Tolinga (Isla Tortuga)

So we should always stick to indigenous names of the land. Yes, to honor and recognize the people who lived on these lands and who have been fighting to be seen and heard for centuries. And also because colonial powers totally suck at naming things. There are no turtles on Isla Tortuga, it seems it was named that because the island is- shaped like a turtle? Nope. Neither from the boat nor from the sky view on Google maps. We couldn't see it at all. And we looked.

But I'm skipping ahead.

The day started with my alarm at 4:15 am. I looked at it in confusion, remembered I was going on a trip, but I must have set the alarm too soon, and put my head back down (without resetting the alarm) at 4:40, I realized, NO, I had set it for 4:15 because at 4:45 I needed to be at the gate of another student's house so her Mama Tica (Costa Rican mother) could give us both a ride to the park, where we were meeting the 3 other students going with us and our ride to the island. Luckily, I am my parent's child and everything I needed was packed and ready to go. I was a few minutes late, but luckily, Pura Vida, so were they. Also, the grandfather of the house was shocked that I'd left without waking anyone up. He saw my closed door and panicked, thinking I was late to the park. I'm very very proud of that exit from the house, in a rush, before 5 am making a minimum of noise.

We got in our minivan with our friends at the park at 5, picked up a few couples in San Jose, and met with the bigger bus that took us to the pier. Then it was a catamaran to the island. We arrived at the island around 11 am. Yes, that's right, we left the house at 3:45 and arrived at our destination at 11 am. The mini van to the bus was, you know, travel, but, late into it, we passed a whole lot of coast where I got to see the PACIFIC OCEAN for the first time!! It was everything I'd imagined it to be! And the boat ride was a lot of fun, getting to know the other students and explore the boat together.

Not Tolinga, but on the way.

After getting settled on the island, we took a boat out to a rock structure to snorkel. I'd chosen the "free dive" life vest that could inflate if you blew into it, but allowed you to swim around underwater and check things out. One of my friends saw a ray, which I really wanted to see, but it swam away too quickly. But they're were millions of fish with all kinds of colors and sizes and they came right over to you.  And I learned I am much braver than I was when I went snorkeling last (I think sting ray city when I was 12?) and this time, I actually dove into the water to see more. SO MANY neat things under the sea :) No photos because, well, I was in the water the whole time.

We came back to the beach for a great lunch and some lying on the beach.

HAHA, nope, those are NOT my feet, (but they are my friends'). There was far too much to see! After lunch I went on my first Banana Boat Ride. We were dragged behind by the motor boat over waves which was pretty fun. Then the motor boat made sharp turn and just waited for us. And I got to experience the life of a very clumsy seagull crash landing on the water. Thanks to circus classes, I was able to haul myself back onto the banana boat and help everyone else up, and we were off to the races. And by races, I mean another unplanned attempt at learning to fly (if at first you don't succeed?) This time, after helping everyone up, I ended up in the front of the boat. As we came back to the beach, I saw the boat driver was setting us up for one last dump and I was ready! I didn't go in this time. Neither did my friend behind me. But when I jumped in to swim to shore I realized everyone else in the boat had been dumped. It seems that if someone falls in in front of you, you are going down.. Apparently I could be good at riding horses (I was told they're similar skill sets, but um, no, a boat is inanimate, a horse has a mind of it's own) because I was able to stay on.

We got back on the boat, 4 hours after getting off, and started the long trip back to Santo Domingo. I got home around 8:30 walked into my room to flop on my bed and realized, tomorrow, I will be back at the park, this time at 7 AM for the next trip!

Domingo

 I realized Saturday was a post all to itself. So, what happened to my lazy Sunday?

I have made friends with a pretty awesome 7 year old and her Mom who are in the Families program.

She mentioned going to the children's museum, and I agreed it sounds awesome, so Sunday morning, the 3 of us went into San Jose. This time, I was very ready and I knew EXACTLY where we were going when it came to getting on and off the bus (turns out I just got lucky and the bus company we happened to take happened to take was the one that ends up at the same station I'd finally found the day before...) After a quick stop outside the Starbucks from Saturday (same internet password) we started off to the Children's Museum. It was a bit of a walk, and the little one was getting a bit antsy, but finally we see a building the shape of a castle in front of us. There's a HUGE line, so she and I grabbed a stop online while her Mom went to make sure this was the line we needed to be on.

The GIANT cactus on other side of the street
from the botanical garden

It wasn't. It turns out folks reserve tickets well in advance for specific hours to visit the museum. And that day was sold out for the rest of the day. Woops. We start discussing where else we can go. My "San Jose list" of things to see were all museums but the boring ones I'd have hated as a kid. I remembered I'd seen a botanical garden when I was staring at maps of San Jose in an attempt to minimize my total cluelessness in this foreign city, so off we went. I led us to, what looked like, the nearest entrance, and you know what that "looked like" means.

In my defense, it was an entrance, but it was locked. There was a path along the fence so we started walking to the right. The walk just OUTSIDE the fence was a botanical garden in itself. Honestly all of Costa Rica is nothing but incredible plants and flowers everywhere.

Anyway, we keep walking the path until it looks like it peels away from the park entirely. We find some folks hanging out outside their house and, in our strongest 5 days of 4 hour Spanish classes and Spanish with host families on top is that, ask about getting into the park. In flawless English, they tell us to walk to the left.

I'm telling you, I leaned it at camp when we were lost, when in doubt always go left!

This was the actual exhibit! 

We FINALLY reach the park, yes of course we can come in and that's when we find out it's actually a zoo. I really enjoyed seeing a raccoon as one of the exhibit animals as that is one animal I definitely don't need a zoo to see. We saw all kinds of animals, monkeys and such, but my favorites were the birds. So so many birds with so so many colors. One bird looked a bit familiar so I went to read what it was: LAPA VERDE! Lapa Verde is the name of our Spanish school. And sure there's a green bird as part of the logo of the school, but there's an animal as part of a million other logos here. I was very excited to discover that the school was named after the bird. I got to speak with the school founder and ask about it, and she shared that both Lapa Verde and Lapa Roja were endangered and all the focus was going to the Lapa Roja so she wanted to name her school after the other. 

One of the birds was eating but I noticed another animal "just hanging around"

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong.

When I got back to the other side of the exhibit I saw that it's patience had paid off.

Finally we reached a bridge over water that was BRIGHT green from the pollen of the trees surrounding it. On one side of the bridge we saw turtles sunning themselves but there was a crowd of folks looking at something on the other side.

Ok, y'all, I thought I had a handle on the different animals of the world.

What?!

We had a great time, AND I paid attention and saw when we got to Santo Domingo and got off at the right place. It helped that when I realized where we were, I looked up at the driver, who I'd previously asked to help make sure we ended up at the park, and he smiled and nodded.

I really love this country.

The first Fin de Semana

El Fin de Semana, the end of the week (aka, weekend). In my head this would be a chill weekend during which I would lazily get to know Santo Domingo better, and maybe try to take the bus into San Jose or Heredia one afternoon or something. NOPE. I am having a VERY hard time being lazy here…

On Saturday, I head into San Jose to check out the Jade Museum. It was definitely worth it. I know so little about pre (or post for that matter) colombian history and culture of Central America and the museum was a great place to build a foundation, though I left with MANY more questions than I’d had when I entered. Today, I asked my Spanish teacher about where to learn more, and now have 3 more museums, very close to the Jade Museum, to check out. I spent hours on the first 3 floors. The first was a traveling exhibit of Costa Rican art that was stunning. The 2nd floor is ALL jade and the 3rd floor is called “night and day.” There were children’s videos (that I FULLY took advantage of watching) that taught about why Jade was such a big deal in mesoamerica. The exhibits included tools and methods of working Jade, as well as the beliefs and uses of and for Jade. It was all very general, which is why I have SO MANY more questions, and I hope I have time to dive into more specific histories soon.

Hours after I entered, I noticed that it was pouring outside. Luckily, I have my capa (poncho) and the rain is no hay problema para mi. I explored the various markets, from the old market, inside a building with stalls for each tienda to the new markets, such as a pedestrian street full of modern stores and loud music and even louder workers in the stores with microphones telling you there is a sale for this hour only, you better come in and get xxx. It was a lot of fun, but I was still trying to find the theater my host family suggested I check out. After discovering that the beautiful building I had passed 3 times was the National Theater (not the theater they had directed me to, but also very beautiful)

I needed internet to figure out WHERE ON EARTH I was and find the bus back to Santo Domingo, so I ducked into a starbucks. My body is anti-caffeine so when in starbucks, I order a hot chocolate. The cashier was very confused by my “chocolate caliente” so I showed him the order from the app. He was still confused and had his manager come in to show him what to do. She showed him the button on the computer for it, and I was set, or so I thought. My drink comes in, and I get the password for the internet and settle in to sit, drink and stare at google maps. One sip, and yup, this has coffee in it. I go back, and ask for just the hot chocolate. The manager apologizes and has them make me a new cup. I sip it at the counter and laugh as I have just received another mocha. She needed to tell them, no, seriously, NO COFFEE, just the chocolate. It was very good, once they figured it out.

After setting my phone in two apps to show me where I needed to catch the bus from (yes, I have a map of the area offline, but the GPS is not so accurate without wifi and street names are more suggestions than reality here) I set out to find the stop. First I went a street too far, and then went back too far, until I finally figured out it was the thing that kinda looked like an abandoned parking lot. I asked a few hundred people a few thousand times if this was the stop for the bus to Santo Domingo, and yes, I am in the right place. I get on the bus, settle in knitting, people watching, and seeing the country pass by. Eventually the bus is full enough that a woman sits next to me, and we engage in conversion. All of a sudden the driver shouts back to us and pulls over. Something is apparently wrong with the stick, and we are going to wait on the bus for the next bus to come and pick us up. I pull out my phone to see if I can figure out where we are and how far away I am from Santo Domingo. “Santo Domingo!” the woman exclaims. It seems we passed it a WHILE ago. Everyone on the bus then engages in RAPID spanish thinking what is the best way for me to get back to Santo Domingo. Eventually, it is agreed that I should continue on to Heredia, and get on a bus back to Santo Domingo. The next bus picks us up, we go the last few stops to Heredia, and the bus that is headed back to San Jose (which will pass through Santo Domingo) is right in front of where our bus stopped. The woman in front of me on the first bus walked me to the bus, and shouted from the Street up to the driver that I do not speak spanish, and I am need to get off at the park in Santo Domingo. Then the woman I sat next to stops by and tells the driver the same thing. Finally, the man that was across the bus is on the driver’s side window, telling him to make sure I get off in the right place.

I got off in the right place :)

Paloma Lady

Gevald, am I behind on posting! Last post was supposed to be about my adventures in Heredia last Wednesday, but turned into a run down of the family I was living with instead. And as is usual when exploring another country, A LOT has happened since, and, with much more to come, I will try to be better about posting as it's happening (if you have been reading this since I started, yes, I ALWAYS say that, but this time I really mean it. no, really, I will. Try...)  

                                                                                   

So, Wednesday morning there was an optional trip to Heredia, the capital city of the Provincia Heredia. Santo Domingo de Heredia, where I live, is just over the border of San Jose and Heredia and perfectly between the two capital cities. 

I was planning to sleep in, as I had been going going going since the moment I landed in Costa Rica Saturday evening, but realized it was the perfect opportunity to learn the bus system. 

Very important information I learned that day, and since:

1. There is NO centralized bus system in Costa Rica. There are many bus companies and they set up all over the place. There are signs that tell you that this is a bus stop, but nothing to tell you which company or where the bus is headed.

 

2. When you get on the bus, you need to get on quickly, and stand behind the driver to give them money and get your change if necessary. Have a question (for example, does this bus go where I want to go) don't ask while standing next to the driver, you need to ask from behind the driver. The drivers get very upset when you stand next to them. I NOW know that there are motion detectors, and when you stand between them, they pick you up several times. Since you are only paying once, the bus driver may get in trouble for the "extra" person on the bus who didn't pay. But my first few bus rides were very confusing with drivers insisting I "pasa, pasa"

3. This is a big one. When I am headed from Santo Domingo to Heredia or San Jose, it is very easy, I get off at the last stop. BUT if I miss the stop at Santo Domingo, well, I am probably taking the bus to its final destination, because for most of the lines, the bus does not take the same path in both directions... 

 Armed with NONE of this knowledge, I was very happy to be headed out with a group and leaders of the program letting us know where to go. 

In Heredia, we wandered around the old market, where I got ice cream, though I still don't quite understand what I ate (but it was mas rica)

and candied grapefruit, which was delicious, but again, couldn't quite place what on earth I was eating until one of our local leaders let us know. 

We went to the park, and that was where I fully embraced the I'm-in-another-country-and-do-things-I-would-never-even-consider-back-home lifestyle. I first grabbed a handful of corn and threw them in the general direction of the palomas (pigeons). Then, I knelt down and let them eat from my hands. Finally, in a total break from the child who hated petting zoos and hand feeding animals, as well as the adult who usually sees pigeons as pests, I held out my hands and let them perch all over me to get the corn. I had a blast. 

 I did it once, and I never need to do it again.

They weren't kidding

 So, they say "pura vida" in Costa Rica, about Costa Rica, when someone even THINKS Costa Rica, and I thought it was just a job well done by the tourist department. But, um, yeah, I really feel I am living the "pura vida" here. MUCH of that has to do with the freedom of getting to be a new version of myself, with none of the history of who I am at home, or the responsibilities I have weighing me down. But I am on vacation. Folks who live here also revel in Pura Vida. The grandfather of the house, Jose Luis, just brought me and the grandmother of the house, Rosa, but everyone calls her Flory, freshly squeezed orange juice from an orange that was on the tree this morning. Flory is in the kitchen singing while making "torta peresosa de manzanas." Last night during dinner, we had a great chat about my style of cooking being "peresoso" or lazy. Cooking ever part of dinner in the same pot so I don't have to wash more than one, or microwaving tostito scoops with cheese and calling it lazy nachos. 

harina de trigo, polvo para hornear y
azúcar sobre manzanas con canela

So far, NOTHING I have seen is lazy about this dish, except that it is all made in one dish, layer by layer. Peeling and coring the apples is NOT an easy or non messy task... I didn't catch a photo of the apples covered in cinnamon as the first layer, but I was able to snap a photo of the "dry" layer going in: a mix of wheat flour, baking powder, and sugar was the next layer:

Next came spooning butter over everything into little ponds of butter. Last she added the beaten eggs, turning the butter ponds in to egg and butter lakes. She poked everything with a fork to give the liquid layer some support to seep into the dry layer and put the whole dish to the side to allow the whole thing to mix.

capa de mantequilla seguida de huevo 

Now she is preparing a puree of cas with banana and we're listening to bolero music and dancing in the kitchen. Seriously, life is good in Costa Rica!

So, with my first free morning I was going to catch you all up on the various actividades (I wrote that instead of activites and decided to keep it), but clearly this has turned into a post about the family that has taken me in here in Costa Rica. I have been VERY lucky in Host Families. I had the BEST family in Georgia, who I miss so much every day. And now, I am going to have another family I will think of ALL the time when I get back to the states. It has been less than a week, but I love them all so much.

So from the top: Jose Luis and Flory (Rosa). They have a small garage/store in the front of the house. Flory is KNOWN for her incredible pan (bread) and if their store had any kind of internet presence, I would give 100 stars. Every morning the two of them prepare breakfast. It has been different every day, and they introduce something new for me every time. Today it was gallo pinto (spotted rooster, AKA rice and beans), huevos (eggs), and miel (honey) on my pan (bread). Along with various fruits it was a perfect breakfast. As every breakfast has been. They are both so welcoming and so happy in the morning, it is impossible to stay sleepy for long. Their happiness is infections, and they passed it along to their kids.

They have four children: Seidy, Marino, Dinia, y Rolando. I have not met Rolando yet, but I have seen photos of his VERY cute children with their Abuela Flory. Seidy doesn't live in the same house I am in, she lives a whole block away! I went over to her place one night to see the lights of San Jose and the surrounding mountains and it took my breath away. She lives in a block of her husband's family, as I live surrounded by houses of Flory's family. Seidy's husband's family owns an events and parties space, filled with incredible plants, flowers and trees. I keep meaning to go back and see the flowers by day, but there is always so much to see and do, I keep missing my chance. But she has promised when it comes time to harvest the mangos, she will let me know to come and help. Her daughter Milena actually is living in this house with her grandparents. Milena is in her 20s and teaches Portuguese. After my first VERY long Monday, which included an hour speaking Yiddish followed by four hours of Spanish class, she greeted me at the house in Portuguese. I am telling you, my mind about exploded from different language overload. I first met her briefly on Sunday because she was headed to the San Jose Pride March. Like I said, this is my kind of family.

Mirano and Dinia are the siblings that live in the house. Marino was the first person in the family I saw when he and Jose Luis and Flory picked me up from the airport. He is very funny. He doesn't speak much English, but he is good at modifying his Spanish to help me understand. Dinia lived in the United States for 8 years and has the strongest English in the family, but when I am confused by a word or have clearly not understood, she never reverts to English until she has tried to describe what is going on in words I am more likely to understand at least 3 or more times. I am VERY happy here.

So, I had finished writing all that and was starting to get ready to head out to the school for an afternoon of class (every school-day 1pm-5pm). I mentioned leaving around noon, and suddenly there was rapid spanish and all kinds of activity around me, which I was oblivious to until later events made me remember. Jose Luis went out, I hung out with Dinia and read her poetry in Spanish and English, and Jose Luis came back from his shopping trip. He took out cheese, tortillas, and a few dozen eggs (there are a lot of people in this house and we all love eggs, nevermind the eggs needed for Flory's bread and other wonderful creations. Then, he looked at me, and, with a HUGE grin on his face, pulled out white bread. I finally figured out WHY they wanted me to stay for lunch. As part of the program, I get breakfast and dinner from the host family, but am responsible for my own lunch. But today, we were going to have the food I had brought from my home. 

Behold, the Fluffernutter

Fluffernutters went over VERY well. There was MUCH unhappiness when they discovered that the store that imports a lot of food from the United States, doesn't import Fluff. I guess I am just going to have to come back sometime with a few jars of fluff, the same way I did this time: the jars all wrapped in 2 layers of ziplock bags and one plastic bag to be SURE any expansion does not result in a fluff filled suitcase.

Bailando con las Estrellas

Dancing with the Stars has the exact same set in every country I have been to. Just needed to take a moment to comment on that hilarity. But actually, it is really neat that countries like Georgia and Costa Rica, which have a strong dance culture, include those styles  of dance in the show.

So to catch up. I had a wonderful time in New York, though I am still firmly on the side of "I can visit, but never live here." Seeing Bubbe up and walking and spending time with her after a not so minor battle with Covid was HUGE. Also awesome, was seeing my siblings, and getting to spend time, though less time than I intended when I got buses and trains a bit confused and ended up who knows where... One of my favorite parts was (prepare to be SHOCKED) the Museum of Math, or MO MATH as it says above the door. Mi hermano marveloso and I had a blast exploring. 

Velocity was MUCH harder than distance

I LOVE flying at sunset

Sof-kl-sof, it was time to get to JFK from lower Manhattan on the Hudson. Not an easy process. But I am my father's daughter and always aim to get to the airport absurdly early so all was well. I got there with my limbs and bags intact. The flight was easy and beautiful.

Finally, I arrived in Costa Rica, got my first stamp in my new passport, and was met by the grandparents of my host family as well as one of the sons. None of them had a lot of English, so I started my immersion in the Spanish Language IMMEDIATLY. When we got home, it was clear that these folks were my kind of people. We talked and talked and talked, and FINALLY went to bed around 11:30 PM, which to my body was actually 1:30 AM... To say waking up ready for spanish world this morning is to lie.

But ready or not, today's orientation was a great time. First, I got to feel a little less badly about missing the Equator trip of the last two weeks. But also, I had an amazing time meeting the other teachers in the program's week 1 in Costa Rica. I also got to explore Santo Domingo de Heredia a bit, first with the program and then on a walk with my host family. When they say Heredia is the provincia de flores, they aren't kidding. They are EVERYWHERE in every color. Here are some of my favorites from today:

A LOT of coffee here.

Is this Jasmine? It blooms at night.

  On the walk with my family, I learned that just about every            house on the block belonged to someone related to the   Grandmother of the house. Later when one of the daughters   

 invited me to see her house she showed me a block that is       mostly her husband's family. But that was ABSOLUTLY not all   that we saw at her house. We went over after the sun set so that I   could see the place all lit up. And it was BEAUTIFUL. The family hosts events on the property, and there is a great indoor eating/dance space, a covered outdoor dance/eating space, an outdoor open dance eating space SURROUNDED by beautiful plants and trees. She took me around to the different trees and showed me fruits I never even knew existed. I am so excited to go back in the day time to see the flowers and fruits more clearly. But the best was last, a trip to a family art space which had a 3rd floor from which you not only see San Jose very clearly lit up, but also what seemed like a crown in the mountains, which were mostly the lit up churches and basilicas all along the mountain paths. I didn't take a picture of that (Honestly a picture would not have done it justice) but I did manage to snap this one on our walk.

San Jose and the Mountains beyond

Tomorrow is the first day of classes. Normally on Mondays, the mornings are our own, but to start us off, we are going to have another full day together. I already have my lunch, the second half of the GIANT burrito one of the daughters made me for dinner (everyone else got a half, I got a whole one. Between the Grandmother's delicious bread (and food in general), the daughter's delicious food and sweets, and the brother bringing me more of everything, I am not going to have a difficult time eating here :)

In another post, I will introduce the family, but I want to check in with them about how first. Now, it is PAST my bedtime, but I knew if I didn't get this in now, I would miss it, once the whirlwind of classes begin.

Hasta Luego

Do people even blog anymore?

10 Years... TEN YEARS!

I can't believe it's been 10 years since I came home from Georgia. That was the last time I lived outside the United States (living = a month or more). I had all these plans when I got home. I was going to do City Year for a year, and then maybe a teacher residency in DC. From there I would look into non-traditional classroom work (with a traveling circus or TV or Movie on set education. There were some really cool options I was looking into.

Instead I spent two years of AmeriCorps in Boston, got my Masters in Cambridge, and spent the last 7 years at Chelsea and Revere High Schools teaching History (and English) to students who are learning English. PS, thank you Georgia, because when I was first hired, it was my teaching English in another country that made my resume stand out. I got back to the Boston area and I couldn't leave.

I'd really loved bouncing around before I came back to Boston after Georgia, but I was blown away by how incredible it felt to return to my childhood community as an adult. I got to teach at the Shule I'd been a student in. I got to lead the singing at Workers Circle events where I'd always been a participant before. I am so happy I came to back and tangled my roots more deeply into Somerville, but I sometimes wonder about that alternate universe Pauli, teacher to the stars.

She'd look a lot like this I think

Anyway, after a world wide traumatic event cancelled my Summer of 2020 trip to Spain, I now FINALLY have the chance to travel to a new country. After hanging around New York for a couple days with my siblings and Bubbe (National Museum of Mathematics, here I come!) I will head off to COSTA RICA for the next 6 weeks as part of a Spanish Language Immersion program for Educators with Common Ground International. My high school students have been teaching me Spanish since I started (my very first phrase was "escribe en sus propias palabras" and it is likely my most used phrase of my teaching career). I like having a very beginner level spanish when I speak with them because it models learning, and speaking even when you're not sure of the whole sentence (or of any forms of grammar). But speaking with their families is another story. My main goal out of this experience is that I will be able to speak with students' families and know that we have both understood one another. It is one of my greatest fears as an educator that someone will tell me something important and I don't have enough language to understand and consequently do nothing. I know something like that could happen with any family in any language, but I am absolutely going to take this chance to minimize the risk. And hey, tri-lingual sounds pretty cool :)

About updating the blog:

When I get to Costa Rica, reality will likely alter the system I have in my head, but I am PLANNING to devote only 1 hour every few days to anything English. So if you want to see/hear what I am up to, sign up to get an email when I post, because it might not be so regular (not that I was EVER a regular writer)

Here we go!