas will mark the halfway point in my Masters’ program in Family Violence and Gender Studies at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose. The program has been challenging, partly because of the language barrier but also because of the content. Each and every day brings with it a new lesson on appreciation – for family support, friends, social networks, social services, security, possibilities of self-growth, and of course, technology! It is incredible how technology can transform distance, as it has allowed me to continually share my experiences with you all and keep up on what is happening in your lives as well.
I like to invite your support for a pilot project I have proposed to the women’s prison here in San Jose. It is grounded in that same concept, a simple use of technology to overcome distance, facilitate meaningful communication, and maintain family ties.
When a mother, especially a single mother, is incarcerated, the psychological effects of the separation can be devastating for the entire family. Incarceration is more than geographical separation; it is a multi-dimensional distance, one that is difficult to bear. Studies have shown that family separation tends to affect incarcerated women to a much greater degree than their male counterparts, with the majority of incarcerated mothers expressing extremely high levels of stress over the mental health and educational progress of their children, who are often staying with family members, neighbors, or in the care of the state. This sense of anxiety and isolation is exacerbated by the fact that women in prison in Latin America receive significantly fewer visits from family members than men, due to limited family resources and an overall lack of willingness of male family members (spouses, brothers, fathers) to bring the children for regular visits.
One activity in particular that suffers when a parent is incarcerated is the opportunity for their children to be read to daily. Reading storybooks aloud with children is not only an invaluable bonding activity between parent and child, but plays a fundamental role in their acquisition of language, literacy skills, and overall future academic success. Children with incarcerated parents are a particularly vulnerable and at-risk group, as the emotional effects of the separation tend to negatively affect their personal and social development.
The creative use of technology can help to simultaneously reduce the anxiety of both parent and child during the time of incarceration. The “¡Cuéntame!” Storybook prison project seeks to provide children with incarcerated mothers the opportunity to continue reading “with” their mother, in the form recordings. The project model is simple: make a video or CD recording of the mother reading a storybook and then gift the recording and a copy of the book to each child in the family. The cost is minimal, but the positive emotional and psychological impacts of the project in the lives of the participants are extraordinary.
Testimonies from participants in similar programs in Texas and throughout the United States show that these types of activities have an extremely positive social impact, both inside and outside the prison. Participants affirm that simply hearing the voice of their loved one is extremely therapeutic. In addition to promoting literacy, the recordings enable the children to have access to their mother’s voice anytime they desire, instead of being limited to sporadic prison visits. The recordings often include personal messages before and after the story, providing the mother with a platform to express her love to her children. The long-term goal of the project is to ensure that each child receives a new storybook and recording every three months.
There is an overwhelming need for creative, low-cost mental health services for incarcerated individuals and their families, especially in regions such as Central America. The goal is to eventually extend the service to all prisons in Costa Rica, with possibilities of emulating the project throughout Central America. Our pilot project will provide 15 families (single mothers currently incarcerated in the women’s prison el Buen Pastor with children between the ages of 4 and 8) with recordings, storybooks, and audio equipment as a Christmas gift.
To make this project possible, I need to raise $1,500 dollars before December 15, 2009. Each child will receive a 1) copy of a storybook (written, illustrated, and published here in Costa Rica), 2) a CD or DVD of their mother reading the story, and 3) a small CD player*. Project costs include: transportation to and from prison, transportation for at least three visits to each family’s residence, purchasing of reading materials, blank CD’s, and CD players.
I have a meeting with the prison administration on the 28th of October to officially present this proposal. It will be very powerful to show up for this meeting with pledges for the entire amount!
You can make a pledge several ways:
1. Email: cut and paste the pledge form below into an email and send to
rarick.sarah@gmail.com
2. Facebook: cut and paste the pledge form into a personal message/friend request for Sarah Rarick
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pledge form - !Cuéntame! Prison Project
I, ___________________________________ , pledge $ _______._____ to the !Cuéntame! Pilot Prison Project.
Email: _______________________________________
Phone number: (______) _______ - ___________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please know that all contributions you make will positively impact the possibilities for this pilot program becoming an established program in the Costa Rican prison system. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for being a part of my life!
Sincerely,
Sarah Rarick
Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar
rarick.sarah@gmail.com
www.sarahrarick.blogspot.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
That'll be the day...
Ever since I abandoned my mission to appear more latina (i.e. gave up on trying to have black hair and am back to the blond), people seem to take great joy in addressing me as (or yelling at me from passing cars) - "Macha". I figured it had something to do with being a gringa, but never really bothered to investigate, as there are quite a few comments that I receive in the streets that I am fairly sure I am better off not knowing the meaning of. Last week someone explained to me that Macha means "blond". I originally thought that maybe the word was taken from a similar one: Mancha, which means a spot or a stain, because my hair is quite a few shades of blond at the moment. However, this morning, a fellow meditator Felix corrected my faulty thinking by explaining the historical root of the word. When American films first started being shown in Costa Rica, many of them were action films starring John Wayne. As the character John Wayne is obviously soooooo macho in all of his roles (and happens to have lighter hair), the slang term for blond then became macho, which in it's feminine form would be macha, which would be me. La Macha. I am not quite sure which association is worse - blond like John Wayne or blond like Paris Hilton..
Thursday, July 23, 2009
knock knock!! Door-to-door in Costa Rica
Once I left my position with the sales company and began working in social services, I was certain that my days of going door-to-door were offcially over. However, life is always full of surprises! I wanted to share two short stories with you all.
As a Texan, the reality of a rainy season (where the downpours are quite possibly the only punctual happenings here in Costa Rica) are slightly hard to grasp. My response to the rainy season was to purchase an accordion. Seemed logical to me - finding a nice, indoor activity to pass the upcoming wet months. Once I had the accordion, however, I didn't have any idea how to play it! I needed a teacher. I began asking everyone that I came across and found that necessity of an accordion teacher is actually an excellent conversation starter. One of my English students mentioned that roughly 17 years ago, a teacher in his school played accordion and that he was fairly certain that this Señor still lived in Heredia (where I live). He didn't have any contact information but drew me a little map that would get me in the general vicinity of his house, telling me that "from there, I would just have to start asking for Franco".
That following Saturday when the rain clouds cleared, I decided to take advantage of the clear skies to begin my search for the accordion guru. I followed the map as far as I could and then began knocking on doors, asking little old ladies sitting on their front porches, people outside working on cars, etc. "Oh yes yes Franco! Ah yes turn left and go 50 meters and then turn right and go 100 meters...". Eventually I found myself in front of hopefully the right house, and I rang the bell. A woman came to the door, looking me up and down rather tentatively and I say through the bars and barbed wire, "Hello. I am looking for Señor Franco. I heard that he plays Accordion and I am actually looking for a teacher.." She gave me a funny look and asked me to hold on for one second while she went inside. She comes back about five minutes later, opens the gate, and guides me to the living room. Here I meet Franco, a small, smiley, gentle, white-haired man, who is already laughing at the fact that a gringa (a north american) has appeared on his doorstep asking for accordion lessons. He proceeds to take out his accordion and play/sing traditional songs, telling me stories about musicians and the music scene inbetween. Although he doesn't teach anymore, he gave me the contact information of his niece who lives close by and is in fact n official teacher (with whom I had my first lesson yesterday). However, he assured me that as soon as I learn the basics that I can come anytime to the house and we will jam out on our accordions. After a few hours I left the house and began to stroll back to my apartment. The rain clouds began to fill the sky once more, as if they had only opened up only long enough to provide me with this magical experience. By the time I reached the apartment, it was raining once more. I smiled to myself, thinking that we receive so many windows of opportunity in this life, as long as we are willing to see them for what they are and head out into the unknown.
This same week, I happened to meet a guy from New York who is also studying a Master's degree here in Costa Rica. He has been here for over 3 years and is working on his thesis. During our coffee break, he was explaining his project to me and lamenting the fact that he is having trouble recruiting people to help him do his surveys in two rural Costa Rican communities. I got very excited and exclaimed, "I love going door-to-door! I'll do it! How do I sign up??". He seems slightly surprised at my enthusiasm, but as I quickly explained, the opportunity to go to two beautiful communities in the mountains and spend a half hour an hour talking to families about conservation and the like to me sounds like an incredibly enriching and unique experience! (not to mention the fact that he willl be covering all the expenses!) I can hardly wait and I am sure that when I return I will have many more stories to share, as one never knows what is behind the next door..
As a Texan, the reality of a rainy season (where the downpours are quite possibly the only punctual happenings here in Costa Rica) are slightly hard to grasp. My response to the rainy season was to purchase an accordion. Seemed logical to me - finding a nice, indoor activity to pass the upcoming wet months. Once I had the accordion, however, I didn't have any idea how to play it! I needed a teacher. I began asking everyone that I came across and found that necessity of an accordion teacher is actually an excellent conversation starter. One of my English students mentioned that roughly 17 years ago, a teacher in his school played accordion and that he was fairly certain that this Señor still lived in Heredia (where I live). He didn't have any contact information but drew me a little map that would get me in the general vicinity of his house, telling me that "from there, I would just have to start asking for Franco".
That following Saturday when the rain clouds cleared, I decided to take advantage of the clear skies to begin my search for the accordion guru. I followed the map as far as I could and then began knocking on doors, asking little old ladies sitting on their front porches, people outside working on cars, etc. "Oh yes yes Franco! Ah yes turn left and go 50 meters and then turn right and go 100 meters...". Eventually I found myself in front of hopefully the right house, and I rang the bell. A woman came to the door, looking me up and down rather tentatively and I say through the bars and barbed wire, "Hello. I am looking for Señor Franco. I heard that he plays Accordion and I am actually looking for a teacher.." She gave me a funny look and asked me to hold on for one second while she went inside. She comes back about five minutes later, opens the gate, and guides me to the living room. Here I meet Franco, a small, smiley, gentle, white-haired man, who is already laughing at the fact that a gringa (a north american) has appeared on his doorstep asking for accordion lessons. He proceeds to take out his accordion and play/sing traditional songs, telling me stories about musicians and the music scene inbetween. Although he doesn't teach anymore, he gave me the contact information of his niece who lives close by and is in fact n official teacher (with whom I had my first lesson yesterday). However, he assured me that as soon as I learn the basics that I can come anytime to the house and we will jam out on our accordions. After a few hours I left the house and began to stroll back to my apartment. The rain clouds began to fill the sky once more, as if they had only opened up only long enough to provide me with this magical experience. By the time I reached the apartment, it was raining once more. I smiled to myself, thinking that we receive so many windows of opportunity in this life, as long as we are willing to see them for what they are and head out into the unknown.
This same week, I happened to meet a guy from New York who is also studying a Master's degree here in Costa Rica. He has been here for over 3 years and is working on his thesis. During our coffee break, he was explaining his project to me and lamenting the fact that he is having trouble recruiting people to help him do his surveys in two rural Costa Rican communities. I got very excited and exclaimed, "I love going door-to-door! I'll do it! How do I sign up??". He seems slightly surprised at my enthusiasm, but as I quickly explained, the opportunity to go to two beautiful communities in the mountains and spend a half hour an hour talking to families about conservation and the like to me sounds like an incredibly enriching and unique experience! (not to mention the fact that he willl be covering all the expenses!) I can hardly wait and I am sure that when I return I will have many more stories to share, as one never knows what is behind the next door..
Monday, June 8, 2009
oh grammar
I just noticed that my last post has quite a few spelling errors in it. hehehehe. I am losing my ability to speak English!!! There are certain things that are now easier for me to explain in Spanish, which is actually kind of cool...
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Let it flow
I apologize once again for the prolonged silence. As my graduate studies are now in full swing and my life has some routine to it, I let myself fall into the mental trap of perceiving my seemingly mundane daily activity as no longer "blog-worthy", relative to crocidile encounters or island adventures. I realized last night that this type of logic is completely absurd. The point of this blog is to keep my friends and family up to date on what is going on in my life, however unadventurous it might seem to me in the moment.
Highlights
1. I am getting pretty ripped. I joined a gym that just opened three blocks from my house that has the best Zumba (an aerobics class with music from all over the world), Pilates, and Spinning classes ever. The one advantage to being a student and having all night classes for my school program is that it opens up my days to attend regularly, a luxary I never had in Austin.
2. I bought an accordion. I decided that my rainy season activity would be to learn how to play the accordion, and conveniently my friend's Dad was selling his grandmother's old accordion for an incredibly good price. I had not thought threw the logistics of actually taking buses around town with an accordion in tow, but it is a little more difficult than originally anticipated, as the accordion is quite large and quite heavy. Good thing I am getting ripped at the gym.
3. I am getting closer to finding an accordion teacher that lives near me so I don't have to take the bus. Nothing definite yet, but even the thought of not having to carry that accordion 15 blocks to the bus stop makes my triceps very happy and hopeful.
4. If I learn at least one song on my new accordion, I already have work. If I can learn one song, I will make my long awaited debut in the world of puppet shows. It will be nice to have my foot in the door. ; )
5. I got all A's my first trimester. I can honestly say that my Spanish is coming along quite well, although there is much room for improvement. The nice thing is that I no longer return from class with an enormous headache from exerting all of the energy that my body had produced in a three hour class session.
6. I got to go to Austin and to the beach during my break from school. I managed to squeeze a short visit in to Austin, to pick up a piece of luggage I had left with a friend and help my little sister find an apartment and get settled into her hew home. It was a whirlwind of a week, packed full of visits with family and friends and shopping sprees to pick up a long list of items for myself and friends in Costa Rica that are half the price in the states. It seemed to be over before it started and to this day I am not sure if it actually happened or if it was just a dream. When I returned, my classes had been postponed for a week due to the fact that my professors were out of the country, so I headed to Samara Beach to enjoy the extra vacation time. Managed to stay with friends in a house right on the beach with a pool and plenty of hammocks. Niccccceeeeeeeeee.
7. I made a pair of sandals, like really made them. I had never thought about the possibility of making my own shoes until my friend started a shoe-making business. It is actually a pretty complicated process, but luckily Fadrique has all the tools and machinery necessary. It was both of us, as he had never made a pair of sandals before either. I really love them and will post a picture on the site.
8. I turned 29! It is quite nice to have people constantly telling me on a regular basis that I look 8 years younger than I actually am. I rang in the new year of my life on the dance floor (big surprise), breaking in down to my favorite group from San Jose called Sonambulo!
Lowlights
1. Rainy season has started. Every day at about noon, the clouds come roll in and the downpour begins. The disadvantage of having night classes is that I often have to make a mad dash for the bus in the midst of downpours, for which an umbrella is only marginally helpful in avoiding getting soaked. It rains sideways more often than it rains up and down. The upside to the rain is that it provides ample opportunties to stay in and watch movies and practice accordion.
2. I have to take Statistics this trimester. I thought my Spanish was getting better until I showed up last week to a 3.5 hour Stats class with a professor from Spain whose accent I can't quite seem to wrap my brain around. After understanding about 2% of the dialogue during that time period, I approached her and we developed a "Sarah needs you to speak more slowly" hand sign that I am confident will be very useful and highly utilized in the upcoming weeks.
3. I have to narrow down a thesis project soon! Yikes. Already? I was originally planning to do something related to peace studies, but as of two days ago I am leaning more towards investigations of the women's prisons here with a focus in gender.
4. My rent went up. Darn it! We had sent a request to our landlord stating our financial limitations, but maybe we didn't cover it with enough smiley face stickers because she shot it down in less than 24 hours.
Insights
1. Routine is actually quite nice.
2. It is really nice to get up early and enjoy the few hours of morning sun.
3. Normal phone calls now seem rather boring when compared to Skpe video calls!
4. It is quite valueable and perfectly alright to not understand what is going on around you at all times.
You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you. - Barbara Sher
Highlights
1. I am getting pretty ripped. I joined a gym that just opened three blocks from my house that has the best Zumba (an aerobics class with music from all over the world), Pilates, and Spinning classes ever. The one advantage to being a student and having all night classes for my school program is that it opens up my days to attend regularly, a luxary I never had in Austin.
2. I bought an accordion. I decided that my rainy season activity would be to learn how to play the accordion, and conveniently my friend's Dad was selling his grandmother's old accordion for an incredibly good price. I had not thought threw the logistics of actually taking buses around town with an accordion in tow, but it is a little more difficult than originally anticipated, as the accordion is quite large and quite heavy. Good thing I am getting ripped at the gym.
3. I am getting closer to finding an accordion teacher that lives near me so I don't have to take the bus. Nothing definite yet, but even the thought of not having to carry that accordion 15 blocks to the bus stop makes my triceps very happy and hopeful.
4. If I learn at least one song on my new accordion, I already have work. If I can learn one song, I will make my long awaited debut in the world of puppet shows. It will be nice to have my foot in the door. ; )
5. I got all A's my first trimester. I can honestly say that my Spanish is coming along quite well, although there is much room for improvement. The nice thing is that I no longer return from class with an enormous headache from exerting all of the energy that my body had produced in a three hour class session.
6. I got to go to Austin and to the beach during my break from school. I managed to squeeze a short visit in to Austin, to pick up a piece of luggage I had left with a friend and help my little sister find an apartment and get settled into her hew home. It was a whirlwind of a week, packed full of visits with family and friends and shopping sprees to pick up a long list of items for myself and friends in Costa Rica that are half the price in the states. It seemed to be over before it started and to this day I am not sure if it actually happened or if it was just a dream. When I returned, my classes had been postponed for a week due to the fact that my professors were out of the country, so I headed to Samara Beach to enjoy the extra vacation time. Managed to stay with friends in a house right on the beach with a pool and plenty of hammocks. Niccccceeeeeeeeee.
7. I made a pair of sandals, like really made them. I had never thought about the possibility of making my own shoes until my friend started a shoe-making business. It is actually a pretty complicated process, but luckily Fadrique has all the tools and machinery necessary. It was both of us, as he had never made a pair of sandals before either. I really love them and will post a picture on the site.
8. I turned 29! It is quite nice to have people constantly telling me on a regular basis that I look 8 years younger than I actually am. I rang in the new year of my life on the dance floor (big surprise), breaking in down to my favorite group from San Jose called Sonambulo!
Lowlights
1. Rainy season has started. Every day at about noon, the clouds come roll in and the downpour begins. The disadvantage of having night classes is that I often have to make a mad dash for the bus in the midst of downpours, for which an umbrella is only marginally helpful in avoiding getting soaked. It rains sideways more often than it rains up and down. The upside to the rain is that it provides ample opportunties to stay in and watch movies and practice accordion.
2. I have to take Statistics this trimester. I thought my Spanish was getting better until I showed up last week to a 3.5 hour Stats class with a professor from Spain whose accent I can't quite seem to wrap my brain around. After understanding about 2% of the dialogue during that time period, I approached her and we developed a "Sarah needs you to speak more slowly" hand sign that I am confident will be very useful and highly utilized in the upcoming weeks.
3. I have to narrow down a thesis project soon! Yikes. Already? I was originally planning to do something related to peace studies, but as of two days ago I am leaning more towards investigations of the women's prisons here with a focus in gender.
4. My rent went up. Darn it! We had sent a request to our landlord stating our financial limitations, but maybe we didn't cover it with enough smiley face stickers because she shot it down in less than 24 hours.
Insights
1. Routine is actually quite nice.
2. It is really nice to get up early and enjoy the few hours of morning sun.
3. Normal phone calls now seem rather boring when compared to Skpe video calls!
4. It is quite valueable and perfectly alright to not understand what is going on around you at all times.
You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you. - Barbara Sher
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Into the swing of things...
These recent weeks have flown by and crept along simultaneously, as although certain tasks (like reading and writing in Spanish) continue to remain tedious and time consuming, it always seems to shock me when the weekend comes again, so quickly. There have been a few firsts - my first potluck party, my first political rally, my first time crying in a bathroom stall after class.
The content of the coursework is challenging. Most days I feel as if I have to lay out all my beliefs about gender and sexuality on a table, take a step back, and begin to analyze where exactly this particular belief came from, how it has changed and why, if am I willing to defend it or wanting to transform it (slightly or completely), etc.
The rally that I attended was on the International Day of the Women. A small group of 30-35 individuals protested outside of the judicial building and I learned a few interesting things. One, there was a law passed last fall in Costa Rica to protect victim's of domestic violence that included psychological violence. Recently, four judges challenged this law and it was been declared unconstitutional because it was decided that psychological violence (or violence that does not leave a physical wound or mark) is rather subjective; therefore, it is unconstitutional to put a specific penalty on an act that is difficult to prove or categorize. Basically, it is unconstitutional to penalize someone based on the victim's verbal claim of abuse, one person's word against another's (usually a women's word against a man's word). What this means is: if your partner is verbally abuse, you have no recourse. If your partner is physically abusive, but careful not to leave any visible marks (also quite common), you have no proof. If your partner abuses you, leaves marks, but you are scared to go immediately to the authorities (which is also quite common) and happen to wait until you don't have visible marks anymore, you have no proof. I am also fairly certain that individuals who have been incarcerated over the last year under this law will be released. One of my professors had printed off the names and ages of all of the women who have been killed by their partners over the last year to hang on the building with flowers. Most of them were my age, or younger.
On a brighter note, the potluck-party was a success! It was a wonderful intersection of the folks I met at the meditation center and the women from my program, and the laughter, food, and dancing helped wash away any residual anxiety that sparked a solitary sobbing episode a mere four days earlier in the fourth floor bathroom of the Universidad Nacional.
My friend Fadrique (love the name) is headed to his mother's eco-hostel on the Caribbean coast this weekend and invited me to tag along. I am going to take him up of the offer, as reading on the beach sounds a lot more appealing that reading in my apartment. Plus, it has been over almost two months since I have been able to work on my tan. Until later...
The content of the coursework is challenging. Most days I feel as if I have to lay out all my beliefs about gender and sexuality on a table, take a step back, and begin to analyze where exactly this particular belief came from, how it has changed and why, if am I willing to defend it or wanting to transform it (slightly or completely), etc.
The rally that I attended was on the International Day of the Women. A small group of 30-35 individuals protested outside of the judicial building and I learned a few interesting things. One, there was a law passed last fall in Costa Rica to protect victim's of domestic violence that included psychological violence. Recently, four judges challenged this law and it was been declared unconstitutional because it was decided that psychological violence (or violence that does not leave a physical wound or mark) is rather subjective; therefore, it is unconstitutional to put a specific penalty on an act that is difficult to prove or categorize. Basically, it is unconstitutional to penalize someone based on the victim's verbal claim of abuse, one person's word against another's (usually a women's word against a man's word). What this means is: if your partner is verbally abuse, you have no recourse. If your partner is physically abusive, but careful not to leave any visible marks (also quite common), you have no proof. If your partner abuses you, leaves marks, but you are scared to go immediately to the authorities (which is also quite common) and happen to wait until you don't have visible marks anymore, you have no proof. I am also fairly certain that individuals who have been incarcerated over the last year under this law will be released. One of my professors had printed off the names and ages of all of the women who have been killed by their partners over the last year to hang on the building with flowers. Most of them were my age, or younger.
On a brighter note, the potluck-party was a success! It was a wonderful intersection of the folks I met at the meditation center and the women from my program, and the laughter, food, and dancing helped wash away any residual anxiety that sparked a solitary sobbing episode a mere four days earlier in the fourth floor bathroom of the Universidad Nacional.
My friend Fadrique (love the name) is headed to his mother's eco-hostel on the Caribbean coast this weekend and invited me to tag along. I am going to take him up of the offer, as reading on the beach sounds a lot more appealing that reading in my apartment. Plus, it has been over almost two months since I have been able to work on my tan. Until later...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Whispers.
There is sort of twisted comfort in expectation - what society expects of us, what our loved ones expect from us, and what we expect from ourselves. Although these expectations might be antiquated or senseless, they are clear nonetheless, and so we adhere to them, move accordingly to the cues out of obligation, out of fear, or even out of habit. Suddenly, here I am, standing on a blank page, and I found myself looking around timidly and saying to the air, "Ummm. O.K. and now... what? Where to?" And there is simply silence.
But silence is everything but blank - it is music, rich with guidance. I am discovering that we are too dynamic, too vibrant to live in blankness, and although the shade or tone we choose changes from time to time, we cannot be anything but COLORFUL. Each time I ask this blankness who I am, each time I seek counsel in silence, I can feel my colors changing. I can see the spectrum changing. The blankness is unfolding, and a new self is emerging and beginning to take form. I am watching it happen the way one delightfully watches a cloud reinvent itself over and over in it's journey across the sky. Even a child understands that it is useless to try and anticipate the shape a cloud will choose. Why then are we so willing to do this with our selves?
The colors we carry inside come pouring out, surrounding us, transforming us, reflecting us back to ourselves. Now that my program has started and I am molding my new 'daily' everything, I have spent the last two weeks trying to figure out which way is up, where I want to go, who I want to be. It seemed logical to begin by painting and decorating my apartment, and this creative process has provided much insight into my priorities and needs at this moment in time. I feel now that they changed quietly some time ago, however without the space that blankness provides, there was no room to emerge and reveal themselves to me. As I make this place my home, this new self is covering my walls, filling my bookshelf, stocking my fridge, and I can only nod my head in agreement that yes, every day is more colorful than the last.
"Do you know what the music is saying?
“Come follow me and you will find the way.
Your mistakes can also lead you to the Truth.
When you ask, the answer will be given.” - Rumi
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
What Better Time than Now
Whew.
I can honestly say that the last few months have been like a dream. Traveling has a way of doing that to you if you can do it right. Time becomes seamless and categories such as dates, days of the week, hours, and minutes, become increasingly abstract and inapplicable concepts. Everything is going according to the plan - as the name of my blog suggests. Every day is a new adventure, in it's own unique way. I am not quite sure how to sum it up, not sure if there are even words, and that is why I chose to post the pictures first. Upon looking at them, you will definitely understand the extent of my speechlessness and awe.
I finished my Spanish classes in mid-December and was definitely looking to get as far away from San Jose's constant traffic and lousy weather. The opportunity presented itself to travel with two new friends - Hector (from Costa Rica) and David (from North Carolina in route to Argentina) to spend the holidays with Hector's family in Guanacaste, in the Nicoya Penisula. As Hector is from Costa Rica, we had the inside scoop to everything and were able to spend most of our time with Ticos, off the beaten tourist path. We headed to hot springs, hiked a Volcán Arenal, did a zip-line Rainforest Canopy tour, BBQ'd at the beach, went camping, sang and played a lot of music (both Hector and David are incredible musicians), and laughed, laughed, laughed. It was so refreshing to have the opportunity to travel with two guys who like to list off five things they are grateful for every night before they to bed! Around the 3rd of January, we headed back to San Jose so Hector could work for a few days, and then we took off again, to Panama!
Little did we know that the very day we left, an hour after we crossed the CR-Panama border a major earthquake would hit Costa Rica. In fact, I didn't check my email for five or six days and was so surprised to log on and quite a few messages from friends and family wondering if I was O.K! We were oblivious, getting off the bus and heading to Bocas del Torro, where we stayed for a week - snorkeling, kayaking, bathing in the sun, and doing at least one thing every day that scared us. Scary thing Day one for me was doing my very first back flip off the diving board at the hostel that was about 10 feet high. From there we got a recommendation for a tour in the San Blas islands - a group of 300+ islands in the Caribbean. Many of the islands are inhabited by an indigenous Indian tribe, the Kuna. The San Blas province actually has it's own government, autonomous from Panama, and each island is ruled by a chief. You have to get special permission from the chief to enter into the province, and electricity and running water are not found on most of the islands. Our island was an hour boat ride off the coast, with 15 small cabanas. It was like stepping into a postcard, or as my friend Forest commented on one of my photos, a motivational poster that you find at the mall. Crystal blue water, white sand, coral reefs, loads of fresh coconuts to crack open with a machete, beautiful sunsets, and starry nights. We originally bought a tour for four days/three nights, but just kept..well...staying one more night until more than a week had gone by. After a week in paradise, we headed back to the real world, as my days for traveling were becoming limited. Panama City is infinitely better than San Jose, and I would like to return when I don't have fractured toes (soccer accident on the island) so I can visit some of the swanky Salsa clubs in the city. After a few days, it was back on the bus for me while David stayed in Panama to continue south in his journey to Argentina. It was a tough goodbye, as it is always sad to separate from a travel partner and a friend. When you spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week with someone - two months becomes an eternity, and I admit, on the bus I pulled the bill of my hat down and shed a tear or two during the 21 hour lonely bus ride back to San Jose.
I arrived at my apartment Saturday night at around 6 p.m. and headed straight to the hospital to get an X-ray of my poor foot, which verified that it was indeed fractured. Nonetheless, I went home, switched out the clothes in my backpack, got four hours sleep, and headed to the bus stop for yet another adventure, an inner adventure at the 10 day silent meditation retreat in Puntareñas. This time I was serving the course, which meant that I would be rising and shining at 4:30 a.m. to cook and clean for a group of 40 meditators, while having 3 to five hours a day to meditate myself. The site was breathtakingly beautiful - view of the ocean, fabulous sunsets, amazing food (I learned a ton of new recipes!), and again, time slowly dissipated until the sound of the gong was the only indication that it was indeed time to change activities. It was a wonderful bridge, to wind down from a free spirited wanderer and gather my intellectual and emotional strength for graduate school. On day 10 of the course, when the participants can indeed talk, I was able to connect with a few amazing men and women who live close to me in Heredia and are interested in getting together to meditate and practice yoga!
I arrived at my apartment at about 6 p.m. I couldn't believe that in the last two months I had spent only four nights in this place. I also couldn't believe that I was starting my classes the following day. The very next evening I was sitting in a class of 40 students, desperately trying to follow the professor's Spanish as she flew through the syllabus. Suddenly, the sandy beaches and crystal clear waters seemed like ages ago, another lifetime. Another chapter of my life has started, the chapter that brought me here to this beautiful country. It is going to be an intense program, but after attending my first two classes, I am humbled by the quality of education that I will receive at the university, as all of my professors are published authors and well known voices in all of Latin America on the subject of Gender and Women's studies. My time will now be spent laboring over long, theoretical texts and painstakingly writing reflections over readings and planning presentations, as well as settling into my apartment, my new routine, and this new time in my life which is slowly unfolding with each passing day, each passing moment. With each inhale and exhale comes the next grand adventure.
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.” - Henry David Thoreau
I can honestly say that the last few months have been like a dream. Traveling has a way of doing that to you if you can do it right. Time becomes seamless and categories such as dates, days of the week, hours, and minutes, become increasingly abstract and inapplicable concepts. Everything is going according to the plan - as the name of my blog suggests. Every day is a new adventure, in it's own unique way. I am not quite sure how to sum it up, not sure if there are even words, and that is why I chose to post the pictures first. Upon looking at them, you will definitely understand the extent of my speechlessness and awe.
I finished my Spanish classes in mid-December and was definitely looking to get as far away from San Jose's constant traffic and lousy weather. The opportunity presented itself to travel with two new friends - Hector (from Costa Rica) and David (from North Carolina in route to Argentina) to spend the holidays with Hector's family in Guanacaste, in the Nicoya Penisula. As Hector is from Costa Rica, we had the inside scoop to everything and were able to spend most of our time with Ticos, off the beaten tourist path. We headed to hot springs, hiked a Volcán Arenal, did a zip-line Rainforest Canopy tour, BBQ'd at the beach, went camping, sang and played a lot of music (both Hector and David are incredible musicians), and laughed, laughed, laughed. It was so refreshing to have the opportunity to travel with two guys who like to list off five things they are grateful for every night before they to bed! Around the 3rd of January, we headed back to San Jose so Hector could work for a few days, and then we took off again, to Panama!
Little did we know that the very day we left, an hour after we crossed the CR-Panama border a major earthquake would hit Costa Rica. In fact, I didn't check my email for five or six days and was so surprised to log on and quite a few messages from friends and family wondering if I was O.K! We were oblivious, getting off the bus and heading to Bocas del Torro, where we stayed for a week - snorkeling, kayaking, bathing in the sun, and doing at least one thing every day that scared us. Scary thing Day one for me was doing my very first back flip off the diving board at the hostel that was about 10 feet high. From there we got a recommendation for a tour in the San Blas islands - a group of 300+ islands in the Caribbean. Many of the islands are inhabited by an indigenous Indian tribe, the Kuna. The San Blas province actually has it's own government, autonomous from Panama, and each island is ruled by a chief. You have to get special permission from the chief to enter into the province, and electricity and running water are not found on most of the islands. Our island was an hour boat ride off the coast, with 15 small cabanas. It was like stepping into a postcard, or as my friend Forest commented on one of my photos, a motivational poster that you find at the mall. Crystal blue water, white sand, coral reefs, loads of fresh coconuts to crack open with a machete, beautiful sunsets, and starry nights. We originally bought a tour for four days/three nights, but just kept..well...staying one more night until more than a week had gone by. After a week in paradise, we headed back to the real world, as my days for traveling were becoming limited. Panama City is infinitely better than San Jose, and I would like to return when I don't have fractured toes (soccer accident on the island) so I can visit some of the swanky Salsa clubs in the city. After a few days, it was back on the bus for me while David stayed in Panama to continue south in his journey to Argentina. It was a tough goodbye, as it is always sad to separate from a travel partner and a friend. When you spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week with someone - two months becomes an eternity, and I admit, on the bus I pulled the bill of my hat down and shed a tear or two during the 21 hour lonely bus ride back to San Jose.
I arrived at my apartment Saturday night at around 6 p.m. and headed straight to the hospital to get an X-ray of my poor foot, which verified that it was indeed fractured. Nonetheless, I went home, switched out the clothes in my backpack, got four hours sleep, and headed to the bus stop for yet another adventure, an inner adventure at the 10 day silent meditation retreat in Puntareñas. This time I was serving the course, which meant that I would be rising and shining at 4:30 a.m. to cook and clean for a group of 40 meditators, while having 3 to five hours a day to meditate myself. The site was breathtakingly beautiful - view of the ocean, fabulous sunsets, amazing food (I learned a ton of new recipes!), and again, time slowly dissipated until the sound of the gong was the only indication that it was indeed time to change activities. It was a wonderful bridge, to wind down from a free spirited wanderer and gather my intellectual and emotional strength for graduate school. On day 10 of the course, when the participants can indeed talk, I was able to connect with a few amazing men and women who live close to me in Heredia and are interested in getting together to meditate and practice yoga!
I arrived at my apartment at about 6 p.m. I couldn't believe that in the last two months I had spent only four nights in this place. I also couldn't believe that I was starting my classes the following day. The very next evening I was sitting in a class of 40 students, desperately trying to follow the professor's Spanish as she flew through the syllabus. Suddenly, the sandy beaches and crystal clear waters seemed like ages ago, another lifetime. Another chapter of my life has started, the chapter that brought me here to this beautiful country. It is going to be an intense program, but after attending my first two classes, I am humbled by the quality of education that I will receive at the university, as all of my professors are published authors and well known voices in all of Latin America on the subject of Gender and Women's studies. My time will now be spent laboring over long, theoretical texts and painstakingly writing reflections over readings and planning presentations, as well as settling into my apartment, my new routine, and this new time in my life which is slowly unfolding with each passing day, each passing moment. With each inhale and exhale comes the next grand adventure.
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.” - Henry David Thoreau
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Where did the time go??
Ok. I know I haven't posted anything since December 23rd. Life has been a whirlwind since then, trying to fit in all of my traveling before school officially starts on the 9th of February. I just bused back 20 hours from Panama City with a fractured toe and am heading directly to Puntarenas for a ten day meditation course (volunteering at this one). I have much to tell if you can bear with me for ten more days of silence... Hasta pronto! Pura vida.
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